Aliens: Bug Hunt - Aliens Anthology Announced!

[LordCassusSnow]

Actura is the name of the Acturian planet.

[The Alien Predator]

I am super excited for this.

I hope to see world building and possibly exploring more alien races. The last Titan Books trilogy and the current Rage War trilogy keep mentioning races, featuring Dog-Alien remains and name dropping the Arcturians repeatedly.

And one of the authors (I think it was James A. Moore) once hinted that "there are plans for them" when asked about the Arcturians back when the previous trilogy was still a new thing.

YES! Maybe this could be it?

[Perfect-Organism]

Actura is the name of the Acturian planet.

What happened to the first "r" in the word?  And shouldn't it be Arcturus?

[Xenomrph]

Actura is the name of the Acturian planet.

Actura is the name of the Acturian planet.

What happened to the first "r" in the word?  And shouldn't it be Arcturus?

Exactly. It's spelled "Arcturian". "Actura" in the WY Report is either a typo or they're referring to a different place.

[Corporal Hicks]

I don't have my book out to check but I imagine if it is actually printed as Actura then it is a typo as it seems obvious that they're intending to reference the Arcturian line.

[SM]

Or on the other hand, that's its name.

[Corporal Hicks]

Not sure what that link is explaining? 

[SM]

Only that Actura is an existing word.

[Corporal Hicks]

I don't think anyone is doubting that, SM. Just whether that would be the correct spelling for their homeworld. There is an actual star called Arcturus. It's actually one of (maybe the) brightest star in the Northen Hemisphere IIRC. Alan Dean Foster referenced it in the Alien novelization way before Aliens and I believe it's also a destination in Alien: Isolation.

[SM]

I am quite aware.

[Perfect-Organism]

I certainly hope it's Arcturus and not Actura.  Actura just feels like typo that's been institutionalized.  Arcturus is a classic astronomical name and has been a part of the Aliens lexicon for decades.  If it's the same place, why change it?  If it's a different place, why not come up with something more creative?

[Xenomrph]

I am quite aware.

The question is whether "Actura" in the WY Report is referring to the "Arcturians" referenced in 'Aliens'. Is "Actura" the name of the planet that orbits "Arcturus"? And if so, does that jive with "Arcturians" as described in the Rage Wars books?

[LordCassusSnow]

It's quite possibly a typo. These newer books being released are not without their continuity errors. Fun fact, back in the 90's, astronomers thought they had discovered a ringed planet in the Zeta 2 riticuli system. Few years later they discovered their findings were false. But in the Weyland Industries timeline, a bit later, a ringed planet was discovered with three moons orbiting it!

[Perfect-Organism]

Bottom line is, you can retcon alien 3 and AR, but you can't retcon Arcturian Puntang!  Acturan Puntang just ain't the same!  The fans have been clamoring for some Arcturian Puntang for 30 years now.  Arcturian Puntang is sacred Alien lore just like Jonesy!

[Xenomrph]

It's quite possibly a typo. These newer books being released are not without their continuity errors. Fun fact, back in the 90's, astronomers thought they had discovered a ringed planet in the Zeta 2 riticuli system. Few years later they discovered their findings were false. But in the Weyland Industries timeline, a bit later, a ringed planet was discovered with three moons orbiting it!

I used to run the Aliens Online Encyclopedia website, and I had astronomers occasionally emailing me because my website was coming up in Google searches for "Zeta II Reticuli", it was pretty funny.