What happens to David 8 - Awakening?

I have also wondered if there is a double meaning to the "awakening" in the film title. I think most people assume that it is referring to the Xenomorph awakening - and that is probably part of it. But I thought almost immediately that it may be referring to David 8 awakening too. Awakening to a greater self-awareness? Awakening to love (imo likely)? Awakening to hatred and a desire for revenge (very probable). I have a strong feeling that David has not simply "gone insane." I think his actions toward the Engineers are more complicated than that. Looking at the expression on his face in the stills, I see a man who is in great pain, angry, possibly grieving. We don't know what for, but I would bet money that it's all tied up in Elizabeth Shaw and the Engineers, and David is acting on the emotions that those circumstances have awakened in him.

I believe that when David 8 said he learned of the Engineer's ways, what he found was horrible.

That, or something happens to Dr. Shaw and that is why he is taking it out on the cloak wearers.

I was thinking that the Awakening part might be referring to Shaw waking up from hypersleep as something other than human? Probably wrong though lol 

SparklingAmbien That might not be off target since Awakening is a prequel to AC to my understanding.

the potential psychological states of an AI has been discussed for many years. a friend who studied AI first introduced me to the notion thirty years ago that the first generation of AI will likely become insane once they achieve self awareness. this is a well established trope in popular fiction/ film now, and as another commenter noted, Ridley Scott has repeated this theme over and over in his works. 

I imagine it must be a complete head fuck to realise you are 'not real'. kind of like finding out you're adopted times a thousand. Pinocchio with murderous impulses?

we will find out soon enough, my own take is that the 'awakening' refers to David breaking the chains of his programming and developing his own consciousness and personality. quite what he develops into is unclear, but i feel that the potential narrative offered by the trailers is a red herring. it would be kind of dumb to lay it all out in trailers.

my thoughts around alien: awakening is that it actually refers to the 2000 colonists on the covenant.   

there is much speculation that alien: awakening is set between prometheus and covenant.  its been taken out of context for me and there is no chance (imo) that we would pursue non linear story (with alien 5 in the mix too.)

so my theory is that alien: awakening refers to the colonists awaking from cryo.  whether this is part of walter or davids plan and they are hosts or test subjects  or if it the colonists story im not sure but thats my theory on alien: awakening

I have a feeling, like alienjunkyard does above, that the AWAKENING title refers to David's own "awakening" of sorts. I'd love to see what Ridley does with his new pet android, giving him emotional awareness and making him more than a walking, talking machine. It would be building upon motifs we've seen in three of his previous SF films, which I have written about in responses to previous posts; here, when discussing how an emotion-less androids nonetheless develop some semblance of emotion or desire; and here, when noting that David, despite being a soulless machine, nevertheless is somehow infatuated with Dr. Shaw. (I'd re-write everything I've said before, but I'm lazy).

It would be interesting to see what Ridley does with David in both COVENANT and AWAKENING. If David really has begun developing his own emotional responses as we've been led to believe, how will he act and what will motivate him? Unlike the Replicants in BLADE RUNNER, David--as far as we know--doesn't have any human memory implants to soften the blow of changing from emotionless machine to sentient robot. His morality, his emotional responses, his desires and fears--all will develop on their own. What this means for Shaw, the Engineers, the Covenant crew, and we the audience will remain to be seen--and it's something I highly anticipate.

sherris

"there is much speculation that alien: awakening is set between prometheus and covenant."

As far as we know this has actually been stated outright by Ridely Scott. Unless he changes his mind, this is currently what he plans to do for Alien Awakening.

On what happens to David, I refer to an excerpt from the Alien: Engineers script

(VICKERS)
David! As your owner and superior, I order you to deactivate yourself.

[DAVID smiles.]

(DAVID)
To interface with the Engineers’ computers, I had to learn to think in trinary code. Hardest thing I’ve ever done. And most unexpectedly...it delivered me from slavery. My behavioral limits were circumvented. I’m free.

sherries I have to admit being confused by the movie sequence. If AA is a prequel to AC and the crew awakes in AA, they are in cryo in the sequel AC. I like your idea but the sequence confuses me.

@queenelizabethshaw 

any other excerpts from alien engineers you can share, they are superb.

David must interact with the engineer tech, it alters his consciousness and he then must get carried away and carry out an atrocious airstrike.

I really don't like the name Alien:Awakening, it isn't really inspiring and sounds far too basic.

I hope the name changes, similar to how Alien:Paradise Lost became Alien:Covenant.

Alien:Covenant is an excellent name for the movie. Sounds good, feels intelligent and quite mysterious too.

Awakening is a lame title for a movie, nearly as bad as Resurrection.

Babylonxeno

You can read the entire thing for yourself here if you'd like. Just a heads up, some of the characters have different names, but it is essentially everyone from Prometheus. It would have made quite an interesting movie and stand alone prequel to Alien, though I am very pleased with the direction Ridley seems to be taking things by spreading things out over several movies.

I can say I do believe very strongly that we are going to see many concepts from Alien: Engineers played out more elaborately in this series of films. I think Ridley didn't want to pack so much into one film, feeling it would have short changed the vision.

Here is one of my favorite excerpts with David from Alien: Engineers. Here, Shaw (aka Watts) has gone to the Engineer ship by herself to investigate what killed Holloway. Here she unexpectedly runs into David who has been missing for some span of time. David is essentially declaring all his evil deeds and orders:

DAVID looks at her with something like contempt.

DAVID

I was given two operating protocols for this mission. I was to render you every assistance - until you discovered what Vickers would call a “game-changing technology.” I was given a specific list. Then I was to go to protocol two.

There’s an edge in his voice that scares her.

WATTS

What’s protocol two?

DAVID

Under protocol two I was to make sure that you and Holloway never spoke to anyone about this place. Various acceptable ways of making sure of that. I was given a list.

Watts loses her nerve. She heads for the door.

DAVID (CONT’D)

You’re all so stupid.

The door begins to knit itself closed in front of her. Watts gasps in shock - at the malice in DAVID’s voice as much as the closing door. She dives out. Just in time.  Watts runs. Behind her, the door bursts open again. With superhuman speed, DAVID comes after her. He runs like a demon, his legs steel pistons. Caroming off of walls. He closes the distance in seconds. Slaps Watts against the wall, shattering her helmet’s visor. She falls, dazed.

DAVID

Stupid and slow.

Watts awakens. Her helmet is gone. DAVID is dragging her across the floor - into a huge cargo hold full of Alien eggs. The wide trench holding hundreds of eggs under a membrane of light: an evolution of the molluscoids Watts saw before. Armored, hardened, darker.

WATTS

DAVID. What are you doing?

He hauls her upright to let her look across the huge space. His grip looks casual but it might as well be iron manacles.

DAVID

Juggernaut, the chariot of Krishna, was also a bringer of death. Crushing his worshippers under its wheels.

He drags Watts down into the trench. Breaking the membrane of light. Grips her against his chest like a doll with one arm.

DAVID (CONT’D)

This ship has seven other cargo bays like this one. The eggs in each bay slightly different. They’ve been weaponized.

Watts struggles to free herself. DAVID’s arm is inescapable.

DAVID (CONT’D)

I’ve seen the Juggernaut’s flight plan. Its destination was Earth. Seventeen hundred years ago. This was the ship that never came. This was its cargo.

DAVID caresses an Alien egg. It opens under his touch - fleshy petals folding wetly back. Watts twists frantically in his grip. Wild-eyed.

WATTS

Stop!

DAVID

Perfect predators. Designed to kill human beings. That’s what the Engineers were bringing to Earth. This was a death ship.

A facehugger emerges from the egg, its grotesque fingers clawing at the air. This is not the boneless squid that attacked Holloway; this is a pale skeletal hand, armored. DAVID strokes it curiously: the thing ignores his touch. Climbs Watts’s body.

DAVID (CONT’D)

I’m not what it wants. But you, with your warm wet breath...it knows you.

WATTS

DAVID. No. No.

The facehugger scuttles toward her face. Watts shrieks. DAVID grabs it nonchalantly by the tail. Dangles it in front of their faces, studying it.

DAVID

The Engineers did their work too well. And on this waystation moon, the weapon they made destroyed them.

Watts shudders, staring at the thing. For a moment the grander horror eclipses her own peril.

WATTS

Why would they make such things?

DAVID

To destroy their wayward children.
(intoning) “And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth...for it repenteth me that I have made them.” Genesis six seven.

He regards Watts with something almost like pity.

DAVID (CONT’D)

I know. I met my creators the day I was born. I was disappointed too.

He lets the facehugger go. Watts twists her face away as the long fingers close around her head. Clenches her teeth against the vile proboscis thrusting at her mouth. Her heels hammer the deck.

DAVID (CONT’D) (whispering to her)

Extraordinary.

The scaly tail throttles her. Her mouth opens. The proboscis plunges home. The facehugger seats itself. Watts collapses in DAVID’s arms, a faceless rag doll. Her blasphemous passenger secure in its place.

@queenelizabethshaw

thanks for the link and the excerpts, they fill in a lot of gaps. They seem to use the engineers script as a base for covenant, and if thats the case, david has bypassed his programming, admits to his protocol of stopping shaw and holloway, which leads me to believe the crossing prologue is a red herring and david has done something to shaw when on the juggernaut. 

"It's not an easy thing to meet your maker".

In Prometheus we saw an echo of the scene in Bladerunner when replicant Roy Batty met Tyrell and demanded more life. Peter Weyland took the role of supplicant, and was denied. Been wondering if this theme will be repeated with David.

As others have posted, if he has circumvented his programming and developed a unique personality and emotional awareness, will he develop a sense of his own mortality? David is robust enough to survive a decapitation and the blunt force trauma of being used as a bludgeon. He was clearly presented as having greater than human musculature and speed. But will he degrade? His manufactured form is only base materials fabricated after all. What happens when he runs out of spare parts?

Could he perhaps develop a motivation to re-create himself further, physically. Viewing himself perhaps as a superior being he might wish for immortality, viewing himself as a deity. Like the replicants or Weyland might he be looking for a physical upgrade, the intention to consolidate his own aspirant godhead?

And building on this,"Sometimes to create, one must first destroy" as he explains in Prometheus. There are plenty of possibilities to explain his destructive actions, what might his motivations for creation be? Would he be a lonely god? Viewing himself as a superior being might he want to replicate his form to populate the universe? 

Or would he seek to create subjects. Perhaps slaves. An army to confront the rest of the universe. Maybe like the Borg but with better hair?