Did the Alien originally have a short life span?

[System Apollo]

Didn't one of the making-of books on the film suggest the Alien had a short lifespan and was in the Narcissus because it was looking for somewhere quiet to snuff it?

I think I know which book you're referring to. But once again, as you said, it was merely suggested.

[Valaquen]

Actually I'm pretty sure the bronzing was done to show aging, not necessarily dying, but certainly aging. I'll dig around for the article and see if it's the interviewer or Giger.

If you find it I'm definitely interested in the quote. I've been reading Giger's diary and he whines every other page about the paint job being destroyed 

[Xenomorphine]

I doubt much thought was put behind it, aside from idle ideas from the production crew behind why the script allowed Ripley to remain unmolested in the shuttle. Assuming it was dying was just as valid as assuming it realised it had no need to hurry and could simply observe her in curiosity before pouncing (or biologically gearing up to start remaking more hive material).

[Russ]

A short life-span might also explain why they go into stasis as they (seemed to at least) did LV426.

I was trying to make a theory work, but  it doesn't. However, for the record --- 

I first thought that maybe they had short lifespans to stop them being too successful and running out of resources (hosts) as gigantic armies of alien warriors would soon deplete any environment they were in (I think the very first comic says that they also had natural predators on their homeworld, but outside of that - unchecked - they were to of the food chain).

But that doesn't really add up? Cos once a host is dead its dead. Still, maybe if the warriors keep dying out and can't hunt in vast numbers, it gives the hosts a chance to repopulate?

I also thought the alien was sick and dying at the end of the first one (this thread reminded me of that) - or at least there was something not right with it. As Xenomorphine indicates, they probably had no real reason other than "we need a reason for Ripley to survive" and threw it in there, but its great to extrapolate on!

[Elmazalman]

A short life-span might also explain why they go into stasis as they (seemed to at least) did LV426.

I was trying to make a theory work, but  it doesn't. However, for the record --- 

I first thought that maybe they had short lifespans to stop them being too successful and running out of resources (hosts) as gigantic armies of alien warriors would soon deplete any environment they were in (I think the very first comic says that they also had natural predators on their homeworld, but outside of that - unchecked - they were to of the food chain).

But that doesn't really add up? Cos once a host is dead its dead. Still, maybe if the warriors keep dying out and can't hunt in vast numbers, it gives the hosts a chance to repopulate?

I also thought the alien was sick and dying at the end of the first one (this thread reminded me of that) - or at least there was something not right with it. As Xenomorphine indicates, they probably had no real reason other than "we need a reason for Ripley to survive" and threw it in there, but its great to extrapolate on!

A dead host can still have it's uses.

[Jango1201]

Never thought of it as dying at the end of Alien. But it does make sense. Then again, if it is as intelligent as most presume, then maybe it was simply biding its time for the right moment to strike. If the alien senses a human heart rate, adrenaline, etc, then maybe it was waiting for Ripley to feel safe and let her guard down before it struck. Obviously it underestimated her quick response to him reaching out to her. Either that or he was just a fat ass by then and couldn't be bothered to move without "motivation".     

[Xhan]

A short life-span might also explain why they go into stasis as they (seemed to at least) did LV426.

I was trying to make a theory work, but  it doesn't. However, for the record --- 

I first thought that maybe they had short lifespans to stop them being too successful and running out of resources (hosts) as gigantic armies of alien warriors would soon deplete any environment they were in (I think the very first comic says that they also had natural predators on their homeworld, but outside of that - unchecked - they were to of the food chain).

But that doesn't really add up? Cos once a host is dead its dead. Still, maybe if the warriors keep dying out and can't hunt in vast numbers, it gives the hosts a chance to repopulate?

I also thought the alien was sick and dying at the end of the first one (this thread reminded me of that) - or at least there was something not right with it. As Xenomorphine indicates, they probably had no real reason other than "we need a reason for Ripley to survive" and threw it in there, but its great to extrapolate on!

Thing is a long span would might necessitate the same.

[Russ]

*nods thoughtfully* Go on...

[xeno_alpha_07]

Ridley Scott on the issue of the Alien's lifespan:

"I wanted a sense of a timeless, slightly decaying creature that, maybe, only has a limited life cycle of, maybe, four days like an insect ... The Alien lifeform lived to reproduce ... [Ripley] killed it, but it would have died soon anyway. It's like a butterfly."

Here's another quote by Ridley while talking about the cocoon sequence:

...I think it provided some explanation for the Alien's killing spree -- like a butterfly or an insect, it has a limited lifespan in which to reproduce itself.  It also helped explain why it didn't attack Ripley in the Narcissus.  It's days were over.  Like a chameleon, it had found a protective corner in that ship and was working itself in there to die.

[Valaquen]

Ridley Scott on the issue of the Alien's lifespan:

"I wanted a sense of a timeless, slightly decaying creature that, maybe, only has a limited life cycle of, maybe, four days like an insect ... The Alien lifeform lived to reproduce ... [Ripley] killed it, but it would have died soon anyway. It's like a butterfly."

Here's another quote by Ridley while talking about the cocoon sequence:

...I think it provided some explanation for the Alien's killing spree -- like a butterfly or an insect, it has a limited lifespan in which to reproduce itself.  It also helped explain why it didn't attack Ripley in the Narcissus.  It's days were over.  Like a chameleon, it had found a protective corner in that ship and was working itself in there to die.

I think that's new to my eyes. You da man 

[xeno_alpha_07]

Finally found the original quote I was looking for taken from the book of Alien for those interested:

I want to show that the Alien has a limited life cycle, like a butterfly.  And within that period of time once it decides to expose itself - to coin a phrase - once it jumps out of the egg, it has to reproduce and spread fast as possible, maybe in a cycle of only days.  And so in the last sequence, you see slime emanating from the big Alien's body because we're trying to convey that maybe he's sealing himself in again, like a cocoon.  Also, by that point, he has to be provoked to attack, because he has to get on with his life cycle.

[oduodu]

wow

thats a pretty definitive statement.

thanks xeno aplha 07

[Corporal Hicks]

Does anything cocoon itself to die?

[Vertigo]

Not to my knowledge, but quite a few invertebrates die when they give birth, to provide a food source for their litter. The quote suggests it has another stage to its lifecycle, maybe it's also able to spawn an egg or some kind of larva from its dying/dead body. *Shrug*

[𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔥 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯]

Remember the spider that lived outside your window? Orange body, green legs. Watched her build a web all summer, then one day there's a big egg in it. The egg hatched...