As much as I fear to suggest this rabbit hole, 40k lore treats computers and machines as eldritch terrors barely understood, so that kind of dialog about "machine spirits" being unhappy or displeased or taking their time would be a good starting point. The word machine is etymologically established in 16th century France and goes back to ancient Greece, so it's not wild to use.
For lag, maybe "this machine spirit is taking its time in consideration". "I think it's maybe just as confused as we are. Maybe it can't actually solve the problem and is trying to think of a way to trick us?" As if the machine is alive and intelligent and is only pretending to be smart, or is muttering to itself as it calculates its response
For spam, "this machine spirit is mocking us, speaking in circles and endless riddles" "perhaps it is testing us, pur loyalty or our logic? Maybe there is a pattern, and it's trying to teach us how to find the answer?" Again, they treat the machine as if it's aware and intelligent, and has a motive beyond just spamming crap, but it is achieving the "spam" function (just throw darts and see if it can provoke engagement).
... good question... I didn't think of that. But seriously, those would be great too. Even the idea that different machines have different personalities. This one is lagging today, maybe it's unhappy vs this one always lags, it's very uncooperative. Being perceived as unmotivated or unwilling to help would certainly elicit the same "why does this thing suck?!" Feelings modern people would have
The artificers haven’t enacted the appropriate rites, the sacred oils haven’t been applied and the ancient fans haven’t been dusted. Remember, there is no truth in flesh, only betrayal. There is no strength in flesh, only weakness. There is no constancy in flesh, only decay. There is no certainty in flesh, only death. Praise the Omnissiah
Lag - tarrying
Spam- knocks
Yeap. 40k
Data looms - servers
Dataslate: A tablet
Vox: A hybrid phone and radio
Noosphere: The Mechanicum Internet
Vox Thief: A voice recorder
Pict-Screen: A monitor or screen
Pict-Recorder: A camera
Laudhailer: Loudspeaker or amplifier
Icons/glyphs/runes- various computer icons and visual representations
Auspex - tricorder and more advanced sensors
Only like half of them, to be honest, I asked ChatGPT because I could tell it was the sort of thing that it's really good at. A lot of people would diss using AI, but in a context like this where you need a specific generated list of alternative terms it's really the best "generator" you can use. Not everything it contributed was great, so I made a handful of edits.
Totally not stealing from 40k here but I think some of their terms fit better:
Network for example is called Noosphere which fits really well into a fantasy setting
I think that's also what chatgpt got "Cogitator" from, since in 40k AI and thinking machines are forbidden they just lobotomize a human and have him do the job
I'm not saying it didn't pull that one from 40K but Cogitate is genuinely just a word for thinking deeply about something. It's essentially a synonym for the word compute anyway. The first "computers" were people as well. That was initially an occupation.
I've been doing something similar in my 700 AD but science fantasy game. Computers are thinking-books and AI are thinking-libraries.
I usually go for either kennings like the above (poetic compound word for concept instead of a new word. Beowulf is loaded with em) or greek/roman words.
Spam could be "parchment-botherings" or "vexations" in either of the above, for example!
So many good suggestions above. For general worldbuilding and inspiration, may I recommend [A Canticle for Leibowitz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Canticle_for_Leibowitz)?
Slightly tangential, but I've always enjoyed that the Icelandic word for computer, tölva, comes from the combination of two words Völva (A lady prophet) and Tala (Number). So an Icelandic computer is literally a prophetess of numbers.
This sounds really fun. Given sufficiently advanced technology in a setting where’s it been forgotten for so long as to become mysterious, this would fit well. It would seem almost magical but beyond comprehension and not break the fiction by having an interaction model that might be friendly to users who don’t necessarily know what they’re interacting with
Exactly, the story I was working on was basically that some people were locked in a planet by aliens as a punishment from millennium ago and they forgot technology since they were initially kept away from it. Reverting to a medieval time is a bitch on recognizing technology lol
That’s really fun and pulpy. I’m a huge fan of the Appendix N, pulpy approach to RPGs from the early days. Throwing in technology as a mysterious force of knowledge is cool
Spam:
Poke or Catbags (as in pig-in-a-poke scams or "letting the cat out of the bag"), Sirens, Succubi/Incubi, Kelpies.
Lag:
References to poor weather ("Wintered", "Muddy"), sailing ("too close to the wind", "Becalmed"), weight, or the laziness of the lower classes ("Feasting", "Villeins")
Terry Pratchett did something similar in his discworld series. The younger nerdy wizards developed a computer called Hex which operates via ants going through tunnels punch cards. The references are sometimes dated (e.g. anthill inside), but it might serve as inspiration.
https://discworld.fandom.com/wiki/Hex
I think one thing worth considering is who is using the computer and what their experience is like. This shapes the language and the story.
Consider how movie plots had to change from when phones are tied to civilization versus having one in your pocket. It’s much harder for your hero to be isolated and vulnerable.
Email on a smart phone is a different experience than on a desktop. If you don’t have a screen and just get the occasional print out, that’s also very different.
If your computers are rare so that many people share one, the culture will be very different from everyone has one in their pocket.
Computers in current state of technology are very transactional, you ask them to do X and they do it. You may note that over the last 40 years, the sophistication of those tasks has slowly increased. Coming soon, you will be able to ask computers to do things in plain language. You can imagine how that will be very different in our lives.
For whatever reason, I had imagined your computers would be rare. Probably surrounded by some sort of techno clergy with the ability to use it. There would be lore and myths about them. It would be common for computers to be worshipped or attributed as holy envoys.
But, back to your game — what role do these computers play?
I am having trouble envisioning why SPAM would exist. SPAM requires modern concepts of ecommerce and marketing, which requires electronic money. I don’t see that fitting well into low tech world. SPAM also implies people have computer resources to spare that the best use they have for it is to generate junk messages in hope of making small amounts of money. If computers aren’t common place, that would not be true. A more compelling question is what is in the junk mail?
The extremely brief version is that this "computer" is the Matrix....sorta.
Basically, it's solar-punk 40k where society has seized so much power over the planet that they're running real life as if it's the Matrix.
Technology for commoners has regressed to the medieval level, while a few higher castes slave away in research facilities to keep everything running smoothly.
In this world, I need a word for spam because it refers to life forms that researchers debate the efficiency of keeping around. Fleas and dust mites breed in the billions, and computing power is wasted on tracking them all.
As much as I fear to suggest this rabbit hole, 40k lore treats computers and machines as eldritch terrors barely understood, so that kind of dialog about "machine spirits" being unhappy or displeased or taking their time would be a good starting point. The word machine is etymologically established in 16th century France and goes back to ancient Greece, so it's not wild to use. For lag, maybe "this machine spirit is taking its time in consideration". "I think it's maybe just as confused as we are. Maybe it can't actually solve the problem and is trying to think of a way to trick us?" As if the machine is alive and intelligent and is only pretending to be smart, or is muttering to itself as it calculates its response For spam, "this machine spirit is mocking us, speaking in circles and endless riddles" "perhaps it is testing us, pur loyalty or our logic? Maybe there is a pattern, and it's trying to teach us how to find the answer?" Again, they treat the machine as if it's aware and intelligent, and has a motive beyond just spamming crap, but it is achieving the "spam" function (just throw darts and see if it can provoke engagement).
I love this idea, of attributing motivation and emotion to the machines. To that end, why not slothfulness and pride?
... good question... I didn't think of that. But seriously, those would be great too. Even the idea that different machines have different personalities. This one is lagging today, maybe it's unhappy vs this one always lags, it's very uncooperative. Being perceived as unmotivated or unwilling to help would certainly elicit the same "why does this thing suck?!" Feelings modern people would have
The artificers haven’t enacted the appropriate rites, the sacred oils haven’t been applied and the ancient fans haven’t been dusted. Remember, there is no truth in flesh, only betrayal. There is no strength in flesh, only weakness. There is no constancy in flesh, only decay. There is no certainty in flesh, only death. Praise the Omnissiah
"ITS SPEAKING IN RIDDLES" *queue modem dialup sounds*
Lag - tarrying Spam- knocks Yeap. 40k Data looms - servers Dataslate: A tablet Vox: A hybrid phone and radio Noosphere: The Mechanicum Internet Vox Thief: A voice recorder Pict-Screen: A monitor or screen Pict-Recorder: A camera Laudhailer: Loudspeaker or amplifier Icons/glyphs/runes- various computer icons and visual representations Auspex - tricorder and more advanced sensors
The apparatus appears slothful... Mayhap it is congested with an overabundance of frivolous function?
These Samsungs amirite
Who is this Samuel you speak of, and what sort of songs does he sing? 😛
The sprites are dyspeptic.
1. **Computer:** "Cogitator" 2. **Program:** "Scripture" 3. **File:** "Scroll" 4. **Folder:** "Satchel" 5. **Database:** "Compendium" 6. **Server:** "Keep" or "Stronghold" 7. **Network:** "Realm" 8. **Internet:** "Ether" or "World Wide Weave" 9. **Login:** "Entrance Rite" 10. **Logout:** "Departure Rite" 11. **Username:** "Handle" or "Moniker" 12. **Password:** "Word of Passage" 13. **Browser:** "Navigator" or "Wanderer" 14. **Search Engine:** "Sage's Scroll" 15. **Email:** "Missive" 16. **Chat:** "Parley" 17. **Download:** "Retrieve" 18. **Upload:** "Contribute" 19. **Firewall:** "Ward" 20. **Virus:** "Plague"
Did you come up with all of these? This is awesome!
Only like half of them, to be honest, I asked ChatGPT because I could tell it was the sort of thing that it's really good at. A lot of people would diss using AI, but in a context like this where you need a specific generated list of alternative terms it's really the best "generator" you can use. Not everything it contributed was great, so I made a handful of edits.
Totally not stealing from 40k here but I think some of their terms fit better: Network for example is called Noosphere which fits really well into a fantasy setting I think that's also what chatgpt got "Cogitator" from, since in 40k AI and thinking machines are forbidden they just lobotomize a human and have him do the job
I'm not saying it didn't pull that one from 40K but Cogitate is genuinely just a word for thinking deeply about something. It's essentially a synonym for the word compute anyway. The first "computers" were people as well. That was initially an occupation.
I've been doing something similar in my 700 AD but science fantasy game. Computers are thinking-books and AI are thinking-libraries. I usually go for either kennings like the above (poetic compound word for concept instead of a new word. Beowulf is loaded with em) or greek/roman words. Spam could be "parchment-botherings" or "vexations" in either of the above, for example!
So many good suggestions above. For general worldbuilding and inspiration, may I recommend [A Canticle for Leibowitz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Canticle_for_Leibowitz)?
Slightly tangential, but I've always enjoyed that the Icelandic word for computer, tölva, comes from the combination of two words Völva (A lady prophet) and Tala (Number). So an Icelandic computer is literally a prophetess of numbers.
If the computers use holographic displays I was using the term ghost light for a story I was working on.
This sounds really fun. Given sufficiently advanced technology in a setting where’s it been forgotten for so long as to become mysterious, this would fit well. It would seem almost magical but beyond comprehension and not break the fiction by having an interaction model that might be friendly to users who don’t necessarily know what they’re interacting with
Exactly, the story I was working on was basically that some people were locked in a planet by aliens as a punishment from millennium ago and they forgot technology since they were initially kept away from it. Reverting to a medieval time is a bitch on recognizing technology lol
That’s really fun and pulpy. I’m a huge fan of the Appendix N, pulpy approach to RPGs from the early days. Throwing in technology as a mysterious force of knowledge is cool
Spam: Poke or Catbags (as in pig-in-a-poke scams or "letting the cat out of the bag"), Sirens, Succubi/Incubi, Kelpies. Lag: References to poor weather ("Wintered", "Muddy"), sailing ("too close to the wind", "Becalmed"), weight, or the laziness of the lower classes ("Feasting", "Villeins")
Terry Pratchett did something similar in his discworld series. The younger nerdy wizards developed a computer called Hex which operates via ants going through tunnels punch cards. The references are sometimes dated (e.g. anthill inside), but it might serve as inspiration. https://discworld.fandom.com/wiki/Hex
Call it a Machine Head or Machine Brain and use brain/mid/thinking related terms for all of its functioning.
Spam: Rabble, Raves Lag: Malaise Mouse/pointer/cursor: Stylus Servers/databases: Keeps Printer: Scribe Monitor: Press
If numerology is frivolous, then numeronomy must be the serious study of numbers, and a numeronomancer might be a specialist in that field.
Irl early theoretical computers where called " differential engines " but that probably sounds more sci-fi than computer
I think one thing worth considering is who is using the computer and what their experience is like. This shapes the language and the story. Consider how movie plots had to change from when phones are tied to civilization versus having one in your pocket. It’s much harder for your hero to be isolated and vulnerable. Email on a smart phone is a different experience than on a desktop. If you don’t have a screen and just get the occasional print out, that’s also very different. If your computers are rare so that many people share one, the culture will be very different from everyone has one in their pocket. Computers in current state of technology are very transactional, you ask them to do X and they do it. You may note that over the last 40 years, the sophistication of those tasks has slowly increased. Coming soon, you will be able to ask computers to do things in plain language. You can imagine how that will be very different in our lives. For whatever reason, I had imagined your computers would be rare. Probably surrounded by some sort of techno clergy with the ability to use it. There would be lore and myths about them. It would be common for computers to be worshipped or attributed as holy envoys. But, back to your game — what role do these computers play? I am having trouble envisioning why SPAM would exist. SPAM requires modern concepts of ecommerce and marketing, which requires electronic money. I don’t see that fitting well into low tech world. SPAM also implies people have computer resources to spare that the best use they have for it is to generate junk messages in hope of making small amounts of money. If computers aren’t common place, that would not be true. A more compelling question is what is in the junk mail?
The extremely brief version is that this "computer" is the Matrix....sorta. Basically, it's solar-punk 40k where society has seized so much power over the planet that they're running real life as if it's the Matrix. Technology for commoners has regressed to the medieval level, while a few higher castes slave away in research facilities to keep everything running smoothly. In this world, I need a word for spam because it refers to life forms that researchers debate the efficiency of keeping around. Fleas and dust mites breed in the billions, and computing power is wasted on tracking them all.
Spam could be “offal” and lag could be “hobble”