The Nostromo Incident and Its Aftermath

In the Alien movie series, the fate of the Nostromo crew and the alien was determined by a series of critical decisions that were taken. If the tribunal that convened to rule on Ellen Ripley had taken her words seriously, the course of this iconic franchise would have taken a drastically different path. This decision would have not only shifted the direction of the film but also the eventual business practices of the Weyland-Yutani corporation.

Penultimate Crew and Corporate Response

The reality is that the Weyland-Yutani corporation already knew that there was something out there, though they were unsure of what it was. When the distress beacon from the Nostromo was picked up, their response was swift: “Crew expendable.” This callous decision reflects a corporate indifference that would have remained unchanged if the tribunal had taken Ripley’s warnings seriously.

Assuming that Ash or the AI Mother couldn’t get a message to the corporation about the alien, the only information the company would have known was of “definite extra-terrestrial contact,” followed by the ill-fated mission of the crew. Consequently, the company would have been even more eager to acquire the alien, but this time with more concrete plans.

The Tribunal and Its Unfortunate Outcome

The tribunal called to judge Ripley’s actions was a sham designed to discredit her and shift the blame onto her for the destruction of the Nostromo. Had the tribunal truly listened, the response might have been significantly different. A more reasonable approach might have been:

An alien ship you say, filled with hundreds of eggs, each of which hatches into a hideous, indestructible monster after gestating in a human host. Good heavens—there are people living near there! We must get them safely out as soon as possible! Let’s send an entire division of Space Marines, led by someone especially experienced and competent, to supervise the evacuation!

This proactive and precautionary response would not only have marked a major turnaround in company business practices but would have resulted in a far less exciting film. However, the excitement of the horror and the journey is what made the Alien franchise so compelling.

Unchartered Territory and the Minion Colony

By the time Ripley woke from cryo-chamber five decades after the first film, there was already a mining colony on the planet. If everyone had taken her seriously, the alien ship would have been treated as an extreme biohazard, and its location would have been confirmed.

Unfortunately, this did not happen. The only one who took her seriously was Burke, who perceived a gold mine in bioweapons. His actions, although misguided, led to a tragic outcome. He did not warn the scouting party about the hazard and instructed them to enter the ship, where they were contaminated.

The contamination of the scouting party led to the decision to send a family to the spacecraft to gather information. Despite the disappointment and sadness felt by Weyland-Yutani over the losses, it is essential to remember that off-world colonization and terraforming are fraught with dangers and death. This is a product of mankind’s exploration of the universe.

As our place in the galaxy expands, such incidents will remain a part of our journey, though we strive to mitigate them. The lessons learned from the Nostromo incident and the Alien franchise remain invaluable in our pursuit of understanding and surviving in the vast and often hostile universe.