A Biological and Behavioral Analysis of the Aliens From Alien Raiders
Life From Above
Curiosity and creativity are cornerstones of human nature. We find our minds drawn to the stars again and again, wondering who or what could be out there. Is there someone, or something, out amongst the stars that also looks to the sky and wonders what lies beyond? People the world over have attempted to answer this question both with scientific instruments and with the power of their imaginations.
This article will examine the biology and behavior of the alien species presented in the 2008 movie titled Alien Raiders. Alien Raiders (Dir. Ben Rock, 2008) follows the story of a group of disbanded scientists on a mission to identify and eliminate an alien parasite from a small Arizona town. This self-labeled “Sci-Fi Shocker” is a low-budget romp with a surprisingly well thought out alien menace. As the alien species in this movie was not named, I will refer to them as “Buck aliens” in reference to the town of Buck Lake where the movie took place.
Alien Origins
Approximately ten years before the tale of Alien Raiders, a “meteorite-like object” fell to Earth near the town of Buck Lake, Arizona in the southwestern United States. The object was stated to be the vessel for a cluster of pod-like structures containing dormant larvae — the initial clutch of Buck aliens. While details are scarce about the initial spread of the Buck aliens, I am confident in assuming that the local populace who discovered and handled the meteorite were the initial hosts of these larvae.
A prominent turning point in the discovery of this species occurred when Sharon Ritter, a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, passed away from what was thought to be a malignant astrocytoma; a tumor of the brain or spinal cord. Ritter was believed to have been exposed to a larva at her position doing animal research at JPL.¹ Her autopsy revealed that the tumor was actually a mature Buck alien complete with larvae of its own. At least three of the hospital staff involved in the Ritter autopsy were later confirmed to have been infected with larvae from the recovered specimen.
The path these larvae took from Buck Lake to JPL is not detailed in movie canon. When interacting with fiction, it is always important to take a step back and remember that plot devices do not need to be grounded in the real world. Every event in a fictional story does not need to be logical or possible and oftentimes, willing suspension of disbelief makes fiction, especially science fiction, much more fun to engage with. This 490 mile jump of the alien larvae from Buck Lake, Arizona to Pasadena, California strikes me as a moment where a viewer is required to gloss over the details and just accept that it happened in order for the story to move forward.
This being said, I have two hypotheses as to how these larvae were able to infect Ms. Ritter. My first hypothesis involves human transmission. Perhaps a Buck Lake local that had been infected by one of the initial clutch of larvae from the meteorite traveled to Pasadena or a nearby area. This would allow the larvae to either jump from their first host to a new host that was more local to Ms. Ritter, or directly to Ms. Ritter herself. My second hypothesis involves nonhuman transmission. Perhaps a wild animal local to Buck Lake picked up larvae in the same manner that wildlife carries ticks and one or more larvae were dispersed into the ecosystem to await a suitable human host. As both the Buck Lake in the film and the Buck Lake that I found in Arizona are quite rural, it is not a stretch to imagine a thriving wildlife population capable of transporting disease or pests over long distances. If the larva that infected Ms. Ritter traveled to Pasadena via nonhuman means, the larva would have either been transferred to another human who then transferred it to her, or Ms. Ritter must have had close contact with local wildlife. Both of these transmission methods call into question the official explanation of the transmission occurring during work with lab animals as the vast majority of lab animals are bred specifically to be studied and do not have contact with wild animals.²
Another plot device that we, the audience, are meant to skip over is the meteorite itself. Where did the meteorite originate from? Currently, all meteorites on Earth come from inside of our solar system.³ The description of the object that fell in Buck Lake as “meteorite-like” implies that this item originates from inside our solar system.
The Buck aliens are confirmed to be carbon-based life forms. It has been speculated that the species evolved in a “nitrogen-based” ecosystem, suggesting an atmosphere composed primarily of nitrogen. Earth’s atmosphere is composed mostly of nitrogen (78% N2); perhaps this composition contains just enough nitrogen for the species to survive. If we look at other bodies in the solar system that contain gaseous nitrogen and might potentially host life, the most likely source of the meteorite-like object is Titan, one of Saturn’s moons. Scientists have long thought that Titan’s thick atmosphere and possible subsurface ocean of liquid water (H2O) have the potential to harbor life similar to that found on Earth. Non-larval Buck alien specimens have proven susceptible to freezing temperatures, suggesting evolution in a high-temperature environment. Titan’s surface is extremely cold, roughly -290°F (94 K)⁴, implying that the Buck alien species evolved deep in the moon’s subsurface ocean.
Earth’s deep ocean contains features called hydrothermal vents; volcano-like structures in the planet’s crust that spew superheated, mineral-dense water. This superheated water (482–752°F) supports a truly unique ecosystem on and around the structure of the vent. Microbes living in these hydrothermal vent communities are able to use minerals and chemical compounds from the vented water to create chemical energy for themselves and synthesize a variety of other compounds that the community at large can use for fuel. One of the chemical compounds from the vents that these microbes use for fuel is ammonia, a stable nitrogen-rich compound.⁵ Perhaps Titan’s ocean contains similar hydrothermal vent structures around which the Buck aliens initially evolved.
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¹ JPL manages many projects including, but not limited to, the Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS). CNEOS is a program dedicated to detecting near-earth objects, computing their orbits, and calculating the odds of Earth impact. As far as I can determine, JPL does not do animal research or analyze meteorite samples and CNEOS is dedicated entirely to computational analysis of Near Earth Object orbits. (“Asteroid Watch.” NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, accessed 16 July, 2024. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroid-watch )
² The overwhelming majority of animals used in laboratory settings in the US are sourced from USDA Class A breeders. These animals are purpose-bred in captivity to be used in a scientific setting and they have no contact with animals in the wild. (“Animal Testing and Experiments FAQ.” The Humane Society of the United States, accessed 17 July 2024. https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/animals-used-experiments-faq )
³ There are no known meteorites on Earth that are confirmed to originate from outside our solar system. (“What is a Meteorite?” American Museum of Natural History, accessed 17 July 2024. https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/meteorites/meteorites/what-is-a-meteorite ) Interesting to note, however, is that some meteorites have been confirmed to contain “presolar grains”. Presolar grains are miniscule pieces of dust formed by stars outside of our solar system. These tiny pieces of other stars drifted into the cloud of dust that would become our solar system and were incorporated into meteorites. (“Presolar Grains Reveal Their Stellar Origins.” Planetary News, 26 October 2021. https://www.lpi.usra.edu/planetary_news/2021/10/26/presolar-grains-reveal-their-stellar-origins/)
⁴ Titan is fascinating! It’s the only moon in our solar system to sport a dense atmosphere and the only body in the solar system other than Earth to sport standing bodies of liquid on its surface. (“Titan: Facts.” NASA, accessed 18 July 2024. https://science.nasa.gov/saturn/moons/titan/facts/ )
⁵ The process of turning chemical energy into fuel is called chemosynthesis. The vast majority of life on Earth uses photosynthesis, the process of turning light into sugars that can be broken down for energy. (Gazda, Lyndsy. “The Microbes That Keep Hydrothermal Vents Pumping.” Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History: Ocean, March 2016. https://ocean.si.edu/ecosystems/deep-sea/microbes-keep-hydrothermal-vents-pumping )
The Biology of Buck Aliens
Buck aliens are parasites. Study of existing specimens has shown that Buck alien larvae are nearly indestructible and able to stay in a dormant state for several years. Due to the extraplanetary nature of their arrival, it is speculated that larvae can sustain dormancy for several decades. Little is known about the appearance of these larvae but, based on the adult population discovered, we can infer that the vast majority are female and only a few are male.
Once a larva is implanted into a healthy human host⁶, it moves into its juvenile stage. The juvenile stage is characterized by slow growth intended to leave the host unaware of its presence. Tentacle-like structures emerge from the main body of the organism, wrap around the spinal column of their human host, and find their way into the host’s brain. From this position, the juvenile Buck alien can access the host’s central nervous system and circulatory system. Its connection to the circulatory system likely allows it to siphon nutrients from the host’s blood and excrete waste into the bloodstream to be filtered out by the host’s excretory system. Its connection to the host’s brain may be able to impact a living host’s neurological state to a limited extent.
Living Buck aliens can use this neurological connection to control a deceased host’s body for a limited time. It has been stated that these parasite-controlled deceased hosts are “only as smart” as the host was. This implies that organisms cannot compel a deceased host body to do anything that the host could not do while they were alive; if the host was not aware of an exit route in a building, the alien could not pilot their body to that exit. This also implies that the species is not sentient and cannot learn new information to apply to their host.
Specimens appear to exhibit a rigid “spinal” tentacle that rests on the outside of the host’s spinal column and several thinner, less structured tentacles for nutrient absorption and anchoring to the host. The juvenile stage lasts eight years, upon which the organism reaches sexual maturity and becomes fertile.
Adult females are characterized by a series of nodes along the spinal tentacle which contain larvae like those discovered in the initial meteorite-like object. Each node is a pod-like structure that contains multiple larvae. We do not know if the males of the species also have these nodes. The deceased Buck alien extracted during Ms. Ritter’s autopsy was an adult weighing 3lbs 2oz and nodules containing larvae can be observed along the organism’s spinal tentacle.
Structurally speaking, adult Buck aliens contain two pairs of organs that are “made of electrolytes.“⁷ Research observed that these two pairs of organs were used to create an electrical charge. Scientists speculate that this electrical charge is used to communicate with other members of the species without disturbing the host. Recovered specimens were observed to deteriorate quickly after being removed from their host so observation and experimentation was limited.
Both juvenile and adult specimens are vulnerable to freezing temperatures and catastrophic bodily harm. The specimens shown in Alien Raiders were primarily killed by a series of three bullets to the host’s upper chest and neck region, although there was an unsuccessful attempt to freeze deceased hosts in order to kill the organism inside. Specimens have been confirmed to rapidly decay upon exposure to air; it is likely that this sensitivity to air is why hosts of Buck aliens exhibit accelerated healing.⁸
Alien Raiders briefly mentions using pH as a detection method for determining if a human was a host for a Buck alien, but the movie never provides context or explanation. In the scene where pH is mentioned, our main characters have each potential host drink a carton of milk, explaining that there will be a noticeable difference in pH. The characters do not elaborate what fluid will exhibit this change and what the change will be. Based on my experience with similar science fiction stories, I speculate that the writer’s intent was to imply that the test involved drawing blood from the subjects. Milk is slightly acidic, ranging between 6.4 and 6.8, and human blood is slightly alkaline, ranging between 7.35 and 7.45. With this said, human bodies tightly regulate blood pH and consuming more acidic or alkaline foods does not impact blood pH in healthy human bodies.⁹
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⁶ Buck alien larvae implanted in a host that is chemically dependent on hard drugs like heroin or cocaine have shown a propensity to stay dormant as long as the host is actively using those drugs. In Alien Raiders, these humans are known as “Spotters” because the larvae give them the passive ability to see a glow or aura emanating from infected hosts. This implies that, even in the larval stage, these organisms can tap into the host’s nervous system enough to cause some sensitivity to the electrical activity of other members of the species.
⁷ Organs can not be made entirely of electrolytes. Electrolytes are minerals that, when dissolved in water, create ions that hold an electrical charge. (West, Helen. “Electrolytes: Definition, Functions, Imbalance, and Sources.” Healthline, 24 October 2018. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/electrolytes )
⁸ One method of detecting whether a potential host is carrying a Buck alien has been coined the “snip test”. A potential host’s finger (primarily the left pinky) is amputated and the subject is placed under observation. Hosts were observed to rapidly regrow the missing digit in a matter of minutes.
⁹ Human bodies regulate blood pH by excreting excess acid or base from consumed food via urine. Consuming acidic or alkaline food will not impact blood pH in healthy humans. (Oliver, Sabrina. “The pH Diet: Facts and Fiction.” Columbia Surgery: The Pancreas Center, accessed 17 July 2024. https://columbiasurgery.org/news/2017/01/11/ph-diet-facts-and-fiction ) I genuinely am not sure why they added this piece of lore into the movie but the scene sure did build tension and the feeling of “weirdness” before the viewer knew about the aliens.
Known Behavior
For the majority of their lifespan, Buck aliens are passive. Their life as parasites is directly connected to how long they can live without alerting their hosts. It appears that their connection to a living host’s central nervous system via the brain is also extremely limited in scope. Infected hosts were observed congregating at Hastings Bargain Market in Buck Lake; an otherwise unremarkable grocery store. The hosts all believed that they came to the store of their own free will, and each had a different reason for being there. We will never know whether this meeting of infected hosts was due to the sheer number of infected people in the community of Buck Lake or if mature Buck aliens compelled their hosts to seek each other out to mate and further the species.
The mating habits of the Buck aliens are not well known but Alien Raiders does give us a few clues. When in proximity to fertile females of the species, male Buck aliens appear to kill their hosts, tearing a hole through the front of the host’s neck and upper chest area and leaving their bodies vulnerable to the open air. This puts pressure on the males of the species to mate immediately after destroying their host so as to not begin decaying. If the male is not able to immediately mate, it may need to assume control of its deceased host and use its connection to the host’s brain to make it walk or run towards the host containing the female. Upon finding a suitable mate, the male Buck alien appears to compel the deceased host to lunge at, or fall towards, the female.
The method with which Buck aliens actually sexually reproduce is not known. We also do not know whether the larval nodes develop along their spinal tentacle before mating or after. What we do know is that once the fertilized larvae are ready to be dispersed, the female will attempt to implant them into a new host in the upper chest region near the spine. If this location is not reachable but a new host is near, opportunistic females may inject a larva into whatever part of a host they can reach. It is unclear whether a larva implanted off-target will travel to the bloodstream to the ideal location¹⁰ or if it will begin to develop where it was implanted.
One final aspect of Buck alien behavior that we are aware of is the species’ only verbal communication. Mature specimens were observed to create an extraordinarily loud screeching sound capable of traveling extremely long distances. The sound was observed to travel through several walls, the length of an average American grocery store, and into a parking lot with enough force to cause possible hearing loss to passersby. I hypothesize that this vocalization is a mating call produced by adult males to announce their presence to viable mates.¹¹ This call could also function as a warning or a challenge for other adult males in hearing distance.
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¹⁰ If injected into the bloodstream, it is possible that a small enough larva could travel throughout the body, much like a blood clot. The scale of Buck alien larvae is not defined in the movie but if they were small enough, this would absolutely be plausible. In 2021, an Australian woman ingested Ophidascaris robertsi roundworm eggs and they spread throughout her body via the bloodstream. (“Australian Woman Found With Python Parasite In Her Brain.” Australian National University, 29 August 2023. https://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/australian-woman-found-with-python-parasite-in-her-brain )
¹¹ White Bellbirds, native to the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest, have a similarly deafening mating call. Male White Bellbirds are the loudest birds on Earth, peaking out scales at roughly 126 decibels. This allows male birds to reach extreme distances in an environment that considerably dampens sound. (Podos, Jeffrey and Cohn-Haft, Mario. “Extremely loud mating songs at close range in white bellbirds.” Current Biology Volume 29, Issue 20: PR1068-R1069. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2019.09.028 or https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(19)31190-X )
Summary
While Alien Raiders may appear as a fairly standard alien slasher movie, it presents a compelling and well thought out alien species that builds and expands on alien biology featured in other media. The emergence of the Buck alien from the body of its host is reminiscent of the Chestbursters from Alien (Dir. Ridley Scott, 1979) and the high-strung tension and the mystery of “who is infected?” smacks of a similar situation in The Thing (Dir. John Carpenter, 1982). Even the grocery store setting seems to be inspired by The Mist (Steven King, 1980). Alien Raiders takes inspiration from existing sources but it does not copy them; it synthesizes elements of classic alien horror with original ideas and builds a truly unique species.
When humanity discovers life outside of Earth, will it be parasitic like the Buck aliens? Will it communicate with music like the civilization in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Dir. Steven Speilberg, 1977)? Will that life be from a different dimension like the colossal Kaiju from Pacific Rim (Dir. Guillermo Del Toro, 2013) or will it be a microscopic pathogen like the organism in The Andromeda Strain (Michael Crichton, 1969)? Until alien life is discovered, all we can do is keep our eyes to the skies and let our creativity run wild.
