“Basilica Obscura” by Jason William Karpf is a 2022 Realm Award finalist in the novelette category. The story appears in the Christian space opera anthology Wonders of the Galaxy from Elk Lake Publishing.
“Basilica Obscura” takes place a half-millennium in the future. A space ark containing the remnants of humankind malfunctions. Two 17-year-olds—a Christian girl and a humanist boy—must unite their factions to bring their people to the promised land, the planet Eden II. The outcast Christians live in the core of the space ark, a miles-long chamber that takes in dark matter and space debris to fuel the ship. Over the centuries, believers have built a church from meteor fragments—Basilica Obscura, larger than St. Peter’s on old Earth, their mighty sanctuary in the stars.
Congratulations and prayers to my fellow finalists. Deepest thanks to my publisher, Elk Lake Publishing.
JASON WILLIAM KARPF 