Stephen's Logbook #1 Entry #24
These stories about Stephen began was when he was 10 years old, and
moving to a new part of the country to attend a special school for
gifted students. 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. He wrote 225 of them to
a friend. Please refer to them for insight into this new series of
stories. He stopped writing to his penpal, but found he still wanted to
record his life, in case he loses his memory again. So, we can now look
into selected entries in his logbook to see how he is doing.
All characters are fictitious, even if some of them might have names
that belong to some actual people, or act like people we know.
The stories may not be posted in chronological order.
Stephen is 17 in this story, in the Fall after the start of year 8 of
special school.
Stephen's Logbook #1 Entry #24 "Cindy and Law"
NEW ENTRY
A week after Chad was assigned to to recruit a former student who is
a lawyer, he ported to my office and yelled, "Jackpot!" I said "Who is
Jack, and what is he doing in a pot?" He said "Cindy agreed to help
us." I said "Lawyer?" He said "Right. More than that, she wants to be a
part of us, too, after Pete told her about the crystals." I said "How
loyal is she?" He said "Wait, there's more. I aligned her chakras, and
her third eye it 3/4 open, and I gave her the starter crystal with the
restrictions and loyalty instructions. She's sincere and wants to help,
even though she doesn't know about our real mission yet." I said
"Significant other?" He said "No, and she's a lesbian, and she doesn't
expect to get the jobs and promotions she is qualified for." I said
"Ambition is alright, but here, not as a priority. She's your project.
Do you think I should speak with her?" He said "Not yet. But, you being
the big boss and talking to a new hire, should impress her. Let's save
that for when we can use it to it's most effectiveness." I said "You're
a telepath now?" We grinned. I said "Give her both alien languages
without explanations, and a basic intro to the business part of the
Enterprise. AFTER she does everything Pete wants. When I see her, you
be in contact with me, but not in the office. I will want the complete
file on her, including her then current psychic inventory. And the
Zander crystal. Got it?" He said with a big grin, "Yes, boss." I said
"Good work. I knew you could do it. This could mean a lot for us." He
came around my desk and kissed and hugged me.
Cindy came into my office. I had already reviewed her file. There was
little chance she would have a fully open third eye any time soon, but
she did have the basic senses, and could detect and push out mental
contact. I got up to hug her and kiss her cheek, and then we sat in
comfortable chairs. Chad was in contact. I said "Chad has informed me
that you have been a big help to us, and that you would like to join
us. You already have a job and career, so why the change?" She said "I
have never fitted into the real world. I'm so intelligent I scare
people. I'm so physically capable, that scares them even more. And then
there is the glass ceiling. Being a lesbian doesn't help. All that
means I can't be who I am, and can't contribute the way I know I can."
I said "So, basically, you're bored, lonely, and frustrated." She said,
"An accurate assessment." I said "And now, you're even more different,
with some psychic abilities." She nodded. I said "And you realize that
your differences in the outside world, are actually normal and highly
valued here." She said "Yes."
I said, "How much do you know about me? I'm sure Chad has said
something." She said "That you're the big boss, and that all of this is
your idea, and you were the first psychic, and taught all the others,
before your injury, and that you're the most intelligent person in the
history of the school, and that you have invented some amazing things,
including the crystals." I said "At lease he didn't say I was the
cutest." She grinned. I said "Oh, he did. Well, that should tell you we
don't discriminate regarding sexuality. Not even in thought, which you
should be able to feel now. What do you know about us in general?" She
said, "You and your company owns and runs the school, and many other
businesses, and you have offices all over the world." I said "Any
more?" She said "Just that you have the best people." I said "You would
be qualified on that." She looked pleased. I said "How open minded are
you, regarding new ideas, some of which are considered to be
impossible?" She said "I have the impression that the crystals are just
the tip if the iceberg." I said "Ready for some more of that berg?" She
said "Fire away." I said "We have some of the most personally powerful
people in the galaxy, who can literally crush worlds to dust with their
minds, and teleport from one place to another, even to another planet,
with a thought. I was one of them. Chad is one. You might be one some
day. And we are still on the tip of the iceberg."
Cindy said "Wow!" I grinned and said, "We hear that a lot. Ready for
more?" She nodded. I said "For thousands of years, our world has been
visited by aliens from space. Some have been benign researchers. Some
of them have been abusive. We are a Restricted World, according to the
Galactic Council, but they aren't very good at enforcing that. I
established this Enterprise to support our goal of being in charge of
all alien contact, and defending the Earth from offworlder abuse. We
have already acted in some cases. When we are big enough to do the job
well, and with the authority of power, we will let my inventions appear
on the market, which should help us rise to the standard of living
which will allow us full membership in the Galactic Council. We need
legal advice in managing our businesses, and knowledge of galactic law,
to support our goals. How are you taking this, so far?" She said "You
don't think small." I waited. She said "Evidence?" I gave her the
Zander crystal, and said, "Our latest first encounter." She put it to
her forehead. and then jumped in amazement, and then I felt her wonder,
and then admiration for me. She said "You did play that very well. I
wondered if you were qualified for your position. I no longer wonder.
You would have made a brilliant lawyer." I shuddered and said, "Heaven
forbid! Oh, sorry." She grinned and said, "No offense." I said "We have
money. That's not a problem. Our greatest need is good people who will
support our goals, and who will keep our secrets. If the public we are
protecting, found out about who we are and what we can do, we would be
torn to shreds. Do you need explanations in support of that?" She said,
"No, I understand." I said "Do you want to join us? The pay is great,
but I think that's not your primary motivation. We don't receive public
acclaim, either. Nothing about us and our people goes in the news and
professional publications. We work hard, and play hard, and one more
thing. We love each other." I gave her my love, and she felt it. She
said "I'm in." I said "Chad?"
Chad ported in, and came over and hugged me and kissed me on the
lips, and then did the same to Cindy. I said to her, "Someday his lips
are going to go on strike for more pay." She smiled. I said "I'm
straight, but Chad and I love each other as more than brothers. It has
been that way since we first met when he was 10." Chad said "I'm bi,
and have a girlfriend I intend to marry. Stephen and I still fool
around with each other, and our girlfriends don't mind. In fact, they
do the same, and sometimes we do it in large groups." I said "Psychics
of our kind, who started as children, find that in sexual play, we can
fully feel one with each other, and intensely human. Which, being so
different, we desperately need, but it's completely voluntary. It's
lonely at the top. Welcome home and to our family. We love you." We all
stood and hugged, and love flowed through us.
A month later, after Cindy had completed advanced orientation, she
came for her assignment appointment with me. She sat in front of my
desk. I said "Welcome to the team." She said "Thank you sir." I said
"We are informal at this level. I'm Stephen. We who have the emotion
and object senses, realize we don't have much privacy among us, so we
feel that formality is a little too false and pretentious to us in the
full honesty with each other we have. I hope you don't mind that." She
said "Not at all. Particularly not, after I've noticed there is a real
merit system here, therefore real respect." I said "How would you like
to be a division head?" She grinned and said, "I wouldn't complain." I
said "Good, on both counts. The position starts at $400,000 a year, if
grinned. I said "Now for the nuts and bolts, which might make you
complain. You are responsible for all your Division's administration
and hiring, and your division will provide legal council to all our
divisions and properties on request, and when otherwise needed. With me
so far?" She said "Absolutely!" I said "There is a problem with
geniuses, which I personally know very well. We hate boring routine
management. Therefore, you need an administrative assistant, to
actually run your department, with you being like the boss only when
you want to be. How is that?" She said "It's unmannerly to drool." I
passed her a box of tissues, and said with a grin, "Just in case."
I said "Now for something a little different. No one is to be
indispensable or irreplaceable. Therefore, our first order of business
when we are brought into the Enterprise, is to make provisions for our
possible successor. I've been doing that since I started as a psychic
when I was 12. I have been at death's door a number of times. I will
not have my death interfere with my plans. Or the death of any other of
us. What we do, and who we do it for, is more important than any one of
us. This can be a problem with competences which are not as popular
among us as others, because we need our big bosses to know all our
secrets, and it's very difficult to ensure they are kept. We know only
one person we can trust, who has a desire to be a lawyer, and he hasn't
even entered law school yet, nor is he a genius or part of the school,
but a future husband of our adept head of our Finance Division. He is
the reason why we sought your help, and instead, or along with it, we
received a lot more, in your actual self. Not that we're complaining
one little bit. His name is Dean, and he's a good man. Yes, nepotism is
encouraged here, when qualified. He knows of our quest for legal
instruction crystals for him, but hasn't been informed of our progress
in that regard. Unless the grapevine is better than I want it to be.
said "Would you like to be the one to tell him, in your own conference
room?" She said "And thus transferring some loyalty? Yes. Generous of
you." I grinned and said, "I like to share. Actually, I have a little
too much personal loyalty around here. I prefer friends, over
worshipers." She said "I understand."
I called Jan, and asked when she can bring Dean to a meeting, to
discuss some things. She wanted to know what they were, and I said they
weren't firm yet, but at the meeting, some decisions could be made. She
scheduled it for that late afternoon. I told her which room it would be
in. Then I said to Cindy, "You heard?" She said "Yes. Do you think they
will react well?" I said "Some of our friends would call that a stupid
question." We laughed. I said "Pete says Dean can have one of your law
crystals a week. Is that alright with you?" She said "That's fine." I
said "Division heads can talk directly with other Division heads, and
make arrangements for using their services, without involving my
office. Naturally, I will be informed of any disputes and complaints,
or even praises, too, I hope. And everything shows in the Quarterly
Reports. There is one more thing. ALL of us are subject to be called
for assistance by an action team, such as for an alien encounter. Your
skills as a school graduate in security are very valuable to us, and
using them isn't likely to be boring. What do you think about that?"
She said "It could be interesting. Definitely count me in!" I said
"I'll pass the word. I wonder if I should be out of the office when you
finish briefing Jan and Dean. Locked doors don't mean much to a
teleport." She said "Take it like a man!" We grinned. I stood, and so
did she, and we hugged and kissed our goodbyes.
It happened, just like I thought it would. They ported into my office
and ran at me, and almost crushed me to death with their hugs, and
bruised my lips with their kisses. When I could, I said, "I told Cindy
this would happen." Jan said "She told us." I said "A conspiracy.
Anyway, I hope you thanked her. This wouldn't be possible if she hadn't
wanted to help us and be with us." Dean said "We did, but you made it
happen." I said "I'm not opposed to accepting some credit where it's
due, but all I did was have the idea, and assigned the job to Chad. He
recruited her. He deserves your thanks more than I do. Might withstand
it better, too." They grinned. I could see the calculation in their
eyes as they made ready to port away.
END ENTRY
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Grant
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