Stephen's Secure Blog #117
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 Winter of year 5 of his special school.
Stephen's Secure Blog #117 "Captain Krack"
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We were met at the airlock by the First Officer, a woman, and four
armed guards, three men, and one woman. First said "Please enter this
room to be decontaminated. You will need to remove all your clothes and
accessories." Ichi said "Thank you for allowing us to enter your ship.
Now, thank you for allowing us to leave it." We bowed, and turned
around, and went back into our ship, and closed the lock. Ichi
activated the comm and said, "Please inform your Captain that we are
came on the screen and said, "Please wait!" Ichi said "No, unless you
can provide us with a reason to wait, which we can accept." He said
"Please wait while I find out what happened to cause you to leave."
Ichi said "We will wait 5 minutes." We all watched with a viewpoint,
him yell at the First. Some really bad words, too.
I said "I suggest for the next entry, we all let our Ki flow freely,
except for me, who will let none loose." Ichi said "I like that. You,
the most powerful, being in reserve, is a very good tactic. I'm going
to love their reaction when you let it flow." Percy said "Me too,
squared!" We laughed. Rose said "He can't hide his aura from the Adept.
That will be interesting, too." I grinned and said, "Oh YES!" They
laughed. Captain Krack came back on the screen and said, "I apologize
for the misunderstanding perpetrated by my First Officer. You are
obviously well used to interplanetary contact, and would not need to go
through such decontamination." Ichi said "More than that, in that we
will not bring ANY organisms other than ourselves, and what is usually
contained within ourselves, into your ship, and we do not contain
infectious diseases. Nor will we allow any of your organisms to
accompany us out of your ship. One more item of note; We do not allow
anything intended to be a weapon on our ships, or on our persons
outside of practice or sports areas. We do not enjoy others bearing
weapons in our presence. If you think they afford you some protection
from us, please think again. That we will not harm you, or any other
intelligent being, is your only protection." He said "That's a lot to
accept." Ichi grinned and said, "There is a lot more." Krack laughed
and said, "Please come aboard." Ichi said, "We will. Signing off."
We were escorted to the Captain's conference room by the First, who
was very formal. Before we got there, Ichi said to her,
"Misunderstandings often happen in first contacts. Let us put the past
aside, and proceed in friendship." She said "Thank you sir." We sat
around the table, after introductions. There were the First Officer,
the Medical Officer, the Chief Engineer, and the Ship's Psychologist,
who was the Adept, who kept stealing glances at me, which her Captain
noticed. First whispered to her Captain that three of us were highly
trained martial artists. I relayed that to the group. Ichi said "We are
aware of what your First Officer said to you. We are very well trained
in all the disciplines of the body and mind." He said "How did you
know?" Ichi said "One of us has unusually sensitive hearing. A genetic
mutation, we think." He said "Is it you?" Ichi said with a grin, "No."
Krack cleared his throat, and then said, "I think I'm understanding
something entirely unexpected, now. You consider US to be Restricted."
Ichi said "You are to be commended. You are the first of our guests to
see that without being told." He said "Small consolation." Ichi said
"We understand very well. It removes us from the rest of our species.
We are of the people of this system, but apart from them. We protect,
but not interfere. They of the world don't know of us and what we do
for them. We request that you do not change that." He said "What will
you allow us to do to get to know you?" He said "To start, we will
allow any non invasive examinations of one of us." Percy said "I'll
volunteer for that." Captain Krack said to Ichi, "I noticed you didn't
rule on that. Why?"
Ichi said "We have tried to explain the way our group operates, to
some of the best minds of the GC, but could not induce useful
understanding. Each does what is best, according to our abilities and
interests, automatically. I am speaking for us now for your
convenience, because if we all spoke at once, it would be
counterproductive. The individual speaker could be any of us, and while
the choice of words would be slightly different, the results would be
the same. That is the best we can explain it, to those who are not of
us." He said "Are there other Guardians like you on other planets?"
Ichi said "There are, when we visit them." He said with a grin, "Yes, I
know that's not what you meant. If other worlds have their own
Guardians, which is almost impossible to determine without more
precisely defining the term in this context, and if we knew they
existed, we would not communicate that without their approval." He said
"Are there those among other species who you could train to become as
you?" Ichi said "Yes. And that includes your people. We have found that
about one in a billion in each generation of some species, might have
the potential to become as we are." He said with a lot of interest, "Do
you sometimes take those as students?" Ichi said "We do, but it's our
choice, because only we can determine the eligibility, and in secret.
Just as we are unknown to our own people, those who we train, are
unknown to theirs, and for the same reasons. We do not make the
students keep our secrets, or even tell them so. They know they should,
even before we select them." He said "That's a lot to believe." Ichi
said "If we lied, we would lose some of what makes us who we are.
Therefore, we don't. Ethics is part of our training. One thing I should
say. For the best results, training must start in childhood, which
makes acquiring the best qualified students of other species sometimes
insurmountably difficult." He said "That I can understand. And be
severely disappointed, too." Ichi said, "And yet, we do sometimes
manage. Stephen is very skilled at that."
I nodded and said, "One way, is to accept an adult student of the
species, who may not be able to fully equal us, but still be able to
run her own local school, with our assistance." He said "That sounds
reasonable. I noticed you said 'her'. Did that have some significance?"
I said "Yes it does. I prefer to be gender neutral. Because there is a
gender imbalance here, I chose the less represented one to use in my
statement." He said in wonder, "Do you always think so, er,
thoroughly?" I grinned and said, "I try." He laughed. First said, "I
have a question. May I?" Ichi and Captain Krack nodded. She said "I
informed the Captain that three of you are highly trained martial
artists. Yet you stated that all of you are very well trained in all
the disciplines of the body and mind." Ichi said "What is your
question?" She said "How can your statement be true?" Ichi said "I
agree that one statement is false. Why do you assume it is mine?" She
said "But one of you is not a martial artist!" Ichi said "Now you must
justify your position to the group, by informing us how you came to
that conclusion." The Captain leaned back and watched with interest,
which wasn't lost on the First. She said "I am a martial expert, and as
such, I can see that in others." Ichi said "You are not being
completely honest. Tell us how you can see it." She said "By how you
move." Ichi said "Partly, but not enough. Continue." She said "They
will not believe!" Ichi said "They will be more likely to, after we
confirm it." Captain Krack said to her, "Do it." She said "In high
experts, there is a change in the way internal energy flows, and is not
recognized by science. Such people can use it to enhance their
abilities, and a very few in history were able to strike with it
outside of their bodies. We can sense this ability in others, and feel
the flow of this special energy. Three of you are like I am in this,
but greater. One is not."
Ichi said "What you have described of this phenomena is correct. What
you have said about us regarding this subject, is correct only as it
pertains to your observations. Therefore what remains is, which is
accurate, my statement, or your observation? You said that we can
control this energy. HOW WELL?" She said her equivalent of "Oh my God!
A Supreme Master!" Then she gained some control of herself and said to
me, "Please?" I said "If I do, it will cause a disruption." She said
"Wow! That much. Well, thank you for confirming." I said "You're
welcome. How you are going to explain this to your Captain, I have no
idea." She grinned and said, "I don't, either." Captain Krack said, "We
can save that for later, now that she has gained some verification of
her views on this subject. You said something about a medical
examination?" Ichi said "Now, if you wish." He said "Then let us
proceed to the infirmary." We all did.
The MedTech said to Percy, "Please go in that room and remove your
clothes and other items which are removable from your body." Percy said
"Why there, and not here?" The MedTech said in surprise, "You do not
have a body modesty taboo?" Percy said, "Over most of our world, they
do. We do not. We feel that clothes get in the way of being close to
each other. We don't wear any in our homes." The MedTech said, "We do,
so for OUR modesty, please do as I requested, and put on the robe."
While Percy was doing that, the Captain said, "Another aspect of your
advancement. You have cast aside illogical social customs." Ichi said
"We have, but whether that should be considered advancement, or
depravity, is up to the individual to judge." The Captain smiled and
said, "And we will, which will indicate our own depravity." Ichi
grinned and said, "Politeness suggests I withhold my opinion on that."
The Captain laughed. I said "We have found that as species go, those of
us who have the most sensitive and unprotected skins, and the most
active sex drives, are invariably very concerned with covering up." The
Psych said "We have found the same. Do you have an interest in this
area?" I said "In sex, absolutely!" She looked a little amused and
irritated, and said, "I didn't mean that. I meant academic or
professional interest." I said "I knew that, but as a fellow
psychologist, among other less polite things, I wanted to see your
reaction to that." She said "I see." I said "Oh, there's a mirror?" She
said "I see that I have to be careful what I say around you." I said
"Always. But not just around us. It's good policy in general." The
First Officer said, "I have good reason to agree with that." The
Captain laughed and said, "I think we all do, now."
Percy came out and laid down on the examining table as directed. He
said "Strangely, I feel more undressed in this robe, than if I had
nothing on." The First said, "Nothing strange about that. I think it's
the same for every medical robe in existence." He said "Unfortunately
for most people, that sounds reasonable. After all, you never see
MedTechs wear them." She said "You have a point." He looked down his
body and said, "Not yet." She laughed. The indicators on the screen
over the bed lit up, and the Doctor said, "Impossible." Ichi said, "Yet
there it is. Reality doesn't care about what is possible." He said "But
all these readings are too high. One or two, I could understand, but
ALL of them?" Rose said "I don't think you get to choose." That got his
attention, and he said, "I apologize for being presumptuous. I'm just
very surprised." Rose said, "You would not have been, if you had
reviewed what we and another have said about ourselves." He said "Oh. I
rarely mistaken, also." Rose said "We train to avoid making mistakes.
They impair efficiency and create misunderstanding."
The Psych said to me, "Why did Percy volunteer for this?" I said "Why
do you ask me that, and not the subject himself, or Ichi?" She looked
nervous, and didn't answer. I switched my look to Percy, and he said,
"I volunteered because I am very interested in technology, and because
I'm slightly more adventurous, sexually, than the others." Ichi said
"True. Very true." Percy grinned. Ichi said "But only because you had
the better opportunity with that species." Percy said, "I agree. I was
the one who did the work, so it was appropriate that it should give me
the best opportunity to er, encourage inter-species relations." Ichi
said, "That you did, for which we are all grateful." First said "If I
understand correctly, you had sex with another species?" Percy said,
"Not the entire species. Just one person. Yes." I said "Would you like
to see an image of her." She said "Yes, please." I projected a 3D image
of Surrhaa into the room, life size. I said "Her name is Surrhaa, Chief
of Engineering of a GC starship which Percy helped repair." The Captain
said, "I see the attraction." I said "More, when you feel their fur all
over your skin. Percy was the first, but we didn't let him be the only,
for long." Rose said "It's been very interesting, especially when we
have a large group of different species." I said "Would you like to see
them, too?" They nodded, too stunned to speak. I showed them. I said
"We find that sexual activity is a very good way to improve
relationships, with compatible species." Percy said "A lot of fun,
too." Ichi said, "And good exercise." And I said to the shrink, "And a
good way to test reactions when we speak of it."
Captain Krack said, "You are testing US?" I said "Isn't that what you
would do in our place? I thought that would be obvious." He said "It
should have been." I said "We know all that you know about yourselves,
in an academic way. Now we are learning in a more personal way." He
said "ALL? How?" Ichi said "We said we scanned your ship. So, we know
what is in it." He said "Including our computer files?" Ichi said
"Yes." He said "So you do not respect privacy?" I said "We do. We
didn't scan your personal memories or thoughts, or your bodies under
your clothes. We have turned back starships which were bent on
conquest. That is how we knew to do that, before we were attacked. In
our position, you would do the same if you could." He said "I apologize
for misjudging you. Yes we would have, and probably not with your high
degree of ethics." I said "It was also necessary in order for us to
learn your language." He said "That was a big help, I have to say."
The MedTech said to Percy, "I have to know. Are you the best of your
group, or the least?" I said "It is impolite among us for that question
to be asked, when it requires information regarding that which
emphasizes our differences, except when it is required for our duties."
He said "It was a medical question, but I apologize if it has offended
you." Percy said "I will answer. We are not true representations of our
species, being the absolute best of them, as one in a billion should
tell you. Of the four of us you see here, I am the least. We felt that
examining me would be less shocking to you." I nodded to the shrink,
who said, "That was part of what I wanted to know. Another part of that
was, who decided?" I said "It wasn't. We don't decide the obvious, we
just do it." She looked very thoughtful. I said "We would be interested
in the conclusions you draw from that." Captain Krack said "I as well!"
The First said to me, "So you can refute them?" I said "Shhhh, don't
spoil the fun." She laughed.
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Grant
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