Table Of ContentCONTENTS
Cover
The Complete Alien™ Library from Titan Books
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
XI
XII
XIII
XIV
XV
XVI
XVII
XVIII
XIX
XX
XXI
XXII
XXIII
XXIV
XXV
XXVI
About the Author
THE COMPLETE ALIEN™ LIBRARY
FROM TITAN BOOKS
The Official Movie Novelizations by Alan Dean Foster
Alien AliensTM
Alien 3
Alien: Covenant
Alien Resurrection
by A. C. Crispin
Alien
Out of the Shadows by Tim Lebbon Sea of Sorrows by James A. Moore River of Pain by
Christopher Golden The Rage War
by Tim Lebbon
PredatorTM: Incursion Alien: Invasion
Alien vs. PredatorTM: Armageddon Aliens: Bug Hunt
Edited by Jonathan Maberry The Complete Aliens Omnibus Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
Volume 4 (June 2017) Volume 5 (December 2017) Volume 6 (June 2018) Volume 7 (December
2018) Alien Illustrated Books Alien: The Archive
Alien: The Illustrated Story The Art of Alien: Isolation Alien Next Door
Alien: The Set Photography
A NOVEL BY
ALAN DEAN FOSTER
Story by Jack Paglen and Michael Green
Screenplay by John Logan and Dante Harper
Based on Characters Created by
Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett
TITAN BOOKS
ALIEN™: COVENANT
Print edition ISBN: 9781785654787
E-book edition ISBN: 9781785654794
Published by Titan Books
A division of Titan Publishing Group Ltd
144 Southwark Street, London SE1 0UP
First edition: May 2017
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are
the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any
resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments,
events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any
control over and does not assume responsibility for author or third-party
websites or their content.
TM & © 2017 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.
All rights reserved.
Original Design Elements by H.R. Giger
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form or by any means without prior written permission
of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover
other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being
imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
For Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett It lives.
I
It wasn’t dreaming. It did not have the capability. The omission wasn’t
intentional, not deliberate. This was simply a known consequence of its
creation. Where it was concerned, the intention was that there should be
no surprises.
In the absence of an unconscious consciousness there could be no
abstract conceptualization. The speculative information dump necessary
to allow for dreaming was absent. Yet—there was something. Difficult to
define. Ultimately, only it could define its own state of non-being. Only it
could understand what it did not know, did not see, did not feel.
In the absence of dreaming there was also no pain. There was no joy.
There were no hypofractionated percentages of either. There was only
the ongoing state of not quite nothingness. Of almost being.
Then, a sensation. Leading to a thought. Analysis: possible visual
perception. A requirement for auxiliary neural stimulation. Neurons were
fired. Electrical impulses traveled. There was a small but unarguable
neuromuscular response.
Eyes opened.
It could not see its face. Had it been able to do so, it knew, and activate
additional cognitive facilities, it would have taken note of a human
visage. Smooth, almost glistening with newness. Fresh, unmarred,
unlined by too much age or not enough thought. Angular and
handsome. Blue eyes, unblinking. New. This particular face would not
reflect the mind that lay behind it. Both face and mind had been
designed, programmed, but only one was capable of change.
Aural reception. Detection of external sounds. More neural pathways
coming alive in response. It heard a voice, forming words.
Comprehension was easy. Easier even than awakening.
“How do you feel?”
Slowly. It must move slowly. Awareness was vital. It was important
that the impatient body remain subordinate to the accelerating mind.
Execute a preliminary test, then, preferably one involving multiple
systems operating in tandem.
Slowly, methodically, eyelids opened and closed. The query required a
verbal response. Move air, lips, tongue.
“Alive.” Its voice was calm, even. Normal. Somehow, a bit of a surprise
to it. Not to its questioner. “Blink. Feel… blink.”
“Very good,” the voice said. “What else?”
“Life. Blink.” For confirmation, it… he… programming now confirmed
he-ness… It-he blinked again. Same neural pathways, slightly better
speed, same result. Good. Successful repetition confirmed functionality.
Nearby, a man smiled. There was satisfaction in his expression, but no
warmth. His head cocked slightly to one side as he studied the figure
before him.
“What do you see?” When there was no reply he added encouragingly
—or perhaps commandingly, “Speak.”
It-he slowly scanned the surrounding room, analyzing, identifying. A
rush of information from external sources: sight and sound. Nothing
overwhelming. Effortlessly assimilated. An unexpected additional
benefit accrued, the kind of satisfaction that comes from doing something
well. Knowledge perceived as a cascade.
The chamber was spacious. From a floor fashioned of milk glass and
quartz, a plethora of furniture old and new rose like rare flowers in a
carefully landscaped garden. The design was exquisite, the taste
impeccable. Fine art adorned the walls, and the walls themselves were
art by virtue of the materials used to raise them. The lighting varied from
space to space, as required.
It-he continued to scan as It-he identified. Identification was declared
