Why did the folk of Hadley’s Hope not send a signal?

[TC]

And this is kind of the point I'm driving at - we don't know the specifics, but there are so many ways it could've gone down that they couldn't get a message out that while it's fun to speculate it ultimately doesn't matter. That's why it's fun to speculate.

The film explains as much as it needs to and we're free to play in the resulting ball pit.

^ This. All day and every day.

Cameron himself has said that when he's writing a script he's telling a story, not explaining it. IOW if a writer had to background each and every little detail why the plot happens the way it does then the script, novel, play, whatever would drag on forever.

But if the writer is contributing to a fan-based web forum, go for it, I say. 

TC

[oduodu]

just a suggestion.

maybe a message was sent back. some high official intercepts all incoming messages before being passed on to the normal communications
officer,  was reporting back to some even higher authority who told him not ro let it through. and to hide it. maybe for insurance purposes or a "lets wait and see what happens so we may be able to gain some profit from this."

just speculation.

it could have been an android was among the people at Hadley s hope and he was instructed to cut the communications after seeing a xeno and sending back his own report to earth. wy saw the potential of the alien ship and the xeno and instructed the android to cut communications.

just speculation

[ralfy]

As per the thread title; why didn't someone on Hadley's Hope send a distress beacon/message once Russ Jordon got face hugged, much less once all hell broke lose?  All we're told is that they "lost communication" but you'd think someone would have sent a message of some kind.

"OMG fella just came back with a spider alien on his face. #FreakingOut! :O Send help if it's not too much trouble. Ta."

Here's what I remember: when they arrived they found several facehuggers, living and dead, in the med lab. Bishop also read a report on how one was extracted from a poor colonist.

That means either several colonists entered the derelict ship and got facehugged, too, or that the alien emerging from Jorden got to lay more eggs in the colony, and more colonists got facehugged that way. Given the amount of time both events would have taken place plus the time to even write reports on the facehuggers, then it's safe to imagine that the colonists had more than enough time to send not only reports but even distress signals to the company before the transmitter went down.

If so, then that means the company was covering that up so that the ICC would not call for quarantines and lockdowns because if those took place then bye, bye exclusive rights, even to the derelict ship.

The problem is that they didn't tell that to the Marines, which is why the latter were overconfident, which means they lied to the military, too, and probably because if they didn't then the military would have reported that to the ICC, etc.

[Local Trouble]

Here's what ChatGPT says:

The failure of the colonists on LV-426 in "Aliens" to contact Earth for help until it was too late can be attributed to a combination of factors:

1. Underestimation of the Threat Initially, the colonists, including the leadership, likely underestimated the severity of the alien threat. When the first few facehugger infections occurred, they might not have understood the full implications. This underestimation could have led to a delay in recognizing the need for external assistance.

2. Lack of Knowledge about the Aliens The colonists, primarily terraformers and miners, were not equipped with the knowledge or training to deal with an extraterrestrial biological threat. Without understanding the rapid growth and reproductive cycle of the Xenomorphs, they might not have anticipated how quickly the situation could escalate.

3. Internal Decision-Making and Pride There might have been a sense of self-reliance or pride within the colony's leadership. They could have believed that they had the situation under control or that they could manage it with the resources at hand. Admitting the need for help, especially in a corporate-run venture like the LV-426 colony, might have been seen as a failure.

4. Communication Delays and Difficulties Communicating across interstellar distances poses significant challenges and delays. Even if the colony had realized the need for help earlier, there might have been logistical difficulties in sending a distress signal in time for it to be effective.

5. Corporate Interests and Secrecy The Weyland-Yutani Corporation, overseeing the colony, might have had policies or an organizational culture that discouraged sharing bad news or problems. There could have been an emphasis on secrecy, especially concerning anything that might affect the company's image or operations.

6. Rapid Overrun by Aliens The situation likely deteriorated faster than the colonists could react. The Xenomorphs' ability to rapidly mature, ambush, and multiply meant that the colony could have been overrun before a coordinated response was organized. By the time the true danger was clear, it might have been too late for a distress call to be effective.

7. Damage to Communication Systems As the crisis escalated, key infrastructure, including communication systems, might have been damaged either accidentally or through the aliens' disruptive activities. This would have physically prevented the colonists from sending a distress signal.

In summary, a mix of underestimation, lack of knowledge, pride, communication challenges, possible corporate policy influences, and the rapid escalation of the alien threat contributed to the colonists' failure to call for help in time. The situation quickly spiraled beyond their control, leading to the catastrophic outcome encountered by Ripley and the rescue team.

[Xenomrph]

As per the thread title; why didn't someone on Hadley's Hope send a distress beacon/message once Russ Jordon got face hugged, much less once all hell broke lose?  All we're told is that they "lost communication" but you'd think someone would have sent a message of some kind.

"OMG fella just came back with a spider alien on his face. #FreakingOut! :O Send help if it's not too much trouble. Ta."

Here's what I remember: when they arrived they found several facehuggers, living and dead, in the med lab. Bishop also read a report on how one was extracted from a poor colonist.

That means either several colonists entered the derelict ship and got facehugged, too, or that the alien emerging from Jorden got to lay more eggs in the colony, and more colonists got facehugged that way. Given the amount of time both events would have taken place plus the time to even write reports on the facehuggers, then it's safe to imagine that the colonists had more than enough time to send not only reports but even distress signals to the company before the transmitter went down.

If so, then that means the company was covering that up so that the ICC would not call for quarantines and lockdowns because if those took place then bye, bye exclusive rights, even to the derelict ship.

The problem is that they didn't tell that to the Marines, which is why the latter were overconfident, which means they lied to the military, too, and probably because if they didn't then the military would have reported that to the ICC, etc.

Alternately, and far more likely, the transmitter did in fact honest to god go down (the planet was prone to bad storms, as we see in the movie) and it was a coincidence with bad timing.

We know the Company and USCM didn't know there were actual Aliens present; nobody cared about Ripley's report, the colony actually stopped responding, they sent what was an appropriate USCM response for what they genuinely thought was a downed transmitter. Ripley saw the colony logs and made no mention of further communication between the colony and anyone else after Burke's initial request to check on the Derelict, and Burke gives no indication that he actually knew for certain that there were actual Aliens present until he sees the acid burns in the colony.

[Local Trouble]

Burke must have strongly suspected what actually happened.  After all, he knew that he sent the colonists to the grid reference.

[Xenomrph]

Burke must have strongly suspected what actually happened.  After all, he knew that he sent the colonists to the grid reference.

Well yeah, but he didn't know for sure until he saw the acid damage.

If he knew for sure ahead of time I suspect he might have warned Gorman and co. at some point after defrosting from cryo that maybe they should listen to Ripley's report even if only for his own self-preservation, considering those Marines are the one thing keeping him from getting murdered by the Aliens. If he knew ahead of time then he willingly let the Marines walk into a trap where literally all of them could have died, leaving him screwed.

[Local Trouble]

I'd be shocked if Gorman didn't know about Ripley's story before he and Burke visited her apartment. Why else would their "state-of-the-art firepower" come up?  Not for a downed transmitter.

[SiL]

Listen as in actually give it credit.

[Local Trouble]

And there was at least some scuttlebutt about Ripley before they all left Gateway:

[Xenomrph]

I'd be shocked if Gorman didn't know about Ripley's story before he and Burke visited her apartment. Why else would their "state-of-the-art firepower" come up?  Not for a downed transmitter.

At worst they figured it was some kind of indigenous life like space-coyotes or something that were causing a nuisance. "State of the art firepower" is bravado to show that they're over-equipped to handle whatever they (usually) find, whether it's space-ferrets or a UPP/corporate incursion or whatever. I imagine some aspect of Ripley's story came up in determining to send Marines, but with nothing to corroborate Ripley's outlandish story they assumed it was something routine.

The old Leading Edge Aliens RPG devotes the vast majority of its page count to what "routine" (I.e., not fighting capital-A Aliens) means, and the newer RPG's Colonial Marines Operations Manual is similar.

[Local Trouble]

I wonder how many times Burke had to explain to Gorman why Ripley's inclusion in the mission was important.  It's entirely possible that Burke spun it as some altruistic gesture by the company to help with her psychological rehabilitation.  His "get back on the horse" spiel may have been as much to convince Gorman of his sincerity as it was to persuade Ripley to join them.

It may also be why Gorman seemed to be reluctantly humoring Ripley the whole time.  He was probably on the verge of losing his shit several times over having to bring the crazy cat lady along.

[SM]

Doubt Gorman had much say in it. She potentially had intel and pumped up her tyres about the marines studying her report.

[razeak]

Im sure that two weeks time for replies is more a buracracy issue, the ones responsible in the company dont reply fast but take them at lowest priority and hence taking 2 weeks to get an answer.

Im sure the colony sent transmission about their situation but like in river of pain the one in charge, probably burke hide it and then just claimed: we lost contact with the colony mysteriously. Tog et the UMSC marines involved and pulled some strings to get them to send the worst platoon possible with a new rookie commander who likely obey burkes wishes easily.

This is pure headcanon and not supported by the movie itself.  Besides, why would the company opt to send the worst platoon possible?  Why would they want the marines to fail in their mission?  It's clear from the dialogue in the movie that Burke was making a gamble and didn't know whether the aliens were real or not...

BURKE: "Okay, look. What if that ship didn't even exist, huh? Did you ever think about that? I didn't know! So now, if I went in and made a major security issue out of it, everybody steps in. Administration steps in, and there are no exclusive rights for anybody; nobody wins. So I made a decision and it was... wrong. It was a bad call, Ripley. It was a bad call."

I see no reason to think that Burke is lying when he said that he didn't know if the derelict was real or not.  Also, why would any transmission sent by Hadley's Hope go directly to Burke, instead of someone higher up in the company?  I think people can jump through mental hoops trying to handwave the fact that the colony didn't try to send a message all they want but at the end of the day, it's a contrivance on James Cameron's part.  He needed for them not to have sent a message because otherwise the story he wrote would fall apart, even though it really makes no sense why Hadley's Hope wouldn't have sent a message.

I always just assumed Burke was the issue with communication going up the chain (since I was like 8 years old).  Thre transmitter going down was likely when Burke realized that this wasn't an easily contained situation and that it had gone south. Arrogance and ambition cloud the mind. Arrogance is literally one of the main themes that Cameron was chasing.

It's pretty clear that he was involved from the quote you posted above. Just because it isn't explicitly explained doesn't make it a contrivance. Overexplaining is one of the things killing cinema and other media right now.  We don't need exposition to expect that shit went sideways and there are numerous factors that contribute to there not being a more heavy-handed response.  That being said, if Hollywood wanted to do a movie about the fall of Hadley's Hope, then I have zero doubts they would miss the point you're making, and solidify the contrivance.


To touch on a real life scenario, you can apply the ChatGPT points to 9/11. Most of those contributed to "communications not going up the chain".

Another scenario is the Titanic. There was an unusually warm winter or something in 1911-1912 and that contributed to the iceberg being in the perfect spot, in a perfectly calm see, with perfect lighting conditions, on top of ignored warnings of said ice (of which came from the vessel that later ignored her distress rockets! and that same vessel turned its radio off because the Titanic operators were rude when they answered back) and a fellow taking the locker key to the locker that held the binoculars with him as he was reassigned to another vessel immediately prior to the ship departing. Oh and just so happens, this vessel was billed as unsinkable by the media, and could float with any 4 or her first 5 watertight compartments filled, but WAIT THERES MORE!  The "watertight" compartments only go up a few decks, so the water fills up like an ice cube tray. Surely thats all? Nope. They didn't even have enough lifeboats to save but half the passengers. If that was a fictional story, it would seem pretty contrived and the ship breaking in two was only to add drama. Hell, Violet Jessop survived all 3 incidents of the 3 Olympic class vessels: The Olympic Collision, the Titanic sinking, and the Britannic sinking.

Why didn't they design better compartments and bulkheads?
Why did they only have so few lifeboats?
Why did they ignore the ice warnings?
Why did the California not aid them after seeing the rockets AFTER sending them ice warnings?
Why did the First Officer not put the key to the locker back?
Why was the ship running at full speed after receiving those warnings?
Why did seasoned mariners launch lifeboats half full?
Why Why Why Why Why

[Kel G 426]

As someone who works in maintenance, I can tell you that shit breaks all the time for no reason, and sometimes it can take days to figure out what's wrong, and even longer to repair it . You chase all the wires, check all the connections, replace all the associated parts, and the damn thing still doesn't work. WHY??? Idk,  I just work here.

So a downed transmitter is nothing unusual. They probably lose contact with colonies all the time. It was the duration that was cause for concern.