version 3 - The Alien Encyclopedia

2. About this book
As the its name implies, the main part of this book consists of an in-depth database of entries covering
characters, events, locations, vehicles, weapons, equipment and more from the “Alien” universe.
This database is structured based on the conventions of an encyclopedia, meaning that the entries
are sorted after the English alphabet and that character entries are named after the pattern “family
name, first name” and are placed accordingly.
However, there are some specific characteristics you should know about. If you are aware of them,
you can not only use the encyclopedia efficiently, but also have the most fun while doing so. Most
of these characteristics are connected with how the Aliens universe is set up, so the following
guidelines are useful for both newbies and Aliens veterans. I suggest reading this section before using
the encyclopedia for the first time. Don't worry, I kept the guidelines really simple, and if you
are not interested in the reasoning behind the guidelines, you can just read the first paragraph and
skip the rest. An exception is the first part about using the encyclopedia, which should be read as a
whole. If you miss something in this book, have trouble finding something or wonder why things
are written and organized the way they are, it is always a good idea to come back here.
a) Using the encyclopedia: A word about Tags and the Appendices
A typical entry in this encyclopedia is nothing special. It follows the standard pattern of the entry
name in bold letters followed by the actual entry. There is, however, one notable exception: Tags. At
the end of each entry, you'll find one or more abbreviations in bold letters. They tell you in which
movie, novel, comic or video game the entry is referenced. For example, Hudson appears in Aliens,
the second movie. Therefore, the “Hudson” entry has the tag A2 attached. Many tags are self-explanatory,
such as the A2 tag standing for the second Alien movie. Others may confuse you the first
time you see them. This is where the first Appendix comes in.
The first Appendix, following the actual encyclopedia, is a reference list, explaining all tags used in
the encyclopedia. I tried to make the tags as simple and obvious as possible, so after you have
looked up a tag for two, three times at most, you should be able to recognize it while using the encyclopedia
without having to rely on the codex anymore. Additionally, the codex is sorted after categories
(like movies, comics etc.), thus also serving to give you a handy list of all Alien-related media
containing in-universe information.
Additionally, there is a second Appendix consisting of multiple entry lists sorted after specific
themes and categories. I recommend to use them as they are useful tools to find your way around
the encyclopedia other than relying on the alphabetical sorting. Additionally, they give an overlook
over interesting overarching topics, regardless where the relevant entries originate from. For example,
you can use the lists to browse through all ships from the Alien universe, no matter if the
ship appeared in one of the movies or a video game.
b) Regarding the Aliens vs. Predator universe and alternate movie scripts
As a rule of thumb, I included information from the Aliens vs. Predator universe ONLY when it
doesn't contradict information from the Aliens universe. Likewise, this applies to information from
alternate scripts and early drafts.
The Aliens lore is difficult to handle as it is, and Aliens vs. Predator only makes it worse. For example,
you won't find anything about the Predator/Alien hybrid from Aliens vs. Predator 2: Re-