New Alien: Covenant production still shows Covenant’s cryo-storage. The countdown to Alien: Covenant’s trailer continues with the Alien Anthology social media accounts releasing a second new production still of the week, this time of the Covenant’s cryo-storage area:
The capsules look noticeably different from the various cryo-chambers we’ve seen throughout the Alien films. Back in August, 20th Century Fox showed us a closer view of someone (Daniels?) in one of these cryo-chambers.
As with the production still released yesterday, this new still comes with yet another cryptic numerical sequence: “130112062104.” The meaning of these clues has yet to be decrypted. What do you think?
Keep a close eye on Alien vs. Predator Galaxy for the latest on Alien: Covenant! You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to get the latest on your social media walls. You can also join in with fellow Alien fans on our forums!
It could've worked 'in-universe' had that pesky Riddles not had touch screens and handheld holograms in Prometheus.
I've spent an entire semester studying the aesthetics and motives of science fiction texts (visual or orthographic). I would have to disagree with you on its representation being our future. It may have been the future in the mind of a 1970s filmmaker or artist, but it is still an imagined "future of one moment of what is now our own past" (Jameson 151). Of course, Jameson is talking about Utopian writings of science fiction, but according to him, we have "[a] constitutional inability to imagine Utopia itself" (153) but in the same article, extends this logic to Dystopian concepts:
"All of this can be said in another way by showing that, if Soviet images of Utopia are ideological, our own characteristically Western images of dystopia are no less so, and fraught with equally virulent contradictions [...] Orwell's novel [1984] indeed, set out explicitly to dramatize the tyrannical omnipotence of a bureaucratic elite, with its perfected and omnipresent technological control [...] to show how, without freedom of thought, no science or scientific progress is possible, a thesis vividly reinforced by images of squalor and decaying buildings. The contradiction lies of course in the logical impossibility of reconciling these two propositions: if science and technological mastery are now hampered by the lack of freedom, the absolute technological power of the dystopian bureaucracy vanishes along with it and "totalitarianism" ceases to be a dystopia in Orwell's sense. Or the reverse: if these Stalinist masters dispose of some perfected scientific and technological power, then genuine freedom of inquiry must exist somewhere within this state, which was precisely- what was not to have been demonstrated" (155-6).
In regards to Alien's so-called envisioning of our future, Jameson would argue "...These visions are themselves now historical and dated-streamlined cities of the future on peeling murals-while our lived experience of our greatest metropolises is one of urban decay and blight. That particular Utopian future has in other words turned out to have been merely the future of one moment of what is now our own past.
In reality, the relationship of this form of representation, this specific narrative apparatus, to its ostensible content-the future-has always been more complex than this. For the apparent realism, or representationality, of SF has concealed another, far more complex temporal structure: not to give us "images" of the future [...] but rather to defamiliarize and restructure our experience of our own present" (151).
In other words, there is no "future" in what Alien shows us. It is not a crystal ball in that sense. It reveals something in our own present that we cannot ordinarily see: "Elaborate strategies of indirection are therefore necessary if we are somehow to break through our monadic insulation and to "experience," for some first and real time, this 'present,' which is after all all we have" (151).
Also, I believe it also came up as an explanation for the tech shown in Alien: Isolation too...
Im assuming a terraforming ship like the Covenant would have much higher technology in certain areas due to it, you know, carrying a large chunk of people who need to be healthy when theyre thawed out... As well as science tech that would allow for "modern" (at the time of Covenant) comforts and tooling.
Just saying...
Gravity has always been an issue in the films which hasn't really been touched on. They're clearly able to induce an artificial gravity field, yet always use some kind of rocket thruster to produce actual momentum for ships.
I always had in mind they were running all stuff on very low consuming power OS.
Something like Linux based terrible with graphics but very efficient.
Touch screen makes more sense though, especially for safety of not having a button/switch down-off.
https://www.avpgalaxy.net/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F--DXdflY2E2E%2FUudR9BcHmsI%2FAAAAAAAAZ0M%2FOG6b2j5UYw0%2Fs1600%2Fdw-arkinspace-nervasleep_big.png&hash=0949a36fc0d6d215981af5911ec1248ad787bddd
Xeno:
https://georgesjournal.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/doctor_who_the_ark_in_space_the_wirrn.jpg
Fifield mutant:
https://www.avpgalaxy.net/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fvignette4.wikia.nocookie.net%2Ftardis%2Fimages%2F0%2F0e%2FWirrn_Noah.jpg%2Frevision%2Flatest%3Fcb%3D20141029182227&hash=5f9632b284338bc2709f47aed05f54813b163de9
And yeah, Elizabeth Shaw.
Ridley worked for the BBC and almost designed the Daleks as well.
Yeah but touch screens are lame.
Looked fine in Alien: Isolation. Brilliant even. But realistically, Amanda would've been retuning doors with some kind of touch screen rather than monochrome with 8 bit graphics.
I suppose it could all be gorilla glass and super sturdy, but it looks not particularly substantial to my eyes. Mind you, I liked the Interstellar cryo chambers because they used water presumably to counteract low gravity and cosmic radiation issues while needing to carry water for the journey anyway.
They've got the space/dimensions right though - battery chicken style - stack em high, sell em cheap. Im not sure about vertical cryo though. If the covenant has gravity enabled during cryo this would cause lots of problems for the spine given we shrink over a normal day and require a night's horizontal sleep to decompress and return to normal height.
Without gravity, according to nasa/esa, fluid builds in the wrong parts of the body, so unless the cryos are being constantly rotated rotisserie style, that could also be something to consider.
Yes, Im being picky. But I would expect lessons to have been learned and more attention to science than Prometheus.
Exactly, plus it makes more sense in a lot of way.
The LHC may be one of the most advanced thing humanity has technologically achieved, but if you looked at the desk of the workers, you'd surprised to see Facebook and Google have much better headquarter
You do with the economy and the fact you must have functional things.
I always loved the "heavy" metal looking of the nostromo and claustrophobic aspect.
It's seems much more adequate to protect against the vaccuum of space especially if you have a large load.
Worked fine in Alien: Isolation.
Don't get me wrong; I LOVE Aliens aesthetics, But Ridley work Beyond style, I think if he is to represent sci-fi it needs to look plausible to him for the current times. And in this regard, the early films we all know and love may just be a little bit dated.
These movies are mostly rooted in the alien world through spirit, and not as much in rock solid continuation, I presume.
My thoughts exactly, Eighth.
Nostromo was a space tractor and had only seven passengers aboard that's why its cryo-chamber was big. They could afford it. Covenant is a colony ship with (probably) hundreds people. For that reason its cryo-chamber looks simple, functional and practical.
Also the first one does not have the "CAUTION - MOVING PARTS" at the bottom??
Cool! Thanks for the link.
https://aambar.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/pics-1.png
In this regard, I think the nostromo actually looked more advance than many other ship.
The sulaco looked old (but practical for army).
The only thing that stood apart are the switch and buttons and all the technological "integration".
But it's really nothing major, most of the designs felt very advanced and yet practical in Alien.
What didn't feel futuristic are hanger, vents and many places where it's not supposed to be nicely polished and shiny. I think it's rather coherent as a whole for now. There may be different ship constructor and models too. Each one having different engineer/architect. Although, I do regret a lot of "clunky" aspect of the exterior of the ship and the smooth/round/fluffy aspect of the inside.
Yep. You can even see a crack on the cryo screen.
Spoiler
I remember the animated version of this image had a lot of electrical flashing going on, might be during the storm when the Captain dies.
https://pbs.twimg.com/tweet_video_thumb/CpBu4iAWEAAUd3-.jpg
That's a very good point Hicks. Not to get sidetracked, but was I the only one that didn't realize the new Blade Runner movie was coming out next year? Talk about an early Christmas present!
Personally I think these look less advanced than the Sulaco or the Nostromo. They just look shiny because they've likely only been used once or twice.
As with 'Prometheus', any technological inconsistances are going to be with how things square up with the "state of the badass art" Sulaco and Gateway Station, not the Nostromo.
Remember, if this is a colony ship, we have to believe it's going to be a more primitive version of what later transported the future residents of Hadley's Hope.
Time will tell...
I hope so. I'm not sure I could cope with waiting until Christmas day.
Also - has anyone noticed that one of the cryochambers isn't active?
130112062104 = 1.5 days to go
220512052104 = 2.5 days to go
220512052104 Yesterday's
Anyone figured it out?
Which would mean trailer drops @ Wed 21st Dec 2016
Hell yeah!
Spoiler