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Much like the ''[[Literature/AlienOutOfTheShadows Out of the Shadows]]'' trilogy, ''The Cold Forge'' is an AdaptationExpansion that ties in more closely with the existing film canon than previous ''Alien'' novels have.
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Much like the ''[[Literature/AlienOutOfTheShadows Out of the Shadows]]'' trilogy, ''The Cold Forge'' is an AdaptationExpansion that ties in more closely with the existing film canon than previous ''Alien'' novels have. It was succeeded by "[[Literature/AlienIntoCharybdis]]'', which continues the story of Blue Marsalis.
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** No one ever finds out who let the Xenomorphs out of their kennels. The action would have required physical output to perform, and only Blue has the clearance to do so. Yet we know from her internal dialogue that she had nothing to do with it.
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** No one ever finds out who let the Xenomorphs out of their kennels. The action would have required physical output to perform, and only Blue has the clearance to do so. Yet we know from her internal dialogue that she had nothing to do with it. [[spoiler: By the end of the story, it's made clear that opposing people in Weyland-Yutani had inserted secret programming back when Cold Forge was first built... including the things necessary to command or outright hijack Marcus, whom would be in a position to use or otherwise fake the clearance required to open the kennels.]]
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[[quoteright:1000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/36475917.png]]
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* ArchEnemy: By the end of the novel, Dorian sees Blue as this. Blue does not.
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* ArchEnemy: By the end of the novel, Dorian sees and Blue eventually end up seeing each other as this. this. Dorian takes a pretty instant disliking to her, and Blue does not.doesn't particularly care for him. [[spoiler:As the situation spirals more and more out of control, the only thing that can distract Dorian from making his escape is killing Blue, because he feels he ''needs'' to kill her, ''[[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou personally]]''. Blue, after seeing Dorian beat Anne and leave her to get eaten by a Xenomorph, decides that killing Dorian is her only goal besides getting her sample and getting off the station.]]
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Seegson is in no way good in the novel, nevermind a Big Good. At best, they're just a lesser evil, and it's rather heavily implied that's only due to not being as widespread as WY.
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* BigGood: In the CrapsackWorld of the ''Alien'' franchise, Seegson is the closest we have to this. They have been actively working to take down Weyland-Yutani for decades and have successfully stymied a number of their major operations, [[spoiler:including their work on the Cold Forge]]. However, they are just as much of a corrupt megacorporation than Weyland-Yutani, with equally dubious ethics in mind. Still, their list of crimes is not near as lengthy as W-Y.
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* EvilVsEvil: While the Seegson corporation may not have the list of crimes Weyland-Yutani does, it's only for Seegson being comparatively lacking in scope. They sabotage the Cold Forge to destroy the station, the WY projects in development, and to kill all the scientists, save for Blue. Because these "material and human resources," as the Seegson reps put it, are valuable enough to WY that their loss will hurt the Company enough for Seegson to buy a seat at Weyland-Yutani's table. They're even prepared to let Blue die unless she gets the the ''plagiarus praepotens'' sample she was after. Their goal isn't to bring down Weyland-Yutani, and certainly not for any moral reasons. . . Seegson wants to be invited to the same party, and doesn't seem to care how much blood has to be spilled to earn that invite.
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* BlackSite: RB-232, "The Cold Forge", is a top secret Weyland-Yutani research outpost working on cutting edge research projects to make the Company lots of money. It also ''costs'' a lot of money, which is why Dorian Sudler is coming, to make sure the investment is worth it.
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* NoChallengeEqualsNoSatisfaction: Dorian's main character trait. He likes his job, because going through "line items" in the Company's ledgers and cutting costs (that is, firing people who aren't productive enough or costing the Company more than they're worth) is a challenging exercise, and the more money he saves the bigger his bonuses are. He likes seducing women, twisting them around to make a bad decision (sleeping with him) because he enjoys the challenge of breaking through their resistance. But if a woman comes on to him, he immediately loses interest. He's also utterly disdainful of the Company higher-ups who use their position to coerce women into sleeping with them under threat of punishment or promise of promotion, not because he has any moral objections to workplace sexual harassment, but because he considers using power in that way to be too easy, a cheat employed by those who aren't as awesomely manly as Dorian is.
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* AdmiringTheAbomination: Dorian thinks the Xenomorphs are ''exquisite'', actually at one point hoping they've broken containment just so he can see what they'll do.
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* AdmiringTheAbomination: Dorian thinks the Xenomorphs are ''exquisite'', actually at one point hoping they've broken containment just so he can see what they'll do. [[spoiler:As the novel goes on, he identifies with the "Snatchers" more and more, even attempting to emulate them when he directly kills another person for the first time.]]
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* {{Robosexual}}: Both Blue and Dorian wonder if Anne has a fetish for synthetics. Anne and Blue had a relationship with Blue piloting Marcus' synthetic body, and Dorian notes he deliberately cultivates a synthetic look.
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* IncompatibleOrientation: ZigZagged. Anne and Blue had a rather intense physical relationship, but Blue was piloting the male android Marcus. Anne doesn't really like women that way. But the real deal-breaker for Anne was the relationship getting more serious, Blue wanting Anne to be with her without Marcus, and Anne couldn't handle Blue's rapidly deteriorating health.
* MythologyGag:
** The novel borrows a few concepts from ''VideoGame/AlienIsolation'', with characters having to hide from the Xenomorphs loose on the station and attempting to set up fortified areas where they can regroup and attempt to find a way to un-fuck the situation. Much attention is paid to remaining quiet and out of sight, hiding under tables or in lockers and air vents is given focus, and at least one attempt to distract a Xenomorph by throwing a flare is made.
** As the novel progresses, [[spoiler:Dorian begins to mirror [[Literature/AliensStevePerryTrilogy General Thomas AW Spears]]. Both consider the Aliens beautiful, pure expressions of their ideals, identify with the Xenomorphs more than their fellow humans, and believe the Xenomorphs should recognize them as one of their own.]]
* {{Robosexual}}: Both Blue and Dorian wonder if Anne has a fetish for synthetics. Anne and Blue had a relationship with Blue piloting Marcus' synthetic body, and Dorian notes he deliberately cultivates a synthetic look. Anne reveals in a later chapter she was known as "synth-lover" in high school, indicating she really does have a fetish for artificial people.
* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: As the story reaches its climax, [[spoiler:Dorian begins to think this of Blue, his internal monologue stating he'd think it terribly unfitting for her to die due to a hull breach or random act of Xenomorph. ''He'' has to be involved in her death in some way, ideally face-to-face.]]
* MythologyGag:
** The novel borrows a few concepts from ''VideoGame/AlienIsolation'', with characters having to hide from the Xenomorphs loose on the station and attempting to set up fortified areas where they can regroup and attempt to find a way to un-fuck the situation. Much attention is paid to remaining quiet and out of sight, hiding under tables or in lockers and air vents is given focus, and at least one attempt to distract a Xenomorph by throwing a flare is made.
** As the novel progresses, [[spoiler:Dorian begins to mirror [[Literature/AliensStevePerryTrilogy General Thomas AW Spears]]. Both consider the Aliens beautiful, pure expressions of their ideals, identify with the Xenomorphs more than their fellow humans, and believe the Xenomorphs should recognize them as one of their own.]]
* {{Robosexual}}: Both Blue and Dorian wonder if Anne has a fetish for synthetics. Anne and Blue had a relationship with Blue piloting Marcus' synthetic body, and Dorian notes he deliberately cultivates a synthetic look. Anne reveals in a later chapter she was known as "synth-lover" in high school, indicating she really does have a fetish for artificial people.
* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: As the story reaches its climax, [[spoiler:Dorian begins to think this of Blue, his internal monologue stating he'd think it terribly unfitting for her to die due to a hull breach or random act of Xenomorph. ''He'' has to be involved in her death in some way, ideally face-to-face.]]
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* CutLexLuthorACheck: Blue is tasked by Weyland-Yutani to investigate ways to control the Xenomorphs and use them as shock troops. She's not pursuing this, she's looking into the ways they exchange genetic information, believing it's the key to curing not only her genetic disorder, but ''any'' genetic disorder. She has to keep this work secret because if the Company finds out, they'll fire her. Because such a massive medical breakthrough is ''clearly'' nowhere near as useful or profitable as monsters on a leash.
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* EvilIsPetty: Dorian is shown to love to use his position to punish people, oftentimes for no other reason that because he simply can. One example is an unfortunate doctor, whom he gets fired and blacklisted from the medical field [[DisproportionateRetribution just because he told him not to smoke.]]
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* EvilIsPetty: Dorian is shown an "Auditor," going around to love to use Weyland-Yutani facilities, finding people who are not cost-effective, and getting rid of them. While he does fire people for cause, he does take joy in trimming the dead weight, since the more money he saves the bigger his position bonus is, and does take some personal delight when he gets to punish people, oftentimes fire someone who annoyed him personally. In the opening chapter, he decides to fire a doctor who nags him about his smoking because she's been involved in lawsuits that cost the Company money. When he meets Blue, she does not show him what he considers to be the proper respect, but concludes he can't fire her for no other reason that because he simply can. One example is an unfortunate doctor, whom he gets fired and blacklisted from the medical field [[DisproportionateRetribution just because he told it'll make him not look weak. But he ''will'' find a reason to smoke.]]fire her.
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* {{Robosexual}}: Both Blue and Dorian wonder if Anne has a fetish for synthetics. Anne and Blue had a relationship with Blue piloting Marcus' synthetic body, and Dorian notes he deliberately cultivates a synthetic look.
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* BigGood: In the CrapsackWorld of the ''Alien'' franchise, Seegson is the closest we have to this. They have been actively working to take down Weyland-Yutani for decades and have successfully stymied a number of their major operations, [[spoiler:including their work on the Cold Forge]]. However, they are just as much of a corrupt megacorporation than Weyland-Yutani, with equally dubious ethics in mind. Still, ther list of crimes is not near as lengthy as W-Y.
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* BigGood: In the CrapsackWorld of the ''Alien'' franchise, Seegson is the closest we have to this. They have been actively working to take down Weyland-Yutani for decades and have successfully stymied a number of their major operations, [[spoiler:including their work on the Cold Forge]]. However, they are just as much of a corrupt megacorporation than Weyland-Yutani, with equally dubious ethics in mind. Still, ther their list of crimes is not near as lengthy as W-Y.
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* BigGood: In the CrapsackWorld of the ''Alien'' franchise, Seegson is the closest we have to this. They have been actively working to take down Weyland-Yutani for decaes and have successfully stymied a number of their major operations, [[spoiler:including their work on the Cold Forge]]. However, they are just as much of a corrupt megacorporation than Weyland-Yutani, with equally dubious ethics in mind. Still, ther list of crimes is not near as lengthy as W-Y.
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* BigGood: In the CrapsackWorld of the ''Alien'' franchise, Seegson is the closest we have to this. They have been actively working to take down Weyland-Yutani for decaes decades and have successfully stymied a number of their major operations, [[spoiler:including their work on the Cold Forge]]. However, they are just as much of a corrupt megacorporation than Weyland-Yutani, with equally dubious ethics in mind. Still, ther list of crimes is not near as lengthy as W-Y.
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* BigGood: In the Crapsack World of the ''Alien'' franchise, Seegson is the closest we have to this. They have been actively working to take down Weyland-Yutani for decaes and have successfully stymied a number of their major operations, [[spoiler:including their work on the Cold Forge]]. However, they are just as much of a corrupt megacorporation than Weyland-Yutani, with equally dubious ethics in mind. Still, ther list of crimes is not near as lengthy as W-Y.
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* BigGood: In the Crapsack World CrapsackWorld of the ''Alien'' franchise, Seegson is the closest we have to this. They have been actively working to take down Weyland-Yutani for decaes and have successfully stymied a number of their major operations, [[spoiler:including their work on the Cold Forge]]. However, they are just as much of a corrupt megacorporation than Weyland-Yutani, with equally dubious ethics in mind. Still, ther list of crimes is not near as lengthy as W-Y.
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*AmbiguousSituation:
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* AmbiguousSituation:
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* EstablishingCharacterMoment: When we're first introduced to Dorian, he's ruminating about a doctor who pesters him about not smoking, musing that maybe he should fuck her before he leaves, then deciding not to, since he has authority over her. Not because he has any qualms abusing his authority, but because it might make him look bad. Then, in his job as an "auditor," he notes she's costing the Company money because of some lawsuits, so decides to fire her. . . two weeks after he's left. The fact that she pestered him about his smoking makes him notice her name, and he admits to some satisfaction that he gets to fire her in not-quite retaliation, and decides he will try and sleep with her. Then ''she'' comes on to ''him'', and he's suddenly not interested because he's not in control, reprimands her and changes her cause of firing (still to happen in two weeks) to basically "sexual harassment." And with that, we learn everything we need to know about Dorian Sudler: a petty jerk who enjoys flexing his power.
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* CompleteMonster: ''Dorian''. The man is quite possibly the most morally reprehensible envoy of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation that has ever been introduced in ''Alien'' canon.
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''Alien: The Cold Forge'' is a novel in the ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' franchise written by Alex White. A tie-in to ''Film/{{Aliens}}'', the plot concerns [[GeniusCripple Dr. Blue Marsalis]] of the [[MegaCorp Weyland-Yutani]] research institution, RB-232. Also known as the "Cold Forge", where the company is overseeing three important projects for military applications. Including a deep-space communications system, a lethal computer virus, and, [[SarcasmMode surprise surprise]], breeding Xenomorphs!
Blue herself is overseeing the station's Xenomorph research, obsensibly to forward Weyland-Yutani's longstanding desire to weaponize the species. But Blue has her own motives, seeing the unique physiology of the aliens as a means to cure her degenerative illness. But things take a turn for the worst when the arrival of a malicious auditor sets in motion a series of events that quickly turns the Cold Forge into a bloodbath.
Much like the ''[[Literature/AlienOutOfTheShadows Out of the Shadows]]'' trilogy, ''The Cold Forge'' is an AdaptationExpansion that ties in more closely with the existing film canon than previous ''Alien'' novels have.
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!!The novels provide examples of the following tropes:
*AmbiguousSituation:
** It is never stated where exactly the Xenomorph specimens on the Cold Forge came from. The novel is set in the same year as ''Aliens'', around which time the only known Xenomorphs in the galaxy were on LV-426. However, all available specimens were wiped out, courtesy of Ellen Ripley, before Weyland-Yutani could perform a proper investigation.
** No one ever finds out who let the Xenomorphs out of their kennels. The action would have required physical output to perform, and only Blue has the clearance to do so. Yet we know from her internal dialogue that she had nothing to do with it.
* ArchEnemy: By the end of the novel, Dorian sees Blue as this. Blue does not.
* BigGood: In the Crapsack World of the ''Alien'' franchise, Seegson is the closest we have to this. They have been actively working to take down Weyland-Yutani for decaes and have successfully stymied a number of their major operations, [[spoiler:including their work on the Cold Forge]]. However, they are just as much of a corrupt megacorporation than Weyland-Yutani, with equally dubious ethics in mind. Still, ther list of crimes is not near as lengthy as W-Y.
* CompleteMonster: ''Dorian''. The man is quite possibly the most morally reprehensible envoy of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation that has ever been introduced in ''Alien'' canon.
* EvilIsPetty: Dorian is shown to love to use his position to punish people, oftentimes for no other reason that because he simply can. One example is an unfortunate doctor, whom he gets fired and blacklisted from the medical field [[DisproportionateRetribution just because he told him not to smoke.]]
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Blue herself is overseeing the station's Xenomorph research, obsensibly to forward Weyland-Yutani's longstanding desire to weaponize the species. But Blue has her own motives, seeing the unique physiology of the aliens as a means to cure her degenerative illness. But things take a turn for the worst when the arrival of a malicious auditor sets in motion a series of events that quickly turns the Cold Forge into a bloodbath.
Much like the ''[[Literature/AlienOutOfTheShadows Out of the Shadows]]'' trilogy, ''The Cold Forge'' is an AdaptationExpansion that ties in more closely with the existing film canon than previous ''Alien'' novels have.
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!!The novels provide examples of the following tropes:
*AmbiguousSituation:
** It is never stated where exactly the Xenomorph specimens on the Cold Forge came from. The novel is set in the same year as ''Aliens'', around which time the only known Xenomorphs in the galaxy were on LV-426. However, all available specimens were wiped out, courtesy of Ellen Ripley, before Weyland-Yutani could perform a proper investigation.
** No one ever finds out who let the Xenomorphs out of their kennels. The action would have required physical output to perform, and only Blue has the clearance to do so. Yet we know from her internal dialogue that she had nothing to do with it.
* ArchEnemy: By the end of the novel, Dorian sees Blue as this. Blue does not.
* BigGood: In the Crapsack World of the ''Alien'' franchise, Seegson is the closest we have to this. They have been actively working to take down Weyland-Yutani for decaes and have successfully stymied a number of their major operations, [[spoiler:including their work on the Cold Forge]]. However, they are just as much of a corrupt megacorporation than Weyland-Yutani, with equally dubious ethics in mind. Still, ther list of crimes is not near as lengthy as W-Y.
* CompleteMonster: ''Dorian''. The man is quite possibly the most morally reprehensible envoy of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation that has ever been introduced in ''Alien'' canon.
* EvilIsPetty: Dorian is shown to love to use his position to punish people, oftentimes for no other reason that because he simply can. One example is an unfortunate doctor, whom he gets fired and blacklisted from the medical field [[DisproportionateRetribution just because he told him not to smoke.]]
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