Commonwealth: A Novel of Utopia, part 2, chapter 9
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.
Rae’s door swung open at her touch as if welcoming her. The lights came on, but remained courteously low, lighting the path to her bedroom.
She shucked her clothes, drew on the last of her strength to wash up and scrub the faded designs off her face, and collapsed into bed.
But in one of those frustrating little perversities of the human brain, as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was wide awake.
Rae tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable position, watching the play of moonlight and shadow on her walls. She focused on her breath and her heartbeat, trying to will herself into a meditative state, but it didn’t help. She was tired, she knew she needed rest, and yet sleep eluded her.
Finally, she accepted that she wasn’t going to sleep. She sat up and threw the blankets off.
Only a few hours until the voting begins. I might as well make good use of them.
She dressed in warm clothes and took an elevator to her tower’s rooftop garden.