The derelict is alive

Just to clear a few things up - the 'urns' referred to in the novelization are the alien eggs. The Alan Dean Foster novel was completed and readied for publication prior to the movie's release, and as such it was based on earlier drafts of the script. Some elements in the novel did not make it to the screen, while others date all the way back to Dan O'Bannon and Ron Shusett's original draft of the script, which you can read online at this link: http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/alien_early.html The eggs are referred to as urns in two scenes in the script: once when the astronauts first enter the derelict and find an empty one (which presumably contained the creature that attacked the "space jockey") and again when the astronauts enter the pyramid (in this early draft, the pyramid full of eggs is still part of the story). The script describes how the "urns" in the pyramid are exactly like the one found in the alien spaceship, but with one difference: they are all sealed. The text runs as follows: (begin script excerpt) Face bare, Broussard approaches the center of the room, which is dominated by a large, broad pedestal. On the pedestal are ROWS OF LEATHERY URNS OR JARS, EXACTLY LIKE THE ONE BROUSSARD STUMBLED ACROSS IN THE ALIEN SHIP -- EXCEPT THESE ARE ALL SEALED. He walks around the urns, studying them. They all have sealed lids. He shines his light on one of them; then he lays his gloved hand on it. He lifts his mask radio to his lips. BROUSSARD I don't know if you can hear me, but the place is full of large bottles or jars, just like the one we found on the other ship -- except these are all sealed. Also, they're soft to the touch. He peers more closely at the leathery object. BROUSSARD (CONT'D) Another funny thing -- I just put my hand on it, and now there are these raised areas appearing where my fingertips were. EXTERIOR - BASE OF PYRAMID - DAY THE SUN DROPS BELOW THE HORIZON, throwing the landscape into gloom. Standard and Melkonis switch on their lights. STANDARD Let's go. He attaches his chest unit to the wire and starts up. INTERIOR - TOMB - NIGHT Broussard is moving his light along the rows of heiroglyphs on the wall. They depict stylized drawings of strange monsters. He pauses to quickly change the film clip in his datastick; then he turns back to the "urn" he was examining -- BUT NOW THERE IS A HOLE IN THE TOP OF IT. He shines his light on the floor at the base of the "urn." There lies the "lid" -- the stopper that had filled the hole. He picks it up and studies it. It appears more organic than artificial; the inside surface is spongy and irregular. Then he turns the light to the now-open "urn." He bends over the mouth of the "urn" shining the light in, AND WITH SHOCKING VIOLENCE, A SMALL, OCTOPUS-LIKE THING LEAPS OUT AND ATTACHES ITSELF TO HIS FACE, WRAPPING ITS TENTACLES AROUND HIS HEAD. (/end script excerpt) Notice they are described as leathery (which Kane says in the movie) and soft to the touch. Not very much like the stone- or metal-like objects depicted in the Prometheus trailer or images. Scott, Lindelof or Spaihts may have revisited the idea of the alien eggs resembling 'urns' in order to re-use some of the discarded concepts from earlier versions of Alien, but it's safe to say that at no time during the production of the original film was any distinction made between 'urns' and 'eggs.' As far as the movie "Alien" was concerned, there was only the eggs, urn-like though they may be.

That is interesting as in Alien well some of the characters from that early script and the book do not apear in the Alien Movie. In Alien their is only the Space Ship and it has Eggs not Urns... Apart from being described as Organic and Leathery the original book and script for Alien descripes these Urns to be more like in Prometheus, which also has a temple. Another funny thing is the description of the Squid, well maybe you can use that to descibe the Face Hugger but it only has one Tenticle and thats the tail. So maybe Ridley is borrowing some of the unused ideas from that script and also some of Gigers unused ideas for Dune. Could this mean that some how, the Derelict was carrying Urns not Eggs and somehow a Organism from one of those Urns is released maybe by David that then attacks the Space Jockey as he finally takes off from LV223 after a unsucsessful Ram attempt by Prometheus? Or does David unleash the Shaw Squid Baby on the Space Jockey. I think the end of the movie the Derelict takes off, but only gets asfar as LV426 due to David unleashing something upon the unaware Pilot. That will explain why the Ship landed on LV 426 and the Chestburster on the Space Jockey. But then how does it answer the Urns becoming Eggs?