Solomon's Private File #160
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 21 in this story, in the Summer of 2047.
Solomon's Private File #160 "Using CNN and Al Jazeera"
START Page
I ported Beth to meet with me at our house in Tibet. We went on a
tour, and she said a lot of wows. Back in the living room and seated,
she said, "But you don't live here?" I said, "I can't. Advanced Monks
in the area know when I'm here. They can feel it, and it distracts
them." She said, "Oh. Do you live on your special planet?" I said, "If
we did, we would be the only ones living there full time. Not much of a
social life. We go there for meetings. We live on Earth. Homes in
different countries. We don't tell where, for safety, and one more
thing. We're nudists. All my group is. Visitors would be
discombobulated a little." She grinned. I said, "And feel very out of
place if they didn't undress." She said, "I see. Here is fine!"
Chuckles.
I said, "Getting married for real?" She said, "We are." I said,
"Plates?" She said, "Brian told me. We would love to have anything from
you, but that's an awful lot." I said, "I hope not really awful." We
shared grins. She said, "We've discussed it. Better if it's not made
public." I nodded. She said, "One of your tests?" I said, "Oh, I'm SO
exposed!" She laughed. I said, "You're known to be friends with me. I
wanted you to think about the dangers that can cause." She nodded. I
said, "You can still have them, and can use them with special guests,
but it's not a good idea to announce that to the world. Had to be your
decision, though." She said, "It is, and we agree." We discussed
patterns and materials. I said, "An extra possible feature. Can be set
to never be damaged." She said, "Oh, I like that!" I said, "Could still
damage what you drop them on, like your toes. How about another
feature? Tracking in case of er, loss." She said, "How would you do
that?" I said, "Computer dongle. Run the app, and it will tell where
all are, and offer to port wandering pieces back home. Guests who take
any, might be a little surprised by the vanishing. If they have the
courage to ask about it, you can say it was a built in feature." She
grinned. I said, "I see you like twisted." She chuckled.
She said, "We want you at the wedding. I know, it's supposed to be
the bride's show, but we're friends. And that's already known, so we
wouldn't be in any more danger from that, and they would expect you to
be there, and might think poorly of you if you weren't." I said, "Don't
do that!" She said, "Don't do what?" I said, "Don't argue so
effectively." She laughed." I said, "After the ceremony, I'll port in
and bless it, and we hug, and I port away. That's if the Priest agrees
with it." She said with a strange smile, "That was his suggestion." I
said, "Interesting. At the reception, if there's dancing, I'll port in
for one dance with you." She said, "Will be now! We'll take lessons."
We grinned and hugged. It happened as we had planned, but with a little
extra. In our hugs after the blessing, they both kissed me. Great
wedding.
I asked for time on Al Jazeera's TV network. I said to the Manager,
"There is still some noise about the Prophet approving of child
molestation. I want to show that it's not so." He wanted to know how I
would do that, and I told him. We did the show, with him as the host.
He said in Arabic, "Solomon has asked for this time, and he is here
with us now." I said, "When Stephen, my father, became able to see the
past, he asked Allah for advice. That was if he should research the
lives of the founders of the world's greatest religions, and make that
public. A part of the answer was that he was not to do that for The
Prophet. I have not asked, myself, but I feel that I should respect
what was decided then. However, that leaves an important and
controversial subject without necessary facts to enable valid
conclusions to be made regarding it. Many people believe that The
Prophet, because he had a child as one of his wives, that he approved
of and engaged in sex with a child. I have researched the life of that
wife. Is the result of it desired to be known to the public?"
The host said, "I think so. We should know." I said, "The Prophet did
not have a sexual relationship with any child, and that includes that
particular wife. It was a political marriage. Here is who she was then,
as the marriage was taking place. I can show this because The Prophet
wasn't present during the ceremony. Of his immediate family, only one
of his wives was there." The host said, "There are some today who use
that marriage as justification to believe that it is permissible for
men to have sex with children." I said, "That is what they want to
believe, but it is NOT true. It didn't happen, so they must not believe
there is any justification for having sex with a child." He said, "That
is true for girls. What about for sex with boys?"
I said, "It was a common practice then, and throughout history, that
slaves were used for sex, and that included boys. And that still
happens in many places today. In the time of the Prophet, it was
actually expected at some parties of the nobility. Homosexual boys were
positioned under a table, and serviced the men while they ate their
food. It was the custom that the men were to not noticeably react to
what was happening out of sight. Some were not as able to do that as
well as others, causing some little amusement. That was just one way of
using them for sex. I know there will be questions about this,
regarding The Prophet. He did not attend those parties, and did not
approve of them. That caused some of the people in some of the powerful
families to actually disrespect him for that, and his other opinions on
other matters, which included what he said of the Will of Allah. Yes,
it was his disapproval of using children for sex, that partially caused
his persecution."
I said, "Then, as it is now, and will probably always be, many of the
rich or powerful do not care about what is right, or what is holy, but
only about their will, desires, and pleasures. And almost all of that,
involves power over people, and over children the most. It is the duty
of ALL of us in ALL religions, to oppose that. No person should be
abused for the pleasure of another! That is the very basis of sin! No
exceptions are permissible! No adult, no child, not even an animal,
should be abused in any way, sexual or otherwise, for the pleasure of
another!" The host said, "Wow! I did not expect that, but I see how
that should be so. I think that if any do that, they should hope you do
not know of it." I said, "Oh yes! I would not like imposing
consequences, but I will do what I must. I hope all who hear this will
think very carefully about what they might want to do to another.
Desires are not always good. We all have some things in our minds we
are not proud of, that if acted on, would be hurtful to others. Sins.
We must always resist those things, for the good of others, and for the
good of ourselves, and because if we don't, that will cause all who
know of them, from being acted on, to feel the pain of them, including
Allah Himself."
He said in surprise and awe, "I didn't think of that. Well said!" I
said, "I have to think of it, because I feel it personally, and I can
feel that Allah feels it, too. He sees all. How could He not feel all
of that?" He said, "But He does not stop it." I said, "True. He doesn't
stop it. WE must stop it. WE must learn responsibility and goodness.
That is what we are here on Earth to learn. We can't learn that without
temptation. No lesson is real without choices. Allah has given us free
will, so with our choices, we can show what we have learned. We WILL
suffer for bad choices, in this life or after, just as we discipline
our own children, so that they can learn to grow up to be wise, and
this is what Allah, our Father, has set for US, His, children. He has
other children who know Him by other names, and some who don't know of
Him at all, but they are ALL his children, just like we are, and as we
respect and love ourselves, we should respect and love them."
After a pause, the host said, "I have to ask. On other planets, are
there others who are closer to Allah than ourselves on Earth?" I said,
"I must say the truth, always. Are you sure you want to know, and the
public to know?" He gulped, and said, "Yes, please." I said, "If we do
not speak of individuals, but of entire species, humanity is near the
bottom of the list of those people who are close to Allah. But there
are reasons for that. They are older as people, and they have less
natural disasters on their planets, and they have had less interference
by aliens in their past. We don't have that interference now. I and my
group will not allow that. We have less problems from disasters now. In
my opinion, because of all of humanity's past hardships, we have a
greater potential to be one with Allah, than almost all the other
peoples I know of. The worst of us is worse than their worst, but the
best of us, is MUCH better than the best of them. That gives me hope,
and I think it should give you hope, that there are great things for us
in the future, more than there might be for the others out there, but
only if we WORK for it. It won't be easy, but that is as it should be.
What is easy does not make you great. It is overcoming difficulties
that can make greatness. We've had them more than most. Now is our time
to learn from them, and to be who we CAN be, for ourselves, our
children, and for Allah!"
The host said, "Wow!" I said, "I agree. The will of Allah is for us
to improve ourselves to be more like Him in all good ways. That does
not involve forcing people to believe as we do. Force can't do that,
and will only cause harm to all. Allah exists for ALL in the universe.
That will NEVER change, even for people who don't believe that.
Nonbelievers can still be good people who act as Allah wills in
important things, even if they don't believe it is so. Do not give them
anger and hate, but give them love and respect, and maybe a little
amusement at their unknowing acceptance of Allah. Do NOT give to them
cause to hate Islam, but give them cause to love it, by giving them
love and acceptance for their differences and their opinions. Do not be
angered by those who might give what you believe are insults to Islam
or Allah. He is NOT a child, that He is bothered in any way by insults,
and neither should those who follow him. In fact, it is a good thing. I
see you are surprised. For a religion, anything is better than being
ignored." He said, "Oh! I never thought of that!" I said, "The Prophet
thought of those things, and said them, and so have many others. Maybe
someday those things might actually be believed and acted on. There is
but ONE God, even though some know Him by other names. Honor and
respect to ALL people, His creations, is honor and respect to Allah.
Anything less, is dishonor and disrespect to Him."
The host said, "He has named you his Prophet. Is what you have said
here today, speaking for him?" I said, "Yes. I am unable to speak or
act against the Will of Allah. That doesn't mean I can't complain to
Him a little about that sometimes, to His amusement." He said, "Does
this mean you would like to speak against Allah?" I said, "I can't even
think of speaking against Allah, but who likes to be ordered to do
things in the middle of the night, when my wife and I are trying to er,
increase our family?" He laughed. I said, "I'm still a human being. A
person. A man. A husband, a father, a loving son to my mother. Doing
the will of Allah is not always fun, but it is a duty and a privilege
that I cannot deny. It's not all bad, though. To feel his personal love
directly, well, there is nothing better in existence." He said, "Thank
you Solomon, for sharing who you are with us." I said, "It was my duty
and privilege to serve, and er, have embarrassment." He chuckled. Then
we were off air.
I said, "Performance report?" He looked at me strangely. I said, "I'm
the presenter, but you are the only audience member I see now. How else
will I know how effective I have been?" He said, "Now I understand. I
have to say that it must be different for those who hear and see you in
person." I said, "Unfortunately, that's true. I have to restrict my
personal power to allow people near me to use their free will." He
said, "Is that uncomfortable?" I said, "Like wearing clothes that are
much too small. And itch." He chuckled. He said, "I think you said some
very important things, and some of those I have not heard before. I
have no disagreement. I hope that others are the same, but I doubt that
they will change. Words are easy to ignore and forget, heard from a
box, but said with your personal presence, that is not possible." I
said, "Many agree with you, but I can't speak to everybody individually
in person. And if I could, should I? Because of my power, wouldn't that
agreement be made with force, and not with free choice?" He said, "I
don't want to, but I have to agree. I know you can force anybody to
believe what you want them to believe, even whole worlds, with very
little effort, but you will not." I said, "That could be thought of as
a curse. The power to make people be good, but because I am good, I may
not." He had some tears in our hug. I said, "No Prophet has ever
enjoyed being so. They should not be worshiped, but pitied. But if you
ask them, they will say they want only love and personal acceptance.
Yes, you may reveal what I've said here. Now I will go and let my
family embarrass me some more." He had to smile.
And they did embarrass me. Hawk said, "Unusual table manners!" We all
poked him while he was laughing. Mom said, "You said some things I
didn't think of, and didn't expect. Good, though. Your captioning was
accurate and colloquial in English, but I think if you had spoken in
that language, English speakers would have gotten more out of it." I
said, "By prior agreement, I sent a dubbed version to CNN. Used God in
place of Allah, too. Strange, and really stupid, that intolerant people
harp on the different names of God in different languages, to make
believe they are different things. In French, it's "un Dieu", but
people don't say it's a different God. Only in Arabic." Galya said,
"Stupid, yes. But so is the reason why." Galagos said, "I just think
what you said was beautiful." We hugged and kissed him, for which he
didn't complain at all.
Comments were flying all over, from the Arabic version. Then some
digested the subtitles, and there were more comments. Then the next
day, CNN aired it, and that caused even more comments. Most were in the
negative, caused by not understanding what I said, concentrating only
on what they disliked the most. A lot of those were made to change
their minds by people who had understood. Scholars loved it. The
religious authorities were a little confused at first, except for the
Rabbis. As usual, they loved it. Then the Saudi King came out in favor
of what I said, and with a lot of praise. We all think that was to beat
the Ayatollah. It worked. Then the Ayatollah said much the same, but
more. I said with an image to each of them at the same time, after
They laughed. I said, "You two are much more alike than you are
different. If you combine your religious influence into a single united
message, the world would HAVE to pay attention. Will that ever happen?
It could, if you are willing. If and when you want to start that, I can
provide transportation and safety. You know how to yell at, er, reach
me. Have a nice day." They both had some amusement at that.
The rest of the religious authorities expressed support. But the
Baptists, who didn't have a central authority, could only still express
confusion and negativity. Then some in America expressed a lot of pride
that I was an American. Then it got bigger. I asked for some time on
CNN. I said, "Some people are pushing their pride that I'm an American.
I say to them, don't do that. It isn't right to be proud of an accident
of birth. I didn't choose to be born an American. Actually, I didn't
choose to be born at all. Not that I'm complaining about that. And
there is something else about that pride. I do not favor one country
over any other, and the public doesn't know where I live, or even where
I spend the most time. My family has homes in many places, including on
other worlds. If I am made to think that being in America would be
unfair to other countries, I would have to leave, and ask to be a
citizen of other countries to balance that. That kind of unnecessary
inconvenience could cause me to have less available time to help
people, including Americans."
I said "Some might think that because I use much of my work in
America for er, exposure on CNN, that I value America more than other
countries. They might want to rethink that. What shows of me in action
in America, in broadcasts, is often the worst of America, not the best.
You might not want to remind people about that." Don had to laugh. I
said, "I see that Don has just realized this." He said, "I have, and
unexpectedly so. I know, good." We grinned at each other. I said, "I
use CNN a lot, because I think they're very good, and unbiased. Al
Jazeera, too. And after all this time, they know how to work with me. I
know some might want to know if I actually consider myself to be an
American. I do. I have to. I'm a citizen. I didn't choose that myself,
but being a citizen, I'm loyal to its laws and principles, while I'm in
the country. That applies to when I'm in ANY country, the same way.
While I might not be officially a citizen, I act as if I am, because I
feel that I am of them, too. When you're out in the galaxy, the
perspective there is not national, but of entire worlds. And more, like
galaxies, when I'm working in different dimensions. I feel, and I act
this way, that I'm not just of America, but of ALL nations, ALL worlds,
ALL galaxies, ALL dimensions. I am for all of you, for all sentient
beings in creation. My students come from all over. So does my family.
We actually like that. Don, what do you think of those of my group who
have fur?" He grinned and said, "I love all of your group that I've
met, but I have to admit that those of them with fur are very pleasant
to hug." I said, "Is that all?" He said, "I might say more, but only
after my spouse hugs them." I said, "You mean, after you pry them
apart?" He had to laugh.
I looked into the active camera and said, "Don's producer is asking
him to ask me if I would be available to interview people here. I'm
tempted to agree to that, if I could interview those who work here
first. Oh, you can't hear it, but those in the control room are NOT
terribly enthusiastic about that." Don said, "True," between laughing.
I said, "There is news. Shall I report it?" Don said, "Please." I
said, "There has been a bomb threat made for the French embassy in
Madrid Spain. I have scanned the building and grounds, and there IS a
bomb, a real one, there, which I have disarmed. I've informed their
security people of that, and they are, if not deliriously happy about
that, quite relieved that it won't explode now. I've given them time
research information about it. No, I won't reveal that here. That's
their decision, for their own legal reasons. I think they might be
releasing a statement about the incident soon, when they recover from
the er, excitement." Don said, "From the excitement of the bomb, or
your involvement in it?" I said, "Yes." He chuckled. I said, "Here's an
exterior view of the building." He said, "A lot of police cars." I
said, "Yes. Brave of the officers, as expected." He said, "And the
staff?" I said, "I don't think I should show that." He said, "I
understand." I said, "They are carrying out the bomb parts. I think if
they knew they were on live television, they might have chosen
different words with which to express their feelings." Don laughed. I
said, "I've asked of those in the Embassy if they would like to comment
it was a good one. I thanked him. I said, "Reporting on the incident is
now closed. No, I will NOT work here." Chuckles. Don said, "Thank you,
Solomon, for being here." I said, "I can report that I say you're
welcome." He chuckled.
END Page
--
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Grant
|
|