From: merricb@mundil.cs.mu.OZ.AU (The ELF)
Subject: Re: ALIENS 1-2-3
Organization: Computer Science, University of Melbourne, Australia
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 09:25:08 GMT

smintz@sedona.intel.com (Stephen Mintz exp 11/92~) writes:


>> > So what if there is a backup pilot on SULAO, who is paid to sit in the dropship
>> > bay smoking cigarettes, and he gets appendicitis at the wrong time. 
>> 
>> See?  Still better than ignoring the possibility completely.  
So Cameron didn't want to slow the film down by giving it more explanations...


>> 
>> > You see my point, I hope. Backups cost money and resources, and ninety-nine
>> > times out of a hundred, they need never be used.
>> 
>> Yes.  And still they are included.  Everywhere around you.  And in the
>> military, especially.  Have you ever wondered why the US Navy uses so
>> many twin-engined aircraft?  Heavier, larger, more difficult to
>> maintain?  Because ejecting over the sea is not pleasant, though still
>> less so than sitting on a planet, with your only means of escape being
>> a beautiful ship sitting incommunicado hundreds of kilometers above
>> you.  A single man (or two) are very cheap as backups go.
Given the world of the ALIEN trilogy, cost-cutting very much seems the
way to go... No crew aboard the SULACO as it goes towards LV-21 
(It'd cost too much - think about it).

A single man -on the same planet- is not much in the way of costs.
However sending a single man to a DIFFERENT planet, in a probable
hazardous situation, is expensive. Think about the cost of the
life-support equipment alone. (+ weapons + pay). It adds up.
Plus, leaving a man aboard can breed resentment among the rest of the
Marines (so we're doing one mission, and you're staying behind...)
Backups are only useful in LONG-TERM theatres, not short extraction
scenarios.

>> 
>> > Someone in Colonial Marine ops
>> > decided that a seperated dropship and APC, with a qualified pilot kept away
>> > from both vehicles (Bishop) was enough redundancy.
>> 
>> I keep trying to just see that one thinking about whether he should
>> send 12 or thirteen marines (or 15/16, or whatever), but I can't.  The
>> point is that such a safety margin usually is included in such a
>> mission by default.  Nobody wastes any time on cutting that kind of
>> support.
Safety margin is having the dropship not near the action. Somehow I don't
think "Alien-hunting" was included in the Marines training. Besides, given
the choice between a man on the SULACO, or a man helping you polish off
bad guys, which would you choose?  The Alien on the Dropship is totally
unexpected, and the entire movie seems to follow Murphy's Law.
[If your dropship crashes anywhere near your APC, what will it hit?
 The APC of course :-]


>> 
>> (Btw, the separated pilot does not matter, since he's no use without the
>> dropship and he's not needed to use the transmitter in the APC.)
>> 
>> > Now, maybe he made a mistake, and there should have been more redundancy... but
>> > it seems a credible enough decision to me.
>> 
>> No. :-)
>> -- 
>> Markus Stumptner                                mst@vexpert.dbai.tuwien.ac.at
>> University of Technology Vienna                 vexpert!mst@relay.eu.net
>> Paniglg. 16, A-1040 Vienna, Austria             ...mcsun!vexpert!mst
>I am not argueing with the point of this post (I agree with it) however the navy
>likes twin engined aircraft because they give more thrust for take off, off of
>aircraft carriers, due to short runways. sorry for interupting, continue with the
>arguement...:)
>Stephen

Actually, a lot of this should be blamed on Gorman's inexperience. Really,
he should have unloaded all necessary stuff from the APC first (including
the transmitter) before investigating where the colonists were.


[Some of the above opinions are wrong. Flame away, that's what this is all
 about after all :-]
-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Merric Blackman			The ELF				merricb@mundil
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-- Still, it's always prudent to keep well away from a seven-ton
   carnivorous lizard with very big teeth.

							EXCALIBUR #51
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