Giger also provides for a view of The Derelict in what appears to be its...

( Disclaimer: Any and all in this Essay is the Product of Someone else's Writings, I am taking the pleasure of copying and pasting it upon here as I feel it contains desirable and relevant information that we all as fans would want to read up on but would not nessesarily be able to find to readily. Please enjoy as I did as it offers many insights into the Derilicts possible function and origins!) :- ) The Genius Of The Derilict Giger also provides for a view of the derelict in what appears to be its "alive" state Several articles have appeared which tried to explain the derelict, although none is considered canon and none manages to explain what exactly the derelict is. In addition, with the exception of the second Alien film (in which only a very brief appearance of the derelict is made, which initiates another infection), none of the subsequent films about Alien referenced the derelict again, so its existence remains a mystery. Wikipedia has some interesting information on the (supposed) species which pilots the derelict although little or nothing of substance is known about it. Some interesting facts can be extracted from the book "Giger's Alien". For example: 1.It is clear that the derelict was intended as a sort of an organic bio-ship. This is supported by the fact that the pilot of the derelict is fused to his cockpit chair, using bio-mechanical means and the fact that the interior of the ship consists of a conglomeration of bone-like organic elements. Hence,the entire derelict and the pilot are one single entity. This is of course in accord with Giger's general bio-mechanical style. Derelict interior with Kane (John Hurt) on his way to the egg chamber,as it was shown in the movie Alien. 2.The derelict's right "arm", displays two protrusions, which in more detailed pictures in the book,appear to be either weapons or thrusters of some sort. 3.The original paintings also show two additional protrusions, one on the left arm and one on the right arm, near the back side of the derelict, which also appear to be thrusters of some sort. Such thrusters could conceivably be used for rotational movement. 4.The orientation of the pilot in the cockpit is not clear (he could be facing forward or backwards relative to the derelict "arms"), hence the derelict's orientation is also not clear, although it is reasonable to assume that if the protrusion on the right arm is a weapon, the orientation must be such that the ship travels with its "arms" extending forward. This is also supported by the fact that the derelict displays three vaginal portals/entrances on its bottom "forward" side, as well as five additional ones at the front of the left "arm". 5.The device on top of the pilot appears to be either a "telescopic device" or some other scientific device related to the ship's controls. It is reasonable to assume that it may be either a telescope or spectroscope (or both), since it appears to be almost in contact with the pilot's eyes. 6.The pilot's chair allows the pilot a full 360° panoramic view of the space above the derelict, using the "telescopic" device. This is in agreement with the existence of the circular dome showing. In view it is reasonable to assume that the material of the dome is transparent to light, allowing the pilot a full view of the space outside. 7.The three vaginal entrances lead directly to the cockpit and are always open, which implies that the derelict is not sealed against space vacuum. This is also supported by the fact that the pilot is directly connected to what seems a life support "breathing" tube, which is attached to his nose. The previous lends support to the fact that the derelict can survive in a wide range of environments. 8.Since the pilot's fossilized chest shows a sign of "chest-bursting", it follows that the pilot has fallen victim of his own cargo. The question is,what was this cargo doing there in the first place. 9.Detailed paintings by Giger and replicas shown in the book,indicate a meticulous placement and positioning of the eggs in the cargo bay area.In particular, the eggs are shown having been arranged in neat rows and columns next to what appear to be turrets or division barriers. These division barriers seem to be positioned directly below a strange wall mechanism which either supports the eggs or generates them: Giger also provides for a view of the derelict in what appears to be its "alive" state: Several articles have appeared which tried to explain the derelict, although none is considered canon and none manages to explain what exactly the derelict is. In addition, with the exception of the second Alien film (in which only a very brief appearance of the derelict is made, which initiates another infection), none of the subsequent films about Alien referenced the derelict again, so its existence remains a mystery. Wikipedia has some interesting information on the (supposed) species which pilots the derelict, although little or nothing of substance is known about it. Conclusions It is hard to try to psychoanalyze Giger's work, lest one desires to end up in the loony bin. Nevertheless, the inquiring mind can gain a unique perspective of the horror that lurks in his mind via his work, using careful and judicious observations. Although the above analysis is nothing but a bunch of materialized inferences and hypotheses based on a fictional object, the derelict, for me, remains one of the most horrifying things I have ever seen in my life. It's like it was custom made to scare the living daylights out of me. It is interesting to note that one of the original paintings of the derelict was stolen before 1986-87 prior to an exhibition, while after the movie premiered, religious zealots set fire to the model of the pilot, believing it to be the work of the devil. Most people who have seen the movie Alien find the xenomorph itself pretty disturbing,but there is something totally and undeniably horrifying about the derelict itself. The details shown in the sketches of the book "Giger's Alien" imply that its design and function are related to something totally and unimaginably malignant by any human standard of the definition of "malignancy". Perhaps "malignancy" is not even the right word here. The derelict goes beyond that. It encompasses an entire system of systematic obliteration of life which goes beyond any human definition of evil. There is a certain mysterious evil repulsiveness about it, which my mind fails to grasp due to its immensity,but at the same time there is also a certain horrifying attraction for its intended purpose, which no doubt stems from our innocent curiosity as a species. The derelict looks (and "feels") so inconceivably sinister, that it is perfectly conceivable that its canon behavior as depicted in the first Alien movie (sitting supposedly "dead" on Acheron for example) may itself have been a pretense, hence its eventual disappearance from all subsequent Alien movies. Particularly disturbing is the fact that the design for the derelict references accurately several advanced scientific ideas, from spectroscopy, optics and astronomy, to strategic weapon design, hydraulics, jet-propulsion, advanced biological warfare and possibly relativity,all of which seem to have been (quietly) taken into account for this suspiciously sinister design, with the thousands of included details. Giger is an architect and designer and above all, an artist. He isn't a Ph.D. physicist. I mean, what the...? I think it is good that this object exists only in our fantasies. Wait: Let me rephrase that: I think it is good that this object is dead, even in our fantasies: Personally I would find it extremely disturbing to share the universe with this object/being/thing, whatever the heck it is. Generally speaking, that's sort of a characteristic trait of Giger's bio-mechanical style: I don't think there are many (intelligent) people who would like to see Giger's worlds being realized, because if such was the case, they would be in a heck of a lot of trouble. Case and point: The derelict. That's the genius of Giger: Being able to generate this kind of feeling and imagery with his work. Notes 1.Ridley Scott is preparing an Alien prequel as of this writing, with wiki mentioning that he "had intended" to contact Giger for a possible artistic collaboration. The author contacted Leslie Barany, Giger's artistic agent and asked him if Giger has been contacted at all for a collaboration, but Barany did not respond. That's of course hardly surprising, since Giger himself has declared in an interview that his "biomechanical" days are over and he now paints different subjects (Barany is a relatively recent agent of Giger and this author suspects that he doesn't know the full story behind these designs). So Scott figured out that either Giger can't be bothered or the monetary compensation for him to "bother" was way too high for him, so he naturally chose the easiest way out: Expand on Giger's original designs (to which he has the rights via 20-th Century Fox from Alien) using different (new) artists. If the actual original designs of the derelict are directly or indirectly referenced however (as per the leaked script with the older "gods" and "engineers"), this automatically puts Giger's name in the movie credits. But without any new Giger designs, the movie is probably destined for doom. Any project which hopes to "expand" on Giger designs by other artists is at best a noble exercise in creative futility. On the other hand, recent rumors have Giger working on this movie. If Giger's working on Prometheus then one can probably rest assured that the movie is going to be good. Otherwise, who knows? 2.There have been numerous attempts at trying to picture the pilot in its "alive" state, called in some sources, the race of the Space-Jockeys or the Mala'kak, which the reader can see by searching the net. In the author's opinion the most interesting (and admittedly most horrifying) design of an alive pilot is the one found in the comic books of the Alien franchise, shown on, below. It follows that the pilot has fallen victim of his own cargo.The question is, what was this cargo doing there in the first place.