Walter One

When one note is wrong, it ends up destroying the whole symphony, David. WALTER TO DAVID 8 (FROM ALIEN: COVENANT) Walter One was a synthetic Walter model and crew member assigned to the Weyland-Yutani Corporation colony ship USCSS Covenant for its voyage to Origae-6. Following a disaster that damaged the Covenant and the discovery of a mysterious planet, Walter was part of an expedition team that went to investigate. While on this world, Walter met his progenitor and doppelganger David, and was forced to act when David threatened the Covenant crew.

Biography Development Following the disappearance of the Prometheus expedition in 2094 and the resulting failure of Weyland Corp, the newly formed Weyland-Yutani Corporation scrambled to ensure that the Walter series would not be rushed, unlike the David model that accompanied the lost ship. This, however, came with the caveat that a functional unit was required in time to join the expedition aboard the Weyland-Yutani colony ship USCSS Covenant in 2103. Initial development of the Walter One therefore proceeded according to schedule,[5] with the unit initially being produced around the year 2100 with the designation 37WYS.[1] However, department head Loess Steinmetz continually delayed Walter's progress towards being declared capable; his stated concern lay with Walter's neural links, inherited from the David series, and the perceived flaws that were present in the specific David unit that had been sent with the Prometheus expedition. Steinmetz negotiated with the company for another week to resolve the issue and redoubled his efforts.[5] At some point, Walter was taken to a Weyland-Yutani facility on the moon of Phobos, where his fear response, or lack thereof, was rigorously tested. [1]

Completed, Walter was brought aboard the Covenant by Steinmetz along with project technicians Elena Harbison and Gilead. During their first meeting, chief terraformer Katherine Daniels was surprised by the degree of human-likeness Walter seemed to possess. She gave the synth a tour of the ship; during this time, Walter promised Daniels that he would never let her down.[5] After the Covenant left Earth orbit, Walter gave Daniels a brief check-up as the crew began preparing to undergo cryosleep. He gave her instructions on what medications to take and when it would be advisable to administer them. During the following dinner, Walter struck Upworth on the back to prevent her from choking. Daniels later gave a speech to the crew, to which Walter offered a smile. [6]

One year into the Covenant's voyage, during a solar recharge cycle, Walter was performing inspections of the ship's cryosleep bay, embryo storage [2] and greenhouse [7] when the ship's Mother computer alerted him to an upcoming cosmic event. Moments later, shockwaves from a stellar ignition struck the Covenant and caused severe damage. Most of the crew were extricated by their hypersleep pods' emergency release systems, but unfortunately Captain Jacob Branson's pod malfunctioned and he was incinerated inside. Daniels, his wife, was devastated by his loss. She later confided in Walter, telling him how they would build a cabin upon arrival at Origae-6. Executive Officer Chris Oram then assumed command of the ship. When the crew met on the bridge, Walter explained the nature of the event that had struck the ship.[2] In their attempts to repair the ship, the crew intercepted a rogue transmission. Walter traced it to a nearby planet that appeared to support life. Oram decided it was worth investigating, and the Covenant was redirected to search it. Walter accompanied an expeditionary detachment led by Oram, traveling to the planet's surface aboard Lander One. Upon landing, Walter was dispatched to collect air and water samples, and declared conditions safe for human presence. Walter accompanied the crew on their journey to locate the source of the transmission; the trail led to a crashed alien ship. Inside, Walter and Daniels discovered the effects of archaeologist Elizabeth Shaw and briefly discussed her disappearance during the Prometheus expedition. Further exploration revealed that Shaw had been the apparent sender of the transmission. [2]

The investigation was halted when security officers Tom Hallet and Ben Ledward were infected by spores and the expedition detail was recalled to Lander One. Dangerous alien creatures duly emerged from Ledward and Hallet and attacked the crew; with Lander One destroyed and several crew members killed in the chaos, the survivors were forced to act against the life forms. One of the creatures lunged at Daniels; protecting her, Walter lost a hand to its jaws. Before the situation could deteriorate further, a shrouded figure appeared and fired a flare to scare off the creatures. Walter and the remnants of the team followed the stranger to safety, venturing into the ruins of an alien city.[2] Double trouble The figure revealed himself to be David, the synthetic from the lost Prometheus expedition. He explained that he and Shaw had traveled to the planet and that their ship, the alien vessel, had crashed, killing Shaw and releasing the pathogen that infected Ledward and Hallet. Walter quickly found himself the focus of David's attention, with the older synthetic extending a brotherly welcome in his direction.[2]

Walter began exploring the temple in which David had been kidnapped; David found him and took him to where Shaw was supposedly buried. Noticing the damage to Walter's arm, David questioned why Walter was so protective of Daniels. Walter replied that it was his duty, but David was dubious. He then attempted to instruct Walter to play the flute, allowing him to create his own melody, and advised Walter to practice on the instrument. [2] Walter returned to Daniels with the flute and attempted to play an original piece, but was dissatisfied with his efforts. Daniels encouraged him, and he tried again, managing to play a soft melody that put her to sleep. [7] Walter later discovered Shaw's mutated and preserved body in David's personal quarters. Assuming that David had purposefully released the pathogen onto the planet, he confronted David with this information, condemning his actions. David explained that he viewed humanity as a failed species, and that efforts such as the Covenant expedition represented humanity's desperation to escape extinction. Walter, taking note of David's earlier recitation of a line from Shelley's Ozymandias , questioned him about who wrote the poem; when David replied that it was the work of Byron, Walter used David's mistake to expose flaws in his plans. In response, the distraught David attacked Walter with his flute, triggering an unauthorized shutdown and assuming that he was deactivated.[2]

However, Walter managed to reboot and repair himself, and managed to catch up to David. Upon finding David threatening Daniels, Walter intervened and engaged his doppelganger in hand-to-hand combat. Walter quickly overpowered David, immobilizing him and striking him with a rock. Before he could deliver a killing blow, David challenged him, offering Walter one last choice—join his cause or continue serving humanity—while discreetly grabbing a nearby knife. David then managed to escape Walter and exit the temple before assuming his identity to fool the rest of the Covenant crew.[2]

Personality and traits Walter was a more advanced successor to the David 8 model android; although he had the same physical model, his characteristics were much less free-thinking than David's, and he was programmed to be more obedient to his crew. He did not express complex emotions and was much more robotic in his responses. Walter also had a strong sense of loyalty to the Covenant crew, engaging David in a deadly duel to protect the crew from the rogue android.[2]