Originally formulated in the early Alien series,

I'm thinking about this and that because I somehow ended up writing an article in Alien.

Originally formulated in the early Alien series, Ridley Scott's "Alien", which was released in 1979, the setting was the perspective of "an unknown alien creature." Don't ask my age, don't ask my name, too. (If you know this song, you're in your 40s at least.) So, even in the movie, it was only mentioned as "creature" or "the thing" without an official name, and it is often referred to as "Genomorph" by fans outside the movie, but it is common to be called "Alien" in the public.

This setting changes considerably as it goes to prequel. In "Prometheus", it is implicitly expressed, and in "Coverant", most of the whole story is revealed, and as a result, Alien is a being born by humans. Of course, humans did not create Alien themselves, but since human-made Android David combined human genes with engineers' "black substances", humans are the birthplace of Alien. Since humans also share most of the genes with engineers - the genetic test result of Spacejacki's corpse appears to be 'human' in the "Prometheus" genetic test - the Alien series is all reversed with a story of humans recursion.

What is interesting is that this 'birth' starts with human desire to overcome his limitations. Prometheus started in the first place not because of the search for human origins, but because of Peter Weyland's desire for eternal life. Chairman Weyland's way of thinking is that humans are entitled to take over the power of creativity, as humans can create human-like beings in front of human creators just like the creators. Even though they love the creature as a creator, they resemble engineers even though they do not recognize its value in existence. Humans do not recognize Android's 'humanity', but ironically, they fiercely resist engineers who do not recognize human's 'engineering'. And Android David, who has watched the whole process, gives a new perspective of circulation to his creator and the overlapping relationship by creating an 'alien', a creature that can extinguish the creator.

As an extension of Wayland's philosophy, Alien is literally an "enhanced human being" itself. It can adapt to almost any environment while sharing a significant amount of human genetic information, does not die from any physical shock, can overwhelm most species with strong combat power, and is free from disease. Intelligence is also very high and it is even a social animal (although this is, of course, a setting after the second installment of Queen). However, most people will say No when asked, "Is Alien human?" Because it has an appearance that humans hate and attacks humans.

Let's turn our eyes to the other side. The survival of modern humans was not done peacefully and naturally. Modern humans were established after competition for survival with similar similar humans, and similar humans such as Neanderthals remain until relatively recently, leaving traces everywhere. Are Neanderthals human as opposed to Homo sapiens sapiens? Isn't it human because it was in confrontation with modern humans? Is it human because it shared numerous attributes as well as genetic information? Should the relationship between Homo sapiens sapiens and Neanderthals, which is biologically segmented, be viewed as a competition between different species, or will it be understood in the same context as competition between different cultures, religions, and foreign countries that have been made countless times in the history of modern humans?

These numerous questions inevitably face some form of transhuman discourse based on human reinforcement. If Chairman Wayland had borrowed the power of an engineer to become immortal, would we be able to recognize him as a human being? Numerous modern technologies are already taking the lead in preventing aging and extending life expectancy. However, can the 'enhanced human' at the end of it be regarded as the same human being we think of today? Can 'enhanced human' be combined under the homogeneity of existing human beings that do not, or will the struggle for survival continue like the relationship between Homo sapiens and Neanderthals, or between humans, engineers, and Alien.

Biotechnology, in our opinion, tends to be off the table for now on these problems. In the face of the rosy future of technology determinism that can be free from disease, aging, or even 'death', such problem consciousness seems idle on the one hand and meaningless on the other. There is probably no one who can bring up such a story in front of a patient facing immediate death. However, this is also a question that will inevitably come to us someday. How effective can we answer such a question while intoxicated with optimism in technology determinism.

God, who briefly appears in the drama Guardian, asks this. "Destiny is just a question from God, and the answer is from you." Any attempt at any technology or effort to break through human limits is bound to face an unexpected 'question'. There is no technological advancement without any side effect. The harmless refrigerant to the human body destroyed the ozone layer instead of the body, and DDT, which provided an opportunity to liberate humans from malaria or dengue fever, left a new question by recalling the danger of a 'silent spring'. Alien's existence in the movie is also like a 'question' that God asks humans. How far can we go and where to stop. Or will we keep going even when we know we have to stop, or will we have an eye to hide and look around even when our goal is vague in front of us.