1979 Warning Beacon

I haven't changed anything about the film. For the fifth time, in the film the warning beacon was never decoded. Ripley made a guess but it was only a guess from what Mother deciphered. If it was the Engineer's language it should have been decoded considering David spoke to an engineer on lv223. i made a simple request that nobody has responded to: if Ash decoded the message as Voidhawk claimed then please state the time mark in the film where he does this. even voidhawk ignored that simple request. If the xenomorph is so dumb, how did it create an alarm system for the eggs on the ship that landed on lv426? To answer your question, it would make sense for the xenomorph to send out a generic beacon to attract victims and possibly a way off lv426. Being unable to fly the ship doesnt make the xenomorph dumb because Shaw didn't know how to fly the same ship. Did that make her dumb?

@Uneeque: Mother's interpretation was that the beacon was a warning, and Ripley took that at face value. Mother was clearly acting independently of Special Order 937 when passing this information onto Ripley. Ash played no part in decoding the message in the movie, but may well have done in the sanctioned novelization. I don't know - I haven't read it. The actual sound of the recording was nothing like the Engineers' voices (we've heard those). But I could well believe it's the kind of sound that a bunch of Xenos running around causing trouble would make. My interpretation is that the ship and/or Engineer was broadcasting the sound of the infestation. Any Engineer hearing that would know the old enemy straight away. The Xenomorph does not not need to be particularly bright to make use of a barrier that reacts when broken. Spiders react to vibrations when insects fly into their webs; not so different. My cat cannot fly a ship, but it's quite good at being a cat, if you want to bring spurious analogies to the mix.

This is unbelievable. You come in here preaching about how I have serious issues for not listening to others, only for you to reveal you agree with my position and disagree with them. I pointed out Ash never decoded the beacon. I pointed out it was Ripley who told Ash the beacon seemed like a warning. I pointed out Ash said the beacon was not a language. Voidhawk said I was wrong on all three points. It really disrupts convo flow when you post without actually reading the thread. You misunderstood my question, or completely dodged it. Here it is again: If the xenomorph was so dumb, how did it create an electronic alarm system for the eggs? (I didn't ask how it was able to respond to the alarm) There is no comparison to a spider because we all know a web is an instinctive part of being a spider. If you saw a spider installl an electronic alarm system would you say that makes sense because they make webs? Of course not. The xenomorph is an artificial creation and being biological in nature does not answer my question. It displayed several levels of intelligence on many levels so to say it is too dumb to send the beacon is......silly. Now, here is a logistical question regarding the beacon. Ash states the company ordered him to the planet. Where was Nostromo at this point? If the company was picking up the beacon then why didn't Nostromo also pick up the beacon before departing its last leg towards earth? I think the answer to that is the company used another Engineer ship to locate the one on lv426, then sent a nearby crew.

Maybe someone can shed some light on an aspect of the whole transmission thing that is bothering me. MUTHER on the Nostromo was able to decipher at least part of the transmission, which puzzles me because the events on Prometheus pre-date ALIEN what... 30 years (give or take)? So assuming technology continues to move forward, the Nostromo's mainframe should have had the capacity to decipher the entire transmission in real-time. I'm basing this idea on the assumption of continued technological innovation coupled with Weyland's vast resources, enabling David's language capabilities to be more widely available across various computing environments (say, spacecraft computers). After all, the processing power that once occupied an entire room now rests within your iPhone. In addition, their language is similar to Sumerian, which is what enabled David to decipher it. Of course, the Nostromo's runs could have potentially necessitated being away from Earth by decades, especially when we factor in FTL travel time. Thus, it would not have received the hardware upgrades and/or access to updated language databases from Weyland. The technical aspect aside, what zzplural said also makes me think- why did the transmission and the Engineer's voice in Prometheus sound so different, if they are the same species? I mean it seems most people are shooting down the idea that the Xeno (or some derivative) sent it, so it had to be the Engineer, right? Unless we are hearing a computer talk and not the Engineer or Xenos; the whole technology seems biologically-based, after all.

Sorry double-post... =(

@Rubirosa, your opinion is solid; in addition, I would probably give the old tug a little more credit and assume it does have some FTL capability, so it can obtain and deliver all that ore from planet to planet- and within time frames that are acceptable. In ALIEN, for example, Nostromo was heading back to Earth and in order to achieve that within a period of months (or years) it would absolutely need FTL capability. There is a scene with Lambert which goes over this, and even though to me the time frame sounded reasonable, the crew was not too pleased with her estimate.

@Uneeque: The idea that the Deacon's human DNA has the capacity to provide the creature a measure of capacity for empathy is intriguing, but we have to remember that the events of Prometheus took place on a different moon altogether. You probably already knew this, so I am just making sure. =) But yes... we know there are other Juggernaut ships on the moon the Prometheus crew landed on, and who knows... possibly other Engineers in stasis in their respective Orrerys. A series of events involving the Deacon, these remaining Engineers / Juggernauts could conceivably take place and lead to the events in ALIEN in logical fashion. I wonder, however, if Ridley could explore such a thread without further confusing an already frustrated core fan base. We have already been sold on the concept of humanoid engineers being what was in that suit, and this concept replaces the old idea that it was a skeleton belonging to a different type of creature altogether. Asking the audience to accept yet another such leap... would be pushing it.

@Molecular let me give you my opinion on the Prometheous/Nostromo ship technological advancement. I agree with you that the technology that the Nostromos is equiped wih looks much older then the Prometheous itself. Even though Alien takes place about 35 years after the events in the film Prometheous. So naturaly you would think that the Nostromo would be more technologicaly advanced.      Maybe the huge gap in technology is because the Nostromo is actually much older then we think it is. It could be 100 to 150 years old. Remember that the Nostromo is a space rig. It is used to haul minerals from one place to another. So it being up to date with the times is not necesaary.  It is equiped with the necessary equipment of suspended animation or hyper sleep for the space haulers, and it can travel at sub-light speed. In other words the ships speed is enough for its purpose. I see it as an old 18 wheeler in space. Which is out of date with the newer rigs, but it still full fills its purpose.         

Here's my two cents: What if the Engineers merely speak multiple languages for different interactions? Japanese has a form of honorific speech called keigo that is used in various circumstances, such as to indicate similarity or difference in social rank. Keigo is used to show respect. (It's not the same as simply calling someone sir or ma'am, either. There are specific verb forms, grammatical usage, etc.) Anyway, I'm thinking the Engineer could have left that warning in one language, addressed David and the crew in another language, and it's possible they use yet other languages. They are alien, after all (even though their language is based on Sumerian and other dead languages, yes), so why should they follow human linguistic rules? So, long answer short, I don't think there was a "special" Alien that activated the beacon. I will grant them very high intelligence, but--let's get technical--intelligent enough to figure out the procedure for activating the beacon, recording and looping a message, etc.? I don't think so.

I'm gonna bet David's 'dead' body was the beacon and he crashed the ship hoping

humanity would find it and destroy themselves.

Other random thoughts - Concept art for NB's alien 5 showed Ripley/Jockey. It also

showed a derelict. Well what if Ripley escaped with the derelict (either the one from lv426 OR another one set wherever the art was supposed to depict - cuz there was a new Queen), let's say attempting to fly into the sun or something, and she somehow went through a wormhole and crashed landed on lv-426 in the past thus creating ALIEN 1 lol? They could have had HIS alien 5 now (with newt and hicks - a true sequel to aliens) and then kept 3 & 4 still cannon and make a final movie that picks up after 4? How dope is that?

Ridley Scott had explained the Space Jockey Event, but this is now subject to change.....

The Derelict was on its way to a UNDISCLOSED location, it DID-NOT get Far, The Pilot had became INFECTED with his Cargo, something had EVOLVED in the Cargo and it got to the Pilot. Knowing that he was infected the SPACE JOCKEY laid a Course to the Barron Moon of LV-426 where he was attempting to QUARANTINE the Cargo, HE had Activated a SOS Warning BEACON to warn the Cargo had been COMPROMISED.  The Space Jockey had INTENDED to Land on LV-426 but he started to get Chest Busted during the Final Moments.

The Space Jockey event is RELATED to the Outbreak on LV-223 and happened within a Few Hundred Years of that Outbreak that killed off nearly ALL the Engineers some 2000 years ago.  Thus the Derelict event was either 2100-2200 years ago or 1800-1900 years ago...  But its likely 1800-1900 years ago.

THIS ^^^ is potentially all Changed with the Route that Alien Covenant has taken.

I think the Sequel to AC sets up the Arrival of a Engineer Ship, that will set up the events to HOW Davids Creations end up on LV-426 which we have to assume is NO-WHERE near where David is heading.

David leaving a Trap... with the SOS could be plausible.

Regarding Alien 5... i think Blomkamps idea was to offer a Alternative Sequel to Aliens.. where Fans can consider it as being GIVEN TWO Options and so Alien 3 and BK Alien 5 are not connected at all... they are just TWO alternative sequels to Aliens.   His idea was set 20-25 years after Aliens and appears that a Human Company/Corporation has managed to Obtain the Derelict or another Engineer Ship.

I am not sure we would ever see his Movie made though...

The Time-Travel  event  to explain the Ancient Derelict is something considered before, and i have never agreed its a Good Idea unless it is a ONE OFF Event.

The way i was to Tackle this... in my Alien Covenant Sequels (Alien: Ascension and Alien: Absolution )  is that at the END of Absolution Just as the beings above the Engineers are ready to USE Davids Evolved Xenomorphs (David wants Retribution for HOW they Evolved the Xenomorph)  David decides to Redeem himself and DESTROY LV-223 and all of his Xenomorphs there.... The Method he does this causes a Massive Explosion   but a Engineer Ship leaves just as the BLAST happens...  This Blast Causes the Ship to become unstable and a Face Hugger Escapes and the Blast Also TEARS a TEMPORARY Hole in Time/Space that the Derelict Passes through...

The Space Jockey Awakens, realizes he is INFECTED and One of the Cargo Holds must have been Compromised, as the Derelict is NOW drifting in Space... he enters the Pilot Chair and Sets Course for LV-426...... To Quarantine his Cargo  (he is unaware of the Destruction of LV-223 because when he looks towards the Moon it appears as it did Thousands of Years ago) so he attempts to Warn those Engineers about the Cargo is Compromised.