When Ash says 'Kane's son...'

Still doesnt answer the question as to how Ash knew how superior the Alien was does it? Or how the company new of the existence of an "Organism" Or even how Ash knew it could be matched by its own hostility? Perhaps these will be answered in Prometheus

@dallas very interesting about Ash's rape intentions...I can imagine the frustration of wanting to have sex but not having a penis lol....I always wondered why he chose such an inefficient method of killing such as a magazine While we are on the sexual aspects, did Ridley also choose white blood to symbolize semen? Just before he attacks Ripley we see white sweat dripping down his forehead, this could also be relevant

@craigamore... Please help out a fellow ALIEN fan down on his luck. What scene on the DVD does the "Kane's son" quote take place??? I promise to hunt down the scene immediately!

@Graphix67, it's the part after Brett is killed and they're all talking about how to stop the alien. Right after Parker says "this son of a bitch is huge, it's like a man, it's big".

Thanks Gehirn....Graphix67....Gehirn has it right. dallas!dallas!...."If Ash was thinking clinically he would have simply broken her neck long before Parker and Lambert come to the rescue. There was even enough time to get rid of/hide the body and state Ripley called him too and that he has no idea where she is. He is just not detached in that sequence. Something else is going on." The clinical portion of my argument is mostly directed at his use of that term, "Kane's son."

sonofa... here's the part in the script: Dallas: Now, this air shaft may work to our advantage. Here. It leads up to and comes out in the main airlock. All right, there's only one big opening along the way, we can cover that up, and then we... drive it into the airlock and zap it into outer space. Parker: How? This son of a bitch is huge! I mean, it's like a man; it's... it's big! Ash: [softly] Kane's son.

Thanks everyone for the details! I actually found a FAQ page that alluded to this same discussion and they have a different take: Q: When the remaining crew discusses Brett's death, what does Ash say? A: It is uncertain, but it could sound like two different things: 1. "Kane's son..." 2. "Gained some..." He refers to the alien creature, which they saw leaving chestburster-size, and kill Kane as a eight-foot creature. Both explanaitions are possible. In a spanish subtitling version of Alien, the subtitling translates it as option 1. In a Dutch version, it translates as option 2. The alien script also states that Ash should say option 2. http://stason.org/TULARC/movies/alien/11-ALIEN-Frequently-asked-questions-Movies-Alien.html

@graphix67...I'm sorry but there is no debate, he says Kane's son...lol@gained some The subtitles for the bluray confirm this..Kane's son...not Nate's Bum, not Dave's chum, KANES SON!!!

@ craigamore I'm with you there on "Kane's son" @ Mark Cawley I think the sections of the novel Craigamore pointed out are relevant. I think the scene as written in the script leaves it even more mysterious in a good way; the change to company seeming to know all in the film weakens that point a little, one of the few points where I prefer the written dialogue to Holms' changes. You can check out the scene online--the Company doesn't really know much and Ash's admiration for the xeno develops after its birth. @ the coming That Ash, so sure it is a son! I guess every dad wants a boy.

@craigamore & the coming... To quote the Monkees: "I'm a believer!" I took out my handy-dandy ALIEN QUAD. dvd and checked both the regular and Director's-Cut version. I'm convinced it is "Kane's son". Amazing that I never noticed it before.

I'll pitch in on this one since I've seen Alien about six and a half thousand times now :-P It's definitely "Kane's son."

@cypher really 6500 times?

Just about that ;-) It's well over 100 at least :-P

i dont know if its already been mentioned but to me, Ash reminds me a lot of the concept of HAL9000 in 2001/2010 - where its sort of explained that HAL goes crazy and kills people because it was "lied to" or given conflicting/illogical orders - its developing AI couldnt handle the situation so it went crazy. im not sure if im explaining this the best way but if you are familiar with those films, to me this kind of makes sense in Ash- as though he goes a little haywire as a result of his mission and his own AI. it seems to me that in the Alien films the andriods arent merely logical computers but slightly more like Data from Star Trek - that perhaps they can develope personalities of their own and even perhaps "feelings." it sounds like this will be explored more by David in Prometheus. and even though Aliens is not my favorite of the films, its pretty good in its own right - and i loved Lance Henriksen's andriod. "i may be synthetic, but im not stupid." or in Alien 3 something like "i could be repaired but ill never be top of the line again, id rather be nothing." i think Ash is like this as well... but not as developed in that sense. just a potential way of seeing these things. of course i fully agree that Ian Holm's performance is excellent. really every member of the Alien cast brought a lot of "magic" to the film.

@jenskarlsson, The illogical orders/lied to scenario was a later addition by Arthur C Clarke in 2010: Odyssey Two as the reason for HAL's insanity. Although, it is clear that in 2001 HAL was programmed Not to inform Dave and Frank about the true nature of the mission, it is never implied that that programming was the specific reason behind HAL's murder spree, though it might have added to his stress. As an aside, in 2001 Heywood Floyd clearly is "in on it" but in 2010 he was ignorant/innocent of this deception. Continuity issues aside, it is a good explanation, though. I just like HAL going crazy with no real explanation. A bit more frightening. Which is the way Kubrick wanted it, as he envisioned HAL as being more human than either Dave or Frank. But Clarke was always more of an optimist than Kubrick and wanted to save HAL. I do think it is a fair comparison when looking at the script for Alien: Ash was not programmed to hurt any of the crew, much less murder them. He even states that the Company hoped they could contain the alien. The finished film contradicts this by stressing that the crew's lives were "secondary" thus giving Ash at least indirect orders to kill if necessary. In this case, Ash would not be going haywire, but acting perfectly as programmed. It is one of the few changes from script to screen I am not a fan of. In another thread I think I called Ash a nightmare version of Data.

I finally noticed on my own that line while watching Alien for the millionth time. Another line that was hard to notice was Parker's last words: "Get out of the room!"