PROLOGUE: The Last Bookstore

The year was 2047.

Humanity had conquered disease.

Extended life expectancy.

Reached beyond the skies.

And somehow…

lost itself in the process.

The cities never slept anymore. Towers of silver glass stretched endlessly into the clouds while streams of airborne  vehicles drifted through illuminated highways suspended above the streets. Artificial intelligence managed traffic, climate, commerce, even companionship.

No one waited for anyone anymore.

People fell asleep beside holograms.

Raised digital companions instead of children.

Spoke through avatars more often than face-to-face.

Love had become inefficient.

Marriage nearly extinct.

And bookstores?