So I was thinking about my story the other day, and about how the first chapter contains a lot of old sci fi cliches but not a whole lot of the unfamiliar. I was trying to figure out what original concepts I could throw in there and how to make the point of view a lot closer to the viewpoint character (Ian), when I had this great idea…
The universe of this story I’m creating consists basically of a giant human empire that collapsed and fell apart during a four hundred year war against hostile AI. During that time, everyone separated into different tribes, or “clans,” but stayed together in a loose confederation in order to win the war.
The first chapter takes place in a ship that belongs to the Vasik clan. The clan becomes important much later in the book, and one of the main characters is a member of that clan. As I got closer to Ian’s point of view, asking myself what he was really seeing and experiencing in those first few chapters, I started to wonder: what would it be like to be on one of these clan warships?
It would probably be much different than the space shuttle or the international space station. The ship would belong completely to the clan, and not to any other organization. It would probably contain several symbols and slogans to remind the people on board who they were and what they fought for. When you walk (or, in zero gee, float) inside, you would notice right away that you had entered into Vasik clan territory.
So I figured it would be kind of cool to get that across. Trouble was, I had to come up with a cool idea for a slogan.
I named the Vasik clan a little bit after my own name (I’ve heard of people with the last name of Vasik down in Texas, where my ancestors came to right after they immigrated here), so I decided to research the Czech republic and see what I could find.
I ran a google search, then went to wikipedia, and started finding all of this really cool information about the Czech republic and the Czech people. These are my ancestors, so it was especially interesting to learn about famous Czechs, as well as some of the interesting tactics they employed during the Hussite wars.
It took me about an hour, but then I ran across the Czech national motto: “Pravda Vitezei” — Truth Prevails.
How cool is that? Not only is it catchy, it’s also deep and can be taken in all kinds of cool ways. It’s very hopeful, as well as quite religious, and it’s optimistic as well. Cool stuff.
Of course, this got me really, really interested in all kinds of Czech stuff. I mean, this is my heritage, and I really ought to know it better. From what little I gleaned, it seems like this culture was really down to earth and practical, while at the same time giving birth to some very gifted artists, writers, and thinkers. Plus, the people tend to look a lot more like me–big, blond, brawny, and capable of growing some awesome facial hair.
Cool stuff. And now I kind of want to learn Czech, just so I can figure more out about this stuff. I really want to visit the Czech Republic some day and go visit the land of my ancestors. I hear that there’s some kind of Vasicek family estate up there in the mountains of Moravia, and I’d like to visit it. Plus, I hear that Prague is just a really awesome city.
Yay for all this cool stuff! And hopefully it will help me make this novel really cool as well.
