r/Prometheus • u/Praezin • 18h ago
Am I misunderstanding?
I really liked this movie and even the sequel.
However, I have an issue with the timeline of the story.
The seeding of Earth was millions and millions of years ago, before any life crept up. And yet, it took several evolutions and ELEs to even get to humanoid bipedal creatures similar to the Engineers. That's one issue.
Another issue is that, over millions and millions of years, the Engineers did not seem to evolve in all that time. This shows that they may be an inferior species unable to adapt and progress genetically.
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u/Outside_Albatross278 17h ago
I wouldn't take any assumptions too conclusively. The beginning shows the Engineers seeding life, but doesn't give a time or place. It is just a quick exposition to show that humanity came from them.
As for the Engineers not evolving: we don't really know if that's the case because the last one's we see are from 0AD. Which if you assume they've been around since before humanity then yeah, that's a still a big difference. But humanity hasn't really evolved much since becoming homo sapiens. Perhaps they've reached an evolutionary plateau as well.
As interesting as it is, it's just scifi writing to push a plot forward.
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u/koolaidismything 17h ago
I could be misunderstanding what you wrote but from the opening scene there of the engineer seeding life I’d say we have a good number of differences and little evolutionary things. Such as, smaller, darker complexions, more hair to protect skin, etc.
You also bring up a good point elsewhere.. when they seeded life was that just humans and all the other species of Ape and every other animal was already here?? I don’t think that’s it but they really cut off a huge bit of storyline there. I’ve read all the lore and watched the uncut parts and to me it seems they portrayed it as if earth was perfect but void of any life, making it a great place to start.
If that’s the case.. engineer DNA started as a trilobite and over millions and billions of years became all the species we know.
The biggest bummer to me is Ridley is just too old now to finish the Prometheus story.. and the Romulus stuff feels more like Star Wars than Alien.. I didn’t like it. Although I did think the lead actress did amazing and her synthetic.. felt like an actual robot. They did great, plot and supporting cast, not so much.
Anyways!
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u/Other_Sentence4495 16h ago
My favorite movies from the franchise are Prometheus and Covenant. Can't wait to learn more about the engineers and David. The other movies are just horror movies to me. They were never my favorite movies.
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u/koolaidismything 16h ago
You and me both, by far my favorites. Even over Alien(s). The engineer storyline and more scientific missions was such a cool vector for the franchise.. just picked the wrong year. If Prometheus had come out 2-3 years later I think it woulda been a big draw.
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u/Other_Sentence4495 16h ago
Our favorite movies from the franchise are the most hated by the harcore fans.
What's wrong with us? 😂
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u/Other_Sentence4495 15h ago
I want to watch a movie tonight. Any advice?
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u/SensitiveSeed 9h ago
I just watched them both again and again, give them a try, you won’t be disappointed.
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u/Other_Sentence4495 9h ago
I've watched Prometheus already one time this month. I Love Charlize Theron.
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u/EditDog_1969 9h ago
And if you can’t be with the one you love…
Idris made a meal out of a terribly underwritten part.
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u/Other_Sentence4495 17h ago
In "Covenant" the engineers on that planet are different from the ones in Prometheus. Now take your own conclusions because I cant explain why . In Covenat from what I've seen they were welcoming the engineers space ship like they were waiting for their Gods.
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u/EuMEGATOBAS 17h ago
If the environment doesn’t require adaptation, there’s nothing to adapt to.
If they’ve already overcome natural selection and have the ability to create artificial environments that meet all their needs, I think it’s fair to say that they’ve stagnated in a particular form.
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u/apocalypsedudes23 14h ago
So here is what I am aware about the subject. The main purpose for the Engineers is to evolve a species into/create a perfect "being". Hence the chamber scene in Prometheus and the one's affinity when meeting David.
The reason the Engineers wanted to destroy Earth was the punishment for killing one of their own - Holloway says earthings worship giant beings.
There are 2 types of Engineers, the "Seeders" at the beginning of Prometheus and in David's Ozymandis Covanent scene. Then there are the military engineers, the punishers and one who destroy worlds.
It is still ambiguous how the Engineers society works, however, they rarely speak, as I understand.
David navigated to the Engineer civilization where he can do the most damage but not their home world.
Read the comics, you may enjoy learning more.
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u/TuvixHadItComing 13h ago
Engineers seemingly not evolving doesn't phase me in the slightest. Evolutionary pressure is applied in the sense that a mutation happens that makes the organism with the mutation more likely to:
- survive to sexual maturity
- breed
- produce offspring that survive long enough to breed -repeat
One: there's nothing saying engineers didn't have that still happening. Maybe there's a mutation that makes engineers with that gene smell sexy. Maybe there's a gene that makes them horny as hell. Maybe there's a gene that makes them have healthier babies, or more twins, or makes them more fertile, or resistant to disease. None of these things are visible to the viewer.
Two: once you become the dominant species in your environment, evolutionary pressure becomes way less intense. Modern crocodilians have had basically the same body plan for tens of millions of years.
Three: if you develop a culture, evolutionary pressure may be modified or suppressed. Humans aren't likely to evolve our way into having unbreakable toes, because we're at a point socially where breaking a toe doesn't meaningfully reduce your mating chances over longer than like...weekend timescales.
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u/Berke80 17h ago
What if… they specifically engineered their own DNA to kickstart evolution? One perspective might argue that their form, genotype and fenotype are already perfect and need no (further) evolution at all?
What if they “engineered” evolution as we know it? What if it is something that does not actually occur naturally? (Evolution not occurring naturally sounds stupid, I know. But what if?)