Stephen's Secure Blog #391
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 20 in this story, in Spring of year 10 of his special school.
Stephen's Secure Blog #391 "CNN Death Penalty"
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They loved the Masada movie in Israel and New York. The USA release
is scheduled for May. The reviews already have Oscar mentioned in them,
and there is a lot of comment about me being involved so much, and what
I actually did, and how I did it. The director can't stop grinning. I
told him, "What if your face freezes like that?" He laughed, and went
back to grinning. We did some more work on the Nagindra series, and
discussed the scoring. We would use character themes.
The April 1st love and healing broadcast went as usual. I ported
early to the usual after broadcast interview show. I said to Len, "I
don't see portable things to take with us on the offplanet trip." He
said "We aren't going." I said "Why aren't we going, and why didn't you
tell me?" He said "I didn't tell you because I was hoping to convince
my boss to change his mind. I don't know the basis for his decision." I
said "I thought you would have learned something about how I feel about
last minute changes, from the last time. I'll let you hear this. Chad,
please put together a proposal for Fox, for exclusive after love
broadcast interviews." I said to Len, "He acknowledged. I suggest you
call your boss and tell him that I don't like inconveniencing my
friends who I had asked to join us on the trip, for nothing. Mention
consequences." He nodded and made the call, and said some things. There
were loud noises on the other end. Don was trying to look
inconspicuous. I wiggled my eyebrows at him, and he almost choked.
I said to Len, "I'm going to see him." I ported to his boss's office.
I said "Please touch my hand. It's important. Just do it." He did, and
his hand stopped before it go to me. I said "That's my personal shield.
It can be set to allow only what I allow through it, each way. I walked
on the moon naked, to test it. Yes, it works like a space suit, but
it's not mechanical. For instance, it can be set to allow everything
but certain frequencies of light, and microbes, at the same time. The
Chinese tried all kinds of things on me in our scheduled meetings,
including poison gas. I was breathing air from a pine forest, like I am
now. I'll let some loose a little here, so you can smell the scent. I
can extend this shield to cover any space, including other people. I
did that for your crew in Tibet, when they weren't staying long, so
they wouldn't have to spend time adjusting to the different air
pressure. Sometimes I gave them pendants that made individual shields
for them. Your people knew all that. I suggest you work with those who
have the knowledge, before you make snap decisions that can really harm
your company and your position. Remember, I could have gone over your
head with this problem, and I will if you do it again. Now I suggest
you think carefully about all this, and what you can cause to happen.
I'll wait and see if we are going to have any kind of show today. Have
a nice day." I ported back to the studio, where I had projected to them
what was happening. They were making silent wows. Len got another call.
He told me, "They are getting together the equipment right now. A
little late, but we can go for the second half hour. We're a minute
late for our show now. Places everybody!"
Don made the program announcement on air. After the introduction, I
said, "I have an announcement to make." Don looked worried, but I
didn't say anything about that. I said "As of the last love and healing
broadcast, the viruses that cause AIDS in humans exist only in research
facilities, and NOT in people, or anywhere else in nature. It's the
same for viruses that cause hepatitis, herpes, and meningitis. It may
be the same for other viruses." He said "Wow!" I said "I agree." He
said "But how did that happen in the broadcast?" I said "Simple. Part
of the same way other infectious diseases were cured. Scan and port
away." He said "Oh! But isn't that what you do?" I said "It is exactly
what I do, but not on such a gigantic scale. I can do maybe one person
a half hour, not billions of people a minute." He said "So God is using
your abilities, but supercharged?" I said "That's right. Take limb
replacement, for example. I can replace one of mine, only because I
scan myself each morning, so I'll have a pattern to work from if I need
it that day. Replacing somebody else's limb, well I just can't. I
wouldn't know where to begin, and attaching another one wouldn't be the
same. I can't do miracles. God's healing IS." He said "I think we have
a better understand of how the healing works now. Thank you. But what
of other world diseases? How do the people of the other planets handle
that issue?"
I said "Those species that travel between the stars have much more
knowledge of medicine in general, and their own medicine in particular,
than we do on Earth. Star travel takes a long time, sometimes months,
even going faster than light. Ships have decontamination procedures,
and so do orbital control stations and planetary travel terminals.
There are health requirements for passengers and crew. Some of what
they do, could cause problems for the people of Earth. Well, part of
the procedures can require people to remove their clothes. Other
cultures, where the people are covered with fur, scales, feathers, and
chitin, don't wear much clothes, and don't have much understanding of
or patience with our body modesty. Well, to them, we're so ugly, they
don't care how they see us, just that it's as little as possible. Until
they get to know us. When we travel our way, with porting, we take the
same precautions. We do not take any microbes with us, or bring any
back, even though they don't attack any other species but what they
evolved to attack. Who wants to take chances?" He said "Good." I said
"But there IS another issue. Allergens. We never know if we might be
allergic to their dandruff, or something like it. Anybody here sneeze
around cats?" He said "I didn't think of that! I suppose you would have
to." I said "Yes, and it can go both ways. Humans are constantly
shedding dead skin cells. We don't know how that might effect others
who might breath them in, so we have to watch for that, too. Maybe our
farts are real killers. So you see, instant transportation can be much
more involved than other ways of traveling, and that's even on Earth
where it includes changes in air pressure, radiation, and poisonous
gasses. Our personal shields take care of all that automatically, just
like the medallions I give you to wear when we go on porting trips, so
you can be comfortable and safe in your own personal environment." He
said "Yes, and they're VERY useful! They even keep us warm in Tibet's
bitterly cold winter." I said "Right. Frozen journalists aren't very
er, responsive." He laughed.
He said "We've learned that you have given some help to the Innocence
Project." I said "For those who might not be familiar with the
Innocence Project, they are a group of professional people and interns
who work to free wrongly convicted people. I've given them assistance
in truth telling of their clients, and making DNA profiles of them,
where the State refused to do the right thing." He said "Can you
explain why they refuse to do the test that might show innocence?" I
said "I can tell you the reason they say, such as it costs taxpayers
money, which shouldn't be wasted on those who were already convicted.
That is partially caused by the laws governing appeals in this country.
Appeals only review for errors or misconduct in trial procedures. They
do not look at new evidence. That would require a very expensive new
trial, and the granting of that is subject to, well, basically the whim
of those in power who would be proved wrong." He said "It's personal
power?" I said "In a lot of ways, it's personal power and pride that's
preventing true justice. A part of that is actually justified. Constant
appeals would tie up the system and cost a lot of money, and being
proved wrong, could reduce the public's confidence in the legal system,
and sherifs and DAs are elected. They REALLY don't want to admit they
imprisoned and killed innocent people, which some have actually and
intentionally done." He said "Wow! Strong words, but I don't doubt it's
happened. What State is the worst?" I said "Don't go to Texas!"
He said "Do you oppose the death penalty?" I said "I do oppose the
death penalty, for a number of reasons. I suspect you would like to
hear them." He said "I would, but after the break." During it, he said,
thinking." That didn't help him one bit. When we came back, he said,
"Stephen was about to tell us why he opposes the death penalty." I said
"Causing the death of another human being, or a member of another
intelligent species, for ANY reason, even accidentally, is severely
damaging to a person's spirit or soul. A very bad sin, if you will. So
is revenge. A wrong can't make the same wrong, right. A person, even
the relative of a victim, who feels good or happy, or even satisfied at
the suffering or death of another person, even for one who murdered
their loved one, is severely damaging to their soul, and the State
should NOT encourage such a condition. And then there is human nature.
We are not perfect. The justice system is not perfect. Innocent people
can easily be convicted. Witnesses are not perfect, and some have lied.
Some evidence might be missed, or tampered with. A defendant could have
an incompetent lawyer. WHY should the defendant have to pay for that
with his very LIFE? Innocent people have been executed, when evidence
existed that would have freed them, and some of those who had the power
to prevent that miscarriage of justice and humanity, KNEW that, and
allowed it to happen. I think I should do something about that. Wow!
Don! Your expression is one for the books!"
He said "What will you do?" I said "I will review all death penalty
convictions. I will tell the DAs which defendants are innocent of
murder. If they don't do everything in their power to exonerate or
otherwise free them with just compensation, I will investigate THEM.
Every little thing about themselves they don't want the public to know
about, will be made available to the public. If that isn't effective,
there will be some other interesting consequences. I will NOT support
State sponsored murder. There is an alternative. Abolish the death
penalty. It's barbaric, and totally inappropriate to a supposedly
civilized society. What would Jesus say? How can a TRUE Christian or
Buddhist support the death penalty? I just put a transcript of this
conversation on the desk of every City, State and Federal DA in the
country. They might have some unusual thoughts about it." Done said
"They sure might!" We went to commercial. I said "That expression. I
think they should invent a special name for that one." He almost
choked. We got all the portable equipment together. I gave them all
environmental pendants. I said "Aliens are different. One or two of
them might smell in such as way as to be very noticeable. Please be
polite about it. There's no telling how WE smell to them." They nodded.
We set up my 4th transmission link, and tested it.
After the break, Don said, "We are about to go to another world. Our
crew has environmental pendants on. Our cameras are synced with special
transponders Stephen has loaned us, so we will be transmitting live.
What you will see of us on another world will be transmitted to the
studio instantly, without the massive time lag that many light years of
distance would normally cause." I said "Don, that was well and
accurately said. Thank you. Ha! I can embarrass people, too." He had to
laugh. I said "Everybody who's going, please stand over there, with all
you want to take with you. Yes, Bibles, too, if you have them." Some
chuckles. I said "Ready to port?" They were, and we did.
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Grant
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