Solomon's Private File #187
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 23 in this story, in the Summer of 2049.
Solomon's Private File #187 "Recordings Revealed"
START Page
There were a lot of comments about my actions regarding the meteor.
Most against me didn't last, but some Conservatives really tore into
the Liberals in power about it, and me, too. I said in a statement, "It
may be unwise for the Conservatives to condemn the Liberals for what
happened with the Meteor. The public may remember who had the loudest
voices in Congress in favor of shooting missiles at it, which caused it
to be aimed at the worst possible spot on Earth. You could say that the
aiming was unintentional, and that is true, but I told you all it would
make things worse if you tried. All of you shared in what happened. For
both sides, it would be better to be politically silent on this issue,
than try to point inaccurate fingers, thereby reminding the public how
foolish and irresponsible you ALL were, and still are." That caused
mostly dead silence among the noisiest. Media loved what I said, if not
so much the silent reaction. Earned me a lot of extra hugs and kisses
at home, though.
I said to Mom, "Watching Saudi family?" She said, "Yes. I think I
know what you want. Me at the women's meeting." I said, "You KNOW you
responsibility. They're yours. Expect me to bust in much less than you
have." She growled and poked me, while I had to laugh like Hawk would,
and did. She ported to the meeting at the right time. It went very
well. Near the end, she was asked if I approved of her being there. She
laughed, and said, "Solomon is the leader of my group not because he is
a man. He was the leader after Stephen died, while still a child,
leading old men who followed him willingly. Even then, he was the
wisest, most knowledgable, and the most powerful of us. Among us, the
best leads, because that is the most intelligent and wise thing for us.
We're definitely not stupid! Who want's even the second best decisions
for all? He didn't want to lead, but even though we pushed him into it,
he knew it had to be. He's even less stupid than we are. But you are
correct in a different way. While he is part of an action, he rules.
Unless he steps aside and acts as a teacher and supervisor. He is doing
that more now, because we've been learning a lot from him. My brother
Hawk is in charge in Pakistan. I have been so here, before that, after
Sol started it. Yes he watches. We all do that for each other, and we
like it. It's part of our love for each other. And one more thing. We
like being proud of each other for jobs well done. Another part of
Sol's wisdom is he wouldn't do this unless he knew we could and would
do all he would do, except maybe not with his kind of humor. Nobody can
duplicate that!" Chuckles.
When she came back home, we all hugged and kissed her with love. I
said, "Great work!" She said, "Going to be more." I said, "And you're
going to WANT to do it." She said, "I know. It's like a thirst." I
said, "Yes. We all have it, but you being in the open, you can more
easily do something about it. Blue crabs and four-arms weren't enough
for you. This is the next step. And it's good for US, too. You two are
in the open, but you haven't done much they knew about. It's good that
they know you as the VERY good and caring very capable people you are,
and for you, not just my pushy mother and terrorizer of Captains." They
looked at me strangely. She nodded and said, "Like you manage your
work, you manage us the same way." I said, "Not exactly, because I
don't tell them all the reasons, but with the same principles, yes.
Well, I sure can't hide much from you super geniuses. Like you said,
it's my job."
Mom said, "Is Kam going to become enlightened? I just grinned. She
growled and poked me, and Kam laughed in the air. I said to Mom, "When
did you discover I was enlightened?" She said, "Oh! How early?" I said,
"Here's what awakened me." I showed them the incident in summer camp,
and what happened with the other encounters with the then former bully.
She said, "Wow!" I said, "I deliberately held myself back. It wasn't
who I thought I should be then. I felt I had to become an actual
leader, and an adult, first." Galya said, "Was that feeling all yours?"
I said, "Right. I don't know." More wows. Mom said, "So, reading
between your lines, Kam will be enlightened when she thinks it's the
right time to be?" I said, "Not up to me." She nodded. We had a lot of
love to share.
Kam said to me, shielded, "Suggestions?" I said, "She needs some
anger management. Holding her back." She said, "Got it. Will do. She'll
figure it out." I said, "She'll know what you're doing even before
that. Well, it's your job. She knows who you are, even less than she
knows me. Even when she awakens, that won't change much." She said,
"And I'll have to come out then." I said, "Your choice." She said,
"People are beginning to wonder. I'm the Buddhist of the family. Why
you first? But they haven't actually said it yet. I think Rhamcha knows
at least a little of this." I said with a grin, "But he won't
understand why you're holding back, no matter how much you explain it.
Not something he can wrap his mind around." She said, "Yes. Just not
part of his reality. Who's going to get there first?" I said, "I don't
laughed and exchanged love. She said, "Abbot of Mindrolling died. I'm
going there now."
A big thing hit the news. One of Dad's copies of the recordings of
part of the real history of Jesus he gave to some leaders of religions,
made it to the public, via all being posted on the internet. Being that
it contradicted what was in the Bible, it caused quite an uproar.
People were accusing people all over, of doing it to cause trouble. I
was asked to a CNN show about it. The celeb interviewer said, "Solomon,
what do you know about how these recordings were made public?" I said,
"My father originally gave them to the then Dalai Lama in Tibet, with
the life of The Buddha, for study. The Dalai Lama then gave a copy to
the then Pope, causing some interesting times at the Vatican. He gave
more copies to other leaders of religions, to make it fair. All had
agreed to keep them private. And they have, but that is a little
difficult to enforce after the death of one who had custody." He said,
"So it wasn't a religious leader who released it?" I said, "Correct. It
was a lay person who released the recordings, but not completely
intentionally. He shared them with some other people in confidence. Two
of them did the releasing, anonymously." He said, "But you know who
they are." I said, "I can trace objects back in time, so I know what
happened. No, I'm not going to say who. It was not a crime."
He said, "Yes. You have to be fair." I said with a smile, "But I
don't have to be reminded of that." Chuckles. He said, "Do you think
the release will cause problems?" I said, "It's caused a lot of noise,
but beyond that, I doubt there will be any real problems about it.
People who are interested in seeing it, will, and might discuss it.
People who don't want to see it, who will probably be the people who
are unable to believe it, may want to condemn it, but that won't cause
any problems. People won't change what they believe, either way.
Scholars have known about this, and much more, for centuries, and
people haven't changed what they believe, so why would they change
now?" He said, "Would it make a difference if they did?" I said, "Most
people need a religion to give their lives meaning, and most of those
need to worship something in it. If any man is deserving of admiration
and worship, Jesus is. I see no harm in that, if they worship him as
they know him. The trappings of ritual and religion aren't needed to do
that, but if they find comfort in that as well, who can object to that?
Well, as long as their religious leaders actually follow the teachings
of Jesus, which does NOT include violence, prejudice, and hate, in
thought or deed in any way." He said, "Profound statements. Let's go to
break while I think about them."
I said, "I know. You didn't expect me to be so nice about this." He
looked at me strangely, and tried not to smile. I said, "But I packed
more into what I said than might be immediately obvious. Here's a
printout." I handed him a paper. He read it a few times, and said,
"Oh!" Back on air, he said, "You mentioned no thought or deed of
violence. What of what Jesus did to the money changers?" I said, "He
didn't preach that people should do that. For him, it was to add
emphasis to what he told his followers. They had a little problem in
seeing his er, point. Want me to explain what the whole thing was
about?" He said, "Please!"
I said, "It parallels what caused in part the Reformation, much later
in history. Worship at the Temple in Jerusalem involved making
sacrifices. Yes, they killed animals in prayer to God. That may be
barbaric to us now, but in the Bible, it was required, as was giving
animals to the Priests to be forgiven for sins. That's actually where
some of the animals were supposed to have come from. Unfortunately,
because of the Roman influence and laws, the practice of giving Priests
animals for absolution was in decline. During Passover each year, there
were a lot of Jews coming to er, town, to the Temple, which was the
semi official custom. Most couldn't bring their own animals for
sacrifice there, but they could purchase them at the Temple. If they
had the right coins that were all the Priests would accept. So there
were the money changers to provide that service. They charged a
commission. Well, that was their livelihood, being not part of the
Priesthood. The problem with that for most people was that the
commission was high, because the Temple took a large part of it for
themselves. That's what people objected to. It was like a Temple tax,
for people who could afford it the least. They, and the changers, were
making too much money, growing fat off of poor worshipers. To Jesus,
that was wrong, but he had a little problem with convincing some people
of that. They didn't understand how much money was involved. Well, he
sure showed them! He tipped their tables over, and all the coins in the
jars came flowing out in gushing shiny rivers, causing a LOT of poor
people to notice who really had what, and how much. He didn't do it in
anger. It wasn't violence to him. He was exposing an injustice in a
most graphic way."
I said, "You know me. I HAVE to love what he did. And that it annoyed
the stuffed shirts in authority, all the better." He laughed and said,
"I do know. Yes." I said, "More. Peter was horrified at what Jesus had
done, and practically dragged him out of there in a hurry. Yes, they
were human beings, and so not completely without their own individual
er, issues. Peter was usually very concerned about appearances, while
Jesus was least concerned about that." He said, "So you've studied this
in your own time research?" I said, "Yes, I've studied this. I knew I
would have to comment on this some day, for one reason or another.
Seems I was right." He said with a smile, "Yes you were! Fascinating!
You tell these things so well." I said, "Thanks. Want to know why?" He
said with interest, "Yes." I said, "I have to listen to what I say. I
might as well make it as I like it." He said, "Logical, but that's not
all. You like to teach, and you always have to do your best." I said,
"Are you supposed to be that smart?" Silence, while his face did some
interesting things. I said, "Ha! Gotcha! Let's go to break so you can
recover." We did, his producer laughing in his earpiece.
I grinned the whole time in the break. Back, he said, "Have you
researched his whole life?" I said, "Yes, I've researched the whole
life of Jesus." He said, "Are you going to make any more of that
public?" I said, "Making public the life of a founder of a religion, or
even any revered historical person, is a very sensitive issue, mostly
because history, as written by those who revere them, is ALWAYS
severely upgraded, to make them even more important. So much so, those
who actually knew them, would find it difficult to recognize who it
was. Even things that were written by outsiders were changed by
followers when they could. Where it would severely upset people to be
told the truth, and where belief in false history doesn't cause any
real harm, I am reluctant to act where it isn't necessary. What I DO
oppose is when that false history and belief system is mandated to be
in government public education, or that government should in any way
pay for that in private schools. God does NOT support people being made
to believe in Him, or in any of His religions. They must choose of
their own free wills, without force, government law, or persuasion."
I said to the camera, "If your religion isn't good enough to show
through you how good it is, to attract people to it, then there is
something wrong with your religion, or with YOU. Show by who you are as
the example they should follow, and if you do it well in representing
your religion and God, by your charity and love, they will follow you
to your religion and to God. Treat people badly, or show them by who
you are that you don't follow the basic principles of your own
religion, you show them that your falsely claimed religion is bad, and
they will not join it. I think I will always wonder why people don't
see this. It's SO simple! Treat other people as you would want them to
treat you. I originated that concept as it was known in the land of
Jesus, in one of my best lives, and Jesus knew it and lived it. If you
would follow him, you must do the same." I signaled break, and we went.
He said, "Wow!" I said, "I agree. Bad enough they don't want the
truth, but to ignore what they DO think they know, and still call
themselves Christians, really annoys me!" He said, "I have to say it,
me too." I said, "Oh oh, one of the crew is Jewish, and is talking." He
grinned. Back on air, he said, "That golden rule. The man who is
credited with originating it is Hillel." I said, "In modern times,
known as Hillel the Elder. His history is well known, if a little er,
upgraded." He said, "You would know of him very well." I said, "Yes."
He said, "Alright, were you Hillel?" I said, "Hillel was one of my best
lives, few though they were in number. And this is not unknown among
the Jewish community." He said, "We've suspected it here, too. What was
upgraded?" I said, "His age was changed to equal that of Moses. I died
at 98, not 120. That was mostly it." He said, "He is considered one of
the greatest teachers of all time." I said, "In my opinion, it's only
because he is more known. Practically everybody on Earth owes a lot of
what success they have, to their teachers. And almost all of them are
unknown to history, who were every bit as good, or great if you will,
as any of the best known and revered. You know I have to be fair." He
said, "I do, and I have to agree with you. But you will never convince
me, and many others, that Hillel wasn't extra special." I said with a
smile, "I wouldn't try." He said, "We're out of time. Thank you
Solomon, for this very interesting evening!" I said, "I live to, well,
I have to say it, to teach." They showed his grin in the last shot.
Off air, I said, "I owe who I am in this life, mostly to that life,
the best of all my lives. Yes, you can say I said that." The producer,
who had come in and heard that, said, "We'll research that life, you
can bet on it!" I said, "Of course, and you'll be all the better for
it, believe me. You thought you tricked me into revealing it? Oh,
they're laughing up a storm back home." Chuckles. I hugged them all
with love.
Back home, Ivanna was waiting for me, with a big hug and kiss. After
she allowed me to recover, she said, "I've been waiting for you to say
that for a LONG time!" I said, "I know. Had to wait for the right time.
Great contrast after telling of one of my worst lives, and that Jesus
was the subject, it fit perfectly." She said, "Why?" I said, "Jesus
preached what Hillel lived and taught. And he knew that." She said,
END Page
--
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Grant
|
|