Solomon's Private File #149
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 20 in this story, in the Winter of 2046-2047.
Solomon's Private File #149 "Pans and Dust"
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I did some experiments. I asked to see Percy. I said, "I've got some
ideas I'd like to have your opinions on." He said, "Alright, they're
great!" We laughed. I said, "If we use this formula of stainless steel,
in this configuration, with this surface treatment, with plasma
deposition of different layers of these minerals and metals, we could
have a very good nonstick cooking surface." He studied the pushed
information I gave him. He said, "Why that alloy?" I said, "And with
that construction, less heat expansion, longer lasting applied surface.
We need to figure out how to make it commercially feasible, and get
regulatory approval." He said, "Those minerals. Not natural." I said,
"Here's the process to make them." He said, "Not cheap." I said, "But
in quantity? And they have other uses." I pushed that at him, too. He
said, "Wow! Got to patent that! Give me samples. Pots and pans, too.
Oh, nice design! Going to push them yourself?" I said, "I'd like to a
little, but I shouldn't expose myself to lawsuits."
I made an egg, put a pan on a gas burner, and when it was the right
temperature, I cracked the egg onto it, with no fat. He said, "If the
yolk doesn't stick, you've got a winner." I broke the yolk, and it ran
off the white onto the surface of the hot pan. I shook it, and the
whole egg slid all over the pan, looking frictionless. He yelled,
"Eggsactly!" We grinned and chuckled. I made an inductive heating
plate, and a wok to put on it. I said, "500 degrees C." I put a little
peanut oil in it, and then cubes of chicken and beef. I used a metal
spatula. Then I put in some cooked rice. Then some hoisin sauce. I
said, "That's as sticky as I can make it in real cooking." I pored it
all out, and the wok was clean. Then I put it back on the heat, and
added a tiny bit of oil, and let it burn to nothing. Then I took the
pan off the hot plate, and let it cool. I wiped it, and nothing
remained of the experiment. The wok wasn't even discolored. I did it
all again, to test if the wok's surface had been damaged by the rapid
heating and cooling. Same performance. Then I burned some different
kinds of protein and sugars on it. No damage. He said, "Wow! We've got
to do this! And with metal utensils. Going to be very popular." I said,
"Have to shop it around to regular kitchenware producers. We can't make
it ourselves. But we can make the minerals. And there are patents in
some of the processes, too." He said, "We'll draw them up and get them
filed. Then you need to show them how it's possible for them to make
it. Could take years." I said, "Got some." We hugged and kissed with
love.
The patents were filed within a week, and made the headlines. I was
asked to a show with the celebrity interviewer. There was a kitchen
setup. I had the pans there, and there were two chefs. I told them,
"While we're talking, do your worst with them. Oops, I mean best
cooking. Oh, whatever." Grins and chuckles. Greg said, "You've said
before, you cook. Frustrated?" I said, "Not usually frustrated, but
damaged pans are wasteful. I wanted to make something that would do the
job that real nonstick should do. It's metal utensil safe, if you don't
stab it or cut things in it. Dishwasher safe. People safe, except when
used as a weapon, or when you grab a hot pan without using the handles.
I have to say I won't be making these pans for sale. I just developed
the processes that are used to make them. Patent license fees are
minimal, and will go to charities. Testing and manufacturing will be
done by other companies." He said, "But you've done your own testing?"
I said, "I've done all the testing I could think of, even things that
are not possible for others to do. I use these pans at home, and you
KNOW I wouldn't do that if I didn't know they were safe." He said, "Do
you use the wok?" I said, "I use the wok most of all. Tested to over a
550 degrees C." He said, "Wow!" I said, "That, too. Well, when you wok
this way." I went to the pan, and he chuckled. He said, "How long will
they last?" I said, "I can't say how long they will last, because I
haven't had years to test them. I suspect not a short time, but all
nonstick pans will eventually fail. That can't be avoided, with being
dependent on a thin surface coating. Those companies that offer
lifetime warranties are depending on their customers just not bothering
to send them back for replacement."
He said, "Can you make a nonstick pan that would never fail?" I said,
"Sure, but it couldn't be manufactured." He said, "Will you show us
one?" I ported a handle to my hand, and gave it to him. I said, "Hold
it so this end is away from you, and think what kind of pan you want."
A semitransparent skillet appeared on the end of the handle. I said,
"It will exist that way until you change it, or turn it off." He said,
fascinated, "What is it made of?" I said, "I can't explain it so you
would understand, but it's related to what I used to protect the coasts
from tsunamis. Something like a forcefield. In this setting, it
transmits heat better than any real substance, and absolutely nothing
can stick to it. Not even your hand. That's right, if you grab the pan,
it will just slide off of your fingers. Except on the outside bottom,
where it needs to rest on the burner. Can't have it sliding off of the
stove. To clean the pan, which it doesn't really need, you just turn it
off over the sink. There is one more setting I'm not going to tell you
about until you give it back." He did that, and I said, "That was
fast." He chuckled. I said, "That extra setting is for it to generate
its own heat. Yes, it doesn't actually need a burner, if that's the way
you want to use it. Here are the different shapes." I showed them. He
said, "Have you used this a lot?" I said, "I've never used anything
like this before. I just made it when you asked." He was really
surprised, and said, "Wow!" We went to break. He said, "That one
floored me." I looked down, and he chuckled. I said, "Making things my
way is easy for me. Making things that can be manufactured, is the
really difficult part." He nodded.
Back from break, he said, "You do a lot of experiments. Have you ever
been injured in them? I said, "In this life, yes, once, but it wasn't
my experiment. Well, I did it, but at the request of Chad. Oh, I know
that look! You want me to tell you about it. I was young, before I was
twelve, and wasn't an Adept. We were recording my singing. He wanted me
to do the classic glass breaking trick. You know, making a loud noise
at it, and causing it to shatter?" He nodded. I said, "He could do it,
and wanted to see if I could. Well, it exploded and sent little slivers
into my face. I wasn't able to protect myself then." He said, "In other
lives?" I said, "In other lives, many other mistakes. Some I died in.
One of the most dramatic is even kind of mentioned in the Bible." He
said, "PLEASE tell us!" I said, "We might run over time." He said,
"We're authorized." I said, "Always hoping?" He said, "Actually, yes."
I said, "Alright, here it is. I was an apprentice Priest. In those
days, that was where the science was, and it was mostly the science of
the mind. Our city was the biggest around, which wasn't that big at all
by today's standards, which would only qualify as a small village now.
It was mostly made of stone, and had strong walls surrounding it. We
were prosperous, and many armies had tried to capture us, but had
failed. One of the reasons for that was our pool of power our Priests
could create, that could reinforce our walls so they couldn't be
damaged by an attack. Then one day there appeared outside our walls a
large number of people who were mostly dressed in rags, led by a few
better dressed Priests. They had sound making instruments made of ram's
horns, and blew them at us. I didn't know if they expected that
terrible noise to cause us to surrender, but I think some were
considering it. They marched around our wall for days on end. There was
a battle, sure, but it was going on in the minds of the opposing
Priests. Ours were reinforcing our walls with our power, and I took my
turn with the team who were doing that. We were stronger than the other
Priests who were trying to weaken our walls, but they had a strange
thing of power that was helping them. It was a golden box with strange
things on top of it in gold, that they carried around our wall with
long poles." He said, "I know! The Ark of the Covenant! You were at
Jericho!" I said, "That's what it's called now, yes."
I said, "When we weren't on the power team, we did other things.
Being a lowly young apprentice, my tasks were rather menial. Being
bored with them, I experimented with them a lot. While I was sweeping
out the meditation chamber where our power team was working, I decided
to see if mind power could be used to sweep the dust. I tried it, and
it worked! I looked around to see if anybody had noticed, but all the
Priests there were in a trance. Nobody had noticed. So emboldened, I
did it again, and with more power, and the dust really moved. I
shouldn't have done that. One of the worst experimental mistakes of all
my lives." He said, "Please, what happened? Did you hurt somebody?" I
said, "No, worse. I sneezed. That normally wouldn't have been a
problem, but it was where I sneezed, and how. I was was bending over,
close behind the seated Master Priest of the power team, and I sneezed
right in his ear so loud, it sounded like an explosion of great
magnitude to my own ears." He laughed loudly, and so did the chefs. I
said, "I almost jumped out of my own skin. What he did, was worse. He
jumped up, too, and screamed, and with wildly flailing arms, knocked
all the other Priests over. They were out of their trances and
confused, and yelling at each other, asking what had happened. I didn't
dare to tell them. I tried to look very small and unnoticed. Being
usually small and unnoticed, I succeeded very well. Then we heard very
loud noises, and the earth trembled. They knew what it meant, but I
didn't. I know now, though."
I said, "They had lost control of their power, and that had caused
the walls to practically explode with their own unleashed force. Yes,
we caused our own walls to come tumbling down, and those strange
attackers didn't, but they never knew that. And that a lowly apprentice
had caused their claimed victory with a sneeze." He said, "Wow! What
happened to you then?" I said, "The power back-flow killed all the
priests, and that included me, too, right after we heard the noise of
the exploding walls. Our city was in ruins and defenseless. The rest is
written, but without me in it." He said, "Wow! And you're a great story
teller, too." I said, "Thanks. I was allowed to survive in that
occupation, sometimes." We went to commercial. He said, "That was
something I never expected from you in my wildest dreams!" I said,
"Same here, when it happened to me. Hawk is still laughing." He
laughed.
Back from break, we went to check with the chefs. They gave great
praise for the pans. REALLY great. They wanted to take them home. I
said, "Sorry, no. I can't let you have them. Legal issues. I don't want
to set myself up for lawsuits. I don't have any money with which to
defend myself. Manufactures have insurance for that." One said, "I
really understand that! I've had them, and I only had my name on the
pans. Still made a profit, though. But you wouldn't be interested in
that for yourself." I said, "But great food, I am!" We did a tasting.
There were other good comments, and then we went off air. They still
had more great comments about the pans. We discussed them some more.
They also wanted to see my 4th pan system, but I declined. We ended up
feeding a lot of the crews in most of the CNN area, but without my
permission, which I made sure they knew.
Back home to hugs and kisses. Mom said, "So you revealed that life.
Obviously you thought it was the right time. I see why you didn't tell
us before. Great story! Thanks!" More hugs and kisses, and from Galagos
who was there, too. He said, "That force pan was a shocker. Not that
you showed it, but that you invented it right there in a second!" They
agreed. Percy said, "Well thought out. It's own heat, too." I said,
"And it's one way insulated. While making it's own heat, the outside of
it isn't affected, so it's safe to put it down on anything. You could
have made it." He said, "Yes, true, but I didn't think of it, you did.
Big difference. Can I have one?" I said, "Sure, here." Galagos said,
"Me, too?" I said, "Well, be very careful. It was made for Adepts."
Hawk took it and said, "We'll check it out together." I nodded and
said, "But you can have any of the other pans if you want." They did.
Gal said, "Could you make a force knife?" Ivanna said, "No!" I said,
"Right. No way to make it safe. Couldn't put in restrictions that would
make sense, so it would cut through anything, including a granite
countertop like it couldn't feel it, and then right through your own
body." He said with a grin, "I'll pass."
A man walked into my office at the Bureau. I looked at his file. He
was applying to be a secretary. The tests went well. Then he said, "I
hear you've got a great martial arts teacher here. Would I be able to
study with her?" I said, "No. She teaches at the Academy only what's
needed in police work, not real martial arts, and for your position,
you wouldn't be going there. Still want to apply?" He said, "Can I hold
off on this to think it over?" I said, "Sure. I'll mark this pending.
Please bring it back with you to personnel."
The next applicant walked in, obviously an advanced martial artist.
He was angry, but concealing it well. I said, "You are not approved.
Please leave." He was totally astounded. I said, "We have the best
people in the world here, and that includes our psychologists. I can
see you're a martial artist, and that you're angry. That skilled, and
you can be that angry, tells us you are unsafe to be around. Unstable,
and not enough control. Hmm, it doesn't take much more for me to
suspect that you're angry about not being selected for our promotion
ceremony, which ONLY uses Bureau space, and is not otherwise connected
to us. All this, added to the fact that we aren't specifically
interested in martial artists as Special Agents, causes me to
disapprove you. And one more thing. Solomon decides who is promoted to
Senior Master, based on more than just physical ability. That he didn't
select you, tells us that we really wouldn't approve you here for
psychological reasons, even if you were not angry, so there is no
reason to continue with this evaluation."
He was ready to attack me. I said, "Don't try it. Don't forget where
you are. I said we have the best. That means better than you. Try to
use your abilities here, what will happen to you will last for years."
He pushed his Ki at me. I said, "I see you want proof." I let my Ki
flow. I said, "So now you feel it. Now I will use it, as a REAL Master
of Ki can do. You must obey! You will not ever seek employment here, or
with any other law enforcement agency. You will not communicate
anything of what happened here, or your knowledge and opinions of it.
You will now leave the building. Go!" He turned around and walked out,
clearly not wanting to. People stared at him. When he got outside, he
screamed, and blasted his Ki at a lamp post, knocking it down. I ported
to be in front of him, as me, and said, "You have damaged Federal
property. That's a felony. I think these Special Agents might be
interested in discussing this with you. If you try to harm anybody, in
any way, that will backfire on you. I set that in your mind, and that
will last for the rest of your life." I said to the agents, "He's safe
now. All he can do is look nasty. I'm tempted to do what his mother
probably told him would happen to his face like that." They tried not
to chuckle. I said, "I will NOT have any Senior Master of Martial Arts
candidate misuse his abilities and endanger the public. They can avoid
the law with their abilities, so it is my duty to protect the public
from them, if needed, because I can. He's all yours." One said, "Thank
I ported back to my office, as Jack. I walked out and said, "I'll be
in Personnel." I went. I said to the boss there, "I just had two
applicants who were here for the wrong reasons. Please tell the
applicants that we do not specifically need martial artists, and do not
provide actual martial arts instruction more than is needed for law
enforcement work, which is very little, and very basic." She nodded and
said, "Got it. Giving you trouble?" I said with a smile, "You, or
them?" She chuckled.
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Grant
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