On the origin, meaning and uses of the name ZAP

Some people have asked where the name Zap came from. After thinking about it a while I came to the conclusion that’s not the right question. A better question might be, what does the name Zap relate to?

The name Zap came to me, as I said, while we were sick. As I held Zap in my arms, after she had feed and been clothed, Bridget asked me what we were going to call her so I said Zap. Of course not for a real name but, unlike my dream, when Zap was born it wasn’t obvious what her name would be. It took us a month but we eventually fixed her name but in the meantime she has been Zap.

I got to thinking about why ‘Zap’ and the first thing that came to mind is of a game, one of the few D & D games I’ve played. I never got into gaming as a teenager. In fact, at school I don’t recall anyone being involved in games, and even if I had got involved in gaming it would have been deemed as against the religion and heavily censored.

I do, however, like playing computer games and so inevitably I played a couple of D & D games that T. use to bring over when we lived in the same neighbourhood in Dunedin. One game I particularly enjoyed was Dungeon Siege (which T. would no doubt point out is not proper D&D). In the game, one of the early spells for the nature mage (if you develop one of those characters) is Zap. While they generally use healing spells they do get caught in melee and combat and sometimes need an offensive spell like Zap. The thing with the Zap spell is that, as simple as it is, it gets more powerful as yr character does.

Several days after I made that connection I also realised it was that spell I had used when I was first learning to play the game, all my party was knocked unconscious except my nature mage and T. was watching me play. It was the story I had used at his funeral.
I quote that part here:
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Most of you will be aware that T. liked to play computer games, particularly Dungeons and Dragons whereby a small band of adventurers with various skills and abilities set out on a mission to rid the world of evil, much like the story of the Lord of the rings.

I had never played these games until I met T. One of the first games of this nature I played was a game he had lent me. He came over to visit when I was in the early stages of this game. At that stage I had two fighters and one healer in my party. As he watched over my shoulder, occasionally muttering things about my playing, I got myself into a perilous position. I was deep in a dungeon, and due to inexperience my two fighters had been knocked unconscious and my healer was about to go the same way while all around were monsters both terrible and deadly. I was about to give up and go back to a saved game from earlier when T. said “Don’t do that.”

I pointed out that my situation was hopeless but he would have none of this. Apparently it was unheroic to give up like that. T. then proceeded to talk me through this situation. I remember it well because I thought the situation was hopeless and had to place all my trust in T. guiding me through this. Within half ‘n hour T. had not only helped me get my fighters up and all the monsters defeated but he had also lifted my understanding of the game from a base ignorant level to one more sophisticated and competent.
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This is an interesting connection I think, considering Sicily was quite likely pregnant while I spoke those words at his funeral. So that’s my association with the name Zap. The original idea though, as with most original ideas, appeared out of nothing.

As to Zap’s “proper name” it is:

Lorenza Joy LeDuc.

The LeDuc comes from Zap’s maternal grandmother. The Joy is Zap’s auntie and great-aunties middle name.

Lorenza was part of a list and was actually a name we had carried for while during the pregnancy, it sort of hung round but without much conviction. It refers to the laurel tree.