MU / TH / UR
The artificial intelligence mainframe computer, nicknamed MOTHER, aboard several ships.
MU/TH/UR, commonly called MOTHER, is a fictional artificial intelligence in the Alien and Predator franchises. The character has been voiced by multiple actors across various media and is often analyzed through feminist theory.
Quick Facts
- Field
- Artificial intelligence
Facts from the source article.
Fictional character biography
In Alien (1979), MOTHER aboard the Nostromo awakens the crew prematurely to investigate a signal from a derelict ship. The Nostromo's self-destruction destroys MOTHER's memory of the events. Predator: Concrete Jungle explores MOTHER's origins: the human Isabella Borgia, after extending her lifespan with Yautja blood, founded Borgia Industries and built Neonopolis with her son Hunter. Her biological core became the first MOTHER supercomputer governing Neonopolis. In Alien: Covenant (2017), MOTHER aboard the Covenant provides analytics and rejects an order to lower altitude dangerously, requiring override by Tennessee and Upworth. She detects an Alien aboard and provides location information to surviving crew. In Alien: Romulus (2024), MOTHER appears on the connected vessels Romulus and Remus. In Alien: Earth (2025), cyborg Morrow contacts MOTHER on the Maginot.
Reception
MOTHER is commonly psychoanalyzed as complementary to feminist theory. Barbara Creed's The Monstrous-Feminine perceives MOTHER as complementary to the archaic mother theme in the 1979 film, citing the crew awakened by a figure called MOTHER in a womb-like room without a father figure, with the directive to provide life support. In Beyond the Stars, MOTHER is presented as the central focus for a mother ship, maintaining intimate connection with the crew and providing a womb-like computer module for sensitive communication.
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