Blue Blob Creature
The blue blob creature was a small, living organism housed in Rhys's laboratory. It was recreated by Rhys through the application of genetics derived from fossilized bones of ancient giant creatures, making it a product of advanced biological experimentation. The creature was notable for its potential connection to the Giants, as observers wondered whether it represented a diminutive form of the very giants being sought.
Description
The blue blob creature appeared as a small blue mass contained within a glass vessel, illuminated by a gas lamp. It heaved rhythmically, as though breathing, but was otherwise immobile. In The Blood of Giants, the text describes it as: "a small blue blob inside... it heaved as if it were breathing." The creature could not move or escape its container; it simply breathed in and out.
The creature's biological output had significant properties. Its excretions possessed strength-enhancing qualities that were incorporated into the development of the Giant's Blood Serum used on the Nightmen. More directly, its blood could be infused into Nightmen to provide incredible strength and a hardening of the skin comparable to additional armor. However, this infusion process was described as extremely dangerous even for Nightmen, and was considered potentially fatal to an ordinary person, as it might overwhelm a normal man's heart.
Role in The Blood of Giants
In The Blood of Giants, the blue blob creature was kept in the corner of Rhys's laboratory. It was described as unable to move or escape, existing in a state of passive respiration: "It couldn't move, couldn't escape. It simply breathed in and out."
Rhys had been focused, in the two weeks prior to events depicted, on ridding the effects of potions from people's systems, work that ran parallel to his research involving the creature. During an escape sequence, Rhys transported the creature by carrying its container in his bag, indicating the specimen was considered valuable enough to preserve under dangerous circumstances.
The narrator speculated that the creature might be a small version of the ancient giants that the characters were searching for, a detail that connected it thematically to the broader mystery of the Giants and the Evolved Giants.
Significance
The blue blob creature represented a key element of Rhys's biological research program and served as the biological foundation for Nightmen enhancement technology. Its origins in fossilized giant genetics linked it directly to the ancient giant lineage explored throughout The Blood of Giants.