Wheezer

The Wheezer was a stationary Necromorph form that generated and exhaled poisonous gas, fouling the air around it without ever striking at the living. It resembled a human more closely than most other Necromorphs, set apart chiefly by its enormous lungs, and it had no means of attack at all. Its role was environmental: it rendered a space toxic, acting as a kind of terraformer for the wider Necromorph ecosystem.

Anatomy and behavior#

The Wheezer resembled a human more than almost any other Necromorph form, with one striking exception. Its lungs were many times the normal size and had been relocated outside the body, taking up most of its back. Its arms and legs were fused together, which left it permanently in a kneeling position and incapable of any movement. A distinct strained breathing sound could be heard in the vicinity of a Wheezer, the trait that gave the creature its name.

The Wheezer had no offensive capability of its own. It ignored all human presence around it, most likely because its immobility and non-combat purpose left it unable to interact with prey at all. It was, however, far from safe to be near. The poisonous gas it produced was an environmental property that filled the room and drained the air supply of anyone inside, and the gas only dissipated once the Wheezer itself was eliminated. The creatures were most likely the terraformers of any Necromorph ecosystem, remaking the air of a space into something hostile to the living while other forms did the hunting.

On the USG Ishimura#

Wheezers were encountered aboard the USG Ishimura during the outbreak there. They were responsible for poisoning the air, and they fouled the atmosphere around the food storage container in which the Leviathan resided. Several were scattered through the Hydroponics Deck, where individual grow chambers and control rooms held poisoned air until the Wheezer inside each was killed. Clearing them was the only way to make those spaces survivable and to reach the chamber beyond.

On Tau Volantis#

Wheezers were among the Necromorph forms that did not appear during the fall of Titan Station but later reappeared on Tau Volantis. Two were found in an archaeology warehouse on the frozen world, poisoning a section of the structure. Isaac Clarke and John Carver were forced to kill them in order to move on through the warehouse and continue their mission.