- "Hell in space."
- ―Deegan, regarding Charon Base (from Aliens: Rogue)
Charon Base was a remote deep space research complex established by the Z.C.T. Corporation[1] and run by Professor Ernst Kleist. Located within a remote asteroid, it was the main facility for Z.C.T.'s advanced Xenomorph research, and in particular the company's top-secret Project Chimera. As such, it was the site where Kleist created the Rogue. The complex was destroyed following a disastrous Xenomorph outbreak that claimed the lives of most of its inhabitants.
History[]
Charon Base began life as a vast penal work camp housing more than 2,000 of the most dangerous criminals from Earth.[2] Situated inside a small rocky asteroid, the convicts sent there would be put to work digging miles of (largely useless) subterranean tunnels, sometimes up to fifteen or twenty levels deep.[1] Most of the convicts interred at the camp died there, their bodies simply left in bunks carved into the walls of the tunnels as they fell. The extremely dry, cold air mummified the corpses, preserving them well for years after the prison camp closed down.
The penal facility was eventually purchased by the Z.C.T. Corporation and turned into the main research base for their top-secret Project Chimera, under the supervision of Professor Kleist. To this end, a section of the underground tunnel network was sealed off and a small group of Xenomorphs, five adult Drones and a single Queen, were introduced and allowed to start a Hive. Adjacent to the Hive, the section of the complex that previously housed the prison camp's facilities was upgraded into the main civilian area of the base, replete with habitation, leisure and laboratory areas.[3] Some 1,500 scientists, civilians and other hired hands were moved into the facility,[4] along with a platoon of Colonial Marines under the command of Sergeant Green, there to provide security.
Unbeknownst to many of the facility's inhabitants, Charon Base was also fitted with a vast secret surveillance network as part of its upgrade. This included cameras and hidden microphones covering virtually the entire complex, allowing Kleist to spy on its inhabitants at will.[5]
During a Xenomorph outbreak and a Marine/inhabitants uprising, Professor Kleist accidentally overload his Sound Cannon, the detonation destroying the complex and killing everyone still inside — except for Kleist himself, who somehow escaped before the explosion.
Trivia[]
- In Greek mythology, Charon is the ferryman who transports the dead into the underworld. One of the rivers across which he carries the newly deceased is Acheron, the name of which was previously used in the Alien franchise for the planetoid seen in Alien and Aliens (although this name is never mentioned in the films themselves). The connection between the name Charon and the concept of Hell is referenced in the story when Deegan refers to the asteroid as "Hell in space". Greek history and mythology are a recurring point of reference in the Alien franchise; other notable examples include the moon Acheron, the ships Archimedes and Anesidora, the novels Alien: River of Pain and Alien: Into Charybdis, and references to the Titan Prometheus in both Prometheus Tech and the film Prometheus.
- Charon is the name of a real moon that orbits the dwarf planet Pluto. However, this does not appear to be the intended location of Charon Base, as the novel Aliens: Rogue describes the complex as being located within a rocky asteroid orbiting a yellow star in an elliptical orbit.
Appearances[]
- Aliens: Rogue/novel
- Alien: The Roleplaying Game (mentioned only)
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sandy Schofield. Aliens: Rogue, p. 6 (1995), Bantam Spectra.
- ↑ Sandy Schofield. Aliens: Rogue, p. 70 (1995), Bantam Spectra.
- ↑ Sandy Schofield. Aliens: Rogue, p. 7 (1995), Bantam Spectra.
- ↑ Sandy Schofield. Aliens: Rogue, p. 43 (1995), Bantam Spectra.
- ↑ Sandy Schofield. Aliens: Rogue, p. 18 (1995), Bantam Spectra.