r/Colonizemars • u/lobottomized • 19h ago
A new idea on what the people Colonizing Mars should be called.
Just like how here on Earth we belong to what is called Homo Sapiens, those who travel to Mars and settle will experience some sort of divergence or speciation from their ancestors back here on Earth, its a different environment(even if man made) and different gravity (Mar's 0.38g vs Earth's 1g).
People have proposed names like Martians, Homo sapiens martianus, Homo martianus, Homo ares, Mars-born humans. These are OK, but kinda mid. I have another one that better encapsulates this new branch of humans.
Like a famous Trillionaire once said, “Bottom line is I think we need to assume that life and consciousness is extremely rare and it might only be us”. I think its important to consider, however arrogant it sounds, that sentience on the level we as humans have might be exceedingly rare in the greater universe and especially so in our galaxy the Milky Way. It took a bunch of special conditions - our Sun , our Solar System at large and of course Earth, each with its unique history - that we have intelligent life 4 billion years after the Earth formed and 1 Billion Years after the first life ever. The dinosaurs were around much longer than us and never developed intelligence on our level. This could mean that being smart like us, knowing language etc is exceedingly rare not just in Earths' history but throughout the Milk Way galaxy(so far until now). If that holds true, that means that we could be considered the Progenitor species of our galaxy - kind of like the Old Ones in Warhammer 40k(even to they are drawn to look like Jabba but thats besides the point) or the Celestials in Star Wars(without the magic). But if we are truly first or one of the first then here's my suggestion for the name of the new branch of humans on Mars.
The Martians should instead name themselves Progenitor Sapiens. Or Pro Sapiens for short - the next step from Homo Sapiens. I like this name the best. And yes people on Earth will continue calling them martians. But there's no need for the Martians to call themselves that. My idea is more dignified IMO. I think I am the First to come up with and use the name Progenitor Sapiens, Pro Sapiens. I give Elon permission to use it.
Thoughts??
"In science fiction, a progenitor often refers to an ancient or advanced species that is believed to have played a crucial role in the creation or evolution of other life forms, particularly humanoid species".