As to the name “New Eden”, I would imagine that to be the result of advertising and marketing, to get enough colonizers to fill up the spaceships that will make the journey - to make it profitable and to have a critical mass to make it viable once there.
It could also mean that Earth (and its early colonies closer by, given they already have space travel) wasn’t exactly a happy place. I imagine it to be closer to a Blade Runner reality. Colonizers don’t move away from their origin because they have it so good, do they. In that sense, “the Garden of Eden”, the original paradise lost lends its name to this new hope of finding a better place, and is portrayed as a New Eden.
In terms of lore, it fits perfectly. When disaster strikes (the closing of the original wormhole), all communication between the settlers and their origin is lost. They’re on their own and completely cut off. And humans being humans will … do human things, from the very good to the very bad. Mix in some alien technology discovered, jump gates, cloning and transfer of consciousness, the creation of a subpopulation (capsuleers) who are near immortal beings, the existence of (probably extreme) religious and political groups within the original settlers (undesirables “stimulated” to leave for the new colonies), the inevitability of conflicts between groups, and confrontation with true aliens.
Both capsuleers and NPC’s (or most of them anyway) are human in origin. It’s rather obvious that the game’s world needs NPC’s to function. The populations that live on the planets are never seen, but they are there, just like the personnel that mans the ships and keeps it functioning. They are not a separate world, but it’s a world that is far below the concerns of the pilot class/caste.
Or in the words of Sister Alitura herself:
I ask for help, and they send me a capsuleer.
You are a capsuleer, aren’t you? An immortal pilot who subverts the rules of life and death, who shapes the fate of empires? You’ll have to excuse my skepticism.
I work with a humanitarian organization, the Sisters of EVE. I’ve seen your kind hasten the deaths of millions every day. You expect me to believe that you’re different? To prove yourself, your actions will have to do the talking.…
… Prove to me you’re not just another murderous liar with a god complex. With all the power at your disposal, you certainly could be a force for good…
As to ship names, many are indeed from old (religious) texts and myths that are public domain. Some come from ancient languages (e.g. gnosis, metamorphosis, etc). I suppose devs and writers could have come up with their own names and avoid any reference or connotation.
On the other hand, they sought inspiration in many cultures, avoiding to make these connotations one-sided but international instead. Some are still missing, but maybe when ccp comes up with new ship lines those will be included too (one can only hope).
That some connotations are religious in nature is coincidental. That Amarrians are religious fanatics is intended. That the Minmatar have a historical score to settle with their former “masters” is intended. Then again, there’s no difference in nature between any kinds of fanaticism, is there.
The question remains if the introduction of immortal capsuleers into a society built by humans would only have this many consequences, or that they would completely dominate the landscape, including the existence and nature of the four “empires”. And that is the function of these four empires: to bring a certain level of stability to the game’s world (and a starting place for new players). Take away those four empires and you’d have a nullsec situation, I’d imagine.
So does this class of capsuleers simply “tolerate” the existence of the four empires, or is there more going on from a lore’s perspective ?
