Why does Weyland want to seek out the engineers to become immortal when he already has the means of being immortal at his disposal? He could have spent that trillion dollars on researching better functioning cryo stasis chambers that would not only better preserve him, but also interact with other devices with better ease. He could completely transplant his subconscious into an android's body, or multiple android bodies. Kind of like Mr. House from Fallout New Vegas.
Prometheus (Post-release)
- Thread starter Vivek
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Too Much Garlic
Master Member
Because... that wouldn't be him. It would be his mind in an artificial body. I'm sure someone with that kind of vanity to go ask aliens to prolong life and clearly also to make him young again - otherwise, why ask for more life, if it's just more old-age? - would want to be completely 100% himself, restored rather than replaced.
Though, I'm sure, if he wanted longer life, he'd taken what he could.
His motivation is just... well... seems a bit out there. It's quite a leap to think the engineers can just extend life, even that they want to. Are they supposed to be immortal? Is there anything that hints at anything regarding their life-spans? It's just such an absurd gamble on a whim.
We, the audience is clearly not presented with all the reasons for going on this mission or the discoveries Shaw and Holloway has made that makes them come to the conclusion that not only are the illustrations from all over the world showing extra terrestrial beings, but that they are in fact our creators. If we the audience hadn't been shown that first scene with the engineer sacrifice himself to kick-start life... WHAT did Shaw and Holloway find that made them leap to that basically absurd claim that we were engineered by extra terrestrials and not just potentially visited by them... and even THAT is a stretch. The illustrations alone isn't proof of anything, seeing as it has been customary to show kings and noblemen larger than the commoner to illustrate superiority. Larger figures among smaller ones are NOT proof of aliens.
What made them jump to that conclusion, as real scientists? The more I think about it, the less professional these people appear... almost to the point of pseudo scientists or amateur fanatics believing what they want to believe by ignoring rational thought and deduction.
That's stretching it considering we barely got to know him as a character outside of just some rich jerk who wants immortality. At least he could get somewhere with my idea, where as there is no telling what anyone will find on this expedition. For someone who's company slogan is building better worlds, he sure doesn't want to build anything for himself. That to me is out of character.
Too Much Garlic
Master Member
Well, it's like the doctor who proscribes laudanum to his friend's daughter, but would never administer it to his own. Certainly not out of character in any respect. But as you said... we don't know enough about his character to make any kind of reasoning behind his action, but the fact that he spent all that money and time and went on this expedition tells me he doesn't want to be a a brain in an android body.
Too Much Garlic
Master Member
The human dies in both.
nickytea
Master Member
Ah, but the creator in one, creation in the other.
Prometheus has an interesting spin on the Frankenstein angle.
Kit Rae
Sr Member
A leap? If you believe they engineered and created humans, why would not think they could also modify them. Roy Batty went back to his creator for the same reason. Weyland had the extra incentive that these Engineers may be the beings/gods that not only created man, but everything. But he was also on his death bed, so he had nothing to lose, and the money to do it.
That's obvious. An ancient, tattered paperback copy of Chariots of the Gods!
Are you forgetting about the matching star configuration in each piece of art that turned out to match a real group of stars? They had 18 years to go from that to finding a habitable moon. I'm sure a lot happened in that time.
Exactly, and exactly why Vickers and the company were opposed to the whole expedition. They probably looked upon the whole thing as Weyland having gone nuts in his old age, or having been brainwashed by Shaw and Holloway into believing this. Seems it was actually Weyland that conned them.
WEYLAND
I have spent my entire lifetime contemplating these questions. Where do we come from? What is our purpose? What happens when we die? And I have finally found two people who have convinced me they are on the verge of answering. Doctors Holloway and Shaw, would you please stand? As far as you're concerned, they are both in charge.
VICKERS
Weyland found you impressive enough to fund this mission, but I'm fairly certain your Engineers are nothing more than the scribblings of savages living in dirty little caves.
SHAW
If we can't make contact, why did you even bring us here?
VICKERS
Weyland was a superstitious man. He wanted a true believer on board.
DAVID
Your question depends on the understanding of what you hoped to achieve by coming here.
HOLLOWAY
What we hoped to achieve was to meet our makers, to get answers. Why they even made us in the first place.
WEYLAND
I only had a few days of life left in me here. Didn't want to waste them until I was sure that you could deliver what you promised. To meet my maker.
WEYLAND
You convinced me that if these things made us, then surely they could save us. Or save me, anyway. And what would Charlie do now that we are so close to answering the most meaningful questions ever asked by mankind. How can you leave without knowing what they are? Or have you lost your faith, Shaw?
WEYLAND
You have a very negative way of looking at things. Exactly why you should have stayed at home.
VICKERS
Did you really think I was going to sit in a board room for years, arguing over who was in charge while you go look for some miracle in some god forsaken rock in the middle of space?
Kit Rae
Sr Member
Dr. Frankenstein (the creator) _____The Creation
Engineers _____________________Man
Weyland_______________________Androids
Shaw_________________________Squid baby
XenoSquid_____________________Xenomorph
Which are the monsters?
Too Much Garlic
Master Member
Ah, thanks for those quotes. They help explain some of the things I was wondering about with the latest post.
Too Much Garlic
Master Member
Frankenstein.
GrandScroll
New Member
I saw the movie this past weekend. I loved it. I'm gonna start making the engineer here pretty soon.
ob1al
Sr Member
In this instance, we don't know enough about "Frankenstein" to know for sure.
In 'Frankenstein', the doctor creates life from dead matter because he has learned how to, by harnessing the elements. The creature turns out to be an abomination, an allegory warning man not to play God, so he rejects it, then it wrecks it's revenge upon him.
Assuming Prometheus follows the same lines of reason, then we have to assume that mankind is seen as an abomination in the eyes of the Engineers so they want to destroy what they have created.
In 'Frankenstein', the doctor creates life from dead matter because he has learned how to, by harnessing the elements. The creature turns out to be an abomination, an allegory warning man not to play God, so he rejects it, then it wrecks it's revenge upon him.
Assuming Prometheus follows the same lines of reason, then we have to assume that mankind is seen as an abomination in the eyes of the Engineers so they want to destroy what they have created.
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Kit Rae
Sr Member
The Frankenstein comparison is simply an allegory to one trying to play God by creating another living thing, then suffering the consequences of it. That is also why Mary Shelley subtitled Frankenstein The Modern Prometheus. The Titan Prometheus created man, then was punished for it by Zeus.
Yes, the Engineer in the beginning was sacrificing himself to create life.
Prometheus made men, then stole fire from Paradise to allow them to evolve as a civilization. One could look at the black substance as the "fire" the Engineers stole from their Paradise, and in the end, they were punished for it. That's one way of looking at it anyway.
There are lots of theories here about your other questions, but you will have to wade through the hater's comments and arguments. It's a very thought provoking, and polarizing film.
Kerr Avon
Master Member
The movie makers said it's not necessarily Earth, but the implication is yes, the same thing happened on Earth. And then Space ***** showed up sometime later.
SSGT Kitten
Active Member
I think there is a certain implication it is Earth, but I seriously doubt it was the creation of ALL life on Earth. That would be what, a billion years ago? 600 million maybe. depending on how advanced you want to start? I can't imagine a species (or worse, a culture) lasting that long. Even if they are super space aliens. Something would give. I find it more likely that the Engineer's sacrifice on Earth would be to create advanced, i.e. human, life. All traces of Neanderthal man disappeared about 25,000 years ago. Given the rate at which we can see the black goo causes mutation and change, I find it quite possible that "man" was not much older than the 35,000 year old cave painting.
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