The Event (an excerpt from the novel)

Greg Farnum 

Chapter 1: The Thing

They swayed with the other couples on the dance floor of the capitol’s Grand Ballroom, newly remodeled at a cost of $138 million to provide the state’s leading citizens with a tasteful, relaxing setting in which to mingle with government decision-makers. Tonight’s leading citizen was BioForce Plc. Holographic projections of attractive Michiganders, mostly young women, floated beneath the chandeliers carrying blinking signs saying MICHIGAN WELCOMES BIOFORCE and BIOFORCE & MICHIGAN/ PARTNERS FOR SUCCESS. As the Easy Contemporary music issuing from the sound system changed keys so did the signs, switching from the organizational to the personal with heartfelt greetings for key corporate officers; the names JOOG PLONZ...ADRIAN FITZHUGH.....REGINALD CROMLEY..... EDWARD FORD.....TAKEO ISHIWARA floated above the dancers. The music changed again and the signs switched to cute greetings aimed at the wives of the corporate officers, cryptic in their brevity. The warmth of the woman whose name Arthur Prendyk hadn’t caught seeped into him. His lips brushed her hair in an upward motion raising his eyes toward the ceiling. Above the holograms were the display ads. BioForce had purchased all of them, or perhaps they had been donated for the evening by the Governor. Encircling the rotunda they read BIOFORCE BRINGING GOOD THINGS TO LIFE FOR YOU BIOFORCE WHERE PEOPLE MAKE THE DIFFERENCE BIOFORCE EXPANDING THE FRONTIERS OF GENETIC ENGINEERING BIOFORCE BRINGING GOOD THINGS TO LIFE...and so on. Images of smiling, positive looking professionals formed and faded behind the bright letters.

Her hair felt oddly playful on his lips. Prendyk pulled her closer, looking over his shoulder as he did. No sign of Jennifer. He straightened so that their cheeks were no longer touching and, with a hand on her chin, gently turned her face toward his. Smiling dreamily, she tilted her head back and looked deep into his eyes...and the mischievous glint he had seen became a deep and phosphorescent glow. He tightened.   Next page