Prozrachny Zhertva

Appearance:

The physical appearance of a Prozrachny Zhertva, literally 'transparent victim' is highly disturbing. They are human, but have no skin pigmentation, no body hair, and their skin is perpetually moist, very much like a frog. Their flesh is likewise translucent, meaning their bones, blood, and organs are visible through their skin. Their bones are a fleshy pink color, as the bone is still alive. Likewise their organs are visible, and their heart can be seen beating through their body. Their blood vessels are readily visible as well, their pulse visible. The most disturbing part of their anatomy is their eyes. The eyes of a Zhertva is solid black, with no visible iris, pupil, or sclera.

Origin:

The Prozrachny Zhertva were created in a laboratory in Krasnouralsk Laboratoriya, in the Neo-Soviet Union. They were not created on purpose, but were rather the victims of a dimensional fatigue event in the Krasnouralsk Oblast. The victims of the event were transmogrified, gaining amphibious traits, and losing all of their pigmentation. There were a number of other mutations that occurred, but the translucent mutation was found to be repeatable in a lab.

The first victims, the first Zhertva, were miserable. They had to stay moist all of the time, and when they dried out it was very painful for them. Death followed quickly after. They had the ability to breathe underwater, in fresh water conditions, but this was also limited by the fact that their porous skin made them incredibly vulnerable to toxins and pollutants in the water. Many of the victims of the event perished from poisoning and heavy metal toxicity, after immersing themselves in available water supplies.

Usage:

The Neo-Soviet Union's NOVI Kamera science division and the Osobi Ofic intelligence division took a joint interest in the Zhertva. The capabilities of the now translucent frog like people piqued their interests. Part was the more laughable goal of creating semi-invisible people, special ops who could pass invisibly through water environments. This would give the Neo-Soviets and even greater advantage in the oceanic front, if they could overcome the intolerance to toxins and salt water. The more insidious purpose was the examination of exogenetic mutation, and how much human science could understand, control, and replicate it. The gelatinous victims of the event all perished within a short amount if time after the accident. The test subjects likewise live short and miserable lives under confinement and microscope level examination.

The NOVI Kamera and the Osobi Ofic are interested in literal human experimentation, the crimes against humanity level of science.

The ultimate goal of NOVI Kamera and the Osobi Ofic is to develop the next level of genetic engineering, beyond enhancing existing attributes and making designer hair colors. The translucent amphibious victims of their research are simply convenient. With their biological limitations and weaknesses, it is virtually impossible for one of the 'clear folk' to escape. Those that might escape the testing facility are not going to survive in the tainted wasteland that is Krasnouralsk.

There are future programs where the masters of the Neo-Soviet science divisions will start creating entirely new variants of humanity, and things that might not even resemble humanity.

Author's Note: This submission was largely inspired by the comic book rando Glob Hermann, who happens to be made of bio-parafin and happens to be translucent. And flammable. And super strong. While visually appealing, he just kinda comes across as a 90s gross out character with his visible organs and bones, and just falls short. I wanted to embrace that visual, and stumbled across an article about translucent frogs being found in Russia, being caused by environmental contamination and pollution.

Ultimately, the clear people are a gimmick, they are tragic. They have no real powers, a slew of weaknesses, and they are something to be pitied, while those who created them are the real monsters.