“The Last Prophet” by Nicholas Marconi debates unwavering belief even in the face of significant doubt
Laura Ceslie, Editor, Andromeda Spaceways Magazine, Issue #81, December 2020a very timely story. But, ultimately, the question remains: who’s telling the truth?”
Before I give my preview, I want to strongly recommend that you purchase this issue of Andromeda Spaceways Magazine. Not only does it contain “The Last Prophet,” but also a bevy of remarkable speculative fiction pieces from writers around the world. The entire issue is fantastic, and well worth your time.
I wrote the first draft of this story in the summer of 2019, and although it underwent a minor revision in the spring of 2020, the vast majority of the piece is what I had written before the pandemic. It was not intentional that this story sees print at a time when our society has to reckon with the brutal consequences of unwavering faith for so many in the face of contradictory facts, yet on some level I don’t believe it’s a coincidence. The underlying struggle to reconcile what we believe with what can be proven is something everyone experiences, and this struggle has been elevated in the public sphere as of late.
On its surface, “The Last Prophet” is a detective story in which Dr. Stephen Brevlovski attempts to discern whether or not one of his patients, Bob, is a time-traveling prophet from the future. At it’s heart, “The Last Prophet” is an exploration of faith. Not just for Brevlovski, but for you, the reader. And I don’t mean that solely in a religious sense. As readers, we readily suspend our disbelief to accept a story’s premise, often to the point of accepting what is stated without it being directly demonstrated on page. Writers refer to this as “telling instead of showing.” I deliberately didn’t “show” anything that Bob claims, he only “tells.” As you read the story, I want you to think about how willing you are to accept his claims, based on traditional story conventions and expectations as well as how much his worldview resonates with you on a personal level. What does that make you think about how willing you are to accept premises in other works of fiction? How about in real life?
Ultimately, that leaves you with the million dollar question: Is Bob telling the truth? Is he making it all up? Is he just crazy? If his message is good and the end result is the same regardless, does it even matter?