Ampules on Juggernaught: Are We Sure What is in Them?

What do you think might be in them?

Well, I'd always assumed they contained 'active' goo but if the info. above is correct then it suggests something else.

You'd have to think an agent of some sort but perhaps with different effects to what we've seen?  

Chances are there's nothing in this and it's an oversight but then why go to such lengths to keep them in the installation in this conditions for so long?  Who knows perhaps they can be transported like we see and still be fine?

It does beg the question though, and while I don't have any great ideas (and about to head out for work ;)  who knows, maybe this is something we may become more aware of in AC and it wasn't what we thought it was :)

Do you have any thoughts?

It's an interesting question.One i've always had was why the ones in the antichamber became active when it was opened yet the other ones seen remained inactive.

I actually just typed in black goo on MUTHER and it does support what you said.

You could be on to something here maybe.

I do remember seeing the scene where the vases r all stacked up on theyr sides ontop of each other and a lot less than a meter apart, perhaps these r all empty as they have been used on other worlds where as the ones in the pic r active and yet to be used??

this is the room where david takes one of the vases so it has to be the black goo

Actually, the vases in the Juggernaut that the Engineer tries to take off in are not stacked directly together, there is a bit of dirt in-between them separating them a bit but doesn't look like a meter more like 6 inches. Check 1 hour and 36 minutes in, that's where Shaw enters the ship with David/Weyland and uses a flash light to look at all the vases and speaks to Janek.

here's what MUTHER has to say when asked about "black goo"

"BLACK GOO

WITHIN A STEATITE AMPULE, THE A0-3959X.91 - 15 WAS CONTAINED BY FOUR CONICAL-SHAPED GLASS VIALS. THIS WAS TO ENSURE THE AGENT'S ABILITY TO RETAIN INFECTIVITY AND VIRULENCE AFTER A PROLONGED PERIOD OF STORAGE. ALL AMPULES WERE TO BE ALIGNED IN ROWS, KEPT AT A DISTANCE OF 0.9652 METERS APART FROM ONE ANOTHER. ERRORS IN TEMPERATURE STABILITY SEEMED TO BE AMPLIFIED WITH AN INCREASE OR DECREASE IN THIS DISTANCE" What i find odd is it uses words like "was" and "were" as if this particular strain of the chemical no longer exists which leads me to a theory that i will post later today, and no it isn't because it refers to everything in a past-tense i checked.

@ali81  Yea I thought about them being empty but then why would they be heading to Earth?  Did they contain any 'active' agent? Were they what we thought?  

I'm beginning to rethink my whole idea about this, combined with Chris' 'digging' into a possible attack on LV223 rather than an outbreak as many assume.

As an aside, when David removes the green vials does he affect the goo by removing it from the head room?  

Or maybe in the time taken for David to use it no significant detrimental affect took place?   Similarly, if the ampules we see were very soon to be sent to Earth but then 'something' happened perhaps they would have been OK for the planned period of closer proximity?  It does seem strange that the keeping of the ampules is very specific but not in line with what we see (or think we see ;) in the movie.

Worth noting that the Weyland files etc state that they don't have all the info. so perhaps this is all part of the marketing to lead us down an alley, as it were, only for events in the movie to undo some of it . . .

Be interesting to see in AC if the vases (if any) in the Juggernaught were still active when arriving at Paradise...

It's a strange idea but if not, it could turn what we think was going on with the goo on its head (apologies for pun :) 

(fwiw - I have always thought that David finds vases on Paradise rather than brings them with him - could well be wrong though or a bit of both?  Perhaps this is where the experimentation could occur?

@Resurgence  Interesting, I hadn't noticed the tense differences.  Could just be the scientific style of reporting used i.e when observing animals in a natural habitat you would record "The primates began calling out when the threat approached.  They banged their chests and tree stumps vigorously  . . . "etc.  Using past tense is quite common for such observations but present tense could also be used so maybe . . . ?!

@Deep Space they refer to the xenomorph in the present tense but what does't make sense is how would the black goo register a increase or decrease in the distance if it isn't a living thing?

@Resurgence:  Interesting!  I keep not wanting to read too much into things but then end up starting with one tiny thing and it snowballs lol ;) 

In short - idk :)  fwiw I think the goo is a living thing.  If pressed I'd say something akin to a bacteria strain (but like nothing we know or knew before - truly alien!) that has been modified so it can alter the DNA of a whole organism rather than just cells like cancer does for e.g.  Perhaps the xeno is a 'life size' version of a deadly microbe?

Maybe they give off some kind of pheromone or 'wavelength' that helps ensure they spread thereby increasing likelihood of spread/contagion/growth/life take your pick ;) 

That could explain why such a specific distance is needed?  However (another spanner in the works ;) lol) they contain 4 vials so presumably they are OK being so close even though other vials need to be separated?  7

Wow my head hurts now ;) lol   I doubt we're meant to look this closely to be honest but they put out the info. and I just can't help myself!

so we know that a strain black goo is responsible for the creation of the neomorph spores but what we don't know is what life form was mutated or was it a creation of the goo, either that or everything in the alien universe requires a host because seriously we have the xenomorph,deacon/trilobite, and now the neomorph

@DeepSpace...

Bet your head hurts lol... nice theory and you covered what i was going to say that indeed, they are Organic....  the Concept Work the Ampoules was not surrounded by Goo but a like Waxy Material...  I would assume what ever triggers the Urns causes the Black Stuff inside the Glass Vials to mix with the Black Slime on the outside... to then cause the Black Goo we see leak from them...

There is TWO detailed ways to look at this but i have covered it before..  basically its related to the TWO ways i saw this Black Goo... but maybe too long to go into detail.. but i can if needed... basically i had a theory... but there is one element that maybe contradicts it. so i try and come up with a alternative plan... that then contradicts other clues lol

Yes my head hurts too...

As far as the Weyland File... i think they are using it as Canon now... despite it contradicting what we was shown in the movie.. the File is flawed.

As this post picked up as far as the Storage Requirements.. but thats one flaw... the effects is the other contradiction.

@ Deep Space-

"That could explain why such a specific distance is needed?  However (another spanner in the works ;) lol) they contain 4 vials so presumably they are OK being so close even though other vials need to be separated?"

Maybe four vials together creates the proper wave length for each urn? That is pretty deep in the weeds- just a thought.

Hmm, yes, could be!    

'Deep in the weeds' - ha ha I like that one ;)