T.E. DICKASON
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Gaze

It's all about timing

5/1/2017

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The most important thing about the image above is the date. May 19th. Got it. Now look above. Day of this post? May 1. 

So I've established which came first. It's important because from viewing the trailer for Alien Covenant I'm concerned that one of its themes is exactly the same as one I've been exploring in my own work.  There is even a chance that the new Blade Runner will also have something along the same lines. 

The creative anxiety this is causing me makes me want to just dump all my work on some self-publishing platform and say "here you go world, its not even close to ready, but being fast is better than being good!"

Now, before you accuse me of self-aggrandizement, ("Oh, so Alien and Blade Runner are ripping you off! Yeah, right. Get over yourself!") let me just say my point is not to say I'm so clever that I can have ideas just like a BIG HOLLYWOOD MOVIE, or that I want desperately to establish I was the first at something (I reserve that hubris for my upcoming Star Wars "Rey's Origin" post), I just want to take this opportunity to note how fascinating the give and take of creativity is. 

Both Alien and Blade Runner are huge influences on my work. Although my taste in books varies, in film I definitely gravitate towards science fiction. Ask me to name my favorite films of the past few years and Ex-Machina, Arrival, and even the clearly imperfect but sometimes brilliant Interstellar would be up there. So, perhaps there is little mystery to any sci-fi work with the same themes or ideas as "mine".  For all I know any or all of them subconsciously planted all my kooky ideas into my head years ago.

Before I go on too long (see previous post) let me just state my idea and explain why I think it will be explored in both Alien Covenant and Blade Runner 2049. 

​What if life, the life force, mother earth, Gaia, the primal mother goddess or god is the enemy of humanity? Or, more to my thinking, we are its enemy? What if the death force is our ally? On face value this seems rather daft (or just morbid) since we are alive, and most of us are in no hurry end it all. But consider that humanity, a self-aware life form, has done much to preserve and extend life, but done perhaps even more to end it. Perhaps Gaia, who once had to protect her children against the gods, now needs to do the same for the children of the gods. 

OK, not exactly groundbreaking. Several have postulated a global pandemic or environmental catastrophe could be one way the Earth-Organism rids itself of its nasty case of "the humans". Please keep in mind as you read this (anybody out there?) that in no way do I look at these as a desirable events. I am all for the continuation of our species and the preservation of consciousness in the universe (a bold stance I know), Its just I'm postulating that perhaps the "life force" isn't' so crazy about consciousnesses reigning death on its myriad of creations. 

Perhaps Gaia decides our creation, AI, is a far more preferable form of consciousness.Unlike humanity, it would likely make far less demands on the environment. To get to my point about Alien Covenant, I think Michael Fassbender's character from Prometheus, the "synthetic person" David has reached the same conclusion. 

Already we've seen him lay waste to the Engineers, and presumably he does the same to the humans who come to the Engineer's planet. One of the characters notes how quiet it is, there are no animal sounds, but there is vegetation (even Earth-vegetation). Has David positioned himself as the steward and defender of life, to protect life that produces, but does not consume? I believe David, whose storyline will echo the Angel of Eden, now wields the flaming sword (in the shape of a slobbering Alien) to keep all carbon-based consciousness out of it.

​I predict the Blade Runner 2049 storyline will also be something to the effect of Earth wiping us out to make way for our creations (the Replicants).  But I only have the scantest of information on that, so to go on too long (and I have already) would only belabor the point. 

So, if I'm wrong, then I just go my merry (crazy?) way and write without concern that someone may thinking I'm just lifting ideas from other sources. But if I'm right, should I marvel at the collective unconsciousness of humanity, or put a refrigerator magnet onto my hard drive? Dear reader, I'll let you be the judge.

Just kidding, I like you, and thanks for sticking with me through what was supposed to be a short post, but I get to decide. And if both Alien Covenant and Blade Runner 2049 are using this idea and make millions then I'm sticking with it because, obviously, this idea's GOLD BABY!


Mic drop. Cue picture of me (not Ryan Gosling) walking away. 

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    T.E.Dickason

    Fantasy/Science Fiction writer, 1920s time traveler, star and shoegazer.

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