Stephen's Secure Blog #98
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 after
2018, 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 14 in this story, in the Summer, after the end of year 4 of
his special school.
Stephen's Secure Blog #98 "Tsuriss Museum"
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I had a meeting with Zander in my house. I said "I plan to visit
other worlds soon, to check for recruits, and another Tsuriss child
candidate could be available. What are your thoughts on the addition of
new students?" He said "The Tsuriss child I would want right away. He
and Splidnt would be of great help to each other, and could share a
room. It would also give more responsibility to the adults, and more
teaching experience for them. I would rather have an adult first, of
another species, but not until the new Tsuriss child is settled in." I
said "Would you like to know what I think about what you've said?" He
grinned and said, "Pete could tell you." I grinned back. Then I said,
"In my opinion, you have outlined the best course for student
acquisition at this time. I couldn't do better." He was really pleased
and embarrassed, and said, "Thank you!"
I said "You're welcome. I'll be asking for Harditch again, for help
with the new Tsuriss acquisition, when the time is right for it. I
needed Rose and Hawk to work on the Centaur problem, for their own
development. You have Mgambe and Grace as primary assistants, with
Hassan as backup, and his primary duty will be managing Van big ship
capture, when they slow enough to become available, probability around
two a year, and a few days of work each. If you need any more help,
just ask. Are any of your students ready to use the Arena?" He said
"Yes, the adults. I was thinking the Posintans first." I said "If you
need any assistance with that, I should tell you Grace is better than
Mgambe, and so should be reserved for the advanced murders, er,
competitions." He laughed, and said, "I suspected that. She does appear
to be very, er, combative, in nature." I said "Sexually, too." I
grinned at his reaction. I said "Don't worry, you're safe. She prefers
females, but does make an exception for mixed groups. In them, with
shared feelings and senses, the more diverse the mixture, the better."
I grinned some more. Then I said, "Did you know that Adepts rarely have
committed relationships and children?" He said "I suspected that, from
reviewing history, but can you tell me why?" I said "It's difficult to
form stable partnerships with regular people, with so many secrets to
keep, and there is the difference in intelligence and abilities. Few
female Adepts want to be burdened with childbirth and the raising of
them. This will be a little different with Rose. She intends to have my
child, however she can manage it. If she gets me with it, all the
better, as far as she is concerned. She believes she is in love with
me. Hawk feels the same. There could be some interesting times with
that. Well, more than there have been." He said "I can believe that!"
Zander said "Harditch is ready for the first ring." I said "Contact
me when you are with her to give it to her after she decides on which
finger and style, and I'll make it, and key it to her use, and yours,
only, and port it to your hand. She doesn't have to know I had anything
to do with it." He said "Thank you. Then, a few days later, Hahchet.
The Posintans, in about 60 days." I said "Good. I should be available
at all times for that, except during the death of a friend I expect to
happen soon." He said "Oh! Is it somebody I know?" I said "No, it's a
Holy Man of Power of Rose and Hark's people. It was he who made me one
of them. When the time is near, we will be called to attend him, and we
will be doing nothing else in that time." He said "Yes. I understand."
I said "Do you have anything else to report?" He said "Not at this
time." We stood, and I said, "Want a recharge?" He nodded, and we
hugged with love.
Percy was available, so I asked him if he would like to come with me
to Tsuriss. He said "You really know how to ask questions you already
absolutely know the answers too!" I said "I take it that's a yes." He
hugged and kissed me to prove that. I said "From there, to Posintan,
with one other to be determined, for some things, and to get more of us
into GC citizenship. Who would you recommend for that, of the students
just starting to do real work?" He said "If Ichi isn't at the top of
the list, he should be. Then Hassan, then Grace." I said "Alright,
we'll do a four way, with Ichi and Hassan, because that will make two
two-man teams for laser tag. I'll get them when we need them. Next
trip, I'll bring the others." He said "Sounds good." I said "First, we
are going to museums to give donations. My public artist persona
requires somebody else to carry my art. Just an empty box, and I'll
port the thing into it just when we need to pull it out. I pulled out
an impossible number of things from one, often, in front of the
president of Zander's planet, and he thought the box was something
really special, until last time when I told him it wasn't. You should
have seen his expression!" He laughed really hard. We ported to the
ship, and ported the ship to Tsuriss, and I said to Control, after
giving the ship registry number, "I am Stephen. My citizenship is of
Zichesshich and Posintan, and I, and my friend Percy, who is with me,
have been granted honorary citizenship here, and adopted into a clan."
The controller said, "Honored Sirs, you are cleared to land. We will
attempt control in ten minutes, and contact you again if anything
interferes with that." I said "Thank you."
I called the museum and announced myself, and who I needed to see,
and was told we were expected, and could visit any time within the next
four hours. A little more than an hour later, we walked into the front
door of the museum, and I asked to see the director. She came out and
meet us, and took us to her office. After sitting and some polite
things, she asked, "How do you know Hoechess? I said "Hissssner, the
President of Zichesshich, introduced us, in his home. I have
citizenship there, and a home, and am Artist in Residence to their
premier museum. I told her I had something I would like to donate to
your museum, because it's too expensive for anybody to purchase, and I
want to share it with people I like. You will know why when you see it.
If you are interested." She said "Of course we are interested!" Percy
said to her, "Stephen does that all the time. We call that asking
stupid questions." She laughed and said, "We would call that being
polite." I poked Percy, and said to him, "See?" He just grinned. I said
"I should tell you this before you see it, because judging from other
reactions, you probably won't hear anything I say after you see it, for
a while. I found a gigantic raw light blue star sapphire. Too big even
to lift without aid. I needed to think of something to do with it, and
then I saw inside it, in my mind, what I should do, and who should have
it. I'm also including a memory card with images of the original rock
and some of intermediary steps in the carving. Ready?" She said "Yes."
Percy put the box on the floor, and I pulled out the statue and put it
on her desk, facing her.
She stared at it, entranced, for more than two minutes, while I moved
it slightly so she could see the play of light on it. Percy said "Wow!"
I said to him, "That's right, you haven't seen it. Sorry." He said
"That's almost alright. I would have liked to have sat in front of it
for days." I said "I forgot! I'm really sorry." He hugged me and said,
"Don't worry. You've been busy." I said "I take my art for granted so
much, sometimes I forget I should share it more with people I love." He
said "Probably best you didn't. If you had put it in your gallery, we
might not have let you take it out." I said "I could believe that. I
don't like to go there in person anymore, because everybody shows up,
and I get squashed under a pile of overly loving admirers. I do
remember you being one of them at times." He grinned and said, "Guilty
as charged!" I smiled and hugged him. Then I whispered loudly to him,
"She's watching us." He laughed, and we turned to the director. I said
"I suppose you want it." She grinned and said, "That stupid question
label is quite accurately descriptive." Percy poked me and said, "In
translation, that was a yes." I said "I suppose so." She said "I've
been to many museums on many planets, and I have never seen anything
like it." I said "Well, that's one of the primary reasons why I made
it. Artists really like to be original." She said "I have no doubt of
that." I handed her a paper and said, "Here is the contract. As long as
it's almost constantly on display, with my name and planet, and the
clan we have been adopted into, you can keep it forever. I recommend
some good security. That's definitely one of a kind!"
She read the contract and said, "We agree to your terms. You said you
have a gallery. Where?" I said "I have two. One is on a Restricted
World, which would be difficult for offworlders to see, and one in my
home on Zichesshich. And many of my things are on display at the museum
there." She said "I would like to see your gallery in your home." I
said "I can be available on a day's notice, except sometime in the next
80 days when I will be attending the death of a friend." She said "When
I can get free, I would like to be there." I said "You might want to
arrange to do it with Hoechess. I wouldn't mind seeing her expressions
when she tours my home. If you like, I can carry a message to her. Our
ship is faster than anything the GC has." She said "Oh? How is that?" I
said "Very nice, we think." She said "That wasn't what I meant." Percy
said, "Stephen invents, too. He's an engineer, and teaches advanced
physics." I said to him, "You worked on them, too." He grinned and
said, "Yes, I watched very well." I said "But you're our expert on
space ships!" He said, "Yes, after you design and build them." I said
"Oh." The director was looking at us, and being amazed and amused. She
said "Our people would be very interested in that." I said "Not if you
don't tell them. We can't help them with that, because they couldn't
understand it, or build it, or operate the ones we have. In fact, if
you don't keep this a secret, we will have to withdraw from all contact
with the GC. You can verify that with Hoechess." She said "Surely with
Surely with enough education, you can make something to equal this
sculpture?" She said "But it's not the same." I said "HOW do YOU know
that? I don't lie. I and my associates are all super geniuses. Percy
has a higher intelligence level than anybody currently on your planet,
and any other planet's native population we have scanned, and mine is
seven times higher than his. NO amount of education can make up for
that difference. But, we are trying. I sell my art to fund my special
schools, for all uniquely qualified students, which include some
Tsuriss. If you really care about your people, you do NOT want to
interfere with that."
She said "I see I spoke in ignorance. I apologize. I will discuss
this with Hoechess, as you recommend." I said with a grin, "That should
be an interesting conversation. You can tell her I said that, if you
want to see some really odd expressions cross her face." She laughed. I
said "We love your people. We were adopted by you, which is such an
honor, we don't know how to express our feelings about it. We would
really not like anything bad to separate us." She said "THAT I
understand. If you will wait, I will create a letter for her." We did.
Percy asked me, "Who is dying? Anybody I know?" I said "The old Navajo
Shaman Adept who declared me one of them. Hawk, Rose, and I will be
called to attend him when his time comes. I will let nothing interfere
with that. I know it will happen this summer. My premonitions are
becoming more er, informative." He said "Yes, you must go. Interesting
about the prems. Shows there is room for improvement even in the best
of us." I said "Yes it does, which I used as a motivator to Zander's
class." He said "As usual. You use everything to teach." I said "Not
said, "I have no doubt!" I poked him and said, "At the release in a
linked group session at our excavation site in what is now Belize, I
used that opportunity to create our first real gestalt. That's were we
er, acquired Nigel, soon after." He said "I heard about that. Who would
have believed something like that could happen?" I said "Yes, we were a
little surprised, but not nearly as much as he was. If you haven't
heard him tell it, make him do it. Really amazing story! Psst, she's
looking at us again." We all laughed.
She said "I had some difficulty concentrating on the letter, hearing
your discussion." I said, looking innocent, "Oh?" She laughed again,
and said, "I have a feeling life is not boring around you." I said
"Well, we do have a choice, and do choose to have interesting times,
even in bed. Being who we are can be almost unbearably lonely, but who
can be lonely in the arms of one, or more, you love? Anyway, we should
be going, before we heat up the room so much a Ssintris would be hot."
She laughed and said, "I will be seeing you again, I'm sure. Thank you
for this amazing gift. I will inform your clan of it, and they will be
very proud." I said "Thank you." We stood and all bowed, and I gave her
my love. We left, but had viewpoints watching her astounded look. Percy
said "I love it when you do that. So unexpected the first time, but so
good." I said "Yes, the reaction is often amusing. But, I wouldn't stop
doing that if I could." He hugged and kissed me, and said, "Please,
never stop."
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Grant
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