The Rage War: A three part Alien / Predator epic by Tim Lebbon

[RakaiThwei]

So, basically, in the Perry era, Predators were worryingly close to being klingons. In the Lebbon era, they literally have become klingons...

A friend of mine had discussed that on Facebook with me.. Hmm..

I don't know what to make of this.. I just don't like how.. Trekked or Effect this has become. Another friend of mine said they're going the Halo route. Not too sure what he meant by that.

[The Alien Predator]

So, basically, in the Perry era, Predators were worryingly close to being klingons. In the Lebbon era, they literally have become klingons...

A friend of mine had discussed that on Facebook with me.. Hmm..

I don't know what to make of this.. I just don't like how.. Trekked or Effect this has become. Another friend of mine said they're going the Halo route. Not too sure what he meant by that.

Must be the "slug alien" that Batman has mentioned.

When I told my friend on the phone who is a HALO fan, he said jokingly "Flood".

As for your earlier question about Predators having genders, I am curious too seeing as how Batman mentioned there was a captive Predator named "Eve" who killed itself by "willing its hearts to stop" (interesting that they have multiple hearts. For some reason, I imagined them as having three hearts which are positioned in the same way their aiming lasers are inside their chest cavity, two besides the lungs and one positioned higher up between them)

As for "Eve", why would they name it Eve? Eve was a woman. If it was male, it would've been named "Adam" or something.

[Xenomorphine]

A friend of mine had discussed that on Facebook with me.. Hmm..

I don't know what to make of this.. I just don't like how.. Trekked or Effect this has become. Another friend of mine said they're going the Halo route. Not too sure what he meant by that.

Well, 'Mass Effect' is more like an amalgam/tribute to lots of other existing things. This sounds like 'Star Trek' with a fuel war analogy thrown in.

I'm not sure how those measurements of the 'human sphere' tally with Ripley's relatively slow (and very sub-light) glide in her escape shuttle, either.

Must be the "slug alien" that Batman has mentioned.

That's what struck me as Borg-like:

Spoiler

No clear definition over whether it's organic or mechanical, with technology which 'upgrades' existing stuff. Somewhat predictably, I suspect these 'Founders' will use this technology for everything and then there'll be the usual you-think-you're-in-control-but-it-really-controls-you debacle. That part could be seen as very much like 'Mass Effect', with how Reaper technology affected anyone who spent time around it.

[close]

As for "Eve", why would they name it Eve? Eve was a woman. If it was male, it would've been named "Adam" or something.

Presumably because it is female.

[Ultramorph]

This book sounds quite different than what I was expecting, but I don't see that as a bad thing, as long as it's well-written. One thing about the Founders that caught my interest

Spoiler

is how the alien that builds and expands their ship vaguely reminds me of V'ger from Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Not a bad thing, per se, just interesting.

[close]

I'm looking forward to seeing what winds up happening with this far-future 'verse.

[RakaiThwei]

As for your earlier question about Predators having genders, I am curious too seeing as how Batman mentioned there was a captive Predator named "Eve" who killed itself by "willing its hearts to stop" (interesting that they have multiple hearts. For some reason, I imagined them as having three hearts which are positioned in the same way their aiming lasers are inside their chest cavity, two besides the lungs and one positioned higher up between them)

Predators have multiple hearts now? I know they're alien but.. Kind of radical there. I mean wasn't there a game where they had implied they only had one heart or something? I mean I know AVP2 mentioned that there was one Predator who died of a heart attack due to it's wristblades being connected to it's arteries but I don't recall a mention of one or more hearts.

[The Alien Predator]

As for your earlier question about Predators having genders, I am curious too seeing as how Batman mentioned there was a captive Predator named "Eve" who killed itself by "willing its hearts to stop" (interesting that they have multiple hearts. For some reason, I imagined them as having three hearts which are positioned in the same way their aiming lasers are inside their chest cavity, two besides the lungs and one positioned higher up between them)

Predators have multiple hearts now? I know they're alien but.. Kind of radical there. I mean wasn't there a game where they had implied they only had one heart or something? I mean I know AVP2 mentioned that there was one Predator who died of a heart attack due to it's wristblades being connected to it's arteries but I don't recall a mention of one or more hearts.

I see what you mean.

To me, the multiple hearts thing makes sense when you see just how active the Predators are. I never actually seen a Predator stop for a moment to take a breather after all the jumping and running. 

Plus seeing as how really durable they are, makes sense to some extent to have some multiple organs.

I found it funny when someone above said Predators are now Klingons because guess who else has multiple redundant vital organs? You guessed it, Klingons.

[RakaiThwei]

I see what you mean.

To me, the multiple hearts thing makes sense when you see just how active the Predators are. I never actually seen a Predator stop for a moment to take a breather after all the jumping and running. 

Plus seeing as how really durable they are, makes sense to some extent to have some multiple organs.

I found it funny when someone above said Predators are now Klingons because guess who else has multiple redundant vital organs? You guessed it, Klingons.

The whole redundant organs thing make sense but it just... I mean yes, it does make sense but it definitely gives them this very Klingon feeling which makes me think it's kind of hamfisted. I mean I've even contemplated and speculated that they had something like what the Klingon's had, but the way it seems kind of pulled off. It does make sense, and I find it something hard to argue against.

As for Predators needing to take breathers compared to humans.. I mean I do know that active human beings, especially in peak conditioning can last a pretty long time. What's the longest duration a human in peak conditioning has lasted active for?

[The Alien Predator]

I see what you mean.

To me, the multiple hearts thing makes sense when you see just how active the Predators are. I never actually seen a Predator stop for a moment to take a breather after all the jumping and running. 

Plus seeing as how really durable they are, makes sense to some extent to have some multiple organs.

I found it funny when someone above said Predators are now Klingons because guess who else has multiple redundant vital organs? You guessed it, Klingons.

The whole redundant organs thing make sense but it just... I mean yes, it does make sense but it definitely gives them this very Klingon feeling which makes me think it's kind of hamfisted. I mean I've even contemplated and speculated that they had something like what the Klingon's had, but the way it seems kind of pulled off. It does make sense, and I find it something hard to argue against.

As for Predators needing to take breathers compared to humans.. I mean I do know that active human beings, especially in peak conditioning can last a pretty long time. What's the longest duration a human in peak conditioning has lasted active for?

I understand what you mean, when I first saw the word "hearts", I was a bit surprised but was quick to accept it and realized how much it made sense. Plus it makes them more 'alien' biologically speaking. Also, you know how it "willed its hearts to stop", have you heard of the old comic "Predator: Captive"? Where a live Predator was captured and studied (more like HE studied the humans since he freely left his cell and returned), in this comic, the Predator faked its death by laying down and all of its vital signs were blank and the humans thought it was dead (apart from the head of security guy who asked "what if its playing Possum?")

So, this "Eve" could've pulled off the same trick, but she knew no one would come to her rescue and stayed 'semi-dead' for too long until death came for her.

As for your second question, I am not too sure how long a human has lasted, but the mental image of a Predator taking a moment to just take a deep breath is becoming hilarious. "*huff* *huff*, give me a moment, Elder, *huff*"

[RakaiThwei]

I understand what you mean, when I first saw the word "hearts", I was a bit surprised but was quick to accept it and realized how much it made sense. Plus it makes them more 'alien' biologically speaking.

I'm having a bit of a hard time accepting it. I understand the logical benefits to having redundant organs but when I think of Yautja, I think of what came before this newer stuff. From what I remember, physiology was never really explored but I do know that the Predators are more or less considered something superhuman, definitely somewhere above peak human.. and if you count the games, definitely superhuman. I mean for God sake, one of them tanked a bazooka point blank in a comic. But hey, this new stuff is supposed to ignore everything which came before.

I suppose I just didn't want an explanation and never really asked for one.. But, it's now there.

I think I am going to wait for Shane's movie or something.. I mean if he decides to explore Predator physiology (I doubt it) and uses this due to a Fox mandate or something, then I'll accept it. It just... I know they're aliens but it just makes me raise an eyebrow even though it does make sense.

I guess it's the Klingon association with those things.

Also, you know how it "willed its hearts to stop", have you heard of the old comic "Predator: Captive"? Where a live Predator was captured and studied (more like HE studied the humans since he freely left his cell and returned), in this comic, the Predator faked its death by laying down and all of its vital signs were blank and the humans thought it was dead (apart from the head of security guy who asked "what if its playing Possum?")

I never really read Predator: Captive but I had seen a video of it online. My memory of it is really vague but I do know what you are talking about. Controlling one's vital stats isn't all that unusual. I've heard things where people who were in a deep meditative trance were able to do some wild things with their bodies such as slowing down their breathing, lowering their heart rates, increasing body temperature.. that sort of stuff. Call it extreme self discipline, call it mind over matter.. Whatever. So I don't see anything out of the unusual for Predators to do something like that. Shit if we can do it, why can't they?

As for your second question, I am not too sure how long a human has lasted, but the mental image of a Predator taking a moment to just take a deep breath is becoming hilarious. "*huff* *huff*, give me a moment, Elder, *huff*"

According to this link.. If a human was in peak condition, and I mean peak condition.. we could do some INSANE things.. and that's just with one heart going for us!

http://ashotofadrenaline.net/18-of-the-most-inspiring-feats-of-human-endurance/

[Xenomorphine]

I din't have any problem with hearts, because it sounds that way inside their helmets. Didn't one of the sound effect people say they made those noises deliberately to suggest more than one beating heart?

[RakaiThwei]

I din't have any problem with hearts, because it sounds that way inside their helmets. Didn't one of the sound effect people say they made those noises deliberately to suggest more than one beating heart?

I never really listened to the commentary of the DVDs unless it was for something needed for a nerd debate. But as for the heart beating thing.. I always thought that was just them listening to the heart beat of other lifeforms, and just an audio effect.

But I just thought of this now... if the three hearts physiology is there, then how come there are two instances of Predators getting killed by being stabbed in the heart region? I mean Harrigan used the smart disc to tear through Ghost's sternum and presumably his heart (I maybe mistake in this one) but Wolf was killed by being stabbed through the back and definitely pierced through the heart..

Now if the three hearts thing were to come to play, wouldn't that keep them alive enough to get medical attention? Now, unless the two hearts serve as some other function, where as the central heart is the main one.. I'm trying to figure this out. Someone better explain how such a cardiac function could work like that?

[The Alien Predator]

Xenomorphine, you have a good point there. I never thought too deep into that but now it makes sense.

Also the latest AvP game had a rather rapid sounding and loud heartbeat when you go into vision mode. I mean, compare our heart rate to that... It sound real fast and powerful.

As for Predators tanking a bazooka Rakai, remember that Yautja are good at taking blunt explosive damage especially from the twenty first century.

But "Oomans" seem to be catching up real fast as the centuries go by.

As much as I like the idea of them being more advanced than us, I gotta admit, I also like the idea of us slowly becoming equal to them eventually.

[TheBATMAN]

I thought it was common knowledge Predators have three hearts? Isn't the sound we hear in pred vision the triple heartbeat?

Anyway, some more details...

Spoiler

The alien planetoid the Founders raid and find the 'slug' alien belongs to the dog-aliens from Out of the Shadows. There are fossilised remains of the dog aliens left behind. The founders name this planetoid 'Midsummer.'

The founders also find an alien gel they use to extend their lifespan, although it causes mutations to their bodies. It is speculated this substance is how they weaponise the xenomorphs.

Whilst raiding Midsummer they find hordes of Alien eggs and hibernating aliens which are all brought on board the Macbeth and undisclosed experiments are performed on them before the Macbeth and the Hamlet start heading back towards the Human Sphere.

Beatrix Maloney revolted and killed Wordsworth, this is when The Founders became The Rage. Liliya was loyal to Wordsworth and wishes to revolt. She takes an assault ship and tries to flee back to the human sphere to warn them of the impending attack. Her ship is later intercepted by a Yautja warship led by a female Predator named Hashori of the widow clan. The ship is called the Zeere Za.

Maloney has three androids working under her, each named after a military general, Napoleon, Alexander and Patton. The xenos are divided up between each of them and they are all marked on their heads with the name of their respective commander.

Hashori begins torturing Liliya because she recognises her ship as belonging to The Founders, and therefore the same people who unleashed the weaponised xenomorphs onto the Yautja, which in turn forced them to flee towards the Human Sphere.

When the weaponised aliens eventually attack the Zeere Za, Hashori ends up saving Liliya and they flee on an escape ship before they blow up the Zeere Za. They are headed to the Human Sphere where the rest of the Yautja are regrouping and Liliya reveals she has the technology in her veins that controls and weaponises the xenos.

I was a little mistaken earlier, we don't really get any Predator POV at all, we just get snippets of their translated conversations when monitored by humans. The translators are primitive and the Yautja speak in many different levels of dialogue, some of which can't be understood at all. Hashori is really the only 'character' predator in the story, the rest are just nameless grunts, apart from a couple who raid the research station on LV-159. These are given names by the marines watching them.

One of the scientists on LV-159 is a Yautja expert and is able to send a message in their language offering a ceasefire and to work together to repel the xeno invasion.

When both sides eventually meet at what is basically a peace conference, the Yautja are represented by an elder named Kalakta who is from the six hundred and seventy-seventh elder clan. And get this, we have what appears to be a Predator 2 reference!! I'll post the quote and let you guys decide for yourselves...

"...born long...ten thousand suns. My parent group... Ascendance was on your Earth, in a city of... and heat. A man with dark skin... worthy opponent. I have hunted through... and taken many human trophies."

As for how they are portrayed we don't really find out much about them. There are the usual references to clans. They refer to the xenomorphs as 'fire-lizards.' They treasure memories and their own history more than any physical thing and view every individual Yautja death as a tragedy, wiping out centuries of experience and history. Every death takes away part of that story.
But other than that, we don't get much else.

I'll sign off with one last thing which I'm assuming was a pre-planned yet very nice gesture. The marines begin picking up signals from long-lost ships returning to the human sphere from the outer rim. One of them is called the Aaron-Percival....

[close]

[RakaiThwei]

So these Yautja call the Xenomorphs Fire-Lizards, where as Perry's Yautja call them the Hard Meat.. One could argue that this is a difference in dialogue (as a Hispanic American, there are different dialects of Spanish so.. this does make sense).

Yeah, there are differences between these versions.. some similarities but definitely notable differences. Perry's Predators viewed the death of individual Hunters as something meant to be moved on from and even had something of an appreciation for it.. where as Lebbon's Predators have a more mournful view of it.

I thought it was common knowledge Predators have three hearts? Isn't the sound we hear in pred vision the triple heartbeat?

No.. no it wasn't. I didn't know about it. Was this mentioned in commentary in any of the five Predator films (Yes, AVP films included) and which of the films? None of the comics or pre-reboot novels mention any of this. None of the games either.

[TheBATMAN]

Hmm, not sure then. I've definitely heard it called the triple heartbeat sound before though. Hell, I even remember asking Colin Strause myself in the build up to AVPR if the triple heartbeat was back after it was missing from the first AVP. But for the life of me I can't think where it originated from.