Implied to be an entity from the Outskirts, the Tearful Thing was found by someone named Stephanette during an excursion to the outskirts; she later became the founder and first executive of K. Corp. The "Tearful Thing" was made to endlessly cry: Stephanette originally read it heart wrenching stories. Stephanette was the Chief Executive of K Corp. and was the one to discover, and later manage, the Singularity the "Tearful Thing".