Thy Perfect Light

Shuddering horribly, the spaceliner launched from the doomed station and joined the mass exodus. Commander Haywood checked his ship’s environmental systems. Every spare cubic meter was crammed with people; the air purifiers were redlining.

Ahead, wormhole openings flashed like blazing baubles. Behind, the sun’s treacherous core continued its irreversible collapse. They had just minutes left before the supernova would consume the system.

As Haywood initiated the hyperspace sequence, he thought about the cataclysm’s light that would shine, in time, throughout the galaxy. On what undiscovered worlds would it be heralded by infant civilisations as a beacon above their newborn saviours?