Stephen's Secure Blog #147
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 15 in this story, in Summer, after the end of year 5 of his
special school.
Stephen's Secure Blog #147 "Hanging and Globes"
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Thirty days hanging around doing nothing, is enough. I ported to the
main Confed orbital station off Misnok, into the former top office. The
Senior Advisor was there. So was the civilian who was in charge of the
operation of the station. He said to me, "Sir, if I may, I understand
you use forcefields, but I can't figure out how that applies here,
because he can be touched." I said "When I had the idea, I had trouble
with that myself. So, I set the forcefields to be real only to his
major bones, such as the long bones in the arms and legs, the skull and
pelvis, and the spine. He could move his jaw and fingers and toes, but
not most other joints. This is why you can't feel the forcefields
yourself, because they don't exist to you. That enabled him to be
undressed and er, modestly wrapped. It is now time for him to be
released." I said to the hanging man, "Are you ready to be released
from this suspension?" He said "Yes sir, I am." I said "After you
recover from the affects of this, what do you expect the rest of your
life to be like?" He said "I have had much time to think, there being
little else I could do. That has resulted in my losing all
expectations. I don't know, and accept that whatever happens, it won't
be completely under my control." I said "Considering what has happened
to you, and why, and what and who you are now, do you think that others
who have done similar bad things, should have the same or similar
experience you have had in this room?" He actually smiled, and said, "I
thought you would ask me that. Yes I do, and you know why."
I said "May I have your permission to examine your mind, so that I
may determine your future?" He said "Please." I did. Then I lowered him
gently to the deck, prone, and removed all 4th controls from him, and
healed some health problems that were caused by his physical
inactivity. He tried to stand, and I said, "You should take it easy for
a while. You're a little stiff." I helped him to stand, and he was
still a little wobbly. I said "What would you like your future to be?"
He said "I would like to continue to serve in the military. What I have
learned through my experiences shouldn't be wasted." I said "I agree,
Junior Lieutenant. Surely you didn't think you would be resuming your
former rank?" He said "I didn't, and thought it would be less, if at
all." I said "I will transfer you to your room, which now has an
uncrushed chair." He smiled at that. I said "Your insignia of rank has
been changed, and your CO notified. She will see you when you have made
yourself fit for duty. Any comments before this meeting ends?" He said
"I don't know how to thank you sir, for all you have done for me. I
didn't deserve your mercy, or your efforts to improve who I am. I am
grateful beyond words. I will serve with the best of my ability. Truly
serve." I said "That will be born out in proof over time. You're
welcome. Be ready for transfer in ten seconds." Then I ported him to
his room.
I said to the Station Manager and the Advisor, "Any comments?" They
were both astounded. Then the former Admiral said, "You continue to
astound me." I said "When you want to expect the least of your fellow
beings, to make yourself feel falsely superior, you will often feel
that way." He acted like he was slapped in the face, and then showed
more wonder. Then he said with a slight smile, "You're a very effective
therapist." I said "But not nearly as effective as I needed to be. When
you expect less of people, that's what you often get. When you expect
more, you motivate them to give you more. Our 30 day hangup figured out
why he was there, which helped him to reorder his thinking. Not that he
could do much else but complain uselessly." He said "That he did, much
to my annoyance, which you knew would happen, and what it would do to
me, and that I had to take care of him. Your very creative therapy
worked." I said "I hope. 30 days of anything, won't completely change
what a lifetime has built. Only under the stress of real activity and
opportunities to revert, will we know how successful this has been. One
thing I'm sure he hasn't forgotten. He is not able lie, and he must
answer all questions his superiors ask him. If he thinks that is a bad
thing nobody should have to live with, you can tell him that is how I
and my associates live, by choice, being who we are. Oh, I see I
astounded you again." He laughed. He said "Old habits die hard." I said
"Well, in my opinion, dying hard is the best way to go." They both
laughed.
With prior notice, I ported to the Misnok museum. The auction
appraiser was there, too. He didn't waste any time telling me, "The big
blue sold for 60 million credits!" I said "Is that all?" Then I
grinned, and he grinned back. He said "Well, you got 50 out of it, and
I received 1.5 in commission, which I am NOT unhappy about." I said
"I'm glad for you. When we start our school here, when the person who
is going to run it becomes available, it will be well supported. I
assume the other things sold well?" He said "They did, and some of the
buyers would like you to design and make settings for some of the
stones, as well." I said "I would like to, but I just don't have the
time. I can make my own designs in seconds, but spending time with
customers to design what they want, would take too much time. Time I
need to spend on doing much more important things." He said "I'll tell
them." I said "Thank you." The curator said, "Your paintings sold very
well. Unbelievably well, actually."
I said "You thought they weren't good enough?" He said hurriedly,
"No, not that!" I grinned, and he relaxed. He said "Notoriety of the
artist has a significant effect on the demand, which reflects in the
price. The more known you became, and for the best reasons, too, the
more in demand your work became. Scarcity helped, too. Your miniature
geodes sold very well, too. I think for at least another year, we will
be able to sell almost anything you allow us to." I said "But I only
sell my art to support my schools. I think I have almost enough now."
He said "But you're an artist. You HAVE to create art." I grinned and
said, "True. But I have total recall. That means I can create all I
want to in my mind, and don't actually have to make anything to see it
whenever I want to." He looked defeated, and then said with renewed
energy, "But you love museums, and like to support them. So you have to
make more things, because there are a LOT of museums in the galaxy you
haven't seen yet, who would love to have your work. Including mine, of
course. New work draws more visitors, to be enriched by all we offer."
I said "Total recall has its bad side. Now I can't forget your
effective argument in favor of making more art. Oh how could you do
that to me?" He grinned and said, "Is it that bad?" I said
I asked the appraiser, "Were there successful buyers from other
planets?" He said "Yes. Many." I said "Well, they should have schools,
tomorrow?" We laughed. They came, and took a lot. That got me to
thinking, and then creating. So I asked them to come back a week later.
I said "I made some new things. Er, really new. Combining art, with
some odd technology. I made so much, I had to build another room for
it. This way." They saw, and were completely astounded. I said "The
solid enclosures of the ones on this side, are made of manufactured
diamond. On this side, sapphire. The miniature sculptures inside them,
are made of other natural and created gems, and precious metals. Some
of the sculptures are er, active, and appear to move, but the effect is
an illusion, and won't show in videos. However, I made my own special
videos of them, which are on these memory cards. So, what do you
think?" They didn't stop saying wow for a long while. I said "I can
make the smaller, simpler ones for the gift shop. Oh, and this time I
have chairs ready for you to collapse into." They laughed and did that.
I had made solid clear globes, and other similar shapes, and had
inside them mostly metallic miniature sculptures of people, animals,
and things, such as old sailing ships, to spaceships, and in many of
them you could see them, or parts of them, move, such as the sails
fluttering in the wind. Then I said, "There is something I didn't tell
you. When you touch them, you will have something of the feeling of the
sculpture. You will feel like you are sailing on the ship, or the
playfulness of the children, and where there is love, you will feel
that, too. Those are my feelings I put in them." They got up to
experience that, and had a lot more wows. I said "I don't know how you
can describe that in your catalogs, but that's your problem, not mine.
So, do you want anything?" They looked at each other, and grinned. I
said "Oh, I get to watch a fight?" They laughed. It wasn't quite a
fight. Twice I had to say I could make more. They liked the ones best,
which had some light effects in them. Then they surprised ME!
The curator said, "There is one thing missing in all you've made.
Something which people would really like. I know you can make it." I
said "So, what is it?" He said "You." I said "No!" They were surprised,
and the appraiser said, "Why not?" I said "I refuse to be worshiped!
It's happened to me before, and sometimes in my current incarnation.
That disgusts me. NEVER!" He said "People do collect pictures and
videos of you, but that hasn't caused a worshiping cult." I said "Yet.
I've been the object of them, and in them. I was actually stoned to
death because of that. I too actively supported a minor cult leader, a
religious reformer. He was tortured to death, nailed to a cross of
wood. He preached gentle kindness and respect, and his followers
created a religion in his name which became one of the most destructive
forces in the history of my world, and still is. I would go willingly
to my next existence right now, rather than become a part of that
again." They almost said wow. I said "I apologize for expressing my
feelings so strongly. So, do you have your choices made, and have
increased your muscles in order to carry all those you want?" The
curator said "I think a delivery arrangement is in order." I said
"Alright, I'll have them in your offices tomorrow morning. Just be
it wasn't that funny.
As they were leaving, I said, "I have gifts for you, but only if you
want to accept them, and never give them to anybody else, and have it
set in your Wills, that they are to be destroyed after your passing."
It was a small 8cm globe of diamond, with me sitting lotus inside,
robed like the Buddha, in platinum and different colors of gold. I said
"If you touch the side of the globe, you will feel my joy in
friendship. When you touch the top, you will feel my love. I suggest
you don't do that while driving. Oh, and they glow slightly in the
dark." They were shocked, but accepted the gifts. While they were
driving away, Rose and Hawk ported to my side. She said "Are they
active?" I said "Yes. When they touch the side, I'll squirm and giggle
like I'm being tickled. When they touch the top, I'll raise my arms and
look up with closed eyes. When they touch the bottom, oh boy are they
going to be surprised!" Hawk stared at me and said, "You didn't!" I
grinned back and said, while grabbing his nuts, "Oh yes I did!"
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Grant
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