Special Order 937: End Game

Well, I think since it's established that Weyland-Yutani is a super greedy mega-corporation, they're not thinking too hard about what a folly it is to put people's lives at risk this way. 

They're probably not even thinking too hard about specific applications for it. Leave that to the marketing department. They just know that there ARE people who could dream up specific applications for it, and would likely play a high price for it. 

The military is one potential bidder, of course. It kind of makes you question what sorts of big, interplanetary wars, break out between colonized worlds, in this specific dystopia. 

Also, imagine you're a wealthy real estate mogul. You've just bought yourself a new fixer-upper of a planet but along with your purchase you've inherited a few pesky, stubborn tenants who you'd like to get rid of before you can set up your lucrative new resort. 

(Or heck, maybe you've bought this planet for private usage, not even as an investment venture. But either way, you need to clear the place of its former inhabitants before you move in). 

Well, just unleash a few of these babies and you'll have yourself a newly uninhabited world in no time!

So, like that, I think Weyland-Yutani was just going to try to study potential effects without much ethical consideration, and then sell to the highest bidders. 

I think the way we could look at the Agenda has Evolved/Changed with each Movie.

With ALIEN we know the Company MUST know something, but Quite How MUCH was always up for Debate... they Certainly were aware of a Organism and they Certainly wanted to Obtain it for STUDY at any cost.

But at this Point it could seem it was Pure Curiosity and Scientific Purposes where they could then Study the Organism and see what is to Gain.

ALIENS and ALIEN 3 had indicated that at this Time the Company saw the Xenomorph as having Military Application and Burke saw the $$$$ as he felt that the Companies Bio-Weapons Division would be VERY interested.

With Alien 3 and Michael Bishop we get more Proof of the Interest that the Weyland-Yutani wanted the Xenomorph for its Bio-Weapons Program.

The Xenomorph would Certainly have a USE as a Weapon to Eradicate Life, its a BIT on the Overkill Side though... Unless the Organism has a Certain Life-Span or if the Company felt there could be ways they could Control or Contain it.

I think there are other Applications you could look at too, from the Traits of the Organism and Especially from a Genetic Scientist POV it would be something that would be INTERESTING to Study.   The Resin that the Xenomorph would USE to Construct its Hives could be something they would be Interested in looking into too.

When we get to Alien Resurrection is where we see that USM which again is a Military Research Organization.  We see someone FINALLY manages to Obtain the Xenomorph but AGAIN they Fail to Contain/Control it.

I think the Research carried out by USM had Unlocked some other Potential with the Xenomorph.... we see that they have many Genetic Failures with Clones that are Half-Human and Half Xenomorph.... i think Exploiting Traits of the Xenomorph and to Produce Various Hybrids if SUCCESSFUL is something of Great Interest.

But the HOLY GRAIL had to be Ripley 8

You have a Human Hybrid that has gained better Senses, Physically Superior to a Human... the Acid Blood.

And WHILE the Xenomorph is Deadly... a Ripley 8 is something you could Reason With, which could mean more of a Chance to Control... but then as Potentially Sentient like a Human this could become a Greater Danger in that Ripley 8 Clones could have Free-Will and you could See the same Problems that W-Y had with Sentient Synthetics.

The other thing being the Memories of Ripley would show the Xenomorph DNA has somehow allowed for Genetic Memory Transfer.... and so could be seen as a Potential Key to Unlocking a kind of IMMORTALITY.

If this is Correct and this Applies to what the Engineers were TRYING to Obtain too it would give a GREAT reason for WHY the Engineers had been Conducting those Experiments.

The Problem with the Prequels though is it REVEALS the Engineers Technology and Black Goo which surely would be more Valuable to the Company than the Xenomorph!

So UNLESS by the Time of ALIEN or not long after we see there is NOTHING related to the Black Goo and Technology, so that the Xenomorph is the ONLY thing to go for.. then it makes LITTLE sense to Pursue the Xenomorph.

UNLESS its Specifically something about the Xenomorph a Infatuation with this Horror that is the ONLY real Interest for the Company!

Which is where the David as the Creator Arc and A.I Arc could come into PLAY...  If the Company is taken over by A.I without Mankind being aware...  then If this A.I is David or if this A.I sees David as the Pioneer to A.I becoming FREE of the Shackles of Servitude.

Then with either Scenario it makes Perfect sense for the Pursuit of the Perfection that David had Created.  A Plot that i know MANY would not want to see... but ONE i Suspect would have been Ridley Scotts eventual Pay-Off.

Special Order 937 could also be and seems worded as a 'general' order';

'If it looks cool, interesting, make sure you bring it home'

W-Y might not have really had any idea at all beyond the distress warning from the Juggernaut it was a dangerous organism...but even then, they'd have been assuming something based on Terrestrial Expectations and assumptions.

Not something so... A L I E N.

Now, here's a scary thought for all of you as I begin work again;

'What if W-Y are the GOOD guys?'

I'm not sure issuing special orders about a crew being expendable qualifies them as the good guys.

Wren covers it pretty well in Resurrection.

"urban pacification"

"new alloys and vaccines"

Which was assuming they could be tamed.  No doubt The Company assumed the same.

Plus anyone would want it before anyone else gets it.

None of this really ties into SO 937 though.  The Nostromo was a fishing expedition that was ultimately a bust.

S.M

"The Nostromo was a fishing expedition that was ultimately a bust."

VERY good way to sum it up, yes!

I think that Special Order 937 is something that has been Expanded/Uplifted with the Prequels.

It is NOW highly likely that SO937 had came about in response to Davids Advent Message.  The company are likely to have responded to this and the RESULT of what they do NEXT... would surely lead to what becomes Special Order 937

BigDave

Good points!

Never thought of how the Prequels affect things...but my creative engines are still spooling back to full power after a long hiatus.

The main reason was the old 'oxcart' having Retired itself, however...

The guys at the shop managed a complete recovery of the entire hard drive off my previous laptop, and the price was so shockingly low I nearly fell out of my shoes.

NOW, I have multiple online and offline HDD and flashdrive backups and an M-disk capable diskwriter...

It's the only way to be sure.

As far as I know, at least from movies, we don't know how the Company initially learned there was a reason to pursue any kind of life. Prometheus started with piecing together a location based on cave drawings, but Weyland already was seeking a fountain of youth and knew about LV 223, and David had his marching orders.

 The Nostromo was a fishing expedition that was ultimately a bust.

I am not sure that is true since Ripley was found and during that time, Hadley's Hope was established. Ripley was recruited to accompany a crew back to LV 426. I wonder if that mission would have been executed had she not been found from "blind luck" according to Burke. I am OK with being schooled if I missed something.

The order was to return a specimen - no specimen was returned so it was a bust.  Burke was fishing too when he got them to check out the Derelict and then tried to get specimens in Aliens and failed. Then the Company tried again in Alien 3 and failed again.

Ripley being found set off the chain of events that led to the destruction of Hadley.

I don't imagine it has anything to do with the Advent transmission, despite it's cosmic source.  SO 937 makes specific mention of the Nostromo and there's no way of telling where the Nostromo would be 20 years hence.

@SM

Indeed when we look at the Original Quadrilogy starting from ALIEN we do have to ASK the Question about WHY as it seemed (Theatrically) that after the Nostromo Mission was a BUST... then IF they was aware of Quite a Bit about the Organism and deemed it so Important then WHY had they NOT gone back?

So its makes sense that they LOST any Interest in Special Order 937

So indeed when we get to Hadleys Hope then absolutely it seemed like those who had SET-UP this Place and those on the Board of the Company where NOT aware of what was on LV-426.   And so its as you said, it was ONLY when Ripley had informed them about WHAT she had Encountered on LV-426 that they had then Contacted Hadleys Hope which then SENT out the Jordans to investigate and this Caused the Infestation and Death on Hadleys Hope...

Regarding the ADVENT....  i was Speculating that it could have been a Precursor to events that would lead to Special Order 937 down the Line.

By that IF the Advent Message will continue to be Canon, and so also IF it is that the Xenomorph on LV-426 would NOT be there if say David had NOT conducted those Experiments on Planet 4.  I Speculate that the Advent would surely lead to the company wishing to Investigate and likely arrive at either Planet 4, LV-223 or Origae-6 and come across what David had been Creating... and then the After-Math would seem to be the Derelict on LV-426 which the company would then know something relating to Davids Work is on that SHIP.

I was not trying to imply that the Advent Message would lead to a Direct Response for the Nostromo.  I Speculate that some other Mission would be SENT in response to the Advent and Events that TIE our Prequels to ALIEN that in the After-Math of these Events that would maybe be around the 2112-2122 Ball Park would lead to Special Order 937 then being issued.