Though mysterious and unknown for a long time, the ‘Roswell aliens’ portrayed in the X-Files did not remain monolithic characters with no discernable personalities or reasons for their actions. Instead, through encounters with the aliens or their proxies, we began to see and understand more of their social characteristics and the goals they’ve set as a society. Just like their integrated biology which goes in stages, so too are the interactions of the group
| Grays – The final stage “adult” aliens are comparable to humans in terms of their society in that they have individual identities, reasoning ability, the capacity for abstract thought and communication, and a defined place within a larger hierarchical alien culture. This can be seen as a true reflection of alien society. The other stages of alien life exhibit very different traits which can be seen as leading up to the entrance into but not affecting the larger alien culture that exists:
Viral stage – The black oil on its own has little reasoning intelligence, but exists largely as an animate life form seeking to invade a host. It is important to note, however, that once inside a human host, the virus does seem driven to act in the interest of the plans of the larger alien society. This probably occurs due to the interaction of the virus, the intellectual capacity it gains through the host, and the transmitted control of fully grown alien beings themselves. Predatory stage – As a newly emerged second stage life form, the alien possesses little more than a predatory instinct without any concept of a larger purpose beyond its own survival. It remains solitary. Little greens – At the third stage, the alien begins to exhibit a more reasoning intelligence and is involved in the plans and projects of colonization. However, something childlike can still be detected in its movements and reactions. Moreover, the aliens in this stage almost always travel and act in a large group. One can assume, therefore, that there is not much individualization of the alien beings at this stage. Hierarchy and division – There exists a division of labor in all of alien society, though it is not clear if personal interests or biological imperatives are the driving force behind it. The aliens have a very serious social code (no sense of fun or recreation) and a strict code of honor (including dying with one’s “true face”). There is also a sense of superiority with a ban on “diluting” the race in unsanctioned hybridization experiments. There are clearly leaders directing plans for every member of society which they enforce with brutal force but no reference is every made to one supreme leader or dictator. The aliens possess technological and biological skills and are able to interact with other species with both telepathic and vocal communication, but they do not do so freely or openly. Civil war The aliens do not have an entirely harmonious society. It seems there is a majority in power who do not want any of their members to be living on Earth and interacting with humans independently—presumably because doing so would upset the larger “plan” of colonization and is distasteful to their perceived superiority to humankind. Despite this fact, there are many members of the race who insist on rebelling by seeking to carry out plans in their own way or to try to live independent of their society. Accordingly, many factions have developed and the ruling powers have had to develop mercenaries willing to seek and destroy those not complying with the majority rule. This has led to a civil war among the aliens which is far from resolved. Human replacements – The aliens referred to as “human replacements” or “super-soldiers” are a bit of an anomaly. They seem to have arisen from genetic manipulation of alien and human DNA and may either be working with the dominant factions in the society of grays by policing against unauthorized outliers (a stronger version of the bounty hunters) or working against them towards their own version of colonization. Either way, they are cold, ruthless killers but perhaps by training rather than nature since some (like McMahon) turn against their own to help humankind. Despite their genetic make-up, they seem to find alien-human hybridization as an abomination. |