Theory: Is the Black Goo Cameron's Queen?

Ingeniero

I have cited the black goo urn possibly shown (title image above, top center) in other topics. (No urn as far as we see now, an Engineer's head instead, thank you Ati.)

Why wouldn't black goo in Alien: Covenant be what we expect from a queen in the xenomorph cycle shown in James Cameron's Aliens (1986)?

I have considered the Trilobite in the image of the queen in the xenomorph cycle but black goo may be the queen or womb.

Page 1, Page 2

Ingeniero

I appreciate you saying that Chris. 

You did take away from my expected praise in regards to the workshop table image I posted above though.

Tiwaz

You're welcome, Ingeniero

Ingeniero

Theory: Better shot of David 8's worktable.

Tiwaz

Theory: *facepalms and gins*

Ingeniero

Tiwaz, a little different enhancement and angle.

I.Raptus

So does the facehugger inseminate the host with a modified Black Goo then? Instead of changing the host into something else (Fifield) it creates a new life taking from the host's DNA?

What then, is the point of taking phenotypic traits from the host? The Runner Alien in A3 for example took the quadrupedal gait from the dog/ox host. What evolutionary advantages does this give the newly produced xeno? I mean a Runner alien is certainly not going to blend in amongst other dogs/oxen lol so its not for camouflage.

I.Raptus

hmm maybe its David pursuit of a perfect organism exhibiting itself within the Xenomorph DNA coding.

Perhaps David couldn't create the perfect organism but he modified a species (Neomorph/protomorph) that was close to perfect, with the ability to organically mutate a perfect organism?! 

Tiwaz

"... What evolutionary advantages does this give ...", hm, good question.

Lemme think... Just hypothesizing:

Genetical diversity:

Xeno or not, a copy of a copy is bound to become flawed at a certain point. Therefor you need some "fresh material" to prevent that.

Enviromental Adaptation:

Taking traits from local species makes it better suited to enviroment it is born into. Examples: High G, jungle or even ocean.

But that's my take.

I.Raptus

Environmental adaptation makes a lot of sense, as you say, it helps adapt to their environment.

My first thought survival of the fittest ie. face-hug the hardiest species in the environment. Though, whichever species was stupid enough to stumble into a xeno nest would hardly be my pick as a host indigenous species lol. I guess it could prove they are brave/tough/resilient enough to make it that far I guess. Have a good flight/fight response. 

Tiwaz

I'd further assume a facehugger only impregnates creatures within certain range of sizes. Too big and the hugger ends up as chunky acid salza, too small and the result is too small to pose a threat. If it even survives.

Further I don't believe a facehugger carries goo. Neither does the queen. The way I understand it BG is a very potent mutagen/accelerant that changes existing lifeforms. It does not impregnate them.

Maybe its "coded" to deliver certain results in the end, like a xeno-ish lifecycle. But that pure speculation.

Ingeniero

Welcome IRaptus. Both you and Tiwaz have such great analysis above. Thank you both so much.

I believe the black goo has variants that are "coded" to different results as well. Here are different sized, shaped canisters of black goo.

I.Raptus

Thanks for the welcome Ingeniero! Im enjoying some of the great topics on here!!

Apex_Predator

I would like to see David trying to create an intelligent xenomorph creature. 

The mural in prometheus could have been Satan himself to put it in those words. God or whoever is in charge turned him into the black substance and for some reason these being have been trying to free him. Instead they keep getting these hellish lookalike xenos.

Ingeniero

Apex_Predator, that is what is so wild about a potential creature from Walter. Walter is the sum total knowledge base of mankind.

If David 8 is able to somehow use black goo on Walter because he is DNA-based, then you have a biomechanical organism that houses all the knowledge of mankind. 

This organism could forecast anything a human may do and prepare for it.

Parkerparrot

Hi Ingeniero! Great topic! I saw that theres been a discussion about traits taken over by the alien from the host. Runner from dog/ox and regular xeno from man/humanoid. I then came to think about the Alien creature in Resurection. It has "runner" hindlegs ie like a quadruped. Any thoughts on that?

Ingeniero

Welcome back Parkerparrot, thank you.

I believe you are correct in your assumption that traits are retained from the xenomorph host. 

The xenomorph below shows more organic traits with the human-like musculature in the arms and legs opposed to how the biomechanical xenomorph arms appear.

This arm below from the movie poster looks like a biomechanical xenomorph's arm opposed to the organism above.

Ingeniero

Here is a reverse value image of Walter's tissue scaffolding in his arm and side torso before tissue growth.

Grinning & Dropping Linen

perhaps the xeno looking creature in the mural is in fact the god the engineers worship or at least how the higher beings that created the engineers look....maybe the engineers were trying to create life in their gods image is what started all of this....their desire to create life in their gods image ended up as pure evil, destroyer of life, an unimaginable cosmic terror....the perfect organism, a xenomorph a walking nightmare....that could be a cool twist

I.Raptus

I like that idea Grinning. That could mean our attempt to make the perfect synthetic human in the image of us/our god may lead to creating our own destroyer of life.....David

Ingeniero

Grinning & Dropping Linen and IRaptus, I agree with both of your points.

First, the temple like room that housed the urns had the mural at the back of the room behind the head. Yes, it looks like a deity and especially looking down over the urns of black goo.

Second, yes, the attempt to reach past natural human limits with the David and Walter androids (arrogance, logic prioritized before humanity) could have unintended consequences in a way like never before that could consume humanity (biomechanical xenomorph). 

This mural looks, to me, like the xenomorph cycle boiling up through black goo or as if the whole xenomorph cycle was laying down flat and the black goo was running off of it.

I believe the black goo would be closest to a deity for the Engineers.  Black goo could also represent those who the Engineers captured it from or those that gave the black goo to the Engineers pf LV-223.

Reverse values high contrast below.

Original mural below.

rumsmuggler

Good research from all. The more I see and read, the more I want to see this film.

Ingeniero

Thank you rumsmuggler.

Ingeniero

Another black goo spawn from a host provided by David 8 on Paradise?

UFOMORPH

they should redesign the queen.   Give a slight human tone or gigers psycho-sexual overtones.   lips, flowers, hips maybe!?  maybe something along the lines of a sil species.

Ingeniero

UFOMORPH, if there were a queen in Ridley Scott's Alien production, I would want her to look like this below.

Actually, I want all queens to look like this now. 

Ingeniero

I consolidated the notes on to the urns infographic images (Weyland-Yutani Corp Report source) below.

Ingeniero

Continued on new topic here.

QueenElizabethShaw

Personally I prefer the concept of queen be the endpoint of the lifecycle for elder xenos. It would be nice if it took some time too. Like a xeno must be months/years old before it finishes growing into a queen.

This would allow us to maintain the goo as the true starting point, as well as keep egg morphing for initial propagation. Egg morphing would essentially be micro-propagation and a queen would be macro. This allows the species to regulate it's chances of survival depending on the environment and available resources.