<transcript>

(In the Infirmary of the Nostromo)

1.(Science officer 'Brash' —who not only looks, but seems even less than up to his job, winces as Ripley (?) tries to get a grip on the back of the Facehugger with her thumb and fingers) "How c'n you touch that thing?" he asks her, squeamishly. "I don't like doing it either!" she assures him.
2. (She then tries pulling it off with huge metal pincers, and blood runs down Kane's cheek.) "No!" shouts 'Brash' "Stop, you've torn his cheek!" Ripley lets go. "That does it. If that thing comes off—Kane's face'll come wi' it." she says to him with a Yorkshire accent? "I agree. Let the machine work on him." 'Brash' urges.
3. (A button is pushed, and Kane's bed slides back into a sort the Autodoc machine.) 'SKAK'

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"Kane's face'll come wi' it!" [15]

Blimey - Ripley's a Yorkshire lass! How did I miss that? I wrote this entry - published it earlier this evening and only just noticed that daft bit of dialogue. Where they hell did I get this stuff?

Aye, it's right strange is that. Easy does it with them pincers lass.

I'll asking your extra indulgence on some pages readers ("What! More? the nerve of this guy...). There are a small number that are drawn in red biro, which makes for more difficult viewing. I sympathise. It amazes me when I see how eager I was to get creating back then. Kids will use anything - red biro - cereal boxes - the cardboard you'd get inside a brand new shirt... the latter where especially nice with biro. Smooooth.

Squeamish Ash

"How -
c'n you touch that thing?

Science officer Ash

He's still steadfastly keeping his hands by his sides - and leaving it to Ripley. I thought sciencey types were the ones who actually liked dissecting the earthworms in science class?

I remember a funny episode in biology class in Naas Vocational School in County Kildare around 1984 - a few years after this page would have been drawn. The late Johnny O'Sullivan - my favourite teacher ever - so funny - brought some live earthworms into the lab. It was a mixed class, boys and girls. And sure enough, Johnny gave us the dreaded news that we were to dissect the poor things. He dropped them into a flask of formaldehyde or some damn thing and told us to take one each - once they'd died. You could say that I'm squeamish about worms, snakes, eels and just about anything that has no limbs and wriggles. You could say that. Phobic would be more accurate.

Anyway, the flask was stood on a desk occupied mainly by girls - not my desk thankfully. No one moved. Most didn't want to do it and some preferred to watch from a distance just to laugh at the girls as they shrank sideways and squealed.

My friend Martin Corcoran - now Dr. Corcoran - suddenly, in a flash of witty inspiration, came out with the best ever spontaneous line: