2. About this bookAs the its name implies, the main part of this book consists of an in-depth database of entries coveringcharacters, events, locations, vehicles, weapons, equipment and more from the “<strong>Alien</strong>” universe.This database is structured based on the conventions of an encyclopedia, meaning that the entriesare sorted after the English alphabet and that character entries are named after the pattern “familyname, 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. Mostof these characteristics are connected with how the <strong>Alien</strong>s universe is set up, so the followingguidelines are useful for both newbies and <strong>Alien</strong>s veterans. I suggest reading this section before usingthe encyclopedia for the first time. Don't worry, I kept the guidelines really simple, and if youare not interested in the reasoning behind the guidelines, you can just read the first paragraph andskip the rest. An exception is the first part about using the encyclopedia, which should be read as awhole. If you miss something in this book, have trouble finding something or wonder why thingsare 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 AppendicesA typical entry in this encyclopedia is nothing special. It follows the standard pattern of the entryname in bold letters followed by the actual entry. <strong>The</strong>re is, however, one notable exception: Tags. Atthe end of each entry, you'll find one or more abbreviations in bold letters. <strong>The</strong>y tell you in whichmovie, novel, comic or video game the entry is referenced. For example, Hudson appears in <strong>Alien</strong>s,the second movie. <strong>The</strong>refore, the “Hudson” entry has the tag A2 attached. Many tags are self-explanatory,such as the A2 tag standing for the second <strong>Alien</strong> movie. Others may confuse you the firsttime you see them. This is where the first Appendix comes in.<strong>The</strong> first Appendix, following the actual encyclopedia, is a reference list, explaining all tags used inthe encyclopedia. I tried to make the tags as simple and obvious as possible, so after you havelooked up a tag for two, three times at most, you should be able to recognize it while using the encyclopediawithout 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 <strong>Alien</strong>-related mediacontaining in-universe information.Additionally, there is a second Appendix consisting of multiple entry lists sorted after specificthemes and categories. I recommend to use them as they are useful tools to find your way aroundthe encyclopedia other than relying on the alphabetical sorting. Additionally, they give an overlookover interesting overarching topics, regardless where the relevant entries originate from. For example,you can use the lists to browse through all ships from the <strong>Alien</strong> universe, no matter if theship appeared in one of the movies or a video game.b) Regarding the <strong>Alien</strong>s vs. Predator universe and alternate movie scriptsAs a rule of thumb, I included information from the <strong>Alien</strong>s vs. Predator universe ONLY when itdoesn't contradict information from the <strong>Alien</strong>s universe. Also, the information is restricted to generallore and mostly doesn't include actual plot information from the AvP universe. Likewise, this appliesto information from alternate scripts and early drafts.<strong>The</strong> <strong>Alien</strong>s lore is difficult to handle as it is, and <strong>Alien</strong>s vs. Predator only makes it worse. For example,you won't find anything about the Predator/<strong>Alien</strong> hybrid from <strong>Alien</strong>s vs. Predator 2: Requiem,because the hybrid is supposed to be a young queen and is able to impregnate victims with
multiple Chestburster embryos via literally regurgitating them into the victim's mouth. We alreadyhave a problematic Xenomorph life cycle without AvP, with the dubious canon of the <strong>Alien</strong> beingable to transform victims into eggs as seen in the Director's Cut of the first <strong>Alien</strong> movie. <strong>The</strong> hybridwould further complicate things, demanding answers to questions like: “Why does the hybrid behavein this unique way? Is it exclusive to a Predator-based hybrid? Has it something to do withPredator reproduction? But wouldn't that contradict the reproduction method of the Xenomorph, forwhich we have no evidence to be influenced by species-specific reproduction methods?” Thiswould also force me to incorporate AvP and even Predator lore to a great, possibly complete extent,and I wanted to keep the focus of this encyclopedia solely on the <strong>Alien</strong> franchise. However, thereare still interesting tidbits featured in AvP media which I felt expanded on the <strong>Alien</strong> lore and therefore,included it, one example being S.E.T.I. still existing in 2229.<strong>The</strong> same goes for lore unique to alternate scripts (most of them written for <strong>Alien</strong>³) and early draftslike the Jon Spaihts script for Prometheus aka <strong>Alien</strong>: Engineers. For instance, I plan to include generalinformation about the Union of Progressive People, an element from the alternate <strong>Alien</strong>³ scriptby William Gibson. However, I omitted information from the plot involving the UPP that contradict<strong>Alien</strong>³ as we know it. As a side note irrelevant to this guideline, the UPP happened to be recently introducedinto the regular canon by the Nintendo DS game <strong>Alien</strong>s Infestation.c) <strong>The</strong> writing perspectiveThis encyclopedia is written from an in-universe perspective, meaning that entries are written as ifthey really happened or they really exist. <strong>The</strong>refore, no entries regarding or references to themovies, comics, novels etc. themselves, their creation or the persons involved exist. Informationoriginating from behind-the-scenes material is incorporated in in-universe form.To see what I mean, compare the Wikipedia entry for “Xenomorph (<strong>Alien</strong>)”, more specifically thesection about the Newborn:In <strong>Alien</strong> Resurrection, due to significant genetic tampering in an attempt to recoverDNA from the deceased Ellen Ripley and the <strong>Alien</strong> Queen within her, the resultingcloned <strong>Alien</strong>s show a number of minor human traits. 1This quote references the real-life movie instead of solely the events that happened inside the <strong>Alien</strong>universe. <strong>The</strong> plot of the movie <strong>Alien</strong> Resurrection is present in this encyclopedia as its in-universecounterpart, the Auriga incident. Compared to Wikipedia taking a real-life approach, this encyclopediais like, for example, an encyclopedia about dinosaurs - creatures which really existed, a factwhich is reflected in its writing.I chose this approach for several reasons:• Reason 1: Precedents. Most prominent are the non-fiction works covering the Star Wars universe,which are often written in-universe. An example are the Essential Guides. It even hasan <strong>Alien</strong>s precedent in the form of the Colonial Marines Technical Manual. It seemed a logicalthing to do it for this encyclopedia, too.• Reason 2: To separate and define the purpose of this book. You won't find any entries aboutreal-life content related to the <strong>Alien</strong> franchise. This is not “<strong>The</strong> Making of the <strong>Alien</strong> universe”,as it is not supposed to be a making-of book. So, instead of making things blurry byincluding real-life perspectives in the context of an in-universe topic, things are clear-cuthere. A mixed approach may work for a Wikipedia entry, aimed to be a single, isolated documentabout a topic, to be complete (meaning covering both lore and behind-the-scenes as-1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenomorph_%28<strong>Alien</strong>%29 (document <strong>version</strong> as of October 7, 2011)
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sion about to depart for LV-426, Jo
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Junior: A male human and one of the
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2063, Honshu Colony was established
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these deposits and would sport a po
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Kramm to protect corporate property
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Xenomorph outbreak in 2179. As a su
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the planet. Parts of the world, suc
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search party of the Nostromo had to
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M577 Armored Personnel Carrier: A l
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anging from detecting infections an
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ference and countermeasure signals,
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Rolls-Royce N66 Cyclone thrusters f
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Omnitech: A corporation offering Sl
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paring the evacuation, discovering
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is its prominent head crest, simila
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the depths of the pyramid. The grou
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Ravel: A male human who was part of
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new resolve to stop Loki from unlea
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Newt. With only several minutes lef
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while communications were handled o
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following decade of preparations, S
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Simpson: A male human serving as Op
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Several Spectagraphs, nicknamed “
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During the LV-223 incident in 2093,
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UA 571-D: A variant of the UA 571 s
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Ripley's flight license revoked. Va
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wearer in hostile environments, wit
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diaries. 15 percent of company reso
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Building on the galaxy-wide infrast
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leashed the organism on mankind's h
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4. AppendicesAPPENDIX I - Abbreviat
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APPENDIX II - Reference listsa) Loc
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• KOI-898.03• February Outpost
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Known sites of Xenomorph infestatio
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Known members of the United States
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• Frank• Golic• Gregor• Jun
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• Lockmart CM-88B Bison• Nostro
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APPENDIX III - Scale chartsa) Stars
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5. Acknowledgments...to Scott Middl
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6. Resourcesa) MoviesAlien. Dir. Ri
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7. Historyversion 1 (release date:
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• 11,280,599• 12,004,556• 13,
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• Rama• Requist• RT01 Group T
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• Gliese 667 cc• Gliese 667 cd
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• Module 8.2• Module 8.3• Mod
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• Shaw, Elizabeth M. (changed fro