Floater

Creatures & Mutants · Source: Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout: New Vegas

Floaters are horrific FEV-created organisms that exist in a biological niche somewhere between creature and autonomous organ. Originating from The Master's experiments at the Mariposa Military Base, floaters are believed to be created from the same FEV vats that produce Super Mutants — specifically from the biological material that fails to properly integrate into a Super Mutant form, resulting in an amorphous, floating predatory mass.

Floaters possess a roughly spherical central body mass from which extend tentacles, mandibles, and various sensory and feeding appendages. They are capable of aerial locomotion through an internal gas bladder — likely filled with lighter-than-air metabolic byproducts — and attack by launching themselves at prey, wrapping their appendages around the target's head and upper body. Their primary feeding mechanism involves a lamprey-like oral orifice that latches onto the victim's face or neck, injecting paralytic compounds before beginning to feed on tissue and bodily fluids.

Floaters are not intelligent in any meaningful sense — they operate on pure predatory instinct, attacking anything they can ambush. Despite their grotesque appearance, floaters are surprisingly fragile once engaged directly, lacking the dense musculature and heavy armor of other FEV creations. Their danger lies in their ability to approach silently from above and their predilection for dark, enclosed spaces where they can drop onto unsuspecting prey. Floaters are most common on the West Coast near sites of FEV experimentation, with populations in the Mojave Wasteland and California regions.

Tags: FEV, Mutant, Aerial, Parasite, Abomination, The Master, Horror