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From: " +Grant. " <+Grant@grant.grant>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.prettyboy
Subject: +*+*+*+ Stephen's Secure Blog #71 "Home Plate" +*+*+*+
Date: 10 Sep 2012 19:19:01 -0500
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Stephen's Secure Blog #71
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, in the 1950's. 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. He stopped writing to his penpal, but found he
still wanted to record his life, in case he lost his memory again, and
wrote 30 entries in his first logbook. Then he wrote to an artificial
intelligence called Geenee, in the master computer in his school for
gifted students, which he started attending in 2016. Now it's 2018 and
later, and he's continuing to save his memories in a secure blog.
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 13 in this story, in the Fall, after the start of year 4 of
his special school.
Stephen's Secure Blog #71 "Home Plate"
START Page
In a meeting, I asked Rose and Hawk how they liked helping Zander.
Hawk said, "I like him. The little work we do isn't hard, and it's
interesting. I'm learning things, too. Thanks for the job." I said
"You're welcome. Rose?" She said "I'm learning a lot. More than I
thought possible. It's what you wanted, and I'm glad of that. Thank
you." I said "You're welcome, too. Zander is very impressed by the
friendliness and professionalism of both of you. So, I am, too. Good
work!" We hugged and kissed. I said "You've seen my report about the
cat people?" They both nodded. I said "I would like you both to be with
me when I see them next. And with Grace, so I can see how they react to
her lesbian sexual interest in them." Rose said, "That should be
interesting!" I grinned and said, "That's why I want you there." She
said "Thank you!" Hawk said "I think everything you do is interesting,
and this is one of the reasons why. All of life is an experiment to
you. I can feel your agreement and I think it means that's the way you
think it should be for everybody." I said "I should just lean back and
let you conduct both sides of the conversation." Rose said, "But I like
I sent a 4th viewpoint to the astroid mining company, and
communicated by radio with the owner. I said, after polite things, "The
project we have been funding with those astroids could use some more
funds. Would you object to continuing our profitable relationship?" He
laughed. I said "By that I should assume you would like to continue
it." He said "Yes, I would. We are ready for another one." I said
"There is a little problem. How big an object can you handle?" There
was a long pause. Then he said, "Do you mean what I think you mean,
that you can produce for us an astroid of practically any size?" I said
"Yes." He said "Wow!" I said, "Yes to that, too." He laughed. He said
"30 kilometers in the largest dimension, would be the largest for our
convenience." I said "How long would it take to process that?" He said
"About 70 to 80 days, depending on it's composition." I said "My next
question might seem a little unusual." He laughed. I said "Where would
you like it to suddenly appear?" He said "Wow!" I said "I don't know
those coordinates." He laughed. He gave me the coordinates of an area
his company claimed, which was unfrequented by others. I said "I will
be in your system soon, to deliver some fancy plates. I'll bring the
big lump with me. If you don't mind." He said "I don't mind at all. But
But that's your name!" I said "Yes it is, and I am that artist." He
said "But you look different!" I said "Our shields can be set to have
any appearance. We look ugly to your people. I didn't want that to
interfere with our relationship with you." He said with a laugh, "Ugly
is right. But now that I know you, I can live with that. You can be
yourself." I said "Thank you." He said "But you aren't in this system
of my signal, you would find it in empty space about 300 meters from
your antenna." He said "You just told me that to frustrate me, didn't
you." I said "Did it work?" He laughed and said, "I refuse to admit
it." I said "Good response." He laughed. We said our goodbyes.
The plates and things were already packed for transfer. I used
silicone sheets, which were strengthened with imbedded a fiberglass
weave, to sandwich between the plates to cushion them. The drinking and
serving pieces were wrapped in expanded plastic packing material. The
flatware pieces were in large presentation boxes, with anti-tarnish
lining. I was told which storeroom they should be in, in the official
Presidential Palace. I asked that it be kept locked until I could be
present there to instruct them in the care of my work. I ported all the
boxes into the room, and put a watch on the door, so I could make sure
it wouldn't open without my permission. During that, and until I
allowed it to work, the spy camera somebody had concealed in the room
didn't work.
I had an appointment at the residence of the Tsuriss ambassador to
the planet in the evening, so Hawk, Rose, and I ported to the storeroom
for the appointment we had there in the morning. The Chief of Protocol
was waiting outside the door when I opened it, along with some other
people, even including a staff publicist with a video camera. I allowed
the spy camera to resume operating, and invited them in. We did
introductions and greetings, and we started unpacking the boxes. I
caught the Chief staring at the boxes and expecting them to be magical,
and I grinned at him and said, "These boxes are quite ordinary, and can
be disposed of. So is the other one you were wondering if these would
grinned and said, "Frustrating." I said "I hear that a lot." He
laughed. I said to all, "None of this crystal ware is to be stacked, or
otherwise made to come in contact with each other, except where it is
required to be when in actual use. Except for the flat plates. They may
be stacked up to six high, with these red spacer cushions between them.
They are thin, but will do the job very well, and will not slip. I made
them this color so they will be a little less easy to lose. There are
twice as many as needed, just in case. The eating and serving
implements are made of silver, and can oxidize. Tarnish. That can be
very much reduced when they are stored in their own boxes, because of
the chemical in the lining. They still may need polishing occasionally.
When you are serving the people who will be using them, and when
cleaning up while they are there, I would recommend you keep a close
watch on them, for they might somehow wander into some guests' pockets.
Laugh if you will, but we all know exalted rank doesn't completely
remove a person's selfish nature. Actually, it often accentuates it."
They really laughed at that.
I said "So, if you notice vanishing silver, and bulging clothes which
recommend you notify security, and let them decide what to do about it.
I hope they do something useful, because they won't want to see what I
would do about it!" Hawk said "Would they survive?" I said "Maybe, but
they might not want to, when they find out how creative I can be with a
fork and spoon." A lot more laughter. One of the people said, "Can
these be scratched?" I said "Yes, they can be scratched by each other,
like when you and your friends itch, but it would take a lot of work
for that to happen much in regular use. Most other things won't make a
mark. They can break if they are dropped on a stone floor, or onto each
other. They can cause broken arms if anybody steals them, if you know
what I mean. Well, I care about my work." One asked, "What are they
made of?" I said "They are each carved from a solid rock of an
artificial crystal material." A lot of wows. I said "I hear that a
lot." Laughter. I said "They can be cleaned as you would usually do,
which I hope is nice and gentle. Any other questions?" There weren't
any, so we all finished unpacking and putting them on the shelves. When
we were done, I said "I made these. PLEASE take care of them. No other
world has anything like them. Be proud. Thank you." We bowed, and Hawk,
Rose, the Chief, and I left, and went to the President's office. Hawk
was carrying the covered picture in its frame.
We bowed and said polite things and sat down. I said "Did you know
there was a spy camera in the storeroom where we delivered the plates?"
Hissssner grinned and said, "Yes. I didn't expect it to work when you
didn't want it to, though." I said "Right." He grinned wider. Then he
said, "They are wondering, I'm sure, how you got the boxes into the
room without anybody seeing anything." I said "That's not my problem.
Is it yours?" He said "It might be, but Security wouldn't let it. You
made a big impression on them at my house. They will support you
against inconvenient questions. Was that why you did what you did
there?" I said "No, it wasn't. I was addressing the then present, and
not the future. I didn't know what happened there, would affect
anything here. But, I've learned that doing the right thing often pays
well beyond the immediate. Not that I was thinking about that then,
either. I was just doing what I thought was right."
He said "I see a wrapped package. Too big for your magic box?" I
looked a question at the Chief, and he almost strangled. Hissssner was
surprised, and when he could, the Chief said, "Stephen said there is
nothing special about the box." Hissssner said "Oh! Well, er,
frustrating." I said "That's what he said. Are you related?" They
laughed. I took the picture from Hawk and unwrapped it, and said, "This
is NOT an official portrait. It should NOT be displayed anywhere
outside your private residence. You will see why. Here it is." I gave
it to him. He stared at it and then said, "It MOVES!" I said "Oh, are
you related to Zander, too?" He laughed. I said "Don't ask me how I do
it, because I don't actually know how that works. I just think of the
subject's personality as I make it, and that happens. It only does that
for people I know and like. Hawk and Rose were with me when I did that
for the first time, and in public. I had to stop, because it caused
some unwanted attention." He said "That I can believe!" Rose said "We
didn't mind, though. Stephen did. The result of that is our family has
a lot of his work, and he was made one of our people." I said with
love, "That I didn't mind at all."
Hissssner said "Why shouldn't it be on public display?" I said
"Because it's an illusion, and doesn't work for cameras. Some people
will be afraid of it, and assume that they and you can be under some
strange bad influence. Not good for politics." He said "Right. I
understand." I said "We can transport it to your home when we leave
here, to save you the trouble. That is, if you want it." He said "YES I
want it. Is this the only active portrait off your world?" I said "The
first, yes. I don't know if I dare to make another." He said "That's a
shame, but I understand. Can you do that with your sculpture?" I said
"I have, for our family." I was looking at Rose and Hark. I said "Not
since then. I don't think I should." He said "What a loss to the
galaxy!" I said "Well, what they don't know about, they won't miss." He
said "But I know!" I looked at him strangely. He said "Oh. Oh! No
thanks." I nodded. We ended the meeting, with our goodbyes, and we
walked out into the street and wandered around until we weren't
observed, and ported to my house. Hawk had been carrying the portrait,
and I ported it to Hissssner's art room, after turning off the cameras
there for a minute.
Hawk said "Did you and he mean what I think you meant, that you could
remove his memories?" I said "Exactly. I never let him know I could do
that in any way, but he got the idea from what I was looking at him
with, after he mentioned he had the memory. I nodded to let him know he
guessed right. Now we go to the mining company. He's alone, and the
hall to his office is empty and not observed. Shields but no disguise.
Ready?" They were, so I ported us there, and we walked into his office.
He was surprised, and said so. I said "We could have talked by radio,
but I thought this would be more polite. This is how we really look. As
you might guess, we are not ugly to each other, which is all that
really matters to us." He said "Thank you for trusting me with this. So
you're the famous artist." I said "Well, yes. We just delivered the
plates. The asteroid, too. It's not been registered or claimed. I think
we have enough trust not to be concerned about that." He grinned and
said, "Trust, yes. It's not necessary for me to know that it wouldn't
work to cheat you, but it certainly doesn't hurt to remember that." I
grinned and said, "I suppose so. Would you like to know where it came
from?" He said "Sure, even if I thought I would understand it as much
as I understand how you came here without a ship." I said in fake
surprise, "Oh, did we forget to bring that? We could ask it to come
here, if you really want to see it again." He laughed and said, "No,
that's not necessary." I said "There is a system on the other side of
the galaxy which has a belt made up of a lot of asteroids just like the
one we just brought. It's too far away for economical working, so we
decided to help that out a little." He said "That must have been a long
trip!" I said "Not really. None of us have ever been there." He said
you?" He laughed and said, "Absolutely!"
I said "One more thing. You have a daughter. She is VERY intelligent.
A genius. And talented. Send her to the school the holder of the
account you send the money to, is building with that money." He looked
very surprised, and then very thoughtful, and then excited. I said
"Yes." He said "You read my mind?" I said "No. I don't need to, do I?"
He said "So you're a genius, too?" I said "We are, and VERY highly
trained, which most geniuses don't know they need to be, to realize
their full potential." He said "I want that for her! But there could be
a problem with her mother." I said "If the President asks her?" He
grinned and said, "Not a problem." I said with a grin, "I thought so.
There will be students of other races, Hahchet, for example, there,
too. Don't let them get too much of a head start." He said "Oh! You
work more mysteriously than I thought." I said "Learning what she will
need to learn, is a LOT of very hard work. Some don't make it all the
way. She has the potential for great things. We will see if she
succeeds. We should be going. We have a meeting with a representative
of the Tsuriss to discuss the same thing." He said "Thank you very much
for all you have done." I said "You're welcome. Farewell." We walked
out, and he tried to follow. I blocked that, and we could hear him
laughing just before we ported back to my house on the planet.
I said "Lunch, and then discussion." We ported food in, and ate. Then
I said, "Questions, comments on what's happened today so far?" Hawk
said "How did you know about his daughter?" I said "Well, how do you
think Zander is going to find his own students?" He said "Oh. I didn't
think about that. He doesn't have the government connections like the
our original school did. You scanned the whole world?" I said "Yes, the
day my psionics exploded open. As I meet new people, I automatically
correlate what I found, with them." Rose said excitedly, "That's why we
ported there, and didn't use the ship! You wanted to show off, so he
would want his daughter to learn to be like us." I grinned and kissed
her, which she cooperated with very enthusiastically. Hawk said "That's
why you ported the astroid there, instead of discovering it." Then he
expected me to kiss him. I said "Sorry. She got there first." He
pouted, so I said, "Oh, alright." We kissed the same way. Rose said "I
just thought of something else. I know why you are in a hurry to get
these schools started as soon as possible. You want them up and
running, and maybe with some Adepts, in time for when you face the GC,
so we can have as much support from the planets who send their children
to our schools as we can." I said to Hawk, "What do you think about her
er, revelation?" He said "Amazing! I didn't think of that at all!" I
said "Rose, may I examine you for advancement?" She looked embarrassed
and pleased, and said, "Yes, Master Teacher!" I did, and I said, "May I
say what I found, in your brother's hearing?" She said "Yes, always." I
said "All talents have improved a little, with potential for more. Base
IQ is different, in a way that is unexpected. 220!" They both said
"Wow!" Then they cried to each other, and we all hugged.
I said "We have some time before the next meeting. Do you think we
same time, and wouldn't want to, anyway, when my nuts are being licked.
We did a lot of very nice things to each other, before we finally
finished. While we were resting, I said to Rose, "I will be actively
opposed to any of our Adepts getting pregnant before they are 18. There
are physical, social, and legal reasons for that, which I'm sure you
can think of if you try. I know what you want for your child, and I'm
not opposed to that. How could I be? But it needs to wait for the right
time." She said "He or she will be the first?" I said "Naturally." Hawk
said "What are you talking about?" I said "I think you know." He got
very embarrassed and stammered, "How did you know? Telepathy?" I said
"With my IQ, I don't need to read minds to know something like that."
He said, "Oh yeah, that's right." I said "We are going further than
that. We are buying a fertility clinic, and I plan to request a lot of
sperm donations to it." Rose said "Good. We need more of us, to compete
with the rest of the schools we are starting." I said "One more thing.
Psionic powers are recessive. Usually. Mine are dominant. That will
happen to males who sleep on stoned beds, in about 6 months. So will a
longer and more healthy lifespan. Females will receive the same
benefits, but their eggs can't be modified usefully." They both said
"Wow!" I said "Please keep this to ourselves, for now, until we see
some real results. It would be VERY bad if we promised all that, and
turned out to be wrong." Hawk said "Right!" Rose said "We trust you."
We didn't say anything more for a long while, just hugged and exchanged
love.
END Page
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Grant
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