Magisteria

by Christopher Hellstrom

It is a time of plenty. The American flag is decorated with sixty-two stars. Colonies dot the Moon. Simulated Intelligence shapes daily life, and income from Prosperity Dividends promises comfort for all.

Yet beneath the sheen of progress, something is broken. Humanity is restless. Unsatisfied. And haunted.

Magisteria is a sweeping blend of alternate history, speculative science, and cosmic mystery—a story of power, purpose, and the price of escaping the human condition.

380 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 1, 2025

About the author

I'm the Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at Lehigh University. I have two daughters from a previous marriage and live in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania with my wife.

I wrote my dissertation, "Alpha Geek," on sci-fi novelist Neal Stephenson and self-published, "The March," "Fresh Kills,", "Magisteria," "EXIT ZERO: Seven Stories," and the forthcoming "The Crossing of the Dawn Cypress."

Each month I release a new chapter or story on Substack. https://substack.com/@chrishellstrom

Reviews

[Matthew Sciarrino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aliens, AI (or SI), parallel universes (maybe, philosophy, music, Alt- history. What more could you want from sci-fi.

[Christopher Hellstrom · Rating 5 out of 5]

So amazing!