Court of King Priam

“Here ye, here ye,” Troy’s herald chirped like a mockingjay.

Silence fell over the court and he continued, “Let it be known that Aleksandros Leon approaches the throne room, seeking an audience with King Priam!" He gave a low bow, his tunic gracing the marble floor.

All eyes in the throne room turned towards two massive doors. King Priam himself looked on with a jaded expression, as if he had seen it all. He wondered what a peasant might offer royalty and leaned back in his throne.

A dozen servants, dressed in their finest robes, rushed forward to open the grand doors. With a concerted effort, they cranked the heavy portals open, spilling light from the outside world into the airy room. Three figures became visible, one on his knees, being dragged across the marble floor towards the feet of the king.

Guards, dressed in armor and carrying spears, deposited the raggedy man at the base of the throne. He fumbled for his balance, keeping his head bowed.

"His Majesty King Priam will hear your words and receive your offering. Speak now,” the herald declared.

“Your Majesty, I come before you bearing a peculiar object. A strange man left it in my inn. It illuminates without a flicker of a flame, it speaks without a breath, it moves without a heartbeat,” Aleksandros said, outstretching both of his hands to present a futuristic cell phone to the king. He dared not look above the feet of the king.

King Priam accepted the offering. His thick fingers grabbed the sleek frame, lifting the object which was suspiciously light in his hands. King Priam wondered how it could be metallic, cast of bronze or iron, yet bear the weight of a flower. He felt a mechanical click in his hands and the device came to life. The phone's screen was a brilliant display of light and color, unlike anything the king had ever seen before. The court gasped in awe.

“Where did you get this?” King Priam asked, still not sure what it could do.

"Your Majesty, I cannot say where it came from, only that I suspect the mysterious man left it on accident. He had spent his days in Troy indulging in wine and women. It seems to be a precious object, one which shouldn’t have been left behind,” Aleksandros said.

The King, now even more curious, asked, "Where was this man from? And where was he traveling to when he left this object behind?"

The visitor hesitated for a moment before replying, "Your Majesty, He did not reveal his place of origin, and he spoke in a riddle. He said that he was traveling by clock rather than map.”

A dark shadow crossed over King Priam’s face as he said, “Guards, take Aleksandros to the dungeon. He is suspected of practicing witchcraft and shall be put to death at dawn. If not for witchcraft, then for harboring a stranger within the walls of Troy."

Whispers breezed through the court. Aleksandros was frozen, bowed, in fear.

The king continued, “Dispatch a group of men to search his inn and bring his family to the dungeons too. Assemble all my men to scour Troy for this traveler. Locate him! Move out! Immediately!"

Footsteps of advisors, officials, and nobles marched out of the open doors, eager to fulfill the king’s wishes.

“I beg for mercy! Please, for my family,” Aleksandros pleaded. He was breaking down into tears at the feet of the king.

King Priam waved his hands in dismissal and guards took the signal to drag Aleksandros from the room.

King Priam shouted one final order to his guards, “And fetch me Troy’s oracle at once!”

All members made their way from the throne room, leaving the doors wide open in anticipation of returning with the oracle. And besides, it took manpower to open and close the doors. All men, even the herald and the jester, had been ordered to search for the traveler and time was of the essence in that mission. King Priam was alone at last with the phone.

He clicked a button and watched the screen glow once more. Numbers appeared on the screen, but not any characters he could recognize. He tapped a number and the phone vibrated in his hand. He jumped with shock, as if he had been electrocuted. King Priam dropped the phone and quickly lept from his throne to snatch it back.

He examined the mysterious runes again. This time he touched four numbers, each vibrating the phone in his hand, then heard a beep.

“Wrong password,” appeared on the phone screen, not that King Priam could decipher the foreign letters. He wondered how the object could move and how it could make sound. King Priam began to wonder if the Gods were speaking to him.

The King toyed with the phone for several minutes. He tried to understand the vibrations and beeps.

“Reset your password,” the phone displayed. The king toyed more with the device, completely not understanding anything.

“Fingerprint required,” appeared on the phone’s screen.

Then footsteps charged down the hallway King Priam looked up from the device to see who approached the throne room.

It was his daughter, Cassandra. She careened down the hall, her royal robes billowing behind her like a ship in full sail. Her long hair flew wildly in her wake, a tangled mane of gold and bronze. She was a vision of panic, her eyes wide and wild as she sprinted towards the throne room. The sight of her was both terrifying and mesmerizing, like a storm on the horizon.

“Father! Please listen father, for I’ve just had a terrible vision,” Cassandra pleaded, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

“Haven’t I told you before to control yourself? Never barge into my throne room with nonsense!” King Priam said, growing agitated, phone in his lap.

Cassandra ignored him and continued, “You have met a God which has fallen out of time. This god will show you things you will never understand. It will drive you mad and alter the very essence of your being. You will lose touch with humanity and your very self. You must not consult with this god, father. Please listen to me.”

King Priam rolled his eyes. Some gossip must have already reached her about the strange object. She always wanted to make a scene. Then more footsteps, and two guards entered the throne room, escorting Troy’s oracle.

“Very well. Leave the oracle of Troy with me, alone. And escort Cassandra to her chambers at once,” King Priam demanded.

The guards siezed Cassandra, who kicked and begged and pleaded. Her resistance didn’t hinder the guards for a step and they took her away.

“Your Majesty,” the oracle whispered, “How can I be of service?”

“I need your skills of interpretation,” King Priam said, “An item has come to my possession bearing mysterious runes. Please, do tell me what they mean.”

The oracle’s misty eyes looked up at the king, “You Majesty, I will do all I can to help.”

King Priam, never letting go of the phone, shared the screen with the oracle.

“Your Majesty, this strange object glows brighter than an octopus on a spear,” the oracle said.

“What does it mean?” King Priam asked.

The oracle’s eyes rolled back, fixed on his third eye and he hummed for a moment. He entered a trance where time fell away and everything in the world was connected. Information came to him rapidly. The humming droned on until suddenly, the oracle leapt from his trance and spoke rapidly, “These runes are a gateway. With the right code, you can enter a new realm.”

“The right code? What is it?” King Priam asked.

“Please allow me to touch the object,” the oracle said.

“You are permitted,” King Priam said.

The oracle pressed four buttons and the phone vibrated, but this time it did not beep. It made a noise of lock and key.

“Your Majesty, it has been unlocked,” the oracle bowed.

“Thank you for your service. You may leave now,” King Priam said, burying his nose into the phone.

Squares lined the screen. He tapped on one, which seemed like a flower and an image appeared. He saw a city, built of cement, littered with trash, and glowing with neon light. The king blinked in surprise. It was like an illustration, an artwork, had been captured with eyes rather than paint. The image was so vivid to gim. He ran his finger across the screen and another image appeared. The photo captured dozens of women, dancing, clad in clothes that would be considered scandalous and immodest in ancient Troy. He swiped through more photos with fascination and longing to understand.

“Battery is at twenty percent,” a message appeared on the screen. King Priam hurried it away to keep swiping through the mysterious images. The battery symbol in the upper corner of the phone screen, creeping lower and lower, meant nothing to King Priam.

He saw pictures of giant metal birds, soaring through the sky, leaving trails of smoke behind them. He marveled at to imagine how it would be possible for something so large to stay aloft.

While his men searched high and low through Troy for the traveler, while an innocent family lay in the dungeons, King Priam swiped.

“Battery is at ten percent,” the phone informed him, without a gleam of understanding.

He saw pictures of towering structures, reaching up towards the heavens, made of gleaming metal and glass. He saw people walking on moving pathways, and vehicles that moved without horses or wheels. The king couldn't comprehend the world that these images depicted. The king felt a mix of emotions, awe, fear, confusion and curiosity.

As images fluttered in front his eyes, the phone’s battery died in the hands of King Priam. Everything went black, on the phone’s screen, in King Priam’s soul, and in Troy’s future.