Announcing Alien: The Blueprints from Titan Books!

[HuDaFuK]

That's quite okay, guys; I guarantee you there is at least one person on Facebook that has unfriended me because I put toilets on A-Deck.

Do these people expect the officers to go pee with the hired help?!

Have you played Alien: Isolation? They used that Ron Cobb shuttle design for the Ambulance. Awesome - I would love to make a model of that.

I picked up on that too. Really neat touch!

As for the cryo issue that everyone's discussing - yeah, to me the film makes it pretty clear they're taking a big risk trying to escape in the shuttle with three occupants, but by that point they consider it preferable to being eaten or turned into an egg. Their actions in having to gather additional supplies, whatever they might be, support this; it wouldn't be much of an emergency escape craft if you have to gather a load of shit before you can use it. They need supplies because they're stretching it beyond its intended capacity. Having a third cryotube on board undermines that.

[USG Ishimura]

Over three pages of not liking a third cryotube being in place but nothing about why coolant cylinders are miles away and not next to the Narcissus in the first place.

[HuDaFuK]

I recommend you check out the "Egg on the Sulaco" thread

[SiL]

Over three pages of not liking a third cryotube being in place but nothing about why coolant cylinders are miles away and not next to the Narcissus in the first place.

Because they're not normally needed for the Narcissus

[TheSailingRabbit]

Over three pages of not liking a third cryotube being in place but nothing about why coolant cylinders are miles away and not next to the Narcissus in the first place.

Is it OK I thank you for saying what was on my mind?

[SM]

Over three pages of not liking a third cryotube being in place but nothing about why coolant cylinders are miles away and not next to the Narcissus in the first place.

Because they're not normally needed for the Narcissus

Pretty much.

It's more than likely it's coolant that has a bunch of uses throughout the ship - not just the shuttle.

[Xenomrph]

I find the "maybe they didn't know" angle is fairly disingenuous, and assumes a space-faring crew wouldn't have had to go through some kind of safety training to learn about emergency procedures. Every time I go on a cruise ship I learn about the emergency tenders, how they operate, what supplies they have and features they have for being found. The idea the crew of the Nostromo wouldn't know the shuttle's capabilities feels a bit of a stretch.

But it's not an emergency escape vehicle, it's a shuttle that can be used as one in a pinch.You may see safety videos for airplanes and cruises and they stick with you because of how infrequently you're on them, but I suspect many real-life truckers don't know how to use the fire extinguishers stowed in the cabins of their trucks because the work is so routine and mundane and "nothing bad could ever happen". When you get in your car, you don't double-check that all your airbags are primed and that the car is properly tuned and that the breaks function, you just start it and go.

If it was built for three people, there'd need to be a reason they distrusted its ability to do its job. The one the film gives is that it's not built for three -- it's built for two.

It's 100% not going to affect my enjoyment of the book or the work done on it, mind, just a fun conversation about

'fixing a problem that didn't exist'.

But it's got three seats, which tells me it's built for three.

Ripley definitively says the shuttle won't handle four, but she doesn't say why. If the shuttle only has two cryotubes, then the number of cryotubes can't be the deciding factor because you should be able to just load the shuttle up with as many people as you want and stock it with air and, as Lambert puts it, "take your chances". Sure, you'd deplete the air faster, but that's the risk you take. So why can't it take four?

Perhaps, given Graham's design, it's got two main cryotubes and then a third that occupies the spare space available, comparable to a folding or "rumble seat" in a car or plane. Ripley knows the shuttle can take three because it's got three cryotubes, and the coolant is because having air is a good idea when you're in space because you don't know what might happen. They try to get the air because they think they're safe, turns out they aren't and two people die, and Ripley bugs out and takes her chances.

Ripley doesn't make it clear if taking the coolant for the shuttle is an absolute necessity, or merely a way of increasing their chances.

Ripley said: "We're gonna need coolant for the air support system."  Did that not make it clear it was a necessity?

If the line had been "We should bring extra coolant," and didn't specify what it was for, I think you and Graham would have a point.

Yes, if they wake up and want to breathe, having air is probably a good idea - the more the better. I think reading into the word "need" is sort of semantics.

[SiL]

But it's not an emergency escape vehicle, it's a shuttle that can be used as one in a pinch.

...which makes it the emergency escape vehicle. A tender isn't strictly a lifeboat, either.

You may see safety videos for airplanes and cruises and they stick with you because of how infrequently you're on them, but I suspect many real-life truckers don't know how to use the fire extinguishers stowed in the cabins of their trucks because the work is so routine and mundane and "nothing bad could ever happen".

Fire extinguishers are not the least bit analogous to emergency evacuation procedures on planes and ships. I know they're "space truckers", but you're stretching the term a lot here. A better analogy would be trying to argue that professional flight and sea crews don't know their own emergency procedures.

... and the Nostromo crew clearly knows how to use fire extinguishers

When you get in your car, you don't double-check that all your airbags are primed and that the car is properly tuned and that the breaks function, you just start it and go.

I am not a professional driver or a crew member on any sort of ship, I am not relevant here

But it's got three seats, which tells me it's built for three.

As a shuttle, sure. Not as a lifeboat.

Ripley knows the shuttle can take three because it's got three cryotubes, and the coolant is because having air is a good idea when you're in space because you don't know what might happen.

If it's built to take three for extended periods then they wouldn't need to worry about the air support system, because the air support system would be designed for three people for an extended period.

The fact the crew has to run halfway around the ship to make it accommodate three people for an extended period in an emergency speaks volumes to the fact it's not actually designed to fit three people for an extended period in an emergency.

[USG Ishimura]

Ripley knows the shuttle can take three because it's got three cryotubes, and the coolant is because having air is a good idea when you're in space because you don't know what might happen.

If it's built to take three for extended periods then they wouldn't need to worry about the air support system, because the air support system would be designed for three people for an extended period.

The fact the crew has to run halfway around the ship to make it accommodate three people for an extended period in an emergency speaks volumes to the fact it's not actually designed to fit three people for an extended period in an emergency.

Define 'extended'. They had no clue how long they would be stuck out there.

Geez, all this over nine words in a movie.

[SiL]

I'd define extended as "long enough to need the freezers", which they knew would be the case. Lambert had updated them on their current position and their remaining time to home. They knew they were in the middle of nowhere and it would be weeks before they hit the frontier.

Geez, all this over nine words in a movie.

To be fair, all this over

'fixing a problem that didn't exist'.

The entire last act is built on them taking a chance and going out of their way to risk taking the shuttle when it's clearly not the safest bet -- it's just the lesser of two evils. That's the film as-is. If everyone could've packed into the freezers and put themselves to sleep, there'd be no need for them splitting up over the ship and the movie would've ended two minutes after Ash died.

[USG Ishimura]

I am imagining the scene in 'Jurassic Park' where Alan Grant closes the door on little Timmy as the boy gets into the Ford Explorer.

[Still Collating...]

Well, this is an interesting discussion. Firstly, thanks to the author for engaging here with us and for doing such a great and detailed job on the book, as far as I'm hearing from the reviews. Wasn't planning on getting this, but word of mouth is making me reconsider.

FYI, we here at the forums are a passionate bunch. We dissect EVERYTHING. From the things we love from the franchise to the things we hate. What makes sense and what doesn't make sense, we like thinking about those sorts of things. Even the harshest of critiques don't explicitly reflect how much we enjoy that piece of media. Some media and books that are not high quality enough simply get ignored, not worth the time to discuss anything about it. If it's interesting, it's gonna get analyzed to the point of possible and probable nitpicking. You should really see how we brutalize (with love!) all of the movies across the forums, looking at every detail and saying what we don't find convincing in even the movies we really love.

In such an undertaking as this book appears to be, if the third freezer is the only thing that doesn't make sense to some in this entire book, then you and the fandom are lucky!

[Local Trouble]

Geez, all this over nine words in a movie.

Dialogue is the basis for many of the things we know about from these movies.  Why should this be any different?

[𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔥 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯]

Over three pages of not liking a third cryotube being in place but nothing about why coolant cylinders are miles away and not next to the Narcissus in the first place.

Because they're not normally needed for the Narcissus

Pretty much.

It's more than likely it's coolant that has a bunch of uses throughout the ship - not just the shuttle.

Didn't the coolant cylinders come from the Nostromo's HeliJet? I assume that's what their primary purpose were for.

There were also some in a storage area next to the hangar.

[USG Ishimura]

Well, this is an interesting discussion. Firstly, thanks to the author for engaging here with us and for doing such a great and detailed job on the book, as far as I'm hearing from the reviews. Wasn't planning on getting this, but word of mouth is making me reconsider.

FYI, we here at the forums are a passionate bunch. We dissect EVERYTHING. From the things we love from the franchise to the things we hate. What makes sense and what doesn't make sense, we like thinking about those sorts of things. Even the harshest of critiques don't explicitly reflect how much we enjoy that piece of media. Some media and books that are not high quality enough simply get ignored, not worth the time to discuss anything about it. If it's interesting, it's gonna get analyzed to the point of possible and probable nitpicking. You should really see how we brutalize (with love!) all of the movies across the forums, looking at every detail and saying what we don't find convincing in even the movies we really love.

In such an undertaking as this book appears to be, if the third freezer is the only thing that doesn't make sense to some in this entire book, then you and the fandom are lucky!

Thank you for your kind comments.