Union of Progressive Peoples

The Union of Progressive Peoples (UPP) was a wide-reaching and powerful socialist human entity active during the 22nd century.

Overview

The UPP controls their own sector of space and is notably divided from and opposed to the Weyland-Yutani Corporation and the United States Colonial Marine Corps. Although its precise membership is unknown, UPP personnel hailed from various European and Asian nations, including Russia, Vietnam, Germany and Spain.

History

The UPP discovered and boarded the USS Sulaco after the ejection of the hypersleep pods containing Ripley, Corporal Hicks, Newt and Bishop. The UPP soldiers were attacked by Xenomorphs aboard the Sulaco. The survivors took samples and collected Facehuggers then brought them down on to LV-426 for further study. Their plan was spoiled when a group of Colonial Marines dispatched from the USS Sephora killed all of the UPP personnel and destroyed their satcom.

William Gibson's Alien III

While the UPP's only official appearance to date is in the video game Aliens: Infestation, the faction in fact originated in an unproduced script for Alien³ written by William Gibson. In the screenplay, which picks up after Aliens, the USS Sulaco drifts into an area of space claimed by the Union of Progressive Peoples due to a navigational error. The ship is boarded by UPP commandos as a result, one of whom is attacked by a Facehugger hiding in the entrails of Bishop's mangled body. The UPP then take Bishop's body and the Xenomorph genetic material it is contaminated with into their own possession for further experimentation.

Throughout the the script, the UPP acts as an ideological and political opponent to the unnamed faction to which the main characters belong. The two factions are said to be engaged in an ongoing arms race, mirroring the opposition between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, although the UPP's equipment and technology is displayed as being significantly behind that available to the main characters. While the two factions never engage each other during the course of the story, much dialogue is devoted to their tense, hostile relationship. At the end of the story, the main characters are saved by a UPP commando, and Bishop proposes that their respective governments need to put aside their differences and unite against the threat posed by the Xenomorphs.

Aliens: Infestation

After investigating the Sulaco the marines of the USS Sephora quickly discover the presence of hostile UPP soldiers, as well as Xenomorphs that have established a Hive aboard the ship. After encountering and defeating the Xenomorph Queen, the Marines descend to the surface of LV-426 to continue their investigation. There they discover that the UPP are attempting to harvest Xenomorphs for their own use. The Marines eliminate the UPP presence in the area and destroy their satcom.

Weaponry

The firearms fitted with UPP compression suits.

Although little is known about UPP weaponry, the comic shows UPP compression suits having firearms built into their wrist gauntlets, as opposed to having to carry individual weapons, known as an AK-104 Suit Guns. UPP members in the comic have also been shown to carry Uzi-like weapons.

Trivia

• The Union of Progressive Peoples is heavily inspired by the Soviet Union. In Gibson's script, their members are said to hail from countries that, at the time of writing, were the core of the communist bloc, including Russia and Vietnam. Much of their dialogue is also infused with clichéd socialist terms and language.

Appearances

• Aliens: Infestation
• William Gibson's Alien 3

Scripts and drafts

• Alien III (William Gibson)