TO NAME A PLANET

 



YEAR: 52028 HE

SHIP: Matriark II, Super-Frigate Exploration class

SUPERVISORY COMPUTER SYSTEM: Hahaoya X80 (HX80)

LOCATION: Ship’s Conference Room

MEETING TRANSCRIPT

IN ATTENDANCE:

PRIME-CAPTAIN LARKINA, SUB-CAPTAIN ORTNER, SUB-CAPTAIN PINES, PROF SWARTZ ECOLOLGY DEPT, PROF WELLANDI GEOLOGY, PROF GRUBER ZOOLOGY, PROF RAINE ARCHITECTURE, PROF FLATTOR EMBRYOLOGY, CHRONICLER HADEY

 

     LARK: I’ve called you here to discuss the naming of the planet we sit upon. As you know, we are a week away from our first off-ship exploration mission. It's time we gave it a name. We can’t keep calling it New Planet. I can see from your expressions that the name of the planet may not be the first of your priorities. But when this meeting is over my office is open for one-to-one sessions. If we can stick to the naming of the planet in this meeting we can move on to more important issues. The floor is open for suggestions.

     ECO: Thank you captain. I agree that we need a name but we have barely begun to see what this planet has in the way of life and minerals. Surely a name will present itself organically the more we discover about this virgin land.

     PINE: You would say that, nothing like an ecologist to avoid a task with a vague premise.

     ECO: I was simply saying we don’t know what this planet is yet. I am itching to get going Captain. The name may come from our discoveries.

     GEO: What about NEO-TERRA?

     PINE: NEO-TERRA?

     GEO: Yes.

     ECO: It's not that different from New Planet. I think we can do better than that professor.

     GEO: Sorry for trying, has anyone got anything better?

     ZOO: Well the land outside the ship is a light shade of brown almost beige.

     PINE: The colour of the planet is irrelevant we can’t call it Brown World can we?

     RAIN: What about mythology, can we use an ancient mythical deity like Orb or Racat?

     LARK: Orb is the guardian of the dead. It seems like it could set us up to fail.

     EMB: We are scientists not spiritualists, religion has no place in this discussion, I object to anything that relates to the dead religions of the past.

     RAIN: Why don’t we call it Black Eye Seventy-Eight? That’s the technical classification; Black Eye galaxy, seventy-eighth colonised planet. 

     EMB: That’s not what I meant.

     LARK: Hahaoya what do you think?

     HX80: I can randomly generate a name based on the needs of everyone present at the meeting.

     LARK: That sounds good.

     ECO: I object to computer randomisation. The name needs to come from a human mind, no offence Hahaoya.

     GEO: That’s because you want to be the one who names it after some discovery. Why don’t we just call it Swartzland and be done with it.

     LARK: Come on, let's try and be courteous. Hadey you haven’t said much. Surely a chronicler can come up with a name?

     HADE: If I were to begin to try and name this planet I would start with what it means. This is our only hope for survival and we are all beginning again. As we have no communication with the rest of the human race we are starting anew. I am with Professor Swartz. A name will present itself as we progress along our path to building a new life.

     LARK: I see. So do we just want to keep calling it New Planet until a name emerges?

     ORT: I have an idea for a name.

     LARK: Go ahead Captain.

     ORT: We owe our lives to Hahaoya. She made the calculations that enabled the engineers to skip us here. Without Hahaoya’s scanning probes we may have never found a safe planet to land upon. I say we name it Hahaoya, or Hahao.

     LARK: I like Hahao. Any objections?

     ECO: I think it’s a great idea.

     LARK: Then I put it to a vote. All those in favour of naming the planet Hahao say aye…motion passed unanimously. 


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