Xenopedia
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Xenopedia
"As i look on in horror, the creature rips out her chest and throws her aside, a broken, motionless husk. There's exposed circuitry where half my mind insists there should be muscle, should be bone, and something thin and oily drips from her wounds. Hydraulic fluid, probably. Cleaning solution. The vital substance of robotics."
Olivia Shipp describing Viola' (from Alien: Echo)

Viola Shipp was a unique, synthetic recreation of Olivia Shipp's identical twin sister Viola, who died at the age of three due to a previously undocumented autoimmune disease.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Viola and her twin sister Olivia were born in 2155 to xenobiologist couple John and Katherine Shipp. When the twin were three years old, Viola contracted an autoimmune disease which ultimately killed her. Olivia was so close to her sister so when she died, their parents had no other choice to build a very advanced android by using plenty of video footage, brain scans, and dream recordings in an extrapolative model of a toddler built. As they continuously upgraded the costly but necessary processing power needed, the synthetic recreation of Viola was able to grow, learn, and mature just her human countepart would have. Olivia was unaware of this for almost sixteen years.

At the age of five, trapped at home with a network interface while Olivia went to her first day of school, she started sending messages to anyone foolish enough to have an open relay. Her parents hadn't seen the harm in letting her send virtual waves and cheery greetings to scientists, researchers, anyone with a public address. Some of them became "pen pals" and answered her questions and feed her information.[1]

Moving through the Colonies[]

Viola -and consequently Olivia -were dragged on by her parents through at least fifteen colony worlds under the pretense of looking for a cure for her. Due to her "illness", Viola had to stay in bed, most of the time on an emergency respirator. This was part of the charade, the respirator was actually the android's charging port.

Prior to get contracted by the Zagrean governor, the Shipp family has to leave a colony world mid-contract because Viola had an allergic reaction to local plants.[2]

Life in Zagreus[]

When the family arrived in Zagreus in 2172, with a contract to catalog and research the planet's wildlife.[3] John and Katherine Shipp delivered the arrival manifest, enlisting three people and an android. Viola and her sister enrolled in the local school, with Olivia attending in person and Viola virtually from home. This caused the colonists, especially the teenagers, to think they wanted to scam them for more supplies than allowed and that she didn't even existed.

Three months after arrival, Viola suggested Olivia they should throw a party while their parents were out, after their classmate Kora Burton visited with the intention of verify the girl's existence. Later, when John Shipp announced he accepted being part of a scouting mission to a derelict science ship in orbit, in exchange of a hefty bonus, Viola expressed her concerns to Olivia.[4]

She tells her sister rumors her "pen pals" had heard about a resort terraformed moon going dark,[1] and convinced her to desist accompanying her father.

Outbreak[]

"Mom’s going out to check that new grass you found, see if she can find any more, We’ll have the house to ourselves all day.
“You don’t mean…?”
“Party.”
"
―Viola, to Olivia about throwing a party. (Alien: Echo)

Days later, Viola and Olivia gave a small party while their father went to orbit and their mother was investigating the orange flesh-eater grass Olivia had discovered. Kora arrived with Michel Petrov, Paul Gladney, Alisa, Lin and Juan. Viola played along when Kora pretended to have known her before.[5]

Moments later, alarms in the residence blared and the vidscreen shown a recorded message from John Shipp, onboard the science ship, warning them about the shuttle bound for the planet, carrying previously unknown, deadly creatures.[6]

Viola fled the residence in search of their mother, still on the forest. She arrived at the flower patch, where she was found moments later by her sister, Kora, Michel and Paul, who had gone out in search of her. She warned the group to run just before being attacked by two creatures. Viola stood completely still as the pollen masked her essence. When Paul was overcome with fear and he ran, the creature attacked him, completely ignoring her. She and the rest were saved when a Hippo spurred on by her mother stomped the remaining creature. They fled and found her mother on the shore of a nearby lake, and together they return to the residence.

Race to the colony[]

Back at the residence, Olivia questioned her mother about why the creatures hadn't attacked Viola, and she revealed the truth: Viola is actually an advanced android model created from brain scans and video footage from the real one, who had died when the twins were three years old. They wanted to tell her the whole truth when she turned eighteen. Viola tells her that she knew the truth, but she decided to play along. A creature attacked the residence. Katherine let herself be captured to allow the teenagers to escape. On the way back to the main colony, she was harassed by Michel about not being a "real person." This prompted to Olivia beating him up and Kora threatened him with the volt-gun.

Captured[]

When the group reached the gate, Michel denied her the entrance. He fought Olivia and grabbed her hair. Viola cut her sister's hair with a machete to free her from Michel. Moments later, two more creatures who had tracked the group attacked, snatching Michel. Viola then soaked blood over her face and let herself be kidnapped to save Olivia.

She was brought to the hive along with Michel and her mother, but as she was of no use for the creatures, her leg was severed and left there at her mother's feet. Olivia and Kora later found her during their raid on the hive. Viola ask Olivia to behead her so they can escape with her easily[7]. One of the xenomorphs guarding the Hive attacked the girls and Olivia used a vial of Lion-worm pheromones to attract one of the creatures and gain time to escape. Some of the pheromones spilled Viola's head as they escaped.[8]

Race back to the colony and escape[]

From that moment on, Viola spent most of the time inside her sister Olivia's backpack. Back at the main settlement, the girls found that the place had been invaded and turned into the new hive. Determined to escape on the family shuttle, they head to the apartment of Kora's mother, whom they find cocooned to the wall. She asks them to flee and when Kora refuses to leave her mother behind her, Delia tells her that there is no longer any salvation for her. Viola tells her that she knows exactly what will happen.

At that moment, a Lion-worm Alien attacked, killing Delia and forcing the young women to flee the place[9]. As they flee towards the launchport, Viola asked Olivia to leave her behind, since she was sprayed with the pheromones, and that the xenomorph is following them thanks to them.

They reached the spaceport and the family shuttle, but the lion-worm hybrid attacked once more. Viola distracted it long enough for Olivia attract the creature and made it fall over sharp scraps and construction equipment, finally killing it.[10] Viola was picked up by Kora and the girls boarded the family transport, While there's Hope and escaped the planet. Once in orbit, Olivia flicked on the emergency beacon and recorded an emergency transmission, warning anyone not to land in the planet and asking for medical assistance.

Aftermath[]

At some point, Viola, along with Olivia and Kora were rescued. It is not know what happened to them after that, but it is implied Olivia repaired her thanks to the funds her family inherited her and having rescued Viola's blueprints.

Appearances[]

Trivia[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Alien: Echo, page 46.
  2. Alien: Echo, page 11.
  3. Alien: Echo, page 132.
  4. Alien: Echo, page 42.
  5. Alien: Echo, page 67.
  6. Alien: Echo, page 69.
  7. Mira Grant, Alien: Echo. Page 150.
  8. Mira Grant, Alien: Echo. Page 188.
  9. Mira Grant, Alien: Echo. Page 185
  10. Mira Grant, Alien: Echo. Page 206.
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