Original Derelict Signal

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.