1. Pharthan

    Pharthan Active Member

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    What to call the crew of a spaceship?

    Discussion in 'Science Fiction' started by Pharthan, Aug 21, 2017.

    Currently writing a sci-fi set in 3400, future Milky Way.

    Aspects of a good title for such a position are:
    • Something to take pride in. I.e. sailors can take pride in being called "sailor," Marines in being called "Marines," et cetera. A word that doesn't sound mundane.
    • Something that doesn't sound clunky in everyday use. One or two syllables preferred.
    • Something unique.
    • Obviously, relavant to travelling space.
    • Nothing corny/silly. "Shipper" for instance. Just, no.

    Many elements are mirroring of modern vessels, so for a long time I've been calling the crewmen "sailors," but it isn't unique. It works though, because it helps to convey the modern-feel fo space travel (why this similarity occurs is mentioned in my book).
    I'd like to explore a little more, though, so far alternatives I've come up with are:

    1. Crewman. I've shot this down in my head because it's too mundane.
    2. Spacer. A Spacer is something that creates a gap between two things, so, no.
    3. Spaceman. 1960s, much? (Would not be said as "space man," but quicker, like "spacemin" sort of like how you don't call an airman an "air man.")
    4. Astronaut. Long and clunky.
    5. Sailor. Best of the ideas I've had, but not unique.
     
  2. izzybot

    izzybot (unspecified) Contributor

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    Rather than astronauts, astros/cosmos (as in cosmonaut)? Or nauts.
     
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  3. Pharthan

    Pharthan Active Member

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    Hm. I'll throw around "astro" in my head for a bit. Cosmo might work for some people. "Naut" is something I considered, but then the added depth of knowing how that's going to play out with the other service branches (for the military side) making fun of them for being "Nauts" (Nots) would not play out very well, and in very rapid fashion. Being a sailor myself, I know if I was in whatever Space Service/Navy, the first time I heard the upper-chain said "Hey, we're all Nauts now," Facebook (or the equivelant) would blow up with people being like, "No. This is f'ing stupid." (No offense to you for the idea - I would expect someone who's been in the service for as long as an upper-echelon officer to have insight on the matter enough, though.) We've had similar situations in the Navy for lesser slights, and we respond en force to title changes.
     
    Last edited: Aug 21, 2017
  4. surrealscenes

    surrealscenes Senior Member

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    Going off the 'naut' thing- it could work if, like in our lives, different groups have different names for other groups. Our group is always superior to a different group.
    Military could call civilians nauts, meaning nots, due to having to rescue so many.
    Civilians may call long haul pilots space cadets.
    etc.
     
  5. JLT

    JLT Contributor Contributor

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    Shipman? (There's a sort of precedent in the term "midshipman.")

    If that's too gender-specific for you, try "ship hand." Or not.
     
  6. archer88i

    archer88i Banned Contributor

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    Ok, here's a suggestion: just go with a mundane word for everyday use, because this should be a mundane thing. It's more than a thousand years in the future; we are no longer impressed by "astronauts." For something that exhibits a little pride-in-being, use a slang term. For instance, a British sailor was occasionally referred to as a "tar," short for "jack tar," a phrase that referenced fighting sailors' habit of wearing armor made by coating clothing in tar.
     
  7. JLT

    JLT Contributor Contributor

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    Are you sure about that? I'd heard that it was because sailors usually smelled of tar, since it was commonly used for weatherproofing ropes, sail hems, hulls, and just about everything else on a sailing ship that needed to be water-resistant. There's the line in the ballad "Saucy Sailor" that goes:

    "Come my own one, come my fair one,
    Come now unto me,
    Could you fancy a poor sailor lad
    Who has just come from sea.

    You are ragged love, you are dirty love,
    And your clothes smell much of tar,
    So be gone you saucy sailor lad,
    So be gone you Jack Tar."

    Of course, when the barmaid finds out that the sailor has money to spend, she's suddenly all welcoming.
     
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  8. archer88i

    archer88i Banned Contributor

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    No, in fact, I am not. A quick search turned up something like three or four different possible explanations, and I went with the one that sounded most interesting to me.
     
  9. Pharthan

    Pharthan Active Member

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    Thanks guys.
    I'm kind of thinking "voyager" right now. Not sure, still. I may stick with sailor. It's simple and it's something the reader can connect with.

    Words like "shipman" are really close to "shipmate." Shipmate is a word that, at least in the US Navy, is practically a vulgarity (yes, even for sailors). No one calls you "shipmate" unless they don't know your name and something about you/your uniform of jacked up. Never a pleasant word to hear.
     
  10. mashers

    mashers Contributor Contributor Community Volunteer

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    [​IMG]
     
  11. Dr.Meow

    Dr.Meow Contributor Contributor

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    "Marines" seems more logical honestly, but at the same time it reminds me of Halo and the UNSC. My opinion, and purely opinion, is that a lot of "catchy" names will always threaten to be corny on some level too. Most people would be cool with marines, and that's mainly because it's been generally decided that the marine corps would be best suited for space given the extensive and extreme training and conditioning required to be one.

    That being said, there's also a good possibility that, in a future with space flight being militarized, there would be a completely new branch of the Navy created, or even an entirely new branch of the Army as a whole. Marines are highly trained, but hardly trained for space flight. It's a different animal entirely. You could explore that aspect by creating a new branch and giving them a name. (I know, I'm helping out a lot here, that's what you need is a name anyway. Haha)

    An acronym is always a good place to start I think. It makes the name seem more legit and thought out, rather than a random, tacky name slapped on the crew. Not all of the ship's crew would be of that particular group though, there still needs to be engineers and cooks and everything else. They wouldn't necessarily be part of this highly trained military branch, but if it's a military ship then they would be military of some sort, just not special forces. Not all navy crewmen are marines on any given vessel, for example. Special forces is just that, special, and space flight kinda demands some special forces group I think.

    Now, for names. I'm still thinking there, so I'll post any ideas that come to mind. Not sure why, but W.A.S.P. Sounds interesting to me, but not sure what the acronym would stand for. Lol Also thought of T.S.A.P, Tactical Space Authority Police, but that sounds more like Military Police for space, which honestly you may need, but also it reminds me of TSA... iffy on that one I suppose. These are my current thoughts at least, maybe it will help a bit, but like I said, if I think of something else at random I'll let you know. I come up with tons of ideas constantly, and I like sharing stuff somebody might be able to use. :)
     
  12. archer88i

    archer88i Banned Contributor

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    Just gonna cast a vote against "marines." Marines aren't technically skilled operators of starship equipment; they are not learning a trade that will later support their lives as members of the merchant fleet; they are killers, born again hard, and their only marketable skill is destruction.

    So, no, not marines. :p
     
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  13. Dr.Meow

    Dr.Meow Contributor Contributor

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    Yeah, everyone goes to marines first, but they really aren't trained for space flight. They're very skilled in combat, but that doesn't make a good space crew.
     
  14. Pharthan

    Pharthan Active Member

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    "Marines" isn't going to happen. Marines only exist on vessels to take up space, eat food, and occasionally destroy things, sometimes not while onboard the vessel.

    I'm going to present the counterpoint of submariners being a better fit. By far.


    Absolutely zero navy crewmen on a vessel are marines. Marines are marines. Navy are sailors. Marines are just along for the ride and are not a part of ship's force. Their CO is not the ship's captain. They have their own.
    What you're describing is a a force of marines - not at all the ships crew, that's the "engineers, cooks, and everything else," (there is a lot of "everything else"). Spaceflight on ship-scale in this universe is definitively quite similar to a waterborne Navy, hence why it is called a Navy. In my nation, there is no Army or Air Force, they are rolled into one. Marines are decidedly spaceborne forces, and the Navy conduct ship-to-ship combat and delivery of Marines and the like.

    Worldbuilding is not a problem for me. We've got that covered in spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs.
    I'm just looking for a generalistic name to call a ship's crewman.
     
    Last edited: Aug 23, 2017
  15. Dr.Meow

    Dr.Meow Contributor Contributor

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    Oh, I wasn't suggesting Marines for crewmen really, that was just the first thing most people think of. I'm more than aware of the function marines have aboard a ship, and that's to do some damage once they reach their target. That was kinda the point I was making, but maybe not clear enough.

    As far as Army is concerned, that's more a general thing. Everything falls under the definition of Army. Marines are part of the Army, Navy, Air Force, etc. these are branches of the Army, or the Military, whichever you want to call it. There's always an Military, these are just parts of it.

    Well, I tried, but I still think WASP sounds pretty cool for MPs on a spaceship. That's at least one necessary part of any military. MPs are badass, Marines don't even fuck with them. Lol
     
  16. Homer Potvin

    Homer Potvin A tombstone hand and a graveyard mind Staff Supporter Contributor

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    Honestly, I'd just go with "crew" for the general term and then specialize as necessary. It's pretty ubiquitous in sci-fi... my guess is that special names sounded too corny (Asimov used "spacers" and it sounded corny even then). Kind of like trying to improve on the term "drivers" for the operators of the cars of the future.

    It would all depend on how important the unique name is to you. And more importantly whether a unique name for something mundane has a greater potential to elevate or detract from the rest of the story. Speaking personally, whenever I see a sci-fi book loaded with fancy names for regular things I get a sneaky suspicion that some weak writing is about to follow. Not saying that'll be the case for you, but the overdressing of the mundane is one of my first warning signs.

    ETA: I think asimov's spacers referred to something else, but you get the idea
     
    Last edited: Aug 23, 2017
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  17. frostedfields

    frostedfields Member

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    Agreed with Homer. "Crew" has worked for decades and for good reason. You don't say in your post specifically *why* they need to be called something else. Unless there is a specific reason for a different name I would not worry about that being unique. Especially if you're so far in the future, would Earth-centric structures like the military and astronauts even be very relavant? "Crew" is simple. Even the Federation - based on Earth's navy - uses crew and crewmen, and I have used crew in all of my own stories.

    If you want a title for individual members of the crew, there is always "officer" which is quite common in SF. Maybe if you gave a bit more information on why exactly they need a special name?
     
  18. Pharthan

    Pharthan Active Member

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    MPs/MAs (Navy MPs) aren't all that cool. They act like police officers with a third of the power and ten times the arrogance and quite often make up reasons to feel important to exist.

    Good point. I was worried a new word would feel clunky. There are a lot of things to introduce in a new world, so I think keeping "sailors" may be a good idea.
     
  19. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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  20. Radrook

    Radrook Banned Contributor

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    Maybe the following terms in reference to those who are presently called astronauts or cosmonauts might become popular as the technology progresses.

    1. Wormholers

    2. Space Warpers

    3. Supraluminars

    4. Interplanetarians

    5. Rocketeers

    6. Outer Spacers
     
  21. Anthony J.

    Anthony J. New Member

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    My favorite term has always been "Travellers", from the RPG Traveller.

    Something along those lines might be:

    Seekers - especially for explorers
    Drifters - people who live and work "in the Drift"
    Ascended - to the heavens...
    Universals - we are citizens of all worlds
    Errants - we exist alone
    Caretakers - watching over these beautiful worlds
    Riders - 34th century cavalry / truckers
     
  22. WaffleWhale

    WaffleWhale Active Member

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    Shipmen, maybe? Avoid the 1960s spaceman but still clear and simple.
     
  23. Pharthan

    Pharthan Active Member

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    I was actually thinking "hand," as in "deckhand," and whatnot, more aluding to older age of sail.
     
  24. OB1

    OB1 Active Member

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    Generally in sci-fi, such as startrek, star fleet etc was made as an evolution of the navy and so, maintained the traditions of earth slang and titles. so captain, engineer, chief engineer, helmsman, comms, science officer, medic, admiral, commodore etc.

    I'd stick with this if I am honest, there is a lot more tangible tropes to use.
     
  25. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    As discussed above I'd go with crew for what you call them, if you want them to have a nickname among the civilians or other service arms.... Like zoomies for the airforce, or pongos for the navy then you need something based on what they do, or on a trait ( pongos comes from the fact that prior to nuclear powered ships there wasn't much water so sailors didn't wash much, hence where Percy goes the pong goes)
     

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