Help with Haven (Blight Years faith)

[sir_pudding]

Here's the current text for the "Haven" religion in my upcoming post-apocalyptic western horror game The Blight Years.:

The Haven: A syncretic faith that grew out of the New Age, Haven was established in Weed on the slopes of Mt. Shasta. They are ruled by a telepathic gestalt called the Covergence which consists of all psis in Weed who choose to join in. According to the Ϝ (the greek letter digamma pronounced “wau”), as followers of Haven call themselves, Convergence manifests as a higher consciousness independent of the individuals that compose it. Convergence is kept running at all times as Ϝ tune in, turn on, and drop out.
Ϝ believe:
• The blight was the beginning of the Age of Aquarius and was required to bring about Convegence.
• The prawns aren’t evil, we just haven’t figured out how to communicate with them yet, but in the future Convergence does.
• Covergence can see into the future, the past, throughout the universe, and into other dimensions.
• Psi powers are a gift, brought by the prawns in order to empower mankind and usher in the Age of Aquarius –to bring about Convergence.
• In the future everyone has the Gift and is part of Convergence.
• It’s the duty of the Gifted to have children and spread the Gift. Non-Gifted Ϝ must only have children with the Gifted who are strongly encouraged to reproduce as much as possible with non-Gifted in order to spread the Gift quickly.
• Convergence is in contact with a hyper-evolved future state that has merged with similarly evolved alien Convergences called Coincidence Control Central or Tripsee).
• Fixers are especially important as their abilities are required to manipulate the worldliness in order to join Tripsee.
• The people who died when the cities went critical transcended to a higher state of being where they act as guides to projectors in the Inner Astral plane and are preparing to welcome humanity to Tripsee.

"Prawns" are the nickname that projectors have given the astral alien parasites that cause the blight. It's apt given their crustaceiod appearance, but unfortunate possibly because District 9 had alien "prawns".

Questions:

1. "Ϝ" is present as an obscure-ish mathematical mysticism reference and because I couldn't think of anything better, but I worry that it's a bit too silly (even for a creepy new age inspired alien space brother cult). Is it good or is there something better?
2. "Prawn" is apt but has been already used. Should I find something more original? Or is it good?

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

"Prawn" is apt but has been already used. Should I find something more original? Or is it good?

You could always go for humor. The "Prawn" of District 9 were so named due to their similarity to a type of grasshopper, which unfortunately ended up being the same as a common name for shrimp. You could opt to reverse this and, considering the invading nature of your aliens, call them Locusts. This also brings to mind Biblical prophecies - the Ϝ might determine John was actually being contacted by them when he wrote Revelations, but got it wrong due to ineptitude and/or the Age of Aquarius having not yet begun.

Of course, using Prawn is still entirely appropriate, so go with what you like better.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Varyon

You could always go for humor. The "Prawn" of District 9 were so named due to their similarity to a type of grasshopper, which unfortunately ended up being the same as a common name for shrimp. You could opt to reverse this and, considering the invading nature of your aliens, call them Locusts.

Ooh.

Of course, using Prawn is still entirely appropriate, so go with what you like better.

"Already been used" isn't a problem?

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

"Already been used" isn't a problem?

Locust has probably been used as well. You might also be able to go with a variant of (part of) the scientific name of whatever species of shrimp your aliens most closely resemble.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Varyon

Locust has probably been used as well.

Sure, but not in a recent film for an alien. I guess I'm asking "Does the association with District 9 cause any dissonance with you? Would it break willing suspension of disbelief?"

You might also be able to go with a variant of (part of) the scientific name of whatever species of shrimp your aliens most closely resemble.

I thought about that, but it's unlikely they were named by scientists. The first people to be able see them would newly awakened (and insane) astral projectors.

[sir_pudding]

It occurs to me that part of my problem with Ϝ is that nobody else would ever use it. Others call them "Wowies".

[tantric]

I first thought is that you MUST read JAGS Have Nots (<- goes to zip file for PDF), especially the part about the Sagitarrian.

Second, how do you know about CCC? Do you know the rules? The retirement plan kinda sucks. I honestly hadn't read this thread before I posted in the psi-drugs thread. It's giving me the willies. I *hate* those guys.

Third, given the convergence aspect, I'd incorporate lots of Teilhard de Chardin as in "everything that rises must converge". Given that, your F become "the Omega". I might go with 'sigma' for the summation.

When I read 'prawns' and post-apop western, I thought of those horrid lobster thing in the 'Dark Tower'.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by tantric

I first thought is that you MUST read JAGS Have Nots (<- goes to zip file for PDF), especially the part about the Sagitarrian.

I will do so!

Second, how do you know about CCC?

Possibly from you a while ago. I think maybe other people have attested to it, haven't they? It works pretty well here, so I'll probably keep it.

Do you know the rules?

No idea.

It's giving me the willies.

Good. It's horror.

Third, given the convergence aspect, I'd incorporate lots of Teilhard de Chardin

Yeah, Chardin tends to slip into everything I do at some point.

Given that, your F become "the Omega". I might go with 'sigma' for the summation.

"Wau" sounds more like something somebody would call themselves. Who knows maybe they were founded by a mystical mathematician. And the whole Ϝ^Ϝ^2^Ϝ^3^...Ϝ^n=Ϝ is pretty cool.

When I read 'prawns' and post-apop western, I thought of those horrid lobster thing in the 'Dark Tower'.

It is possible those were involved. The Blight Years is heavily inspired by those books especially Wizard in Glass.

[tantric]

Just FYI, the motto for CCC is ""Cosmic Love is absolutelely Ruthless and Highly Indifferent: it teaches its lessons whether you like/dislike them or not."
Lovely folks. Read more here: ECCO

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by tantric

Just FYI, the motto for CCC is ""Cosmic Love is absolutelely Ruthless and Highly Indifferent: it teaches its lessons whether you like/dislike them or not."

Yes that works pretty well for people who think that billions died in order to give them psi powers.

Lovely folks. Read more here: ECCO

Thanks!