Meaning of the following quotes?

I think this is where Lindelof says that the movie has all the answers in it, we just got to look harder.

Maybe i think he means the main clues are not visual on screen but actually in the various comments made by the crew members, every little hint could be a massive clue spelled out for us.

From things like when Holloway says "just another Tomb" to the Mural Door.

Davids Big Things, and one must destroy to create and in fact maybe David is the one who actually provides us many of the clues. 

Shaws comments about the Infection and Outbreak when we do not get shown in any detail what happened.

Janeks comments about the Weapons Facility and how he and a colleague had to destroy a place on Earth because some guy spilled something...

Well those are more obvious audio clues, but there could be many more obscure ones like the Weyland saying there is nothing, these may be answers and clues but are more ambigious.

ya...Right!?

I can remember a thread created just after the release of Prometheus that asked this very question, but unfortunately, i can't remember what the thread's title was.

So, i assumed then, as i do now, that Weyland and David were referring to the after-life. Why did i and other members assume this?

Well, because what else could they be referring too other than that? There certainly IS SOMETHING in that temple on LV223! So they must be referring to something else.

We also have the speech by Weyland to the crew of the Prometheus where he asks the questions; "Why are we here? What is our purpose? Where do we go when we die?" 

I think that Weyland can see where he is heading just before he dies and he knows there is nothing. But why does David say, "I know?" He shouldn't know, he has no soul.

Maybe Weyland doesn't have a soul? 

Also, does what Weyland say just before he dies have a connection to what David says near the beginning of the film, just before they land on the surface of LV223?

David says "THERE IS NOTHING in the desert and no man needs nothing?" i.e. Man needs something.

^^The Engineers are "mortal after all" so they need something too.. "There's nothing" refers to the immortality Weyland thought the Engineers possessed but it could also refer to nihilism, or the soul/afterlife ideas. Some Nihilists believe in the concept of the soul, others don't. Bringing us back to Nietzsche, who Weyland quotes before taking the stage at the TEDtalk.

some of the lines potentially have multiple meanings, and David makes a very wise choice of words, even when he claims he made a "poor choice of words", to force us towards one interpretation or another...When he actually means both meanings...Sometimes lying about one of them, using Orwellian double speak to get away with things. He lies when he says "I didn't know you had it in you" (about the Alien), but gets away with the lie by claiming to refer to her survival skills. One example of how David uses his words to deceive but there are others..

The aerial survey might have revealed to David that there weren't enough resources for it to be the home planet. "No man needs nothing" could also indicate that every man in the universe needs some sort of energy. There's also something that makes David run, even if Vickers can't find it. This android eats...

Weyland might be a little bit of a Nihilist because of the possible double meanings with "nothing" and how it relates to the afterlife/soul ideas. Weyland's connections to Neitzsche in the virals could show that he shares some beliefs with nihilism. He would believe that the universe was created "out of nothing". We might project our own thoughts onto what happens after we die, everyone has a different name for it, Different beliefs about the afterlife, Weyland thought he was perceving the "nothing" spoken of by nihilists. We fill it with our own perceptions, like the chemical rush released in the biran that makes some people see the light during near-death experiences. Maybe Weyland filled the abyss he was descending into with his own subconscious beliefs and expectations, so he perceived that there was "nothing". The Hammerpede regrew its own head, which would be an amazing trait to have.. fifield and millburn were the only ones present to perceive it doing this..unless someone goes back through the camera footage..

@HiveMinded; quote "The liine "there's nothing" refers to the immortality Weyland thought the Engineers possessed, but it could also refer to Nihilism. Bringing us back to Nietzche, who Weyland quotes to himself before taking the stage at the TEdtalk." - HiveMinded.

Do you know something that the rest of us don't? Are you "well informed?"

The way i see it is as follows:

David says "THERE IS NOTHING in the desert and no man needs nothing." Just before the Prometheus lands on LV223.

Then, near the end, Weyland say's "There is nothing." To which David replies, "I know, have a good journey, Mr Weyland."

I think (assume) that these lines are very telling. What they suggest is that if there is nothing for man, then man will create. Like an oasis in a desert.

And what does man create best?

Death and destruction!

Ignore that last comment, i'm drunk!

Time for a Doner kebab!!!

It's quite possible the line holds many meanings

It could apply to all of the above. There could be triple or even quadruple meanings to lines such as this, and "Big things have small beginnings". Those two lines and the trick line come directly from Lawrence of Arabia. Lawrence of Arabia is important, because it forms a large part of David's thinking

Holloway calls David not a "real boy", a Pinocchio reference. When David claims he made a "poor choice of words" it's because he almost lied...He can't tell a complete lie ("it wasn't the air"), when he wants to remain silent he's forced to make general/ambiguous statements that could mean different things.

You said: "What they suggest is that if there is nothing for man, then man will create. Like an oasis in a desert."

I totally agree that this is one of the intended meanings.

That's actually a brilliant interpretation. Man is constantly transforming his environment to suit his needs. Projecting his ideal image onto the landscape. Creating things in man's own image. Weyland started "building better worlds", he said "if there's no air, we'll make it", we'll transform the atmosphere to suit our purposes etc. Terraforming the planet until it's productive. Every species is constantly consuming and producing, even microorganisms. We're always undergoing metabolic processes of transformation just beneath the surface.

There are some organisms that act as decomposers, involved in the process of death. Decomposers aid in nutrient cycling to enrich the soil. Death is part of "the natural order of things". "Sometimes to create one must first destroy". Sometimes things can be created out of inanimate materials. The environment shapes us and we shape it. Weyland stopped the polar ice caps from melting in the viral. He created androids "out of nothing". Holloway hints that the Engineers were terraforming.They might have needed oxygen. Every species interacts with or transforms its environment to suit their particular needs. The Alien is a "perfect organism" according to Ash. It's better at transforming its surroundings through natural means, the hive walls etc.

I would like to know what the phrase 'hands off' means. Any one know?

Well here is my interpretation of that scene and its actually quite simple...

There seems only one major reason why Weyland wanted to travel to LV 223, and that is because he knows he is dying he thinks the clues that Shaw and Holloway found will lead them to Mankinds creators, and in doing so, if these beings created us then maybe they can gift Weyland either Imortality or at very least increase his life capacity.

Its exactly the thing Weyland asked of the Engineer before the Engineer used Davids head to kill Weyland.

So when Weyland says "theres nothing" he means as far as nothing that can not be done to grant Weyland Eternal Life!

When David says "i know" he has figured out that these Engineers would not grant Weyland his wish and indeed they are also not Immortal themselves.

When David says "have a nice journey" his words are to comfort Weyland as now Weyland in death will find out if there is life after death!   David may not know if there is such a thing or not, and that at very least its what some Humans choose to believe.

David could also be sarcastic....in that comment.

And ultimately Weyland would now find out if there is life after death or not, but in this life at that point there is Nothing for Weyland. No extention of Life and No more Life itself.

@pulserifle187 - I thought he said "hands up".  But either way, with the way they are positioned (and with outstretched arms), it could be to resemble the crucifixtion of Jesus and the 2 thieves on Golgatha (a sacrifice).

Also, when Holloway "sacrifices" himself, he stands with outstretched arms as well.

All of which, along with some of the dialog discussed in this thread, I think was done intentionally to elude to religious overtones and the "afterlife".

"There is nothing" refers to the entire film...it has no meaning :D . And as for the second quote that was one of the most cringeworthy moments I've ever seen delete it!

But seriously the weyland one was about there being no God but it was very sort sighted as it was about the engineers. And the second one was just about they knew they would die an incredibly cheesy Crap line :( . Nothing more nothing less..No tea leaf reading please :p

@BigDave

I like your interpretation because it is simple, is consistent with dialog and events, and requires no assumptions, double talk or hidden meanings.   

The “ I know “ quote has fascinated me for a while now.  It has got me wondering if David has observed someone die through the dream visor. If that is so, is the fact that Shaw holds some deeper fascination for David because she is a believer and he has not observed a believer die through the visor. This makes me wonder if more of the engineers were alive by the time David got to them.

Well a lot of my theories and replies are going for a more simple route... 

I think they may have been a lot of comments on how Prometheus was hard to explain and understand, and Lindeloffs writting style is very complicated, sometimes very clever but too clever and confusing.

So yeah i sometimes think the simple answers are the best lol...

I do think the sequel would try to not be as vague or clever or deep in some of the elements,  Hivemind has a lot of deep thoughts and ideas about some elements that revolve around David and Kings Reign then he dies and even clonning.  And while some of them are fascinating i am not sure they would go that deep as it would take up too much movie time unless we are going to have like 4-5 hours of movie over the next 1-2 parts, even then some of his ideas and mine well would not fit in such a movie run time lol.

So yeah i think maybe there is nothing as in there is nothing that Weyland can gain from the mission as far as his Agenda to be granted longer life or be made imortal.

@Batchpool

Or was it our David?

With multiple Davids, can we rule out that Weyland Company have sent down some Androids before hand?  Doubtfull but we can not be so sure...

We see there are Chest Busted Engineer Cryo Pods apart from the Last Engineer, but surely for how short a period David in that temple to when we see him go back there, is not enough time for this to a had happened.  infact you can see the Cryo Pods had already had holes in them before David Activates the Controll Chair and Hollogram.

And i dont think David had got to LV 223 before hand, then turned the ship back to then come back again to make it look like they only just got there. i am sure Janek would have noticed in the Ships Data Logs, but hey David could maybe alter them and cover his tracks.

But i dont by this for one reason, as David looked bemused and Intrigued once he had discovered the control panel and chair, even though he is a Android i dont get the impression by his actions that this is something he has already done or seen...

@ Big Dave

 I agree that it is highly unlikely that David has been to LV223 before. Also whilst there is evidence that points to the Engineers cryopods being damaged, my point is whether there was more than one survivor originally. Could there have been maybe one more survivor that David may have killed in an attempt to revive possibly. A trial run so to speak.

One thing I have noticed about Alien and Prometheus is that there appears to be a kind of hindsight knowledge known only to the robots/androids such as Ash and David. The quote “I know” imo is a recurrence of that hindsight thing that they seem to have. It is hard to put my finger on it, and every time I’ve tried to chase it, it just seems impossible to grasp hold of long enough to nail it.

I think what david meant  with the 'I know' statement. He knows the paradise no longer exists, either permanently or temporarily.

I think what david meant  with the 'I know' statement. He knows the paradise no longer exists, either permanently or temporarily.

It's been a long time since I last posted but I check the site almost every day.

"There is nothing in the desert & no man needs nothing" . I have always thought that this is a direct comment on our own limitations to only see our immediate needs. Thus, to a man, the desert appears barren and devoid of supporting life. However, deserts teem with life.  Life finds alternative ways to survive & multiply. Just because man sees nothing of use or food sources or of any interest, does not mean that life cannot exist there. I believe that David is telling us that just because humans can detect no life signs or radio signals does not mean that there is no life . He is more open minded to the fact that life can exist in many forms. The opposite of this quote would be "There is something in the desert and non-human life needs something".

just found this thread. I think weyland is saying there is nothing for them on lv223 as he has not yet passed to the afterlife to comment that there is nothing, plus david says have a good journey which suggests to me weyland hasn't passed on just yet. in the original spaihts script, david saw things we cant due to his advanced optics. the engineers can also see these blooms/ flows of energy. I think they may have kept this part in the script yet don't make it obvious to the viewer.