Contact #3-22
Ripley, E.L., Morse, R.
Location: Leadworks, Fiorina 161 Work Correctional Facility
Date: August 11 2179
Contact with: Adult Alien
Both Morse and Ripley display some relief at the Alien’s demise. Ripley still has the Queen to worry about, but Morse laugh and shouts “I hate bugs!” – just as the Alien springs from the molten lead Fig 3-22a.
Not only does the Alien show little ill effects from being submerged in lead for some 50 seconds, it is able to actually LEAP out of the mold onto some pipework that appears to be at least 2 metres away. It doesn’t just crawl out, it jumps. We know Aliens can stay submerged under water (see Contact #2-19), now it seems they can actually swim as well. It seems unlikely the Alien actually used the bottom of the mold as a base to spring from, which means it would have to swim in a similar manner to other animals that are able to leap out of water (dolphins, whales).
After shaking itself around a bit, possibly in an effort to shake some of the liquid lead off (like a dog drying itself) the Alien starts after Ripley, who is climbing madly up some pipes above the creature. Morse shouts to Ripley to hit the sprinklers, which she does. The Alien’s skin smokes and cracks before exploding into small pieces Fig 3-22b. Not even an Alien can survive that Fig 3-22c.
Here we can make some observations about the Alien’s ability to withstand certain temperatures. Lead melts at 327 degrees celsius and boils at 1740 degrees. The lead seems close to boiling, so could be in the 1600 - 1700 degree ballpark, though it’s probably quite a bit less taking into account Ripley and Morse’s proximity to it and no especially detrimental effects on their part. The temperature in space in the lifezone of the planetary system varies between approximately 120 degrees celsius in sunlight and –150 degrees in the shade. Humans can withstand temperatures in excess of 100 degrees for short periods, though it’s difficult to believe the Alien hive on Acheron was anywhere in excess of 50 degrees celsius. If we say the temperature of the hive walls, and therefore the Aliens were about 45 degrees celsius, this isn’t much more than a normal human body temperature. So the Aliens can obviously deal with heat and cold much more efficiently. They can withstand known temperatures between –150 degrees all the way up to a possible 1700 degrees. The way in which they may be able to retain body heat could explain being able to withstand the cold of space, but being able to take the extreme heat of molten lead is truly remarkable.
However it seems they can’t withstand extreme temperature changes. A temperature change from 20 something degrees celsius to –150 (or thereabouts) – no problem (see Contact #1-10). But from 1700 degrees to be then hit with water somewhere between 5 – 20 degrees (don’t know if the ambient warmth from the furnace would’ve warmed the water or not, so just guessing) causes the Alien to not only shatter, but explode.
Contact #3-23
Ripley, E.L.
Location: Furnace, Leadworks, Fiorina 161 Work Correctional Facility
Date: August 11 2179
Contact with: Queen chestburster
A group of men, presumably the Weyland-Yutani Bio-Weapons Division lead by a man claiming to be the human designer of the Bishop model android, arrive. Bishop II tries to persuade Ripley into accompanying him back to his ship so the Alien Queen can be removed. She doesn’t trust him, and declines. Morse activates the gantry and the two of them are carried out over the leadworks. Morse is shot in the leg, but recovers to control the gantry. Aaron clubs Bishop II over the head with a large spanner, and is subsequently shot by the Bio-Weapons troops. While Bishop II pleads with Ripley to reconsider, we can see his ear virtually hanging off the side of his head, and red blood trickling down his face, suggesting that he was indeed telling the truth about his humanity Fig 3-23a.
Meanwhile Ripley nods to Morse and he halts the gantry over the furnace. Christ-like Ripley lets herself fall backwards into the furnace. In the seconds between falling off the gantry and being incinerated the Queen emerges. Rather than punching through a few times like Kane’s chestburster, or the colonists or Spikes, the Queen plunges out in one motion.
Rather than punching out to face outwards from the host as per previous chestbursters, the Queen is in fact facing up towards Ripley’s face (matching it’s earlier position as seen on the neuroscan - #3-8). Like the adult Queen, the chestburster has two pairs of arms, and the beginnings of it’s crest/ crown Fig 3-23b. It doesn’t have the formed inner jaw, nor to more developed arms, legs and neck, that the burster that popped out of Spike possessed, and is more akin to other bursters coming from humans.
Screaming and with it’s tail trashing, Ripley clutches the Queen to her chest, almost as one would cradle a human child, no doubt to ensure it didn’t somehow escape. Ripley does not cry out when it is born. Her eyes go wide momentarily, but otherwise displays an expression of calm and peace – as if she has finally beaten the Alien once and for all.
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