Page 35 of Tech Prince Troubles
“Hey, Adri. Bit busy here. Did you need something?”
“There’s no one at the hub, and I can’t reach Rick.”
“Personal issue. He’ll be late. I added it to the schedule.”
Which I should have checked first. I sighed as I found the entry. Wait… “Jim’s marked as on-shift, but he’s not here either.” I assumed he was still ill.
“He was when I came in.”
So, where was he? “I’ll stay here until he’s back.” I wasn’t scheduled to work in the ballroom for another hour.
“Okay. I’m sure he’ll turn up soon. Probably just a toilet break.”
Perhaps. I settled at my desk and unpacked the box, sorting all the elements. Time to put this phone together.
I started by cleaning the inside of the phone, getting rid of any residual dust. Next, I installed the chip and its cradle,making sure it was secure before soldering and connecting the wires. Only when I smoothed even the tiniest errant spark did I exchange the remaining outdated and broken components for new ones. After one last cleaning, I put it back together.
I’d been tempted to add more modern features, like a small screen, but all guests would need these phones for was to call the lobby or order room service. Adding Bluetooth capabilities was more than enough.
“No need to make it complicated,”Kin-Bertie would send when my system veered into overengineering.
As I’d been taught from a very young age, I tested every component before and after screwing the bottom plate in place. It gave me the same satisfaction fixing glitches or implementing Frank and our mins’ ideas on major projects did. I couldn’t wait to show Riley.
When I finished programming it half an hour later, I was still alone in the hub. I connected it for testing, as a deep, dissonant hum rattled my system. It seemed to rumble through the floor.
I was already checking for alerts when Jim slammed the door open behind me, mumbling an inaudible greeting as he rounded the desks and sat down.
Confronting him about leaving the hub wasn’t my job. I doubted he’d react well if I commented on it. I’d leave that up to Rick. “Good to see you feeling better.”
“Thanks.” He sounded out of breath.
I found no alerts, but the unsettling hum didn’t let up. No surges either, but that didn’t stop me from asking, “Did we have a short?”
He blinked, a wide-eyed expression on his face, caught midway between guilt and confusion. “No! All systems normal. I was just, you know, helping a new guest with their Wi-Fi and TV.”
That sounded… off, rehearsed. But with this hum crawling under my skin, whatever was going on with him would have to wait. I got up. “Okay. When Rick comes in, tell him I’m tracing a glitch.”
I left the room without waiting for his reply and followed the dissonant hum toward the lobby. It was harsher here and drew me to the east wing.
“Hey, Adri. Were you looking for me?”
Riley leaned against the ballroom door.
I shook my head. “I’m chasing a glitch.”
“Huh. The lights did flicker earlier.”
In the ballroom? “I’ll run a quick scan.” Though the hum drew me in a different direction, I couldn’t dismiss the thought it might be related. I brushed my hand along the ballroom wall. It seemed calm. But then an erratic spark jumped across my fingers and shot into me. It had reached my elbow when I ripped my hand from the wall.
“Are you okay?” Riley asked. She hovered in front of me.
I held up my hurting hand to stop Riley from reaching out as the wild energy raged through my body.
She took a step back, concern in her eyes.
I shivered and shook, my vision blurring in and out while my system absorbed and processed the influx. It didn’t last more than a minute, but it felt like hours. My body relaxed, and I took deep breaths. Then I saved the readings—from the wall and my system—to study later.
“Can I touch you now?” Riley asked, but didn’t wait for my answer. She pushed me into a chair she must have dragged out of the ballroom.
