Stephen's Secure Blog #330
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 17 in this story, in the Fall of year 8 of his special
school.
Stephen's Secure Blog #330 "Government Building"
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I had a meeting with the Tibetan PM. He showed me the proposal for
their new building. I said "No." He looked very surprised, and said,
"Why?" I said "This is ridiculous! Totally unsuitable. Don't show a mud
hut to the world. You want respect! Show them something they can't even
dream of having." He was struck speechless. I leaned back and watched
that with interest. Eventually, he almost choked at that. He said
"Someday I'm not going to be able to recover from one of your
unexpected er, statements." I gave him an evil grin, and said, "Then
I'll see what I can do to, er, with, your replacement." He laughed.
I said "When they designed and built the Capitol and White House in
America, the country was not as it is now, but they knew they had to
think big, and build big, to show the world they were serious. It was a
lot of years before they had enough of a government to actually use all
that space, and they enlarged it since then. Now they occupy a lot more
than those buildings. You already have the equivalent of the White
House, the Potala Palace. Now you need to have a main government
building that tells everybody, that one of the largest countries in the
world, is going to be the greatest. You don't have to use all of it
right away, but having too much now, is much better than having too
little later, with no room to expand. AND, it won't cost you anything,
so nobody can complain about that."
He said "I think I understand!" I grinned. He said "Is there room on
the site for something you think we should have?" I said "If we move it
out a little, yes. Don't forget, we'll need parking space, and parks.
And it will need to have controlled access. There may come a time when
terrorism comes here. Better we should plan for that now, than later,
after a lot of lives are lost." He nodded, and said, "You are wise. If
you can build for us what you think we should have, please do it." I
said "Now we have to decide if it should look modern, super modern, or
traditional, fancy traditional, or a mix of all of that. Let's go to
the art school buildings I made, to see and discuss how it looks."
He told his people, and I ported us to outside of the buildings, and
he admired the outside. Then we went in and met with the owner, who I
had notified we would be visiting. She conducted the tour, with a lot
if pride, which amused the PM a little. Then we sat in the atrium, and
discussed some of the features which should be in the new government
center. He said to her, "You obviously have a lot of pride in what you
have here. I would like that for our country, to have such pride for
how we house our government." She said, "If you don't have Stephen do
his best for that, you are too much of a fool to be our leader." He
laughed, and said, "I agree!" I looked shocked at the owner, and she
laughed. We thanked her for her help. Then I ported with the PM to the
proposed site, which was clear and unused.
I said "I'm going to project an illusion which will be visible only
to us." I did that. I said "The central part is the main entrance, and
has offices for visitor management and security, and the museum, which
is the very large atrium. The front wing on the right, has the meeting
hall for one branch of the legislature, and their offices above it. On
the left, the same. Behind the front center atrium, are the main
offices for the Prime Minister. The right and left wings on either side
of it, behind the legislative wings, are for ministry offices, four
floors. It is made like the school, but with more traditional design
elements. What do you think?" He said "I have no words to describe what
I think, that are grand enough to do justice to this." I said with a
grin, "That will do." He said "More, I have a little understanding of
how much you are in advance of all of us, to be able to project such an
illusion, and even to think on that scale and detail, is too much for
me to imagine." I said "I wasn't looking for that personal poking, but
what you think about it being made something like that."
He said "I like it, and I can't see anything I would change." I said
"Alright, so I'll do it. Next to the that, should be separate buildings
for a Presidential Palace, if you ever have one, and one for the Prime
Minister. You need places where you can host the Heads of State of
other countries, like a great country should. On the other side of the
Capitol, should be a residence and small Monastery for the Dalai Lama,
if he wants to live outside of the Potala Palace. Alright, so far?" He
said, after a gulp, "Yes. Thank you." I said "So, when do you want to
move?" He said "When can you have it ready?" I said "In a minute. The
main issue is the transfer of the telephone lines. So, when you want to
move, I'll do all of that at once. You don't have to physically move
anything. Just tell your people to go to work in the new building in
the morning."
He said "Wow!" I nodded. I said "There will be the usual personal
facilities, including eating areas. The directory in the main entrance,
and in many other places in the buildings, will show where everything
is, and one extra feature. If you touch one of the labeled crystals
there, you will have all the information you need, in your mind,
instantly." He said "We can move next weekend." I said "Good. The
buildings will be wired all over for phone lines and networking, and
the main controls for that will be in the basement. Like my other
constructions, they will be automatically climate controlled and self
cleaning, and protected from damage. I will provide special stick-on
hangers for internal decorations. I will have art of the past and
present in it, which you can change if you don't like it. The hallways
and external entrances will be monitored visually, by the main security
office in the basement. You don't have to live in the PM's residence,
but I recommend it, so it and you will be available to host visitors
from other countries. Let's go back to your office." I ported us there.
We sat. I said "So, better than a mud hut?" He laughed, and said, "Yes.
Very much so!"
I told him about my offer to approve politicians in America. He said
"Have any asked for that?" I said "Not a one. In fact, after a lot,
there have been no communications from them to me, at all." He laughed,
and said, "I fully understand that!" I said "A famous comedian and
political irritant to the government, has a weekly discussion show on
cable TV. He mentions my offer and its results on every show, WITH my
permission." He laughed, and said, "I almost feel sorry for them." I
said "I don't." He laughed some more.
He said "We have had some inquires from Sikkim, and other places in
India, about returning. They ask to have separate Monasteries, but that
conflicts with existing Monasteries." I said "The Dalai Lama told me
that Heads of Traditions, rule their Traditions, but the Abbots of
Monasteries in Tibet, should keep their positions, and therefore rule
their own Monasteries, as much as possible. That is the basic position.
Anything more than that, he should rule individually, which you will
then support. I will add to existing Monasteries as needed, but not
make new ones, IF I personally approve of what is being done at that
Monastery. I don't make the decisions, or rule them, but I won't, I
can't, be a part of something I don't approve of. Privately, I did to
the Monasteries I visited here, what I did to you in Dharamsala. I now
very much approve of them." He said "I thought as much. You improve all
you meet, if they can accept it. I will tell them of the position of
the Dalai Lama, and tell them he is the person to ask about those
matters." We said our farewells.
I met with the Dalai Lama, and brought him up to date. He said "There
were days, many years, I longed to return." I said "Let me guess. There
are days now, you almost wish that hadn't happened." He laughed, and
said, "You do know it! I didn't realize then, which I should have, that
it is much easier to complain, than to actually do something about it.
Now I am the one to complain to, and I dislike it tremendously." I said
"I understand, er tremendously." He had to grin. I said "I'm trying to
relieve you of that burden as much as I can, but there are some things
I can't. If I rule here, it won't be Tibet we are making." He said "I
know. But you are the only one I can complain to." I said "Well, the
only one who will listen." He said "Yes. My decision is still rulers of
the Traditions still rule them. Where there is conflict, I will try to
resolve it. Will you be willing to implement my decisions, if they
require powers I don't possess?" I said "I will support you, but I have
limitations on the use of my abilities. I must be just and fair. If
what you need of me doesn't conflict with that, I will assist that way,
but it must be known that it is at your request. YOU must not lose any
power here." He said "I agree." I said "I should tell you in advance,
though, I will not put donkey's ears on the people you dislike." He
laughed really hard. I said "You didn't need to sound like one." He
laughed some more.
Then I really surprised him, saying, "When was the last time a woman
kissed you?" He looked practically paralyzed in shocked surprise. Rose
ported in, and said, "As your future mother, I can tell you to behave.
Do that." She gave him a big kiss on his cheek, and ported away,
leaving Lhamo even more shocked. He saw my big grin, and almost
reacted. I said "As your future father, I have to let her do what she
wants, or you won't be born. I have to get back to work." I hugged him
with love, and then ported to join Rose. We hugged and kissed, and she
said, "That should perk him up a bit." I said "Absolutely. Will take
quite a while before he settles down." She said "Right. Can't have my
future daughter depressed."
The PM told his staff about the building of the new offices, and they
spread the word. They were actually having a party outside, near where
I would be putting the things. I said to him, "There are going to be a
lot of very short people here, when I put the new square right on top
of them." He had some interesting mixed reactions. When he could, he
said, "You like doing that to me." I said "Don't complain about what
you would love to do to others if you could." He laughed. He said "I'll
remember that." I said "Probably not." He laughed again. I said
"Ready?" He said he was. I covered the whole area in a silvery shield,
and then let it fade. The buildings were nicer than I had projected.
Bigger, too. The crowd made some appreciative noises, and tried to get
closer to the buildings. They ran up against the shield. I announced so
all could hear, "The buildings will be open when it is time for them to
open the morning of the next work day. I'm still transporting things
into place inside them. I would like to do more work on the area in
front of the buildings, but some people are standing where that is.
Please move back into the city."
They didn't really want to, so it took a while. When the area was
clear, I made in place a very large square of blue jade like my
clothes. It went well with the red, white, and yellow jade of the
buildings. On the square, away from the buildings, were lines for
parking cars. Closer to the buildings was a guard security station, and
a bus terminal. There were immaterial light globes all over, constantly
changing shapes like my original light sculptures, just floating in the
air, glowing all the time. The buildings were surrounded by a fence
which, while it didn't look like it, no vehicle could run through. I
told that to the PM, and said, "You might want to inform the bus people
to add this to one of the routes." He nodded, still too overcome to
speak. I said to him, "I improved it a little, from the illusion you
saw. Well, to an artist, nothing is ever really perfected. Would you
like to go inside the main building and have a tour?" He said
"Absolutely!" I said "Ready to port?" He said he was, and I ported us
to just inside the main entrance.
I said "There are other ways to get in and out, but to get in, they
respond only when security authorizes it. Getting out is always
allowed, unless it is blocked to contain a crime in progress." We went
into the atrium, and he marveled at the crystal dome above us, and the
crystal display cases along the walls, and what they contained. I took
him to one of the directory stations, and he touched one of the
crystals, and said, "Wow!" I said "I agree." He almost choked. I took
him to one of the eating places, and said to one of the food makers,
"Two small apple juices." They appeared inside it. I took one, and gave
the other to the PM. He drank some, and liked it. I said "It should
make practically any food or drink, but no drugs or alcohol. Like all
my things, the instructions are in the crystal." Then I took him to one
of the assembly halls, and he had a lot of wows for it. Then we went to
his offices, and he liked them a lot.
I said "Want to see the PM's residence?" He said "Please." I ported
us to just inside the entrance. We toured. He loved it. I said "You can
wander around these buildings all you want today. The shield is one
way, so you can leave. Anything you want added or changed, let me know.
Now I want to ask the Dalai Lama if he wants to look at these things.
Can I leave you here?" He said "Yes, He needs to see this." I did just
that. He knew about what was going to happen, and was eager to look at
the results of my work. I showed him the government building and the
President's residence. He said "We don't have a president."
I said "The English system, on which your government is based, has a
Head of State over the Prime Minister. Most of the time, that position
is ceremonial only. In Thailand, the King is in that position, and it
is ceremonial, but he is also the Commander of the Military, and the
Head of the Buddhist Religion in Thailand. That makes his position
unusual. Here, you were similar to the Thai King, but you wanted to
step back from Head of State duties, but you are still head of the
religion in Tibet, but that is only by tradition, and could be changed
if enough of the other heads of Traditions really wanted to appose you.
If you go against them too much, you will lose all power." He said
"That I know better now. When I left, I was totally ignorant of those
political realities. You are hinting that in relinquishing political
power, I put my religious position in jeopardy?" I said "I don't have
to tell you what you already know."
He said "Was it a mistake?" I said "Then, no. You didn't know I would
change things. And you were old and sick, and there weren't many
duties, and you didn't really expect to ever be able to return to Tibet
in your expected lifetime. Now, it is different. Tibet, any country,
needs a Head of State. Tibet and the world, isn't sure if there is one
here. I hope that is er, fixed. Then there is the problem of you being,
well, dead on schedule, for your desired reincarnation in a few years.
There will be a Regent for MANY years. That Regent should be sure of
his status, whether that is Head of State or not, BEFORE he becomes
Regent, so it doesn't look like he is hungry for power. I know VERY
well how that complicates things." He said "I understand. I know what
you are trying not to say, which you are doing very well." I grinned
and said, "I try." He laughed.
He said "But there is one more building here." I said "Yes, on the
other side. I designed and built it for the Dalai Lama, if he wanted
another option for his living consideration. Would you like to inspect
it?" He said "You know I would." We ported to there, and went in. He
looked around as we walked through it, marveling at all the beautiful,
things. He said "I see you really did make this for me. It's beautiful
beyond words. You copied much from my home in Dharamsala." I said "I
could, therefore I did. I didn't know where you wanted to live, so I
made another choice for you. It's not like it was any extra work, and
it balances the composition of the building site." He said "That it
does! I still can't decide, but I will decide on the Head of State
question soon."
He said "Tell me, if we were to have a President, who would you
recommend?" I said "Anybody who would want the position, I would not
approve of." He laughed. He started to say something, and laughed
again. He said "I can't dispute the wisdom of that. I see I must make
my decision now. Let us meet with the Prime Minister." We did. The
result is, the Constitution will be amended to make the position of the
Dalai Lama the ceremonial Head of State, similar to the King of
England, with succession to be determined by the usual methods used to
establish the reincarnation, and the Regency. That was almost like what
was already there. The PM said "We never really changed it, but we can
refine the wording to be as we have decided."
I said "And if the Dalai Lama at any time in the future, declines the
position, or if no incarnation can be found?" The PM said, "You suspect
as your daughter, that might be the last incarnation?" I said "All
things are possible, so we should be prepared." Lhamo said "Then the
next in line in the Tradition takes the title, if the then current
Dalai Lama doesn't choose." the PM said, "So be it." I said "We should
remember, when real elections take place, the constitution will be
reviewed and may be changed. Those who don't want their favorite parts
changed, should build political support for them." Lhamo said in
disgust, "More politics." I said "We can't change what is. Only fool it
into doing what we want, as much as we can." They looked at me with
some strange emotions. Then we felt the touch from those above us.
Love, and a lot of humor.
Lhamo and the PM bowed low to me. I returned it and said, "That
wasn't from me!" Lhamo said "True, but it was FOR and about you. You
amuse them as an equal." The PM said, "I don't know, but it seems to
me, a little more than equal. They actually admire you!" I said "Shhh!
I don't think you're allowed to believe that." They stared at me, and
then burst out laughing. I asked them where they wanted to go, and
after my hug, I ported each of them away, and then ported home. Rose
said "So, you're on the fast track." I said "I don't know, and I don't
know enough to know if I should like that or not. I can't look at the
next level up, without going all the way." Hawk said "That means you
have explored the Buddha realm pretty thoroughly." I said "It's hard to
say what is thorough, and what isn't, but I have explored and learned a
lot, which my stone thought was impossible for me to hide from him."
Hawk laughed. He said, "If any of us can do that, you sure can!
Surprised your stone. Wow!" Rose said "Going to share that with us?" I
said "I can't. There aren't shareable concepts, and the math for it, is
way above even the math for how our use of the 4th is effected by
Special Relativity. If I put it in a crystal, or pushed it at you, it
might permanently damage your er, parts. You know I can't risk that."
Rose said "I think we are better off not knowing. Only somebody like
you, who is going there soon, should know, if he wants to." Hawk said
realm. They were never heard from again. Those who weren't driven
insane." Rose said "You took a big risk." I said "Think again." Hawk
said, "Right. You would do it slow and careful, like a timid little
mouse, just squeaking by." I squeaked. They laughed. We wrestled. We
had some great orgasms.
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Grant
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