Commonwealth: A Novel of Utopia, part 2, chapter 3
Author’s Note: This is an excerpt from my novel Commonwealth. The rest of today’s installment is free, but only on my Patreon site. If you want to read the next part today, it’s already up on Patreon as well. You can sign up for as little as $1/month, or $2 for exclusive author’s notes and behind-the-scenes material. There’s also a table of contents for all published chapters.
They left the hangars, taking the people-mover toward one of the soaring sail-white towers Rae had seen from a distance.
“The domes are for late-stage prototyping,” Jane said. “These are the theoretical and experimental research sections.”
The track ended outside the tower, and they stepped off the disc and passed through a revolving door into a glass atrium full of light. Palms and broad-leaved tropical trees in planter beds spread branches to catch the sun. Fountains bubbled in freshwater ponds.
Smart-glass panels displayed rotating holographic artworks and constantly changing fractal mandalas. People sat on wicker chairs and benches in the shade of the trees, sipping coffee and having animated conversations. Some of them were gathered around easels that looked like whiteboards but responded to touch, allowing the debaters to paint ideas and formulas with their hands in liquid streaks of color.
“It’s a wonder anyone ever thought that the best place for creativity was a gray cubicle under fluorescent lights,” Jane said offhandedly.