Stephen's Secure Blog #379
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 19 in this story, in Summer of year 9 of his special school.
Stephen's Secure Blog #379 "Masada Trip"
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The arrangement was made. We had two days at Masada to ourselves. I
asked Paolo if he wanted to join us. He said "Anything safe you invite
me to join you for, please consider it a yes, unless I'm desperately
needed at the Vatican." I grinned and said, "Oh really?" He hastily
corrected himself with, "Which doesn't involve nakedness or sex." I
said "That doesn't leave much else." He had to laugh. So, we ported to
Israel. Our group was comprised of me, Paolo, Rose, Hawk, Chad, and at
the last minute, with an invitation, the director. And Sol. Rose
carried him in a sling, I did the intros.
I said "We will be recording everything in 2 and 3D, and with
different virtual lens settings. We could do the parts without people
remotely, and we will, but because we have our director here, just to
be nice, we are going to let him call some shots. Something to remember
is we are using ultra high definition, so the sequences can be cropped
without losing detail. We don't need a crane, boom, or copter, because
we can levitate. Here is a crystal platform. I used one like it for the
CNN crew in Tibet. You two guests need to be harnessed and connected.
We won't let you fall out, but the precaution is to prevent heart
attacks if we have to catch you." Some chuckles. They complied. I said
"To start, I'm going to display some shots we won't be doing
personally. Well, there is a matter if actually breathing." I displayed
the Earth from space, and then zooming in to Israel, and then to
circumnavigate the area of Masada, and then steady, and zoom into the
area of the fort. The director said, "Wow!" Paolo said "I second that!"
I said "We expect to hear a lot of those comments today. They may get a
little tired." Some chuckles.
The director said, "Never before was that shot done for real in one
continuous take. And it's going to be in our movies alone!" Chad said
"A new trademark. Interesting." The director said "For a new production
company? That's right! We'll have to have a logo and sequence for that.
A name, too." Rose said "Starshine Productions?" We all stared at her.
I said "And Earth Division, with an active sunburst logo, fading into a
rotating globe of the Earth?" He said "Wow! I really love working with
creative minds! I like it a LOT." Chad said "We'll be your exclusive
finance company, if you want. We'll have cutouts from our main
corporation, which provides the office, but our portion of the profits,
if any, go to charity. Find your own line producer." He said "I can NOT
turn that down!" Hawk said, "Sure you can, if you want to be certified
insane." Some laughter. Rose said, "Regarding creative minds, we have
creative bodies, too." Hawk said "And pregnant with possibilities."
Some laughter and groans.
I said "Now we fly. This contraption has an invisible wind shield,
and an inertial and gravity control. They won't remove all sensation of
flying, but enough so we will be comfortable, and won't be distracted.
I'll be directing it all with my mind. Up we go." We zoomed up, and our
passengers grabbed the top of the clear walls tightly, but then
relaxed. I said musically, "Told you." Embarrassed chuckles. I said "We
are here in the morning, to catch the colors and shadows. We'll do this
throughout the day and evening, so we can select what will create the
mood we want from a composite of the total." The director said "You're
really learning the business!" I said "Have to. Got the best to teach
me. Don't want to waste the opportunity." He was embarrassed. We flew
around for an hour, using suggestions from everybody for shots. I said
"Now I'm going to port down to the fort. Rose and Hawk will control the
platform, and will have remote viewpoints all over the place,
recording. I have an intro speech prepared. We'll capture the sound
with virtual microphones. I'll do it once in English. After we make
needed changes, I'll keep doing that until it's final. Then I'll do it
in other languages. Here goes." I ported to the fort, and walked around
and talked. I ported back. We changed some words, and I went back and
did it with the corrections. I ported back. The director said "Great
performance. It's a go." I went back and did it exactly the same, but
in a bunch of different languages. I said "We'll do it at noon, and
then after, to take advantaged of different lighting. Also, I can do
some enhancements if needed. Want to play the tourist now?" They did,
and we landed in the fort. I gave them a tour.
At the base of the mountain, I set up a camp which looked like a
beach resort, with shade umbrellas and lounge chairs. We had lunch, and
discussed and showed each other logo designs and sequences. We settled
on them. Then the parks people and some archeologists came to us, and
we had a short discussion. I said "There's room on the platform. Want
to join us for aerials?" They did. I made sure they were harnessed. I
said "We'll be working, so please keep interruptions to the minimum.
Light is changing." We moved around the same way as before, taking the
same shots. Then I ported to the fort, and did the same walk and speech
in different languages. Then we went back to camp.
An archeologist, after we all had some refreshment, said to me, "So
you were actually here. Did you expect to prevail?" I said "Some did.
Some expected we wouldn't. Some, including myself, did it to make a
point, not knowing how long we would be able to keep making it. A kind
of sit-in protest. We were like hippies, but without the free sex,
unfortunately." Some chuckles. One said "But food. You couldn't have
had much." I said "We did, a lot. The place was well stocked when we
took it over, and we had a lot of water in the cisterns, too. Herod
didn't skimp on his possible comforts, when he built it. And we were
resupplied twice before the siege. Still, we wouldn't have lasted more
than two more years, even with rationing, after the Romans got us." One
said "Did you really all commit suicide?" I said "Commercialism is the
new God for many. Sorry, you'll have to see the movie to find out." He
said "I don't see any cameras." I said "Good for you! There aren't any.
We don't need them. Anything I and my advanced students can see and
hear, and that is practically anything in the galaxy, we can record,
and with different viewpoints at the same time." They said "Wow!" I
said "Right. We say that too." Some chuckles.
One said "You're making a movie, but I don't see any actors?" I said
"What am I, chopped liver?" They all laughed. I said "With how we
record, well, I did something a little extra." Hawk laughed. Rose said,
"He's laughing because Stephen likes to use colossal understatements to
avoid being embarrassed. He recorded the past." One exclaimed,
"Impossible!" Paolo said "Stephen and his people don't lie. Everything
we know and do, was impossible before that." I nodded my thanks, with a
slight smile at our guests' reaction to a Catholic Priest defending me,
a Buddhist, to Jews. My team, and some of the guests caught that, and
were amused, too. I said to the doubter, "I'm REALLY not chopped
liver." Some laughter. I said "As a new ability, I can go back and see
around my lives, and extend a little before and after them. I can read
some minds then, too. Don't worry, I can't change anything in the
past."
One said "Jericho?" I said "Sorry, I wasn't there. I might be able to
see other things someday. Maybe even tomorrow. Who knows?" He said "Do
you know where the Ark of the Covenant is?" I said "No, and I don't
intend to look for any special religious artifacts. I do NOT want to
cause murders and wars over superstitious fantasies." He said "But did
it exist?" I said "Yes it did, and it was in Solomon's Temple." He said
"Were you Solomon?" I said "I won't discuss Solomon. Don't ask again.
At least the Ark existed. The Holy Grail, the cup Jesus drank from,
never did, past that Seder. Sorry, Paolo." He said "That's alright. We
suspected that. Did Jesus ever have a child?" They all looked at me
very intently. I said "Hey, I didn't do it!" Some laughter. I said "I
knew him a little near the end of his life. No mention was made of a
child of his in my hearing, and I have not researched that life beyond
when I knew him. Sorry." One said "Why haven't you?" I said "I can only
do so much at a time, and I'm much more interested in other things, and
I don't really need to start more religious arguments, encouraging
people to make Jesus ashamed of them." They nodded.
One said "Do you know things about Masada that aren't known today?" I
said "You should assume that, because you haven't see it when it wasn't
ruined. It was magnificent! Opulent palaces. Parts of it, anyway. We
did explore some. Well, there wasn't a whole lot to do, but we probably
didn't learn all that could be learned about it. For more, you'll have
to see the movie, and read the new addition of the book which will come
out then, with pictures and diagrams of the buildings and things. I
know you're frustrated, but you might feel a little better, knowing
where the money is going. Right. Israel. Hospitals and archeological
grants. See if you can complain about that." Some chuckles, mostly from
my team. One said "In archeology, what are you most interested in?" I
said "How and why people got to the Americas in ancient times." One
said "There is a book about that. Very well written. People from
Japan." I said "I know of it." He said "And there have been recent
excavations that point to that, as well." I said "I er, more than know
of that. I found those sites, to please one of my associates who is the
expert on those people." He said "Is there a connection?" I said
"Everything is connected in some way." Hawk said "You can't trick him
into saying what you want him to say. He's just too sneaky smart."
Paolo laughed, and said "I sure know that!"
I said "Back to the platform now, for the next session." We went, and
I did the same intros in different languages, after getting all the
usual shots. Back at camp, I said, "That should be it, except for some
fast shots at sunset." The director said "I want you in a shot, emoting
as the sun goes down on Masada, and a traveling shot of that." I said
"Planned for. Yes, I'm really learning from you." He said "Soon, you
won't need me anymore for making movies." I said "Yes I will. It's
work!" He laughed. I said "I've got a lot of other things going that I
need to work on. For instance, there were two suicide bombings today,
and some very surprised bombers who hadn't heard about what happened to
other bombers recently." One said "Are you going to do more things like
that?" I said "I don't know. I didn't know I was going to do that one,
until I did. It's like the consequences I did in China. I had planned
some, but I often did something I thought of at the time, instead.
Still, there were some the artist in me is very disappointed I didn't
get to do." One said "What were they?" I said "I'd like to keep them
ready for use and surprise. Oh, alright. The President of China wanted
to know, too, and still half wishes I did it. Here is me spiking a
crushed tank into a wall. I did it twice. They wouldn't have been able
to get it out without demolishing the building, but they could try to
cover them up. Here's what would have happened if they did." They
watched as the cloth cover changed shape to show testicles and an erect
penis. They laughed loudly. I said "But there was more. If they had
tried to fix it, they would have needed to bring umbrellas." More loud
laughter.
I said "My objective was to get their attention in a way they
couldn't miss, but on some level could appreciate the art and thought
behind it. They decided to leave the spiked tanks in place, and didn't
try to cover them up. In strange fact, they actually like them there.
They wouldn't have liked one of the other ideas I had, such as filling
some offices and buildings with farm, er, products." More laughter. One
said "In Tibet, turning the soldier's weapons into sex objects, what
was the object of that?" I said "To save their lives. I could stop them
from harming Tibetans, as the aggressor, but stopping the Tibetans from
attacking them in return, would have been hard to justify and do
nicely. People don't attack well, while they are not feeling threatened
by rubber penises, and are laughing their heads practically off their
shoulders. You can't fight much when you're falling down laughing.
There were some soldiers who didn't want to stop so easily, so I
stripped them naked. That motivated them to seek warmth in a hurry,
because it was very cold. So did the embarrassment of having
erections." Some loud laughter.
I said "The few who didn't get the message right away, kind of gave
the message that they were willing and eager to, well, they had
suggestive sexual invitations printed on their bodies." Big laughter. I
said "That caused them to not just run back to the barracks, but to
barricade their doors, too." More laughter. "Now we have them guarding
the new railways and border crossings, and they are quite pleased to be
doing something useful, and fully clothed." Laughter. I said "And
they're getting along well with their Tibetan coworkers. Shared
amusement can help that to happen." Hawk said, "Now you see something
of how he works. We call that ability the Situation Manager. One of his
students in his last life, said something about that which is still
very true. Stephen makes a bad thing ten times better than if it had
never happened." I said "Unfortunately, that doesn't work with well
embarrassment."
said, "Correct. He was Joseph, Moses, and Daniel." I said "And
Ishmael." One said, "Scholars can't figure out why he was even
mentioned." I didn't say anything. Rose poked me. Some chuckled at
that. I sighed, and said, "As Daniel, to motivate the freed Israelites
who were becoming Babylonians, to go back to their homeland, I wrote
the zionist tract known now as the Torah, or the part of it to where my
own book starts. Books in it, and in the New Testament, weren't written
by the people who they are named after, which was a common practice in
those times. Also, when you see a number three or forty, don't believe
it. Those were popular mystical numbers, and were not to be taken
seriously. In fact, it was expected that almost all numbers would be
exaggerated for effect, which is made worse for present day scholars,
because in Hebrew, numbers were actually letters of the alphabet. Those
who study those writings, and do some calculations, can see some really
impossible numbers. I was not a good historian or mathematician. Can't
sue me, though. Too late!" Some chuckles. Rose poked me again. I said
"She's reminding me that I didn't actually answer the question. I was
hoping that wouldn't be noticed. Thank you Rose, dear." She poked me
again, and they laughed, with Hawk being the loudest.
animals in a lot of my lives, and I'm not lion about it." Some groans
and chuckles. I said "Anyway, I gathered all the word of mouth stories
and legends I could find, and combined them with my strange dreams,
which I didn't know at the time were of some of my past lives, and
wrote them into a narrative. Naturally, I wrote my own lives into them,
not realizing that. Some I wasn't quite accurate with, and some I was
surprisingly so. Well, I could only write about what I could
understand. As Ishmael, I saw Avrom about to kill my little brother. I
stopped him. The old babbling fool was drooling drunk out of his mind.
I grabbed his arm just in time, and wrestled the knife, and it was a
big one, out of his hand. I was a big and strong boy. He said God had
told him to do it. To get him to stop struggling, I said, 'And God told
me to stop you, because it was only a test.' He let go, and passed out.
I took the terrified Isaac back to Sarah, who told her everything. When
Avrom woke up, he kicked me out of his household, ostensibly for
screwing all the women in it who would let me, since I was 13, which
was almost all of them. Often. That part was true all my life, which
could be why I wrote that I fathered a great nation. I sure tried very
er, hard." Some good laughter.
I said "Nobody trusted old Avrom ever again. Isaac wouldn't even go
near him for years. Yes, I did keep in touch. I cared very much for my
what he means by that. Did we mess around sexually. Yes. It wasn't
uncommon then for brothers to do that, when they slept together in the
same bed, tent, or room. Not so uncommon now, too." One nodded, and
said, "I have two brothers. None of us are gay, but we did that. Lots
of fun. We are all happily married now, and with children of our own. I
know mine do it, but I don't know if they know I know, and I'm not
about to embarrass them by asking." I bowed my respect for him. I
grinned at Paolo's expression, and he laughed, and so did some others.
I took orders for food, and made and ported it in. They liked it.
Then we did the sunset scenes. The director liked them. Back at the
camp, he said, "We don't need any more this trip. I won't know if we
will need more, until I review what we have now." I said "Fine. Want to
go back now?" He grinned, and said, "You know I do. I have to see what
you've done." I said "I suppose you might want the files. Here." I gave
him a case of memory cards and hard drives. I said "And there are
backups, too. Have fun, but don't overdue it." We hugged with love, and
I ported him back to his office. I said "We should all be going home.
Paolo, where, too?" I sent him to where he requested. I told the
Israelis, "Thank you very much for allowing us to work in Masada. Take
this, and have fun with it." I gave the lead archeologist a thumb
undiscovered, they might like to work on. Should have some things of
interest. No, I'm not going to say. More fun that way. Surprise is
nice. I don't want to take that away from them." With their not so dry
eyes, we hugged each other with love. Then my team and I ported away. I
removed what we left there.
I said to Sol at home, "Paolo looked very funny when your mother was
feeding you." He gurgled. Hawk said, a little more intelligently,
"Well, he had to keep abreast of things." We poked him. Chad said "You
would have to milk that for all its worth." We poked him, too. We are
equal opportunity pokers.
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Grant
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