The Light of Queen Library. Chapter 5

Chapter 5. Plans are changing
- I would not say that you're against technological progress, Alicia, - Jean-Flynn smiled, glancing at the carelessly thrown smartphone.
-I did not say that I'm against it, I'm against madness like a chip in the body, or when that technology replaced a real life  person. A robot wife, a robot dog, something that would be a substitute for reality. - Alicia reflected. - A smartphone can be useful. Especially since you do not know what kind of phone it is.
- How is this? Can I take care of you, milady?
- You - can.
Jean-Flynn got up and walked over to the back of the chair. Alicia took the smartphone. Jean-Flynn pushed back the chair and held out a hand for her.
- You're very kind, Jean-Flynn Cars’en.
Alicia stood up without even looking at him, only her hand indicated to  him, that he should follow her.
"They could be a nice couple," - Juhson smiled, wiping his hands on the towel. - "If they did not live in such different places …"
Queen Alicia took her little crown along  and went to the second floor. It turned out that the Library Hall on the second floor was designed in a Victorian style. Alicia did not bypass the racks. She walked directly, and the shelves themselves fell through the floor, revealing a wide road to the golden narrow throne of the Queen Library. A hawk was sitting on the back of the throne and looking attentively at Jean-Flynn. This place seemed endless, a bright mosaic on the walls and ceiling reflected the shine of light in the house of Alicia, and it was especially unusual here to see  the birds of paradise that were sitting on racks and soaring up like fire-birds as soon as Jean-Flynn passed by.
Alicia sat on the throne.
- So, monsieur Cars’en or … Carsen? We will speak frankly. I did not know you then, I do not know you even now. But I like you. I trust you. And that means a lot, - Alicia said, putting her hand on the throne. - People have already betrayed me once. But it did not upset me. I found in me the strength to rise up.
-What time are you referring to me? "Then". You're like a library that survived a fire, but suddenly somehow recovered. - noticed Jean-Flynn. - I do not know you either. Not a bit. But for some reason I am ready to serve you forever. I’m American.
- Do not mince words.
- I am telling the truth.
Jean-Flynn stood in front of her on his knee, bending  in front of the throne.
- Milady ...- Juhson moved  towards them and came closer. -Looks like I have bad news.
- What do you  mean? - Alicia stood up.
- I know where your book is. It is in the hands of the Queen of the Snake Clan. Sophie Lonkrua.
- How could you let this happen!!!
Alicia waved her hands and the extreme racks turned around and hit the walls. She immediately tried to calm down, but the best solution was to leave quickly.
- It's the same ... I'm doing so too ... “Going”, - Jean-Flynn got up and followed her.
For a moment he stopped.
- What can Sophie Lonkrua do now. Juhson?
- I do not know, Mr. Cars’en.
Jean-Flynn went down to the first floor, but Alicia was not there. The hawk squawked and led him along. In the garden of Alicia grew a huge oak tree, and at its roots stood a stone-altar. On the other side, a swing was attached to the oak branch. Alicia was swaying on a swing. The sun was setting , and the golden light from its rays made its way through the green foliage of the garden - the forest. Something in this was calming. Something like a dream. In the bottomless blue sky, the clouds were like a carelessly brushed painted feathers, and the sun painted them in an alo-pink color.
- Alicia? ... I can help you, right?
- I do not know ... For the first time I do not know what to do next..- Alicia swayed on a swing.
- This happens to me too. - Jean-Flynn touched the oak.
- Do you know what kind of tree it is?
- No ... Oak tree.
- This is the World Tree of the Slavs. Viriy.
Jean-Flynn  pulled his hand away from the oak tree.
- You shouldn’t  be afraid, - Alicia said.
- Yes somehow ... Listen to me, I saw in you the determination. Milady, you in fact ...
Alicia looked at him.
- I ... I must return.
- Can I go with you? I think I finally found a friend.
-  Yes.
Alicia stopped the swing and climbed down. Imperceptibly approaching the dark strip of the night. And at night Alicia lay down on the green grass in the garden, and looked at the stars. Jean-Flynn lay down beside  her, and their faces were close.
- I was just thinking ...
- About what? Alicia looked at him.
- How  clear your night here. And are we still in Prague?
- No, this is another country. Not the Czech Republic. We are in Ukraine, - the girl smiled.
- I'm not surprised at your opportunities, my lady, but how ...
- The library is connected with the whole world. And I can easily get anywhere in the world. This is a kind of maze, part of the Vault of Knowledge. This is my home, and it's a little scary for me to leave it now.
- Incredible! I was the boss of the usual Library ...
- In ordinary things, it can also make sense, - Alicia smiled mysteriously.
-  Maybe. Do not be afraid, milady.
- Oh, your voice inspires!
- The night is so ... stellar ... Do you often lie down like that?"
- I like to look at the sky.
Jean-Flynn looked at her. She raised herself and laid her arm on his shoulder.
- The Book of Life is with me. So the Snake Clan will look for it. Without it Veles book is just a text that can do something. It looks like a protocol in the courtroom. Where  everything that is said and what is happening, is written. But the Book of Life ... Well, we will definitely return.
Jean-Flynn  threw her jacket over her shoulders:
- I'm now melting away from your care. Thank you.
She hugged him and left. I wonder what will happen to them outside this place? At least, she does not melt from the sunlight.
Jean-Flynn stopped near one of the rooms and smiled. Wow, even if he doesn't think about her, he constantly encounters Alicia. Milady La Sven must be very tired. The book fell out of her hands, and she fell asleep, without even covering herself with a blanket. Jean-Flynn walked over and covered  her in a blanket. The young queen turned over on the other side and pressed the blanket under her cheek. Her smartphone rang, and Jean-Flynn dared to pick up the phone. It was interesting, what is it?
- My lady? - he heard the voice of Charlize.
- No, it's Flynn.
- What are you doing there? We have a disaster, Mr. Cars’en!
- What did you think about us? - Whispered Jean-Flynn . - What?
- Come and see, Jean-Flynn . And if Milady is near, wake her up. This is urgent.
- My God ... Charlize, you ask me to wake the tired queen who, in my eyes, threw the racks like feathers. Her anger is worse for me than the anger of my chief accountant!
- Wake up her!
Charlize hung up.
Jean-Flynn looked at Alicia. What could have happened ... He looked back. It would seem an ordinary room, but there was something wrong with it.
- Milady ...
Jean-Flynn decided to wake up Alicia.
- Milady, wake up.
- What do you want, Cars’en?
Alicia woke up and stretched:
- What happened?
- Charlene called you. She told me to wake you up urgently and go with you to New York. To our Library.
- Good. Go to the tree on the first floor, and I'll be down.
Jean-Flynn went out and waited for milady under the ever-flowering tree. She did make him wait for too long. When Alicia was walking down, light bulbs flashed along with her - white bright stars in the night corridor. Alicia wrapped herself in a warm coat. Queen? No, the usual girl.
- You're are not going to the airport from here .-  Said La Sven. - I have a better option."
She opened her palm and blew out the feather in the direction of Flynn. He  went to sleep …

Flynn opened his eyes and did not immediately recognize the place where he was.
- Hmm ... My brother lives and works here, but I don’t understand, it’s so cold here ... Why is the New York Public Library here - Alicia grumbled, wrapped in a raincoat. - Where are all the people?
- Where are we, milady? - Asked  Jean-Flynn
- In NYC. You asked to come to visit you at work. Do you not think there's something wrong with this park? And the lights went out.
- I wonder again? Did you move me to another place?
Alicia touched the lantern without answering, and it is caught fire.
- Indeed, nobody.
- Maybe we should call a taxi? - suggested Jean-Flynn. - Why I cannot orient where we go...
- Come on.
Jean-Flynn called a taxi, but the car came without a driver. Alicia looked into the salon. The computer invited them in, and asked to state  the  destination point.
- And what, there are such cars?  - Asked Alicia.
- Probably. I have not seen any. And how does it know when to stop ... I wonder if I can get behind the wheel ...? - Jean-Flynn opened the door and sat on the driver's seat.
- I do not even know.
Alicia sat in the salon.
- The New York Public Library. - said Jean-Flynn, and the car drove smoothly and noiselessly.
He worried about the fact that the car will knock the pedestrian off, but it was unfounded - there was no one on the streets. But in the windows of the houses the light was on.
- Is it always like that in the city? - Alicia asked.
- Well no. It's always a noisy city. And there are pedestrians always ... – I was surprised, Jean-Flynn
- Then it's a little alarming.
The window  lit up in the car, like in a car that gives out coffee/a cappuccino ... Taxi called out the price, and the window began to lit up. Jean-Flynn paid, and car drove off.
- A miracle of technology ...-  Jean-Flynn smiled and, carefully taking Alicia's shoulders with one hand, went into the Library.
There was a light in the library. Charlize, a short woman of about fifty, straightening her glasses, waited for them, hiding her blond hair under her shawl.
-  What took you so long?  - she said through her teeth.
- And how many days were we not here? - Jean-Flynn asked.
- Two weeks! - Answered Charlize. - And for these two weeks there was so much happening!  With the dawn, you do not recognize New York.
- You're scaring me, Charlize.
- Forgive me, milady, for calling you in the middle of the night. I heard you were angry?
- It happens. Do not worry, Charlize. Why can’t my brother himself solve this problem? - Asked Alicia
- Your brother, I so assume - the soul of this Library, does not like appearing in public. He's not like you.
- WOW! What?? - Jean-Flynn was shocked. Is Milady's brother the soul of the Library where he works? What's next? The immortal salvatory in the basement of the library?
- Yes. Its' his job. Only with your problems, the Librarian, but why I have to deal with this problems  alone?! - Alicia answered to Jean-Flynn.
- Let's go into the cabinet. I'll tell you everything. I would take you home myself, but I think it is possible only in the morning. At night, you cannot walk the streets. New law.
- Do you have a curfew? - Asked Alicia
- Worse. We have a new governor and a new mayor, and how everything has changed so quickly, I do not understand. - Charlize was taken aback. - It turns out that when you left, there was an elected company. I do not even know how quickly Sophia Lonkrua and her man - the mayor, a certain Robert Charlie, managed to change everything so ...
- Sophie Lonkrua? - Alicia dropped a book on the floor with surprise... - No, I knew that she was also here, but that it was so close ...
-  Should I know her? - Jean-Flynn asked.
- What's the difference now? - Alicia asked. - Do not  concern your head with nonsense...
While Charlize was talking about the changes, Alicia stood by the window and looked at the street.  It is still dark, and not yet close to dawn, but ... She folded her hands over her chest and held the cape that Charlize had given her. It seems that it was not the cold season, but the soul was cold. Jean-Flynn listened to everything, and asked questions …
- Alicia! Milady ... Do you want to come near us?  - Called Jean-Flynn..
    • I can hear everything,  -  Alicia answered him. - And what I heard does not please me. Maybe people will not lose from it, only I cannot accept it.
    • Milady La Sven ... So can we leave in the morning in a scouting expedition? You are our only thread, able to save libraries, real life, us …
    • Who will save me, Jean-Flynn? -  She turned away from the window and looked at him.- Who saved me when I died a thousand times from loneliness?  Who helped me when I built my house and my garden? Who saved me when I cried silently at night, and was afraid that someone would see my weakness? Who helped me to become stronger? I've been alone for too long, Jean-Flynn., I've only learned to trust myself.
    •  So can I try to give you faith in people?
    •  Try it, Jean-Flynn. I will come soon.
    • Alicia went through the secret passage to the Library and disappeared for some time.
    •  Is she really that lonely? - Jean-Flynn asked Charlize. - How do you know her?
    •  She does not reveal to anyone. I think she spoke quite seriously. She needs you, Jean-Flynn, you owe it to her to work in the Library. And many, that was before you. Only she will never admit. I working with her.
    •  Did she really have no one?
    •  She would. But she could not. Maybe there was someone, but I do not know him. Milady ... I myself helped her many times. She's a nice girl, and it's not just because she's the Queen.
    •  It's amazing …
The Queen returned later. Charlize left, and Jean-Flynn fell asleep on the chair. Alicia threw off her fur cape and covered him:
- Jacques ...-  She sat down on the arm of the chair next to him. - How long have I been looking for you and how many times have I lost ... I hope at least now you will be a little bolder.
She took the ring off her finger and laid it on the table. Still could not sleep. The morning will show what happened to this world... what awaits them ... A small backpack fell from her hand to the floor ... She stopped at the window and waited for the dawn ... And when Jean-Flynn woke up, Alicia fell asleep in another chair .
- Maybe we will not wake her up, - Jean-Flynn said. Probably the first time in my life I'm mixed-up. Not embarrassed, not afraid …
- It's been more than once with you, Flynn.-  Charlize smiled. - She's still quite a young Queen ... Take her in your arms, let's go, I called a taxi.
Jean-Flynn took her in his arms ... And suddenly an anxiety settled in him. It was like something that ended badly.
Alicia wrapped her arms around Jean-Flynn's neck and whispered through her sleep:
- Jacques, they will not come, do not worry.
- Does she call you Jacques? - Charlize asked.
- We just met. How do I know?
But Jean-Flynn knew. Who is Jacques.

Jean-Flynn was never in Charlize's apartment. I did not even know that she had an apartment in the center. The taxi made him suspicious. A window was constantly in the light. In the morning he could see the City. Yes ... He's transformed. Almost nothing remains of the Central Park, in its place there were Business Centers and Shopping Centers. The window that blinked is a hidden small camera. While they were traveling, at a certain time, the radio turned on. Daytime taxis were similar to the one Alicia and Jean-Flynn were driving at night.
"Radio New FM ...." - said the radio. - "You listen to the new radio! And at the beginning of the broadcast, as always, the words of our governor, whose big heart cares for all of us. Sophia Lonkrua."
"Good morning, residents of New Town and Rowlin State. So little time has passed, and we have already created a new life together, help each other, have a good day! "
Sophie's voice was so fascinating and tender ... Like the voice of a siren, because of which ships are being broken.
Alicia woke up when they arrived.
- I hope I did not wake you, my lady? - Smiled Jean-Flynn.
- No, - Alicia answered. - And where are we ...
    • At my place, milady, - said Charlize.
    • Well-well-well! - Alicia looked around.
The identical  incredible heights of the high-rise building from glass was flooded  with sunlight, and it seemed that all the houses were transparent. Everything is like the "Tower of Babel". No greenery, no tree. A lot of cars, but they are all without drivers. Traffic lights work like a clock. There are a lot of people, and they all look into the smartphone. Cars without a driver react to a person and if someone  is not careful  - car immediately stop. Charlize said that thanks to such cars there are no more accidents. But people are all in gadgets. It is impossible to tear them away from the tablet or smartphone.
- It used to be like that before, but not as crazy as it is now,-  Charlize said. - I seem to have returned to another reality.
- I'm uncomfortable without plants,-  Alicia said. - Somehow ...
- It seems nice,-  Jean-Flynn said ...-  But somehow artificial. It does not seem real.
- It's just that the three of us have stayed a little in the past, - said Charlize. - The lift, by the way, they made it very comfortable.
- How can they do so in two weeks? - Jean-Flynn could not believe ....
Charlize, Jean-Flynn and Alicia went into the house. Instead of a janitor, a camera and a robot stood in his place. The robot-doorman held  the lift for them. The elevator doors were also transparent. In general, the whole house looks like glass. They went in and Charlize pressed the button for her floor, the 12th floor, and they were there in a minute.
 - Oh my God .... It's too fast ...- Jean-Flynn sighed.
- Don`t moan. - Charlize said him.
- Why is everything transparent? That was to  monitor us easier? - Alicia asked.
- You joked, milady Alicia, but here is the total surveillance. Donations, disappearances, all this swept along with the construction and rebuilding of the city in New Town. Although, maybe more time has passed? We just did not notice?
- Most likely, Charlize, -  Alicia said.
Charlize opened her door. Under her feet she felt a letter. Jean-Flynn fend off Charlize, and he picked up the letter. Charlize and Alicia went into the apartment.
- What alarmed him? - Asked Alicia.
- He  hasn’t been himself for several years after New Orleans. They went there with their best friend, he and Brian Baird even looked the same. True, despite the experience, the library chose the main librarian.
Charlize took Alicia to a distant little drawing room. Jean-Flynn lingered, and for a short time the women were left alone.
- Jean-Flynn, Brayan ... They went to pick up a certain casket, or some kind of artifact, Jean-Flynn made a business trip for them ... But  he came back alone. Flynn is silent  about his companion has disappeared. Poor man, so much is falling apart for him ...
- If I could change something .. -  Alicia said thoughtfully.
- It seemed to me,- Jean-Flynn said, walking into the apartment. - Charlize, do you have any books?
- Hush! They cannot even be remembered! - Charlize was frightened. - There is.
- Wow, but what kind of news is this?
    • The Internet. It were forced upon us, Sophie's people  said that it was enough. In addition, there is a prohibited literature. This is science and all that can tell people that there is another world …
Jean-Flynn whistled.
Charlize showed them a room, which in this city called a TV-wall. These rooms are in every house.
The room looked like a studio with a lot of screens. All of them created one single TV-walls. One of these walls (the owner was not notified about this, but many guessed which is it) was a wall-spy. Just switch on a special button, and the reality show "Life of a neighbor" is in your house. This wall is soundproof, and therefore people do not know that movies are watching them. Jean-Flynn touched the wall. It turned to "water" and gradually the whole room turned into an ocean. Above the heads of the Charlize’s guests swam a large whale, and here a flock of small fishes is playing nearby, and as if all three were in the ocean.
- I must say, fascinating ... It's not even 3D .. - Jean-Flynn went to the wall. - Where did they install the hologram projector ..Good trick ... how does it work ....
- Like a TV. This is a new TV. - Charlize explained. - Live while here ...
- By the way, Charlize, a letter has come, our library is left ...
- And a sense, Jean-Flynn, in this world all suddenly needed only a new application in the smartphone, selfie and incomprehensible newfangled things ... I'm probably old-fashioned ....
- Charlize, stay at home. Juhson will manage. And we'll go, walk around the city. Yes, Flynn? - Alicia looked at him and held out her hand.
- As you wish. - Said Jean-Flynn.
- Why do I feel like I'm inviting you out on a date?
- I have not had a date with the Queen Library yet.
Alicia smiled and, putting her hand on Jean-Flynn's back, led him out of the apartment.