“Stepan on Mars,” a new Biblical story penned by Guy Stewart

Science fiction scribe and SFWA member Guy Stewart has been using his blog (Possibly Irritating Essays on the Intersection of Writing, Christianity and Speculative Fiction) to explore "Biblical history by projecting it into a future that includes the Human colonization of Mars and the establishment of the Unified Faith in Humanity." Back in June, I devoted a post to the first short story in Stewart's series, “Paulo on Mars” (2009). Now I’m focusing on the second story, “Stepan on Mars” (2009).

Set on the Red Planet and paying homage to St. Stephen the Martyr, as well as SF author Edgar Rice Burroughs, “Stepan on Mars” is a two-part story (Part 1, Part 2) inspired by Acts of the Apostles, Chapters 6, 7 and 8. Here are the opening lines of Stewart's story:

He couldn’t sit any longer and stood up. A peacekeeper scowled at him from under her lifted facemask as she shifted the sybil’s muzzle slightly toward him.

Stepan Izmaylov smiled and took a deep breath. He’d been waiting for his audience with the Burrough’s Council of Districts for the past six hours. …

Speaking of Biblical history, I recently discovered that Testament (1988), an awesome television documentary on The Bible written and narrated by British historian and archaeologist John Romer, is not on YouTube!

Pictured: St. Stephen the Martyr, by Italian Renaissance painter Vincenzo Foppa.