Infinite Light

Prompt: Write the first paragraph of the next great American novel

Portraits of People with Faces Glowing from the Light of Cell Phones

The restaurant[1] is crowded but quiet, a content stomach digesting data.  It is lit only by the glow of phones reflected off of faces as fodder flows in through the eyes.  Occasional ripples of laughter, hardly more than exhalations, travel from corner to corner, gas passing.  The wait staff[2] are guided by the light, orders received and acted on through their own glows.  One of the lols hits Rachael and she looks up from her phone.  She does not recognize the man seated across from her.

[1] The Quiet Place - started by Eugene Chan in Seattle and now a major chain across the 48 and into Canada.  Aside from the atmosphere, Chan's success has stemmed from his real estate model, moving into mini-marts abandoned by the rise of drone delivery.  This put his chain in the heart of increasingly insular suburbia.

[2] Part of the hiring process for The Quiet Place is a walking test: how quietly can you walk in a dimly light room while holding three orders of spaghetti.  Personality is only tested to determine if you will show up to work on time.

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