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Shadowcaster
MemberOvomorph12/6/2011Well guys I happen to have a 1979 first print copy of Alan Dean Foster's novelization of Alien. It's old, torn and beat up, but it is my little piece of Alien treasure. When reading it again just now, I discovered something that may be a major tie in.
We all now know the official name for the room with the urns is called the "Ampule Room". Now when I think of medical ampules I think of them in human terms and in human scale. And we all at one time called the ones in the Ampule Room "urns" until only recently. Now with thinking like this I can see based off the SJ's size that they would very well view these "urns" as "ampules" due to their scale.
Well what if I say I discovered that Dallas found one of those urn/ampules.
The proof is here (click the provided url below the picture to see it larger):
[IMG]http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d105/solicia/PrometheusAlien/NovelPages/Urns.jpg[/IMG]
[url]http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d105/solicia/PrometheusAlien/NovelPages/Urns.jpg[/url]
So.... What do you all think!?
54 Replies

Spartacus
MemberOvomorph12/6/2011I love that even back then, that far back, there were already little tiny "DNA fragments" of Prometheus already bubbling!
Amazing Post Man, Than You Very Much For That...Simply Amazing !!!

Engineer Prototype - Model GAJ84
MemberOvomorph12/6/2011That has reminded me of something else. In the Alien 3 novel, the very last words are,
"This is Ripley, last surviving member of the Nostromo, signing off"
If i remember correctly, it was a transmission picked up by the shuttle console thingy where Ripley got Aaron to scan her and they found the Queen embryo.
Now how could the shuttle have picked up a transmission that was something like 60-100 years old? (i'm not sure of the exact timeframe between the end of Alien when the transmission was sent out and the end of Alien 3 when it was picked up)
I could be totally falling down the rabbit hole here but an interesting thought none the less.

Spartacus
MemberOvomorph12/6/2011we do not know how long she was in space for and adrift again, so maybe the transmission was just replaying itself inside a broken shuttle a long long time after it was first picked up by it.
we were never given a time frame for how long Newt and Hicks and Ripley were up there this time.

Engineer Prototype - Model GAJ84
MemberOvomorph12/6/2011I know that Burke tells Ripley in Aliens that she was in hypersleep for 57 years. All this business about transmissions and distress signals has got me thinking, I dont think Ripley, Newt & Hicks crashed on Fiorina Fury 161 by accident, I think they were sent there somehow by Weyland Yutani. And how the company get to Fiorina so quickly? I hope Ridley Scott decides to do Alien 5, it would hopefully answer questions that Prometheus cant.

Spartacus
MemberOvomorph12/6/2011I have obtained a free copy of that Novel Online.
Thanks to You ShadowCaster.
I am most greatful.
Cannot wait to read the whole thing now!!!

Shadowcaster
MemberOvomorph12/6/2011You are most welcome. As soon as I read it I was like "Whoa wait a minute"!
Then I ran to the scanner and prepped the scan.
I am very happy that this has spiked your interest and that it has possibly tied some of the stuff together a bit.
Now only time will tell!!

Parker
MemberOvomorph12/7/2011About 1:20 min into this interview (see link below) Ridley talks about something from the first movie, don't know if it is this he refers to.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LeIce4lc8s

Vanilla-Hollywood
MemberOvomorph12/7/2011Hello.
Keen observation I must say, thanx to shadowcaster for that contribution.
I, for my part, have only the novel of Aliens, also by A.D. Foster;
unspectacularly, this one doesn´t go much beyond the actual plot of the Aliens-Movie.
I don´t like his renarrations for the Alien-movies at all; he had quite better stories.
To your discovery I must note, that urnes/ampules arent that thin walled
as it´s prescribed in this novelisation.
As far as I perceive, one of them is unsealed indeed,
but it doesn´t seem to be broken-- it´s rather molten.
So, no fragility but sensivity to effect of heat, in my opinion.
VH.
P.S.: I don´t think R. Scott would consider to do an `Alien 5´-Movie
for the next occasion executable, but nonetheless this quotion of
aerogramm is another good observation.
To me, it´s ought to reflect the companies policy of `Weyland-Yutani´
at last, which is shown in leaving special waste behind, also of disused
information.
...Of course it´s headed by to bring out Ripleys status to legal discretion,
Weyland-Yutanis group of delegates need to be informed at each single
step of their interventions.

Micro changes in air density
MemberOvomorph12/7/2011Yes excellent piece there Shadowcaster. It would be great to read the initial full unadultered script for Alien. Seems still to be bits coming out of it after all these years. I recall reading at the time that a script included a vast pyramid type structure was to be found by Kane Dallas and Lambert and not a ship, and inside would be the Alien eggs and include a seen similar to the jockey. I don't get the molten urn though. Will LV426 now be the main base of the movie?

Shadowcaster
MemberOvomorph12/7/2011I like that this is sparking some interesting thoughts.
That was totally the hope that this discovery birthed in me. Keep it up, the more thought we pour in the greater the ideas become :)

Gavin
MemberTrilobite12/7/2011Originally Alien was to feature a Pyramid which contained urns, but when Giger became involved the Pyramid was changed to the Derelict and the Urns became eggs.
We have seen from the released pictures and the leaked trailer that the urns have been brought back. Ridley obviously wants to create a branching franchise that although tied to Alien goes in a different direction but within the same universe, and to do this he has recycled the urn idea and decided to explore the mysterious Space Jockeys.

Engineer Prototype - Model GAJ84
MemberOvomorph12/7/2011To be honest, i'm starting to get a bit annoyed due to the fact that people are adament that Prometheus is not an Alien prequel, thats like trying to say The Hobbit isnt a prequel to Lord of the Rings. I mean, it has Weyland Yutani, Space Jockeys, Androids etc etc.
If it can't be called a prequel then what is it? A forerunner?

Fire to the Gods
MemberOvomorph12/7/2011
This is a really interesting find, had no idea that this was in the original Alien story...
I can't help but think that the urns are a 'mechanical' way to transport facehuggers, the engineers could create the huggers contain them in the urns and use them when needed, which would be more controllable than using eggs. What if one of the urns was damaged and a hugger escaped, impregnating the engineer, resulting in a queen that could lay thousands of eggs? (Alien)
Could be way off, Ridley Scott's a genious so it could be anything...
Love that they are being so secretive about the story, building up anticipation for it, Hollywood should take note, nearly every movie released these days has 2 or 3 trailers come out, as well as featurettes and detailed plot lines. By the time you get to watch a movie you know everything about it, there's no surprise or wonder.
Hats off to the studio and Mr Scott for keeping tight lipped (Although as a fan I really want to know everything about this movie!)

Thadus 12
MemberOvomorph12/7/2011Yeah its been a masterstroke keeping it secret and all the misleading press releases (prometheus is not an alien prequel,my arse)
I think the 'leaked' trailer was an even better masterstroke, its created nothing but excitement,anticipation and discussion/debate

Gavin
MemberTrilobite12/7/2011@ Fire to the Gods. The urns will not be used for transportation of eggs, thats what the derelict is for. And the Derelict was purposefully carrying the eggs, as shown by the fact that they were covered by an interactive mist that reacted when Kane touched it. the urns are in fact going to something new and possibly a pre-cursor to the eggs.
As for your idea regards the Queen coming from the Space Jockey, two questions negate that possibility - How did the queen last so long until Hadleys Hope was established? And how come the Queen had no features reminiscent of the Space Jockey?

Engineer Prototype - Model GAJ84
MemberOvomorph12/7/2011I totally agree with you there Thadus, I had a rant in another post about how saying Promethus isn't an Alien prequel is like saying The Hobbit isn't a prequel to Lord of the Rings. Personally, I think all this business with "leaked" trailers and unconfirmed plots etc is just testing the water for a viral marketing campaign. Its happened with several other films I can think of, why not with Prometheus?

Fire to the Gods
MemberOvomorph12/7/2011@ Snorkelbottom
Hence me saying way off...
The derelict was in Alien right, and Prometheus is a pre cursor to the movie, so in Prometheus the derelict could be a working ship, my point is if something were to happen i.e. facehugger impregnating an engineer and the result was a queen, the queen could have laid all the eggs that were seen in the derelict, this would mean the 'working ship' would have to crash into the planetoid toward the end of Prometheus. As for the blue light?? I don't know, maybe it was used over the urns?? I don't know.
And I wasn't suggesting the Queen at Hadley's hope came from the derelict... it could have easily come from one of the people at Hadleys hope i.e Newts Dad.. so you could say where was the Alien Queen in the derelict in Alien, to which I would say...I don't know....looked like a big ship...could have been in a part that Cane, Dallas & Lambert didn't search probably years dead as the derelict had supposedly been there years..
Just speculating...

Engineer Prototype - Model GAJ84
MemberOvomorph12/7/2011I like the idea of the Queen Alien coming from the Space Jockey in the crashed derelict, laying all the eggs and either laying in wait or dying off from lack of sustenance. Consider this, there are parts of the derelict we did not see, and after the recent posting from the original Alien novel, we now know that urns were present in the derelict, if the Queen did come from the Space jockey then she could have used the urns for sustenance and laid in wait, leading up to the 2nd discovery of the derelict by newts parents.

Micro changes in air density
MemberOvomorph12/7/2011I like some of these ideas but if Scott says just the last 8 minutes relate to ALien then thats it. The Alien franchise is in tatters at this stage and I'm sure Scott wants to protect his credibility as a director. He said the only reason he got involved in this was because he could see a chance to tackle the mystery of the origins of man. So 92% of this movie is a new venture. I reckon these photos are leaked to keep the likes of us interested and whilst they may appear along the way no answers about eggs, xenos or queens will come out until the end. Mind you I'd like to see a queen based on SJ DNA.
A queen rampaging around the planet tearing people apart is not Scotts thing.
I reckon the eggs are layed on the ship after it crashes and the queen dies out.

Gavin
MemberTrilobite12/7/2011It is my belief, which is shared in part with both Ridley Scott and James Cameron that the Derelict was a Space Jockey ship with an intentional cargo of alien eggs. However, one of them aired the view that the ship is carrying them for experimentation, whereas the other aired the view that the ship was carrying them like a bomber, ready for deployment.
Regards urns being on the Derelict, we never saw that. Originally it was a Pyramid with urns, on film it became a Derelict ship with eggs. Alan Dean Foster simply took elements of the original script and added them to his manuscript, recycling of old ideas, which is how Prometheus started.

Ueli
MemberOvomorph12/7/2011Hi there, this is my first post. First of all sorry for my poor english, hope you guys will understand.
What do you think? Could it be, that PROMETHEUS IS THE DERELICT?
I think, what is inside the urns/ampulles, is something that can change matter, splice organic with non-organic, making things biomechanic.
On the PROMETHEUS set you see biomechanical environment, but the urns and the statue of the head are normal, they are of the same material, a material that can not be changed by the content of the urns. Everything else is spliced to biomechanical. The walls are spliced with... maybe with the inhabitants or pets or plants of the planet.
The SJ in Alien is spliced with the chair. Maybe he was an android, or he was a human being...
In Aliens the walls around the nest where the queen resides were transformed to biomechanic. Aliens came out of the walls. In Alien the Alien came out of the wall at the end... it was hiding in the wall... maybe its nature to hide in walls.
I think one of the androids in PROMETHEUS will touch the content of the urn and convert to something like an Alien.
What do you think? Makes sense?

Triton
MemberOvomorph12/7/2011I believe that in the underlined paragraphs, Alan Dean Foster is describing an empty egg.

brego
MemberOvomorph12/7/2011Hi guys. Ive read the vovel and the "Urn" is in fact an empty egg (I think Cain remarks that the eggs in the egg chamber are the same) also the "mechanism" is the distress beacon, which the Nostromo crew switch off (from memory) upon finding it.
There are many other slight differences from Film to Novel. Its a great read, if you havnt I recommend it!

Shadowcaster
MemberOvomorph12/8/2011Yes Brego, I am afraid you are correct. I was reading before I left for work today, and I read that the passage you speak of. It broke my heart a bit, and i kinda understood how a scientist must feel once one of his discoveries is discredited. Kain does infact say to Dallas that there were thousands of his urns down there that are leathery and look alive.
I was going to scan and upload it when I got home. But looks like I don't have too!
But still it seemed at the time an amazing discovery, but it was neat how it got us all thinking.

Tec-B
MemberOvomorph12/8/2011"Originally Alien was to feature a Pyramid which contained urns, but when Giger became involved the Pyramid was changed to the Derelict and the Urns became eggs.
We have seen from the released pictures and the leaked trailer that [u]Something resembling the urns described in screen plays are present[/u]. [u]It's conceivable[/u] Ridley wants to create a branching franchise that although tied to Alien goes in a different direction but within the same universe, and to do this he has decided to explore the mysterious Space Jockeys."
Fixed.

Raven
MemberOvomorph12/8/2011just my 2 cents,what if the Alien we see in Prometheus is a totally organic species looking somewhat like the one in Alien,but in Prometheus the "alien" facehugger impregnates the android and we get the bio-mechanical Alien we are used to seeing since the Alien takes on features of the host.

Tec-B
MemberOvomorph12/8/2011Dammit.. did it again.. post cleared while i was editing.. hang on..
Right.. My speculation on the matter would be that face hugger is the base form of the species. The established canon is that the adult Xeno takes on the physical characteristics of the Host. If i was asked to offer an explanation i would say this. We know the Face hugger is arguably the longest lived of the stages due to the life support and protection apparatus of the egg which "activates" when a potential host is near, possibly inferring that the face hugger isn't designed to last long enough for adverse environmental factors to affect it, that resistance to environment comes from the inheritance of the evolved (from the environment of what every planet) characteristics of the host to the gestating xeno. This of course is based on the alien being a bioengineered weapon. which it may not be
The upshot of which is that there is no "Base form" adult xeno, only facehuggers.

Spartacus
MemberOvomorph12/8/2011Tell ya what people, last night I had a very strong suspicion that Ridley Scott has In fact LIED FLAT OUT TO US abut something.
This is a "way out there" theory of mine but it hit me like a ton of bricks yesterday after watching the new commentary for Alien on the Quadrilogy Box Set which was done in 2003 I believe.
I believe he lied to keep it a secret and make sure no one was even ready for it.
I believe Sigourney Weaver is going to show up somewhere either a flash back or dream sequence.
SHOCKER...I know...after what he said, but go listen to that commentary again yourself and try to tell me there isn't more going on here after hearing what Weaver and Scott say at the end of it.
Also, Weaver would never have accepted not being in this or that she wasn't going to be in this, personally I think she would have attempted to stop them from even making it if she wasn't going to be in it and we would have at least heard her complaining publically about it...UNLESS...it is a ploy by Scott to keep it form the public, he does this
and he is that type of guy, he would do it and I can see him rationalizing before hand that when the Press asks me about it afterwords I will just tell them I lied, flat out lied, to protect that secret.
I can accept being totally wrong here , but what a pleasant surprise it would be if I am not.
It also makes a lot of sense after listening to the commentary form both of them
IMO there's just no way Weaver doesn't make a cameo in this, we are all here partly because of her...and Scott is seriously tuned into that concept.
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