Alien evolution

[L. Arkwright]

There has been mention of whether the aliens are all organic or part artificial. The thing is that the latter emplies that they where created. Question is by who? The Derelict pilot race could be a good start. My own personal opinion is that his race where a people of bio engineers. The jocky didnt grow out of his seat to become one with the ship, he is the ship. The whole thing is his body which would also support the parasite view of what the aliens could be and the whole organic feel to it. He was transporting a biological weapon. (this would tie in with how the company already knew to use its weapons Div to research them cos they had already been told what they where in the alien transmission.) So if this is the case who where they fighting. Predators? Just a another thought, if they where for the predators then maybe they where a custom made product so the crab headed ones could practice their skills.
The other option that they are completely organic then gives rise to other questions. Creatures evolve and adapt to their surroundings and slowly change. What predators (I mean that in the natural sense, not the movie sense) made the aliens evolve such destructive and terrifying defence mechanisms? Does this mean that out there, there are creatures more dangerous than the shadowlurkers we've come to love.
Just a couple of topics that I thought might make a good disscusion. Views anyone?

[Dave]

Those are interesting ideas. I'd much rather they continued the series with a prequel based on those ideas than another 'resurrection' theme or an 'Alien vs Predator' movie.

From the Alien DVD commentary, that is also the view of Ridley Scott.

[MetalAlien]

Well I feel it's hard to ignore the metallic and machine like "parts" of the original Alien design. But that hasn't stopped people from doing just that, including the producers of the later films.

Just using observations of the Alien creatures in the first film despite what anyone says, what makes it on screen demands a design relationship between the jockey and the warrior. I mean they just look like they are cut from the same cloth, so to speak.

If the Jockey and the eggs were found by a real scientists in real life there would be no discussion, they would be seen as different parts of a single system. And as the perfect melding of machine and organic.

And they wouldn't ignore that the huggers fit with human biology perfectly (DNA compatiblity and so forth), an implied intent would be reached. The Jockey is a war ship made to wipe out species much like (if not specificly) US!

A history can be impled from that as well, if they are made to kill us, the jockeys creators have a history with humans as well (visits to earth).

Just my opinion

[markpud]

Interesting theory, I'm not sure if the alien "face-huggers" were a specific design to fit humans though. There is no other sign of alien life in the Alien universe, but a face-hugger is able to attach itself to a dog and grow from there (Alien3). Presumably when AvP comes out, we will see face-huggers attacking Predators. I know all creatures on Earth share a very similar DNA structure, and as the Predators look similar to a humanoid, presumably there isn't too much variation there either..?

It would seem to be that the face-hugger is able to attach itself to any living creature that has a respiratory system similar to a human, i.e. breathing some form of air, so vulnerable to being choked if the anyone attempts to remove the creature. The acid blood is another deterrent here, as it would kill the victim.

These seem to me to be very biological traits, leading me to the conclusion that the Aliens are a biological species.

As to whether they were engineered or are a product of evolution, that is something we may never find a satisfactory answer to. As you say in your original post, if they are an evolved species, then they must have evolved this way in response to something. Perhaps the Predators (in the movie sense, rather than the generic one) are the threat that the Aliens evolved to fight? AvP *should* go some way to answering that question...

There is though a compelling argument that they are engineered, given the metallic components, and their amazing adaptability and ability to survive for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years in egg form. The Queen Alien seen in "Aliens" could be thought of as either the pinnacle of the species evolutionary process (ignoring the hybrid from Resurrection for now), or as a masterpiece of genetic engineering. Again, there is no right or wrong, nor any way to prove it either way..

[MetalAlien]

Buwah! It's endless. Like the movie Wargames, the only way to win is to not play. hehehehe.

[markpud]

But in not playing, you miss out completely!!

[L. Arkwright]

Giger's style of artwork carrys the title Bio-mechanical. This encompasses his whole portfolio and is just that, his style, not a description of certain objects that he paints or produces. The Alan Dean Foster novelisation of the first film had to have been wrote from the script rather than the actual events that take place within the film. It includes the cocoon segment as well as an aborted coridoor sequence (from the movie) where the alien is lurking just outside an airlock and is almost jettisond (pardon my spelling) but someone sets off an emergency klaxon and that chance is lost. The conversation between Ripley and Ash's head also is more detailed. He describes it as a perfectly evolved organism, an ultimate predator.
The Aliens themselves are acid proof. Every living creature contains minerals. Think of the financial gains if you could come up with some kind of silica product that was that resistant to molecular acid.
I believe that they are some kind of highly evolved parasite. The chamber in which they are originally found bears a striking resemblance to the inside of a huge stomach.

MetalAlien, I know your views on this and im not challenging them or trying to change your mind here. I know you feel kinda strongly about this and im only expressing mine. Dont stop playing as you put it. This entire thread has looked at the aliens evolution from both points of view. Its cool that people can have varying opinions. Anyway youve gotta be in it to win it eh?

[MetalAlien]

Not at all, express away. I'm in the minority anyhow.

I like the interview with the collector of all the Alien props (Bob Burns) on the new Alien quadrilogy bonus disc. He's giving his opinions about the (alien) prop heads (from the creature costumes) from all four alien movies. Although he is careful to praise them all it's clear he likes the original much better, and his reason being (he states this) it looks more like flesh grown over mechanical parts and the newer aliens don't.

[No One]

I wanna get pedantic and throw something into the Alien mix here that's been bothering me for a while...well, bothering is too strong a word.

I won't talk about how generally ridiculous the 'alien' has become with its capacity for lateral thinking, acid-spitting, and precision tail-strikes, but has anyone else ever thought that the warrior aliens produced from a living host were never, in fact, meant to have acid-blood?

It stands to reason that the face-huggers would need such a defensive adaptation during the impregnation period, but there's really no reason for the warrior-breed to share the biology.

Methinks, technically, Cameron made a boo-boo, but then I have no idea if Scott or Cameron have ever addressed the point. Probably not.

[Rodders]

I would lean toward the Bio-Mechanical side of the argument. I'm not too sure that i could believe that life really evolved from single celled organisms in an environment that was that hostile?