The Namer Speaks at Career Day

[Gita]

It is my job to name all the space vehicles in the universe, from close-in shuttles to deep space explorers.

Apollo, Challenger, Enterprise: I am sure you Americans have heard those before.

I am not allowed to use names from any modern religion because imagine the headlines: Baby Jesus Crashes Over the Atlantic.

No words may be used that have negative associations in mythology, either, so Icarus is out of the question.

I select only words with muscular and daring connotations.

Naming all space vehicles is a weighty responsibility because there are more than a million planets in this galaxy, and beyond that, infinite space where untold planets circle points of light too beautiful and too fearsome to imagine.

This is a particle of a much longer piece I am preparing for a contest.

[Mike Handley]

Baby Jesus ... hah! Or "Mohammed hits mountain."

[Teresa]

You know, I never really wondered who named the space vehicles. I always imagined the names were part of a committee vote, a bunch of guys with pocket protectors and a closet full of identical shirts/slacks. Now I'm wondering if it could be much more interesting than that...

[Brittany]

Always wanted to turn on CNN and hear a serious news anchor talk about the launch of Biff into space... Good luck G. This is interesting and wildly entertaining.

[Harry]

Apple-op-pull-bees in the south
Uh-pa-low-pull-bees up north

[Harry]

I just spotted the fine print. I'm sure it will be fantastic. Good luck!

[Sandra Davies]

Like you, I'm resistant to Sci_Fi, except where it deals with human interaction (John Wyndham a big favourite) and I also like the point made by someone on the Facebook discussion page about eschewing 'BIG' names. Carry on enjoying the writing and good luck with the contest.

[Gita]

fantastic!! Thanks. I don't write sci-fi much. It's not my "home base" and I really never read it. But when I do write sci-fi occasionally, it's fun. And the best part is, when writing in the future tense you can't mess up the facts!

[jkdavies]

wonderful!
A Sci-fi author I love has a fantastic array of ships names (the ships choose them themselves) and there is a facebook discussion group on it here
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/topic.php?uid=2246279797&to...

[Jamie Hogan]

Funny and cheeky and then the last sentence just explodes off of the page. I bet people think about the conversations they have with you long afterward.

[Harry]

Thanks for not folding and calling them Dodge Challenger, Enterprise Rent A Star or Apolloplebee's! :)