Stranger (Knowing)

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The Strangers are a mysterious alien race of hyper advanced beings that sought to save certain Humans and animals from Earth's impending destruction.

Biology[]

Strangers are humanoid energy beings, with mostly transparent bodies showing glowing innards, which resemble a heart in their chests and a brain in their heads. Translucent rib, spine, and vein-like structures can also be seen within their torsos and heads, with other bone-like structures visible in their hands and legs. They possess no discernable facial features, with their glow appearing to fade out by their lower legs, their feet rendered almost invisible. They do not appear capable of verbal communication, although they possess some form of telepathic speech. Strangers are also capable of shapeshifting, covering up their energy forms with Human-like disguises, which can emit bright lights from their mouths and teleport. They are also capable of flight, leaving trails of energy that resemble wings as they do. They also appear to have some sort of precognitive ability that allows them to know the exact date, coordinates, and casualties of future disasters.

Culture and society[]

Almost nothing is known of Stranger society. They are known to save species from extinction by evacuating at least their children when their planet is on the brink of destruction, along with certain animals, but any reasons for continuing a species' existence outside of generosity and general care for the welfare of said species are unknown. It is also unknown why they only focus on evacuating those with the ability to hear their speech, with possible reasons ranging from resource constraints to something supernatural possibly relating to destiny, which the Strangers would know of due to their clairvoyance.

Technology[]

Strangers use large, rather unconventional spacecraft that somewhat resemble several dark wheels, all turning around glowing central orbs, with many spike or petal-like structures floating around the wheels, giving a loose resemblance to a biblically-accurate angel, described as wheels within wheels with many wings. The central orbs can detach from the ships, moved by non-verbal Stranger commands, and appear to serve as passenger areas. While hovering, the ships' petals are extended outwards, but when taking off, they move straight up and lock together, giving the ship a loose resemblance to a closed flower or a head of wheat. Stranger spacecraft fly without any discernable engines, likely utilizing some sort of reactionless drive. Once in space, they appear capable of going at, near, or possibly above lightspeed, denoted by bright flashes of light visible to observers on a planet. At night, Stranger ships appear to be black in color, but in daylight, they appear either white or light blue.

History[]

In the 20th century, Earth was nearing destruction. Knowing this, the Strangers came to Earth sometime in the mid-20th century, seeking out any who could hear their telepathic voice to evacuate to another world. One child named Lucinda Embry in Lexington, Massachusetts had the ability to hear their voice and wrote down a page full of coordinates, dates and death tolls of impending disasters that would occur in the next 50 years. Before Lucinda finished the page, it was put in a time capsule filled with drawings of children's interpretations of the future in 50 years as a project funded by William Dawes Elementary School. In an attempt to finish her message, Lucinda scratched the remaining numbers on the door of the school closet with her bare hands the night after the time capsule was buried. 50 years later, the capsule was resurfaced and the future depictions were given to the future children of William Dawes Elementary School, with Lucinda's being given to a young boy named Caleb Koestler, who also has the ability to hear the Strangers' speech. After closer examination from his father John Koestler, he discovers the future predicting nature of the paper. He later discovered that Lucinda died of a medication overdose and predicts a few disasters using the paper such as the crashing of a commercial plane and the derailment of a Manhattan subway train, which he failed to prevent. He and Lucinda's daughter Diana Embry then investigated Lucinda's old mobile home and discovered that the casualty number for the last set of numbers on Lucinda's paper "33" was actually "EE" in reverse which meant "Everyone Else". Outside the mobile home, John confronts one of the Strangers, in the form of a Human man, who disappears instantaneously, and they learn that Diana's daughter Abby Embry can hear the Strangers' form of communication as well. It was later discovered by Earth's astronomers that a massive solar flare was heading towards the Earth's orbital path and would cause an apocalyptic event, which the news of which soon creates panic. After investigating the school closet in which Lucinda had her episode, John noticed that what Lucinda wrote was another set of coordinates which led back to her mobile home, and suggests that there is some refuge from the impending disaster. Diana suggests that she take Caleb and Abby to a set of underground caves as shelter and attempts to do so without telling John. The Strangers then kidnap Caleb and Abby with Diana chasing after them. Diana later died when her vehicle was later broadsided by a truck. The Strangers took Caleb and Abby to the hidden shelter near Lucinda's home with John witnessing as the Strangers shift from their human forms into their true form and take Caleb and Abby into their ship which, along with various other Stranger ships housing human children, took them to a distant planet to continue humanity's existence. Caleb and Abby looked back at the Stranger crafts as they dropped off more Human children, receding into the sky afterwards.

Appearances[]

Knowing (2009)

Notes[]

Curiously, the Strangers from Knowing are the second alien race in an Alex Proyas film to be called "The Strangers" with the first being the Strangers from the 1998 film Dark City.
The ending of the film, with the Strangers taking human children to a distant planet, is often regarded for drawing parallels with the Rapture story in Christianity of how, when the Apocalypse comes, the pure and faithful people would be taken to Heaven as the Earth is destroyed by the demons of Hell while every other human left burns in agony. The Strangers themselves are said to represent angels due to their heavenly appearance and how the streams of light behind them resemble angel wings. The alien planet shown in the last scene of the film is somewhat presented as similar to the Garden of Eden with Caleb and Abby representing Adam and Eve.
It is unknown what happened to the children in the end, but what we do know is that they are safe and with other kids on another planet. The Strangers' ships were seen leaving at the end, but it remains possible that some Strangers remained on the planet to provide guidance to the growing children, unless Human adults were also evacuated off-screen. It is also possible that the Strangers were leaving to evacuate more aliens from other planets on the brink of destruction, and would return.