- "You know what? Fuck this thing. Napalm the son of a bitch."
- ―Advice on dealing with the Trilobite (from Alien: The Roleplaying Game — Heart of Darkness)
Heptopus tabellarium, more commonly dubbed the Trilobite or "Cuddles", was a type of Proto-Xenomorph. Resembling a squid, the Trilobite was the third stage in the Protomorph life cycle and served as the delivery system for a Deacon embryo. It implanted the embryo by wrapping itself around its victim and injecting them with a mysterious alien pathogen; once the process was completed, the Trilobite would expire.
Trilobites were encountered by the crew of the exploratory vessel USCSS Prometheus on the moon LV-223, and by a Geholgod Institute science team aboard the Weyland-Yutani Corporation mining station Erebos.
Characteristics
The Trilobite was the third stage in the life cycle of the Proto-Xenomorph species, evolving from the Naiad. It was equipped with seven tentacles to embrace its prey, which it would subdue by smothering. The Trilobite would then clamp onto the victim's head and use its oral proboscis to inject them with a mysterious alien pathogen. Following the process, it would enter a catatonic state and wrap itself around the victim to protect them during implantation. Once the host was infected with an embryonic Deacon, the Trilobite would release the victim and expire.
History
During the USCSS Prometheus's mission to LV-223 in 2093, after Charles Holloway is infected by the Black Liquid pathogen, he unknowingly impregnates Elizabeth Shaw with a Trilobite when the two sleep together. Later, when Shaw is about to give birth to the Trilobite, she uses the Pauling MedPod 720i in Meredith Vickers' FTL Lifeboat to remove it from herself. The Trilobite is presumed dead after Shaw decontaminates the MedPod, but unknown to her, it was merely unconscious and would later grow to a massive size.
Behind the scenes
The Trilobite shares its name with a species of extinct marine arthropods, known through its extensive fossil record; this synonymy comes from the fact early designs for the creature in Prometheus were somewhat based on the trilobite genues Dicranurus, being a vertebrate with two horn-like appendages on its 'head'.[1][2] However, the final design seen in the film bears no relation to the real-world creatures. The creature's pale skin was inspired by the flaky, pale hue that is a common feature in deceased organisms preserved in formaldehyde.[1]
Trivia
- In the original concept art for Alien, the Facehuggers were also squid-like but they were far smaller than a Trilobite.
- The Trilobite was called a "Troglybyte" in the Paradise script. Also in that script, the creature does not escape the MedPod, and remains trapped inside until Shaw releases it.[3]
- In Jon Spaihts' original script for Prometheus, titled Alien: Engineers, the Octo-Facehugger that impregnates Holloway is similar in appearance to the Trilobite, only significantly smaller.[4]
Gallery
Concept art
Appearances
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Strange Shapes - The Trilobite". Retrieved on 2014-10-20.
- ↑ "Monster Legacy: Before StarBeast - Prometheus". Retrieved on 2018-12-13.
- ↑ http://www.prometheus-movie.com/uploads/PARADISEfinal.pdf
- ↑ Alien: Engineers script by Jon Spaihts