The Space Jockey Race
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Several races, each different to each other, have been associated with the same distinct technology. One possibility would be that they are a conglomerate of several different species, a theory supported by the varying interests of the parties. Another explanation would be divergent evolution, meaning that the Engineers and Space Jockey shared common ancestors, but evolved into different lifeforms in the distant past - much like the Yautja, Hish-Qu-Ten, and the "Super Yautja."
Another theory exists suggesting that the Space Jockey represents a higher level of hierarchy within the Humanoid genetic chain. This assumes Space Jockey created Engineers as their successors or workers to tend to planets they habitate but eventually rebel and feel as though they are superior. Thus, the Engineers steal technology from Space Jockeys to use against them and aid their own advancement. Engineers then seed their own planets with their own DNA to preserve their lineage and expand their reach. Humans in turn feel superior to Engineers and rebel, create Androids and robotics to succeed themselves and advance their own reach. Artificial Intelligence then sees itself as superior (David8) and they too rebel against their creator. David8 then creates the prototypes to kiande amedha to exterminate Humanity and eliminate any threats to the existence of A.I.
First Encounters
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Engineers were first encountered by mankind during a mission to LV-223 in 2093. They were involved with creating and modifying life on a massive scale, even possibly being responsible for the creation of mankind. However, the Loki organization may have had relations with the race prior to this event.
Collectors were another distinct kind of being encountered when the Benedict went on a mission to the kiande amedha Homeworld in 2192. They seemed to be more aggressive, bent on conquering worlds for themselves. They have an intense hatred for the kiande amedha. This may be because the kiande amedha (at least one strain of them) were created by the Space Jockey race in the first place, as suggested by the Deacon specimen born on LV-223.
Technology
Space Jockey technology has a distinct bio-organic look to it, as evidenced by their iconic spacecrafts such as the Juggernauts or the biosuits of the Engineers. The Collector encountered in 2192 wore a spacesuit with a much more bulky and conventional design than that of the Engineers, lending further credence to speculations that the two subspecies might have developed in staggeringly different directions.
Engineers possessed the means for interstellar travel while life on Earth was still in a prehistoric, possibly even primordial state. At this time, they also have already gained an understanding of biochemistry sophisticated enough to create compounds used to artificially accelerate evolution. The Engineers on LV-223 had obtained means for terraforming 2000 years before humanity would be able to create its first prototype of this technology. Events during the Earth War crisis even showed that such terraforming technology could be mounted on a ship to terraform a planet from orbit. Other achievements present at this time include powerful holographic systems, cryosleep chamber and sound-controlled devices. The encounter with the Collector also revealed that it wielded devastating energy weapons. The discovery of Space Jockey facilities on LV-1201 also indicates that the race had mastered an advanced form of geothermal power.
Collectors
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The term "Collector" was coined by Dr. Waidslaw Orona in his study “Theory of Alien Propagation” to refer to sentient beings collecting Ovomorphs for their own purposes.
The pilot of the vessel that crashed on Rim are possible Collectors. However, the Collectors have elephantine trunks - soft tissue such as elephant trunks do not fossilize. This does not leave out the possibility of a different kind of trunk, but otherwise the Jockey on LV-426 would thus not be a Collector.
A living individual was also encountered by the Benedict crew at the kiande amedha Homeworld in 2192.
Roughly humanoid in shape, the Collectors are about seven to eight meters tall, bulky, and possess an elephant-like trunk, a small tail and eyes with cross-shaped pupils. The lifeform also possessed telepathic abilities, being able to project thoughts into other minds and also read them - even with androids, although this skill is limited to thoughts openly broadcast and is unable to perform deep scans. Although the creatures operated the same bio-organic-looking U-shaped vessels, such as the Juggernaut encountered on LV-223, the Collectors' biosuits are much more conventional in their design.
A Collector is able to hover several centimeters above the ground, but it is unknown whether this is an inherent telekinetic ability of the species or achieved by technical means.
Nothing is known about the homeworld of the Collectors, other than they thrive in cold climates, given the nature of the attempted terraforming of Earth in the 2190s. Characteristic to the species is its intense hatred of the kiande amedha, possibly harkening back to the possible genocide it had suffered at its hands billions of years ago.
The history of the Collectors is shrouded in mystery. However, the telepathic contact between Billie and the Collector encountered in 2192 by the Benedict crew revealed that Collector had visited the kiande amedha Homeworld to harvest kiande amedha in the past. Given this fact, it is probable that the wreckages on LV-426 and Rim responsible for the kiande amedha outbreaks are of Collector origin.
In 2192, the survivors of the Benedict mission encountered a living Collector on the surface of the kiande amedha Homeworld, who had unexpectedly appeared and single-handedly obliterated a kiande amedha swarm threatening to overwhelm the humans. Afterward, the Collector made telepathic contact with Billie, relaying the intense hatred for the kiande amedha and past visits of his race to the planet. When news of the Earth War reached the group, the survivor traveled back to Earth together with the Collector, hoping to have found a powerful ally who could turn the tide against the kiande amedha infestation on the planet. However, as Billie and other survivors left Earth together with the last remnants of the human military, the being contacted Billie again, revealing its true intentions, which were not to help mankind, but to terraform the planet from space and wait until either humans or kiande amedha have prevailed and then take the world for its own kind.
Engineers
Shaw: We call them Engineers.
Milburn: Do you mind telling us what they engineered?
Shaw: They engineered us. Prometheus. 20th Century Fox, 2012. Movie.
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- Bio Data: 8-9'. 350+lb. No hair. Pure black eyes with pupils shaped like oblong crosses. White color skin.
- Homeworld: Planet 4
- Other names: Pilot, Space Jockeys, Mala'kak
- "Scientific" Name: Mundus gubernavi (Universal Pilo)
The Engineers are an ancient, technologically advanced race of large and elegant humanoids, like "dark angels," but not necessarily Gods. Engineers look similar to a human, and share the same DNA, as discovered by Dr. Elizabeth Shaw. They are taller, stronger and tougher than humans.
Judging from the Engineers on Planet 4, they have a lifespan of around 150 years. The oldest confirmed recorded age for any human ever born is 122 years old. There are also female Engineers - David8 made illustrations of females in his notebook.
Just as humans do, Engineers also wrinkle with age and breathe oxygen. However they are seemingly able to withstand higher carbon dioxide concentrations than humans - they are able to breathe unassisted and unprotected on the surface of LV-223′s which has carbon dioxide concentrations that would be lethal to humans.
The Engineers also have an oral language akin to several ancient human languages. Their writing system is strikingly similar to Mesopotamian cuneiform that can be found in the middle-east, and their hieroglyphs are identical to what is found in Egypt, Mesoamerica, and other places on Earth. When David8 talks to the last Engineer on LV-223 and is seemingly understood by it, he appears to be using a form of proto-Indo-European Ursprache ("original language") that was spoken by the first Indo-Europeans circa 3,000 BCE and that David8 has learnt on the flight there, where earlier he was practicing the language with Schleicher's fable, which is written in a modern reconstruction of proto-Indo-European. While the Urheimat ("original home") of the first Indo-Europeans is still under scientific dispute, the most respected theories locate it either in the Asian or Pontic steppes (Kurgan hypothesis), near the Black Sea, or in Anatolia.
Engineer Technology
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They are extremely advanced in genetic engineering.
While exploring the interior of the Engineer-constructed spacecraft, Juggernaut, David8 observed a type of slime with an energy inside that was used to press buttons, activate doors, and objects. Also show there was one Engineer alive in a form of stasis similar to that used by Humans. Engineers were capable of holograms, terraforming atmospheres, flying, bio-engineering, and perhaps even accelerating evolution.
They possess the means to travel the galaxy millions or billions of years before mankind. The Engineer encountered on LV-223 also wore flight suits featuring a trunk-like appendage for breathing and sporting the bio-organic look of its Juggernaut vessels. Their uniform has retractable sleeves and helmet to presumably filter out the environment for it. When the black liquid attacked them, they all seemed to wear the suits to protect themselves.
The cargo hold of the ship on LV-426 was filled with Ovomorphs, which were held in stasis beneath a blue electrical mist. It has been speculated that the Space Jockey race are the creators of the kiande amedha because of the similarities in design between the spacecraft and the biomechanical kiande amedha.
In an alternate report, the Space Jockey's race found the Ovomorphs on LV-426, and there has been no conclusive evidence that the Space Jockey's race created the kiande amedha. The image of a Xenomorph on the wall of a room inside the structure on LV-223 suggests that the birth of The Deacon is not the very first kiande amedha.
Engineer Culture
In the Engineer Citadel on Planet 4 are several monolithic stone heads, each representing the Elders of their civilization: intellectuals, artists, and wise men. It was a way for the Engineers to celebrate themselves.
There are two main Factions to their race: The Military Engineers, and the "Space Gardner" Engineers. The "Space Gardener" Engineers visit planets and seed them with life. They later check on them and update them by sending their ships at different intervals. If disappointed, the Military Engineers would wipe out the planet and start all over again. This could take 500 years.
When the Engineers return home, they are often greeted by a ritualistic and important ceremony as the crescent-ships return infrequently from their various missions. Thus, it's a big event, and those at home make the effort to show their respect and welcome the ships, and their honored crew home. They also do this for the "Sacrifice Engineer."
Engineer History
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The Engineers visited Earth circa 3.2 billion BC. The Elders chose one of them to serve as a sacrifice to seed the planet with life. This Engineer stood over a waterfall and ingested the Black Goo given to him by the Elders. The Engineer's entire body structure dissolved, painfully, the waterfall and into the air, seeding the planet with his DNA. This accelerated evolution on Earth. As David8 will surmise about the Engineers in 2094 AD, "…in order to create" sometimes you must first destroy."
c. 66 million years ago: Three Engineers land on Earth. One of the Engineers eats a piece of ceremonial cake, which boils into a swarm of small scarab-like insects that dissolve him. On a nearby mountain, a primitive human woman watches the remaining Engineers depart aboard their ship, as one of the scarab-like insects bites her on the back of the neck, infusing her with the DNA of the dead Engineers.
Throughout 35,000 BC - 680 AD, Engineers periodically returned to Earth. While visiting, they show humans the Zeta II Reticuli star system.
At an unknown point of time in the distant past, a Derelict and another vessel of an unknown configuration were caught in a battle near LV-426. During this skirmish, the Derelict was severely damaged, and the pilot was forced to crash-land on the nearby moon. The pilot survived the crash and set off a beacon signal. However, the vessel also carried a deadly cargo: Ovomorphs. The Engineer pilot became impregnated by a Facehugger – under which exact circumstances remains unknown, as well as the original course of vessel and the circumstances under which the Ovomorphs had ended up on the ship. Soon after the crash, the pilot gave birth to a kiande amedha specimen which would grow to an enormous size and eventually go into hibernation in the bowels of the Derelict. In the following centuries, the remains of the Engineer remained in the pilot chair and fossilized.
Roughly around 100 AD, an unknown event caused the Engineers to mount a mission to exterminate the pyode amedha (humans), using Black Goo. Preparations were undertaken on LV-223, but shortly before launching, an accident unleashed the weapon, killing almost all Engineers involved. Only one individual escaped the contamination and entered cryosleep aboard a landed Juggernaut vessel.
In 2093, following pointers hidden in artifacts from humanity's ancient history, Dr. Elizabeth Shaw and Dr. Charles Holloway led an expedition to LV-223 aboard the science vessel Prometheus, which was financed by Weyland Industries. After arrival, the team discovered the remnants of the 2000-year old failed Engineer mission to wipe out mankind. The events quickly escalated when Peter Weyland, who had secretly accompanied the mission, awakened the last surviving Engineer. The being killed the majority of the hazard team and prepared to launch the vessel in order to complete the original mission. The ship was destroyed before it could leave atmosphere, but at a high cost: All hands except for Shaw and a David8 android were lost. Subsequently, the survivors departed for the Engineer homeworld.
Later in 2093, Elizabeth Shaw and David8's Juggernaut arrived on the Engineer homeworld, there was a welcoming ceremony occurring as 2 million Engineers gathered at the plaza, welcoming the Juggernaut's arrival. When David8 unleashed the ampules, they were shocked by the act.
In 2122, the Nostromo landed on LV-426 near the Derelict, following up on the beacon signal it had received. The scouting party entered the vessel and found the remains of the Space Jockey, still in its chair inside the pilot chamber. A crew member, Kane, also stumbled upon the cargo hold where he found vast amounts of Ovomorphs – whether it was the original cargo or had been laid by the kiande amedha specimen remains unknown. Kane was subsequently infected by a Facehugger, and the team returned to the Nostromo and left LV-426.
Dallas: [observing the Space Jockey] Alien life form. Looks like it's been dead a long time. Fossilized. Looks like it's growing out of the chair.
[Climbs up for a closer look]
Dallas: Bones are bent outward, like he exploded from inside. Alien. 20th Century Fox, 1979. Movie.
The Space Jockey remained unharmed by the volcanic activities that damaged portions of the vessel. The Space Jockey was rediscovered during the UPP's attempt to harvest the Ovomorphs from the Derelict. After the UPP outpost had been destroyed by USCM intervention, Fire Team Fox drove a stolen APC to a secondary extraction point near the Derelict and crashed the vehicle into the pilot chamber where a fight ensued between the marines and the Space Jockey Alien, which had awakened from its slumber. Eventually, the creature was killed, and the marines left the scene.
The second rediscovery was made by Weyland-Yutani during the erection of the Origin facility and the subsequent harvesting of the Ovomorphs. A military conflict between Weyland-Yutani and the Colonial Marines led to the abandonment of the facility and the Derelict. At an unknown point of time between the events at Origin facility and the USM Auriga incident in 2381, the Derelict was destroyed by unknown means, taking the cargo and the Space Jockey with it.
In the late 24th century, the Space Jockey became afflicted with infertility. Thinking that the kiande amedha organism would hold the biological key to combat this infertility, the Space Jockey contacted Loki to have it provide human hosts to breed kiande amedha for research, as they were unwilling to harm its own kind by impregnation from the detested creatures. For this, Loki chose the Domes Epsilon space station, a remote installation for the preservation of plant species. Provided with specially engineered kiande amedha, the organization commenced the infestation of Domes Epsilon and its personnel in the late 2380s. The infestation quickly consumed the station, but the operation was ultimately foiled by Ripley8, Annalee Call and a rag-tag group of smugglers and mercenaries. However,
David8, regarding the Engineers: "A superior species, no doubt." Prometheus. 20th Century Fox, 2012. Movie.
Emissary Jockey
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After the kiande amedha ifestation of Earth, the President of the United States and his ministers are called to Gateway Station, where they are appointed to meet with the Emissary Jockey who is orbiting the Earth and reshaping the planet through terraforming. However, Earths government actually set a trap for the Emissary - a group of androids disguised as diplomats infiltrated his ship and attacked him. The Emissary destroyed most of the androids, but was killed when the ship was decimated by missiles from Earth.
Farmer Engineers
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These Engineers lived a farmer life on Planet 4 and raised wheat.
When David8 arrived on the planet on the stolen juggernaut ship, this caused great excitement to the farmer caste, Just as it was for the other castes as well. However, David8 open-fired at the gathering masses, and killed the entire population of the planet, being succumbed to the black goo.
David8 later dissected some of their bodies for his research.
2nd Engineer
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The name is dubbed by Galgo Helder.
The 2nd Engineer awoke from stasis in an Engineer temple on LV-223 by another Engineer. It was assigned to hunt down and kill the Marines, and all other remaining life, present on LV-223. The first Engineer then gives 2nd Engineer two ampules of the Black Goo to use.
Galgo and the Yautja "Ahab" ambush the 2nd Engineer in the jungle. 2nd Engineer overpowers the two, however. 2nd Engineer torches the jungle as Galgo and "Ahab" retreat.
The 2nd Engineer returns when the Hasdrubal land a dropship on LV-233 to rescue Chris Hanlock, whom the Kiande Amedha took to be impregnated with a Queen. Galago and Ahab planned to hijack the ship after the marines dispersed, but 2nd Engineer detonates the ship and walks off to find the Marines.
"Ghost" Engineers
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The Ghost Engineers were holographic "ghosts" of a crew who died on board the Derelict after inhaling the black substance. The crew wanted to escape aboard the Derelict in order to use the black liquid to kill the life they had created on Earth.
When David8 and the rest of the Prometheus' crew began tapping buttons on the Derelict, the Ghost Engineers were visible. The Ghost Engineers were stomping and rushing around the corridor wearing their chair suits when the crew heard weird stomping sounds. The rest of the crew was terrified by the spirits, but David8 remained in the passageway, allowing one of the Engineer ghosts to walk right through him. Following one of the Ghost Engineers who tripped on a boulder to a door, the group discovered his body with his head severed. The crew discovered the Engineer's severed head after David8 managed to unlock the door.
Later, David8 discovers the Derelict and begins pressing buttons in the control room, causing more Engineer holograms to project. Following David8's observation of an engineer playing a flute-like instrument, other projects were displayed. The projections were deactivated once David8 held a project of the planet Earth in his hand.
LV-223 Engineer
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In 2093, this Engineer was awakened from his long cryosleep on LV-223 by David8 and Peter Weyland. When David8 tried to communicate with him, he ripped off David8's head, killed the majority of the hazard team including Weyland, and prepared to launch the vessel in order to complete his original mission for Earth. However, Janek crashed the USCSS Prometheus into his ship before it could leave atmosphere. He then hunted Dr. Elizabeth Shaw down, only to be facehugged. He later birthed the Deacon while Shaw and a David8 android departed for the Engineer homeworld.
Space Jockeys
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The "Space Jockeys" are an ancient race of large humanoids, ranging from 15-26 feet long.
The Space Jockey ruled over a galaxy-wide empire 3.2 billion years BC, including Earth. However, around 1.6 billion years BC, the race virtually went extinct due to a massive kiande amedha infestation.
On Nov 25 1730, a Yautja spacecraft encounters the planet LV-1201 for the first time and a Yautja is sent there to hunt. It tracks the Kiande Amedha to their Hive and activates an artifact built with Space Jockey technology which has the power to repel Kiande Amedha. Eight months later, the Yautja have established a camp around the artifact. The first Yautja descends into the Hive in search of the Queen, but the artifact is deactivated and the camp is overrun by Kiande Amedha. While repairing a stasis field around a group of Kiande Amedha Ovomorphs the Yautja is attacked by a Facehugger and the two are caught in the field and trapped in stasis for five hundred years.
The Space Jockey collective took up secret negotiations with mankind to ensure the coexistence of both species. For this purpose, Earth's government founded the Loki organization. However, during the following years, the relationship was expanded to more sinister dealings and transactions. When Earth requested a bio-weapon to fight political uprisings, the Space Jockey provided the location of the Derelict on LV-426 and its cargo of Ovomorphs. EarthGov inserted Ash into the crew of the cargo hauler Nostromo to divert the ship's course and secure a kiande amedha specimen.
The Space Jockey appears fossilized or Ossified when found by the crew of Nostromo, giving the impression that he had been there for thousands, if not millions of years.
Shambleau System Space Jockey
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In 2317, Keitel brings Throop and Jellicoe to the pilot chamber, where a barely-alive Space Jockey sits. About 1.6 billion B.C, all the Jockeys were sealed in the chamber and subjected to some form of catatonic suspension, which works on a molecular level. With their race on the verge of extinction by the kiande amedha, they resorted to this, to hibernate and outlast the kiande amedha. However, now only one still lives.
Later, Baal places the Ovomorph on the stomach of the Jockey, which later gives birth to the Destroyer.