Stephen's Secure Blog #194
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 16 in this story, in the Summer after year 6 of his special
school.
Stephen's Secure Blog #194 "A Proposal"
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At their house with Rose and Hawk, I asked the RedClouds about how
the Navajo thought of us. He grinned and said, "Now? I think it's
mostly trying not to have an opinion. Respect is there in loads, but a
little less love, except when they remember you in person, and your
love broadcasts. Rose shocked the hell out of them. They still don't
know what to make of that." I said "More so because she's a woman.
Would it help them to know she's one of the most powerful people in the
known galaxy?" He laughed, and said, "I don't think so." We grinned.
Rose's mother said, "Well, it helps ME!" We hugged her. She said "It
might help our young girls to know a woman can be so powerful and take
the lead." Rose said "Right." I said "Do you think they will allow the
school, and er, us, to go to the festivals again?" He grinned
wolfishly, "They can't not let you. It's a public gathering, and they
would have to have a very good reason to ban the school, and they could
NOT ban a Navajo, which you and Rose are. The Council wouldn't allow
that."
I looked at Rose, and she nodded. I said "Future parents in law,
where and when would it be a good time and place for us to announce our
engagement?" He said "We knew you planned to marry, but making that
commitment public is a big step. You still have time to change your
minds." I said "No, I like my mind the way it is." Rose said "So do I."
Hawk laughed. We poked him, and his parents smiled. He said "If that's
so, you could propose at the festival. It could help humanize you to
them." I said "I had thought of that." He grinned and said, "I expected
you had." Hawk laughed again. His parents poked him, and then Rose and
I laughed.
I said "We won't actually marry until Rose is 18. We are NOT doing
the child bride thing. We don't want any possible bad thoughts from
anybody, interfering with who we are and our happiness. Or yours. And
if you agree, if and when you want to, we want you to live with us. We
selfishly want to keep your love around us, and we want our children,
your grandchildren, to love you all the time, too, and not just with
periodic visits. Er, if you don't mind getting tanned in some odd
places." While his wife had some embarrassment, he said, "We've
discussed this. That's what we want, too." I said "Where we end up,
would make it popular with the school. Cress wouldn't mind that at all,
I'm sure. Keep you busy, too, being grandparents to a whole crowd.
Don't tell us you wouldn't love that." She said "I won't tell you
that." We grinned.
He said "So, where?" I said "We all want our children, and the
students, to know Navajo culture, so it has to be in Tribal territory.
We would need a really big piece of land for privacy, and big
facilities for our extended family, and the school people, if we are to
have them spend time with us. We should keep horses, dogs, and cats.
Also, it shouldn't have pesky building codes and ordinances, if
possible, because I can build what we want in minutes. Oh, and it
should be out of the regular path of low flying aircraft." They all
grinned at that. I said to the parents, "You know this area well. So,
we think you should choose, now that you know the requirements. It
could be right here, or any place else you think it should be. After
it's decided, we can get together and draw up some plans. There's no
hurry, though. Still years before we marry. Then we will want our kids
to be in our new home, with our whole family, if possible. Never can
have too much love." We all hugged and kissed.
We went in the school bus van to the festival. I brought, with some
assistance, my new art kit. We set up in the usual place, and with the
usual screening around me. We had set up a procedure for switching out
the special paper I was using, when I finished a painting. It would be
passed back to an area where it could dry. I wouldn't be touching the
paper myself, because my hands would be covered with special multi
airbrush gloves. A new invention. Five separate airbrushes on each
hand, controlled by individual fingers, with hoses running to big
bottles of special paint, and a 4th powered silent air compressor. I
had ten colors to work with, which could be combined to create other
colors in real time by simultaneous spraying. I would use the 4th to
make paint shields to get sharp edges of colors where I wanted them,
and to use as masks. This way I could paint the fastest possible, and
get more work done in the time I had. Less than a minute a picture, I
hoped.
We didn't have any problems getting into the festival grounds, or
setting up in our usual spot. My airbrush system worked well. I cleaned
out the occasional clogs with 4th tools. It went VERY fast. Towards the
end of the time I had set aside for the art, I was deep into psychic
paintings, and wasn't aware of what I was painting, but just knew it
wasn't what was in front of me. I looked around, coming out of the
daze, to find the manager behind me, with his eyes almost popping out
of his head. I greeted him with some nice words and a friendly smile.
Then I said "You are looking a bit odd. Did I do something wrong?" He
said, "Do you know what you painted?" I said "In these situations, in
the beginning I do, but after a while, it becomes all a blur. I just
know it's all real. So, what's the problem?" Hawk said "Er, Stephen, I
think you painted the future." I said "Oops!" Some people around me
laughed. The manager said, "If that's so, we are going to have some
VERY interesting times!" I went to look. He was right. My children were
in some of them, with aliens. I said "Well, I think I shouldn't do this
anymore. I don't want people to get upset." The manager came close to
me and put his hand on my shoulder. He said "Wise Eagle, I think you
should not let that stop you. Even just as art, they are fantastic. No
lover of art would want that to stop. And they are real. I saw it in
your eyes when you looked at them. You recognized the people. So did
some of the others here. Even if they are not made public for years,
they are still an important record, in themselves. So I say, please
don't stop. You do us honor." I said to him, "With respect, well said.
I will see what the future brings. Er, oops!" He laughed. We hugged.
I looked at all the pictures. I said "Wow!" Hawk said, "You're
allowed to, this time." I got a lot of hugs. It was getting dark, and
the festival was closing. When all the tourists were gone, we went to
the stage. The manager made the announcement that we had something to
say. I put a shielded light bar about two and a half meters tall at
each forward corner of the stage, so all could see us, with Hawk,
Cress, and their parents on the stage with us. There was a microphone.
I said "Some of you have noticed my change in appearance. It happened,
and I didn't know it would, or had any control over it. I think it's
permanent. Well, it's not bad at all, because I don't burn so easily
now. There is something much more important to us we want to share with
the whole universe. But, that is a little difficult to do, so we will
just share it with our own people."
I got down on one knee, and presented a ring to Rose, and said in
Navajo and in English, "Autumn Rose, I love you with all my heart. I
have never thought of any other woman to be my wife. Will you marry me
when we are of the right age to do that?" Rose said, dripping tears,
"Wise Eagle, I will marry you. I never thought of any other for a
husband." We kissed for a long time, amid a lot of applause and
cheering. Then there was some light above us, and we looked to see a
big heart, containing a rose and an eagle. I said near the mic, "Hawk,
did you do that?" He said "Yes. I hope you don't mind." I said "Nice.
Thanks." I kissed Rose's tears, and said, "Hmm, salty." She said "You'd
better believe it." The crowd laughed, and cheered some more. We kissed
again, and sent our combined love, which they could really feel came
from both of us, to the crowd, and to all of the Navajo territory. Some
of that love came back to us, from them. I made the lights on the stage
slowly dim, and then we stepped off the stage.
We didn't say anything on the way back to the house. In the living
room, Their mother said, "I think that went very well." Her husband
said, "Yes. No more fear of you." Hawk said "But that doesn't mean they
should go out and commit more murders." Those near him poked him, while
he laughed. Then he said to Rose, "I didn't expect you to cry." She
said "I didn't, either. I guess the reality of it was much stronger
than just knowing it was going to happen." We hugged and kissed. The
other kids went to the bedrooms, and it was just family. The father
said, "Those pictures. You know who is in them?" I said "Some, yes.
Some I can only guess about, not being able to know how the years have
changed people. All I know is those scenes are real. Well, and one more
thing. I really shouldn't do that again. It's not good for us to see
the future, or at least recognize it. It might change it." They nodded
agreement.
I said "I plan to go to Mongolia." Rose's father said, "I'm not
surprised. You're going to out-Mongol them." Rose said, "Naturally." I
hugged and kissed her. I said "There is something else. I have been
assigned a mission. Tibet." Her father said, "Assigned by whom?" I said
"Er, well, sort of in exchange for being allowed to postpone my er,
advancement." He nodded, and said, "You found that out while they were
changing you?" I said "Yes, but I understood it a minute later. If I
had thought it was possible, I would have tried to do it earlier. But
now, I have to try my best to make it happen. To start, I'm going to be
making the rounds of various places and institutions, trying to drum up
some popular support. The Tibetans and their culture are deliberately
being eliminated in their own country by an imperialistic invader, out
of prejudice and hatred, and desire for their land, and they are
fighting a desperately losing battle for their lives and freedom. Does
any of that sound familiar?" He sat up straight, and said "You bet it
does!" He looked at his wife, and she nodded. He said to me, "You have
my active support. After some research, I'm going to bring it up at
Council, and then to the Councils of the other Native Americans. We
suffered so much, we should make that count for something. We should
not stand by and do nothing when it happens to other people." I said
"Wow!" Hawk said to him, "Do you know what that means? How hard it is
to impress Stephen like that?" We all hugged and kissed each other with
love.
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Grant
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