Naming the Rim

jedion357's picture
jedion357
September 15, 2014 - 10:22am
The species of the Rim did not name their area of space the Rim. It had to be a name applied by someone with UPF centric thinking. So what name is used by the peoples of the Rim to describe the Rim?
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!
Comments:

OnceFarOff's picture
OnceFarOff
September 15, 2014 - 1:38pm
IMO it would depend on who it was that did most of the discovery. I would have it be named by the Ifshnit, who are the real driving force behind the coalition with the CFM. I would maybe have it be named something in their language involving the shape of that region being dictated by two massive nebulae. 

I used yout history of the verge in my game, which has the CFM formed from an ancient nautical tradition on the Capella. I would consider calling it be some cool made up name that translated would mean "The river" or such. 

jedion357's picture
jedion357
September 15, 2014 - 2:27pm
Could be as simple as the Capella sector but when comparing it the the Frontier sector many make it the Capella sub-sector. I agree that the capellans are the driving force in the region and thus your reasonning makes sense that it be an ifshnit name.
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

jedion357's picture
jedion357
September 15, 2014 - 2:37pm
Side question: what would the eorna name be for Volturnus and Zebulon? Those names are rooted with humans from Pale.
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

Ascent's picture
Ascent
September 15, 2014 - 4:25pm
Regarding naming the rim, I am not sure on the reasoning for a more abstract name like "the River". They are barter-minded and busy at their work. Not naturalists. Also, a word may have a different meaning in the ancient past than it does in the present, in which case, the translation of the modern meaning is what is used, not the ancient source of the word. Though I have no idea how "the River" would apply to any nautical ideas other than a narrow passage, which the Rim most certainly is not depicted as narrow.

However, considering the tight concentration of original homeworlds in the area, I think the name chosen would reflect the presence of other worlds with differing races, both appreciated and feared with which they can barter. CFM is a socialist cooperative of business-minded merchants. Thus a socialist-style name would be likely. So I would think it would be something like "Commonwealth of Independent Peoples" ("CIP") or "The Cobble".
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jedion357's picture
jedion357
September 15, 2014 - 5:18pm
Coalition is a cannon name for the Rim gov, Rim Coalition: perhaps Coalition space?

The locals could refer to their government as just the Coalition but it's proper name might be the Coalition of Independent Peoples (CIP), anyone saying Rim Coalition outs themselves as having come from the UPF proper.

Coalition Space might be the general name though it would not surprise me if the ifshnits call it Capellan space or Capella sector amongst themselves.
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

Jaxon's picture
Jaxon
September 15, 2014 - 10:53pm
I like the Coalition.

Ascent's picture
Ascent
September 16, 2014 - 8:39am
Sounds good to me, jedion. I also considered "People's Commonwealth", which would now be "People's Coalition".
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"It's yo' mama!" —Wicket W. Warrick, Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of the Jedi
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OnceFarOff's picture
OnceFarOff
September 16, 2014 - 5:56pm
Ascent wrote:
Regarding naming the rim, I am not sure on the reasoning for a more abstract name like "the River". They are barter-minded and busy at their work. Not naturalists.

True. I was referring to Jedion's timeline of the RIM when I made that point. In his history, the Ifshnit came from a nautical tradition. 

But the Coalition might be a name they would have come up with. Like Jedion said, saying, "RIM coalition" is what makes it a Frontier thing. 

jedion357's picture
jedion357
September 17, 2014 - 4:31am
The Capella system has a planet called Homeworld which is obviously the cradel of the Ifshnit civilization. Yet the dominant organization in the Rim, with storng influence into the UPF sector is the CFM which is headquartered on Faire, which is a water world with only 5 islands. In my ifshnit history, which actually got derailed from being published giving the ifshnit a strong nautical tradition made a lot of sense based on the meager facts known.

The Capellan Free Merchants are in a long line of free merchants going back centuries or even millenia who banded together to resist the big corporate/cartel powers on Homeworld. As the Ifshnits began to explore their star system they discovered Faire and can you imagine a race with a strong nautical tradition finding an inhabitable water world next door to their home planet?

I also made hay of the "Mist Stone" from the Zebs Time line and created a pantheist deity called the Spirit of capella that was a "mist" or nebula in space that formed a star and planets and brought forth life on the planet. This is actually what is beleived to happen with nebulas and star formation. the female expression of the spirit of capella is in earth and land and the male expression of the spirit of capella is in water. and everything that happens is according to the voice of capella. Religious ifshnits believe they can hear the voice of capella through the wind and waves and meditating by the seashore is a very religious experience. Sailing is to as well as a passion. This mist stone is sacred and believed to be a physical manifestation of the spirit of capella. It is attended by female priests. Female priest have been known to sense the voice of capella in the mountains and ground. and since the earth brings forth life it is a female gender.

This all ties into why the ifshnit are vegatarians- Capella brings forth life from her essence in the form of plants. Living breathing beings are an expression of the mind of capella and thus the ifshnit does not eat meat.

So perhaps River is not nautical enough but maybe a word that could be translated Mist, Nebula, cloud and spirit.
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

Jaxon's picture
Jaxon
September 17, 2014 - 5:11am
Nice! I like the tradition & religion aspect.

jedion357's picture
jedion357
September 17, 2014 - 5:35am
Jaxon wrote:
Nice! I like the tradition & religion aspect.


I need to get off my butt and drive the Zebulon's guide to the Rim to completion
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

Ascent's picture
Ascent
September 17, 2014 - 7:01am
So what would they think of a planet called "Star Mist" by the Federation? Or did the Ifshnits name it?
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jedion357's picture
jedion357
September 17, 2014 - 8:38am
Ascent wrote:
So what would they think of a planet called "Star Mist" by the Federation? Or did the Ifshnits name it?


I dont think they would think much of it, it was just a name. Starmist was published before Zebs and internally I believe that it has a vessel from the UPF discovering it.

On the other hand there theology could be very Capella System centric to the point that they call the galaxy itself Capella. which would imply that the spirit of capella is in all of the galaxy and created all that is in this galaxy. IIRC the star mist planet was captured by the star from a passing solar system so could this planet be from outside the galaxy? not likely but certainly an ifshnit might spend some time pondering the significance of that question.
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

Ascent's picture
Ascent
September 18, 2014 - 8:53am
I think the fact that one philosopher (not religious,) calls them "The 
race of the future, they who will inherit!" sounds more like an atheist evolutionist's proclamation. Something Dawkins would say while mocking the Bible and indicating a superior thinking species. It seems to indicate that their way of life is superior in self-governance and business, and that they are free of what binds them to the past, namely religious intolerance, racial prejudice, dishonest business practices and politics.

Their religion is very similar to Buddhism/Hinduism, except that each successive life leads to a greater existence, leading ultimately to Nirvana after the Ifshnit stage. Perhaps they view each race as similar. Humma would certainly take offense if the Ifshnits viewed themselves as superior.

Along that line of thought, I don't think the Ifshnits would view physical reality as anything more than transient. The naming of their homeworld "homeworld", suggests a disassociation with the physical reality. It is nothing more than an object to them. It is like calling a city "Hometown". It actually suggests that before they left their world, they had no name for their world. But once they moved out from it, they gave it a name. The names of the other two planets also seem to indicate a lack of interst in originality. "Faire" is probably inspired by the Middle English word "feire", meaning a "market". "Ifshna" may indicate a place where Ifshnits live, or may indicate something about its suitability to Ifshnits, just as we might say "Ifshnitesque" or "unifshnit-like". Clearly Ifshnits are not into mystical naming, but view physical reality as mundane and not important enough for spiritual names. Their personal names, however, are likely very spiritual.

I don't think they would be race-centric or home system centric. They would never get along with Humma if that were the case. "Capella" means "chapel" in Catalan, which would seem to indicate heaven. Considering the other names they choose, I would think it, not as a place of religious devotion, but representing the place where they will exist in Nirvana when they die. The place of thought. I would think it is limited to their space and that they would see the space around each race's home region as their heaven where they will exist in Nirvana. Or perhaps it is simply meant to indicate the place where Ifshnits are gathered.

Also, they are not "vegetarians". They are herbivores. The difference being that a vegetarian chooses their diet, while an herbivore eats vegetation as their main diet because it is what their appetites require.
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"It's yo' mama!" —Wicket W. Warrick, Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of the Jedi
"That guy's wise." —Logray, Star Wars Ep.VI: Return of the Jedi
Do You Wanna Date My Avatar? - Felicia Day (The Guild)

Jaxon's picture
Jaxon
September 19, 2014 - 6:41am
Can a humanoid be a herbivore?

herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material...

No. Vegetarian is correct.

Ascent's picture
Ascent
September 19, 2014 - 10:48am
Huh? Where does your reasoning come from? You might as well ask, "can a humanoid be an omnivore?" and then say, "An omnivore is an animal   anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant and animal material... No. Meat-eater and vegetable-eater is correct."

Humans are simply higher animals. We're not some other form of creature. Humans are mammals and are omnivores. Another "humanoid" race does not have to be capable of eating meat or at least necessarily desire it. Ifshnits are called herbivores in the book. "Herbivore" simply describes a diet. That word in no way defines whether the creature is non-humanoid.

Yes. A humanoid can be a herbivore. Ifshnits ARE herbivores. If their stomachs are incapable of properly breaking down meat, or puke it up, then that would make them physiologically incapable of benefiting from it, thus they would be herbivores. "Vegetarian" is a choice, "herbivore" is not. Just because they're humanoid doesn't mean they are capable of eating meat. They have a completely different genetic make-up from humans.
View my profile for a list of articles I have written, am writing, will write.
"It's yo' mama!" —Wicket W. Warrick, Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of the Jedi
"That guy's wise." —Logray, Star Wars Ep.VI: Return of the Jedi
Do You Wanna Date My Avatar? - Felicia Day (The Guild)