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Subject: +*+*+*+ Solomon's Private File #74 "Nat Geo About Moon" +*+*+*+
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 2015 18:14:30 -0400
From: " +Grant. " <+Grant@grant.grant>
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Solomon's Private File #74
These stories about Stephen and Solomon take place starting in
1950's. Stephen wrote about his life in letters to a penpal, and then
in a secure blog, in case he lost his memory again, in the master
computer in his school for gifted students, which he started attending
in 2016 in a new incarnation, until his death. Now his son Solomon is
attending the same school, and is writing in his own secure blog for
his future incarnations.
All characters are fictitious, even if some of them might have names
that belong to some actual people, or act like people we know.
Solomon is 16 in this story, in the Spring of 2042.
Solomon's Private File #74 "Nat Geo About Moon"
START Page
I ported to the Nat Geo hall for the Moon trip briefing. I said, "Oh,
what's this? Some kind of convention?" Sharon said, "I told them there
were too many." I said, "And what did they say about that?" She said,
"Nothing I could make much sense of." I said, "Well, I could come back
when they make some reasonable decisions. This is not a sightseeing
trip. We are going there to collect some specimens, and document that.
This is for the Smithsonian, to create some new exhibits, and to add to
our museum documentaries. I offered to invite some from Nat Geo to come
along. Not a mob. Sharon is coming if she wants to, because she's part
of the shows, and has responded well to laugh at Sol's jokes training."
Chuckles. I said, "The two kids are also coming, because they are part
of the shows. Two of Sharon's people are coming, because they are
experts in this area and will be supervising the collection, and
because they will allow me to make jokes at their expense. Well, now
that they are aware of it." More chuckles. I said, "Now, the rest of
you. Any have a good reason to, besides personal desire?" One said,
"With my equipment to record what happens." I said, "And do you
actually expect that equipment to operate normally in a vacuum?" He
said, "It won't?" I said "It won't. At the very least, the batteries
will explode." One said, "I should have thought of that!" I said, "Er,
'charged' with neglect?" Good chuckles. The camera man said, "Then how
will you record the show?" I said, "There is another issue. No sound in
space."
I said, "Anyway, I will provide all the equipment anybody needs. You
won't be able to keep it, but you can keep the media the files are on.
As for recording for the TV show, I'll do that with my mind, from many
different viewpoints, with sound and text descriptions, time base
annotated. I'll transfer to media when we're done. So, videographers
are not needed. And REALLY not a sound engineer." Some grins. I said,
"Porters aren't needed either. I'll carry what's needed, and do the
transportation. Those who go, can have any tools they need for what
they want to do there, within reason. Right. No blow up dolls."
Surprised laughter. Sharon, the loudest. I said, "Told you. She's WELL
trained." More laughter.
I said, "So, more necessary visitors?" One said, "I'm a selenologist.
To collect samples." I said, "Finally! I was waiting for somebody to
use that word. Alright, you're on. Got to answer questions on camera,
though. Willing?" He said, "Absolutely!" I said, "Next?" One said,
"Astronomer." I said, "How is your specialty applicable to our mission
as stated?" He struggled with that, and said, "It isn't. Sorry." I
said, "Next?" One said, "Geologist. Yes, I know. Take sonograms." I
said, "Thumper?" She said, "Something like that, yes." I said, "Oh,
you're ON! Where's your equipment?" She said, "At the lab." I said,
"Just tell me exactly where. I need to look at it." She said, "I can
take you." I said, "You are THIS close to not going. I do NOT want
anybody along who can't follow simple instructions. Now you tell me
exactly where it is, or you don't go." She struggled, but did it. I
said, "This image is it?" She looked surprised, and said, "Yes!" I
said, "Won't work right on the Moon. Here's one that will. Look it
over. If you like it, we'll take it along. Need an assistant, one or
both of the kids would love to help. Try communicating a little better
there." She went to look at it, a little red in the face. Some others
were trying not to grin.
One said, "I'm a physicist. With my technician. To set up a laser
reflector. I said, "His job. Competent?" He said "Very." I said, "Then
he can work better without you joggling his elbow. I can give you a com
link to us. He can go. Not you." He was angry. I said, "Here." I tossed
him a tube. He caught it and said, "What's this?" I said, "Something to
sooth your lips. Looked so tight, I thought they might split." He was
vibrating with anger. I said, "All of you; I don't have to do any of
this. But I am. Because I know more about this than all of you
combined, and because I'm providing all the equipment, your safety is
in my hands. Part of that is having the least amount of people as we
can. And those people must follow my instructions to the letter. Very
hostile environment. That could be made a lot worse by hostile people.
Is this all understood?" They did. But not the laser boss. I said to
him, "How old am I, really?" He didn't get it. I said, "I've been a
slave and a king, many times, and practically everything in between.
I've led armies to victory, and to defeat. I've been raped, murdered
and sainted. I've been evil, and I've been good. Actually, I suffered
more for being good than evil. Like now. Do you still think of me as
just a willful child? Do that, and you will see that we are all
thinking that about you." He looked for support from the other people,
and didn't get it. The geologist touched his arm, and he jumped. She
said to him, "He made my instrument, a better version than has ever
existed, in a second, after seeing the original for the first time.
Think of the intelligence that required, and not just the ability. And
he is wise. Let the anger go, and let's make this trip work for
science." He nodded, and motioned his tech forward.
I said, "Equipment here?" He told me where it was. I said, "Fine. It
will work. Actually, well made. Don't bother with transport. I'll port
it to the moon from where it is when we go. That work?" He said, "And I
can set it up and calibrate it?" I said, "Yes. That raises an issue.
The two units need to have a line of sight. That will have to be one of
the determining factors for when we go, and where we go to. Give me a
list of spots on the moon, and whether they need to be in the light or
dark for this. Then we need to run them by the rock sample people." The
laser boss said, "Will do. I apologize for being foolish. I realize now
this is much more of a real expedition than I had assumed. And that you
are a competent leader, more than I allowed myself to think." I said,
"Accepted." We shook hands.
I said, "More?" One stepped forward, a little diffident. He said,
"Artist. For inspiration. I do celestial a lot." I sighed. He said, "I
understand. Maybe next time." I said, "No, that was a different sigh.
Oh, didn't you know I have an assortment of them? Here it is. I just
told off a respected scientist after I said he couldn't come. And this
is, we hope, a scientific er, thing. With all that, do you still think
you should come?" He said where his gallery is, and that I should
please look. I did. I said, "Can I show them?" He said, "Yes." I
projected his work. There was a LOT of approval. Sharon nodded to me. I
said to the laser boss, "Opinion?" He grinned at me, and said, "More
wise than I thought. Yes. Even if no other could go but him." I stared
at both of them and said, "Yes." The artist cried. Really cried. The
laser boss went to him and they hugged.
I said, "I'll give you all special cameras. Please use them to record
your own experiences, not so much what you do, but to express how you
feel about it. You can't keep them, but you do keep the files, and they
are personal to you unless you want to share them. I see some of you
know something extra now. Science isn't just about data, it's also
about people, and not just FOR people. Even in groups, we contribute as
individuals, and that's important. Humanity advances, with humanity."
They looked at me with a LOT of respect. I said, "Aww, do I have to
tell a joke now?" Weak chuckles.
Then I told them all about the space suits. They were VERY impressed.
The geologist said, "So, it's not the suit that's protecting us, but
the forcefield that follows the contour of the suit?" I said, "Yes.
Better than working in a bubble." She said, "Is that really safe?" I
said, "Ask the coastal people regarding the most recent tsunamis." They
nodded. The artist said, "Captivating image that. Awesome, actually." I
said, "I have to agree. I've been in a lot of places, and I can see
practically anywhere I wish, but a 100 meter tall er, fish tank is
really something." I said to the geologist, "Here's a bar. No, you
can't drink at it. Bash me with it. Yes, hard as you want, anywhere on
my body. Even the face. Be aware, others will judge you on your choice.
Just thought I'd poke you with that." She grinned, and whacked me in
the side. It bounced off, and she had trouble controlling the rebound.
I said, "I use the term force field, because I can't really describe
what it is to you so you will understand. There is no force in it. It's
just a programmed condition in space. It can't give way until the
program is changed."
The laser boss was almost ready to explode with questions. I said to
him, "We don't have time to go into this now, but consider this. When I
port to a different altitude and latitude on Earth, I have the same
relative momentum to the new environment that I did at the start.
Physics says that old conserve thing means that's impossible. It is,
for our usual frame of reference." He said, "You know unified?" I said,
"It's impossible to have a complete unified field theory, knowing just
one frame of reference. But the more frames you know well, the closer
you can come to it." He said, "So we can't even test if that is true."
I said, "I can, and I have, but my father did it first." He said, "That
does help. I accept it as a reasonable theory." I said, "To the non
physicists among you, what we mean is, you can't fully measure and
understand the box you are in, unless you can think outside of the
box." He grinned and said, "Interesting way to illustrate that. Your
reputation is maintained." We bowed to each other. Sharon was grinning
really wide.
I said to the Geologist, "Your gear. It's awkward and heavy. Need an
adult to help you with it?" She smiled and said, "You don't just build
instruments. Yes think I should." I said to the laser boss, "Accept?"
He surprised himself by having tears. He said, "I accept. I wish I
could say more, but thank you." Some others were surprised by their
tears, too. Laser boss said, "I was wondering about something. Your
mention of the tsunamis reminded me. It didn't, but wouldn't that
volume of raised water, cause a rebound tsunami when it dropped?" I
said, "So you caught that. You're right. But it didn't happen." He
said, "Logic indicates interference. You controlled the subsidence, to
make it slower." I said, "Yes, and that was much more difficult to do
than the static wall." He stared at me, and said, "To do that all along
the coasts, and with the other things you were doing and monitoring at
the same time, well, I think very few people know, or can even imagine
the mind that can handle that. I was really a fool!" I said, "So now in
revenge, you have to embarrass me with that?" He grinned. I said,
"Another lesson. It's not good for society, for people to think of me
that way." He said, "Oh. Oh! I did it again." I said, "Don't worry
about that TOO much. Practically everybody does that one. They've never
had to think of it like my family has."
I said, "Here are your suits. You aren't going to the Moon until you
show me you can work in them. If you don't want to go and try them on
now, it can be later, but has to be before we go. And you can keep the
suits, but not the controller that isn't with them yet. I don't want
you attacked by the government. And if you get sick, and we leave
before the next broadcast, let me know, and we'll fix it." The
geologist said, "You can heal people?" I said, "On an individual basis,
some things and some times. And I can er, call for help. Hmm, how about
I tell you something you don't know about that?" Sharon said, "Yes! Are
you going to make it on condition of good behavior?" I said, "Oh
Sharon, are you trying to become a mind reader?" She laughed, and they
chuckled. I said, "No. What in the world do you think I've been doing
here? That's already taken care of. We are a team now. A good one."
They looked around, and nodded. Some, in amazement. I said, "The other
worlds out there were devastated when my father died. That could seem a
little extreme to the people of Earth. But not if they knew something
beyond that he saved them from interstellar wars. Dad figured out how
to enable some of his students to ask God to help and heal during the
love broadcasts, years before he died. We have schools on other
planets." Sharon said, "Oh! I get it! They had healing love broadcasts,
too, and by their own people." I said, "But they had to be prepared.
It's quite disruptive, and they weren't to know who was doing it. Fame
is a CURSE. So he went to the heads of those planets to explain it, and
schedule when it would happen. And it did, and they knew it was done by
his students and by his arrangement. He didn't think that way, but the
way it worked out, they didn't have anybody else they knew of to thank
in their hearts, but him." There were a lot of wows.
I said, "Suits!" They went to the rest rooms to try them on. They
came back out. I said, "Bottoms tucked into the boots, please." Some
made adjustments. I said, "Here are the environmental controllers. I'll
stick them on." I said, "When you're ready, I'll turn them on. Well, I
thought it would be awkward if you had to turn yourselves on in
public." Chuckles. I said "As you can see, the virtual helmets of the
others are visible. If your own was, it would be obstructing your
vision. You know the controller is on, by it's glow. In the shoulders
are forward facing lights. I know they're small, but they can be
adjusted for aim, power, and focus, by the mind. Careful about shining
them at people's faces. You can try them out now." There were wows,
during the interesting light show. I saw the artist studying that, and
nodded to him. He grinned and gave me a thumb's up. I said, "I already
told you about the gravity control. It won't work until you are on the
Moon. Anybody want to test the inertial impact resistance feature? Oh,
I know YOU would!" The physicist grinned. The geologist volunteered to
be his subject. They were amazed. I said, "I know this is going to
sound awkward, but I have to like it for that." I made a flame shoot
out of and around my upright forefinger. I said, "Somebody pull my
finger." Chuckles. The geologist was first. She said, "I can feel the
finger like my hand was naked, but I can't feel the fire. Is it real?"
I ported a piece of paper to my other hand, and while her hand was in
the fire, I put the paper in it, and it really burned. I said, "Hard to
test with a vacuum here, but now you're all fired up, really knowing
you're protected. You can stop now. Er, really." She looked
embarrassed, and had to laugh. So did Sharon.
She asked me, "Are you going to wear the same?" I said, "I haven't
decided. I don't really need to. My mind is much more capable then the
computers in the controllers. Think about it. I'm not using one, but I
can hear you, and you can hear me. The other non team people here can
hear only me. I can turn that feature on if you wish." They did. I
said, "On now. The controllers can also act as translators when needed.
The suit isn't equipped with a bathroom. I know, what a waste."
Chuckles. I said, "So, going before going, might be a good idea. But if
you have to, the controller will clean it up, after the action stops,
but before it does, it's going to be visible and uncomfortable." The
artist said, "You said you will loan us cameras. Can we have them in
advance, so we can learn to operate them before the trip?" I said, "I
was wondering when somebody would ask that. Here's one. Touch that, and
then tell me how much practice you'll need." He did, and suppressed his
wow. He said, "Thanks." He handed it back to me. We grinned at each
other. Sharon said, "You're not going to tell us, are you." I said,
"Right." She looked at the artist. He said, "You know the loyalty he
inspires." She growled, and we chuckled.
Back at home, Mom said, "I noticed one of your people tactics. You
deliberately infuriated the physicist so you could knock that down." I
said, "Yes. Better under controlled safe circumstances to establish
dominance, than during the mission. And I hoped I could have him on the
team. He's VERY smart. And there was more in play. I used that to help
forge the team, interpersonal support and all." Hawk said, "Sounds
military." I said, "It should. Was." He grinned and poked me. Mom said,
"The artist. Sharon really likes him. So do I. After this, some
support?" I said, "Expected." Hawk said, "Gay?" I said, "Bi, but pays
little attention to it. He's almost totally art. For his art's sake, I
wouldn't want that interfered with." He nodded acceptance.
Mom said, "With Ichi, and other things. A real leader now." I said,
"I was fake before?" I got poked. I said, "There have been stages in
that, not gradual. Before each stage was something that forced me to be
more firm in some things than I liked. But I disliked even more, there
was no going back. You know about them." She said, "Yes, And I regret
now about the er, peeping. Unethical. Not going to tell?" I said,
"Multiple ways. You know one of them. Dad's time field." She said,
"Can't get a viewpoint through it?" I got up and went to the middle of
the room, and said, "One minute your time. Test." After that, I said,
"Well?" She said, "Wow! Can't get in. Not even PK." Hawk said, "Could
you do it?" I said, "I don't know. I haven't tried." He said, "Another
S Kid?" I said, "Same. They would tell me if they did." Mom said, "Do
they have the time field info?" I said, "I haven't given it to anybody,
but it can't be ruled out for an S Kid. I'm only more advanced by a
year or two, and my Dad connection. As we grow older, that relative
difference will mean less and less." Hawk said, "Loyalty won't change."
I said, "Unknown, but possible. Will always have love." And we shared
that between ourselves.
END Page
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Grant
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