Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 102560 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 513(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102560 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 513(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
She gasps beside me at the movement, and I find myself liking the sound of her surprise.
Stepping back, I allow her to pass, and when she does, my hand touches the small of her back.
What the actual fuck?
What am I doing?
Normally, I’m not one to seek contact. Yet I’m not backing away; I’m moving toward it.
She’s a burning candle, and I want to feel the intensity of her heat.
When she steps forward, I quickly move to the side to watch her. To see her reaction. Her eyes are wide. Shock. Maybe even awe glimmering back at me.
The late afternoon sunlight casts shadows around her. It’s like she has a halo. For a second, a desire to snuff out the glow rushes through my brain. Then suddenly, my mind says move closer, and I must.
A gravitational pull forward to bask in her light.
I do neither. Instead, I give myself a shake and point my hand toward where the Wrangler 4 x 4 sits.
She follows my line of sight. “We’re going for a drive?”
“This place is bigger than you think,” I tell her. Her brows lift, and I marvel at how expressive she is. I, on the other hand, have to remind myself to smile.
And I don’t mean that figuratively. I actually have to make myself. Or I wouldn’t.
Although . . . come to think of it, when I smirked at her before, there was no mental prompting.
Interesting.
I lead her to the vehicle, but the moment I do, I realize it will be impossible for her to get in without help. This has a raised chassis without running boards.
She’s trying to step in but can’t really reach the handle.
I knew she was smaller than me, but I’d have to clock her at no taller than five foot two.
“Can I help you?” I ask.
She snarls at me. A look that should piss me off. The truth is, I would be pissed off with anyone else, but instead, I find my lips parting again. She’s cute in a fiery way.
“Suit yourself,” I respond, still watching her. Every moment I do, I find it becomes harder and harder to look away.
Finally, she jumps up, grabs the handle, and gets in.
I’m impressed. She didn’t give up. Tenacious little thing. With her now settled, I walk to my side of the car, slide in, and throw it in reverse.
Then I start to drive.
We pull around the front of the building five minutes later.
“At this location, we only have a few buildings,” I tell her.
“It’s really quite unique. I didn’t even realize they were buildings. The reflective glass mirrors pick up the surroundings.”
I slow the car down to look at her face and gauge her voice’s sincerity. It’s odd. I don’t understand why, but I’m drawn to her expression. The way her eyes widen, the way I feel when I see it. I want to see this place through her eyes. I want to experience her awe. The way she takes it all in.
I nod. “Yes. Exactly. That’s the point. For there to be no difference between building and nature. This was my vision, to preserve its integrity and beauty.”
“It’s seamless.”
“Thank you.”
“And fully AI,” she states.
“Yes. As you must have noticed, all the doors open as you step toward them, but that’s only the beginning. The computer will know who is walking in and when and change its response to the person approaching.”
“Are you serious?” she asks, craning her head to look.
“As a heart attack.”
I pull farther down the road, then turn us onto a dirt road. The car jerks and she grabs the oh-shit bar. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
Pulling through the road, I hear her exquisite gasps as what I’m showing her comes into focus. I like that I keep surprising her to get those delicious sounds.
“These are the private residences. Each house will blend in with the trees. Since the glass is reflective, you can’t see in, and the wood is synthetic to blend with the branches.”
“It feels like it’s set in the tree.”
“As close as I could possibly design it to be.”
We continue driving, and I point out the men and trucks building another home.
“We aren’t complete yet, but we should be soon. The main buildings are finished, but the private residences are still being constructed, yet because of the way it branches out within the mountain, homeowners will never be disturbed by their neighbors or ongoing development.”
Layla is practically hanging out of the car. With each house we pass, she seems truly fascinated with what she sees. “And the homes, are they also controlled by the same artificial intelligence system as the main building?”
“They are. Each homeowner will have a choice of how they want to use it, but the option is defaulted for fully functional.”
“So, what you’ve really set out to do is make The Elysian take over the world, starting right here in Upstate New York. Someone has been reading too much Vonnegut.”