Harriet Moss

Background
Harriet Moss is the youngest of three children and the only girl.

From a young age she exhibited a strong tendency towards curiosity, daydreaming, creativity, and self-expression. While this was merely considered cute by her parents at first, it was becoming increasingly apparent that there was something else at play.

She was constantly bored in school, rarely performed to expectation, and often "zoned out". At first, her frustrated 4th grade teacher accused her of having ADD or a learning disability, insisting that Harriet needed to be medicated. However, a medical professional recognized that this was not the case at all: Harriet was actually in possession of a genius-level IQ, and the material being taught to her was simply below her. She was bumped up one grade immediately, which made everyone happy, but her parents were concerned to allow her to skip any additional grades: they feared for her emotional development and her social well-being. However, she was still socially ostracized for being so intelligent, and she found the material no more engaging. 'Just a few more years' they reassured her, 'and you'll be in high school. Then we'll see how you do from there.' She toughed it out, but feels no more reassured about attention the Dickinson School this year.

Personality
Harriet has never been a social creature, though she has always had the annoying tendency to cling to her older brothers, and even follow them to social gatherings, often convincing herself that she wants to be there. As a result, she is familiar with some of the people and politics associated with the Dickinson scene, especially Rory and her clique.

Harriet is shy and timid, despite being immensely confident in her intellect and feeling positive about herself. However, she can turn from the invisible girl to the center of attention if any of the topics she interested in come up. If anyone asks a scientific question, she's right there with an answer. If anyone misquotes a theory or repeats a common misconception, she's right there to correct them. She doesn't do this out of cruelty, but rather a fundamental misunderstanding that not everyone shares her same lust for the truth. It has been brought to her attention that his behavior is unusual or embarrassing, but rather than alter this behavior, that information merely encourages her to feel ashamed of herself after every outburst.

She tries to be kind and patient when people don't understand her or don't follow things that she considers basic, but it doesn't always work out that way. She occasionally catches herself insulting someone else's intelligence via a cruel little snipe, something that both of her brothers have sadly gotten used to. She attempts to be more mild mannered in public, and is so nervous that she'll either geek out or freak out when meeting new people that she will often opt for saying nothing at all.

Despite all of this, Harriet is not an angry, closed-minded recluse who hides in her room from the outside world. She wants nothing more than to have friends and to be among her peers, but hasn't yet found a group of peers that she can relate to in any way. She's very lonely, which is part of the reason she's so eager to follow her brothers around or to interject into conversations, even when they don't concern her.

Harriet's First Kiss
She assumes it will be wonderful. Harriet has absolutely no romantic or sexual experience, though she is perfectly aware of those aspects of herself. While she is intellectually aware of sex, and finds the processes, biochemical responses, and evolutionary implications completely fascinating, she has trouble imagining herself in any such situation. She still yearns for companionship strongly, though she can't even picture someone willing to put up with her. Occasionally at night she cries a little at this thought, and consoles herself by reciting the periodic table, in order of rising melting point, in her head.

Parents
Her parents, Orville and Ruth Moss, are simple people. Her father works long shifts at the local tool & die factory, constantly fearing for his job, and her mother works as a personal care provider at the local hospital, often forced to take the night shift. They fear for their daughter's well-being, and secretly hope that her vast intelligence is just a phase. They want a normal life for her, which is why they have held her back for so long. The idea of her graduating from high school in a short time terrifies them, especially the idea of her living away from home. Despite this, they try to be as supportive as they can, sending her to expensive science camps during the summer, and buying expensive software, DVDs, and textbooks, even though they can't really afford it.

Anthony Moss
The oldest child in Moss family, Anthony Moss often plays "Man of the House" while their parents are away at work. He played a more active role in Harriet's life when she was younger and needed more care, but now that she's grown more independent, he has grown more distant. He's given up on getting attention from his parents, as his failing grades and occasion car crashes ("God! It was one time, okay?") have significantly reduced his standing in his parents' eyes. Despite this, he has a worldliness to him that Harriet finds admirable, and will often turn to him for social advice.

Neal Moss
Harriet Moss is the little sister of the popular class clown Neal Moss, and the two constantly battle for the love and attention of their parents. Neal's comedy and socialite behavior largely developed out of his desire to be noticed by his parents who all but forgot about him after Harriet was found to be something of a girl genius. While Anthony asserts himself as Harriet's older brother, Neal is content to bicker with her on much more even ground. Harriet often mocks him by calling him "little brother," typically while rolling her eyes.

Dr. Roman Morgan
Earlier in the year, Harriet and Dr. Roman Morgan came across one another in a science chat room. She lied and said that she was a senior in high school when she discovered that he was a young Chemistry PhD. She was all too interested in knowing more about the glamour of being a Professor at the prestigious MIT. She continues her email correspondence with him to this day, with one or two emails being sent by both of them every week. Largely they discuss the field, and her future as a potential student of MIT, but occasionally they talk about their personal lives. She's always sure to remain vague, fearing that he will start to suspect that she isn't the age she pretends to be.

Rory
Harriet met Rory face to face one time. Harriet nearly ran Rory down with her bicycle and Rory called her a maniac. It was awesome. Since then, Harriet has become infatuated with Rory, though even she isn't really sure what it is. A crush? Attraction? Desire to be like her? A yearning for friendship? She isn't quite sure, but when her brother received an invitation to Rory's party with her first kiss on the line, Harriet knew she was showing up whether she was invited or not.

Albums
Philip Glass - Einstein on the Beach, and movie soundtracks. She doesn't identify with pop music of any kind, and finds the lyrics of rock and rap often unrelatable and hateful. Classical makes her cringe, as she feels like an old woman or a stereotype every time she enjoys it.

Colours
Forest green, silver

Outfit
Forest green loose-fit tank over a yellow, sleeveless undershirt, denim shorts, and blue Converse low tops.

Comfort Food
Cherry chip cake with pink frosting. At this point, Harriet's appetite has wildly expanded to compensate for her growing body. She is currently enjoying eating all the food she wants, and then some. She has poor self control, so she has literally made herself sick from eating too many cupcakes or doughnuts in a single sitting. She often eats the house completely clean of sweets only a few days after it has been fully stocked.

Drink
Mountain Dew. While she likes the idea of coffee and tea, she simply can't stand the taste of either. She's also found herself at odds with most kids her age as she also dislikes the flavour of cola. When at someone's house or socializing, she'll usually be forced to drink Sprite or Orange Pop, but in her own house she drinks Mountain Dew until she's shaking and can't sleep for hours.

Media
Almost all media bores her. She can barely sit still through a movie, and even if she does her mind often wanders to other subjects and she misses valuable plot points. Games are no better at capturing her interest, finding them too dull. She hasn't yet mastered the art of turning her brain off, no matter how much it bothers everyone around her, herself included. She often watches DVDs and online videos on the topics of math, science, exploration and discovery, alone in her bedroom. She also frequently reads, thumbing through university textbooks like most people who paperback novels.

Hobbies
She always possessed a knack for visual arts, and often paints in her free time. While she is technically skilled, she normally chooses not to paint real scenes or people, and instead paints complex abstract portraits that serves as windows into her mind for anyone who would care to look. Her parents used to hang these up in the house, but she has long since produced too many, so they now sit in the corner of her room. Harriet also enjoys talking to strangers in chat rooms, especially ones that have an academic theme or membership. She always lies about her age online, since she wants to be taken seriously and considered an equal, rather than being ignored as a child.

What is your biggest fear?
"That is a very personal question, don't you think? I already scanned through the rest of the questions before answering this one (I always do, just in case) and this one I find to be the most invasive. Wishes and hypotheticals are always less probing than questions concerning an emotion as highly motivating as fear. Then again, I suppose you anticipated that most individuals within my age range would answer with something as inane as 'spiders' or 'clowns', so perhaps it isn't as personal as I am making it to be. Regardless, I will aim for honesty here. Companionship is something that I struggle with. As a young person with intelligence that vastly exceeds that of my peers, I find it immensely difficult to make friends. This is both because most people reject me on the grounds of being different, but also because those who do not reject me still hold little interest for me. I have tried very hard to keep myself entertained with individuals at my previous school, but their personal interests are ones that I find exceptionally dull. When I am honest with them about this, they are rarely understanding. I don't mean to be cruel, but the fact of the matter is that I simply do not care who Miley Cyrus is, or why the gyrating of her posterior on television caused such turmoil for the common person. This is, of course, simply an example of the average interests of a person who would normally be considered my peer. I bring up my difficulty with companionship to help illustrate why it is that the thing that brings me the most distress is that I may not grow out of this so-called 'phase'. While it seems only natural that I will, in time, meet individuals who are more like me in many regards, there are two harsh realities that haunt me: the first is that when I do meet these people, I will be vastly their junior, and it will most likely make them uncomfortable to consider me a friend or even associate with me on any level, and the second is that there will be a massive lack of shared experiences between us. While they will most likely fondly remember a time when Cyley Mirus (or someone akin to her) held their interest, I will not share that remembrance or passion. I am afraid that these factors will continue to alienate me from my would-be peers, and doom me to a life of social inadequacy."

What is your greatest wish?
"My most sincere desire is to leave a positive impact on the world after my departure from it. While I fundamentally disagree with the supposed deification of great scientists, I would very much like to discover or elaborate on a scientific principle or theory that furthers humankind on its never-ending quest for absolute understanding of the knowable universe. I am not picky on the field (chemistry, biology, physics, etc.), but I would like the contribution to be significant enough that my name is printed in reprinted in science textbooks for centuries to come. I know that may sound vein, but that's only because it is and I would kindly ask you to refrain from judgement. If I am being particular on the subject matter of the discovery, I would very much like it to assist humanity in either interstellar exploration, or the terraforming or colonization of other worlds. As far as nomenclature goes, I think the default title, the 'Moss Theory', would be misleading in any field other than biology, and simply confusing within that field, all for obvious reasons. Therefore, I think I would prefer it to be known as 'Moss' Theory of...'. Now I need only fill in the blank."

If you had to be an animal, what animal would it be?
"That's simple: a human. Humans are animals, just as sure as other members of the family of great apes are. It is a common mistake to think of humans as a species that somehow defies taxonomy, but that is simply untrue. On a biological level, especially on a cellular level, humans possess no traits that are so unique as to exclude us from classification alongside other mammalian species. Despite this, humans are undeniably the dominant species on Earth, we enjoy extremely prolonged lifespans for creatures of our size, and our vast intelligence has provided us with technology and comforts the likes of which are far beyond the grasp of other animals. I don't mean to be speciesist, the matter of fact is that humans excel at nearly all measurable areas of biological success that it seems foolish to even consider trading this existence in for another. All that being said, I know well that the question intended to ask 'What non-human animal would you be?', so I will answer that question as well: --"

Darnit, I ran out of paper. Nope, no lines on the reverse side. Um, excuse me, could I--? Yeah, I need another another paper. No, no mistake I-- Well then you shouldn't ask such big questions. Thank you.

"--A chimpanzee or bonobo, because they are the most human-like animals that aren't humans. I would want to sacrifice as little of my intellect as possible in the transition, and while they are certainly no visual treat, I find the animals graceful and wise in their own regard. Plus, they both have a strong sense of community that I think humans lack in some regards."

If you died, would you choose to become a ghost if you could?
"That's a sudden morbid turn. An interesting question, regardless. There's currently no data that confirms that ghosts (that is, the spirits of the dead that retain the consciousness of the person they were in life) exist in the sense of objective reality. However, that does not necessarily exclude them existing, and given the very nature of the question I am going to take for granted, for the sake of argument, that they do. However, what your question doesn't cover is whether or not I am also supposed to accept that other related unproven notions are also real in this argument. For example, is there another afterlife that is a potential for me to enjoy? Can I know this upon death, before I make my final decision, or must I choose to be a ghost or face the unknown? If the unknown isn't oblivion, what is it like? Can I know if my 'soul' will face judgement fairly, or will I not know who or what is judging me, and on what terms they will judge me, until I cross over to the 'other side'? Frankly, there are too many factors in this question to answer it fairly. You really should work on your terms if you plan on getting reliable answers from the people you interview. Again, for the sake of argument, I am going to assume that A) Ghosts are real, B) It is unknown to me, at the time of my death, whether crossing over will bring oblivion or another state of being, and C) The other state of being, if there is one, cannot be known in any detail by me at the time of my death. With these conditions in mind, then I would most certainly elect to become a ghost, since existence of any kind is preferable to non-existence (the 13 799 999 988 years prior to my birth were not particularly enjoyed by me), and due to the fact that, while I may not be profoundly good at the Earth human experience, I cannot know how well I would function in a total alien environment with unknown factors at play. Does that make sense to you?"

Others on Harriet
"She's a bright young student with big ideas and lots of potential. I look forward to working with her at MIT next year." -Dr. Roman Morgan, diluted "Oh, God, nerd alert. Yeah, I know that twerp from comput-- from summer camp. Years ago." -Erika Hayes, to her popular friends "Dude, why did you allow her to follow you over here AGAIN?" -Jesse Hahn, to Anthony Moss "Hey, isn't she that weird little girl who lives at your house?" -Gerard Pina, to Neal Moss "Are you lost?" -Noah Little, genuinely concerned "Who?" -Rory Gillingham, dumbfounded

Character Breakdown
Body: 2 Mind: 5 Soul: 2

[36 remaining]

Attributes Features (Cute, Eidetic Memory, Light Sleeper, Speed Reading) [4] Heightened Awareness (Highly Analytical) [2]

[30 remaining]

Skills Area Knowledge lvl 3, Thorn Court Biological Sciences lvl 2, Genetics, Physiology, Zoology Computers lvl 2, Networks, Intrusion/Security Cultural Arts lvl 2, History, Literature, Urban Legends Electronics lvl 1, Communication, Consumer Electronics Gaming lvl 2, Computer Games, Board Games Languages lvl 2, English, Sign Language Performing Arts lvl 2, Violin Physical Sciences lvl 4, Astronomy, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics Social Sciences lvl 4, Psychology Visual Arts lvl 1, Painting Writing lvl 2, Academic

[-10 remaining]

Defects Ageism [-4] Less Capable Soul, Willpower [-2] Phobia (Public Speaking) [-2] Not So Tough [-2]

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