Grains of Sand by S. G. Ricketts (the reader ebook .TXT) 📕

Sharon sat back and grinned widely. That Metron. Who would have thought an old floozy like him could have come up with such a brilliant design. She sipped at her champagne and watched the ZPEGs float past her window. A city within a grain of sand. She chuckled to herself and set the glass down.

It was brilliant, honestly. As much as she hated to admit it, her arch-rival was a genius. Who was it that said the quote about madness and genius? Some Roman philosopher...or was he Greek? “Emily, find a quote for me: something to the effect that you must be mad to be a genius.” Red laquered nails tapped lightly against the fluted glass, the myriad of colors from the ZPEGs refracting through the liquid.

The walls hummed softly, and then a young woman appeared before her. “Seneca: ‘There is no great genius without a touch of madness.’”
Sharon smiled and nodded. “Thank you, Emily.” The woman nodded solemnly and vanished. Standing, Sharon made her way to the vast curving window. Her own ZPEG hovered near the center of the main ZPEG. “I suppose even I have my touches of madness...” Indeed, Emily had been based off her deceased daughter. Years of careful manipulation and an obsession with the girl had led to the creation of the Artifical Intelligence based in her home. Now, it was beginning to be installed across the Main ZPEG, thousands of people turning their own ZPEGs into floating computers.

She splayed her hand against the wall, looking out at the world she lived in. The floor was a carpet of green, fields of produce and trees to supply the oxygen needed to survive. Unseen to the human eye, the Main ZPEG had thousands of holes throughout it as well, allowing fractions of air in as a supplement. The walls were a kaleidoscope of color, almost like the sheen on a child’s bubbles. The air was filled with similar spheres, some tiny and housing entire subdivisions, some large and holding a single room. To think that the entirety of Earth’s population was held here... Sharon shook her head. Truly amazing.

What was more, just outside the walls of the Main ZPEG, Earth was gone. The land had been laid to waste, nuclear reactors exploding, tectonic plates shifting. Volcanoes and oceans had rewritten the face of the planet, but it’s precious cargo was safe within a ZPEG the size of a grain of sand. And, thanks to Metron, population would never be a problem again. Already, there were ZPEGs designated completely for the exploration of just how far the ZPEGs and their power could be used.

“Madness indeed...” she mused. Her brother had finally out-done himself.

Publication Date: 07-18-2011

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