Project Chimera was a top-secret research program run by the Z.C.T. Corporation at Charon Base. Under the direction of Professor Ernst Kleist, Project Chimera sought to splice Xenomorph DNA with that of other, more docile species, the aim being to genetically engineer tame hybrid creatures that would be peaceful towards humans and could be controlled by them. The ultimate hope was to develop a tame Queen that could be used as a mechanism to control other Xenomorphs.


Kleist failed clones

Kleist with several of the failed Queen hybrids, preserved in his lab.

Project Chimera evolved from Professor Kleist's fruitful research into the DNA reflex. The ultimate aim of the program was to create a tame, controllable Xenomorph Queen that could in turn be used to breed similarly tame subordinates and even control other Xenomorphs in a manner beneficial to mankind. To this end, Kleist began experimenting with gene splicing, hoping to introduce non-Xenomorph DNA into the creatures' genetic coding and thereby mitigate their innate natural hostility. Some significant progress was made in this regard — by splicing the Xenomorphs with other animal species, particularly docile, domestic farm animals such as sheep, llamas and some breeds of cattle,[1] Kleist was successful in creating tame Warriors that would not attack humans. However, when attempting to create a Queen with comparable properties, the project came grinding to halt. The Queen embryos that survived birth were horribly malformed, and invariably perished before reaching full maturity.[2]

The breakthrough was made when Kleist introduced human DNA into the splicing process, provided by captured Grant Corporation spy John Cray. This led to the successful birth of the Rogue, an enormously powerful "male" Xenomorph that it was hoped would be a means by which other Xenomorphs could be controlled. However, the creature proved instead to be ferociously — and uncontrollably — aggressive towards natural Xenomorphs, and was eventually killed battling a Xenomorph Queen at Charon Base.


  • In Greek mythology, the Chimera was a monstrous fire-breathing hybrid creature composed of the parts of more than one animal. It is most commonly depicted as a lion with the head of a goat arising from its back and a tail that ends with the head of a snake. The name is therefore fitting for a research project that aims to create a hybrid Xenomorph creature by splicing the creatures with other animals. Greek history and mythology are a recurring point of reference in the Alien franchise; other notable examples include the moon Acheron, the ships Archimedes and Anesidora, the novel Alien: River of Pain, and references to the Titan Prometheus in both Prometheus Tech and the film Prometheus.


  1. Sandy Schofield. Aliens: Rogue, p. 64 (1995), Bantam Spectra.
  2. Ian Edginton (writer), Will Simpson (illustrator). Aliens: Rogue #2 (1993), Dark Horse Comics.