- "The hive was filled with activity. Ari could hear all the ants moving around her. She followed the sound to proceed with the next phase of her program. The center of life in the hive—the Queen."
- ―Dr. Stanislaw Mayakovsky (from Cyberantics: A Little Adventure)
Cyberantics is the complete and annotated edition of Cyberantics: A Little Adventure, a children's book written by Stanislaw Mayakovsky that was originally published by Jiffy Books in 2172. It chronicles Mayakovsky's experimentation with a cybernetic ant named Ari that he created with the intention of infiltrating an organic ant colony.
Years after Mayakovsky went missing in 2195, Jerry Prosser released the annotated edition of Mayakovsky's book simply titled Cyberantics, which contains an introduction by Prosser, a complete and annotated edition of Cyberantics: A Little Adventure, and a biography of Dr. Mayakovsky in the afterword that exposed potential clues to his last known whereabouts.
Publisher's summary[]
Cyberantics is presented in a hardcover, illustrated children's book format. The project includes specific information that is intrinsically tied to many of the events found in the Aliens: Hive series. The ant featured as the main character of Cyberantics is also a character in Aliens: Hive. The two stories interrelate, and by reading both Cyberantics and Aliens: Hive the reader's understanding of the concepts in both stories is deepened. However, both this book and the comic series can be read and enjoyed on their own.
Cyberantics features comments on the text, a biography of the "author" (another character in Hive) and an ersatz bibliography. Written by Stanislaw Mayakovsky (AKA Jerry Prosser) and illustrated by Rick Geary.
Behind the Scenes[]
Real world publication[]
As well as being a fictional book that exists within the Alien universe, a real-life version of Cyberantics was published in 1992 by Dark Horse Comics. Although credited to Stanislaw Mayakovsky, the real book was in fact written by Jerry Prosser, with illustrations by Rick Geary. The black-and-white children's book serves as a tie-in to the four-issue series Aliens: Harvest, in which both Mayakovsky (the "author") and the cybernetic ant on which the book focuses are characters. While either the book or the comic can be read separately, together they expand upon each other and elaborate upon many of the same concepts.
The fact Cyberantics exists both in-universe and in reality makes the book somewhat unique in the Alien, Predator and Alien vs. Predator franchises, with the only other comparable example being Space Beast by Robert Morse. Prior to release, a short preview of the book was published in Dark Horse Insider, Vol. 2 #2.
Trivia[]
- The fictitious Cyberantics by Stanislaw Mayakovsky is one of a number of in-universe books or articles that have been mentioned in various Aliens media, including "Theory of Alien Propagation" by Waidslaw Orona (from Aliens: Outbreak), The Evolution of Television by Emmet Webster (also from Aliens: Book One) and Space Beast by Robert Morse (from Alien: The Weyland-Yutani Report).
Appearances[]
- Aliens: Harvest/novel (mentioned only)
- Aliens: Stronghold (mentioned only)
Gallery[]
