"The Prince Needs a Bride" (complete)

Part 8 - Eltron

Queen Carlotta entered the 'secret quarters' of the palace, a place about which her son had no knowledge. 

Built twelve years previously, it was designed for the monarchs so they could oversee the kingdom in an efficient way. The king and queen originally used it to communicate with Desmond Jakob and the northern provinces and to follow various news reports from around Eltronia, urgent matters as they arose; weather patterns, accidents, business trends and even crime reports. Never had there been a need to make use of the covert security measures available in the case of insurrection, treason or treachery of any kind.

Lord Jakob had updated the computer system often. After his reported accident and death which included his daughter, the interment of the ashes recovered from the crashed and burnt-out helicopter, which held confirmed DNA from both victims as well as the co-pilot, the computer Eltron was used less and less. More often, whenever the king and queen needed respite from the stresses and people of the palace, they came here to watch Eltron's quote screen, or just be somewhere private from servants, staff and security people.

Since the king had taken ill, the queen had not come here but today, she arrived soon after she opened the Quest and saw her security team had not one familiar soul there. Needing answers, she had commissioned her cousin, Clara to take her place. Clara, second in line to the throne, lived in the palace and was always ready to serve her queen. The throne of Eltronia had been inherited by Charlotte, not Edvard even though they both reigned as monarchs. Clara had never married but remained faithful to her cousin. She deemed it honor enough to serve in this way. Other than their hair and eye color, they could have been twins. A wig and a pair of color lenses made the switch undetectable to most.

It was no use wishing for Edvard to be at her side as usual; he must not know of her fears; it was important for him to be shielded from any sense of worry. She thought of Albert who had been kept from knowing about this part of the palace. It had been built for only one purpose and she hoped fervently that today, the first day of the quest, it would not have to be activated but the reason for the change in her security detail would prove to be rational and non-threatening. Meanwhile, she felt deeply troubled, worried.

Choosing the communication system first which needed no passcode or security, she spoke the name, 'Chief Dashenko' and was connected to an office where she was told he wasn't available to speak with her because he was on a mission concerning kingdom security. The line went dead. On calling again and rewording her query, the message was repeated and she realized it was a recording. Every connection she tried had the same message, including the line to Chief Dashenko's office in the palace's security tower. Using this same communicator, she called Albert, speaking his name as she had done so numerous times before. 

The voice broke into the connection tone, "This phone is not accessible," and the line went dead. Speaking again, she commanded, "Connect me to Eltronia's General Hospital."

The answer was the same, but this time the voice continued, saying, "You are using an obsolete phone system. Please stay on the line and we will locate and upgrade you."

She shouted, "Disconnect now!"

Feelings of dread seeped in her veins. She paced across the chamber, not sure just what to do. She needed someone she could trust to be here with her now. Preferably a technology-savvy person or technician, but she wondered if there was such a person in her palace. Eltron had been designed to upgrade itself and occasionally been upgraded, some years back, by Desmond, the designer. 

Glancing up at the wall, she stepped to her desk and picked up a small remote controller. Pressing the on button brought up the screen. Lord Jakob had paired up Albert Einstein quotes with quotes from the Bible. She had hated it at the time, but as both Edvard and their son had a fixation for Einstein quotes, she had agreed. It turned out that the king had been enlightened by the way the quotes matched in more ways than could be denied. He had declared Einstein was the wisest man who ever lived and Albert had followed his father's path in this.

It did not matter that the queen disagreed, it was two men against one. This was until Elsie Maria had come into their lives. She had a way of causing people to listen to her, to want to share her exuberance for life, for joy, faith, hope and kindness. How much they all missed her, Albert most of all and still, six years later, he mourned her.

Slowly, the king and his son had come to agree with many of the verses containing the words of the Christ and it seemed to them all, that they honoured Elsie by repeating many of the words she had quoted to them. 

The queen read aloud the pair of quotes on the lit-up screen: "Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? —Jesus Christ, Matthew 6:27 —and Albert Einstein, "I never worry about the future, it comes soon enough."

"No, I must not worry; there are many more verses telling us not to worry; we must give all our anxieties and cares to God. It is He, Who knows the future...

"I will pray to God to give me a helper. Perhaps it might be time for Albert to step up to this, but then, he is as his father says, 'a worry-wart.'

"I'll need to turn on the instruction program Desmond designed inside Eltron. Perhaps, somehow, I'll see what needs to be done to clear this communicator of being compromised, or, I think, 'hacked' is the modern term. Eltron needs to override the security computers in the tower or to be able to access them and view just who up there has made the changes and positioned people I've never before met..."

Sitting to press the large green button on the desk to turn on the never-before-used advanced security system, the queen waited. All around the semi-circular chamber, parts of the wall slid back, from the desk where she sat and upwards to the ceiling. A voice sounded out, "My name is Eltron and I have been designed and maintained by Lord Desmond Jakob of Hyntower for the future preservation of Eltronia. My last update was two days ago. Before we proceed, place your left hand in the middle desk screen in front of you and keep it there until I speak again."

Puzzled, the queen looked down at the surface of the black desk. She queried, aloud, "Who updated this system two days ago?"

"Log in and Eltron will answer your question, Queen Charlotte." A square in the middle appeared and changed as though transparent.

"How, how do you know who I am?"

"I know your voice. You hand will prove you are not a recording."

She placed her hand on the screen and waited. Minutes moved slowly.

"How long do I have to wait," she said in frustration. It wasn't a question so she did not expect an answer.

"Patience is a virtue," Eltron answered, adding, "I have signaled my creator and am awaiting him."