Based on observed facts, want to really understand the last moments of the Engineers at the

Answer: That was my take on it as well, but let's walk through this and compare mental notes. NOTE: THE FOLLOWING IS HIGHLY SPECULATIVE, but grounded in what I could observe.

Also please note, I often refer to the Engineers as the Gardeners - as they grow all their tech.

 

1) We know the head was infected, but we don't know about the body because the head was in the room with the Urns, but he was probably already infected and about to die. How do you know that?

2) The worms in the room appeared unaffected by the ooz. If the ooz was loose to infect the head, one might surmise the worms would have been impacted as well. So it appears more likely the headless engineer was already infected when he ran to the room because we know the head was per the explosion scene in the Prometheus lab. So what?

3) Perhaps the infected Gardener was chasing the other Gardeners like Fifield did when he got infected and came back to the Prometheus OR perhaps we wanted to contain himself, but that seems less likely. Why?

4) IMPORTANT: Because pretty clearly the headless Gardener didn't set the door to close while running and on his own head did he? It had to be somebody or something else. Who or what was it?

5) It could have been the first Gardeners running in front of the headless one except they weren't in the urn room when the door opened and we never saw them leave on the holographic recording, but we know something else. What's that?

6) Somebody or something turned on the holographic recording. Who was that?

7) David. David may have done so inadvertently or purposefully, but after David activates the first control panel, the holograms start and David stands still taking it in in what a human would deem amazement. So I'd vote inadvertent, but there's something else. What's that?

8 ) We don't know what triggers the urns. If the presence of the Gardener's head and the other Gardeners who go in, but are not seen going out, doesn't trigger the urns, then what does?

9) It appears to be the team from Prometheus's breath falling over the urn, but that's not a definitive lock. David then notes the activity on top of the urn (and naturally says nothing). Why might we think this?

10) Because carbon dioxide breath is actually a common triggers in nature. For example, if you approach a bee hive and stand close by and hold your breath, they won't attack, but the moment you breath your carbon dioxide breath over hive, they will swarm out (google it for video). Mosquitoes also track by carbon dioxide. Gardener's do grow everything so that might be how the writer's decided to trigger the urns, but what about the Gardeners who ran in there (in the hologram)?

11) Note, those Gardeners were wearing their helmets which leads us to the other reason it might be breath. Which is?

12) Our writers purposefully had our Prometheus team take off their helmets. It is a colorful character element to demonstrate Charlie's adventurous to foolhardy nature, but this would put it into the category of necessary plot element and justify the screen time for taking off helmets. But wait Fifield and Milburn were wearing their helmets in the urn room in their "death scene"?

13) True, but by then the goo was out and the worms who were virtually transformed into Xeno worms got them. So who cares?

14) Remember, this stromatolite building, with its total coating of bio'tech'logy ooz coating and liquid running down every hall has an atmosphere. So what?

15) The Gardeners were wearing their helmets when they ran into the urn room...even the infected Gardener. As were all the dead Gardener bodies suits found by Fifield and Milburn. Maybe it was because they loved their helmets? So what?

16) The what is the Gardeners grow everything. So what?

17) So their suits, the building, the ooz on the walls is all DNA/RNA based. So what?

18 ) None of it gets sick or even infected on exposure to the black ooz virus - only the Gardeners/humans/titans/space jockeys/engineers get sick from touch exposure to the black ooz virus. Why is that?

19) From observation, it has to be ingested. What about Fifield?

20) His head landed face down forcibly in a puddle black ooz after his vizor after the xeno worm's acid blood ate through it. So what?

21) So then we know that the Gardeners who wore their suits in the room weren't concerned about catching it by touch. So what?

22) So they were probably wearing it to hide their carbon dioxide concentrated in their breath and they were running to the room
either to stay ahead of the already infected and soon-to-be-decapitated Gardener OR because the facility was already triggered and going into auto lock down. What facility?

23) The whole building was coated with in bio-techo-logy ooz as demonstrated by David and the interfaces and the holograms. How are the holograms involved?

24) What did you think was projecting the wire trace lines that made up the holograms all over the facility, magic? Ok, so what?

25) So the deader than dead looking "dome rock" is actually alive, meaning fully operational - just like their ship. It appears to be a grown stromatolite, and any where you like it processes atmosphere, can project holograms, has probably waste water running through it constantly and has control panels. Um, okay, maybe, but so what?

26) So this is pure conjecture, but maybe the gardeners were running to the room before the installation closed the door, but I don't think so because all the Gardeners (including the one that lost its head) were being chased by someone. HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?

27) When the hologram first starts, all the Gardeners run past quickly looking forward and then ONLY the last Gardener (who eventually loses his head) looks back over his shoulder to see if anyone is behind him. Only the last Gardener of the group checked behind himself, aka over his should. This indicates there's someone, perhaps even another group, he suspects behind him that might explain why they're all running and this tells us the Gardeners we saw were a group and somethign more. What's that?

28 ) Well, first let's note that the Gardener who lost his head, definitely had the virus already. HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?

29) That last Gardener of the group who lost his head, crumpled to the floor prior to the doorway and losing his head. That's why he was laid out on the floor to get his head chopped off in the first place. He clearly didn't trip, his knees appear to buckle. So he was definitely already infected. Okay so what?

30) So it was a group of Gardeners are all running to the isolation/urn room being chased by someone else (possibly a group). What's more it appears the group was so concerned that they starting shutting the door before the last one could get it. So what?

31) So they were trying to keep someone out of the room, but they failed. HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?

32) Because they left the room and died. HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?

33) Because Fifield and the Biologist find their dead bodies piled up in the hallway. How do you know they are the same group?

34) You mean aside from the fact that they are a group of fully outfitted/helmeted Engineers, just like the running hologram Gardeners group were all fully outfitted/helmeted? Yes, too flimsy, they could wear those helmets all the time, right?

35) The control room shows the hologram of the Engineers not wearing their helmets. That's true, but I need more proof!

35) You mean aside from the fact that our headless Engineer's head exploded in the lab and Fifield notes very loudly (in case the audience missed seeing the what was clearly in scene) that the group of helmeted Engineers all have their heads exploded as well? So what, it could be another group of infected engineers all wearing full protective suits and helmets inside - I need more proof!

36) Glad you persisted; you know that big pile of bodies? We know the virus appears to be spread only through ingestion (see above). These Gardeners knew about the black ooz virus. They knew not to eat it. So unless you think one infected Gardener can kill all the rest (and we didn't see a hologram of any of that fighting), we can see how one Gardener might get sick, but ALL OF THEM? It is almost like �someone� put it in their drinking water or food. Interesting, but so what?

37) So in addition to the look over the shoulder indicating another �someone� else, we have a group of 'poisoned by virus' Gardeners all at once which might also indicate another �someone�. It could have been mass suicide, but that wouldn�t explain their being chased. Okay, so what?

38 ) Well, that means they all ran into the urn room together as a group. So what?

39) We find them all, except the headless dead one, in the hallway. So what?

40) Well, it is speculation, but I�d speculate it might indicate that they were force marched down the hallway. Oh, come on, why?

41) Because the headless Gardener was left in the door way. Please, so what?

42) The headless Gardener couldn't move on his own, he was dead, but the sick Gardeners could. Ya, so what?

43) We infer there was another �someone� or group (as noted above). Our hologram group of Gardeners (including the headless one) may (or may not) know at this point that they are sick, but they know they're being chased. (Just a note: they could be hiding, but it looked like a close pursuit to me based on their full out stride and no attempt to move quietly.) So they go into the urn room with the Prometheus, the titan, mural. Wait? What mural to Prometheus?

44) That urn room mural depicted Prometheus and probably his punishment. Why do you say that?

45) Because the Mural on the ceiling displays Prometheus's punishment scene. How do you know it is Prometheus?

46) The ceiling mural shows a man in a roughly stitched shirt/vest, fabric leggings, and likely boot footwear with what speculatively is a nasty twisty slash across his abdomen and the bird beast. So the guy is either an earth human with a bird like beast or titan with a bird like beast. Why don�t you think he�s another Gardener?

47) His clothing is explicitly not grown, rather it is un-alive artifacts manufactured by hand. The style and tech isn�t reminiscent of anything Gardener grown. It is explicitly reminiscent of earth clothes or perhaps another non-gardener human, perhaps like a Titan. Also, I�ve never seen an earth human with what might be a large abdominal scar with a giant bird beast like that one. So call me crazy, but I speculate that the bird beast is there to peck out his Titan liver daily for all eternity leaving that nasty twisty slash on his abdomen. Maybe the slash is just a decorative motif. Have a look:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WaLucCuiKrY/T9GzGQgtpOI/AAAAAAAAIEw/VSgL7DmOVcU/s1600/prometheus+-+begin+mural+08.jpg

http://media.photobucket.com/image/recent/ethon86/giger_mural1.jpg

 

But since Prometheus, the titan, angered the gods and according to the myth 'helped' humanity by giving humanity fire, and also in some versions created humanity, it would make sense that a mural of a man with a slash on his abdomen next to a clearly bird like beast in a room on a moon pointed to by ancient-earth-star-map-glyphs from all over left by the Engineers would be Prometheus I speculate. Let's get back on track...

48 ) So after being chased, the sick but certainly healthy-enough-to-run-into-the-room Gardeners go into urn room with Prometheus� mural on the ceiling. Clearly conjecture, but they probably did not go in to admire Prometheus' giant bust. Yet they almost all leave unseen to later be found all together in a tight pile all on one side of a hallway/more or less along one wall, except for the headless one. So what happened?

a) Did they all die in the room together? All their infected bodies later to be moved by "someone else" and stashed in the hall way? Wouldn't �they� have also moved the headless Gardener too then? Why leave the headless body and move all the rest? I can�t think of why anyone would move all their dead bodies with exploded heads except the headless one.

b) Did they leave the Prometheus room themselves (later) to go hide in a hallway, but with their heads exploding I don't see them dying in a tight pile like that. And would they have left their headless comrade behind? Possibly I guess.

c) When I see dead bodies in a tight pile, all on one side of a hallway (which is to say strewn together against one wall) this to me says, crime scene (especially if they were last �seen� alive somewhere else being chased by someone else.) That might also explain the headless body. The still mobile, but sick and soon to be knee buckling group of Gardeners might have been force marched to the hallway under their own remaining power. This might explain leaving the headless guy untouched because he couldn�t be force marched, his body was diseased, and speculatively our Gardeners were weak and dying.

49) I suspect option (c), but that still leaves the biggest question. What's that?

50) How did the headless Gardener get infected? Or more accurately how did the first Gardener get infected of all those dead gardeners in the hall way pile up.

Answer: Don't know; didn't see that in the movie and I cannot see any way to derive it. That's disappointing; can't you tell us something?

51) Glad you asked, you know that big pile of bodies? We know the virus appears to be spread only through ingestion (see above). These Gardeners knew about the black ooz virus. They knew not to eat it. So unless you think one infected Gardener can infect all the rest through their suits (and we didn't see a hologram of any of that fighting), we can see how one Gardener might get sick through a mishap, but ALL OF THEM? It is almost like �someone else� or �something else� put it in their drinking water. So

52) Perhaps the last act of those Gardeners in the holograms was to get infected eight hours earlier as a group perhaps by �someone�, have time to put on their helmets, be chased as a group by �someone�, close themselves in the urn Prometheus mural room accidentally killing the last Gardener as he collapses (already sick and buckling) in front of the door, losing his head, before showing up in a group along one wall in the hall way, but at least some perhaps all of them were sick BEFORE they went into the urn room. So what?

53) So maybe the �urn room� wasn�t an �urn room� when they died. Speculation, but maybe it was the Prometheus room (mural and head) or mural room, or green crystal room, but it probably wasn�t full of virus urns when Gardner group went there when the hologram occurred. After all, we know the hologram doesn�t show the last moments and it seems unlikely given their last actions. Why do you say that?

54) First, because we never see the Gardeners leave � the hologram appears to omit this. Second, would a group of Gardeners run full speed into a room full of virus urns if they weren�t sick? Would a group of Gardeners run full speed into a room full of virus urns if they were sick (because isn�t knocking over urns an issue when you�re flailing around in death throws as a group)? If the room was empty of urns, however, this isn�t an issue. Speculatively, this supports the idea that the original function of the room was not to hold the urns at all. I�d offer the urns might have been added afterwards by �someone� else. But why leave the dead body at the door?

55) You got me. Perhaps the Gardeners dies there just to lead us, the audience, during that hologram to infer it was the last moment before we arrived on the scene since the body is still there, but if that�s true Who were they looking at over their shoulder? how did the other Gardeners get out of the room? Hmm, did we see them run into the room? I think we did � maybe not. Maybe �someone� else was already in the room and closed the door on that one Gardener who lost his head? I would mention one last thing.

56) The Gardeners preparing the ship in the control room hologram (with David) don't appear to be in any rush. Maybe that was taken before the "emergence" or maybe they're relaxed because they are the "others". If the prior case, then we know that the last Gardener, who ripped up David, did so with no knowledge of the emergency (since he was already in hyper sleep.) If the latter case, it might explain his bowing and then attacking (as opposed to leading/befriending, etc.).

 

So the most interesting part is that all the Engineers/Gardeners some how got infected at one go.