The planet named Frontera is mentioned a total of five times in ‘Dim Distant Stars,’ as the future posting of Father John Barbosa when he finishes his education in planetology. A few details are dropped, mostly that it has an orange sun and has only begun the long process of terraforming. Father John is to play a role in that.
The name is unimportant. I lifted it from a book on Mexico I happened to be reading — it is a city in the north of the country. The choice is of no importance to the plot, except to suggest the culture of its settlers. It may be noted, however, that ‘Frontera’ is the title of a science fiction novel by Lewis Shiner, that was somewhat successful when published several decades ago. I probably knew the book existed but I doubt it had any influence on my choice of a planetary name.
Incidentally, John Barbosa hailed from a world named Juvelo, a word I lifted from Esperanto and meaning jewel or gem. But there’s also a little wordplay there, as it also sounds similar to words for young or juvenile in both Spanish and English (and, of course, John’s native language, Lingo). So maybe a young world. There are a lot of those in Jack’s day, and more being settled all the time.
