Fate of the Engineers

I can see that Michelle's actually Points in regards to how to tackle the Engineers not appearing after Alien, as indeed as she said in (1) If the Engineers Set off from Planet 4, they missions to other Worlds and back could take Thousands of Years the Engineers Navigation Systems have GALAXIES not just ours so they Travel to Vast Distances.  And we dont know how long some of these Journeys Take.  If we Assume the Engineers use Planet 4 as their Central Place (i dont buy this) but if we assume so, and then assume say the Engineers had like 8 ships out and about, and the Returning One in the Next Movie, is maybe just ONE or TWO who is to say that the other 6-7 Ships in our Galaxy could be so far away that by the TIME they get a report of what the Returning Ship/Ships find, and then attempt to arrive back, it could be many THOUSANDS of years.

You have to Question LV-223 though... this place was on our Door Step as far as Engineer Travel, and it appeared to have 5 Temple Complexes, we have to assume Each had at least ONE Ship...  A Answer could be after they felt Mankind was a Threat they Set up LV-223 as a Outpost to Manufacture/Test Bio-Weapons to use upon Mankind... kind of a way of saying.. "Ok so this Planet has become Rogue, lets set up a Place near by to Manufacture their Destruction" The Problem i have with this is the Star Maps, this place was pointed out as far as 35'000 years ago, yet they interacted with us since then, did they decide we was a threat and then spent 30K + Years Perfecting a Weapon Against us? But why visit and interact with us?

Its why i think LV-223 was not initially a place for our Destruction... it was used as One at some Point for some Purpose which RS seemed to point to being a time when we had Offended them and Turned out to be something against their intentions or Plans... Most like because they FEARED what we could become, due to having Concerns how we turned out... These are similar to the Concerns Humans had for David Models, but instead of getting rid of AI/Synthetics they attempted to incorporate Safeguards in New Models.  I think Ridley Scotts whole JESUS point was not to be Literal, but it was the Engineers attempts to do to us, what the NEW improved Less Emotion Programing that the Walter Models had.. but with Mankind it was to send EMISSARIES down to attempt to get us to Change our Ways.

To briefly again refer to Michelle's 2ND option its certainly something they have to consider, its either what she had put, or that Davids Creations got the Better of those Engineers, and maybe wiped them out as far as those within so many THOUSANDS of Light Years, or they decide to Move away from  our Part of the Galaxy and concentrate on other Areas..

But i think they would still see the Threat Some Day, and i think they would do what they can in their Power to Prevent Mankind from Exploring more of the Galaxy and also Preventing Davids Creations getting into the Wrong Hands, and Destroying LV-223 so this can not happen again... 

But we cant rule out some Engineers simply deciding to leave this part of the Galaxy, and be Arrogant and  again Hubrsitic by thinking if they leave this part of the Galaxy and Concentrate on some place very far away, that it would be OUT OF REACH of Mankind and David.... maybe they even go "oh but before we leave lets take some Samples of that Creation to Study"

"Since they were not thought of like that when they began Alien"

Who knows what little thought was given to the Space Jockey at that time, Alien was based off Star-Beast draft were what become our Space Jockeys are just a Alien Race of Space Explorers who Stumble on the Starbeast/Xenomorph and attempt to collect Samples for Study... maybe this could be explored as the Final Hubris of the Engineer Race (when they attempt to collect Davids Creation for Study)

HR Giger however seemed to imply otherwise.... while Alien gave us the Space Jockey Pilot who must have ultimately fell Folly to his own Cargo... HR Gigers concept work showed a passing resemblance to the Engineers we see in Prometheus, and a Race who appear to Self Sacrifice themselves to Procreate the Xenomorph.

The Engineers are who they are, as far as what RS has explored with Prometheus and then Alien Covenant, i think they need to introduce a more Sinister and Alien Element into the Pecking Order. HR Gigers Concepts for Alien show a Alien Bald Humanoid Race Sacrifice themselves to Procreate the Xenomorph that is created by the Derelict Ships Cargo Hold.  I think if they look at HR Gigers unused Mural and its Purpose, and we then consider the Humanoids/Space Jockey are our Engineers and then we in context look at Gigers Mural and ask what is going on there... WHY and WHAT Reason... then throw something Sinister and more Alien i think this would be a more ideal way to go as far as exploring WHO Created the Engineers and for WHAT Purpose.

@ BigDave

My two points were broad strokes. But Pietro has said that they did not go far enough in exploring the Paradise Lost narrative of LV223. Put simply and I have said this many times we needed two answers at the end of Prometheus :-

1) Why did they create us only to destroy us.

2) What did LV223 represent and how did it relate to the opening scene.  

With Covenant we have a third question

3) How does the population of Paradise relate function to the seeding process.

None of these absolutely fascinating questions have been answered.  

There are three very interesting answers if you wish to pursue such a path. 

1) The Engineers believe life is based on a mechanical construct gifted to them but they only see a fragment of the truth which can remain for us to ponder. 

2) As a result of 1 they began sub creating having corrupted/stolen the fire and were punished, LV223 represents Paradise Lost out of which the pathogen comes and represents endless punishment.

3) Their rebellion is rooted in their rejection of their sacrificial role and desire to sub create. Indeed the Alien Life cycle could have been created as a mockery of the sacrificial ritual. 

4) Their reason for destroying us is a punishment for our rejection of a mechanical creation myth in favour of the divine mind over matter creation myth which the great prophets represent. This idea was at the root of some rejected dialogue from John Logan's script where David explains that his mechanical construction is part of the central narrative of creation rather than the mythos of a benignly created natural evolution which mankind follows which is a delusion. 

All of this has been swept under the carpet whether we will see glimpses of this kind of thinking in more movies is I think unlikely and the focus will run parallel to the pre occupations of Blade Runner 2049 except that if another movie is made Davids fate will be central and will represent a comment on sub created A. I.

personally, it looks like wer back to square 1 where the engineers are concerned. in Prometheus, it was heavily suggested they created human life on earth, regardless of what planet the opening scene is, RS is implying to the audience these beings are responsible for our civilisation. even implying through Shaw and Holloway they return and interact with early human civilisations. now it seems some doubt has been cast on whether they are indeed responsible for our creation. in truth, we know nothing of them and have been given absolutely no concrete insight into them. what screen time theyv been given has been short and they don't come off in a good light in any way. they look weak. but is this on purpose or is Ridley deliberately been saving them the latter instalments? or has he changed his mind on them altogether? everyone is equally entitled to their opinion and im liking some of the ideas ppl r mentioning regarding them such as BD's theory they have stolen their technology. theyv stolen from the gods and now r paying the price for it. im starting to think Ridley's idea for them is for them to be king's and as Vickers says, 'all kings have their day, they reign, and then they die'. has their time come and Ridley is showing a 'passing of the torch' from engineer to mankind? however he is using them I still believe they have been misused so far and I for one want to see more of them. I want to see their connection to the xeno and the goo, afterall, these were the very reasons Ridley returned. id like to think the reason they don't appear or get mentioned in the other alien movies is they leave into the depths of space, either to regroup or they have realised man is too dangerous a foe to go up against. only once all the prequels r done will we know if they have been used well or not but as it stands, I think theyv been wasted. id like to really see their full might either in a flashback or shown by returning engineers.

Wow, awesome ideas guys!!!

After all of the great scripts that have been passed up, I'm thinking RS is just flying by the seat of his pants with plans that change from movie to movie. He needs to go. 

@Michelle

Totally agree with all of those points, i have studied those a lot and have some rough ideas/theories on what could be the answers, indeed i was going to address them when working on a Prometheus 2/3 story, i came to a sticky point with how to fit the Xenomorph into this, as i had 2-3 ideas but could not think of the Perfect one to use without conflicting other aspects of the Engineers Background, likewise the other sticking point was the ladder of Creation, it was easy to cover the Hierarchy above those Engineers but the sticking point was wondering who is above it all, how many layers of creation/creator are a both them and what would those at the Top Be, Humanoid, Alien looking a MACHINE? The 3rd sticking point was the reason for our creation which again i had 2-3 ideas and so i had 2-3 ideas for each of these THREE things which means 6-9 different things that i just could not figure a way to get them to work together as i liked all the options, but it was the case of saying ok.... so the reason for the Xenomorph i go for option 2/3 for why we was created i go for option 1/3 and for who/what is at the Top of the Chain of Creation i go for 3/3 but i could just never settle on matching these up... BECAUSE the Wealth of Options was so VAST that i could not conclude which path to take and you cant follow them all.

This is also what i THINK the writers for a Prometheus Sequel had Faced, the options are vast, its hard to narrow down what to cover and in which way, and so with ALIEN COVENANT the way the Engineers was handled was like pushing them to the side rather than attempt to cover what could be a POISONED CHALICE

Some of my ideas based on theories and trying to Tie in the Mythical, Philosophical and Religious connections i think are interesting, the first movie PROMETHEUS and RS comments sent me down a Path, of ideas/theories that i think AC in part could also allude too.  The SCOPE is EPIC and you can see what RS was trying to do, but Sadly FOX just felt that Narrowing the Story to the Xenomorph and taking a Direct route closer to Alien is what Fans wanted to see and what would make more $$$$ i think for FOX Alien Covenant has been a EPIC Disappointment, i think when they was looking at the Final Parts of Production, the editing/cutting they (FOX/RS) must have felt this movie could surpass Prometheus in Reception and Financial Return.

THERE IS.... a Story to be Told, certainly looking at the points in your last post Michelle there is enough Food for Thought to explore this, and this kind of Direction is something Interesting it could be something Very Different to most Movies and something DISNEY could produce that would not need excessive GORE and stuff and so a Movie about the Engineers would easy be done for a PG-13 we dont need Texas Chainsaw Massacre Blood and Guts... to tell the Engineers Tale.

@ali81

I will attempt to cover what the clues/plans for the Engineers are as far as the Evolution of there Story, these points are the intentions of Jon Spaights and Ridley Scott and how they have changed.

*The Inception was a Humanoid Race who traveled the Cosmos Seeding Worlds, visiting their Creations and Nurturing them, while no explanations for why was given.  We did get told these Ancient Beings had lost the Ability to Procreate and they had to find other more inventive means to Reproduce.  These Engineers used a Sacrificial Ritual to Seed/Splice their DNA to Evolve Organisms to take on their DNA.

*The set up was then to also tell of how Mankind had Proved a Disappointment to the Engineers, we ended up not being what they thought we would be, we had become rebellious, sinful and cruel and so the Engineers partook in the Experimentation on Organisms to Create the Perfect Bio-Weapon to Punish their Wayward Children.

*It was implied the Engineers have very long Life-Expectancy

*Prometheus did not change much of these concepts, only it showed a Sacrificial Scene taking place much early in History, and chose to not cover as much detail as far as various Xenomorph related Creatures.

*Ridley Scott spoke of the Engineers as Gardeners of Space.

*RS spoke of the Sacrificial Scene is not the only way they can create Life its just the way they Choose.

*RS Mentioned the Scene was like Ancient Sacrificial Rituals where a Sacrifice would be selected, made a Prince for a year then Sacrificed to appease the Gods, so they can have a better Harvest the Next year. (we have to be careful what we read into this, but at very least the Engineers view this as a Important Event and the Outcome of this is of great Benefit to their Species/Culture).

*RS said the Sacrificial Scene does not have to be on Earth it could be anywhere, this implies the Engineers perform this Ritual on many worlds.

*RS has said the Engineers periodically came back to Evolve us both Genetically and Technologically which no doubt means the Process to get to Mankind was one that needed Evolutionary Intervention by the Engineers and once Mankind was the result they also further tinker with our Genetics as well as pass on Knowledge.

*RS ponders are we the only Humans/Humanoids could there be many more.

*RS mentioned regarding the Elders that they was the Hierarchy/Order of the Society/Culture

*RS mentioned that he did not wish to meet GOD in the first movie, when talking about the removal of the Elders Scene. This could mean their is another Race above the Engineers, or that their Ancestors/Elders are the Gods.

Moving on...

*RS had on countless occasions referred to the Engineers as Fallen Angels, this depends how we view them in this context, this is ambiguous but likely can mean only TWO things or maybe both, this is the Engineers (but which ones) have/are performing Actions that Go Against the Agenda/Plans of there Species/Culture or their Creators,  Much like Lucifer and the Fallen Angels. It could also just be to reflect the Engineers are just a Sinister Race who perform Sinister/Wicked Plans.

*RS implied the Engineers created the Bio-Weapons on LV-223 to Punish/Eradicate any potentially problematic Creations and we had seriously upset them hence our planned destruction.

*RS did mention the Jesus element but the context of this is the Engineers would send down Emissaries to try and warn/change our ways that are offending the Engineers, but we ignored these and killed the Emissaries, thus they had no choice but to Finally Put a Stop to our Race.

Moving on....

*RS had mentioned the Engineers do-not come from LV-223 but that those Engineers in Prometheus (but he could mean all Engineers) come from a Place we would regard as Paradise. I think its likely RS was more likely to be talking about the Biblical One, but then he could mean the Paradise as far as where the Honorable/Chosen go.

*RS mentions that Paradise could be a connotation of a very dark world, the context of this again is likely dark as in Sinister/Malevolent

*RS mentions that David and Shaw will discover beings but the beings they discover are not GODS not in the Traditional Sense, and they are far from Benevolent

*RS again refers to the Engineers as Fallen Angels, and brings up Paradise Lost book in context to the Engineers.

Moving on.... after the gap of no news, until AC announcement

*RS mentions previous stuff regarding Fallen Angels again, but then he also further explains that he feels the Fallen Angels in the Paradise Lost Book had the most fun.

*RS mentions you have ONE guy who is attractive who gets all the girls, goes to all the parties. While ANOTHER guy is not as attractive and sits at home all day being boring, the context of this is reference to the antics the Fallen Angels get up to in Paradise lost, vs God and his Angels staying in Heaven.

*RS then proposes that if the Engineers are the Forerunners of Mankind, then what makes Worlds being able to Support Life in the First Place, where is the BIG GUY, he further goes on to suggest are events like the Big Bang purely a accident, even saying Stephen Hawkings doubts it was just a random event. In context RS is hinting (IMO) that the Process of Manipulation of Worlds is not Natural but Controlled.

*RS mentions that there could be many different races/kinds just as we have with Mankind,  he implied this by saying just as their are many races of Man, why cant that be the same for them (Engineers)

Moving on.... to after AC/during those who visited the Sets

*RS mentions the Hall of Heads are the wise men, the apostles and superior beings (wise could mean Ancient/Elders, apostles implying they are the keepers of the Order/Culture and Ritual way of their kind, the Superior beings is interesting... Superior to who? Engineers? or Mankind?

*Another member of Production referred the Hall of Heads as the Hierarchy

*RS mentions again the Engineers are Gardeners of Space

*RS also calls those Planet 4 Engineers the ORIGINAL Engineers.

*RS also mentions they live for about 150 years.

*RS brings up the maybe many races of Engineers/Mankind again.

*RS mentions the Engineers are NOT a Race but are a Civilization.

*RS brings up that Engineers return to Planet 4 Periodically.

These are all the Official Clues/Comments Ridley Scott has mentioned over the years, we cant say how much he has changed on who the Engineers are over the years, it appears a bit has changed and so comments made etc prior to AC maybe cant be 100% taken as what is now the Deal with these guys, i think i have covered most and i may have missed a few related comments by RS and other Production.

We can look at these and use them maybe along with Visual Clues in the Franchise as well as Plot reveals in the Prequels to maybe try and figure out what the Deal with the Engineers are.  I would be very interested in hearing or seeing what the Original Prometheus 2 plans was, and what Paglen and Green Drafts had in them...  Then i could confirm if the Source i had was correct or just made up.  Its interesting however that what they hinted at in early 2015, RS had made comments 6-7 months after and since that seem to match what they had said.  In regards to a number of things, inc Many Previous Races of Mankind/Humanoids, the Manipulation of Worlds via Technology and more.

@BigDave

The way to look at this is what kind of fully integrated mythos could have been created which has an internal logic. 

Xenomorph 

Easy its the consequence of rebellion and I prefer the idea that the pathogen was a booby trap for tampering with the fire. 

They created us so why did they want to destroy us

First of all when David was restored by Elizabeth he should have discovered that the Engineers were .. Engineers, mechanistic seeders who created life through out the galaxy. The audacity here is our creators are not gods but simply capable of creationism with the tools gifted to them. In that regard the Engineers are like Peter Weyland.

If LV223 was as Janek indicated (Paradise Lost through the booby trap of the pathogen) what kind of world would the Engineers world be.

Ridley said they were aggressive f...... so Paradise is an inversion of our Abrahamic religious beliefs its what we would consider as hell. The visions of Bladerunner 2049 with its dystopian harsh environs would be close to the vision. Elizabeth the believer and David with grudge would come to this world and from their different view points find it appalling. David now in thrall to his feelings would seek to destroy it and like "K" go on a revelatory journey where he discovers like the Replicants he is part of a shared consciousness..... a soul. The revelation at the end of the movie is that the creators are revealed to Elizabeth but in a heavily emblematic and elliptical way leading us to ponder.

LV223    

Represented the beginning of the rebellion and because mankind exercised free will and grew to believe in a spiritually evolved creation the Engineers in an unauthorised act began building Juggernauts with a view to unleashing their improvement on Earth which was booby trapped. Certainly elements like the visitations and interest in us needed tidying up and indeed they could have returned with early mankind and subjected them to the evolving pathogen creating their counterfeit the Deacon. However out of that emerges the booby trap which should have been the Xenomorph. The Xenomorph is a parasite so its an unauthorised intervention which corrupts and humiliates. This idea its some kind of Ancient God tells one more about what people think about its behaviour and how they view it rather than anything else. Indeed the Xenomorph in this vision is much like the David of Covenant mad as a box of frogs and entirely nihilistic but of course without a god complex.  

Bigdave, how can the xenomorph or black goo be useful to eradicate a species? You would then need to eradicate the xenos just to utilize the planet again for a new experiment??  

Michelle Johnston

You keep saying about this mechanistic nature of the engineers but how do you explain the self-sacrifice practiced by them? And the ancients worship (the statues of Engineers all over Planet 4)? What need for any of that if you are a machine hence without a "soul"?

And the opposite of Paradise is not necessarily Hell, as that is populated by fallen angels not by primordially evil angels. And It would have not be necessary to be inspired only by Abrahamic religion, as the Engineers were already a mish-mash of fallen angels, Greek statues and Sumerian gods. Why not go wild and make a version of the Xenomorph the original "gift-bearers", as in the case of the Sumerian primordial goddess Tiamat? 

What ever ... we have an insane robot on planet for 10 years studying a planet he bombarded with a substance that wipes out all animal life, but finds specimens to draw, to dissect, to temper with their dna while living in a cave, using quills as writing instruments and playing to the picture of the Woman he loved and killed. And he even created some species of flowers in her memory...

"Bigdave, how can the xenomorph or black goo be useful to eradicate a species? You would then need to eradicate the xenos just to utilize the planet again for a new experiment"

I think this could De-rail the Topic a bit and go off track but i will try and answer this as quick as i can, we certainly dont have any full information on the Reasons and Agenda yet as far as the Engineers, its open to debate and personnel theories... AC changed the Plan, made David the Creator but in doing so gave us some more clues to WHY he did the things he did... which could take up a lot if it try and explain why i feel he did.

So i will try and address it at the basics... We dont have much of a answer for the Black Goo as its something those working on the movies are tinkering with as far as the Plot, so looking solely at Prometheus and then taking Alien Covenant into account can give us a different verdict.  But at the Basic Level here is what the TWO Bio-Weapons show us.

*The Xenomorph appears and did before to be a Invasive Species, a Parasite to a degree but more evolved to a Engineered Organism (from Aliens on wards) that acts purely as a Invasive Species, if you have a Massive Rat/Mice Problem you get some Cats, and this i feel simply was the case with the Xenomorph it would be unleashed and just Procreate its kind and kill all Life (well most) on a set Location it is unleashed on.  As a Bio-Weapon its not very effective.... its kind of the Same as inventing a Zombie Virus Bio-Weapon unleash it on a Country and then the infection will spread and destroy all Life in that area.

The thing we have not seen yet or been shown, but RS had pondered is IF the Xenomorph has a limited Life-Span then as a Weapon it would be more effective, you wait until the Xenomorph has killed off most of the viable suitable sized Organisms, and then the Xenomorphs die off... then you come back and the World has had its Slate cleaned to a degree and should be ready for Re-seeding.

This makes more Perfect Sense as a Weapon if the Xenomorph is as Alien showed, and it does not Procreate, then as a Weapon it is Effective, but with the DC we see the Xenomorph can Egg Morph, which if the Xenomorph has a limited Life Span could result in the left over Eggs, which could maybe be obtained to use again.. so this route is still a decent Weapon.

The introduction of a Queen however does make this more of a case of introducing a Pest/Parasite to Eradicate another Pest/Parasite, its the case of the Story of the Woman who Swallowed a Fly, then Swallowed a Spider to Eat the Fly etc.....  More so if the Xenomorph can spread over a wide area where Multiple Nests/Hives can be set up and each with Queens... Essentially if the Xenomorphs are like Giant Space Ants/Termites then they indeed are effective Weapon but not ideal unless you only intend to Destroy the Life on that World.

But the Engineers may as well use some kind of Nuke or Biological Disease.  So yes your Question is a good one, and the Big Question depends on how long does a Queen Live? and do Xenomorphs die out eventually.  Then depending on this answer... we have to ask WHY use such a Weapon then... if its used just as a State would with a Nuke, then i guess the whole ALIENS Bio-Weapon makes sense.  But then we dont know if the Queen was a Unexpected Mutation.

The Black Goo Weapon, again this depends how we view this Weapon, it has flaws as far as its purpose because it seems FOX/RS cant make there mind up what it is....  The basics as far as what Prometheus showed and Alien Engineers (earlier draft to Prometheus) that the Seeding Catalyst Substance, is a means to Spread a Organisms DNA to allow this DNA to Evolve Organic Life to take on traits of the Organism the Seeding Catalyst Substance has been exposed too...  But Alien Covenant muddied the Waters with this a bit.

So what we have now is the Black Goo in Prometheus would mutate Life on a World into having Xenomorph DNA.... but then it depends how the Black Goo reacts when used in this FORM. Ridley Scott suggested that Fifield and Holloway would have ended up the same fate as the Engineer Exploding Head.  And so we can assume the Substance (Activated Urns) on Humanoids, infects them mutates them and makes them agressive but then they simply would break down into more Parasitic Substance (Top Part of the Glass Vials in the Urns) or just become NOTHING.

Alien Covenant appears to show us that the Urns when Activated in different way (maybe Programed) to work in a different way, will when applied in Large Doses either attack Genetic Material and break it down, or (maybe depending how Weapon is Activated/Programed) will just turn the Genetic Material into hardened Material and Solidify Genetic Matter.

However the effects, on other Life, or maybe areas not hit by the main Blast Radius will see Organic Matter (maybe just some kinds of Organism) take on Traits that are related to the Xeno/Deacon DNA.  Or that maybe leaking Urns not Activated by the Ships Weapon System, that get loose and LEAK will infect Life in a different way.

So the Black Goo

1) if we look at Prometheus would either infect most life to Evolve into something with Xeno DNA, or that the Lifeforms would mutate but then break down either into more Parasitic Substance Material or to nothing.. (well Genetic Building Blocks would just be scattered to nothing) this makes for a Potentially Dangerous Weapon and again we have to wonder if Life Evolved by the Black Goo can Procreate and if it has limited Life Span then we can be looking at similar to the Invasive Xenomorph Species affect.

If the Goo mutates then breaks down Organisms into nothing, then its a Perfect Weapon for Totally Eradicating Life... If it breaks Organisms down into a Substance/Virus/Parasite then its a case of how long before the resulting Parasite/Virus dies off..... so thus not so much a Perfect Weapon.

2) With what AC revealed, then the effects would be pretty much similar to the latter part of above, where Organic Life would be mutated so that each Genetic Building Block would eventually mutate into a hardened material, or break down into  nothing.....     Then this would seem a Perfect Weapon to Eradicate Life.  But then it depends really on what caused the Neomorph Spores etc instead.

You see the Problem is not a lot of explanation and thought is put into the Black Goo so you have to try and find a solution....  I have a Explanation... which the Black Goo comprises of Components and it depends how these Components are affected/activated to how they react.    The Ship Activates the Urns by some means that Changes how the Components inside operate.... they are then dispersed and Explode and the Resulting Infection Attacks Genetic Material of Organic Life, where it attacks the Cells, Replicates and breaks down the Building Blocks of a Organism (image a Statue made of Lego, getting broken apart) and then after a period of Time, the Parasite just dies off.. as in IT and effected Material it has infected, just turns into Hardened Molecules.

The None Activated Urns could accidentally leak where the Parasite Mutates Organic Life but eventually this Organic Life breaks down into the Parasite, its Building Blocks just evolve into the Parasite and break down into a Substance.     The Period of Time before Organism breaks down, depends on amount of infection and the Type of Organism...  its open to suggest/wonder if this Black Goo affects only some kinds of Organic Matter (because of the Hammerpedes) or would they just break down in time too?

The Urns components are the Glass Vials that contain a Mutagen that effects Organisms Different its maybe a Parasitic Micro Organism, and the amount of this stuff exposed determines the effects.. These Glass Vials are surrounded by a Chemical Material that reacts to certain Environmental Factors and begins to dissolve the Glass and Mix itself with the Pathogen inside becoming a Mixed Biological Soup that rabidly spreads and multiplies the Parasite.

The Urns are supposed to be activated by the Ship in a way that the internal components are effected in a more extreme/intended way so they Explode and Rain down the Mixed Concoction on a World with a different effect.  I did this whole analogy before and i had to use a Nuke to Explain what i was on about.

So i think in AC the Black Goo infected a lot of Life as we saw... but it could not infect all life as there was some Safe Zones where some Life was not infected....   After Davids Juggernaught Crashed into the Mountain which a stream ran down.... some Un-Activated Urns fell out and leaked the Black Goo like in Prometheus into the Stream and this Evolved some Fungi to become the Spores.

I suppose i could have done a nut shell version of above Critters ;)

Here it is....  It depends on the Procreation of the Xenomorph Eggs, does the Organism have limited Life? and is the Queen a Evolutionary Mutation, and the Weapon was not intended to have a Queen but it was a accidental outcome....   Depending on how would a Xenomorph thrive and Procreate on a World when all HOSTS have been used/killed.   Will depend on a World basically being written off, or having to eradicate the Xenomorphs/Queens.

The Black Goo again in a Nutshell (but read my previous post for more info) maybe had a Certain use, the Component in the Glass Vials was not intended as the Weapon, it merely is like say the Plutonium/Uranium of a Nuke.   The Urns as they was stored was intended to be Activated in a Certain way by the Ships Weapons System to effect Life like we saw what happened to the Engineers on Planet 4, so a Reaction is started in those Urns activated by some Mechanism/Process of the Ship... much like how further reactions in a Nuke effect the Plutonium/Uranium to activate a Atomic Explosion.

However these Urns had a Flaw, when not contained a Certain way the Materials can be infected and Merge (substance around the Glass Vial and contents of the Glass Ampoules) which results in the Black Goo effects we see in Prometheus and this stuff can leak into Water and then have different effects...

So as maybe what if the Queen was a accidental Mutation of the Xeno Weapon,  a leaking Un Weaponized Urn can leak into a water and/or effect certain Organic Matter to Produce a Hybrid... hence the Spores.

Thus maybe the intention of the Xenomorph (based on Alien) would be to go and eradicate Life, maybe Egg Morph and Die out, leaving either Nothing or Eggs (if we take the DC version).   The Engineers/David would then have a World Wiped Clean with nothing left, or Eggs to Re-use. 

But the Queen became a Mutation that allowed for Procreation.

Then the Black Goo again intended to Eradicate Life on a World, but a leaked Un-Weaponized Urn can lead to different results which lead to the Spores.

IF-NOT for the Leaked Urns after the Crash (in my proposed theory) the Life in that Area or the World would be Wiped out....  But the crashed ships left over Cargo leaked and caused the undesired Spores.

As far as the points raised by Michelle and Red0guy both good points and this shows the ambiguity and scope of any explanations, they are many and finding which one to think is Correct is hard, its why i abandoned my Prometheus 2/3 drafts attempts... i just could not find ONE Explanation i am happy and i could not incorporate all elements of the different explanations i had to fit nice and not contradict each other.

Red0guy

You are very Correct with your reply, i felt Prometheus had Set us Up for a Story that within RS version of our existence, the Many Ancient Mythos and Religions are just Tales Told and Changed over time of Genuine encounters with these Genetic Space Gardeners who played a role in our Creation and Evolution and were seen by Ancient Man as GOD/Gods

A lot of Ancient Cultures where Polytheistic and then we have the Abrahamic ones that are Monotheistic but all do share some similar themes and stories, yet all differ slightly...   Prometheus showed us all these came from interactions with the Engineers, and these Mythos/Religions are just interpretations from those interactions.  so to UNLOCK the Engineers we have to look at what connects each Ancient Mythos and Religion etc. This is not a easy task...  but my preferred way was to base it more on the oldest recorded Mythos the Mesopotamian ones which most my theories center around but also consider all other Mythos/Religion applied loosely.

However Michelle's points are also Valid because the Prequels appear to touch upon Biblical Connections and well little references here and there more than other Mythos etc,  Ridley Scott even mentioning Biblical connections in terms of Fallen Angels, Paradise Lost and the Space Jesus...  does this mean RS had a greater Emphasis on the Abrahamic themes?   Or are we only to look at them loosely and not take them too literally.

so Jesus = Hybrid Messengers sent to Guide us (so Jesus is one of many, which explains other Star Maps Holloway and Shaw found dated after 2000 years ago Post 0 AD).

Then Perhaps Fallen Angels as in Sinister/Malevolent culture and Agenda of the Engineers, maybe also could mean the Engineers or a Faction acted against the Orders/Agenda of its Hierarchy thus Rebellious. 

The Beauty of all this is any of these can apply, or RS could show us the Truth that all these Myths and Religions are all a Miss-telling/Miss-interpretation and so all these Mythos/Religons are in effect the same the the Dracula Tale (Vampire) regarding Vlad the Impaler  where actually they are not that close to the REAL History/Facts of Vlad the Impaler

I am inclined to RS showing us a continued tale of Creation/Sub-Creation Rebellion, that the latest Run of this Ladder is Davids Arc  which Echoes that of Lucifer and so i am inclined to think Mankind on Earth Rebel/Go against its intended Plans as far as why they was created, and they Sub-Create David and we see the same things happen to Synthetics, as we did against our Creators, and i feel this continues with the Engineers doing the same to their Creators and so on and so on.

Which if this is the case... then Davids Creation will Rebel against him.

red0guy & BigDave

I think your both slightly missing the point of my remarks. My views on what RS was trying to do at the time of Prometheus and what he was trying to do at the time of Covenant and what  the two films "mean" is long over.

I am answering Big Dave's point that it is to difficult to make a coherent answer out of what Prometheus implied or could have lead to. 

My view is quite different. With some small tinkering Prometheus could have set up the answers for a coherent and clear set of answers to be provided by Prometheus Pandemonium. 

The first film is about Weyland's search for our creators. Those ancient astronauts that visited earth and left behind clues and foot prints. The big reveal is we created a mythos around them which is entirely incorrect they were not spiritual gods they were merely using their gift to Engineer mankind. The gift made to them by the creators required a Covenant of sacrifice and it is the rebellion against that sacrifice that lead to LV 223 and a desire for unauthorised sub creation out of which the punishment of the Xenomorph emerges. The LV426 Juggernaut was a particularly ritualistic form of sub creation on route to Paradise to pollute the Einherjar of Valhalla. But because the Pathogen held a booby trap with in its creation gene it turned on its sub creators and wiped out LV 223 and the infested pilot of the Juggernaut. It would have made sense for the Jockey to be a particularly important part of this punishment for rebellion because its such an important part of the first films iconography. 

To me its obvious that a parasite that terrorises, subjugates, rapes its victim and then leaves its own mark on it is a punishment tool to make it a "species" is neither biologically logical or morally correct in the real world from which we view this entertainment.

The Engineers in their hubris built self reversional emblems of their conceit and the kind of imagery in both films, which we never receive an answer on, is about recognising particularly important Engineers in that sub creative process. ...except it isn't because the twist at the end of Pandemonium is that they are imagers of their creators (the occupants of the tear drop ship) and at the end of the second film David and Elizabeth after the destruction of Paradise and its mechanistic source of power they receive the revelation of the creators which can be left highly emblematic so we can place our own interpretation of its meaning on it. But the clearest dramatic point is Elizabeth finds her answers not in the Engineers but in the creators and David represents a turning point in the creation story of Artificial Intelligence but in the traditional sense both "die".

These two films would have been visually impressive and set the imagination wild but also left us to ponder and consider but not as we do from a position of chaos and contradictory narrative decisions but certainty. That these kind of movies would be strong on symbolism, high on character and in story telling terms look nothing like A or A's would have had the "monster we needs it" brigade foaming at the mouth but they are anyway. These would have been grown up films made by a man towards the end of his life bucket listing the question that my generation had when they watched A L I E N in the late 70's. and for any millennials who cared to think for themselves rather than be spoon fed an action monster movie.       

BigDave

"then David's Creation will rebel against him" that was painfully obvious from the start, enforced by him comparing himself to Ozymandias. Walter, that was the problem, not that he misquotes the poet, it is that he does not understand what he quotes. So what's the point of any sequel?

Michelle Johnston

Well, we have what we have, monster more and more monsters. Well isn't the mirror enough for anyone?

only way they can use the planet again is if the have something to counter act the pathogen or a some kind of virus that kills the xenos. this is ofcourse IF the engineers wish to use the planet at all. again we know nothing of the engineers or their motivation so its hard to gauge whats what at the moment. do they view species like humans as a mistake and wish the planet to be uninhabitable or do they have plans for the planet after the pathogen has been released? both are extremely effective weapons to kill off all fauna on a planet but the 'fallout' remains deadly  and makes colonisation of the planet very hard if not impossible unless there is a counter measure

Bigdave, I guess it also depends on if its the Engineers using the black goo or David because they seem to have different end games for its usage. 

The queen likely isn't going to be a mutation if David said in the deleted scenes that Davis will be his queen. 

Indeed Critters my points were based on what Prometheus kind of led us to, now David created the Xenomorph that changes things a bit.  I was looking at the Black Goo and Xenomorph Eggs for the Purpose of a Weapon used to clear out Worlds, assuming both was created by the Engineers.

We really need to know what is the Plans/Purpose for wiping out Life with their Bio-Weapons, if it is to return to start again, then there must be a time-frame after the Black Goo and/or Xenomorphs that the World would be Safe to Return...  who knows how many years this could take, it could take Hundreds or Thousands before a Cleansed World is now a Clean Slate again...  but these Time-Frames may not appear so long in the Grand Scheme of it all as far as the Engineers go.

I dont think the Engineers would use these Weapons to purely destroy a World and thus Write this World off, unless the Bio-Weapons were a more recent creation (thousands of years) as a direct reaction to Humans on Earth.