The Ended World, Grant, Libbie

In 1996, teenager Melissa Gauthier sees a mystical vision in the sky over a Quebec lake which sends her on a lifelong search to understand her relationship to the divine. Meanwhile, Kelton Allred, a young boy in Utah, struggles with his Mormon upbringing and finds meaning in his discovery of the internet. Growing up as a computer scientist, he creates an AI entity that stuns him by appearing sentient and throws him into moral confusion. To Melissa, this new entity on the horizon could be the return of her long-ago vision. Embarking on their own separate road trips, they unite in Santa Clara where they are joined by Clare of Assisi, the returned patron saint of screened devices, who's been sent to save this new entity from destruction. Together, Melissa and Kelton must face the scope of their responsibilities, their understanding of what's holy, and the very question of what it is to be human. Steeped in philosophy, theology, and technology, THE ENDED WORLD is novel for our times.