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Science fiction, species and planet names [message #41213] Tue, 05 March 2013 13:15
Anonymous
Karma:

excessbrainsiphon:

The one area that I always find to be a semi-reliable indicator of how much work has gone into the creation of a believable sci-fi universe is that of the names of planets and the races that live there. 

Let’s see here. Vulcans come from Vulcan, Cardassians come from Cardassia, Centauri come from Centauri Prime, Narns come from Narn, Mandalorians come from Mandaloria, etc etc.

Mass Effect is probably the best for this, every species comes from a planet that has a name that isn’t just the same as their species name. The Krogan come from Tuchanka, the Asari come from Thessia, the Salarians come from Sur’Kesh, and the Reapers come from BRAWWWNNNMMMMMMMM.

Caveat: I know that the Klingons come from Qo’Nos and the Shadows come from Z’Ha’Dum and many other examples. Heck, Star Wars did a reasonable job of having lots of folk from all sorts of species on pretty much every plane they hit up, making the parts of the galaxy we saw seem like a big aule melting pot. Farscape did an even better job with that. Peacekeepers come from SPACE!

Actually, The Shadows don’t come from Z’ha’dum.

While it’s never explicitly stated (for that matter the Vorlon Homeworld isn’t given a name either) it is implied that they settled there millennia ago, because it is stated that the reason they return to Z’ha’dum is because Lorien is there and they know.

Also Z’ha’dum isn’t even the real name (or at least, the name an indigeonous species would give to their world) because Z’ha’dum is a Minbari name that roughly translates to “The end of time” or “the end of the future”.

Actually that’s kind of interesting. When you think that all the names associated with the Shadows are given to them, rather than owned by them.

The species from the last war call them the “Shadows”, that’s not their name.

The Minbari name their planet “Z’ha’dum”, that’s not their homeworld and it’s not it’s name.

The Centauri call the Shadow’s assistants and followers the “Drakh” and it’s unclear whether there is a race called Drakh or if it’s just the Centauri equivalent of “Boogeyman” or something.

I guess it’s all subtle clues to how they, however deservedly, have been demonized by the followers of the Vorlons.

And to be fair, Proxima Centauri is an actual place so fitting with naming people from Earth or Mars “Earthers” or “Marsies” (terms actually used in the show for that purpose) B5’s naming conventions are a little bit more fair if still grounded in and generally built on that same cliché.

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