Original Derelict Signal

@donye_west Well, now I've learned something, thank you! We still can't know about how strong the signal was that Nostromo picked up, and where it was directed to. It's not a "must" IMHO that the Prometheus just had to be aware of it. Nevertheless we know that Weyland Industries knew about the signal in Alien and directed the Nostromo intentionally to find it and that goes well together with stating LV-426 on the Weyland website. I agree there seems to be a direct connection, if not neccessarily important to the movie, but it's there.

Hi there Molecular. You're right, it doesn't fit. Unless the events on Prometheus overlap the Derelict Signal [i.e if there is an intentional leave out of the Derelict Signal for purposes of story telling].

It doesn't take millions of years to fossilize something. Where was it stated in the movie that the ship was millions of years old?

Ridley Scott states this [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnAiIqWsyAo&feature=related]millions of years old[/url]

Xenotron@ it takes more than a few decades anyways. the youngest fossils on earth is around 10 000 years old. The oldest is about 4 billion years old... it could be any number in between.

Great post by the way molecular, no one knows for sure as yet the distance between the LV planets in question? Could LV426 be orbiting a sun/star that is only near us every 30 years or so i.e. haleys comet??????? Or could the derelicts warning signal be activated somehow once the juggernaught fires up??????? These are just two daft ideas,but i believe the last few minutes or so,of Prometheus will answer this question and give some continuity to the Nostromo landing Of course then we have the timetravel/wormhole debacle

I stated this before a few times... If you was in search of the orgins of mankind and given a link to a Star System but then you pick up a signal from a planet near by the one you are going to, you would be expected to check it our first. In doing so you would find the Derelict... thats if indeed it has already landed on LV426 by the Time Prometheus enters the Zeta Reticuli system. Supose some Aliens find a chart leading them to Earth but on the way they pick up a Signal from Mars, you would think they would go there first. So maybe they did not pick up the Signal but then you have to ask why? This is a MASSIVE HOLE in the Prometheus/Alien Plots. The other is a flip side, 30 years latter when you detect a Signal from LV426 surely you would detect a more habitable planet in LV223, if not in the Nostromo mission then surely by the time that we colonise LV426 surely we should have seen that LV223 has more potential or surely we would have come across LV223 and its ruins etc....

And regarding the Derelict Ridley implies maybe its Technology is Millions of years old. Now Electricity was invented around 1820 but most Electrical Items you have purchased would had been nearly 200 years after that. My latest TV is 1 year old, but Electricity has been around for over 190 years. My points is if the Derelict is Millions of years old in Technology thats does not mean its been on LV426 that long. How can even a ancient craft if Millions of years old transmit a Signal still after all those years and also if so, why has Prometheus not picked it up. I would suspect the Derelict to had been on LV426 hundreds of years if not thousands. So say 500 to 2000 years old. Or ago!

Ok, a couple of things here. Fossilization was Dallas' (a space-trucker, not a scientist) guess in Alien. I realize that Ridley may have stated that the Space Jockey was millions of years old, [i]but the movie Alien never says[/i] and that's really all that matters. I've seen a man's leg fossilized in a cowboy boot. Fossilization occurs when minerals replace the empty spaces in animals after they die; the animal decomposes leaving the rock formation in behind. It doesn't take even a thousand years; a few decades, sure, but not millions.

Maybe they do pick up the signal on Prometheus during the initial approach to their destination and log it for later investigation.

Hold on a second....NEVER does he say the derelict is a million years old....he just says that these beings have had technology for millions of years and were just catching up to it with our 21st century electronics (ie locating distress beacons)

Does everyone agree that this signal debate will have to be answered in Prometheus? Will it disappoint anyone if its left unresolved? I do agree with Bigdave it could be a major plothole

The 'Juggernaught' can still be millions of years if not tens of thousands of years old yet the SJ's 'exposure' to LV-426 could have sped-up the process and practically atomized of any skin, flesh or bio-logical matter. How do we not know that 'something/s' did not eat him alive or stripped him entirely of flesh to leave nothing but exposed bones to the atmosphere and intruding corrosive elements outside and around the 'Derilict'.

Why is it important....this is science fiction, it's made up....maybe he instantly calcified when he dies...who cares? Way too much over thinking going on here....

@JP "[i]Way too much over thinking going on here....[/i]" Welcome to the Prometheus forum.

Also both in the script and the nivel of Alien when Daalls, Lambert and Kane enter the 'Derilict' after heading some ways into the iterior of the hull prior to Kane heading up the 'hole in the floor' to discover the Sj there is a metal bar with two flashing lights on either side if I recall that is steadily moving back and fourth over and over. Clear signs of technology all around it and to them the technology looks clean as if it were only 'switched on yesterday' It's a shame this part was not filmed or used in the final film just as I said a minute or two before prior to kane crawling up and through that small shaft only to discover the 'LONG DEAD' Space Jockey/Pilot.

Ha ha Sigismundo, we do love to speculate. There will be even more of this once we've all seen Prometheus,thats when the fun will start

It's the magnitude of the idea that is most compelling of all! If it is going to be used in the stories plot line, the fact that thae remains of that Space Jockey has sat there in that position, languishing for time and eon alike, slowly becoming 'fossilized' 'into' that chair is one of the most compelling themes to me of this entire storyline. Because fundamentally, it raises the heckles of possibility that this sort of thing may have been going on in the wider galaxy for a very, very long time. Perhaps when we were still small rodent-sized monkeys still jumping about through the trees, entire civilizations were being exposed to the beginings of the Xeno threat that began its spread through the galaxy like the plague did through Europe.

Thank you all for replying, lots of insights and different perspectives. You don't find this very often on the Net, too much hostility going on half the time. I know, it's just a film and so forth and we should just wait to see it for closure (hopefully) but it's still very compelling and thought-provoking stuff. I like the idea of exploring a civilization millions if not billions of years old and what they are capable of- and that there are still things which can scare or give them pause at that late stage in their development.

Don't be surprised to see a direct link with LV426 towards the end of this film....don't be swayed by people telling you it landed millions of years ago.... Anyway my favourite part of that interview was Ridley talking about why the 3 Alien sequels didn't talk about this. Sorry AvP fanboys.....you don't even exist (shut the door on the way out)

And the fact that it has now reached LV-426 in the Zeta II Riticuli System around say 40 lightyears from that of the Sol Sytem 'Our Own Earths' then this galaxy-wide Black Plague is effectively right upon our door step. Who knows how far back it actually originated and how long it has taken to migrate itself down the biological generations to eventually reach 'Us' so close at this point at LV-426. Its the sheer 'Biblical scale of time that really compells my thinking upon the subject matter.

They could easily miss the radio signal from within Prometheus if blocked by a planet or sun. I thought the original Alien planet revolved every six and a half hours. So, that planet itself wouldn't be blocking the signal very long. Still, we don't know the distance between the two planets and what is between them. They say radio signal, which is transmitted at the speed of light. At millions of years old, it would reach a long way. Prometheus would still need a powerful array to pick up the signal. The millions of years old idea also conforms to H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness, which I expect to be the real plot going on here. Only in Prometheus, we may learn less about the Engineers than we learned of the Ancient One's, and there will be alien infections and more stalking/violent deaths on Prometheus. Oh, both stories involve scientists exploring ancient civilizations and reading hyrogliphics, and encountering ancient aliens or species.

Since you are dealing with technology that lets you traverse big portions of the universe in reasonable times (one could conclude), time is not dealt with in the same manner we do here on earth. Relativistic physics probably would come into play in this case...

And it could be that Prometheus' approach to the planet if the 'Derilict' was already ther and they head towards the 'Temple Mount' and do their investigations, the 'Derilict' in this case could be on the otherside of the planetoid for all we know and so the signal in some ways is facing away from the current approach position/landing area/site of the Prometheus. The curvature of the planetoids elipse prevents it as David Levinson's character tells President Whitmore in Independence Day that they were dealing with line-of-sight and you would need satalites to relay that message across to the other side unless you, as an inteligent race, have figured out a way to bend a signal around a gravitational object. It's possible it can be done. So then when the Nostromo happens upon the LV-426 system they are 'facing in' to the signal, thats why they so clearly can pick it up. Prometheus on the other hand enters the system perhaps from an alternate trajectory/opposite position in space an so may simply never cross it as the signal being broadcast is very distinct and if you're not right on it then you would miss it. The signal is rather like when a Hypernova forms, a star thats a super-massive heavy weight cannot retain form any longer and collapses down in on itself to form a Black Hole. During the crittical seconds of this process two super-charged beams of super intense, highly charged energy shoot out from the poles in opposite directions and begin to traverse the galaxy until we detect them billions of years later as Gamma-Ray Bursts. The effect is called 'Beaming' when the Gamma-Ray enrgy spike sweeps past the Earth so we can detect them. So to the Nostromo just happend to be in the 'wrong' place at the right time to detect the alien SJ's signal. Prometheus did not perhaps by way of its approach vector. One theory though, one theory of many!

Hello, I've been lurking for a while but figure I would pipe up for this discussion. In Alien, it was determined that the company knew the signal was there and for the crew of the Nostromo to obtain a specimen. It can also be inferred that the company has some idea of what the specimen is, with Ash concluding (AFTER DEALING WITH IT) that the Alien is the "perfect organism". Remember, his primary objective was to get "it" to Earth, implying Earth knew there was at least an "it". Now, it can also be assumed that there was no mandated "directive" in which any signal possibly originating from intelligent life must be explored. It is quite possible that the signal was noticed, even relayed to Earth, for future study. It is also possible that Prometheus relayed its findings, before (assumed) destruction, and scientists on Earth found a correlation, ie. unique modulation, frequency, power, or some other 'tell'. I have a few more points but the last one I would like to speak on for your consideration is the following: IF Weyland is on that ship, his goals are a priority, and they may even be in a 'time-crunch' so to speak. (Well, one last thing....LV-426 was not WY's first terraforming rodeo. The Weyland site clearly states that not only have they terraformed multiple planets but have done so many they need a colonial marine force.) Edit: The events in Prometheus could be the very reason a directive was put in place for researching any signal originating from possible intelligence. (Purely speculation, but sort-of makes sense..."Wow, these dudes have awesome technology and look at this data from Prometheus! Let's make sure we don't miss any of this stuff in the galaxy!)

I say the same thing in every thread about that signal...The thing I have always wanted most from Prometheus is for just one question to be answered. Has The Derelicts Signal Been"Screaming...Where No One Can Hear It... In Space..."...For 33+ Years Now ?

...Special Order 937...anyone? Earth knows there is an "it", no specifics. The derelict was screaming and someone heard it long enough ago for the Nostromo to fly out to do the job and be on a closer intercept course during the return journey. Probably reaching, but if fuel is of any consideration, then timing issues were worked out far in advance of any ore mining trip.

I do think that Ash and all intent that he brought with him was 'in on it' and that implies that perhaps in Prometheus we may have as in Alien and 'Contact' the 'first detection' moment of the alien signal (SJ). It perhaps provokes Weyland into aggressive action to head up any projects to get out there as quickly as possible to have the 'heads up' or the 'rights' before any one else. He appears to be very similar to S.R.Haddon from Contact (also in-keeping with the John Hurt theme a.k.a: Kane in Alien). He also used his welthy position, it is thought, to gain an advantage in the new, ardical technologies markets.

... meant 'radical technologies markets'.

Drawing the long bow but... Could the 'Derelict' have been drifting for thousands+ years & simply crash landed on LV-426 sometime in-between the events of Prometheus & Alien? So the beacon's signal was only picked up long after the SJ had been fossilized?

Hmmm.. Thats really interesting 'thought experiment' as I like to call it. Perhaps that then implies that the planetoid (LV-426) had some interstellar signifigance, a focal point of activity for some possible reccuring reason. Or it could mean, this is the local system the floating 'Derilict' just happend tocome in to contact with do to the effects exreted upon it by the planetary systems gravity well and it just happens to be LV-426 that it crash landed upon. It's an interesting hypothosis and i had never really thought about it until you mentioned it here. It made me sit up slightly and do a doulble-take "Oh, yeah!" moment. Well done to you for that Probe_Ation. Well done!

Ahem. Have I missed something or where is the indication that LV426 is even near the Prometheus moon? It's just a categorizing number for a stellar object, isn't it? Could be anywhere, so why should the Prometheus crew pick up the signal from there? I think we have to clearly separate the storylines from Prometheus and Alien once and for all. Prometheus will give answers related to the Alien story universe but certainly will not link directly to the Alien movie, maybe this is an option for Prometheus 2. Cheers, Aquila210

I can see now that there are a lot of viable, technical reasons for Prometheus not picking up the signal and there's much you can do with this story-wise, too. I was making it too simple in my head, and you guys really blew the door open on this one. Now all I need is for someone to tell me there exists an official translation of what the SJ said during the transmission and I'll be happy. Nah just kidding... now I'm being too demanding. =)

Cheers Id Rather Be Eatin Something Else & everyone else contributing to the conversation... Let's say LV-233 was the original target for the 'Derelict' (either for strategic or some other purpose); all of the Prometheus preview info seems to indicate this is the case. The SJ suffers it's fate in transit, activates the beacon as a distress / warning as a final act & the craft drifts off course due to lack of pilot control. Ends up on LV-426 well after it was due on LV-233 & this is where the events of Alien pick up the story...

I think the major point that needs clarification for everyone: The derelict, according to Scott, did *not* crash. Aquila: *Ahem* As far as any correlation between LV-426 and LV-223 is concerned - LV-426 is in the Zeta Reticuli system while LV-223 is in the Zeta2 Reticuli system. They aren't on polar opposites of the galaxy. If normal naming conventions follow then Zeta was found before Zeta2 so Zeta2 may actually be further away. This would also follow the LV-426(10Mo) and LV-223(2Yr) travel times. Furthermore, LV-426 is even mentioned on the Weyland Industries website, which was created due to Prometheus - Direct link established. Cheers back atcha.

Actually, LV-426 is in the Zeta II Ret system, not Zeta I Ret, so they're not far off from each other (LV-223 and LV-426). That doesn't necessarily imply that they are satellites of the same planet, though. The fact that the Nostromo takes 10 months to get back, while Prometheus takes 2.5 years, can be due to the fact that the Nostromo has better and more advanced engines than the Prometheus (which basically is a prototype).

@ donye_west The way the functional craft are presented in the Prometheus footage & the way the derelict (not functional craft?) is shown in Alien suggests otherwise, but obviously we should be acknowledging the director's information... Unless this is summore disinformation... So I think as it's seen in Alien; that ship has crashed.

1. Ridley said the technology was millions of years old, not the Derelict. 2. The Sj was NOT fossilized, its decayed/mummified. 3. The Prometheus probably didn't pick up the signal because they didn't know what bandwidth to search for, but after Prometheus they probably do, hence they find the Derelict.