Mason Wren

"I wish you could understand what we're trying to do here. The potential for this species goes way beyond urban pacification. New alloys, new vaccines. Nothing like this we've ever seen on any world before."

―Dr. Wren, regarding the Xenomorphs (from Alien Resurrection)

Mason Wren
Biographical Information
Rank	Researcher
Affiliation	United Systems Military
Status	Deceased as of 2381
Physical Description
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Hair color	Black
Eye color	Brown
Other Information
Notable facts	Part of the team that cloned Ellen Ripley.
Portrayed by	J. E. Freeman

Doctor Mason Wren was head of a seven-man scientific team aboard the United Systems Military vessel USM Auriga that successfully cloned Ellen Ripley in order to recreate the Xenomorph XX121 species.

Wren came close to surviving the outbreak aboard the Auriga, but his continued attempts to betray the other survivors eventually led to his death aboard the Betty.

Biography

The cloning project

"He's breeding an alien species, more than dangerous, if those things get loose it's gonna make the Lacerta plague look like a fucking square dance!"

―Call, regarding Wren's work (from Alien Resurrection)

Wren was in overall charge of the project to recreate the Xenomorph species by cloning Ellen Ripley and, with her, the Xenomorph Queen incubating within her chest at the time of her death on Fiorina "Fury" 161. After 10 years of exhaustive experimentation, 2 of which were conducted aboard the USM Auriga, Wren's team finally succeeded in creating an apparently perfect recreation of Ripley.

Originally, Wren had intended to dispose of the clone, known as Ripley 8, as soon as the Queen inside had been surgically removed, but at the last minuted he relented and had Dr. Sprague close Ripley 8' incisions so that she may be kept alive for further study. When Ripley 8 awoke during the procedure and shattered Sprague's arm, Wren was forced to heavily sedate the clone to end the attack.

Ripley 8

"You're going to make us all very proud."

―Wren, to Ripley 8 (from Alien Resurrection)

While the Auriga's commander, General Perez, initially disagreed with Wren's decision to spare Ripley 8, he ultimately left the matter in the lead scientist's hands. Even though Wren was attacked during a routine assessment of Ripley 8's physical health, he had become fascinated by the clone and elected not to have her destroyed as a result. Wren also oversaw the growth of the Queen and the impregnation of the kidnapped civilians delivered by the crew of the Betty. Once the Cloned Xenomorphs had matured, he seemed to leave much of the work studying them to Dr. Gediman, Dr. Williamson and Dr. Clauss, focusing himself on observing Ripley 8's development.

Taken hostage

Wren later caught Annalee Call attempting to sabotage the Xenomorph breeding program, and confronted the Betty crew over the issue, intending to have them executed for aiding this "terrorist". However, the smugglers rebelled and killed most of the soldiers accompanying Wren, taking the doctor and surviving soldier Distephano hostage. At the same time, the Xenomorphs escaped their holding cells and quickly overran the ship, leaving Wren and the others stranded. Wren was spared in the hopes he may be able to help the survivors escape.

Wren later seized a chance to escape, shooting Call and trapping the others in a lift shaft with a Xenomorph Drone. He attempted to make it to the Betty alone, hoping to escape the ship and guide it back to Earth, where his research could continue. However, he was thwarted when Call, revealed to be an Auton, accessed the Auriga's central computer and blocked his access to the Betty.

Death

"Nobody moves, or I put a cap right where this little droid's brain is."

―Wren to the Betty crew, regarding Call (from Alien Resurrection)

Wren somehow survived and found an alternate route to the Betty, confronting the survivors once again as they prepared to escape. As he threatened them, Larry Purvis, one of the original civilians impregnated with a Chestburster who had been picked up by the other survivors, viciously attacked him, beating him brutally before holding the doctor's head to his chest. The birthing Chestburster consequently punched clean through Wren's skull, erupting from his face and killing him instantly.

Personality and Traits

"This little synthetic bitch is gonna plug into the Auriga, and she is gonna take us right back to home base, according to the standard emergency procedures."

―Wren, taking Call hostage (from Alien Resurrection)

Even by the standards of the scientific team aboard the Auriga, Wren was an almost totally immoral man, willing to sacrifice innocent civilians and everyone else aboard the Auriga for the furtherance of science without a moment's thought. Even once the Cloned Xenomorphs had escaped and begun slaughtering people aboard the vessel, he still fully intended to continue the project once the ship reached Earth, despite the quite obvious danger to the planet this represented. He would often fake concern for other people's well-being, when in fact he was willing to betray anyone around him at a moment's notice if he thought it would help him achieve his goals, even if it meant betraying those who might otherwise have helped him survive.

Wren also suffered from an inflated superiority complex, considering himself superior to everyone else aboard the Auriga, even his own science team and the Xenomorphs themselves. This was most obviously manifested in the supremely smug manner he adopted when talking to others, particularly Ripley 8 and the survivors of the Betty. This confidence and faith in the security of the Xenomorph project largely blinded him to the very real dangers involved.

Trivia

Xenomorph numbers

A notable plot hole in the film revolves around Wren informing the survivors that there are twelve Xenomorphs remaining when asked how many more of the creatures exist. However, he could not possibly know this with any certainty at the time he says it. Prior to this point, one Xenomorph is killed by the others to start the breakout, one or possibly two are killed by Dom Vriess in the cargo hold, one is blown up by General Perez in an escape pod and one is killed by Ripley 8 just before the question is asked. The only one of these Wren could conceivably be aware of is the one killed by Ripley 8, as he was being held in the recreation hall while the other Alien deaths occurred and no one informed the characters there of what was happening.

Assuming Wren took the one Xenomorph killed by Ripley 8 into account when he gave twelve as the remaining number, there must have been thirteen Xenomorphs originally. However, we only see eight kidnapped civilians being delivered by the crew of the Betty, not to mention one of these has to be Larry Purvis, whose Chestburster does not hatch until the end of the movie. This would mean there are only three or possibly even just two Drones (depending on how many Vriess killed) left on board the Auriga when Wren is asked the question. Yet he thinks there are twelve.

Of course, an obvious answer is that there are simply more kidnapped civilians brought on board than the audience ever sees on screen. Indeed, the novelization of the film makes it clear that the Betty crew have to make multiple trips from their ship to the labs to deliver all of the captive cryotubes, and that there are 20 of them in total. However, even this number does not add up, as twenty minus the Xenomorphs we see killed would equal fifteen (or fourteen), not twelve, not to mention Wren cannot possibly be aware of most of these losses. In the novel, Wren simply responds by saying that his team originally bred 20 Xenomorphs, which is a far more sensible (and logical) answer to give.

Appearances

• Alien Resurrection/novel/comic