When I get stuck for names, Google and Wiki are my friends. This is the origin of several of the names used in Wandering Star, as well as historical and other obscure references.
Chapter 1
Captain Von Muller is named after the captain of the SMS Emden a German WW1 cruiser and commerce raider
Chapter 2
Omar Gizbar’s last name is the Hebrew word meaning 'treasurer'
Chapter 3
The Colin Gray Conference Room is named for Colin Gray, top New Zealand fighter ace of the Second World War
Their Finest Hour pub is a reference to Churchill’s speech about the Battle of Brittan
The Christie-Cleek café at the Palma Sola University is named for Andrew Christie, Scottish cannibal circa 1340 known as Christie-Cleek or Christie of the Cleek. It’s also a nod to the Alfred E. Packer grill at the University of Colorado, named for a famed cannibal
The pilot of the small seaplane is named Howard in honor of Howard Hughes, aviation pioneer
Chapter 5
What good will it do for you to save their souls if they lose their lives? From Matthew 16:26
The blue six-legged lizards, lacerti hyacinthi are a reference to the classic short story Arena by Fredric Brown
Chapter 7
Behold, a marvel in the darkness is a reference to Star Trek episode 1.14, Balance of Terror
Chapter 9
Hetman is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe
The name Buna means 'uprising' in Serbo-Croatian
Chapter 10
Tarakana means cockroach in Georgian
The origin of the name Cleavus is from the TV series Gunsmoke, episode 16.21. An old friend of Festus, Cleavus is described as having been dogged by poverty and hard luck all his life
The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few’, Luke 10:2
Chapter 13
Captain Adriensoon is named after Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter, the most famous and one of the most skilled admirals in history, most famous for his role in the Anglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th century
As far as the east is from the west, Psalm 103:12
Chapter 14
I pray that the yoke ahead for you is easy and the burden light, from Matthew 11:30
Chapter 15
…determined to get knit together, from Psalm 139:13
Cuza is named after Alexander John Cuza; 20 March 1820 – 15 May 1873), Prince of Moldavia, Prince of Wallachia, and later Domnitor (Ruler) of the Romanian Principalities. He was a prominent figure of the Revolution of 1848 in Moldavia
Chapter 17
Mala Dusa means little soul in Croatian
Chapter 18
Homo Viator is the title of a book by Gabriel Marcel, often translated as Man on the Way. For life is a journey, an adventure that we are always a part of. We do not choose to be on the way, it is our existential situation. We are not at home, we are on the way home.
Rest here under the shade of the trees, the final words of Stonewall Jackson, “Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees.”
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