Jonathan Clemens[3] was a former inmate at the Fiorina "Fury" 161 Class C Work Correctional Unit. Although he completed his sentence at the prison, he stayed when the facility was officially closed down by Weyland-Yutani, becoming the chief medical officer to several inmates that likewise decided not to leave. He was killed by a lone Xenomorph that was born in the prison in 2179.
After Ellen Ripley arrived at the facility, she and Clemens became close, eventually sleeping together. Clemens was later killed by the Xenomorph in the infirmary where he worked.
Biography
Early life and imprisonment
Jonathan Clemens was born on October 10, 2128 in Redditch, Worcestershire UK/EU.
Clemens was a gifted student at medical school, with a particular aptitude for recombinant synthetic chemistry.[4] He graduated in the top 5% of his class[5] and was considered "most promising", despite the fact he had secretly become addicted to morphine. His addiction remained undiscovered and apparently under control, and he began his first residency in due course. During this placement, Clemens endured a 36-hour shift in an emergency room, after which he celebrated and ended up getting heavily drunk. A boiler explosion at a fuel plant led to his being recalled to hospital, where Clemens, in his intoxicated state, prescribed an incorrect does of painkiller, leading to the deaths of eleven of the thirty casualties of the accident.
As a result of his negligence, Clemens was sentenced to seven years incarceration on Fiorina 161 for manslaughter, and his medical license was reduced to a 3-C rating, ruining him professionally.[3] However, he did successfully overcome his morphine addiction whilst in prison. Although he served his full sentence and was eligible for release, a combination of attachment to the inmates he had come to know and a realization that he would likely never find employment as a doctor anywhere else led Clemens to stay on Fiorina as the prison's medical officer. When the facility was closed down and several inmates elected to stay, Clemens remained with them.
Encountering Ripley
- "Where are the others?"
"They didn't make it."
"What?"
"They didn't survive." - ―Ripley and Clemens, discussing the fate of the other Hadley's Hope survivors (from Alien3)
When Ripley's EEV crashed on Fiorina 161, it was Clemens who, as the prison's sole medical staff, tended to her injuries and nursed her back to health. When she regained consciousness, it was Clemens who informed her that both Newt and Corporal Hicks had perished in the EEV crash (although, unbeknownst to him, Hicks was actually alive, and Turk had died in his place). Confronted by this revelation, Ripley demanded to be shown the EEV wreckage, and Clemens duly escorted her there, informing her of how her companions had perished — Newt had drowned in her cryotube while Hicks had been impaled by a support beam. Unsatisfied, Ripley further requested Clemens carry out an autopsy on Newt's corpse, which, despite his reservations, he performed, declaring afterwards that evidence indicated she had indeed drowned. Almost immediately Superintendent Andrews confronted Clemens about performing such a procedure without first notifying him, but Clemens managed to explain the situation in a manner that made his actions appear necessary, despite clearly being at odds with Ripley's story.
When Ripley was forced to shave her head and body to defend against the lice that plagued Fiorina, Clemens stood guard outside to ensure none of the inmates troubled her. As he continued spending time with her, he also explained a little of the prison colony's history. Shared feelings of affection and loneliness meant that they eventually ended up sleeping together.
Suspicions and death
Clemens was later called to the scene of Murphy's death, along with Andrews and Aaron, and while Andrews was satisfied that it had been a simple accident, Clemens was less sure. A distinctive burn mark he located nearby in the vent shaft, caused the the Dragon's acid blood, further fuelled his suspicions. He confronted Ripley with this information, convinced that she was keeping the truth from him, and while she would not explain her fears he agreed to help her as best he could. His continued closeness to Ripley only served to further degrade his already fragile relationship with Andrews, who disapproved strongly.
When the disturbed inmate Golic was accused of murdering Boogs and Rains, two more victims of the Dragon, he was restrained by Clemens, Andrews, Aaron and Dillon and taken to the infirmary. His story of a "dragon" that killed the prisoners was met with scorn, at least until Ripley confirmed it, at the same time confirming Clemens' suspicions that she had been hiding something. Despite pleading with Andrews, the warden confined her to the infirmary alongside Golic. While there, Clemens explained to her how he came to be on Fiorina 161, including the incident that resulted in his incarceration. Ripley declared that she still trusted him, but at that moment the Dragon attacked, having entered the infirmary through the overhead ventilation shafts, and killed Clemens with a Headbite before fleeing with his body.
Personality and Traits
Clemens was something of an outsider who preferred to be left alone.[6] In fact, beyond his official capacity as the prison's medical officer, he rarely interacted with either the inmates or the limited staff on Fiorina 161.[7] He would often go for walks by himself on the planet's surface, when the weather allowed this.[8] Despite his preference for solitude, he had a particularly frictious relationship with Andrews, who viewed Clemens as "insolent, possibly dangerous", a situation that only deteriorated as Clemens became more involved with Ripley.
Despite initially treating Ripley as nothing more than a patient, the two quickly became close, largely as a result of Ripley's direct advances. Clemens remarked that both of them had been out in space for a long time, and their union was no doubt a direct result of this loneliness. While on Fiorina, Clemens used his knowledge of chemistry to distil alcohol for his own personal consumption, using a machine for generating medicinal alcohol that he had reprogrammed.[4] While strictly against the rules, he managed to hide this activity from both Andrews and the other prisoners.
Trivia
- Clemens' addiction to morphine shares similarities with Kane from Alien, who was also ruined professionally by an addiction to medication as part of his backstory.
- Clemens is something of an amalgamation of characters found in the unproduced scripts written for Alien3. He is chiefly based on Packard from David Twohy's script, who, like Clemens, was a medical officer at a prison facility, but also shares many traits with Brother John from Vincent Ward's script.
Appearances
Gallery
References
- ↑ Vincent Ward (writer) and David Fincher (director). Alien3 (2003), 20th Century Fox [DVD].
- ↑ Alien3 (comic) Issue 1
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Alien 3 Collectible CardArt - 60. Clemens
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Alan Dean Foster. Alien3 novelization, p. 89 (1992), Warner Books, Inc..
- ↑ Alan Dean Foster. Alien3 novelization, p. 150 (1992), Warner Books, Inc..
- ↑ Alan Dean Foster. Alien3 novelization, p. 82 (1992), Warner Books, Inc..
- ↑ Alan Dean Foster. Alien3 novelization, p. 20 (1992), Warner Books, Inc..
- ↑ Vincent Ward (writer) and David Fincher (director). Alien3 Assembly Cut (2003), 20th Century Fox [DVD].