Prometheus and the Fading Suns

There've been some new posts on the official Fading Suns forums since the last time I posted, but this post is not about that.

No, this post is about the upcoming movie Prometheus (by some guy named Ridley Scott -- why is that name familiar?) and how so many of the visuals, when taken out of the movie context as stills, trigger story ideas and memories of things from the Fading Suns books.

Here are just a few examples.

Interface

Could be considered a look inside one of those terraforming machines on the colonized planets of the Known Worlds.

Stoneface

Aside from the obvious Annunaki reference, it also triggers the much-repeated parallel between the Space Jockeys and the Lovecraftian Old Ones. Plus, one wonders if the repeated images of 'human' faces weren't so much a reflection of the creators, but of an 'in vogue' art style. And perhaps the creation of humans was the 'in thing' at the time.

Surface

Again, ruins of the Annunaki are often interpreted by later races in terms of their own experiences and the discovered utility of the artifacts. But what if these are just the tip of the iceberg? What if, like the Coke bottle in the movie The Gods Must Be Crazy, the hardness of the glass is only incidental to the material it's supposed to contain?

Scareface

I'm struck by the parallel between this and the sarcophagi of Ancient Egypt. Perhaps these ancient pyramidal structures were ancient space / dimension traveling devices that required the travelers to encase themselves in protective coffins complete with readouts and dials for the long travel ahead? And perhaps our own colossal monuments are pitiful cargo cult attempts to recapture that grandeur and promised immortality?

And what happens when they come back?