"DaneelAH on Mars," a recent Biblical story penned by Guy Stewart

Science fiction scribe Guy Stewart, who has been utilizing 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," recently penned a two-part story entitled “DaneelAH on Mars” (Part 1, 2009; Part 2, 2010). Inspired by the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament, here are the opening lines:

They’d been under arrest for two years when the mayor of Malacandra finally agreed to see them. DaneelAH had decided that if the meeting went badly, he’d kill himself.

He tugged his new gray tunic down more tightly, smoothing it over his flat belly. The other three -- HanAH, AzAH, and MishAH had their own rooms at least. When they’d first been grabbed by Malacandra’s mayor during the Great Riot in the Martian capitol, Bradbury City, Mayor Turin had placed them in protective custody in a heavily guarded barracks deep in the city. He’d taken almost fifty Artificial Humans, mostly young adult men and women, though there’d been five little kids. He’d fed them all the best food and let them have the best virtual games. They’d been meticulously groomed... for something...

Guy Stewart is also the author of two other Biblical stories set on the Red Planet: “Paulo on Mars” (2009) and “Stepan on Mars” (Part 1, Part 2, 2010).

Pictured: Russian icon portraying the prophet Daniel.