Quote from: Xhan on Mar 01, 2008, 05:28:12 AM
Given the Alien's reproduction, I don't refer to the "Hymenopteric" model at all in any form.
it's rather well know (hell, it's in the movie) that cameron based his idea of the aliens on bees and ants. i'd say the comparison is fair, especially since that form of sexual reproduction predicts and unseen class that, surprise, appears in cameron's script. not a coincidence.
for what it's worth, stuff on this planet is pretty weird. the OTHER part of the alien's reproduction cycle is based on wasps. and when i think of a good two-stage analogy, i'll post it. (tunicates maybe? corals?)
Quote from: Xhan on Mar 01, 2008, 05:28:12 AMAlien don't come from Earth, they don't follow terribly many terrestrial laws, including apparently, gravity (Dietrich, Brett).
gravity is a universal law. it's not just for people born on earth.
Quote from: Xhan on Mar 01, 2008, 05:28:12 AMThere's zero evidence that Aliens possess any genetic code at all, simply that that Terrestrial and Alien structural morphology are somewhat compatible and the Alien is able to pick and choose selectively. Period. The End. Fullstop.
pick and choose
how though? it's not magic. the only way it can look at the human body plan and mimic it in the developmental stages, from the inside out, is by looking at our genetic code and copying it. there are only so many ways life can develop, and still be compatible with us.
Quote from: Xhan on Mar 01, 2008, 05:28:12 AMThe Aliens which are supposed to be most human, the Hybrids, have LESS human features than Spike, who follows what looks suspiciously like a quadruped phenotype, after all he came from a dog.. Particularly in the lower body dept.
is "spike" what we're calling the dog/ox alien now? first, let's make something very clear. designs are picked more or less on the whim of the particular director. no one is actively trying to make the alien design fit some fan speculation.
however, if they are adopting human DNA, we should expect each generation to look more and human. probably a coincidence that this exactly what happens, but *shrug*
Quote from: Xhan on Mar 01, 2008, 05:28:12 AMI'm not remotely fond of Cameron's model, as it smacks of fanboyism and downright lazyness, and I'm certainly not going to hazard anything that FURTHERS the notion that Aliens are simply Giant Ants from SPAAAAAAACE, nor do I give it the remotest precedence.
i'm far more fond of "alien" myself, as well. but simply because they're using the haploid-diploid model of sex determination
does not mean that they are simply "giant ants from space." certainly not any more than laying eggs inside living hosts makes them "giant wasps from space." it's clearly more complicated than that, even though the directors used insects as models for individual parts of their social and reproductive structures.
Quote from: Xhan on Mar 01, 2008, 08:16:24 AMDude the Aliens in A:R are Hybrids. Technically ANY Alien that isn't an original Egg is a Hybrid.
what's an original egg? since all aliens seem to be incorporating parts of the host's DNA into their own makeup, no egg layed by any alien is "original."
