Flash Fiction: "The God Comet"

(Word count: 286. Genres: Science fiction, religious. Copyright 2013 by Shawn C. Please do not distribute without permission.)

Alexander, the environmental officer of the Persephone, stared at the enormous icy boulder eternally tumbling through the cosmos. The ship's lounge was a place where the small crew routinely gathered to relax on the long voyage. He watched as particles here and there flew off the comet and into the collection scoops to be used by the ship. Always providing, yet never seeming to get smaller.

"It's still the same comet," first officer Becka quipped as she walked to his side. "Two hundred years behind that thing. We all know it like the backs of our hands."

"There's something... mesmerizing about it."

"You could see a cat and be mesmerized."

"This far from Earth? You bet I would."

They both chuckled, then settled into a soft gaze on the tumbling rock.

"Have you ever thought about God?" Alex asked Becka, a topic not often mentioned.

"Long enough to know I don't believe in him."

Alex nodded in acknowledgement. "The orphanage that placed me in my foster homes was distinctly Catholic. As were my foster parents, so I heard plenty about the divine. Sometimes, when I'm looking at that comet, I wonder if maybe I'm getting a little glimpse of God himself."

"All I see is a big rock with an equally big ship behind it."

"That's what I usually see, too. But when I think about it, the comet is there, powering the ship, keeping us alive. Kind of like what I was taught God did when I was a kid."

Becka mused on the words for a few moments. "It's a nice sentiment. But I think we're a bit too far from Earth to find God. We have a comet."

"Mhmm. We have a comet."