Sea Emperor Leviathan

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The closest translation of the alien symbol for this specimen is 'sea emperor'. Bone samples from deceased leviathan specimens indicate some potential for Kharaa immunity. Single specimen captured for study at purpose-built emperor containment facility, constructed in volcanic region at depth 1200m.

― PDA, Data Downloads

The Sea Emperor Leviathan is the largest of the living Leviathan classfauna in Subnautica. It is sentient and telepathic.

Appearance
The Sea Emperor Leviathan is colossal, having a stocky, entirely armored body and is predominantly pale brown in color, with shades of green. Its tentacles are adorned with bright cyan bioluminescent "bulbs".

The creature's head is comparatively small, and quite peculiar in shape (see "Trivia" below for more), featuring two striped antennae with glowing green lures atop its snout, two large mandibles on each side of its rather small mouth, and a glowing hollow between these mandibles. It has four binocular eyes, glowing cyan in color.

The Sea Emperor Leviathan's posterior consists of seven long, yet slim tentacles ending with large tentacular clubs, with the largest being in the center, surrounded by the six smaller tentacles.

Unlike the Sea Dragon Leviathan, the Sea Emperor Leviathan doesn't have true graspers; instead, its forelimbs are two massive, paddle-like arms, which are similar to those of sea turtles.

Behavior
Despite its gargantuan size, the Sea Emperor Leviathan's diet consists solely of micro-organisms filtered from the water.

It's suggested that in the past these creatures would have traveled in small herds, occasionally coming to the surface to feast on the microorganisms in the shallower water. When the Kharaa Bacterium was released onto the planet, many creatures died, destroying the food source of the species.

The Sea Emperor Leviathan is capable of telepathic speech, which it uses to communicate with the player at various locations around the world. Whenever it communicates with the player, the screen becomes distorted in a similar way to when a Warper teleports the player, or a Mesmer hypnotizes the player.

The Sea Emperor Leviathan will first contact the player telepathically twenty minutes after they have attempted to deactivate the Quarantine Enforcement Platform. It will contact the player again shortly after they have obtained the Blue Tablet, and again upon entering the Lava Lakes. It will continue to interact with the player upon entering the Aquarium, telling them what they need to do in order to hatch the eggs. After the player inserts an Ion Cube into the Incubator Device, the Sea Emperor Leviathan will speak to the player, and will move to the left side of the Alien Arch, and blow away the sand, uncovering the Arch that the player can use to access the Arch outside of the Quarantine Enforcement Platform.

Upon entering the aquarium, the Sea Emperor Leviathan will climb up to observe and speak to the player, then descend back down. It will also watch the player intently if they are near the Incubator Device or the aquarium Arch, quickly spinning around and coming to a rest on the aquarium's floor.

Story
The captive Sea Emperor Leviathan is the last remaining adult of its species and a parent to at least seven eggs. The five eggs which still remain must be hatched at some point in the story. The creature is approximately two thousand six hundred years old, having massively surpassed its species' natural lifespan.

Almost all of the Sea Emperor Leviathans died when the Kharaa Bacterium was released as it killed off their food source, leaving only the one captive adult and the eggs it was discovered with. As the only source of Enzyme 42 on Planet 4546B, the Sea Emperor Leviathan and its children are the keys to cure the Kharaa Bacterium.

The Precursors studied the last surviving Sea Emperor Leviathan in hopes of finding a cure using its natural production of Enzyme 42. However, due to its weakness, possibly old age or illness, studies conducted showed that it was not a viable source of Enzyme 42 as the enzymes it produced was too unstable and only reverted symptoms temporarily. After the Precursors could not find a way to hatch its eggs naturally, they took three into the dissection room of the Primary Containment Facility and experimented on them, cutting all of them open and removing the fetus from one of the eggs. One other egg was taken to the egg lab, where it was also tested on. Still, they could find no way to cause the hatching process to trigger naturally, and juveniles born outside of the natural conditions could not produce suitable enzymes. They resorted to attaching the eggs to an Incubator Device to keep the eggs alive while they worked on more ways to hatch them. Shortly after this, the Disease Research Facility was destroyed, releasing the Kharaa Bacterium, causing all Arches to the facility to be closed and initiating the planetary quarantine.

At an unspecified time, the Sea Emperor Leviathan managed to train Peepers to use the Alien Vents to distribute Enzyme 42 to the surface. Under the Sea Emperor Leviathan's control, Peepers traveled through the Alien Vent, bringing flora seeds to the aquarium, and leaving with small amounts of Enzyme 42 which they distribute at the surface. This system allowed a small amount of life to survive on the planet.

After its eggs are hatched, the captive Sea Emperor Leviathan will play with its children and then direct them to the Arch leading just outside the Quarantine Enforcement Platform which they will leave through. The captive will begin dying shortly afterward, as it has used the last of its strength to play with its babies.[1]

Telepathic Contact Dialogue

 * 1
 * 2
 * 3

Aquarium Telepathic Contact Dialogue

 * 1
 * 2
 * 3
 * 4

Data Bank Entries

 * Sea Emperor Leviathan Research Data
 * The Sea Emperor's Lifecycle
 * Specimen Research Data

Gallery
Front view
 * In Game
 * Videos
 * Concept Art
 * Other

Dorsal view

Side view

Bioluminescence

Ditto, side profile

Rear view

The Sea Emperor Leviathan swimming around its enclosure

The Sea Emperor Leviathan speaking to the player through telepathy

The Sea Emperor Leviathan greeting the player when he enters the Aquarium

The Sea Emperor Leviathan sitting in the Primary Containment Facility when the player approaches the Incubator Device

The Sea Emperor Leviathan blowing sand away from the Aquarium arch to reveal it to the player

The Sea Emperor Leviathan near the end of its life

The Sea Emperor Leviathan slowly dying after its children leave the aquarium

Add a photo to this gallery

Trivia

 * The Sea Emperor Leviathan's dialogue suggests that the species are philosophical, if not religious. It references a concept similar to reincarnation by saying "Perhaps next we meet I will be an ocean current, carrying seeds to new lands... or a creature so small it sees the gaps between the grains of sand".
 * This dialogue also suggests a great understanding of the natural world on the part of the Sea Emperor, as it understands what an ocean current is and the roles they play in nutrient distribution in the oceans.
 * Early concept art of the Sea Emperor Leviathan depicted it with large, clawed graspers on the ends of its arms, resembling those of a Sea Dragon Leviathan. This idea was later replaced by the paddle-like limbs they now have.
 * Despite being depicted significantly smaller than the Sea Dragon Leviathan in concept art, the Sea Emperor Leviathan was always intended to be the largest creature in Subnautica.
 * The Sea Dragon Leviathan was created as an aggressive reskin of the Sea Emperor Leviathan.
 * The Sea Emperor Leviathan's dialogue suggests that the Precursors were unable to hear its telepathy, as they did not hear its pleas to let its young go free.
 * Certain developmental notes refer to the Sea Emperor Leviathan as the "Emperor Leviathan", and refer to added animations to "bite" and "attack".[2]
 * Various documents also refer to the Sea Emperor Leviathan as the "Grand Leviathan".
 * The Sea Emperor Leviathan closely shares many of its features with real-life animals: a head shape slightly similar to that of many hammerhead sharks, and paddle-like arms, resembling those of the green sea turtles.
 * The opening sentence of the databank entry suggests that Sea Emperor Leviathans are the largest living species identified in the Subnautica universe.
 * It is possible that the Sea Emperor Leviathan attempted to communicate with Bart Torgal, as he had described seeing visions before his death, presumably the same visions that Ryley Robinson had received during his explorations.
 * It is currently impossible to scan the Sea Emperor Leviathan, and as a result, it does not have a fauna databank entry. Instead, the entry is obtained from a Precursor terminal.
 * It is also impossible to attack the Sea Emperor Leviathan.
 * The Sea Emperor Leviathan species is the only known complex fauna species on 4546B known to reproduce asexually, in contrast to other known species which reproduce by sexual reproduction as they are simultaneous hermaphrodites, excluding simple fauna species such as the Amoeboid which reproduce via longitudinal fission.