The Adventures of Stevie #164
These stories were told to me by friends and other people. Some of them
are true. Some of them are only partly true. Some of them should have
been true. LOL
My first post about Stevie ("Call me Stephen!") was when he was 12 and
in summer camp and was told by another camper. This was from a time
before computers would fit on a desk and when people communicated with
friends in other countries by actual letters sent through the postal
service. When children did this those friends were called "penpals".
Carlos is Stevie's penpal in Argentina and knows English. This is a
fictional contrivance to enable Stevie to tell us his stories because
he isn't here in person. I think.
All characters are fictitious, even if some of them might have names
that belong to some actual people, or act like people we know.
Stevie's school is for gifted children who don't fit in regular schools.
The stories may not be posted in chronological order.
Stevie is 14 in this story, in year 4 of his special school, after the
school Spring break.
The Adventures of Stevie #164 "Air Forced, Part 2"
Dear Carlos,
Pete and I went to see father, who I had just ported to my bedroom.
While I was reading the files he had brought with him, I told father
all which had happened, and my appraisal of Pete's performance. Yes,
that's 2 things at once. I can do that. Pete noticed and almost said
wow. I winked at him. Father was surprised I could do that, too, but
hid that well. Then I ported a cup of Shan's medicine to me, and drank
it. The cup was made of finely carved jade. I said to both, "They can't
stop honoring me. It's embarrassing." I ported it back. I said "Stanton
has been contacted about his orders?" Father said, "Yes, and is
standing by." I said "We need to convince him to leave us alone. And
something more. He must NOT bring any real psychics close to an
operating saucer. I think they can't make any of the alien machines
work, because they need psychic talents to direct them, just like my
Port-Alls. If anybody with an object sense like mine, or Pete's, gets
within range, really bad things could happen. I think a strong presence
is called for. My team, dressed up, me with my Bureau ID, and you,
looking as mean as you can. What do you think?" He said "Lets go for
it." I contacted Chad and Rod together, and said, +We are porting to
action. Impressions count. Suites and ties. Got any there? Or should I
port you home for a change.+ They both said +Home+ I sent them. Then I
asked Jan if she she had a fancy dress there, but with a loose enough
bottom for fighting, and she said he did, and give her 5. I sent Pete
home for changing. I dressed in my usual Bureau clothes, suit and tie,
and pinned the ID on the jacket.
When everybody was ready, I ported them to my bedroom. Jan said
"Arms?" I said, "If we need them, we lose. We want to intimidate them
into cooperating, not massacre them. We can always take away their
guns, if we want some." I scouted the General, using his picture. He
was alone in his office. Different time zones made it just after lunch
there. Then I scouted Stanton. He was alone, too. I looked around the
building, which I only could have done with the medicine in me, to keep
me from throwing up with the disorientation, and located an empty
office. I said "Ready to port to an empty office?" They all said yes.
We did. I knew the way, so I led them to the right office. Father told
the secretary the Colonel was expecting us, and we marched right past
her into this office. He was expecting somebody, but not US. I handed
him the papers and said, "You have already been informed of your
orders. These are your hard copies. Call for some MPs, and we will
execute them." He said "Wait a minute here! Who are you?" He reached
into a desk drawer. Father had his gun out and pointing at him, and the
Colonel froze. I said "I am Stephen, and my murderously angry father
has you covered. Don't give him an excuse to fire, because he really
wants to." Then Stanton sat down. I said "Chad, got a quarter?" He
nodded yes. He was behind me, but knew I would feel and hear that. I
pointed at the wooden coatrack. A second later, there was a sharp
crack, and a quarter was sticking out of the post. Good job, I signaled
behind me. I signaled father to put away his gun. He did, and I said,
"We don't need guns. Any of us can do that, and much more. We aren't in
the mood to play games. Cooperate, or we will find somebody who will,
after they take your body away. Look through the orders and the
signatures."
He looked up and said, "We will execute them. Explanations?" I said
"When we see the General." He nodded and asked his secretary to get
some MPs to escort a prisoner, and the acting Judge Advocate. We waited
in silence. They came, and Stanton told them, "We are to cary out these
orders." He handed them over. They were reviewed. The JA said he had
already been informed. We went to the General's office. An MP prevented
the secretary from giving a warning. The General said "What is the
meaning of this?" I said "I am Stephen. Why did you send your men to
kidnap me?" He said "You? You're a child! What are these children doing
here?" I said to an MP, "Go and move the secretary away from this door,
and close it, and stay with her." Stanton nodded his permission. I said
"Jan. The door. 2 seconds. How many pieces?" She slipped off her shoes,
and smashed the door with a few fast kicks. She said "4." I said to the
General, "Cooperate, and my father might let you live. I am the Stephen
you wanted. TELL ME WHY."
He said "It's classified." I showed him my badge. I said "Who does
the background checks for your security clearances? The Bureau does.
Who checks the agents who do that, for emotional problems and honesty?
I do. You will tell me what I want to know. Those orders from the
Secretary of the Air Force tell you to do that. Or would you like to
look like that door?" Stanton said "Sir, these people are the most
dangerous I've ever heard of, and they have the approval of higher
authority. You need to do what they say." The General said "Not while
I'm in command." I nodded to Stanton. He said "Pursuant to the orders
I've presented to you, I hereby relieve you of command. Now, I require
you to answer his questions." The General said "I'm calling the
Pentagon." Father went around his desk and casually squeezed the
General's shoulder hard enough to make him wince with pain, and said,
"Here, let me dial it for you." He did, and handed the receiver to the
General, who listened to the Secretary of the Air Force give him hell.
He slowly hung up, and turned white, with interesting red blotches, and
slumped in his chair. I said "If you fail to cooperate, Treason will be
the least of your worries." He pointed to the MPs. I nodded to Stanton,
who ordered them to wait in the outer office, along with the JA.
I said "Talk. No games." He said "We were looking for psychics to
examine alien artifacts." I said "I already knew that. Why did you send
your men to trespass on posted private property, and break and enter a
civilian home MY home, armed, and attempt to kidnap a minor child, ME,
who also happens to be a Federal Agent?" He said "I didn't know they
would do that. They were just told to bring you." I said "You take men
and make them into robots, you should expect them to act like robots. I
said no. They had to follow orders. You were a fool not to set limits.
Who gave you the authority to violate the Constitution, and local and
Federal laws?" He said "No one." I said "It's not just artifacts you
wanted a psychic to look at, is it. TELL ME." He looked like he was
going to refuse, so I said, "How many whole space craft do you have?"
He was still silent. Then Stanton said, "3." I said "Which one is the
best, the one from Germany?" He said "Yes, how did you know?" I said
"The Bureau lends me to the Agency to check their agents, too. There
aren't any secrets in this government, or any other, I can't find out
if I want to. American GIs stumbled across it during the war."
"Now I'm going to tell you something extremely important. All our
lives are in danger. Everybody on Earth is in danger. From what you
want to do with a psychic. We have been visited for thousands of years,
mostly peacefully. That will change the moment a real psychic who is
powerful enough to be of any help to you, comes within about 50 feet of
one of those flying teapots or whatever. They let us alone because we
are no threat to them, even when you manage to shoot one of their
shuttle craft down. You can't make their machines work, because they
require mental abilities most earth people don't have, to activate and
direct them. If they find out somebody from earth can do that, which
they could when the craft calls home about it, they would take action.
This base would be gone in a second. I don't know where they will stop.
I don't want to find out. Do you understand me?"
Stanton said "Oh my God! But how do you know this?" I said "It's
happened before. In Siberia, around Tunguska, about 50 years ago.
Before that, too. The best you can do is seal off access to them, and
keep everybody away. You won't learn anything from them, anyway. If you
don't do what needs to be done, I will know, and you can guess what we
will do about it. I think we are done here, unless you have somebody we
should kill." Stanton said, "I can take it from here." I said "I hope
you can. Really I do. I don't like killing, but I won't let that stop
me. I care too much about our country and our world, to risk anything
less." He called in the MPs, who took the stunned General away. I told
Stanton, "You might check and see if there are any more pickup teams
out there, and recall them. DOD will get our full report. You might
want to send one, too. And pass it on to your successors, in time. It
would be REALLY nice if you would send to my office at the Bureau, why
the General picked me, and how he found out what he thinks he knows
about me. That should have been above his clearance level." As we were
leaving, Stanton said, "Stephen? Thank you sir." He saluted me, and I
nodded back.
We went back the empty office and ported to my bedroom. I turned to
Rod and said, "Sorry I didn't get a chance to ask you to do something."
He said "That's alright. Next time." He hugged me. Father took me by
the shoulders and looked me in the eyes and said very seriously,
"Stephen, Tell me. How did you know that about the aliens?" I said "I
didn't. I just started talking, and realized it was true. Some of the
memories from Blonchang were part of it, and some from history and
geography, and some from my new psychic abilities." I said in a sharp
voice to chad, "Chad, what do you see from space!" He said like in a
trance, "The moon is to the watchers. They come and go, but not just
for choosing." Pete said "What the heck does that mean?" Chad said "I
don't know. Just that it's true." I told father. "He has the Oracle
talent."
Father said "I want reports. I think we are done for today. Port me
back to where you found me?" I did. I sat down. Then I told the team,
"I'm done. I don't want to think any more. Blonchang's memories HURT!"
I cried. They held me. That helped, but not enough.
Your friend,
Stephen
--
Grant
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