The Xenos were made ​​in the image and likeness of someone or someth

but... if the waterfall depiction (or Spaihts earlier bug attack) is relevant, ALL LIFEFORMS REVERT TO THE HUMAN DNA format. That's what happened to pre-life on this seeded planet, right? That's the WHOLE POINT of Prometheus, right, that the Human Geneline is rampant throughout the universe, thanks to the Engineers' farming practises?

Maybe. But that doesn't necessarily mean the dominant life form in the universe is human. The Xeno forms are humanoid when hosted by humanoids. Maybe the carving in the cave is of the first weaponized, or Engineer manipulated Xeno. Or, a Xeno spawned from an Engineer after an attack or accident. I get the feeling the one in the mural is the first.

I also believe it depicts the very first one, but the first successful, artificially created one. And since they saw it as a major achievement, a milestone in genetic biomechanical creation and design, they honored it by putting up a mural in their "Hall of Fame of Biomechanical Sciences". The only weak point in this scenario is that I'd expect there to be more murals, maybe of test series, even intentionally different results and other by- or end products. Unless of course they dedicated this particular room entirely to the storage and presentation of this single type, [i]pure[/i] Xenomorph. But then again, if they'd have shown a variety of murals or depictions, the reference would have been awfully close to that secret lab in "Resurrection" where Ripley finds the previous, unsuccessful results. Ages ago, weren't there threads or comments where people assumed the ampule room was a kind of trap? That never worked for me. Why would they have a mural acting as a warning in there? As in "This is what you will eventually turn into when you touch those ampules!"

Forgive me for slightly going off the OP's topic, I'm still trying to make sense of that moment when the painting high up under the ceiling started changing from within. I'd have less problems to understand that maybe the chemical mix in the ampule room's atmosphere had changed due to the human's disturbance, but not the painting itself. As a result there could have been all sorts of chemical substances pouring out or condense from the walls and ceiling. Any thoughts?

I think the mural depicts the general format of the xeno lifecycle and uses the deacon as the primordial form since it is the one that is formed from the combination of an engineer and the black goo which is all they would have ready access to until humans were engineered, but it makes sense that they would used their own xeno product in the xeno life cycle chart, which is what the mural really is. As far as the theory that the original progenitor of xenos being similar to them analogous to the Biblical idea that God made man in his own image and engineers made us in their own image, it doesn't necessarily follow that the same thing took place regarding xeno formation. Its a certain type of logical argument that could follow but doesn't necessarily have to. This kind of thinking can and does lead to all manner of incorrect conclusions in the world. No offence to Shambala, as I usually agree with much that you post and this is not a bad theory here, I just disagree.

@nostromo001 No problem. I come to this site to learn from the thoughts of other members, not only to expose my ideas. @HAL 9000, Apparently the Black Goo no turning its victims into Xenos, Fifield and head from the Engineer are proof of that. In that sense the Hammerpede seems a bit random outcome. I just thought the Black goo is just a tool that collects DNA from an original lifeform, but the interesting thing is that the xeno creature is only possible through sex. So...The Infected have to mate with a woman before his head explodes? Well, the only thing clear is that the biological weapon was designed for use in humans (or at least to get the maximum power of this). My theory of this thread is motivated by a personal desire that XENO-DNA has a bigger meaning. With the paintings, I think it's a plot hole. I doubt that the writers had a scientific thinking about it. In fact it is clear that Prometheus is not a hard science fiction film, despite theories based on science that any fan can devise to prove or disprove the premise.

@ Major Noob, Then maybe the Engineers should not be so anthropomorphic. I like the design, but sometimes I see him as an arrogant way of establishing that a Creator or extraterrestrial life form has to be human. On the other hand I wanted to draw a parallel in the origins of the xenomorphs, thinking that maybe a creature inspired that design.

So, then the Prometheus (ampule room) altar piece acts like the original Giger life cycle, which wasn't in the original Alien film? [img]http://defectiveyeti.com/images/alien_giger_big.jpg[/img] Man, I'm confused...

Shambhala- my thinking, and this is definitely Just me coming up with my own stuff, is that the Engineers are cloned tools, and their form was arrived at much the way a pair of pliers is designed. Not necessarily a result of evolution, but of intent, and only approximating the form of their masters ( in my view, the SJ ). In this view, humans come about as a result of the Engineers trying to create their own self replicating race ( they, like the androids in Bladerunner, can't reproduce and have a limited lifespan, though maybe in this case measured in millennia). In short, the Engineers are someone else's inventions that got out of hand. Like David, very powerful. Unlike David, biological. This fits for me because everything in this universe seems to get away from their creators. Custodian- yes.

I disagree that they are just pawns because the way they carry themselves in avery hauty and pompous way of sorts. They are the ones who made the aliens and mankind but I dont think they are what your saying Major Noob I think they are a species who found out that DNA can be manipulated so just like us they experimented on other things for curiosity.

THIS IS NOT BLADE RUNNER!

Btw, I know this isn't necessarily what we are talking about in this particular discussion, but did the hammerpedes have acid blood the whole time or is it possible that the black goo did that? Personally, the latter of options is kind of weird and seems untrue, but, I just always wondered and never asked

Anunnaki- just using a familiar example. Certain existential threads run through RS's work, and they're easy to locate in his science fiction. Also, the Engineers are indeed magnificent, [i]to us[/i]. But what created them, and why? Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to diminish their grandeur. There's levels of everything, I'm just imagining the next species higher. Because its definitely there. And, not unlike Custodian, I'm still attached to the SJ, so I'm finding a place for them. I think the Engineers are the good guys, I'm personally not fond of the faction idea. Cuponator- my take is the goo bestows the acid blood.

interesting...thx

Major Noob, I keep remembering RS discussing the fact that the engineers engineered us and then RS asked who engineered the engineers, and the answer is God, God engineered the engineers. This is a close paraphrase of RS in 'The Furious Gods" documentary. So I believe it is his intention that we should go with in deconstructing his movie.

Like said before , I think the engineers are really the good guys, in a way scientists or Monks on a space expedition/some kind of biblical crusade to create not necesarilly life itself, but to create some sort of inteligent life, not just the human race . I have three theories which keep me busy: First one The Xeno-parasite/gene was used as an experiment , which got terribly out of hand thus creating humanlife in the proces, maybe, just maybe The Engineer in the beginning of the movie was being punished for the mistake he made, him being responsible for the accident, on the other hand it could also be a self sacrifice, an offer to the Gods for creating Life, to be one with Nature on the planet where they created/their new species. Second one The Engineers created Humanity with another sort of gene, than the Xeno-gene or they used another combination.To think the Xeno Alien is somehow linked to humanity just fascinates me.Xeno creatures/race is engineered differently than the Human-race, because thy wanted to make improvements which got out of hand. Third theory The Engineers are just looking for ways to create the perfect BioWeapon , it's Ironic how Humanity always seems to be caught up in Wars....Weyland somehow has more info than we think in Prometheus.

Dekkers, my (glib) supposition (for an alternative pre-Alien narrative) is that WEYLAND HAS MET THEM BEFORE, and was actually the young child who escaped them in 2001 to land on Earth (via some clever hyperspace hijack) that effectively 'soft-landed' Space Trucker's derelict egg-cargo vessel on LV-426. Was there time-travel involved in the 'landing'? Dunno. But my gut instinct is, "Weyland has met these Engineers before and knows their capabilities," hence his trip to LV-223 where there's something of a Military Base or Weapon Store. Why didn't he choose the Peaceful Faction to visit?

My guess is some weird Lust for Power, just like in all the Alien movies, Weyland seems to be in control of things, In the first movie it's about the crew of the Nostromo being used as bait, in the second it's about execution,the further study of the specimen at full allround capacity, In the third movie it's about testing a different kind of Xenomorphs , like the dogwarrior, about testing speed and endurance, in Alien Ressurection it's about testing somekind of antidote or cloning the Xenomorph to gain control of the creature/gene. To me all these movies have something that fascinates me......there is always somekind of bigger picture we don't know about yet.It seems that the Prometheus movie is the first part of the Story that is going to explain what is behind all this.I think it's Weyland, I know........., somehow it seems too far-fetched in a way, but it could be that the contracted the Engineers and maybe even black-mailed them, which could also explain a higher power behind the Engineers, The engineers are the Monks/Scientists of their rase , at least not the highest power, the flying saucer in the beginning is maybe the Autority punishing the Engineer by leaving him on Earth to Die.I think time-travel is going to play a part in the next movie, but it has to be kept mysterious, otherwise it could spoil the story if it's in huge spectacular way, there needs to be somekind of Mystery in tact.

Xenomorphs were made from high active DNA material (the numerus white capsules) and worms. The high active DNA material evolve alien worms in to Xenomorphs in a mater of days(weeks). As u can see that at the end worms are not fully evolved in to Xenomorphs.

I think it's the other way around. That's a stage the Engineers were experimenting with, the xenomorphs we all know from the Alien movies already excist, my guess is that the Engineers already know about them, but to further improve on the gene, the deacon is starting to become more fleshy/skinny, which gives me the impression, that they're getting there....maybe a few ingredients are missing in order to create a form of creature resembling their own image....and hopefully more controlable.Basically they're trying to create the perfect frankenstein Monster.

Oooh, Time Travel (Lindelof love him some Time Travel) I hope that's 'not' gonna sully whatever Prometheus becomes. However; best use of Time Travel i) Superman, of course and ii) Flight of the Navigator. :)

Weyland obviously knew about xenos in the Alien series as evidenced by his command to intercept the alien lifeform using the Nostromo etc. but I believe it is in the Prometheus series of movies that we learn how he learned what he knew in the first place and no time travel necessary. Its just that simple. I wouldn't try to overcomplicate it. There is plenty of material that is already complicated enough as it is without adding additional complications to it.

Weyland must have found some ancient artifact , maybe to come in contact with the engineers, I'd prefer no Time-travel either....it needs to be kept simple, on the other hand the story might become too mystical without the needed scientific interference.

The analogy is for the Devil, who was turned into a serpent. The xeno's are like his attempts to be like God, who created us in His own image, only the Devil wishes to make ultimate perversions of that creation.

I think the Engineers are like David - they are constructs and we may be made in their image, though the creator likely doesn't have an image. The creator just is and just does. As for xenos, they are anthropomorphic, right? I mean a fachugger wouldn't be any good on a whale - it needs a humanoid face to work on. So I see them as more tied to the Engineer/human form, for whatever reason. That does not mean the creator can't create other things, other templates like the Engineers.

Well thats the Beauty and the Beast with Prometheus.... There is so so many clues and counter clues that dont add up to other clues and it all means there is no clear truth to anything its all open to interpretation. That means almost anything is a possibility.... The beast being that maybe Fox and Weyland have to in future explore some of these mystreys but then they are going to have to do it carefully and have to pick which direction they choose to explore and explain, and be careful that what ever route they take does not get contradicted by what clues we have and also in Alien Franchise.

[b]AS FAR AS WEYLAND[/b].... Well i dont think they have any real clue about the goings on at the time of Prometheus, i dont think they have a clue what the Xeno is both before and maybe after Prometheus (but this could changed depending on how Part 2 and 3 pan out). I feel that as Weyland Industries in their exploration of new worlds and colonies etc, may have detected a signal from the same system or close by system that the Star Maps pointed to. I would assume maybe they do not quite know what the signal is, or that its some kind of sos or warning who knows.. i just dont think they would have decoded it. So they could be curious and maybe want to go and explore the system but maybe reluctant especially if they do think its a warning, but then when Shaw and Holloway find the so many consistencies between all the ancient cultures showing giant beings pointing to the same or near by star system. I am sure Weyland then puts two and two together and figures that some kind of signal from that area of the Galaxy, in coinsidence with the Star Map that could show where our potential creators may have come from. Was enough for Weyland to fund a expedition to go and find out who these beings are and if indeed they are on that area shown by the Star Maps. His aim, was if he found those who created us, then they could maybe give him eternal or longer life. I am pretty sure he would have had David monitor the signal from LV 426 but ultimately first stop would be indeed to go to LV 223 and see what they can discover there first. I do agree that after Prometheus i am sure Weyland suits or rival company Yutani would indeed wonder what became of Prometheus and i am sure at some point they would want to send out a recovery expedition, and sure with regards to Weyland Industries surely if Weyland knew about the Signal on LV 426 then some members of the board back home would also be aware. And thus when they send out a expedition to find out what became of Prometheus they would surely pick up Shaws Message. And if they by then also had some idea the LV 426 was a warning, then that would be enough for Weyland to not that there was some event that is of great threat that wiped out Prometheus crew and then maybe they would have enough clues to point to something that could potentially be used as a Bio Weapon. But the timeline between end of Prometheus and Alien is a lot as far as any possible gaps and exploration and information gathering regarding the events of LV 223 and LV 426 signals.

As far as the Topic goes.... I just dont know, i do not by or like the Idea that the Xeno/Deacon or similar was God or created the Engineers.. But we are left the biggest puzzle as always with Lindeloffs writing and thats stuff makes no sense because it contradicts itself. Ridley has indicated that the Xeno Eggs where around long before Prometheus, and the Mural seems more like to show that they was known to the Engineers before the fall of LV 223 some 2000 years ago....... But then Lindeloff had said that the idea was to lend to that the Xenomorph was connected to the Human race Genetically.... Could that mean they was created by needing Humans or from Human DNA? That does not have to mean the Xeno occurs after Prometheus, as it could just be that thousands of years ago the Engineers used Humans in experiments that was related to the creation of the Xeno.... The Xeno Mural is key, does the Deacon represent a portrayal of something held in high esteem and worshiped (now i dont mean God, as Hindus worship Elephant God, but also Cows now they dont think Cows are God). Or is it some kind of depiction of a Prophecy to be foretold.... my problem with this is that the Mural depicts to me engineers with what look like Face Huggers on them or something more closely related to them than Shaws Baby.... Especially when you look at Gigers Orginal Mural which depicts the same fate and the two varients show one Engineers looking like wearing suits with a trunk like breathing apparatus and the other more like the Prometheus Mural Engineers/Humaniods. But then do we not look at the Giger Original and have to throw out everything that was not part of Prometheus including Dan O'Bannons ideas and Spaights Script even Lindeloffs Drafts? Does the Xeno/Deacon symbolize something to Worship as a God or something highly respected, does it imply a significance in some kind of Sacrifice? Maybe the Engineers as we see can not reproduce maybe they somehow evolved or was created that way so they age slow and cant reproduce, maybe by cloning but then all that does is make a clone that itself cant reproduce. Maybe they (as in Dan O'Bannons) came across something that infected one of their kind, and became the First Chest Buster, after it impregnated him and from this they gained knowledge of reproduction and some how via this they was able to devise a way to create life some other way.... i.e The Goo. Maybe they lost a way to create the Deacon, and they ultimately tried to recreate it but failed, and all they could create or find was Face Huggers that would not create another Deacon. Maybe ultimately the only way to the Deacon was that some how a Female Human had to enter the equation and after many years and failed attempts eventually due to a set of events from the Goo to Holloway to Shaws baby finally created something that could create the Deacon. But then we have the movie quotes that differ with that, such as Janek who says the outpost was a WMD Facility they created something to use as a Bio Weapon and it got lose a outbreak that infected them. This backs up Shaws view of a outbreak. But then we got Davids sometimes to create on must destroy which simply implies the Engineers was going to use the stuff to reset life on Earth to something new. Again so many possibilities. Again the movie quotes i feel are aimed at clues... so such as when they mention the Head Stature as God, maybe again this shows that it either is God to the Engineers or a sign that the Engineers are God to creation. And Shaw etc seem to indicate the Fresco as important and how Lindeloff says its similar to the Sistine Chapel and Creation of Adam Fresco..... If there is a connection of sorts then it shows in Prometheus Mural that was not that well shown in the movie, that a Engineer replaces God, and a Life form that has some resemblance to Bio-Mech Look of the Xeno and Space Jockey suits yet different has some significance. Which if we go that route, must imply maybe that the Deacon/Xeno Sacrifice is what gives the Engineers Life... just as Christs is to give Mankind Eternal Life provided we worship him. He died for our sins so that we can be saved for a Eternal Life rather than nothingness. So by that does it imply the Deacon/Xeno was Sacrificed to somehow prolong or allow the Engineers to procreate, maybe implying without this life form the Engineers can not create? How knows...

There is a picture of an engineer holding his hand on a xeno's head, as though the xeno is a pet or subject. Even a creature who came to the engineer for acceptance and love.

Yes that is the Fresco i am on about.... Here it is... [img]http://tubgoat.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/12-06-13-prometheus-muralengineer1.jpg[/img] Well its not quite the God and Adam Fresco, but it can be interpreted as such. But then it can also be interpreted some other way, and while this is not a Xeno, it does have similar look to one, but to me it also has just as much if not more of a look of the Space Jockey Suits as it does a Xenomorph. Well it looks kind of like a mix of Xeno DNA and Engineer Suit DNA. Maybe the image does give us some connection between the Xeno and Engineers, is this something they created from Xeno DNA? Could it be what they aimed to create from Xeno DNA in the Urns if they was dropped on Earth? Thus is this what Fifield may have changed to? We just dont know for sure but there is some connection between this creature the Engineers and the Xeno and their Technology for sure.

Thanks for putting that up. Now that I see it closely, I think that creature could be the same as horse like ones drawn in the cave painting from Scotland. It would seem odd, but this got me thinking maybe they were used as mounts, like horses by the engineers.