Pontifex was a planet in the Talbott Quadrant, one of the two habitable worlds of the Nuncio System. In 1921 PD, it became a member of the Star Empire of Manticore.
Its planetary capital was Ollander Landing.
Weather
Compared to Basilica, Pontifex was cold and dry. (SI1)
History
The very religious colonists settling in the Nuncio System in the 14th Century PD originally landed on Basilica, apparently the more inviting of the system's two habitable planets.
Unfortunately, they were unable to afford as much modern technology as most other colonizing expeditions, and what they'd managed to bring with them had not been up to making the genetic modifications required for a successful colonization. When their crops failed and most of their food animals died, the colonists transfered about half of their surviving population and what remained of their resources to Pontifex.
None of the people left behind on Basilica survived, and over half of those who managed to transfer died during the first winter on Pontifex. All in all, less than 16 percent of the original expedition survived, having regressed to an early steam-powered level and staying there for generations. After their ancestors' failure, the Nuncians abandoned their religious ways in favor of a secular society.
The Nuncians were finally "re-discovered" by the rest of humanity in the 18th Century PD.
By 1920 PD, Nuncio was a poverty-stricken star system, even for the Verge: the planetary population was barely 350 million, and its technological capabilities and educational system were far inferior even to what the Protectorate of Grayson had attained before joining the Manticoran Alliance. (SI1)
In 1921 PD, Pontifex and the entire Nuncio System became part of the Star Empire of Manticore. (SI2)
Society and Culture
Due to their history, many Nuncians had a rather cynical attitude towards religious faith, and held no particularly high opinion of their ancestors. (SI1)