Stephen's Secure Blog #258
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, after the Winter holidays of year 7 of his
special school.
Stephen's Secure Blog #258 "Prep for Third Concert"
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I arrived at the Siam Hotel early, to supervise the setup for the
third concert there. Rose and Hawk were with me. Srinoy was not. I
didn't want the TV crew recording the jam sessions with him, and his
relationship with us, which would happen and be obvious. He didn't like
that, but knew it was right. I ported the piano in, and the other large
instruments. We figured it would be much more convenient that way, and
eliminate the risk of possible damage during normal transporting.
Everything went smoothly. People knew their jobs and did them well, and
were even cheerful about it. Musicians came early, and we talked a lot.
About music, naturally. Sometimes we would illustrate our points on the
instruments, which the TV crew eagerly recorded. Then one said, "Can
boogie woogie be done on the harp?" They all looked at me. I looked
behind me, and they laughed. I said "Show of hands. Who thinks it can't
be done?" Most raised their hands. I said "Who would like to try it?"
No hands. I said "Who wants me to try it?" All of them went up, even
the camera crew. I turned to them, and said, "THAT is no surprise."
They laughed. I said to the musicians, "Those questions were easy. Try
this one now. How many think I can do it?" Most hands went up. I said
"I wouldn't have raised my own hand. How many would find it VERY
interesting if I failed?" All their hands went up. I said "Oh, thanks a
lot." They laughed.
I went to the harp, and checked the tuning. I composed what I would
like to try, and programmed my movements. Then I played it. Wild! My
hands and arms were flying. So were my feet on the pedals. Finally I
finished. Stunned silence. My fingers were all bloody. I healed them
and removed the blood. I said, "So, can it be played on the harp?" Hawk
said, "Not by people who want to keep their fingers." I said "That
wasn't one of the conditions." Rose said, "Then YES!" Applause and
cheering. I said "Another challenge?" One said "Cello!" I said
"Alright." I made one and ported it to me. I tuned it, with the bow I
made for it. I ran through some scales very fast. I heard a cello
player say to another one, "I can't play nearly that well." The other
one said, "None of us can. That's amazing." I composed a very difficult
exercise kind of piece, and went at it. Then I composed and played a
slow emotional piece, and had them almost crying before I finished.
There was a lot of applause. Then I said, "I have an idea for the
viola." I ported one to me. I arranged for the viola, parts of
Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio Espagnol, and announced it, and played it
with a lot of feeling. In the silence after that, Rose said, "Wow!"
Then everybody applauded loudly.
A cello player said, "I didn't recognize the other things you
played." I said "Most things I play before these shows, I compose right
before I play them." His jaw dropped open in astonishment. His wasn't
the only one. I said "It's because being with all you great people, and
talking about music, inspires me to create and play it. I love it!" I
gave them my love, and many had some not so dry eyes. Then we went to
have lunch. While we were eating, one asked me, "How can you compose
like that?" I said "I hope, well. But I know what you mean. For me, the
question is, is there any other way? That's the way I do it. Just like
with my art. I think about what I want, and just do it. Although my art
isn't that loud." Hawk laughed. I said to the others, "Don't pay any
attention to him. He laughs at my art gallery, too." He laughed some
more.
After lunch, the band arrived. We talked a lot. Then I played some
Brahms Hungarian Dances on the piano. Then I said, "Here's a different
kind of dance; Zorba!" I played it, starting slow and easy, and then
building speed and difficulty, until it was very energetic, to the
dramatic end. Then I said, "And again something different; Hava
Nagila!" I sang it, too, in Hebrew, using my automatic love
Mexican Hat Dance!" Then I said, "From Russia, the Song of the Volga
Boatmen!" All those started slow, and got faster as they went along.
Then I said, "Not an actual dance, but I like it in this set, anyway:
Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King." I said to Chad, who had just
come in, after the applause, "What to you think of those as a set?" He
said "I like all you do." Hawk said, "Not like the Chinese Navy." A lot
of laughter. I said to Chad, "I want to conduct Capriccio Espagnol
sometime. Maybe in Russia, conducting an all Russian concert?" He said
"You could play the bumblebee too. I like the idea. I'll work on it.
Lets go talk."
We went to another room. He said "I've kept a viewpoint on the PM and
the hotel manager. After a bit of cooking, they came up with a plan.
When the intermission is over, the PM is going to make an announcement.
And he's bringing the shield with him!" I said "I don't like that. It's
too awkward and heavy to lug it all over the place. I didn't make it
for a traveling exhibit." He said "There isn't anything we can do about
it. He's going to make you a citizen." I said plaintively, "Is it gonna
hurt?" He poked me, and we both laughed. I said "You should let the TV
station manager know, so he can get a good shot of it." He said "They
already told him, and they're going live with that." I said "And he
didn't tell me. I should talk to him about that, later." He grinned. I
said "I'm going to have to try to control myself, or I might squirt out
of this body again." He said "That's why I'm telling you." I said,
"There is something else. My precognition tells me there is going to be
some trouble in the ceremony, and I will have to do something which
shouldn't be seen live." He said "You will just have to do the best you
can, like always." I said "If only we could cancel it." He said "Not if
you are going to do the show, and I know you won't cancel that." I made
a rude noise. We hugged.
Back in the main room, I sat at the piano, and played and sang
Laura's theme from "Doctor Zhivago." A lot of female love came my way,
along with the applause. Then I played and sang, "Somewhere Out There",
with a lot of expression. That received more of the same reaction, with
Rose projecting intense lust at me. I wiggled my eyebrows at her, and
Hawk laughed. She poked him, and he laughed some more. I said "One
more?" They wanted it, so I played and sang, "A Whole New World," from
the Disney musical "Aladdin." That caused some good applause, too. I
stood and bowed. Then I wandered around some, and then picked up my
clarinet, and started wetting the read. When it was ready, I started
playing Pachelbel's Canon. It didn't work well. I left the clarinet
hanging in the air, still playing, and lifted up the violin, the viola,
the cello and the flute, and started playing them remotely, too. Then I
brought the piano into it. The instruments were all around me playing
the Canon slow and gently, and I was the glowing conductor, with an
orange light baton, with my eyes closed. When that was over, I
continued it with a faster and more complicated arrangement. Then I did
a fast jazz version, highlighting some really difficult solos. Then it
was over, and the instruments went back to their former places, and I
opened my eyes, and noticed my glow was fading. I looked around, and
everybody was frozen in stunned silence, with their mouths hanging
open. I said, thoughtfully, "Hmm, that was different." Hawk laughed
almost hysterically. That broke the spell, and they all applauded
really loudly.
I went over to Chad, and said, "What are we going to do about that?"
He said "I'll talk to the station. We'll let the whole thing air, but a
day after the other things. This is a good opening to allow us to do
away with a real orchestra for your recordings." Hawk said, "And good
for opening mouths." We laughed. Then I went and played Paganini's
Caprice No. 1 on the violin. Then I did the wedding dance from the
"Fiddler on the Roof" movie, on the clarinet, and did the the same, and
the rest of the violin music from the movie, on the violin. Then I sat
around and we talked. One said, "The floating instruments and playing
them. How did you do that?" I said "Very well, thank you." Hawk
laughed. I said "Well, you know I can transport myself and objects. To
do that, I have to be able to move them. That time they didn't go very
far. How I played them, I'm not completely sure. I had thought about it
before, but didn't think I could could do it with a reed instrument.
You see, with something like the piano, if I can move it, I can move
parts of it as well. So I could move the keys and pedals. All the rest
was just added complication. I didn't plan to do it. I just did it, and
it happened. That's why I like these concerts. They make me try things
I don't even know I can do. Sometimes they work." Rose said
"Absolutely!" I made the cymbals crash, and the drums sound. They were
startled, and I grinned and wiggled my eyebrows. They laughed. Then we
went to have supper.
After supper, the orchestra conductor came in. His musicians rushed
to tell him about what I had done. His problem was they all didn't
agree on what part of that to tell him, at the same time. As usual,
that made Hawk laugh. While that was happening, Srinoy came in with his
parents. He was dressed formally. I went and greeted them. Then I said
to Srinoy, "Want to warm up your voice on something?" He grinned and
said, "Which something?" I said "How about 'Over the Rainbow'?" He said
"Only if you actually make one." I nodded, and that got the attention
of those who had heard us. We conversed mentally, and I sat at the
piano, and started the intro. He started singing, and clouds were
forming at the ceiling, and the room was darkening. At the second half
of the song, a big rainbow broke through the clouds, and the room
brightened, and the clouds broke up and went away, and we could hear
birds singing in the background. He finished very well, and then the
room was back to normal, and there was a lot of applause. He bowed a
lot.
I said "I have an idea." The room went dead quiet. Hawk laughed. I
pointed to him and said, "You're in it! Drums. Rose, piano. 'If I Only
Had a Brain'. Full number, with dance. Srinoy, stay as Dorothy." I sent
them all the info. When all was ready, we did it, and I copied Ray
Bolger's moves as much as could be done, even falling of the stage, and
Srinoy helping my rubber limbed body up. Srinoy danced well, naturally.
When it was over, there was a lot of applause, and we bowed a lot. I
caught the station manager's eye, and shook my head no, and he got the
message. He wasn't to show any of that. Chad nodded.
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Grant
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