An idea on the Mural

That is entirely possible, maybe the xeno on the mural is the xeno in it's purest form. Or maybe it's just a sign showing what the goo can create. No one but Ridley knows for sure. Also, welcome to the forum. :)

Thank you for the warm welcome...I just keep remembering how Ridley kept saying in interviews that Prometheus will "share strands of Alien's DNA, so to speak", it might be this he is talking about? If indeed the Engineers are Genetic designers/weaponeers then the Alien in it's purest form might be the ultimate expression of their idea of, "perfection"?

Welcome to forum :D I think the engineers didn't really worship them. . . that's my belief. Everyone share yours too :D

@Major Kong; Here is a thread I posted awhile back, shows the mural had a cup/bowl like the ones the Engineers used in their ceremony at the beginning of the movie in front of it originally, not a green crystal. Makes you wonder how important the Xeno is in their culture. [url=http://www.prometheus-movie.com/community/forums/topic/7872]Strange post-production edits; SJ Sacrificial cups changed to giant green crystals.[/url]

Thank you! I'm just trying to figure out the Mural....for me it's probably the most enigmatic part of all of Prometheus. It is obviously some from of Alien/Xeno, but what is the purpose? I mean did the Engineers create them in the first place? Or did the Xeno's exist somewhere in the Galaxy where the Engineers found them? Just trying to piece together the strands here. I think with the sequel to Prometheus we will drift further from the original Alien universe, In my opinion that might not be a bad thing. While the Prometheus movie is in the same "universe" so to speak, it is without doubt going its own way.

@Svanya. Thanks...I read it :-)

[quote][b]Remember in Alien where ash says to Ripley, Parker, & Lambert, "You still don't understand what you're dealing with, do you? Perfect organism. Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility. " Maybe the Engineers worship the Alien as it is the "perfect organism"? They used it's DNA to try and create something and it went very wrong? [/b][/quote] Very cool idea, Mr. Kong, sir. It relates somewhat to the ritualistic opening scene... [img]http://cdn.whatculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1-ENGINEER.jpg[/img]

@Patient Leech...Thank you sir! I watched Prometheus and Alien back to back and that line by Ash stuck out to me...

@Patient Leech; And the cup that was originally on the mural, like I posted in my link, would further allude to that theory. In any case, the first draft of the movie obviously had the Xeno up there in a place of importance, and connected to the creation ceremony. That is the million dollar question; Did the Engineers create the Xeno or did they find it.

A long time ago I posted that the mural could even be a vision of the future made by an elder possibly? Predicting the coming of the xeno / and or deacon. So it could be that i doesn't already exist in this form before this film is set...

ANOTHER million dollar question would be, if the Engineers did indeed create the xenos/deacon, what the hell was going on on their homeplant to make such a lethal weapon . . . PREDATORS!!! Hehe, just kidding. Again though, welcome

Welcome aboard MK! I think the Xeno as we know it was an accident, and for me this is borne out by the string of accidents on view in Prometheus. However, I do think once they got hip to the nature of it they focused on perfecting/ controlling it, their apparent failure to do so more a testament to its strength rather than their weakness. As DJ said, the thing in the mural could be a mission statement, or maybe the first one? Possibly all their bio tech stems from that thing?Fun to imagine. What if the Xeno is some sort of biological robot, descended from something maybe not as hostile. Perhaps the Goo is something entirely separate, but combine the two and BANG, years of Internet conflict.

I like the ideas above... The Xenos being an organism even not as lethal, but so well ballanced for survival that they used it as a template. The mural depicts what seems a xeno, but yet it is different, and, if compared to what we saw o previous movies, with a less aura of hostility... Perhaps they are the True Masters? A fully tecnlogical non-humanoid galactic culture that created the engineers to specific tasks, and thus the engineers fitst worship them, and might npw be into conflict with them after resenting being tools for them? Woild they be an entirely other species beig at war with the Elder and so depicted there in respect to their enemy? Thus trying to create weapons using their DNA collected in battles, so to use their own strenght against themselves and the epxerience went berserk? Things we know up to this moment: There is conflict raging They were killed by something at their base right before attacking Earth (we might have allies out there...) Engineers are master biotechnicians - so the destruction at their base was not an accident (so I believe) but an attack that overran their defenses. David has an important task to fulfill yet. He is the prevalent character, even able to access Engineer tech and language (what he learned that has not been said yet. He even flyes a Juggernaut...that in itself is so telling about his capabilities and future importance. Shaw even retrieved his full body. Given the technology a juggernaut might have, who knows what David will be able to do while in one) Things to consider... Think about the recurrent theme of creation, and the instance David takes in many scenes...almost a brotgher to the Replicants, don't you think so? What such may entails in the overal movie plot?

Major Kong - welcome to forum and nice to have you here. There has been a lot of talk about that mural and pre/post production changes on that scene. At times I think it is read into way to much but I agree with most and you there is a tie in with these engineers so what is it? Let’s look at the room, the vials, the black goo and what it created when it came in contact with other life forms. I think that this is a creation of the Engineers and one they are very proud of. So proud they honor their creation with a giant head of their likeness overlooking like a God. I do not think this is the same goo that was going to be delivered to earth 2000 years ago. What is in this chamber is in a climate controlled room not meant to be exposed to outside air for a reason. Also I have to mention another puzzle in this room - the mural itself. After watching this movie now 7 times Charlie said something that answers a lot of questions or not - " This is just another tomb". RS said in his directors comments that all the answers are right there in front of us through the entire movie. [IMG]http://i47.tinypic.com/iz93rd.png[/IMG] The chamber stores the vials of life for the Alien and I think that there is another chamber behind that mural - maybe holding a Queen. Either way the vials in this cannot be the same as the vials in the Juggernaut because when David opens the door to the ship the atmosphere does not leak out or fog or steam and the vials do not sweat. (different material all together) So have I answered anything here... just opened more doors and added more questions I think.

Good point on the controlled room idea. Maybe those were yet experimental. About the queen, I shudder, as I fervently hope they will erase that concept alongside the remainder of the franchise post Alien.

But, I'm not so sure about what Ash is saying regarding 'perfect' organism' .

Thanks, Dopleganger!! I didn't even think of that that there is a difference between the ancient Engineers outside environment use of the material and the contemporary Engineers storage of the material.

@ Voidhawk: I find your ideas intriguing but you threw me off with this one here: "....that created the Engineers to specific tasks." What?!?

Why is 'queen' being mentioned in this. Ridley Scott dismisses Cameron's take on it.

I managed to see some of the deleted scenes. I must say it shed abit more light on the engineers inaction with david and co. It seemed to me that the engineer may have been more offended at weylands assumption of himself being a god and david being his creation. I think that weyland maybe have learnt about the engineers power through Sumerian texts, culture or folklore . Unless there has been contact previously with the engineers or another alien culture who passed on relevant information.

Well i consider the green crystal to be fossilized xeno dna... stolen from the Elders (i.e. the stolen fire). The engineers were trying to recreate the xeno... but an accident (the dna being unstable) or rather "sabotage" occured. Maybe they managed to break down its dna in several components which when reunited gives 100% xeno dna: When Fifield's helmets gets splashed by the cobralien's blood nothing really happens. It's when he falls facedown in the black goo that the helmets starts to melt. It's the combination of these 2 substances which creates "acid blood". Any thoughts?

We really DON'T KNOW ANYTHING, do we? It's like with LOST, no one knew anything for as many series' as it lasted. That's what Lindelof does, starts, not finishes. Threads, not tie-offs. Intrigue, not narrative. Sorry, we can guess all we want, but at some point either Linda's either gonna admit, "I have no f***ing idea," what Prometheus is about or he's gonna (himself or someone else preferably) have to get round to the task of 'telling us' what we've just seen by making an ESP or Explanatory Sequel to Prometheus. LOL-but a desperate, plaintive, sobbing LOL.

I'm starting to think the xeno's are the engineers pets and we have only seeing the ones who have been infected with the black goo. This could make the mural the engineers version of the dogs playing poker painting....

Oh, oh, oh, additionally, when the 'engineer patting xeno on head' mural/sculpture started to DISSOLVE under Shaw's torchlight, "they're changing," does anyone remember if the same fate befell the Alien Mural on the big entrance door/altar thingy? Are these post-human-infestation-of-chamber shots of the space where the Giger-refential (i.e. BLATANT PREQUELISM) Alien Mural used to be? Did the door go smooth? Anybody?

Anybody?

Free, No, the mural did not change. I have the digital dowload and have watched it, & the deleted scenes like 5 times already! :-)

Well i have taken a number of clues in the movie and what Ridley said. We see the Sacrificial Engineer drink from the Sacrificial Ceremonial Bowl that contains a substance that broke down his DNA and his broken down DNA mixed into the water and mutated most likely Bacteria already on the planet to then Evolve and become Advanced Life Forms.... which eventually leads to us and we can trace our DNA to contain Engineer DNA. The Xeno Mural is in a similar pose to Jesus on the Cross, now many Christians use the symbol o Christ on the Cross to represent their faith, they worship the image of Jesus on the Cross as their God. This could mean the Jesus like pose is intended to mean the Xeno is worshiped in some way. But then if we look at Jesus on the Cross what does it represent? Why dont many Christians simply have a image of Jesus, why do they have him on the Cross. Jesus allowed himself to be Crucified for our Sins, thus the image of him on the cross is to remind us of his SACRIFICE. If we look at it like that then the take that the Xeno is depicted in the same way as a Mural to Xeno SACRIFICE. Then where else have we seen Sacrifice in this movie? The Sacrificial Scene. And as Svana said Originally in the Trailer and Post Edit the Xeno Mural had the same Sacrificial Ceremonial Bowl the Sacrificial Engineer had drank from in front of it. So what if the Xeno Christ Pose is like Christs in that it represents Xeno Sacrifice and it had the Sacrificial Bowl in front of it, we know the Sacrificial Engineer had Sacrificed his body to seed life. What connection can be made via... XENO MURAL IN SACRIFICIAL POSE CEREMONIAL BOWL IN FRONT OF MURAL SACRIFICIAL ENGINEER AND THE BOWL Well we know the Engineer was Sacrificed by the substance in the Bowl to break down into a substance that contained his DNA that mutates and evolves basic life on Earth to Evolve in complex life that contains Engineer DNA. The only real Xeno thing we see apart from the Mural is the substance in the Urns that mutates life forms so they take on Xeno DNA, like how the substance within the Water contained Engineer DNA after being broken down from the Sacrificial Engineer via the substance within the Bowl. Thus.... The Mural shows that the Xeno was Sacrificed via the same method the Sacrificial Engineer was to create the Bio Weapons within those Urns. Now thats just my theory and it may have holes. The Temple was going to be Paradise for Mankind with a Mural of our Creators Head the Giant Head which will remind us of the Sacrifice of the Engineer made to create us. We upset the Engineers and would no longer worship them in the way they wanted and we was doing things that offended them and thus they then changed this Paradise to then be a Testing and Research Facility to create a Bio Weapon to Destroy us. Thus the Head of the Creator Statue, that was meant for us now sees instead another Mural that it to show off what they used to create the Bio Weapons within that complex.

And maybe Ridley Scott wanted to change the Sacrificial act into something else, and deleted the scenes that might compromise this change, and thus we will see it was not a sacrifice, but rather a punishment of sorts...[/b] [b]I am more fond of that concept os Sacrificial Engineer and all, as the whole sacrificial scene is a poor handling of the seeding concept, and could work more efficiently if it was a different thing altogheter, especially given the attitude we see on that alien in that scene...or those aliens are true artificial toos used to many tasks, including seeding worlds (that would make a sound plot, which could lead to the conflict underlying the Alien concept since Movie One) [b]And again I hope the Queen is gone for good...awfull cliche thing that sped up the poisoning of the whole franchise[/b]

Ooohh I like this theory...The engineer is laying down?reclined with the biomorphic beast in the painting and the beast is crouching down to his level in earnst but deceptive? Who's worshipping who?

. . . I doubt they are going to erase the fragraments of Alien we see in Prometheus. This film is about the Engineers IN ORDER to teach us more about the xenomorphs. The reason why fans and critics were dissappointed is because the writing strayed away from that. Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbenger are helping Scott produce Paradise because of it.