About The Golden Ruled
Lynn Adams’ debut novel, set to release in fall 2026, delves into a world where the elite manipulate society. This speculative story asks what if the United States government were fully controlled by the superwealthy class.
Read the first few pages here and now for free!
Quoting from the opening of the book:
That Friday, Northwest Health Data paid Laurie and the other employees their full salaries, and she immediately ran to the bank to cash the check. Giddy with relief that the check cleared, she gave in to an urge to drive to Seattle and visit Sam, her former boyfriend. She had stopped trying to keep in touch soon after she chose her job over her relationship and moved with the company to Prospector. Now her impulsive call went to voicemail, and although she knew she shouldn’t show up without an invitation, she left a message that she was on her way. She stopped to put half a tank of gas in her car, counted the remainder of her paycheck, and shook her head.
Giles, her investment advisor, had told her nobody could go in or out of Seattle without permission. That simply couldn’t be credible. Or if it were true, Laurie wanted to see it with her own eyes. She convinced herself that, despite what Giles had said, she could persuade the guards to let her in for a short visit. She had to get a break from Prospector, that’s all there was to it. She wanted to see Sam.
The drive over the pass was beautiful as usual. At about nine p.m., Laurie coasted down the west side of the pass. She noticed the lights over the freeway were off. Entering Bellevue, she passed a giant sign: Prepare to stop. Security checkpoint ahead.
Bright floodlights from above kept her from seeing much. She peered up at a sheer concrete face about three stories high and decorated with razor wire that extended off to the right and left and out of sight in the darkness. There was a closed steel portal with two machine guns mounted above the doors. The guns swiveled to point at her, although there was no guard in sight. Laurie wondered for a moment if she was hallucinating.
An amplified voice boomed from a box nearby, “Swipe Your Pass Card Through the Reader.”
She edged the car forward, rolled down her window, and spoke to the box, “Umm, what’s a pass card? Why do I need one?”
Another, more interactive voice replied from the box, “What is your business inside the Palisade?”
“I’m sorry, sir. I’ve never seen this before. I’m on my way to visit a friend.”
“Do you have a pass to enter the Palisade?”
“No, I didn’t know I’d need one. I’ve never heard of any pass.”
“You’re not a Seattle resident, then.”
“I used to live in Seattle. Now I’m in Prospector since my company moved there.”
“For your information, since completion of the Palisade, only suppliers can enter Seattle.”
“Suppliers? I don’t understand.”
“Please use the turnaround there to exit the area. That is an order, ma’am.”
“I only want to stay overnight. You mean you really won’t let me in?”
“That’s right.”
Laurie didn’t move for a moment, as the reality of Giles’ story sank in.
“Do not continue to disregard my instructions, or we will use force, ma’am.”
“For gosh sakes! I’m going, I’m going.”
Rattled, Laurie stalled the car, then accidentally hit the accelerator hard in reverse, spun gravel, jerkily hit drive, and veered around one hundred eighty degrees. As she increased the distance between her and the machine gun in the rearview mirror, she saw it adjusting its aim, following her. She realized that she had driven away as if she were enraged, but in fact was only scared witless. When the wall was out of sight, she pulled over to the shoulder to call Sam again. There was no cell reception, so she went further and tried again. Still no bars. She felt like a motherless child and leaned on the steering wheel in tears.
A cop car drew up to within inches of her bumper and trained a floodlight into the car, but Laurie did not see it until the officer rapped on her car window. Laurie startled hard, and then, with her eyes huge with fear, rolled it down.
“Driver’s license and registration, please.”
“Right. Just a second.” She dug out cards from her purse and glove box. When she looked back, the officer had his gun drawn. She dropped the cards, and they fell between the door and the seat, out of reach.
“Step out of the car and put your hands on the roof.”
Trembling, she did as she was told. “They fell under the seat, Officer.”
“Yes, I saw that. Do not move.” The officer retrieved the IDs from the floor of the car.
“Are you Laurie Flynn?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Why are you stopped? Car loitering is not permitted in this zone.”
“Sir, I’m terribly confused, and um, I was crying. I came to visit a friend, and they made me turn back.”
“Do you know someone named Sam Whittington?” As he asked questions, he patted Laurie down professionally.
“That’s who I came to visit. How did you—”
“We had a report from Mr. Whittington that he was receiving unwanted telephone calls from you.” He handed back Laurie’s papers and said, not unkindly, “Go back to Prospector. Travel into Seattle is no longer possible for people outside the Palisades unless they have business inside. That means a pass.”
“How can I get a pass?”
“You can’t.”
“Officer, may I stay here a little longer? I’m upset. I need to collect myself.”
“No, ma’am. I recommend that you drive slowly, and if necessary, take the next exit a mile further east to find a place to rest. But better yet, get back to your own residence as soon as possible.”
Laurie crept back out onto the empty highway, still trembling; the officer followed her and then turned off on an exit. Laurie found that driving slowly worked fairly well for collecting herself and kept going.
When she came to the exit for Blewett Pass, she decided to take the shortcut through Dibble. There was a cafe there that had great rhubarb pie. Too bad it was late at night, and they would be closed. But Laurie was so wrung out, she thought she could nap in the car until they opened in the morning.
As she drove down Dibble’s Main Street, she noticed most of the front windows in the buildings were broken. Some doors stood open, and streetlights were dark. Even the town’s only stoplight was out.
As this sank in, Laurie changed her mind about stopping. Then two men in black knit caps and dark glasses emerged simultaneously from buildings on both sides of the street and boldly blocked the car’s path. Floodlights come on from the second stories of four buildings nearby. The men held handguns. Laurie had no choice but to stop, and she believed they probably would kill her.
One signaled for her to roll down her window. She opened it a crack.
“What’s your business here?” the nearest hoodlum demanded.
“I planned to rest and get some pie in the morning.”
“Pie, huh. There’s no pie. Hand over your wallet.”
“Please don’t rob me! I’m poor.”
He pushed the point of the gun through the crack in the window close to Laurie’s eye. She pushed the wallet out with shaking hands. He snapped it open and took all of the cash she had been so thankful to get. He returned her wallet and its other contents. “Now hit the road.”
She did as she was told and reached her apartment at dawn. It was a long wait for sleep to come. The image of the nose of the gun pointing into her left eye held her enthralled. Interspersed with her glimpse of mortality was the image of her landlady as she would look when she heard that Laurie had nothing to pay the rent due. Laurie bitterly regretted her mistake in wanting to go see Sam. What a fool’s errand it had turned out to be in every way.
Thank God it was Saturday. When the usual time to get up arrived, Laurie longed for a cup of coffee but could not make one. The Prospector grocery stores no longer offered tea or coffee. Supposedly, their suppliers couldn’t get anything from outside the United States anymore.
Feeling sorry for herself and outraged that Sam had reported her as an unwanted caller, she waited until 9:30 to call him again. She expected to get his machine and planned to leave a bitterly reproachful message, but he answered.
“Sam, did you get my messages? Did you tell the police I was harassing you?”
“Laurie, don’t you know when to give up? Yes, I reported you. If I didn’t, they could take reprisals against me.”
“I just had the most awful trip over there. I got robbed coming home.”
“Yeah? You shouldn’t have set out, especially not without my permission. You’ll cause me problems.”
“Seriously? How would I cause you problems?”
“Did they stop you at the Palisade? Or sooner?”
“At the wall with razor wire and machine guns.”
“Did you give them my name?” He sounded paranoid.
“I don’t remember. I think I was about to give him your name . . . I don’t recall. Why does it matter?”
“Laurie, don’t ever call me again. Do not visit me again. If you do, they might throw me out for having outside interests.”
“Outside? What do you mean outside?”
“The Palisade, for God’s sake. Where have you been? Now the world is divided into insiders and outsiders.”
“And I’m an outsider?”
“Obviously.”
“Sam, why are you being so incredibly rude? What have I ever done?”
“If you don’t know, I can’t explain it to you. Leave me alone. I can’t help you.”
“I didn’t ask you to help me.”
“Let me be clear. Do not contact me ever again. And I am going to unfriend you on Facebook. Got that?”
“Sam, who has time for Facebook? I can’t believe you’re . . .”
“Sorry.” The call ended with a click.