I've been working on my third 'sweet sixteen' story. Our bubbly protagonist is, again, more than she seems at first.
But I'm looking for some ideas for terminology.
As with most technological advances, new jargon is invented. I'm looking for suggestions.
First of all, what do we call the various generations? We currently have the boomers, gen X, gen Y, millennials, and the like. We need terms for:
Those, like our sweet sixteen girl, that were born early enough that they grew up knowing that they would live to less than 100, then die.
Those who watched organ transplant technology advance as they were growing up, and were able to hop into an autodoc at about the time they grew up.
Those who don't remember a time when there wasn't an autodoc.
Also, not a generation really, but those who were shoved into an autodoc as infants for... reasons. Maybe a good reason like being born into a body that just wouldn't live or wouldn't provide a good life. Sort of like Anne McCaffrey's Shell People (from "The Ship Who Sang.")
Those who are a 'brain in a jar,' and live strictly on the Matrix (or on the Internet, if you prefer.) They can be any age.
Also, with the technology to inhabit any body you like, on line or in real life, we will have a number of basic body types. We need ideas, as well as slang terms for them. So far I have:
Barbies (You know... busty, skinny, tall)
Kens (same basic idea -- a male match for the Barbies)
GI Joes
Arnies (Extra muscular, maybe like the original Schwarzenegger, or maybe amped up like they use steroids.)
Furries -- several subtypes
Kitty Girls -- Anime style kitty girls; big eyes, furry tail and ears, but standard human body
Animes -- Anime style bodies in real life
Kitsunes
Gargoyles -- those who purposely inhabit grotesque bodies -- Think about the current body mod culture
Supermodels (need a better name)
Fitness Models (Need a better name)
Nextdoors -- The girl next door (as in Playboy) Perfect, symmetrical, clear skin, but not exaggerated in any way.
Klinkers (or Clinkers) -- battle droid types
Fey type, perhaps?
Does anyone have any other ideas of what people might do to themselves, either on a temporary or permanent basis?
Also, I'll eventually need a name for little miss sweet sixteen. And no, "Girly McGirlface" is not on the list of possibilities.
Comments
Girly McGirlface
Since nobody else seems to be jumping in with ideas here's a few off the top of my head.
Gosh, what's wrong with Girly McGirlface? That's an excellent name for a character.
No? Then how about naming your character Honey Something-or-other;
in keeping with the sweetness of the SWEET 16 theme
Honey Re:Peets (colons + hyphens being fashionable
in self given names in this future...) or Honey Evernow;
since she's doing the same year over and over.
Autodoc sculpted Fashion Models could be Hi-Tones,
for the haughtiness on the catwalk and highly stylized ideal of beauty.
Depending on what's technically possible there could be Wingers
(Angels and harpies)
And (this has become kind of a fetish with me) Mermaids and Mermen
or if they want the auxiliary gills but don't want to give up their legs
there's Aquas (as in Aquaman...)
And speaking of fetishes, depending on how silly you want to get
what about giant walking penises and vaginas?
-you know some sex-obsessed weirdos would do that if it was possible!
Falling asleep last night I was thinking CALVINS for the generation of
people who just got in on the autodoc thing late in life. I wanted to get away
from Generation #, Generation ?, Generation Omega thing...
And I came up with Calvins because of thinking that the hardest part
of adjusting to the new world would be the whole notion of a post-scarcity era;
their sense of worth being tied for most of their lives to what they could produce
their work ethic, and seeing all this fun everybody is having as decadent, frivolous + wasteful.
I know I kinda thought that the 1st time I read thru yer 1st SWEET 16 story, and I'm pretty much a bum.
And so I got Calvins from Calvanism, but looking the philosophy up it wasn't really about that.
(Or so then maybe it's from Calvin Coolidge, who never ever smiled.)
(Plus it's an homage to Marty McFly's underwear in Back to the Future)
And in keeping with the first names thing, the next generation could be Hewies,
for everyone born after the Year Zero UE, (UNCOMMON ERA, a pun on our current COMMON ERA
Because ever since Quarks and Wimps and Machos scientists and such have been giving
things silly names.... Like Google.)
Okay a lot of that was crap but there might be one or two things in those insomniac musings
that you can use. Looking forward to your next story, it's a beautiful beautiful world youre creating.
Optimism, wow, what a concept!
~hugs, Veronica
Well shit, I guess it really CAN happen here..,
.
Thanks Laika :-)
Hmmm... Calvins. At first, I thought you were talking about Calvin and Hobbes -- someone who wants to stay a kid forever. That brought me to the idea of Everkids, or maybe Peterpans. How about Eversweets? That would be our girl, for sure.
Hmmm... Jocks as a body type? That makes good sense, since the term is currently used for the same thing.
By the way, some body types will be possible later rather than sooner in RL, but everything goes in the Matrix. That includes two inch tall pixies.
But yeah, we need a term for the pre-singularity folks who just can't get used to the idea of being useless. They have to come to grips with the idea that the 'product' that they produce is to be the best person that they can, and to help others be the best people that they can. Sort of like the idea that you can't take it with you, and that the only thing that you bring to Heaven is the relationships that you made and the people that you helped.
Maybe this will help?
Some pretty sweet names
~Taylor Ryan
My muse suffers from insomnia, and it keeps me up at night.
Some typical body types
Hey Mr. Drouillard, I have never went as far as to post a comment but I felt that this was a good time to start.
First, I would like to tank you for writing all you stories (I have even read your MORFS stories multiple times, it's one of the first time I have ever done that). I really enjoyed them, especially the transformations the characters get to their mindset or the communities they are in. They made me feel good about the world. Thank you for bothering to write and share them.
Second, I believe this concept is very interesting. The details about how the technology is secure with the use of diversified free software could be fascinating (but then again, I'm an engineering student leaning toward computer science). I tend to think that free software is key to a democratic and fair trans-humanist world, but I would like to see that debated or talked about. I'm eager to read some world building!
Third, another thing I think could be worthwhile to explore is the limits of the body transformations. For that, I have some suggestions:
- Taur: Four-legged (or more) people. Great for aiming (and thus hunting, for the remaining adepts), cuddling but not so much for climbing stairs. Requires transportation adaptations (adapted cars, busses, spaceships, etc.). I'm sure some would transform into chakats :-).
- Multiarm: Two or more pairs of arms.
- Winged: I don't know if the Santa Clause machines are able to give people super-hero-like flying so I think many would like that augmentation. Otherwise, it would be nice for cuddling and aesthetics.
- About genitalia: Many types would emerge from hermaphrodites to no reproductive organ. If you PM me, I will go into the details.
- Ears: You mentioned elves, fey and the like. But maybe some will like swiveling, feline ears or elf-like pointy ears without the other characteristics of the characters.
- Eyes : Same. I could envision many slit-shaped pupils to improve low-light sensitivity as well as some more general modifications including spectrum and resolution improvements.
- Cyborgs: I'm sure some would like the look.
- Direct puggable computer interfaces. For the geekiest who can't be satisfied with the bandwidth or instability of wireless solutions.
- You mentioned furries. Don't forget to also include reptiles, dragons and the rest.
- But maybe some would just like the tails?
- Or the legs, in a satyr fashion?
- Stronger/denser muscles, reinforced bones, and such from the MORFS universe.
- What about some powers? Would some elemental powers be acceptable? I would think about electrical elementals (when they don't make electrical balls but for lightning strikes or mess around with electronics and machinery). Good combination with cyborgs, I would think.
That's about it. I may add some more as I think about them. Thank you for reading me!
PS: Please pardon my English, I'm French.
Hi Ben
First of all, thank you for your kind words. They mean a lot to me, and make the effort of writing all the more worthwhile.
And your commend of the English language is fine -- better than some native speakers, and certainly better than my command of French.
I'm sorry I took so long to reply. I could blame RL, but it would be more accurate to blame Facebook, and my own chronic tiredness. I need to get back to writing -- even though I really feel like crawling into the bed.
A lot of your ideas are very close to my own, and will definitely be explored in more depth. Being a scientist and engineer (more engineer than scientist, actually) at heart, I always have a real temptation to go into meticulous detail on the technologies being used. Some people are really bored with that stuff, while others love it. I really love the in depth discussions that some stories spawn. For instance, Left At Eden spawned some really fun discussions about warp drives, nuclear ram jet aircraft, electromagnetic drives, and the like. It was really fun to see how many people were so knowledgeable about such highly technical subjects.
Congratulations on getting into engineering school. It takes an analytical mindset mindset to get in and be successful. I found it to be a lot of fun, even some of the more mathematically rigorous subjects like electromagnetic theory and integrated circuit technology. And who would have thought that electrical engineering would involve relativity and quantum mechanics? (Lawrence Technological University, 1990)
I really want to pontificate about the various body types that can be made, both biologically, and by creating cyborgs, but I'll save it for the story. Of course, anything goes in a simulation.
By the way, furry fandom includes the dragons and mermaids and others that don't actually have fur. I'll definitely have to mention that in the story.
A slight spoiler: Our dear girl is actually a lot more nerdy than she lets on. That'll come up in the next installment.
Ray
Thank you
Thank you for your reply. I know how hard it can be to be to get motivated. If you ever stumble upon the way, feel free to share it!
To be more exact, I'm in a classe préparatoire. It's a two-year preparation course for the French engineering school's contests. It's a first filter, if you will. So I'm not technically in an engineering school yet. By the way, I'm kind of saddened to see that you have the same ideas as I do as I won't be surprised by everything in your story (and we both know how nice it can feel to have your mind blown by a clever idea) and pleased to know I'll read something I'll like. We really have no creativity, us science types, have we?
While I'm still writing about school stuff, if it may be any consolation to you, the French also struggle with the grammar, myself included. I've also heard that the non-native-speakers also have trouble with the numbering system, if the Numberphile video I've seen is to be believed. I can understand that the way we call numbers is weird but I like the fact that we group numbers by two, it makes them easier to remember (I've heard about a psychology theory arguing that, on average, we can't store more than 3 to 5 items at a time in the short-term memory. As far as I'm concerned, a two-digit number counts as one!). Sure helps when we are not allowed to use calculators in contests (yes, France can be conservative at times).
Thank you very much for the reading advice. I'm trying that while you are writing your story. (And thanks for the spoiler, it makes the wait all the more egregious ^^)
Please enjoy writing and know you are read,
ben569.
EDIT: Formatting issue.
Ideas!!!
Flyers (Any winged species
Ocean-eers (Any water based species),
Vac-breathers (Safe in space)
Just a few. I didn't read the other comments. Sorry.
Wil
Aine