"Why don't you just freeze him!"

Lol yeah that would have saved them a lot of trouble and lives. Can't remember specifically why they don't freeze him but I remember it being said. I'll have to watch it again. How come no one listened? I think Ash could have known something, but maybe not the specifics... otherwise he might have just frozen Cain to get a sample back to the company. Similarly they should have listened to Ripley about quarantine procedures. But Ash makes the call to let the others and Cain back in the ship and Ripley has to listen after first warning that Cain could be infected, and that Ash is breaching protocol. Why would an android, who may/may not follow strict programming choose to not follow protocol? Seems like he really wanted Cain, or the hugger to get back on the ship. And Ash seems to be made to be very suspicious from the first time we see him onwards(possibly just the android clues they were dropping); so I've always kind of been in the camp that thinks the company knew something about the alien. I agree with you about the scene where they're eating. He keeps glancing over. Clearly at Cain, but we still don't know if it's just to keep checking if he's alright after the attack or if he's waiting for a burster. Maybe Ash was starting to worry about the alien being worse than they imagined at this point. It does seem suspicious, though. It's like he's waiting for something to happen. And it could be that he knows that the chestburster will come out when you eat, I've always considered that. There's a lot of suspicious things about him, like his whole just transferring to the Nostromo prior to them being rerouted to the signal. Even the "malfunction" where he attacks Ripley could have been part of the programming to ensure it would retrieve the specimen. However, I don't think he/the company knew all the specifics of the alien lifeform because of how much he begins to admire it-- only after he has the chance to study it. And at times when he's not seeming suspicious we see him begin to switch to worshipping the thing and remarking on the toughness of what the facehugger's epidermis or whatever was made of, and then later on the adaptability of it and how it's the perfect organism and they don't stand a chance. I think at this point Ash knew he wouldn't have been able to retrieve it for the company anyway. Maybe before he believed he could overcome Ripley and then capture it or freeze the infected crew. And when he tells them there chances aren't good, at the same time as practically worshiping the thing he's admitting that he might have been defeated by it too. I mean for sure we know the company wanted the alien at some point, we just don't know if it's because Ash/Mother was somehow sending transmissions back or not, and when exactly they received the order. It's one of the ambiguities about Alien that I love because it could have easily been stated in a sequel/prequel that Ash really was programmed/serving the company the whole time. And it could just as easily be the other way. But I firmly believe they wanted people to question if the company had some knowledge beforehand. I really don't think Prometheus will answer those questions directly but it may allude to how they would have known about Jockey ships/signals. Or they might gain secondhand knowledge of an encounter with the Aliens/Jockies somehow, somewhere other than LV426, and not know how serious the threat had been. I think if this does well Ridley will go all-out with the direct connections in a sequel. Remember when this was still just known as the alien prequel? It was being planned to be two movies. Don't believe all the misdirection, the story really hasn't changed that much after the rewrites, or fine tuning the two writers did to Ridley's original story. Lindelof says he really didn't change much, and moved the context to the subtext or something like that. That to me means that maybe the Aliens got pushed even further into the background, with Jockies and all the metaphysical, world-building stuff at the forefront in this latest form of the story. As that's what Spaights did with his script too(the real one not the fake Harvest one in his name). The first alien prequel movie was going to not be a direct sequel, that was gonna be part two. So the way I see it all the talk about it not being an Alien film is spot on for what would have been the first prequel. I think this is all a genius tactic thought up by Ridley/Lindelof to market it as a new sci fi/Jockey movie, but surprise the audience with the aliens playing a somewhat larger role than what we're expecting now. While at the same time by also delivering an excellent movie, with a broader story, that reinvigorates the whole franchise. I honestly think they realize it will sell better with the mystery around it and by not directly stating that it's an Alien movie. They get all the money from people like me who will see it just to see any Alien connection. And the members of the general audience, and even disheartened Alien fans who may have skipped another alien movie after AVP, will also be intrigued by this movie if they think it is about Jockies or something unrelated to Alien entirely. Ridley directing it just seals the deal, because many will come out to see his new sci-fi movie even if they haven't been following all the news religiously.

I think if they did freeze Cain then Ash would have completed his mission on bringing the xenomorph back to the company alive and well (more than likely). Because he didn't agree to it leans toward the fact that he/the company didn't know what it was they were dealing with. So maybe if the company is involved with Prometheus then it certainly doesn't uncover this part of the alien life cycle.

That's supposed to be in the future, our shit is now pretty goods so I would say our future shit might be even better? ! just a little slower if Prometheus is before the Nostromo? Then if their time traveling um.....we'll have to talk about the bonus situation that we just snorked!

What happened aboard the Nostromo was almost a text book case study of the effects of a Xenomorphic infestation on a small population in a confined environment with no advanced facilities at their disposal. I tend to think that Ash was malfunctioning following his little warm-up jogging moment. I can see the validity in both CarterJ's as well as Ruhaniya's points of view. At that point in time it was a novel concept that had not been revisited so there was nothing to base previous knowledge of the Xenomorph or it's life cycle on. Depending on the parameters of his behavioral algorhythms, Ash may have had complete autonomy to deal with the events of the initial encounter as he saw fit. Obviously Ash lacked the same safeguard's built into Bishop, or he was suffering a catastrophic malfunction. If everything after Alien is not being taken into account then I am very curious to see Ash's predecessors aboard the Prometheus. If they represent an even earlier model, what might they be like?

You know, it is possible that even if they would’ve froze Kane as Parker suggested, it might have had little or no effect on the Alien Facehugger or embryo. Considering it’s so called prolonged resistance to adverse environmental conditions, the results might have been the same. I have no doubt that the film intended that viewer is to believe that Ash had a fairly good idea of what was going on, especially after analyzing the organism(s) in the infirmary, combined with the acidic blood incident, and the warning signal/beacon. He was waiting for something to happen. You could tell by the anxious expression on his smug little android face during their meal. Although, I don’t think knew any details. Ashes character is analogous to the Doctor Carrington character in the old 1951 horror film “THE THING from Another World.” The same attitude of protecting the creature in the name of science or whatever. Ash had his orders. Neurion

No arguement there Neurion, he knew as much as the Company chose to make a part of his ORDERS in dealing with the extraction of a specimon. Hopefully Prometheus isn't going to totally fill in all the delicious mysteries surrounding the derelict and the SJ. I'd hate to have it be all about a human transformed into a protoSJ and doing the Altruistic thing and crashing the ship on LV-426 just to save humanity. That would be like slapping a band-aid on a shot gun wound.

AMEN!...G Solitare!

Neurion as you seem to be a long standing fan of the franchise may I pose a question to you. I'll assume you would say sure. Has anyone ever considered the possibility that a xenomorph that gestates in a SJ might be an entirely different organism? Until we have facts to the contrary who's to say that biomechanical lifeforms have very different reproductive cycles. What if the SJ's are incapable of conventional reproduction. If the facehugger/chestburster cycle were a voluntary process in order to further their species and was undertaken at a specified time. As improbible as it may seem that mosaic of H.R. Giger does raise some interesting questions, adding to the possiblities.

@Ghost Solitare "SURE"…I think that is a very plausible thought. Over the last 32 years, I’ve had similar ideas, like…maybe a SJ who gets impregnated by a facehugger with an embryo gives explosive birth to an infant Space Jockey. Maybe that’s what happens when you cross a SJ with a Xenomorph/facehugger. It could feasibly be written that this is their natural lifecycle. Could be that the harmonious and symbiotic relationship between the two is only jeopardized or turns hostile when it is interrupted by HUMANS or something else poking their noses where they have no business. Sort of an alien “coitus interruptus” situation. It is also possible that the Big “Alien” in the original film is unique to cross breeding human and the facehuggers genetics. Keep in mind that I don’t even factor in the events that occurred in ALIEN 2,3 and 4…God forbid AVP stuff. Also, Ridley Scott has mentioned the idea of the SJ’s exoskeleton being some kind of carcass or biomechanical shell/suit. So, its true appearance could be altogether very different. Maybe the facehugger is basically a kind of extra-terrestrial penis or phallus and its nature is to be ever horny for reproduction. It could have been resting/sleeping for decades or centuries…Kane quickened or woke it up…and WHAM BAM…thank ya man! Human males wake up sportin’ “wood” as well…so there are precedents. I like the idea or the voluntary impregnation. Many earthly animals including humans, do seemingly weird, crazy, and even sacrificial shit, in the name of natural reproduction. You've got great ideas Ghost, you and I "park our ships in the same hanger." Neurion out

I read some where that the warning broadcast had detailed descriptions of the alien and it's life-cycle and that Ash knew all this going in. As the nostromo computer decifered some of the message it's easy to assume the Company has more powerful computers.

Hi Sophie413 The state of the derelict ship when the Nostromo encountered it would support your theory simply because the beacon has been transmitting a very long time. It's possible that the signal was detected before man was even able to go to the moon let alone beyond our solar system. Even 1979 pseudoscience for a SF film would have detected any sophisticated power sources from orbit, They knew where to land so either they triangulated the location of the beacon, or detected the derelicts unique alloys, or resins from orbit. I'd wager that the ship itself was biomechanical in origin and that it had a lot more valuable lessons for Weyland Yutani than just the Xenomorph. Putting the obvious aside, we will have to rely on our imaginations to provide details until Prometheus is released next year.

I've always felt that if the crew had frozen Kane, after returning home, they would have had to explain what had happened. Then there is the issue of quarantine. A lot of questions would be asked and perhaps an investigation which I assume the company would want to avoid. With that said take a look at what Carter Burke said to Ripley about certain authorities stepping in giving no exclusive rights to anyone, etc. For all we know is that a small group of people within the company could have been acting out the whole plot on their own outside the knowledge of the rest of the company. Like Carter Burke did in Aliens.

Also, the special order required Ash to make sure the Alien return to Earth and the crew was expendable. Remember, Dallas makes the statement to Ripley that Ash has the final say on all things science because that is the way the company wants it. If Ash says no go on freezing him, then its a no go. Also, consider that the crew does not know that the face hugger is a one time thing. The face hugger could jump to another crew member. If the hugger had the strength to break through the visor of Kane's suit what is to stop it from breaking through the protective container of a stasis pod? Also Special Order 937 required ASH to make sure the Alien come back and the crew was expendable, Ash may not know at the time but freezing the creature or putting into stasis may in some way hurt the creature and go counter to his orders. The MOST interesting thing between the original novilization and script and the movie was that there was an element of oxygen supply that did not make it into the movie. For some reason the crew in the original script had only a certain amount of oxygen on board, this was totally taken out of the movie, and in one of the scripts I read the crew discussed the possibility of having to go into stasis because of a lack of air!

It would make no diff, Earth still would get infected. But, it on purpose and by the Company, instead of accidently.

Neurion - really interested in the direction of some of your ideas here in relation to the gender aspects of the xenomorph cycle. This is because I have always suspected / felt that the facehugger and xeno were different genders, its not a theory that I have ever fully managed to explain but I always liked the idea. Furthermore, for me the facehugger also represented the male, with the xeno as female (if you want to include the queen in this it still kind of works as the non queens are subservient females) As you entioned, the facehugger always has 'wood' LOL!! But it is true to an extent, its the concept of 'give me a mouth and I will .... it! if you can excuse my crudeness. There are also many examples in nature where the male is smaller and has different characteristics in terms of shape but can be equally or even more aggressive. The sticking point with this theory is that for it to work the the male has to be carrying the very same female embryo that it needs to implant and fertalise within the host. However the fact that we are dealing with a completely exotic species suggests that gender may not be an issue and the the whole cycle is a process, therefore mechanical in its nature. Still, I have always liked the idea of gender.