Plagiarus praepotens[1] was the highly mutagenic substance introduced by a Facehugger into potential Xenomorph hosts in order to create a Chestburster. Translated to "powerful mimic," it was capable of unzipping genetic material at lightning speed and accruing biomass from anything and everything around it. With the requisite chimeric blueprint and enough food, it would go from a single-celled organism to an adult creature with fully differentiated organs in a matter of hours.
Overview[]
During the earlier encounters between humans and Xenomorphs, it was believed that the Facehugger deposited an actual embryo into the host, not unlike how some parasitic insect species on Earth reproduce. However, later research discovered this was not the case and something else was injected into the host. The material deposited inside a would-be host by a Facehugger was also long considered to be some form of specially-tailored cancer.[2] Nonetheless, further research aboard the Cold Forge revealed that the substance was in fact a mutagenic fluid,[1] not dissimilar to the black liquid employed by the Engineers. The method of discovery was carried out by performing surgery on a subject that was in the process of impregnation. Due to how fast the mutagen was absorbed by the host, numerous subjects and eggs had been expended due to failure. Doctor Blue Marsalis believed that the Manumala noxhydria required, or at least preferred, their prey to be scared in order for its body to produce a sufficient amount of Plagiarus praepotens for optimal implantation. Marsalis also noted that the resultant embryos were better developed from frightened hosts.[3] Onboard the Renaissance research station, Weyland-Yutani scientists were able to extract the Plagiarus praepotens from cloned Facehuggers and reverse-engineer "Prometheus' fire" from it, which they used to create the Z-01 mutagen.[4]
Potency[]
The substance was considered highly mutagenic but always consistently created a chestburster when introduced into the host via the mouth. While it was unknown exactly how it would react to other organic substances, Dr. Marsalis took care not to let the substance interact with any living tissue, believing it would react to it.
Behind the scenes[]
- When questioned about the origins of Plagiarus praepotens, author Alex White confirmed that the mutagen had its origins in Chemical A0-3959X.91 – 15, stating that praepotens is the same substance, albeit re-sequenced "Linnaeus-style" by the android David.[5]
- In Alien: The Roleplaying Game, there is a similar mutagenic substance called Plagiarus linesteres which resulted in the creation of the Praetomorph.
Appearances[]
- Alien: The Cold Forge
- Alien: The Roleplaying Game
- Aliens: Phalanx (mentioned only)
- Alien: Into Charybdis
- Alien: Inferno's Fall
- Aliens: Infiltrator
- Aliens vs. Predators: Rift War
- Alien: Romulus
- Alien: Seventh Circle (mentioned only)
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Alex White. Alien: The Cold Forge, p. 48 (2018), Titan Books.
- ↑ Dave Hughes, Lee Brimmicombe-Wood. Aliens, Vol. 2 #17, p. 43 (1993), Dark Horse International.
- ↑ Alex White. Alien: The Cold Forge, p. 49 (2018), Titan Books.
- ↑ Fede Alvarez, Rodo Sayagues (writers), Fede Alarez (director). Alien: Romulus (2024), 20th Century Studios
- ↑ "Imgur". Retrieved on 2019-04-06.