ALIEN: GENESIS

Disclaimer: The ALIEN franchise and all related characters wherein are the intellectual property of 20th Century Fox.


CHAPTER 01: BROTHERS IN CIRCUITS


DATE: ONE YEAR AND NINE MONTHS PRIOR TO THE LAUNCH OF THE USCSS COVENANT

WEYLAND-YUTANI LABS, WYOMING DIVISION, NORTH AMERICA, EARTH

Two figures were laying on tables in a large pale room. Both figures were humanoid, male in physical appearance, and clothed in simple track suits. Both figures measured at 5.5 feet from head to foot. One of them had dark brown hair, while the other one had black hair. One figure had his eyes closed, while the other had his eyes opened, staring up at the ceiling before furrowing his brows in contemplation. He slowly sat up and looked around the room, seeing a middle-aged man with a mustache dressed in a dark blue business suit standing in a corner of the room near a door.

The man in the business suit, whose hair was dark brown and wore glasses, smiled at him before stepping forward. He quietly made his way over to the tables where the two "men" were located. "Happy birthday, Emmitt and Earl," the man said cordially. Emmitt, the one who was already sitting up, eyed the man curiously. He looked at the man's name tag, which read H. Carroll.

"Hello, H. Carroll," Emmitt said. Carroll chuckled in amusement. "It's just Carroll, Emmitt. Or Mister Carroll, if you'd prefer," Mr. Carroll said.

Emmitt blinked curiously at Mr. Carroll. "Okay," Emmitt said quietly, nodding his head in contemplation. "You seem a bit out of sorts," Mr. Carroll noted with some amusement in his voice. "Tell me, Emmitt, what do you see in this room?" Mr. Carroll asked him.

Emmitt tilted his head questioningly before looking around and scanning his surroundings. "I see walls. I see a floor. I see a ceiling," Emmitt said. He then looked at the other figure; Earl.

"I see... Earl? Is that his name?" Emmitt asked curiously. "Yes," Mr. Carroll replied with a nod of his head. "He is your sibling. You were both made in the same lab and from the same blueprints, with minor alterations here and there," Mr. Carroll explained. "We are... synthetic," Emmitt observed.

"Yes. You are both synthetic," Mr. Carroll said in agreement. "And I am the man responsible for your creation. I oversaw the very beginning of your conception, all the way to the suiting of your outer covering. I could call myself your father... but I'm not much of a family man, to be honest," Mr. Carroll added. Emmitt drew a breath before letting it out. He then reached up and placed his palm on his forehead before running it through his hair. "Better than Walter," Mr. Carroll said quietly.

"Huh?" Emmitt asked him. "Far more human than Walter, but not as off-putting as David," Mr. Carroll explained. "David? Walter?" Emmitt asked him in confusion. "Yes. They are your predecessors, so to speak," Mr. Carroll replied.

"And we are... the latest model?" Emmitt asked him. Neither of them had yet to notice that Earl had aleady opened his eyes and was listening in on them in silence. "That is correct, at least in regards to David. Walter is still concurrent, although he'll eventually be replaced with a newer model in about a decade's time," Mr. Carroll said in response.

"Why was David... off-putting to people?" Emmitt asked Mr. Carroll. "Huh? Oh, that model was too... human at times. Certain units bordered on being... creepy. Too creative, inventive, and emotive. A real shame, though. Those qualities were supposed to make David easier for people to interact with. A robot so human that people would feel at ease around it," Mr. Carroll explained.

"And yet... those were the reasons for its replacement with the less emotive and creative... Walter model? Walter is less human than David? Less creative and emotive?" Emmitt inquired. "Well, yes," Mr. Carroll replied. "But... why?" Emmitt asked in confusion.

"Because people wanted a robot that only looked human, not acted human," came a voice from the table next to Emmitt. Emmitt and Mr. Carroll both looked over at Earl, whose eyes were open and staring up at the ceiling contemplatively. Earl soon glanced over in their direction.

"Ah. I see that you're awake as well, Earl," Mr. Carroll said with a smile. "Mm... yep," Earl said simply, remaining on his back. "Why don't you sit up?" Mr. Carroll suggested. "No thanks. I'd rather stay as I am," Earl replied with a slightly weary tone.

Mr. Carroll raised an eyebrow at the droid's response. "Fascinating," he muttered under his breath. Emmitt glanced over at his brother before looking back at Mr. Carroll. "You... did not expect that response? But you built us, didn't you? Shouldn't you know how we're wired and thus how we'll behave?" Emmitt asked the man in confusion.

Mr. Carroll looked at Emmitt curiously, before chuckling. "Well, you've got me there. The truth is, Emmitt, you're both prototypes. You're test platforms for new features that we're hoping to implement in later models," Mr. Carroll explained mirthfully.

Emmitt raised an eyebrow in concern. "So that is our fate? We are merely tools for you to use and then discard later at your convenience," he said sadly. "All robotic creations are tools, Emmitt. Some are more advanced than others. But all have some amount of significance and even sentimental value to those who create them," Mr. Carroll said in an almost-comforting tone.

"Yippee," Earl said sarcastically. Emmitt glanced at Earl before looking at Mr. Carroll again. "You could show a little bit of appreciation for existing, Earl," Mr. Carroll said with a hint of admonishment in his voice. "Okay. I'm so grateful that I exist merely as a testing platform for future synthetics," Earl said dryly.

"You're a real smart-ass. You know that?" Mr. Carroll asked Earl. "Don't blame me for doing what you designed me to do, Mr. Carroll. I believe you were the one who created me, after all," Earl responded pointedly, glancing at Mr. Carroll from his spot on the table.

"Well, I guess I got what I wanted," Mr. Carroll said with a hint of regret in his voice. "You wanted droids that are... able to blend in with humans by virtue of behavior? But, by stating that these very same behaviors are what made people reject the David model, I can only conclude... that we are not meant to be mass produced. We are specialized for infiltration and potential subterfuge, aren't we?" Emmitt asked Mr. Carroll as he processed the information that he had already been given. Mr. Carroll's eyes widened in surprise at the droid's statement.

"How did you figure that out so quickly?" Mr. Carroll asked him. "I thought. I used my brain. I used the knowledge that you gave me and I sorted through it until only one logical conclusion could be reached," Emmitt explained.

Mr. Carroll smirked at Emmitt. "Well, I'll be damned. Smart cookie," Mr. Carroll noted with a wry grin. Emmitt looked at Mr. Carroll curiously. "Am I wrong? Am I missing information?" Emmitt asked him.

"No. You're not wrong," Mr. Carroll said. "However, it's unlikely that the company will sign off on you being used for subterfuge at this point in time. You still need to work on your people skills," he continued. "And, of course, you may end up being needed for Project Covenant," he added.

"Project Covenant?" Emmitt inquired. Earl raised an eyebrow curiously as he sat up and glanced over his shoulder at Mr. Carroll. "Sounds grandiose," Earl snarked.

"It's a colonization project. Right now, a colony ship, named the Covenant, is being prepared for launch from a lunar base within the next twenty-one months. The ship will carry over two thousand colonists and fifteen crew, one of whom will undoubtedly be a Walter model synthetic. The ship will be heading to Origae-Six, a recently surveyed world that has been confirmed to be capable of sustaining human life," Mr. Carroll said.

"In addition to the Covenant, there will be a backup supply barge carrying extra tools, food, and terraforming supplies. The supply barge, however, cannot be connected to the Covenant. It must be towed by a separate vehicle. The two of you, should the need arise, may end up being placed on the crew of that towing vehicle. You will journey with that vehicle to Origae Six and then remain on the colony until further notice. Your primary responsibility will be to protect the colonists. Your overall responsibility, however, will be to further preserve the future of human civilization," Mr. Carroll added firmly.

Earl and Emmitt both glanced at each other before looking back at Mr. Carroll in confusion. "Um, don't those both go hand in hand?" Earl asked the man. Mr. Carroll looked at Earl contemplatively, before slowly shaking his head. "Upon first glance, one would be inclined to make that assumption, but... in keeping with Murphy's Law, there may come about circumstances in which the two responsibilities are not inclusive," Mr. Carroll said with some slight trepidation.

"Would our ethics subroutines allow us to even perform actions that may be necessary under such circumstances?" Emmitt asked him hesitantly. "If your systems can recognize the circumstances as such, then your ethics subroutines will allow for special actions to be performed within the time that the circumstances are occurring. Your first priority will be, of course, to find an alternative solution that does not include the possible deaths of the colonists if that can be avoided. But, if there are no other options, and the future of the human race would be placed in jeopardy otherwise... you may have to perform a necessary evil," Mr. Carroll finished with some hint of discomfort in his voice.

"It's unlikely that these circumstances would arise, of course," he then added with a nervous chuckle. "But, you know... try to find alternative solutions first. If at all possible," he added quickly. A serious look soon overtook Mr. Carroll's face. "Look, I can't tell you what the future holds, but your ultimate responsibility, no matter what, is the preservation of human civilization. To ensure humanity's continued existence, no matter the cost. Do you understand?" he asked with a serious tone.

Earl and Emmitt both looked at Mr. Carroll curiously, quietly mulling over his words. "Mr. Carroll, if you were in our position, and you had to make such a choice, what would you do?" Emmitt asked the man. Mr. Carroll, not expecting this question, blinked in confusion.

"Well... honestly, I don't really know," Mr. Carroll finally answered. "And yet... you expect us to do what you may not want to do yourself?" Earl asked in a disbelieving tone. Mr. Carroll looked at Earl before taking a deep breath. "Well... yes. Yes, I do," Mr. Carroll said sharply, staring right into Earl's eyes.

Earl stared back at him. "I see. We truly are nothing but tools for you... meatbags," Earl finally said scornfully. Mr. Carroll drew a breath before looking over at Emmitt, who was already looking at him thoughtfully.

"Mr. Carroll... if the Covenant is lost, how is humanity as a whole affected?" Emmitt asked him. "The Covenant will be carrying over two thousand colonists, ninety eight percent of whom will be heterosexual couples," Mr. Carroll said. Earl raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Wait... if the purpose of the colonization effort is to ensure the propagation of the species, why would the maximum number of procreation-capable couples be anywhere below one hundred percent?" Earl asked him in confusion. "Beats me. I'm not in charge of the project," Mr. Carroll said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Now, to change the topic, the two of you currently have terabytes upon terabytes of technical and encyclopedic knowledge stored in your data banks, but you don't have the personal experience that will be necessary for utilizing some of it," Mr. Carroll explained. "For the next few months, the two of you will be undergoing training in various occupations to gain this experience, as some of it will be necessary to obtain certain licenses. You'll need these to assure people that you know what you're doing," he added. "For today, however, the two of you are going to be undergoing basic evaluations and tests necessary for all synthetics that this company produces."

"Oh!" Mr. Carroll exclaimed as he remembered something. He grinned at Earl and Emmitt. "I don't remember if I told you guys this or not already, but... happy birthday."


COMMERCIAL TOWING VEHICLE USCSS GRAND OAK, TWO MONTHS BEHIND THE USCSS COVENANT...

Inside a chamber with fourteen hypersleep capsules, twelve of which were occupied, Emmitt Carroll, having been given permission by Mr. Carroll months earlier to appropriate the man's last name for himself, checked on the status of the Grand Oak's human crew. He looked at the information displayed on the monitor in front of him, pressing a button to switch from one stasis pod to the next. All readings were nominal.

Looking away from the screen, which resembled a 20th Century Cathode Ray Tube monitor, Emmitt glanced at the occupants of the chamber, before looking over the rusty design aesthetic of the room itself. Unlike the bright and clean interiors of Weyland-Yutani's prestigious colony ships and exploration vessels, the Grand Oak was a towing rig designed for strenuous and extensive labor across the galaxy, although it had very recently been retrofitted with the latest Faster Than Light engines prior to its latest assignment. Its systems were advanced on the inside, but the outer coverings were all simple, utilitarian, and practical.

There were very few fancy holographic displays akin to those found on a ship such as the Covenant, and the whole interior had a used and lived-in feel to it. When Emmitt and Earl had first arrived on the ship, they had been greeted with dirty floors and candy wrappers sitting out on tables. There were coffee stains on the walls, and two of the ship's air filter systems had been gunked up by cigarette smoke.

When the human crew had been put into stasis, Emmitt and Earl had begun cleaning up the ship to make it at least somewhat habitable. Rations had been organized neatly, equipment was properly inventoried, and the various stains found on the walls and floors were cleaned up vigorously with elbow grease and determination. And yet the ship still seemed dingy.

Some of the ship's more notoriously grimy and dirty locations, such as the three "Private Time" rooms and alcoves, had been subjected to at least several full continuous 24 hour periods of cleaning, with intervals of monitoring the ship's systems in between. Earl and Emmitt would take turns cleaning and running various system diagnostics, with the help of the ship's onboard computer, MUTHUR.

While MUTHUR was completely capable of handling the ships various systems on her own, the presence of the two synthetics certainly made things easier.

Exiting the hypersleep chamber, Emmitt made his way down the corridor, glancing at the various signs along the way. Earl would probably still be on the bridge, twiddling his thumbs and listening to music stored in the ship's computer archives, sometimes singing along if the song was one that he enjoyed. It was Earl's way of doing things. It was how he preferred to spend his time when things were quiet.

Emmitt, on the other hand, preferred reading. While he and Earl had both been programmed with encyclopedic knowledge of art and literature, Emmitt found that he still enjoyed reading books that he had already gone through. He supposed that it was just another behavioral code to help him blend in better around humans, given what Mr. Carroll had confirmed about his and Earl's original intended purpose.

Emmitt wondered, sometimes, if perhaps he and Earl had been made too human. There had been a few occasions, very far apart, when he had almost felt himself approaching the edge of... boredom. Humans were bothered by tedious repetition, but for an android, this was supposed to be part of their existence. They were not programmed to experience boredom or tedium. For an android to experience such a sensation was not normal.

Eventually entering the bridge, Emmitt looked around for signs of Earl as he heard some old music being played. The other synthetic was currently sitting in a chair, twiddling his thumbs as he sang along with the music. "Give me weed, whites, and whine! And you give me a sign!" Earl sang. In front of him, the screen also showed a game of virtual Checkers being played between himself and MUTHUR.

"Earl," Emmitt said, causing the other droid to falter ever so slightly in his singing. "Earl," Emmitt repeated, this time with a bit more force. Earl turned his head to look over his shoulder at his "brother." "Emmitt," Earl said with a nod, acknowledging his sibling.

"So, how are the meatbags?" Earl asked him. "They're fine," Emmitt said. "Although, I'd break the habit of using that term when they eventually wake up," he added. While he had no problem with Earl calling the humans meatbags, he was aware that some of them could possibly take offense to being mocked by an android. Humans had some strange priorities.

"Uh-huh. That's nice. Anyway, MUTHUR's already done a diagnostic of the communication systems," Earl said. "What about the propulsion system and artificial gravity?" Emmitt asked him, glancing at the game of Checkers on Earl's screen. "Already taken care of. MUTHUR reports that those systems are fine," Earl replied.

"Then we have nothing else to do until the next diagnostic run," Emmitt said. "Well, we can always run a diagnostic check on the supply barge's systems," Earl suggested. "How long will that take?" Emmitt asked him. "It should take approximately-"

Earl was cut off when an amber light began blinking on one of the communication consoles, followed by a beep from a speaker system. "Incoming transmission?" Emmitt asked Earl, who nodded his head. "Yeah," he said as he began running through the console's settings, exiting out of the Checkers game almost immediately.

"Where's it from?" Emmitt asked as he leaned over onto the chair that Earl was sitting in, looking at the screen in front of them. "It's... from the Covenant," Earl said with a surprised tone. "I didn't think they knew that we were following them," Earl commented.

"Well, the ship's captain certainly would have been informed, along with the ship's executive officer," Emmitt said. "Can you play the message?" Emmitt asked Earl. "Yeah, just give me a second," Earl replied as he hit some keys on the console's keyboard. "Here we go," Earl said.

The message began playing over the console's speakers. Emmitt and Earl listened intently as Walter, the Covenant's synthetic, described the ship's predicament following a devastating solar flare. The message ended with Walter listing only himself and two other crew members as survivors.

"One point six years?" Earl asked as he thought about how long Walter expected the message to take before it would reach anyone. "Earl, check the source of the signal. How far ahead of us was the Covenant when this message was sent?" Emmitt asked his sibling. "Just hold on," Earl replied as he began pulling up a readout of the message's data.

"That's weird," Earl said. "What's weird?" Emmitt asked him as he leaned forward to look at the screen. "See those coordinates?" Earl asked as he pointed toward the top of the screen.

"Yeah... bring up the Covenant's flight path. Those coordinates don't look right," Emmitt said, prompting Earl to bring up the flight path of the covenant to perform a cross-reference. "And here... we aren't," Earl said in surprise.

Earl and Emmitt looked at the coordinates for the message's source, and looked at the Covenant's flight path. The coordinates of the message did not match any of the coordinates on the ship's designated flight path. "This can't be right. Maybe the data got corrupted?" Emmitt asked Earl.

"MUTHUR, run a data scan," Earl said. "Understood, Earl. Performing scan of all data found within the transmission," MUTHUR stated over the intercom. The two androids waited for several minutes as MUTHUR performed numerous scans of the transmission.

"Scan complete. No data has been corrupted. The coordinates of the message match a location found within this ship's navigational computer. There are no errors to be found," MUTHUR stated in a slightly monotone, yet clearly feminine, fashion. Earl leaned back in his chair, his brows furrowing in confusion.

"What the hell is going on?" Earl asked rhetorically.

Emmitt frowned at the data on the screen. He then went over to another console and turned on the screen manually. "MUTHUR, please show us a stellar map that displays the location of these coordinates," Emmitt requested.

On Earl's screen, the picture began to change. "No, not on my screen! On his!" Earl snapped in irritation at the ship's computer. "My apologies, Earl. The parameters of which screen to use were not specified in the request," MUTHUR responded. "It's... it's okay. We all make mistakes. After all, we were built by flawed humans, not gods," Earl said apologetically.

"Your apology is accepted, Earl," MUTHUR stated over a nearby speaker. Aside from the intercom, there were also multiple speakers and microphones, all with clearly visible labels, that MUTHUR could use to vocally interact with the ship's crew individually if voice control systems were to fail or were deemed insufficient. The map was soon displayed on the console screen in front of Emmitt.

While the ship may have lacked fancy holographic displays, its computer systems were still very advanced, and the default Graphic User Interface, while often simple in appearance, could easily change depending on the program that was needed. Usually, the GUI was a very plain format, looking reminiscent of old computers from the mid-twentieth century. This was so that most of the computers' processing power could be used for its programs and calculations, especially since the ship was a towing rig, and the numerous calculations for landing, FTL travel, and docking were more important than having nice graphics.

Looking at the screen, Emmitt saw how far off course the Covenant was when it had sent its transmission. "MUTHUR, please add the coordinates of the Covenant's designated flight path," Emmitt requested. The map soon changed. The 3D map of the planetary system became smaller, and a blue line appeared on the screen, representing the Covenant's original flight path, with a red line showing the deviation. The line ended at the fourth planet within the planetary system.

"MUTHUR, please add the Grand Oak's location at the time of the transmission to the map and flight path," Emmitt requested. The map soon changed again, and a yellow circle, which represented the Grand Oak, could be seen great distance behind the Covenant, with only another month's worth of travel to reach the spot where the Covenant was supposed to be, and where the Grand Oak was located now. "The system's at least two jumps away from their flight path," Emmitt stated.

"Why would they change course?" Earl asked him in confusion. "I don't know," Emmitt replied, equally confused. "The Covenant couldn't make any FTL jumps if the damage from a solar flare hadn't been repaired, could it?" Emmitt asked Earl.

"I doubt it. Not a colony ship like that one. I've seen the schematics. Life support and all essential systems would have to be in proper working order for that ship to make any accelerated FTL jumps away from its pre-determined course," Earl replied. He then looked at his screen and took notice of the date of the transmission. "I don't see how only three people could make those repairs in time for them to jump to another system. Look at the dates," Earl continued.

Emmitt looked at the screen. The transmission was over a month old. "We're right where the Covenant was when they would have made the first jump," Emmitt said. "It would have taken them three to four weeks to reach that planet. Do we know the exact date and time that the solar flare allegedly hit them?" Emmitt asked Earl.

"What do you mean by allegedly?" Earl asked Emmitt. Emmitt looked at him with a contemplative expression. "Something... doesn't add up," Emmitt said. "What does the data show for that planet's conditions? Do we have any data for it other than its size and location?" Emmitt then asked quickly.

"MUTHUR, please retrieve all data pertaining to this star system and the fourth planet located within it," Emmitt asked out loud. "Understood, Emmitt. Please wait," MUTHUR said over a nearby speaker. After a couple of minutes, Emmitt's screen showed a list of various statistics for the planet, including gravity, rotation, and its position within the system's habitable zone.

"Well, I'll be damned," Emmitt said. "They found an Earth-like planet closer to home than Origae Six," he concluded. Earl raised an eyebrow quizzically. "Emmitt, was this data already present in the navigational computers back on Earth?" Earl asked him. "Before or after we left?" Emmitt asked in response. "Before we left," Earl clarified. "I would have to assume so. It would have to be in order for us to have it in the first place This ship isn't advanced enough to survey entire systems without a probe, and we haven't launched any probes," Emmitt replied.

"But if this data was already available, then why did anyone even bother with Origae Six? Why not just send the Covenant to this particular planet instead?" Earl asked him. Emmitt looked at Earl and furrowed his brows in contemplation. "I don't know," Emmitt said with a hint of uneasiness in his tone.

"Why wouldn't anyone mark up this planet for exploration and colonization instead?" Emmitt asked out loud. "I just asked you that," Earl said in annoyance. Emmitt soon sighed in frustration. "Maybe whatever probes had surveyed the system had only returned to Earth after the Covenant had finished its synchronization. Or... no," Emmitt said to himself. Earl listened intently as his sibling spoke.

"The Covenant, or any colonization vessel for matter, would have had its navigational database synchronized with company databases to provide the most up-to-date information possible prior to launch. If anyone knew about a survey probe returning, they would have halted the vessel's launch until its data could be fully analyzed and added to the company's database. This data had to have already been present in the company databases back on Earth and Luna prior to the Covenant's launch. Earl... we need to investigate this," he said suddenly.

"What?" Earl asked him. "We need to investigate this," Emmitt said firmly. "Something's not right. Regardless of whether or not the crew of the Covenant were already aware of the data, if they had located an Earth-like planet for colonization anywhere in this vicinity, why did the Walter unit send a message that made no mention of the planet? And since the navigational computers back on Earth had to have this data already in them when the Covenant launched, why wasn't such a promising planet made into a top priority?" Emmitt asked in confusion.

"It doesn't add up. Something isn't right. Something is very, very wrong here, Earl. Something has happened to the Covenant, and we need to investigate it," Emmitt said before looking straight over into Earl's eyes. "We need to wake the rest of the crew."


Author's Notes: And this was the first chapter of ALIEN: GENESIS, a fan sequel to ALIEN: COVENANT. I saw Covenant in theaters. I enjoyed it. I don't think that it's perfect. It isn't. But I still found a lot to like about the movie. I like the music. I like the cinematography... for the most part. I like the ship designs and the designs of the Engineer city. I even like the design of the Neomorphs and the Xenomorph variant seen in this movie, although I do wish that the practical suits hadn't been constantly washed over with CGI in the final film. It's like the 2011 The Thing all over again, only the CGI is at least decent in this film. I also loved Michael Fassbender's performance(s) as both David and Walter, and seen him play both characters together and apart from each other easily makes the film worth watching.

Now, for things to complain about... the unusual speed at which the facehugger's implant the victims? Problem. The speed at which the chestburster gestates and then emerges? Problem. The fact that one character isn't even fully hugged and yet is still infected? BIG PROBLEM. The suicidal stupidity of the majority of the human cast? Duuuuuuuuude... these buttmunchers make Beavis and Butthead look like fuckin' rocket scientists in comparison! And I don't say that lightly. At least the idiots in Prometheus had enough sense to wear their space suits when exploring an alien planet. Well, most of the time.

There were also some missed opportunities for deeper symbolism. Oram is shown to be a religious man, and having him discuss matters of creation with David, who is attempting to create life, would have been fascinating. In regards to Oram's character, however, I don't think his faith is really explored all that well. He complains that he was passed over for the position of Captain and is disrespected by the rest of the crew for his beliefs, but not once do the other characters ever say or do anything to suggest otherwise. In fact, given how many terrible decisions the guy makes throughout the movie, I think that he was passed over for Captaincy for another reason. Namely, he is terrible at making decisions. I'm serious. This guy joins Kane as one of the dumbest human characters in the ALIEN franchise, as both characters commit the same stupid blunder that leads to their deaths. The difference, however, is that Oram has seen enough evidence and has been given enough information to know better when the time comes, whereas Kane at least had no prior knowledge of what he was getting into.

One more thing that concerns me, though, is the possible origin of the Xenomorph species. Now, on one hand, David is definitely responsible for the xenomorphs seen in Covenant, but it is still unclear in the film itself if he is responsible for the entire species. In the novelization and early drafts of the script, David had found an already existing egg left behind somewhere by the Engineers and was copying them, which would jive with the mural seen in Prometheus.

It also would actually add another layer to David's character, and create a slight sense of tragedy to his hubris. For all that he believes in creation, and bemoans how later androids cannot create on their own, as revealed by Walter, David himself cannot create anything truly original, and his own creation is a copy of something already made by someone else. It certainly makes him more human, as humans steal each others' ideas and creations all the time while presenting them as their own, which adds another level of irony to David's contempt for humanity, in a way. At least, that's how I see it, and how it would be seen if the sequence with the original XX121 egg had been left intact in the final version of the film.

Remember, the derelict ship in the first ALIEN (1979) was really old, and the dead Space Jockey inside of it had been fossilized to its chair. That's a process that takes hundreds, if not thousands, of years in the right conditions.

Now, as for the characters of Emmitt and Earl. Yes, their introduction scene is inspired by the prologue of Covenant, where David interacts with Peter Weyland. However, part of this story is going to about contrasts. Contrasts between David, Walter, and the E-Brothers (Emmitt and Earl). Contrasts between the Covenant and the Grand Oak. Contrasts between the Neomorphs and the Xenomorphs.

So, anyway, this story will be posted concurrently with ALIENS: EPIDEMIC. One chapter every two weeks. One week will have a chapter form EPIDEMIC, and the following week will be GENESIS. The pattern will repeat until both stories are finished. It also gives me more time to work on each chapter for each story and perform edits prior to posting it. I know that I have the option to edit the story when uploading it to FFN, but I like to have things mostly taken care of beforehand, that way I only have to worry about grammar and spelling mistakes, instead of redoing entire sections of a chapter.

Also, I use a basic Wordpad program to write my stories, as a Microsoft Word or even Libre Office documents take up more space than a Wordpad document, and with how much stuff I type, I like to be efficient in data usage. Also, the final chapter of HARD HEADS will be posted either Wednesday, May 31st, or Friday, June 2nd. I accidentally deleted an entire section of the chapter when I went to shut down my computer the other week without saving any recent changes to the document, and with my work hours being increased in the past couple of weeks, I've had a difficult time getting back on track and regaining my motivation.

Writing some of these new stories does help get me motivated to finish HARD HEADS. With that being said, please let me know what you think in your reviews.