THE THREAD!!!

[Grollub]

Good morning friends.

[Dixie]

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

The comparative cute and small chest burster is apparently just a little version of a full-sized adult. It grows to that size in a matter of hours post-bursting. [X(]

I'm more concerned about it's apparent small feed conversion ratio. Even if we assumed that it ate the entire thoracic cavity of an adult male (say about 70 lbs. worth of vittles), it somehow manages to grow into something hominid-sized or larger with just that one full meal. It's mass has got to be at least that of a full adult male, therefore, we have an inexplicable FCR of less than 0.5:1 . Namely, for every pound of gain, it eats 0.5 lbs. (or less) of something else.

Sulfuric acid blood? Eats people? Chest burster little 'uns? Doesn't need much to grow lots? Grows to full size in hours? Big sharp pointy teeth (makes chomping teeth motion with hands)? Ick. I'm startin' to get fidgety just thinking about another species like that in the same solar system.

ETA: Nuke 'em from orbit. It's the only way to be sure...

I picked up a cheap copy of the Aliens Colonial Marines Technical Manual a few years back. There's some discussion from a group of scientists in one section as to the life cycle of the Alien. Interesting in a sciencey-film geek sort of way [:D]

[Dixie]

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

ORIGINAL: rtrapasso

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy



In the movie, does the exploder unit become the adult? We see an adult in the movie-it's not the same organism (all growed up) as the exploder or face sucker, right?

Iirc, it (the chest exploder) does become an adult... it gets out of the mess hall and starts eating stuff, then moves onto eating people.

The face hugger comes out of one of the eggs (so there are lots of other ones around, but not seen directly)... it shoves the embryo chest exploder down the throat and keeps it alive (while keeping the humans from removing it and/or the embryo chest exploder).

And here i thought you were an expert in parasitology!! [:'(]

(sigh...) Physicians...

If you follow the origin of the thread on this issue, you'll find my response is correct. There are a multitude of aliens in the movie, not just one in different phases. I'm counting those eggs (1-1000), face sucker (1001), chest exploder (1002) and adult (assuming that it's around as an adult and not a growed up chest exploder =1003).

So, to rehash Sprior's original question (and my original answer)-YES, there is more than one alien in the movie.

Of course, you could argue that as none of the species featured in the film are native to the planet LV-426 that there are the eggs, the face-hugger, the xenomorph (+chest burster), Ripley, Dallas, Kane, Lambert, Parker, Brett and Jonesy.

But that's just being pedantic [:D]

[DuckofTindalos]

ORIGINAL: Dixie

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

The comparative cute and small chest burster is apparently just a little version of a full-sized adult. It grows to that size in a matter of hours post-bursting. [X(]

I'm more concerned about it's apparent small feed conversion ratio. Even if we assumed that it ate the entire thoracic cavity of an adult male (say about 70 lbs. worth of vittles), it somehow manages to grow into something hominid-sized or larger with just that one full meal. It's mass has got to be at least that of a full adult male, therefore, we have an inexplicable FCR of less than 0.5:1 . Namely, for every pound of gain, it eats 0.5 lbs. (or less) of something else.

Sulfuric acid blood? Eats people? Chest burster little 'uns? Doesn't need much to grow lots? Grows to full size in hours? Big sharp pointy teeth (makes chomping teeth motion with hands)? Ick. I'm startin' to get fidgety just thinking about another species like that in the same solar system.

ETA: Nuke 'em from orbit. It's the only way to be sure...

I picked up a cheap copy of the Aliens Colonial Marines Technical Manual a few years back. There's some discussion from a group of scientists in one section as to the life cycle of the Alien. Interesting in a sciencey-film geek sort of way [:D]

I have that one too. Very good book, actually.

[Grollub]

Off to a gaming/dinner evening. [:)]

Laters.

[rtrapasso]

OK - it seems some hijacked (hopefully temporarily) my gmail account.

i have deleted all the contacts in my gmail account, changed password, etc. Not sure how this happened... scans on my computer have come up negative so far... i suppose it could be on my computer at work (despite the IT department there - the network security in the past has been pretty porous)... i will be taking additional precautions today.

[Dixie]

Hopefully you'll be all sorted now then.

[rtrapasso]

It LOOKS like gmail actually picked up on it pretty quickly*... they temporarily suspended my account and blocked a lot of the spam messages from going out.

Anyway - i always try to put something in the subject line... all of these things had blank subject lines... so if you get messages with blank subject lines - be on the lookout.

EDIT: According to the time stamps, they started blocking messages within 6 minutes of the first one going out, and blocked most of them... only about "5 mass mailings" messages went out, and gmail blocked 3 of them (i think). They probably did this by the "unusual activity" of me mass mailing stuff, and it also generated a lot of "bounced" messages from defunct email acounts just on those two first messages. Kudos to gmail for quick action!! [&o] [&o]

[rtrapasso]

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

The comparative cute and small chest burster is apparently just a little version of a full-sized adult. It grows to that size in a matter of hours post-bursting. [X(]

I'm more concerned about it's apparent small feed conversion ratio. Even if we assumed that it ate the entire thoracic cavity of an adult male (say about 70 lbs. worth of vittles), it somehow manages to grow into something hominid-sized or larger with just that one full meal. It's mass has got to be at least that of a full adult male, therefore, we have an inexplicable FCR of less than 0.5:1 . Namely, for every pound of gain, it eats 0.5 lbs. (or less) of something else.

Sulfuric acid blood? Eats people? Chest burster little 'uns? Doesn't need much to grow lots? Grows to full size in hours? Big sharp pointy teeth (makes chomping teeth motion with hands)? Ick. I'm startin' to get fidgety just thinking about another species like that in the same solar system.

ETA: Nuke 'em from orbit. It's the only way to be sure...

iirc, from the movie, it was found to be eating supplies, so it probably didn't violate "preservation of mass"... and (iirc) it had "molecular acid" for blood... no currently known acid wouldn't do anything like that alien blood did. [X(]

[rtrapasso]

ORIGINAL: Dixie

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

ORIGINAL: rtrapasso



Iirc, it (the chest exploder) does become an adult... it gets out of the mess hall and starts eating stuff, then moves onto eating people.

The face hugger comes out of one of the eggs (so there are lots of other ones around, but not seen directly)... it shoves the embryo chest exploder down the throat and keeps it alive (while keeping the humans from removing it and/or the embryo chest exploder).

And here i thought you were an expert in parasitology!! [:'(]

(sigh...) Physicians...

If you follow the origin of the thread on this issue, you'll find my response is correct. There are a multitude of aliens in the movie, not just one in different phases. I'm counting those eggs (1-1000), face sucker (1001), chest exploder (1002) and adult (assuming that it's around as an adult and not a growed up chest exploder =1003).

So, to rehash Sprior's original question (and my original answer)-YES, there is more than one alien in the movie.

Of course, you could argue that as none of the species featured in the film are native to the planet LV-426 that there are the eggs, the face-hugger, the xenomorph (+chest burster), Ripley, Dallas, Kane, Lambert, Parker, Brett and Jonesy.

But that's just being pedantic [:D]

If you are being pedantic, there was also the dead alien in his ship. [:'(]

[rtrapasso]

Placental? How mammalocentric of you.

Merely explaining things that in a way most people here would understand as an admittedly imperfect analogy... placentas (at least human placentas) are (by DNA) not of either the mother nor the child (but rather an amalgam of the two).

[rtrapasso]

ORIGINAL: Reg

ORIGINAL: rtrapasso


EDIT: This assumes, of course, that the face-hugger and exploder are two different organisms... it could be they are part of the same being, with the face-hugger part being sort of a "placental" attachment that is shed from the embryo once it is ready to leave the host... alas, they failed to provide DNA analysis of the different parts (assuming it actually has DNA). [;)]

RE-EDIT: How's THAT for geeky?? [:D]

I think you will find explained in Alien 3 that the exploder/adult picks up characteristics from its host - ie the dog exploder was a very different organism to the human gestated Alien...

That would make categorising it's DNA a very difficult task - talk about rapid evolution!! [:D]


If it was real that is!! [:'(]

i've (alas) blocked most of the Aliens 3 movie, and i discounted most of what was said in there as a bad fever dream. [:D]

[rtrapasso]

Uh, oh... the Thread has once again been left unguarded!!! [X(]

[rtrapasso]

No one about to keep watch...

[rtrapasso]

Except me, that it...

[rtrapasso]

The fox guarding the henhouse, as it were...

[rtrapasso]

When will the ever learn??

[rtrapasso]

Well, i might just muse upon what happened with my gmail account...

[rtrapasso]

i suppose the password could have been intercepted as i was logging on...

[rtrapasso]

The other possibility is that one or more of the computers i use has been infected.