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Science fiction: The biology of the alien in Alien

2023; Portland Press; Volume: 45; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1042/bio_2023_154

1740-1194

Armand M. Kuris, Mona Y. Luo,

Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation

Parasites serve as a source of threatening outcomes for humans in many science fiction plots. Perhaps the most notable is the Xenomorph of the first Alien film (1979). Here, we use the film as the sole source of direct information to hypothesize its life cycle. We recognize a distinctive infective stage, the face-hugger. To further its development as an internal parasite in its human host, we conceive features of its physiology. It has an astonishing ability to manipulate the behaviour of its doomed host, before emerging as the famous chest-burster. It is clearly a parasitoid, requiring the death of its host. A further metamorphosis completes its development to the adult predator that roams the doomed spaceship Nostromo. The Xenomorph adult stage bears an uncanny resemblance to a parasitoid of salps, pelagic invertebrates. Conceptualizing its mythic biology offers insight into the physiology and biochemistry of real parasites.