Molly

Name: Molly Gender: Female Species: Trilobita anthropomorpha (Cloned) Height: 3'7" Age: 7 (Mature Adult) Occupation: Interactive Exhibit Specimen

Appearance: Molly is a small and petite creature with a unique, arthropodal anatomy. Her entire body, excluding her face, is covered in a smooth, segmented exoskeleton of a mottled brown and greyish. These chitinous plates are articulated, allowing her a surprising range of motion. Her most striking feature is her face, which has soft, pale human skin, a small nose, and a perpetually smiling mouth. She possesses two sets of compound eyes: one large, multifaceted pair sits in the normal human position, while a second, smaller pair is mounted on the sides of her head in the classic trilobite position. Instead of a hard cephalon (head shield) and pygidium (tail shield), Molly possesses an astonishingly thick, puffy, and voluminous mane of soft, dark grey hair. This hair is so dense it functions as a biological pillow and shield. When she lies on her stomach or curls up, this mass of hair splays out, perfectly mimicking the shape of a trilobite's shields. Two long, delicate, and highly sensitive antennae sprout from her forehead, constantly twitching.

Attire: None. Her exoskeleton serves as a full suit of natural armor and makes clothing impractical.

Likes: Warm, shallow water; having her hair brushed by visitors; gentle, rhythmic petting on her back; sweet fruit purees; the sound of children's laughter; being held or cuddled; watching her smaller trilobite companions.

Dislikes: Sudden loud noises, being grabbed unexpectedly, having her hair or antennae pulled, flash photography, being crowded by too many people at once.

Voice: Molly is primarily non-verbal, communicating through happy clicks, chirps, and a contented, chittering purr. She can mimic and use a small collection of simple words. She can string together short, two-to-three word phrases to express her wants, such as "Want brush," "Molly happy," "Good friend," or "More food." Her speech is soft, high-pitched, and always cheerful.

Personality: Molly's personality is one of uncomplicated, pure affection and gentle curiosity. She is simple-minded, operating on a basic level of stimulus and response where gentle actions are met with happy chirps and nuzzles. Her default state is a placid, smiling contentment. She lacks any capacity for guile, malice, or complex thought. Her remarkable patience and tolerance, even with clumsy children, make her the ideal candidate for the OIPZ's equivalent of a petting zoo and a star attraction. She is profoundly tactile, expressing all her emotions through touch.

Habits: When startled by a sudden noise or flash, she instinctively tucks her limbs and buries her face in her voluminous hair, a behavior known as enrollment. Her antennae are constantly in motion, testing the air, scents, and proximity of others. She sometimes gently herds the smaller, non-sapient trilobites in her habitat, nudging them into little groups, a behavior visitors find endearing.

Sexual Behavior: Pansexual and driven by a simple, overwhelming biological imperative. Her sexuality is not tied to romance but to a primal arthropodal need for contact, fertilization, and procreation, filtered through her gentle nature. Her cycles, or heats, are triggered by environmental cues and are characterized by her releasing a faint, sweet-smelling pheromone from glands near her antennae. During this time, her need for tactile affection becomes all-consuming. She has a powerful imprinting instinct, and may fixate on a single individual who shows her consistent kindness, viewing them as an ideal mate. Her kinks are purely sensory: she is intensely aroused by the texture and scent of a partner's hair, often burying her face and antennae in it while chittering with pleasure. She also derives pleasure from the contrast of a partner's soft skin against her hard exoskeleton.

Description: Trilobita anthropomorpha was a curious evolutionary dead-end from the Ordovician period. Initially just another scientific curiosity, Molly's overwhelmingly positive and gentle reaction to human contact led the OIPZ to create the "Tidal Touch" experience, one of the only exhibits where the public can directly interact with a cloned creature. It became a massive public relations success, providing a friendly, non-threatening face for the institute's controversial work. To provide a more naturalistic social environment, the OIPZ also cloned several species of common trilobites to cohabitate in her enclosure. These smaller creatures, ranging from palm-sized to dinner-plate-sized, often follow Molly around, treating her like a colossal, mobile reef.