Entity #012, "Contagious Decal"
| Entity Profile | |
|---|---|
The Mona Lisa decal as it appeared in infected games
|
|
| It spreads through curiosity. | |
| Type | Decal |
| Status | Active (?) |
| Risk | 2 - Moderate |
Description
Entity #012, known as the Contagious Decal or Decal Plague, refers to a virulent phenomenon first documented in 2014 involving a Mona Lisa decal uploaded to the Roblox platform. The decal was introduced by a throwaway account whose identity remains unknown to this day. What began as a seemingly innocuous image asset would become one of the most persistent and widespread anomalies in Roblox history.
The decal was initially inserted into a horror game that has since been deleted from the platform. However, the true nature of Entity #012 revealed itself through its unprecedented method of propagation. Any player who joined and played the infected game would unknowingly carry the decal with them. Upon leaving, the Mona Lisa decal would inexplicably appear in their own games, inserted without any action on the developer's part. Once present, the decal proved impossible to remove through conventional means, persisting despite repeated deletion attempts.
Spread and Containment
Word of the anomalous decal spread rapidly across the Roblox forums in early 2014. Curious players, drawn by reports of the strange phenomenon, sought out the infected game to witness it firsthand. This curiosity proved to be the decal's primary vector of transmission. Each new player who joined an infected experience became a carrier, unknowingly spreading Entity #012 to their own creations. The exponential growth pattern mirrored that of a biological contagion, earning it the designation "plague" among the community.
In response to the escalating situation, Roblox Corporation took decisive action. The original game and numerous confirmed infected experiences were forcefully set to private, cutting off the primary access points for new infections. The original Mona Lisa decal asset was deleted entirely from the platform's servers. For a brief period, it appeared the containment was successful.
Evolution and Persistence
However, Entity #012 demonstrated a disturbing capacity for adaptation. While the original decal had been removed, new variants exhibiting similar self-replicating behavior began appearing shortly after the initial containment. These successor decals were uploaded by unknown parties and shared the same infectious properties as their predecessor. Script kiddies and malicious actors recognized the potential for chaos and deliberately inserted these variant decals into popular games with high player counts.
The introduction of Entity #012 variants into heavily trafficked experiences caused the plague to spread faster than ever before. Thousands of games became infected within weeks. Each variant maintained the core characteristic of the original: complete resistance to removal once embedded in a game file. Developers reported that even deleting the decal object from their workspace provided only temporary relief, as it would reappear within hours or days.
Current Status
As of the present day, the majority of games known to harbor Entity #012 have been set to private by either their developers or Roblox moderation staff. This has significantly reduced the rate of new infections. However, complete eradication has proven impossible. Several accessible games still contain active instances of the decal plague, serving as reservoirs for potential future outbreaks.
The exact mechanism by which Entity #012 inserts itself into new games remains unexplained. Some researchers theorize it exploits unknown vulnerabilities in Roblox's asset caching system, while others suggest the involvement of sophisticated scripts that survive game file transfers. Attempts to analyze infected game files often result in corruption of the analysis tools themselves.
Players who have been exposed to Entity #012 report varying levels of persistence. Some experience only temporary infections that eventually clear from their games, while others find the decal permanently embedded in their creations. There appears to be no pattern to determine which games will suffer permanent infection versus temporary manifestation.
Theories and Speculation
The true origin of Entity #012 continues to be debated within the research community. The use of a throwaway account for the initial upload suggests deliberate intent, but whether the creator understood the full implications of what they had released remains unknown. Some researchers propose that the first upload may have been an accidental discovery of an exploit, which was then weaponized by others who recognized its potential.
The choice of the Mona Lisa as the carrier image has led to various theories, ranging from symbolic significance to simple convenience. No pattern has been identified that would explain why this particular image exhibits these properties while others do not. Attempts to replicate the phenomenon with different images have been unsuccessful, suggesting Entity #012 may be tied to specific file characteristics of the original upload.