Posthuman Blues

Alien Vs. Predator: What's Really Out There (by Seth Shostak!)

"As unlikely as the Predator may be, even aside from its oddball, anthropomorphic appearance -- a brushed steel Samurai with dreadlocks -- it's still more believable than Alien. This toothy terror, with its nitric acid blood (pray that it doesn't get a nosebleed in the car), depends on humans for breeding. Now sure, there are some terrestrial species, such as the ichneumon fly that use other creatures as part of their reproductive cycle. But those other creatures are at least hanging around on the same planet! Imagine the evolutionary difficulties for some species that requires a chance encounter with beings from another world just to have kids! That is not a winning survival scenario."

Seth, dude -- you're out of it as usual! The Giger-aliens aren't the product of natural selection; they're genetically engineered bioweapons gone awry! Remember the derelict starship in the original "Alien"? They're out-of-control biotech, a la John Wyndham's "triffids."