Quote from: razeak on Apr 20, 2021, 08:12:27 PMQuote from: The Necronoir on Apr 20, 2021, 02:31:16 PMQuote from: razeak on Apr 20, 2021, 12:12:40 PM
I think the sadism fits since it took its time killing both. Its a bit more interesting too.
True sadism requires a psychological association with the target though. The enjoyment in inflicting pain derives from identifying with the other individual to the point that you can put yourself in their shoes and imagine the pain they are feeling. I think it makes the alien less alien if we stray too far down that path. We might view a cat toying with a mouse as sadistic, but that's the result of personifying the animal. I doubt it has that significance for the cat itself. It certainly makes no sense from a survival point of view.
A quick wikipedia look doesn't mention that requirement of identifying with the victim. That's a very interesting concept though. Is that truly how it is?
I think of the alien as being a higher order of intelligence than a cat. That's always been my take. Dolphins are kind of messed up too
The idea of Kane being a closet sadist and the Alien picking that up is a neat concept too. I hadn't ever thought of that angle. Or at least I don't recall doing so. We have to remember comparing the alien to the example of accusing someone of inheriting a parent's negative traits is a different thing entirely. The alien exists (from an in-universe perspective) as something that we don't fully understand. It could merely amplify our normal traits, let alone our abnormal traits.
Quote from: Immortan Jonesy on Apr 21, 2021, 01:20:40 AM
Is there any detailed information on how Eggmorphing works? I mean...What does the Alien have to do to make people morph into eggs?Quote from: razeak on Apr 20, 2021, 08:12:27 PM
We have to remember comparing the alien to the example of accusing someone of inheriting a parent's negative traits is a different thing entirely. The alien exists (from an in-universe perspective) as something that we don't fully understand. It could merely amplify our normal traits, let alone our abnormal traits.
I still don't understand where that came from. Because from me it wasn't.
Quote from: SM on Apr 21, 2021, 01:37:10 AMQuoteIs there any detailed information on how Eggmorphing works? I mean...What does the Alien have to do to make people morph into eggs?
No.
I liken it to a caterpillar becoming a butterfly, but that's not based on anything other than one thing transforming into something else that's pretty different.
QuoteIs there any detailed information on how Eggmorphing works? I mean...What does the Alien have to do to make people morph into eggs?
Quote from: razeak on Apr 20, 2021, 08:12:27 PM
We have to remember comparing the alien to the example of accusing someone of inheriting a parent's negative traits is a different thing entirely. The alien exists (from an in-universe perspective) as something that we don't fully understand. It could merely amplify our normal traits, let alone our abnormal traits.
Quote from: The Necronoir on Apr 20, 2021, 02:31:16 PMQuote from: razeak on Apr 20, 2021, 12:12:40 PM
I think the sadism fits since it took its time killing both. Its a bit more interesting too.
True sadism requires a psychological association with the target though. The enjoyment in inflicting pain derives from identifying with the other individual to the point that you can put yourself in their shoes and imagine the pain they are feeling. I think it makes the alien less alien if we stray too far down that path. We might view a cat toying with a mouse as sadistic, but that's the result of personifying the animal. I doubt it has that significance for the cat itself. It certainly makes no sense from a survival point of view.
QuoteWe know Ridley Scott's understanding on it's influenced by our real world, and in that respect as he often likes to say, The Pathogen's got a logic to it of clearing out the meat as fast as possible and then die out so things can start again in a way the Alien does not.
I believe David's the one that instituted the Alien having black skin and something evocative of biomechanical beginnings, The Pathogen's always produces the opposite, white skin and nothing biomechanical present.
But even if that's revealed not to be the case, the fact the Alien's a rapist's part of the focal point of it's identity with or without a creator's influence, able to spread farther through longer incubation periods, self sustain, and then stay dormant waiting for anything that's not itself to find it again in essence farming anywhere it's able to take over completely.
The Alien and The Pathogen exist as fundamentally unique from each other in this way, related in that one comes from the other, but the latter does not carry all the features of the former that much's clear.
Quote from: Trash Queen on Apr 20, 2021, 03:25:48 PM
I take it then you have not read Alien The Cold Forge, Into Charybdis or looked into the new RPG, as it is already heading down that road.
Quote from: The Necronoir on Apr 20, 2021, 03:14:20 PMQuote from: Trash Queen on Apr 20, 2021, 03:06:35 PM
That's all completely true.
But I do still think something human exists in them anyway.
Makes me wonder though if on a partially related note, the Facehugger that got Ripley Eight in Resurrection, achieved it's purpose but it had no effect because of Eight's biology.
That's an interesting new wrinkle that I hadn't thought of. If we start going down the "facehugger injects a form of black goo" path, rather than the embryo idea, I guess it would stand to reason that Ripley 8 would have a kind of immunity. Makes you wonder if they same would apply if a regular human had a developing chestburster surgically removed, then got 'hugged again...
Quote from: Trash Queen on Apr 20, 2021, 03:06:35 PM
That's all completely true.
But I do still think something human exists in them anyway.
Makes me wonder though if on a partially related note, the Facehugger that got Ripley Eight in Resurrection, achieved it's purpose but it had no effect because of Eight's biology.
Quote from: Trash Queen on Apr 20, 2021, 02:42:20 PM
I think it is implied though, partially through Ash's dialogue "Kane's Son." and through, H.R Giger's art and design, and through Alien Covenant if you take that into account.
Quote from: Trash Queen on Apr 20, 2021, 02:42:20 PM
But I argue that it does seek it, considering the behaviour of the Facehugger when you take the Prequels into account, revealing it is not required to stay on the host for as long as we thought to achieve it's goal it simply does for reasons unknown.
Quote from: Immortan Jonesy on Apr 20, 2021, 02:37:32 PM
Maybe Kane was a psychopath and the Alien inherited that through genetics.