But the real truth is that alien life on other planets could be even stranger than floating balloons or amorphous organisms floating in layers in water. Here on Earth, we have carbon-based life forms, but would they necessarily be elsewhere in the Universe?

I could be the best pathologist on planet earth—the undisputed Sherlock Holmes of medical science, even—and I still wouldn’t have the slightest clue what the cause of death is for this particular alien corpse.

Creating a believable alien world takes more than imagination. It requires biology, environmental logic, and evolutionary pressure. The Birrin ecosystem follows scientific rules every step of the way.

The Alien franchise has been a cornerstone of the sci-fi genre since Ridley Scott unleashed the xenomorph on the world in 1979. Now, as the decades have passed, the franchise has had highs and lows and delivered some divisive ideas, like its most recent ...