ANGEL OF DEATH

In an admittedly optimistic attempt to grapple with possible Engineer belief systems, I have been looking at the significance of the ampule chamber, and its attendant iconography and totems, from a ritualistic, quasi-religious, viewpoint. By necessity this post is something of a theoretical mash-up relating to information and inferences gathered here, and from searches on the net. Therefore I’m not claiming credit for everything that follows; probably just the contradictions of certain ideas posted by others on this forum! It is not my intention to diminish or refute those observations/theories/assumptions/opinions; rather this is about offering up a lateral perspective for discussion. Unless, of course, all this has been said before. . . Then – oops! (sic). Either way, I hope this conjecture will be taken in the spirit it is given. And rather than write this up as an essay I will lay it out as succinctly as possible. (1a.) Holloway declares the ampule room to be a tomb. Therefore, let’s consider the ampule room to also be a Temple, and to treat the urns as more than a metaphor for sarcophagi; that they do in fact contain the remains of the dead [just as here on earth, whereupon ashes of the cremated are stored in urns and passed back to the family (to be scattered, buried (or kept…))]. (1b.) The urns contain vials of genetically modified xenomorph DNA surrounded by the distilled blood of dead Engineers, one urn per Engineer; hence the different sized urns (assuming Engineers vary in size and height). The Engineers believe the soul lives on, and is ‘in the blood’, and thus the prospect of new life is given when their blood is mixed with xenomorphic mutagen. (1c.) The Head is regarded as both a symbol of Engineering prowess and as a protector, and therefore oversees the souls of those whose bodies have perished. The urns are laid out in deliberate and ritualistic configuration, forming a circle about the Head, a shrine of veneration. Offered up as tokens of obeisance and respect, the urns could also be seen to be symbolically blessed by the Head when the ‘souls’ they represent are chosen to be ‘reborn’. (2a.) The alien mural is behind the Head, with an altar at its foot. What this bas-relief represents and conveys is both feared by the Engineers yet subservient to the Head. Whilst not mutually exclusive this could represent a dichotomy, or even a fallacy, that the Engineers are blind to as they strive to become the ‘new gods’. Specifically, the inference here is that to make a god, one must first be god - and to be god, one must first be made a god. It’s the chicken and egg paradox, and one that perhaps will serve as an ideological flaw to be examined throughout RS’s Promethian trilogy. The mural depicts images that offer differing interpretations, and I’ve been considering this one: (2b.) Azrael – The Angel of Death, Crowning Innocence, (in Islam) he takes the soul of every person and returns them to God, but only by God’s decree. (2c.) Azrael – The Avenging Angel (from Sikh scriptures), he is sent by God to kill and extract the souls of the unrepentant, delivering them to Hell. (2d.) Azrael resides in ‘The Third Heaven’ – abode of God and Angels. Also considered a lower level of Paradise, where Archangel Michael buries Adam (aged 930) to await the Resurrection of the Dead (Messianic Age / the Second Coming). Whichever of the above interpretations we might consider, the mural could very well be the embodiment of Azrael. “In order to create, one must first destroy,” and thus the Engineers conduct their experiments/research according to long-established, ritualistic orthodoxy and tenets, which includes the sacrifice of one who is unfaithful (in following tenets and beliefs) and unrepentant for their sins (alien abductionists, take heart*). The sinner (abductee) is taken to the altar (standing before Azrael) along with an urn. The contents of said urn are decanted, treated, and blended accordingly, and the victim is then made to imbibe the dark liquid. [Btw, this could be the reason RS exchanged a green crystal for the vessel we’ve all seen upon the altar. Further obfuscation.] Over time, the subject either dies but still becomes an incubator for new life, or transmogrifies into whatever creature/semblance of Engineer (SJ?), the Engineers hope to bring forth. The Engineers may also believe that Azrael will deliver to Hell the extricated soul of the sinner, dependent upon the perceived success or otherwise of the experiment, the purpose of which is to create a ‘new means of life’ for the soul of the ‘dead’ Engineer to enter. Old blood becomes new blood. The Engineers are not only trying to create xenomorphic weapons per se, but seeking immortality for themselves by transferring the soul (the id, the unique conscious/subconscious identity of the individual) from one life form to another. Material bodies wear out. Entropy is a universal law which cannot be defeated. But maybe the Engineers believe an individual’s soul could exist in perpetuity if the right genetic mechanism is found by which a viable means of transfer can take place. Success would mean Azrael has, metaphorically speaking, delivered this Engineer, body and soul, to the Third Heaven, to Paradise, to immortality. Addendum: (3.) The xeno mutagen (fire) was stolen by the Engineers from the Elders, regarding them as inferior and wanting to usurp them. They recognised that as well as creating xenomorphic weaponry, this dark liquid could be the key to their own immortality. The problem for the Engineers is that the catalyst for that transfer, xeno DNA, is extremely difficult to manipulate, control, and predict. And when control is lost, the Engineers are reminded of their own fallibility and weaknesses; that they are not matching up to the achievements of the Elders. Hence, why the Engineers have persisted with this endeavour through many ages. They cannot fail because that would be to admit they are lesser beings. (4.) The Promethian explorers open the door to the ampule chamber/Temple and thereby increase the ambient temperature and humidity; and removing their helmets allows human bacteria to be breathed into the atmosphere. This combination causes the distilled blood of dead Engineers to become ‘agitated’ as it responds to higher temperature and interaction with micro-bacterial life-forms. The agitation fractures the vials allowing blood to mix with xeno DNA, and the combined fluid leaks from the urns. The Engineers are protected by wearing their bio-suits when conducting ritual experimentation. I’m also going to suggest that those very same bio-suits protected them when handling Facehugger-containing Eggs (a la Derelict on LV426). (5.) *Human’s are the experiment that went wrong. And 2000 years ago we crossed a line that broke the camel’s back (phrase coining). What that line was, well, I have a theory (along with most everyone else, I’m sure). (6.) This post is long enough without considering David8; but briefly, David8 was (unnecessarily and unkindly) reminded by Weyland that he has no soul. At the end of the film he was also without body (his corporeal self could be regarded as ‘dead’). Will he embody a new form of life, become immortal? Only to find he is still without a soul and has been on a fools errand? How the metaphors abound . . . let alone the more visceral possibilities. . . As with most things Prometheus, I’m not in a position to say if any of the above is correct, or even that it is what I would prefer to believe. This is simply yet another attempt to make sense of what little we know, but within a context propelled by speculation of possible fundamental beliefs and spiritual ritualisation of Engineer culture; that this could be the precursor and paradigm of what has been presented to various human cultures down through the ages.