Essay, Research Paper: Frontera

Frontera Book Review

As we know today, we have currently been unable to colonize any of the many planets that surround our own. In the novel, Frontera, our imaginations are spurred by the possibilities of this endeavor in the future. As we take the technology of space travel, exploration and colonization further and further, we begin to realize that it may not remain science fiction for too much longer. Will it be possible to live on another planet in the future? Maybe Earth will become too overcrowded and we will need to look elsewhere for real estate. Could we rely only on the resources of a foreign planet to survive? Is the question will we ever see the day or when will the day come? These questions are very important as we look toward future space exploration and colonization.
Frontera, written by Lewis Shiner in 1984, was a science fiction novel that looks at the idea of colonization on a planet other than our own. The book began by explaining that NASA has gone bankrupt and their many space programs were deadlocked. One of these programs was Frontera. Frontera was the first permanent space colony on the planet of Mars. When NASA went belly-up, many of the Frontera residents refused to take the last space shuttle to Earth and decided to stay for good on the Martian surface. Ten years later, the giant conglomerate Pulsystems put together the first space flight since NASA broke up. It was thought by many that Frontera was a ghost town. However, what the recovery mission found, headed by a man named Kane, was not what was expected. The colony was thriving! And more importantly, they had developed a device that was very valuable - an anti-matter transporter device. Pulsystems knew this and had secretly implanted a chip inside Kane's body programming him to bring the technology back to Earth. They were in a race against the Russians who had also been tipped off of its existence. Whether Kane liked it or not, he was a puppet being controlled by a corporate superpower who would not quit until the prize was theirs, no matter what the cost.
In this novel, many new technologies were introduced. Shiner wrote this book in 1984, almost 15 years ago and much of the novel still remains science fiction. For example, the idea of living on another planet presents a large number of problems. How do you support a large group of people on a planet that has an atmosphere that is arid, void of oxygen, and has extreme temperature changes? In the novel, Frontera, the problem was solved by the construction of a giant dome that blocked out the unlivable outside atmosphere and created an inhabitable inner bubble. Something interesting that the book described was how human being responded to being trapped in this bubble. Many of the people on Frontera became very anti-social over time. They found it hard to get away from each other because of the confines of the dome. Every time they chose to go outside the protective glass, they had to be inside a space suit. This caused many people to try to find a quite space alone and away from each other. Many of the shops and stores that had be set up as a means of trade among the residents were closed. People acted very strange around each other as their stay in the colony progressed.
Another technology that was introduced was the method of cultivating crops in the Martian soil. It was explained to the reader that when the colony began, only radishes grew in the red soil. But, new technology was created to treat the soil so that it would sustain other plant crops such as corn and wheat. Also, goats and chickens were introduced and bred to provide food for the people living on Frontera.
As the novel continued, we learn that Kane has been implanted with a chip that influences his behavior. This technology is not possible today, not only because we do not know how to do it, but also because of the moral and ethical issues that arise out of the concept. The fact that Kane had this implant placed in his body without his knowledge presents violations of his natural rights as a human being. The idea would not be accepted in today's society and in my opinion, the technology will not be developed anytime soon.
A very interesting development that the book revolves around was the creation of a device that could transport anyone and anything from one place to another. The device uses anti-matter to dismantle an object at one end, transmit and re-build the object at the destination. This technology would change our lives if it existed in today's world. The cost of transporting goods would drop to almost nothing and pollution would be greatly curved as the motor as a means of transportation would be abolished. The transporter would improve society and advance the communications revolution ten-fold.
Lewis Shiner's novel, Frontera, presents us with a possible future world. Like many science fiction writers, Shiner looks into our dreams and creative imaginations to paint a futuristic brave new world. As we better our technology and build upon what others have done in the communications revolution, we get closer and closer to science fact. The idea of colonizing another planet may play a major part in our lives in the future. Will it happen, I think so. But maybe we should ask the new question - when will it happen?