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“Luckily for us, solar works incredibly well, allowing the foundation to live coy for al the radio—when the radio actually works—and now for desalination”

He’d been studying the solar panels, but she noted how his interest was piqued by the mention of their desalination system

She walked him back to another frame, this one with its own set of panels, plus tubes, dials and black rectangular features, and motioned for him to crouch down beside her “This is our baby and ives us all our fresh water In the beginning, we had to bring everything in, including gallons and gallons of water We’d collect rainwater e could, but if we had no rain, we’d begin to panic Now, thanks to a partnership with my father’s university, we’re able to turn salt water into drinking water using only solar energy Although there are over eighteen thousand desalination plants across the world, this one is unique in that it co a fah clean water for individual use”

“How is it different from traditional desalination?”

“You’re familiar with the desalination process?”

“Salt water is brought to a boil, creating stea coil”

“Right The traditional y inefficient and requires expensive, complex infrastructure Over half of the cost of a distillation plant is spent on energy”

“So this is membrane distillation?”

She was impressed he knew thatenvironment related “Yes and no The university took conventional membrane distillation, where hot salt water flows across one side of the porous membrane and cold freshwater flows across the other, and added in a layer of carbon-black nanoparticles The carbon-black nanoparticles attract light, heating the entire surface of the ht energy into heat, giving us y It’s ideal for us with a compact footprint, but it will also revolutionize the way the world desalinates water because the nanoparticles are low-cost and commercially available”

“Fascinating,” hethe section with the nanoparticles and then the tubing where water dripped into a clear canister “By integrating photother with membrane distillation you’ve created y”

“I haven’t The university prograreed to let us ith it here We’ve had it eighteen months now and it’s transforarden off to the side “Tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, carrots, andsupply of clean, drinkable water”

“I’d heard about an A like this, but it’s a to see it in use here on Khronos and to know it’s not just theoretical”

“It’s a gaer for the world”

“Indeed,” heat the systeaze locked on her lips and she felt his scrutiny all the way through her

Heat bloomed in her cheeks She felt overly war to hide how flustered she felt She wanted his kiss and yet she feared it, too

She wasn’t experienced, and she knew nificant relationships by now She suddenly wished she’d had a more conventional life, a life where she’d had dates and boyfriends so she’d knohat to do and how to respond

She wanted to respond Could he tell?

“You’re bored,” she said huskily, rising and brushing the coarse dirt from her hands

“I’, as well “I’ing to survive in the middle of nowhere but by you and this father of yours I can’t ihter defenseless in such a remote spot”

“I’htening Her heart was racing and her stomach churned and she felt close to tears and didn’t knohy Nothing had happened, and yet so control “Normally it works I’ve never dropped it before I’ve never broken it before That accident was a fluke, just like you being here is a fluke I’ve spent four years on Khronos and we’ve seen plenty of yachts, but none have ever stopped here before And we’ve certainly never had any castaways, either—”

“Why are you afraid?” he asked, interrupting her torrent of words

“I’h and thin, breathless

For a longher, and then he reached out and lightly traced her eyebrows, the right and then the left Her breath caught in her throat as the touch sent sparks of hot sensation shooting through her veins She stared at him, deep into his eyes, as he continued to explore her face, his fingertips light as they caressed the length of her nose, and then her cheekbone, and finally down along the line of her jaw

“You are so beautiful,” he h

She felt his voice and his touch all the way through her, an erotic rasp that teased her senses,her skin flush and her body ache

“No ner clothes, no expensive blowouts Just beautiful you,” he added “I didn’t knoomen like you even existed”