7/23/2003

I've been struggling the past couple of days to come up with an alternative name for a religious cult in Angel Stations. They had previously been called the Edenists, but some months ago I had one of those slap the head with the palm of your hand moments when I picked up a Peter Hamilton book and realised one of the primary factors in it is a group called the Edenists.

Obviously I had to change it, but every time I come up with something, someone else comes up with a reasonable alternative. I had one a while back with the acronym MOL .. and then lost the note saying what it stood for. It may have been ministry of light which, yes, does sound a bit insipid, but it would have allowed me to call them mollies ... and then someone else told me it was 18th century slang for gay men.

Next up was Hegira, but it's too Islamic. Pity, because it sounds good. But it's too specific, too central to the Islamic religion. So what next?

At this moment - how I feel about it in a couple of days time is another matter - I'm thinking halfway back to where I started from, calling them something like the Eden Alternative. Clunky, but it's got that skiffy ring. And it's definitely not Edenists. Mind you, the phrase does crop up a good few times if you run a google search, but at least it's not misleading (like Hegira, implying it's an islamic cult), and it doesn't tread on anyone's toes (ie Hamilton, so far)

Of course, I'm open to suggestions ...

No comments: