What is the purpose of the green gem/rock in the room with voles of black goo?

ninxeno426.....I have wondered that myself...I watched Prometheus again this morning and I've had so many theories running through my mind all day... That is what I love about the universe ridley is creating ..there are so many questions to be answered and so many possibilities..all the different theories people are coming up with are wetting our appetite for the next installment...

Me too,Prometheus is fairly underappreciated.The green slime sort of slipped my mind until Chris brought it up in his things everybody missed forum.

I at first thought the slime was from a xeno/deacon when first watched it but to like u it completely slipped my mind..it would be nice to get some closure on some of the things Chris wrote about earlier but I'm not sure we will be getting it in AC...I can't see us getting much from AC relating to Prometheus to be honest..upon watching the trailer... Maybe the installment after things may tie in a bit with both AC and Alien...I have faith in ridley ..I just hope we r not left wanting for too long this time..

I gotta say this was my first posted topic and I'm thrilled with how many responses and how many theories I've seen today..its so good to see how many fans of the franchise are still so interested in its future and mythos

 You asked a pretty interesting question.I myself am pretty new and have posted a few

 interesting but in trailer the crystal is a sacrificial bowl seen in premise when engineer drinks it and is replaced with crystal in movie....gotta be significant I'd say....I just found that someone else had ask this question a few years back and they pointed this out

Interesting find which trailer?

I cant load video but on you tube its on this trailer ninxeno426

@Xenowarrior1

yes some nice posts... your onto something ;)   i will elaberate for you... but first i will come back and answer many of your replies with my own as i see most of you are New.. and missed so many debated we had on here over the last 5 years.... so i can give some Top Ups for you.

First indeed Originally the Trailer Had the Sacrificial Cup... which lead me to a theory.... which i posted in 2012... to me it clearly showed something.. that the Goo in the Sacrificial Scene and Urns are not the same..

Now it would take me too long to go over every detail.. so i will try and give it in a nutshell...  This is what i was drawn too... (which months latter when i read Spaights draft.. kind of confirmed my theory).

*We have the Sacrificial Bowl... in front of a Altar (used in worship and sacrifice).

*The mural shows us a Xeno related Organism, in Cruciform pose... note this pose is not Christ... but when Christians have the Crucified Christ as a Symbol it is not of Jesus.. but it is to remind them that Jesus was SACRIFICED to save us from Sin.  The Cruciform Pose = Sacrifice...

*To me these showed me that the Engineers Sacrificed something related to the Xenomorph similar to how they Sacrificed the Engineer at the beginning... only the broken down material that forms into a Mutagen to pass on the Sacrifices Traits (like Sacrificial Scene) was collected and stored in the Urns.

After this theory... a few months latter i came across Spaights Draft and if you look how the Nano-Scarabs work.. well its exactly the same as what i put above.... also in Spaights Draft the Sacrificial Engineer took a Cruciform pose before he broke apart and into the Waterfall...

This i think backed up the theory i had.

Why was it replaced with the Green Crystal?  Who knows.. we had many theories on that....

But come Febuary 2015 i was passed information from someone who spoken to another person who claimed to have seen early production work and draft for Prometheus 2 (Paglen/Green) and they passed information on between Feb to May..

As far as the Green Crystal they (like most stuff) was never exactly spoon fed... They said the Goo... (Sacrificial) was like the Prometheus Fire, the Forbidden Fruit in the Garden of Eden. It was the source of the Gods/Hierarchy power to create Life..

They claimed that Prometheus 2 that Paradise had a Dark Black Obelisk that was near some Trees.. it had roots to it and it did not look made of Metal or Stone... not quite...

This Obelisk they claimed had a Green Glow from the Center and was the source of the Tool for Creation used.... they references how in Dark Crystal that Crystal was important to the TWO factions in that movie...  

They said the Obelisk which was not quite Rock/Stone, not quite Metal... was the Franchises Equivalent to the Tree of Life and Knowledge in Paradise Lost... it was a Forbidden Fruit/Knowledge...

Prometheus was a tale about Theft and unintended use of this source of Power.. lead to dire consequences...

So the Source was hinting that the Green Crystal in the movie Prometheus was a Shard Taken from the equivalent of the Forbidden Tree in the Bible.  

Thus how those Engineers was able to use it to obtain the Goo.

Thanks for the trailer post xenowarrior1,and the info BigDave I've certainly missed out on a lot of things.

From the beginning there was a cup (for the black organic substance) on the altar. On the wall behind it is the mural for the worship of the perfect being - the alien queen (?). There has to be a sacrifice in order to transform and create this supreme being? Eventually, there will be eggs in these kinds of silos instead of urns (as we see in Alien)?

Sorry, I didn't see your elaborations at first, BigDave. Thanks!

@Bigdave. 

Yes I am new to this forum and from what you've written it seemed I've missed out on some good debates and information.                                                    Thanx for enlightening me on the subject..I now idefinitely believe the crystal has significance... I'm hoping more on the side they sacrificed a xeno like organism to obtain the black chemical substance than them sacrificing using the substance to create the xeno being...this way it would allow the xeno to be ancient beings         

The answer is in the picture. Look at Charlie what is he looking at ? 

Imagine your cutting the film you have assembled. You know why you put a cup there. To make a connection between the opening sacrifice which catalyses a planet with good intent and these Engineers who have sacrificed themselves to create the Deacon (which leads to the mutagnised catalyser which when David examines is tainted with black strands amongst the living giving green elements).

Well thats clear why change from sacrificial cup connecting with sacrificial Deacon in crucified pose.

Simple to support the dialogue.

Charlie says this place is just another tomb and looks at the alter with the cup on. At that point in the film why should seeing a cup on an alter (communion) suggest a tomb. In communion terms its the blood of the crucified Deacon (drunk) by its victims but thats way to precious for a block buster.

Right Mr Props change it to a semi sunken head which echoes the shape of Xenomorph. 

Charlie looks at the mural sees the distinctive shape of the heads body sees the distinctive shape of the semi sunken head in the alter and deduces ...its a tomb.

All I can say is the very first time I saw the movie  I assumed, and knowing Ridleys penchant for imagery, that was precisely what it represented and only when I read the forums back in 2012 did I question my first instinct.   

Note the head like the vial pack containers is a mixture of the primary colours of the mythology Black and Green and of course if it was entirely black at a cinematic level it would be difficult to see. BD tells us this concept of Black and Green was going to play into the source of life which given Davids four pack makes sense.

I hope it's a secret lever which, when pushed/pulled/twisted, converts the big head into a carriage that shuttles through a secret opening in the mural, down to the egg chamber.

Inside the amppoulle theres a green compund who keeps the goo stabilized. The green crystal could be responsible for stabilizing black goo

This video about the symbolism of the movie compares the green rock with the emerald tablet wich alchemists believed to contain the secrets of transmutation (around 16:10): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo6A8ZT0KZs

Believe the green gem/rock has properties that allow for balance/stasis in the Big Head Ampule Room.

@Wrenchpede

Interesting how it references alchemy which David has pretty much engaged in.

I think that in the green rock, crystal are sunk the relic od the Deacon, Engineers lord. Part od his body maybe a bone. Engineers worshipped this relic. 

I would think that regardless of the Sacrificial Cup or this Crystal i think despite the Replacement, i would ASSUME that the Purpose of the Object has to be similar.

The Sacrificial Cup we can Logically conclude one of the Following.

1) It was on the Altar as a form of Sacrifice, the Mural showing that they had used the Sacrificial Goo upon the Organism in the Mural to Break Down and Obtain its DNA and STORE this into the Urns.

2) The Blood/DNA of the Organism in the Mural is what the GOO which includes the Sacrificial Goo was made of, so they Obtain the GOO from this Organism.

When looking at the Original Drafts (Alien Engineers) then Option 1 is the more likely.

When looking at the Crystal and Considering the Above....

It is likely a Indication that this Crystal is the SOURCE of the GOO, and that it is OBTAINED from this Crystal.

This Crystal therefor could be either.

1) This could be like a Amber (think Jurassic Park) that contains some Element, DNA, Parasite or Blood that is the Source of the Black Goo.

2) The GOO is Sourced from some Larger Crystal that Contains Something, and this Temple has a Shard/Piece of this Placed on the ALTAR.

Looking at some Concepts from Prometheus, and what a Source had Alleged to me in 2014 (that Early Prometheus 2 was to conclude) then it would suggest Option 2

I like your option 2, BigDave. It’s intriguing to wonder where the green crystal (big or small) originally came from. To me it hints at an era before the Engineers came to prominence, maybe in a galaxy far far away and a long long long long time ago. Perhaps the handiwork of something we now glibly allude to by the name of “Lucifer”. Oram saw The Devil at work in David’s mind, but the Evil One has a long history.

I think its something to consider, we cant be 100% sure WHY they would have changed the Sacrificial Cup to this Crystal, it does have a SHAPE that does-not look like its a Randomly Cut or Broken Shard.

It appears to be Rounded, and as some have Speculated it looks like the Rear of a Xenomorphs Head but that does-not mean it is the SKULL of a Xenomorph or Related.

However a OPTION 3 is possible, which is that the Green Object does look Egg Shaped.

Maybe it could be some Ancient Fossilized Egg, however its shape is NOT 100% as Rounded/Curved.  However something i used to do in the Summer with one of my Dogs many years ago was to FREEZE a Egg and then Peal the SHELL away to reveal a Frozen Contents which would loose its Roundness a Little and be Transparent to a Degree.

If you kept this Frozen Inner Membrane and Yolk at a Cold Temperature it would NOT defrost, if this Green Object was similar and kept Cold by the Alter then it could have some Device/Probe that could Heat Up and acquire just a Small Amount of its Contents... if this Contents is what is the GOO or is what the Goo is Created from then that is a Option.

I would say this is Unlikely... i am not sure they are that Imaginative but this is the Idea i was going to RUN with as far as a IDEA to expand the Origins... which would introduce the ALIEN Poster Egg as the Source of the Goo.  And that a Giant Bio-Mechanical Turtle would Produce them ;)  But this idea is VERY Bizarre.

So going back to the ALTAR i think that Option 1 for the Sacrificial Cup was Certain/Likely but who knows where the Substance was Sourced.

A Source i had who claimed to have some Knowledge of Prometheus 2 as of October 2014 had claimed the Goo was Sourced from a Giant Obelisk that was neither Metal or Rock, that was Grown from the Ground, and Glowed Green. They claimed this acted as the Forbidden Tree from the Biblical Context  as in it would represent both the Fruit of Knowledge and Life.  And was used by the Engineers to obtain their Creation Tool.  They Claimed the Green Crystal was a SHARD of this that was STOLEN and that the PLOT was actually a bit of a DARK CRYSTAL rip off. In Context to Source of the Goo and the Engineers Fall.

Again until we see any of the Earlier Drafts by Paglen then this Information can not be taken with even a Pinch of Salt.

It was however Interesting.

There was some Concepts for a Earlier Prometheus Draft which appear to FIT with Alien Engineers.

These kind of could be similar to what the Source Explained as far as a Obelisk, however these Concepts when looking at HOW/WHERE they FIT with the earlier Drafts seem to FIT with whatever the Engineers had used to TERRA-FORM the Outpost.

So there is NO proof that this was the Source of the Goo, because at the Time of these Concepts we can assume they was for Alien Engineers/Genesis where the GOO was actually Nano-Scarabs at this point.

However Future Projects do at times USE some Unused Ideas or Concepts or at least expand on them.

So IF we ever get any Answers to WHERE the Goo came from and WHAT that Crystal was, then a Shard/Piece of some Larger Object does seem Plausible.

Look at Item sunk on crystal. IT looks like bone. Bone of the first Deacon or The One Choosen

A deacon is the lowest ministerial rank so what's up with the Engineers on LV-223 worshipping it?  That is, it would seem like the earliest prototype for the xenomorph.

@BigDave: The Forbidden Tree, if growing eggs seems to be similar to Norse mythology's great ash, Ygdrassil, growing the gods from its pregnant branches after Ragnarok.

@Michart

What i see is a Indentation as indicated in the image below, it does not seem to be any kind of Body Part of any Organism, but this does-not mean that it Contains something inside that is related to the Deacon or other Organism.  Such as Ancient Organisms that are Crystallized in Amber.

I think as i said before that Regardless in the SHIFT from the Sacrificial Bowl to the Green Crystal, i cant see the SHIFT from the Purpose of the ALTAR being changed Dramatically, but that ASSUMES that it had a Purpose and was not just their just to look COOL.

There is that Draft that mentions the Blood of their Lord etc, but this is 95% Certainly just a FANS addition/edit.

Things do Change, but i feel we can still take Clues from Spaights Earlier Work such as his earlier Drafts... ONE massive Clue would be his Alien 01 The Master Narrative if we ever got the FULL version of this i think it could be used to UNLOCK some of the Mystery/Secrets.

What it seemed to indicate are the Engineers were quite like Mankind back Millions of Years ago, as they continued to Evolve, and make Scientific Breakthroughs, they eventually Evolved Culturally beyond the Needs for Entertainment like Music and Arts, they had Pursued the AGENDA to Genetically Enhance themselves Physically and Mentally which lead to Great Advancements that eventually made them Sterile.  They had the Ultimate Agenda of Evolving/Transcending themselves BEYOND a Physical Form and thus a kind of Immortality.

But ALAS we cant take this Plot as being what is the MAIN reason for the LV-223 Connection in Prometheus. We dont have the FULL version of  Alien 01 The Master Narrative, from what we have it seems to FIT more with the Engineers being a Ancient Race trying to Evolve themselves to Divinity, choosing to Create Life in their Image to Pass on their Knowledge for the Time when they Eventually Reach that Godhead. 

So it was more about Creation, Seeding, Knowledge etc than the Pursuit of Horrors like the Xenomorph... until a Certain Point they felt they Needed Such Horrors to Protect themselves from their Creations.

But as i said such a PLOT may not be relevant as of Alien Covenant, i think when looking back at Prometheus the indication seems to be that the SACRIFICIAL Scene seems to be a Important thing that Predates the Infatuation with the Deacon and the like.

Looking at Alien Engineers and Alien Genesis it appears likewise that the Engineers Agenda was Creation, Passing on Knowledge until a Certain Point in Time they instead became Obsessed with such Horrors relating to the Xenomorph.

So trying to get back to the OT... in context, then i think the Sacrificial Cup or Crystal was likely the Source of a Powerful Tool that can be used to Create/Evolve Life, that at some point those Engineers began to TEST this with another Organism or Accidentally had done so or came across something and then became OBSESSED with using this Organisms DNA...  maybe as they saw this Precursor to the Deacon/Xenomorph as having something within their Genetics that is of GREAT Benefit to the Engineers or something they Felt could lead them to a Greater Next Stage of Evolution for their Species.

so i would ASSUME the Agenda and Plot was not that some Ancient Deacon like being was the LORD of the Engineers or their GOD, or that they had the Agenda to Create such Horrors from Day One.... but that at some point they DISCOVERED something related that they saw as having the POTENTIAL to Transform them to a Greater Stage of Evolution.

@Nathan Adler

Certainly the Term Deacon had been brought up because of how the one Concept that they decided to go with did look like it had a pointed HAT of a Bishop, so i dont know why they never just called it a Bishop ;)

A Deacon as far as Religious is a Servant of the Church (also a Rank that they take up on their Progression to a Higher Rank within a Church), and so as you mentioned as far as Ministerial Rank if we try and apply that a bit Literally to the Organism then it must be some kind of Servant, i think you could end up interpreting this in many ways though ;)

Certainly seems the Deacon as per say is a Organism that Predates the Xenomorph (even prior to the release if AC).  The Conclusion i reach is that the Engineers had been Experimenting with Various Hybrids that are related and Predate the likes of the Deacon, Neomorph and Xenomorph and so after a lot of Experiments they had achieved something they deemed as a Masterpiece and they then made that MURAL to Celebrate what they had achieved.  This Organism being to the Engineers, what the Xenomorph in Alien Covenant was for David... the FRUITS of their Labor/Experiments.

Its interesting to bring up Norse Mythology, i think one of the Interesting things with Prometheus was to WONDER how they would eventually/loosely tie in the Various Mythos and Religions to the Engineers Agenda/History.

And Certainly YGDRASSIL is interesting as its like a Central Point to the Cosmology of the Norse Mythos, Branching off to the 9 Worlds of the Mythology.

Going back to the Alien 01 The Master Narrative then the Engineers were attempting to Transcend as beings of Energy to traverse and see the Ten Dimensional Multi-Verse, which if we apply the  YGDRASSIL then this could be seen as what Connects  those Dimensions the Root, the Branches the Bridge.

But then this is a bit Off Topic.

We can only Speculate that the Alter Contained upon it something that was either a Source to allow them to Create Life, or something that they was using to Achieve a Different Form of Life/Evolution.

 Look at scene when David and Shaw examine the Head Engineer cutted, and when it explosive we see green inner guts. Before it head of engineer crying black blood mayby it was Black goo on him blood. So guts and blood engineers is green and green slime on buttons im corridor od Piramide are the same?

Very Valid Point ;)

While we do see Black Liquid pouring down the Engineers Face/Head, when the Head does EXPLODE we do indeed see Fluid that is more Yellowish Color, like a Off White.  We have to ASK as to WHY we did not see any Splatter of Black Material?

The Creamy Color Material could be BRAIN Matter, but then if the Engineers had Black Blood then we should have surely seen some Black Blood Splatter too.  The Black Goo however is shown to be Black and so it could be the Pathogen seeping from the Engineers Head before it Exploded.

If we look at the Sacrificial Engineer we do see Black Stuff running through the Engineers Veins after he Consumes the GOO but prior to that i get the impression that maybe his Blood would be some kind of Dark Purple?

However when we see the Engineer being SHOT we do see his Suit does SEEP a Black Substance from the Wound. Could this Liquid just be from the Suit though?

If it was a Wound to the Engineer that was DEEP enough to pass through the Suit and Cause the Engineer to Bleed then judging by the Amount of Blood and Location the Engineer would have surely suffered some LUNG Damage, but maybe they can SHRUG off Pain?

Finally the Deacon Birth, from this Scene we see a Explosion of Blood/Fluid that appears to have a Very Dark Reddish Color we also see on the Floor the Blood/Liquid has a Reddish Tint, yet on his Suit we see a more Black Liquid.

I would say the Intention would be the Engineers have a Very Dark Blood Color that  ALMOST appears Black.

Regarding the Slime on the Panel... well if the Engineers Blood was a Greenish Color and almost Transparent, then it could be the Blood of a Engineer.  However there has been NO real Explanation  given for what that Substance was.

So we can but just Speculate ;)

when david takes a little black goo on his finger we see floating roundworms inside. when swallowed by Charlie, he also has roundworms in his eye. on the ground in the temple large roundworms crawl and later melt into black goo and later when two astronauts come to this place black goo changed the roundworms into large snakes that have sour blood. hologram engineers are escaping to the room with their heads wondering where they are going, this must be a secret passage. I wonder if goo urns were there then, but they had to be there. the atmosphere had to be different since the paintings and survived and the urns did not open. for two thousand years the atmosphere has changed due to terraforming. the green crystal looks like a cracked maybe worn away by engineers when they fled and turned off thus maintaining the atmosphere so that the worms did not give birth to aliens from which they fled. but there was probably one more type of pathogen that David dumped on the planet of the engineer. this goo destroyed DNA and all of life. just like in the Bible at the end of the world, angels pour cups on the earth with plague, death, poisoned rivers, etc. only this did not happen because around 200 A.D. engineers died on the planet.