The Xenomorph is my age (AKA : Why no one asks my opinion about fiction twice)

Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror film. It follows a commercial starship crew who investigate a derelict space vessel and are hunted by a deadly extraterrestrial creature. You know... Like the starship enterprise being under attack from illegal immigrants. Sort of.

Dominic Sedrani

24 Sep 2025 — 18 min read

Aliens take the stage

So... Aliens.

There's a lot of talk about aliens these days. And it's really hard to tell which kinds of reality we even share when people talk about "aliens".

So let's dive into a little history of "the alien". Everyone loves to talk about history these days too. But about that... It's also really hard to tell which kinds of reality we even share when people talk about "history".

So the history of aliens is sure to be... ummm... fascinating? :)

Luckily, I can speak from personal experience here. Since both the Xenomorph and myself were born in the same year.

In China it was called the year of the sheep. 1979.

And in that year of the sheep, not only the author of this piece of text was born... But it was also the first time that the world got to meet... The xenomorph.

The Alien.

Your perception depends on what you believe, and some people believe that being born in a certain year determines your character (for a part) , so for the people that are into that , both me and the Alien franchise share the characteristics of a thing called the "Earth Sheep" , or "Earth Ram".

The year 1979 in the Chinese zodiac corresponds to the Earth Sheep (also called the Earth Goat or Earth Ram). People born in this year are said to inherit the gentle, creative, and peace-loving traits of the Sheep, combined with the grounded and practical influence of the Earth element.

Yet, I don't believe in such things, so for me that isn't true. We're talking about the same me, and the same alien franchise though, and even before going into the fact that it's fiction, the veracity of any of these claims can be eternally debated.
(And some just love to do that, ever further away from anything shared in perception. For many these days, discourse is just the entertainment factor of digging deeper into your own non-shared illusions)

But sheep don't do that. Apparently sheep are grounded, so let's check out how grounded the Alien franchise is. (I have no doubt about myself, so if you want to question those, feel free to come talk to us :) )

Here's the history of life as an Alien born in 1979... Let's check out how this sheep grew up shall we?

Here are some major events in 1979:

Alien the movie is released
Iranian Revolution: The overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty led by Ayatollah Khomeini. 2
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan: The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, marking the start of the Soviet-Afghan War. 2
Establishment of US-China Diplomatic Relations: The United States and China established full diplomatic relations. 1
Fall of Phnom Penh: The fall of the Cambodian capital marked the collapse of the Pol Pot regime. 1
SALT II Treaty: The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks II treaty was signed between the US and the Soviet Union. 1

I myself was born too then. I had trouble figuring out how using things like eyes and ears work...and let's not even talk about properly using things like arms and legs and stuff. Pfieuw.. fingers and toes were even more difficult at the time.

But there we were and everything seemed alien to me.

Here are some major events in 1986:

Aliens (1986)
Chernobyl Disaster: On April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Soviet Union experienced a catastrophic explosion, leading to the worst nuclear disaster in history. The incident released large quantities of radioactive particles into the atmosphere, affecting millions and leading to long-term health and environmental consequences. 2
Space Shuttle Challenger Explosion: On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated 73 seconds after launch, resulting in the deaths of all seven crew members, including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe. This tragic event raised serious concerns about NASA's safety protocols. 2
FIFA World Cup: The 1986 FIFA World Cup was held in Mexico, where Argentina, led by Diego Maradona, won the tournament. This event was notable for Maradona's exceptional performances, including the famous "Hand of God" goal. 2
Spain and Portugal Join the European Community: On January 1, 1986, Spain and Portugal were admitted into the European Community, marking a significant step in the political and economic integration of Europe. 2
First IBM PC Virus: The first computer virus for IBM PCs, known as "Brain," was released into the wild in 1986. This marked the beginning of a new era in computer security concerns. 1
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction: On January 23, 1986, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted its first members, including legends like Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard. 1

These were strange times.
At the age of 7 all the grownups were talking about how the world was going to end tomorrow, while also being completely obsessed with escaping anything that had to do with reality.

Literally everyone was 2 stories.
On the one hand it was clear everyone was very critical of where this all was going, but then those same individuals also managed to turn it all into some strange kind of entertainment always to be followed with a strange kind of laugh and the introduction of products that made them laugh even more strangely.

Logical conclusions to stories were not allowed. Questions about how and when something was going to work out with more explanation then "I just know it will work out" was nowhere to be found but there were a lot of toys for everyone.

In the Aliens universe they discovered that a whole bunch of alien eggs were found on some moon base and Ripley is sent again to go get hunted by them but in the end torches them all with a flamethrower. She saved a little girl though. (Sort of)

But by now it was clear that Aliens were everywhere while Ripley and Newt head back to earth.

Here are some major events in 1992:

Alien 3 the movie is released.
End of the Soviet Union: The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic was renamed the Russian Federation, marking a significant shift in post-Soviet geopolitics. 2
Yugoslav Wars: The breakup of Yugoslavia began, with Bosnia and Herzegovina declaring independence, leading to ethnic tensions and conflict. 2
Chapultepec Peace Accords: On January 16, the Salvadoran Civil War officially ended with the signing of peace accords, concluding a 12-year conflict that resulted in significant loss of life. 2
Maastricht Treaty: Signed on November 7, this treaty laid the groundwork for the European Union, establishing a framework for economic and political integration among member states.

Being 13 years old in Western Europe when the soviet union ended was... ummm... funny.

But what I remember most about it all is that borders were disappearing all over Europe. Suddenly going to other countries was like never leaving anyways, but there were great adventures to be had everywhere all the time.

There were only more and more of those funny things that everyone took and did to try and hide they were all 2 kinds of people. On the one hand certain things were absolutely important to be done, since later in the future they would magically make things better while making things worse today, but no one was capable of explaining how that was supposed to actually work some day.

But the beginning of the plot of the new Aliens movie that came out that year made it all really easy for everyone in a way.

Shortly after escaping the planet LV-426,[a] an egg that managed to get aboard the Colonial Marine spaceship Sulaco hatches, releasing a facehugger. A fire starts and the ship's computer launches an escape pod containing Ellen Ripley, Newt, Hicks, and the damaged android Bishop; all four are in cryonic stasis. The pod crash-lands on Fiorina "Fury" 161, a foundry and maximum-security correctional facility inhabited by male inmates with a genetic predisposition for antisocial behavior. The inmates recover the crashed pod and its passengers. The facehugger approaches inmate Thomas Murphy's dog, Spike.

Basically... This 13 year old learned a valuable lesson that year.

All of the adults are completely asleep at the wheel. None of them live in this world that I live in, and as long as you don't ask them to explain themselves in any way... they completely ignore you until they need to steal something from you. This all needs to be done while reciting things they don't understand though. Economical pipe-dreams were well established religion by this time.

Aliens are rampant though , but that's all treated more as entertainment than anything else really.

Those strange kinds of laughter keep growing though. The things they all take to survive it are exploding in use everywhere too.

Here are some major events in 1997:

Alien Resurrection (1997)
Handover of Hong Kong: On July 1, the United Kingdom transferred sovereignty of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China, ending over 150 years of British colonial rule. 2
Death of Princess Diana: On August 31, Princess Diana tragically died in a car accident in Paris, leading to an unprecedented global outpouring of grief and a reevaluation of the British monarchy's public image. 2
Kyoto Protocol: The Kyoto Protocol was adopted on December 11, marking a significant international agreement aimed at combating climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 2
Launch of the Mars Pathfinder: On July 4, NASA's Mars Pathfinder successfully landed on Mars, sending back images and data that captivated the public and advanced our understanding of the planet. 2
Cloning of Dolly the Sheep: On February 22, scientists announced the successful cloning of Dolly, the first mammal cloned from an adult somatic cell, sparking ethical debates about cloning and biotechnology. 2
Introduction of Windows 98: Microsoft announced Windows 98, setting the stage for the next generation of personal computing and influencing the tech landscape for years to come. 1
Asian Financial Crisis: The financial crisis began in July when the Bank of Thailand floated the baht, leading to economic turmoil across Asia. 1
Notable Cultural Releases: The film "Titanic," directed by James Cameron, was released in December and went on to become one of the highest-grossing films of all time. 1

The Alien franchise suddenly had an Alien enemy... The highest grossing movie ever, called Titanic, about a steel pipe-dream sinking dramatically on its maiden voyage totally blew the new Aliens out of the water , and most of this episode is completely forgotten by all... Replaced by a picture of a woman pretending she's a bird while standing on a boat that's sinking in the arctic. Somehow this is all very "nice" and great entertainment that had nothing to do with Aliens at all.

Being in the final years of High school were... uneventfull and without hope about anything really... The obsession with just getting out of this horrible thing called "education" where they teach you to disobey logic and laugh like a maniac about learning to ignore cannibalism and replace justice with polite abuse is all there is to do really.

That and learning on your own through a thing called the library and this new digital thing called "The internet" that literally none of the adults seem to realize even exists. It's all too Alien to them to actually make something make sense and to program logic and systems into a fixed paradigm.

All the adults hate what all that means though... Since they don't understand how it works, they are all overcome with some strange fear that what they would lie about would be found out... While they're saying that everyone else lies but they aren't. And it's because everyone else will cheat with it, that they should be allowed to cheat with it, since they would only cheat when they really have to, and not just when they want too.

But no one is allowed to come check wether or not they are doing the right thing, since that's by design and it's everyone else who would do wrong things not them.

oh... And just more of the same since never has ever gone bad so far that we can see while being permanently drugged and drunk. Sort of... How are your grades?

Ummm... Sort of like the state of the Alien franchise these days people.

Boy those were really fun times. Anything goes really. And no one was anywhere, since no one understood what was going on or how to do anything anymore.

Computers are coming they said... what do I care. I'm not learning that stuff. Pffff...

(I learned about bubbles for the first time... When I got my first job I had to spend newyears night holding one of the few cell-phones around to go fix things for international transport companies in case the Aliens would hit the fan due to the Y2K bug that was going to wipe out existence, yet not a single person or organization could explain to me why they were so worried about it since they also always said... Well... If we do this Search and Replace of something really stupid, then it's fixed and we fixed it so nothing really going on at all but we have to freaked out about it and you are what will save them when shit goes bad, while we now none of that could happen but we like to talk about this making no sense whatsoever to anyone.

Wow... Y2K... What a first day on the job that was.

And meanwhile... In Alien fantasies this was going on... But everyone was talking about a sinking ship so that sort of got forgotten.

200 years after Ellen Ripley's death,[a] military scientists aboard the space vessel USM Auriga create a clone of her, designated Ripley 8, using DNA from blood samples taken from Fiorina "Fury" 161. The Xenomorph queen's DNA has been combined with Ripley's, resulting in the clone growing up with an embryo inside it. The scientists extract the embryo, raise it, and collect its eggs while keeping Ripley 8 alive for further study. As a result of the Xenomorph queen's DNA, the clone possesses enhanced strength and reflexes, acidic blood, and a psychic link with the Xenomorphs, making her more empathetic toward them than the humans she encounters. Additionally, the Xenomorph's genetic memory allows the clone to retain some of Ripley's memories.

And after that wonderful Y2K situation , .COM bubbles and general whateverness sinking in everywhere... came... the PREQUEL ERA!

Now Alien was going to make movies about history! About what happened before, but then told in the future where they talk about the past. So this is a prequel set in the future since it's fantasie that came before the fantasie of the future which was the past and not now or tomorrow but yesterday for them. Capice?

Anyways... Prequels are all the rage ever since then.

But damn did that first prequel pick a good year to start doing this after the entire Aliens thing was buried after being destroyed by a sinking ship. :)

Here are some major events in 2012 :

Prometheus the movie is released.
The Costa Concordia Disaster (January 13): The cruise ship ran aground off the coast of Italy, resulting in 32 fatalities. This incident became one of the largest maritime disasters in history. 1
Syria's Civil War Escalation: The conflict intensified, with government forces targeting journalists, leading to the deaths of American reporter Marie Colvin and French photographer Rémi Ochlik. 1
The Arab Spring Continues: The aftermath of the Arab Spring saw ongoing protests and political changes across the Middle East and North Africa, affecting countries like Egypt and Libya. 1
Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee: Celebrating 60 years on the throne, this event was marked by various celebrations across the UK and the Commonwealth. 1
Hurricane Sandy (October 29): This devastating storm struck the East Coast of the United States, causing widespread destruction and significant loss of life, particularly in New York and New Jersey. 1
The London Olympics (July 27 - August 12): The Games showcased athletic talent from around the world, with the United States and China leading the medal count. 1
The U.S. Presidential Election (November 6): Barack Obama was re-elected for a second term, defeating Republican candidate Mitt Romney in a closely watched election. 1
Death of Whitney Houston (February 11): The iconic singer was found dead in her hotel room, leading to widespread media coverage and discussions about substance abuse. 1
The Discovery of the Higgs Boson: Scientists at CERN announced the discovery of a particle consistent with the Higgs boson, a significant milestone in particle physics. 1
The Mayan Calendar Prediction: Many anticipated December 21, 2012, as the date of the apocalypse according to the Mayan calendar, which led to various cultural discussions and events. 1

Basically the plot of it all was really simple by this time.

It's super obvious there was this race of strange cannibalistic giants that used this strange black goo to completely destroy everything and now they're all dead
Some old demented geezer discovers this and wants to destroy everything all over again himself so he spend a lot of money on finding more black goo that can't do anything else than destroy everything in spectacular fashion.
Most humans walking around don't like this and try to stop it... And in the end they do by destroying everything over there and then trying to get home again.

Being an IT professional without ever failing any projects is glorious times though.

Money is thrown at me from all corners and I have more requests for work than I could ever finish in my entire lifetime.

The funniest thing about it, is that everyone keeps believing that simply because that work is asked today... That they will forever keep asking this.

This never made sense to me, since the questions they ask and the results they are asking for are clearly destructive so doing more of it can only result in having to do less of it since there will be less there to do anything with anyways.

They're all insane really... Running away from genetically enhanced killing machines while they're stuck in prison.

The insane horror movie captured reality more precisely than any public statement about any public event ever could that year really.

And the Alien franchise gets a whole new Elan after this chapter too. Wow... these "Prequels" are solid gold so there will be many more of them that rewrite what you thought happened before.

This becomes the entire function of all things digital now.

Rewriting reality is now the only job left.

Here are some major events in 2017 :

Alien: Covenant
Inauguration of Donald Trump: On January 20, Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States, marking a significant shift in U.S. politics and policies. 2
Women's March: Following Trump's inauguration, millions participated in the Women's March on January 21, 2017, making it the largest single-day protest in U.S. history, advocating for women's rights and social justice. 2
North Korea Tensions: Throughout the year, tensions escalated between North Korea and the United States, particularly regarding North Korea's missile tests and nuclear threats, raising global concerns about potential conflict. 2
Robert Mugabe's Ouster: In November, Zimbabwe's long-time leader Robert Mugabe was ousted from power after a military intervention, leading to significant political changes in the country.

Well... by this time everything is so flattened we can just summarize the "Covenant" right?

In 2104, the spaceship Covenant is en route to colonize the planet Origae-6, carrying 2,000 colonists and 1,140 human embryos in cryogenic stasis. A sudden supernova burst damages the ship and kills several colonists, including the captain, Branson. Walter, an advanced android, awakens key personnel to address the situation. During repairs, the crew detects a human voice broadcast from an uncharted, habitable planet. Against the protests of Branson's wife Daniels, new captain Chris Oram decides to investigate.

And then stuff goes horribly wrong like it always has while insane robots keep performing insane experiments on anything that lives, just for the pure pleasure of psychopathic abuse and nothing else.

It's a convenant.

Oh and these days?

Now it's a soap series... And I'm sure you know all about "the news"...

The Alien franchise is now a recurring series that can run forever , and their main protagonist is basically a goat.

Not just any goat... But a calculating goat... A smart goat... that just stands there being psychopathic as it continuously contemplates to least amount of effort for the maximum amount of fear. Since it knows no other way of existing anyways. And this goat is now on earth and the Aliens are everywhere around here now.

And I'll tell you what?

I'm not going to watch it... again.

Since I've already seen it.

My whole life.

Over and over again.

This is what they call genius these days.

But everyone who makes these things , and everyone who keeps enjoying them... let's be honest.

There's something seriously wrong with them right?

That's sort of really obvious isn't it?

Anyways... ummm... end it with light humour !!! Important!

Sadly, even this joke only makes sense to people who grew up in the same place as me. It's sort of a language thingy. But it's also stil incredibly apt... incredibly important.

It's one of the best jokes I know really. And also one of my greatest truths that I never have to doubt.