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65: Internalization
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2021-01-27 18:22:59The resort was a meticulously manicured community on a twenty-thousand acre tract, at the outskirts of town. It was set into densely forested hills at the top of a stratified mesa rising from the Pacific shore on a steep escarpment.
Evelyn stared out the cab’s windows in awe as they wound their way along the quiet drive to the front of a grand and historic mansion that served as the resort’s inn. “Andrew, this place is incredible,” she breathed.
Beside her, he beamed, thrilled to have stumbled on something that impressed her. “Do you like it? The inn offers excellent food and cocktails in any one of several house restaurants. The staff also arranges boating adventures, equestrian and bicycle trail rides. There’s golfing of course, and a shooting club. There’s even a bowling alley.”
“With all that to explore, perhaps we should have arranged to stay longer than part of a day.”
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World of Tomorrow 139: Epilogue
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The hotel’s ballroom was a gently baroque style. Its elegant space was replete with all manner of luxuries one would expect of a high-profile hotel, no matter where one might visit in the world—custom paneled with artfully etched-mirror and plaster walls, gold-leafed accents and intricate crown moldings. Above the near-magical dancefloor, which was lit from below, hung in the decorative ceiling, a ponderous crystal chandelier lit the warm wooden dancefloor beneath it. Along the periphery, undulating balconies supported by Corinthian pilasters gave an air of classicism to the space, but one not overly staid. These generous galleries provided seating for those who had only come for a meal, to watch the dancing or to listen to the orchestra. They’d dressed for a late dinner, but though the orchestra played, their music broadcast exactly as Evelyn had always dreamed of experiencing, she and Andrew hadn’t danced. In fact, they hadn’t stayed much longer than
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