Corporate Immortality is the unsettling question at the heart of Noah Hawley’s upcoming series, Alien: Earth. The show, previewed by WIRED, delves into a future dominated by megacorporations and transhumanist pursuits, prompting viewers to consider whether this dystopian vision reflects a plausible trajectory for our own society.
A Familiar Hawley Theme
Noah Hawley, known for his work on Fargo and Legion, brings his signature thematic depth to Alien: Earth. According to WIRED, a central concern for Hawley is exploring how to raise children in the world as it currently exists. This preoccupation serves as a critical lens through which he examines the potential societal ramifications of unchecked corporate power and technological advancement within the Alien universe.
The Year is 2120
Set two years before the events of the original Alien film, Alien: Earth transports viewers to the year 2120. This near-future setting allows Hawley to extrapolate current trends in technology and corporate influence, painting a picture of a world grappling with the consequences of its ambitions.
The Quest for Immortality
At the core of this future lies the relentless pursuit of immortality. WIRED details how this pursuit has spurred the development of three competing technological pathways: synths, cyborgs, and hybrids. These represent different approaches to extending life and transcending human limitations, each with its own ethical and societal implications.
Prodigy and its Hybrids
The series introduces Prodigy, a megacorporation that embodies the unchecked power and ambition of this future. Prodigy’s actions drive the central conflict of the series when a deep space research vessel crashes on Earth, bringing with it five captured alien species. According to WIRED, the corporation dispatches six hybrids to investigate the crash site.
Wendy: The First of Her Kind
Among these hybrids is Wendy, described by WIRED as the first of her kind. Wendy and the other hybrids are terminally ill children who have been given a second chance at life through Prodigy’s experimental technology. Their original bodies have been replaced with super-strong, super-fast, ageless synthetic adult bodies. This transformation is part of Prodigy’s broader immortality project, raising questions about the ethics of using vulnerable individuals in such experiments.
Corporate Immortality and its Discontents
Alien: Earth presents a chilling vision of a future where corporations wield immense power, driven by the pursuit of immortality and technological dominance. The hybrids, created and controlled by Prodigy, represent the ultimate extension of corporate reach into the realm of human existence. As WIRED highlights, their story raises profound questions about the value of human life, the ethics of scientific advancement, and the potential consequences of unchecked corporate ambition.
The series serves as a cautionary tale, prompting viewers to consider the potential for our present-day trajectory to lead to a similar dystopian future. The blurred lines between humanity and technology, the exploitation of vulnerable populations, and the prioritization of profit over ethics are all themes that resonate with contemporary concerns. The question Alien: Earth seems to pose is not just whether this future could happen, but whether we are already on the path to creating it.
