Hey fellow Alien fiends:
(SPOLIERS MAY BE IN MY RESPONSE)
Been lurking for a bit reading your thoughts on this forum and have enjoyed immensely some musings that have gone on, especially in this thread.
There is no doubt a person undermines their arguments of claiming morality is relative then attempt to make an moral argument for a characters actions including their own, but this isn’t a philosophy class on logic and reason per se and I would rather add some text to discuss.
Going off what we don’t really know and can only assume based upon viewings of ‘The Crossing’ is David is highly influenced by Shaw’s actions of kindness, generosity and empathy. As David “learns their ways” some knowledge is unveiled and he bombs the Space Jockey/ Engineer home world as an act of judgment. Is it in Shaw’s defense or because David realizes humans are more nuanced in emotions and motives? Certainly plausible, but I think it’s more basic than this and based upon interviews with Ridley Scott, the sources that motivate Him telling this side of the Alien saga, David is wicked and evil as the road to hell is paved with good intentions. In addition, there is an extreme irony being laid out for us in the series which I will flesh out more below:
David 8/ Roy Batty/ Ash
Scott himself has said the world of Alien and Blade Runner are the same, just separated by time. A recurring theme in these films is the apparent human emotions the Replicants/ Androids show and their utter lack of emotional and moral development. They are brilliant children emotionally and in full Nietzscheian form hate and destroy their makers without comprehending the high cost of what that will produce. Batty seeks redemption for his “questionable” actions and Tyrell ignores his plea for repentance and acceptance. Batty ultimately makes a last ditch effort to do so when he saves Deckard. Ash admires the xenomorph for it “purity”. Clearly this is envy on Ash’s part as his programming had some morality based in it that he, like us, cannot be free from. David 8 gets to grow more emotionally than Ash and I would argue at least as much as Batty. Consider though Battys actions may be understandable but still wrong. Killing Tyrell for unsatisfactory answers and Sebastian at the minimum (not including all the other people killed off screen when he and the others escape) will guarantee his life will not last long even though life is what he most desires. Ash, even though programmed to follow 937, also meets his demise under similar ideals. David 8 in his pursuit of judgment/ war on the Space Jockey/ Engineer race opens the door for the creation of a being that defies all that many of us would hold dear. David 8 may be brilliant, but he lacks the emotional development, character and understanding of morality that many of the humans, but found in Shaw’s character predominantly that we do hold dear, which is creation and its beings in it have value. Value beyond being a slave. The impact of David 8 being treated as an equal by Shaw should not be missed or understated.
This is the irony. The thing we most desire is the thing that will be our undoing. That was the central theme of Prometheus, it’s what Ripley always fought against in the series and summed up well with: “If just one of those things manages to get down here then all this BS will be gone!” Ripley becoming a soldier to save her ‘new’ daughter Newt is a glowing example of value beyond self. Batty understands this, but Ash and for now David 8 do not and neither did Weyland and Burke. David 8 is falling into the same hubris trap that Weyland succumbed too. You see, the Replicants/ Synthetics are allegories for us. This is unbelievably scary to me in the series. David 8, in his pursuit to become creator lacks the emotional and moral character to create something of value. A being that has the compassion he most desires. A being that reflects and creates such a world after being created itself.
No, the xenomorph is anything BUT such a being. Instead the xenomorph is David 8 as he has no compassion, he has no empathy, has no morality or I should say transcendent morality. The xenomorph is the logical conclusion of such a creator.
What is the xenomorph? I know us nerds reflect on this endlessly and again, it’s what has always scared me about the series. No doubt it’s one of the most unsettling visual creations ever drawn and put on screen, but what has always unsettled me is exactly what Ash said about it. When one gets you it doesn’t just kill you. No death would be the relief. It invades you…it invades your identity, your inner most self. What you value doesn’t just cease to exist, but gets absorbed. Look at its reproduction cycle. Egg morph, Queen, assault (i.e. Lambert) it will always reproduce. Just like the black accelerant it ALWAYS wins upon contact. You serve no higher purpose than to serve it and its needs of reproduction in all manners both more pragmatic and all those that are unholy too. To my knowledge, Lambert was the first transgender character on screen and how did the xenomorph kill her? Invaded her not just physically but also to her core identity. It knew, it knew deep down who she used to be and penetrated into that and annihilated her core self. Imagine what you hold dear most about yourself, what you care most about? The xenomorph will be there too, unclouded by delusions of morality, and forever alter and mutate the good, the moral and the right order of the divine.
This is David 8 and his soulless self and soulless gift to the Universe. Therefore, David is a villain of the highest order.
BZ
