The crews science officer, a cagey and unknowable figure, tells us the man is fine.
And it is a violent birth.
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Its a pretty significant addition too.
Plus, unlike the titular alien, the threat of Ash feels increasingly plausible as the years pass.
That works inAliens favor.
She offers a private sanctuary wherein the voice of god awaits.
Herein lies the true, insidious evil of Ashs inclusion.
Consider again that scene where Dallas tells the otherNostromoworking stiffs about Mothers transmission.
It is not in my contract to do this kind of duty.
It is the audiences first hint of Ashs true value to the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, which chartered theNostromosmission.
He is pitting department heads against one another to divide and conquer.
This would set the tone of Ashs role throughout the rest ofAlienbefore the big reveal of his synthetic nature.
Ash lets Kane in, breaking quarantine.
This is of course because unlike2001s HAL 9000, Ash works mostly the way Weyland-Yutani programmed him to.
He is a robot pretending to be a man while actively undermining the crew.
All other considerations secondary.
But the way Ash carries out these actions is what rewards repeat viewings.
Is this a feint, similar to Ashs smile, or an actual sentient reaction?
Do androids have sexual urges?
This is the closest he gets to a sexual relationship.
It is the films second rape scene after the facehugger slid its orifice down Kanes throat.
The horror and evil of the sequence also raises a litany of other questions.
Was Ash programmed to want to violate, humiliate, or attack the women on the ship?
Or do his actions reflect the unconscious biases of his makers?
In effect, Ash raises the questions we are currently having about artificial intelligence today.
Holm communicates these contradictions and mysteries by firmly placing his characterization of Ash in the uncanny valley.
To what ends only the synthetic engineers and C-suite executives at Weyland-Yutani would know for sure.
We dont even understand if theNostromoand Ash were the first freighter sent on the suicide mission to LV-426.
The mystery of Ash is just as potent as the eponymous Aliens originally impenetrable life-cycle and intentions.
Hes a milky nightmare whose actions remain open to endless interpretation.
