Solomon's Private File #380
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 32 in this story, in the Winter of 2058-2059.
Solomon's Private File #380 "Play Misty For Them"
START Page
Two new patents hit the news in a big way. One from a research and
intellectual property company, and one from a student at CalTech. The
first one was the energy storage patent, by a team of people. There was
talk that it would revolutionize everything, but be expensive to make
at first. Then the new patent for fusion showed up, and that was
expected to revolutionize more everything. Or something like that. I
was asked to do a show. I had Misty with me. John was the host, and
introduced us. I said, "A minute. Misty's family is asking to join us.
May they?" He said, "Producer says fine." I said to Misty, "In a
minute. You know Dak and shoes." She laughed. I ported them in, and we
all stood and hugged. I introduced them and ported in more chairs.
I said to Dak, "All the people at home are very able to count all
your teeth, you're showing them so much." He laughed hard. I said to
John, "A replacement for Hawk, if needed." Grins. John said, "Have you
met this family before?" I said, "Let's let Misty tell it." We all
looked at her. I said, "Yes, you can say something now." She grinned,
and said, "Last July 6th, I was in my home basement lab, just about to
turn on a new experiment, when Solomon appeared. I was so surprised, I
didn't know how to react. He told me to not start it, that it shouldn't
be run in a regular neighborhood. Then Rose appeared, and they said
they would talk to my parents. They vanished, and the doorbell rang."
Dak was jumping up and down in his seat, so I said to him, "Your part
now." He said, "I opened the door, and I was so surprised I couldn't
say anything. Solomon poked me a little, and I jumped and ran inside
yelling 'Solomon wants to come in!' Mom didn't believe me, but she had
to when she went to the door herself." Grins. I said, "We went in and
sat with the family."
Misty said, "Solomon said Rose had a charity that gives scholarships
to people like me, and they wanted me to have one, and to work on my
projects at CalTech. My parents agreed to that. He ported us there,
with my experiments, and they were waiting for me in the lab! They even
had a room in the dorm ready for me!" Her father said, "We signed the
scholarship contract right then. Who wouldn't?" Grins. Misty said,
"They let me do anything I wanted to there, which was great. No problem
with money. Sky's the limit, they said. I told them I didn't want the
sky, just the equipment." Laughter. John said, "Too much contact with
Solomon?" She grinned, and said, "I only had a few minutes with him,
but I think it did help with my humor. I'm really not complaining." I
said, "But they did complain. You weren't getting enough rest." She
said, "Yes. They asked you to tell me that. It worked." Chuckles. Her
mother said to me, "Thank you." I said, "You're welcome."
I said, "I'll take the story now, so she doesn't embarrass herself
too much. I sure do know that feeling well!" Chuckles. I said, "She
astounded them with her brilliance. Oh, I love saying these things,
instead of hearing them." Chuckles. I said, "And she embarrassed them
with what they hadn't thought of before. These were some of the
smartest physicists in the world. She TAUGHT them. They built what she
designed, not believing what they were doing would work. And then they
had to, when it worked. They still haven't quite figured out how."
Misty grinned widely. John asked her, "Do you know how it works?" She
said, "I do, but I don't know how to explain it so they will
understand. It's like they just can't see it. They keep saying it can't
work like that, and I just point to it working, and they get very
frustrated." They tried not to grin.
John said to me, "Can you tell them how it works?" I said, "I would
have the same problem. With minds that are set to think a certain way,
changing that is very difficult, and it can only be done usefully by
the owners of those minds. If they want to work at it. Misty's fusion
generator DOES work, and well, but it can't be used until those who
would manufacture and operate it, understand how it works. Anything
involving power production is VERY dangerous, if not used with full
understanding, and the resulting created safety protocols."
He said, "You tried to explain this to us before, a number of times,
most notably with the antigravity issue. I think it's more real to us
now, why you can't give us advanced technology. We can't even
understand what one of our own people has invented! Did you help her
with this?" I said, "With her invention and education? Not at all,
except as was discussed here. Nor did any others of my group. Misty did
it all on her own. A truly remarkable achievement." He said, "It IS!
Oh, I'm being asked to ask you, Misty, did you learn anything that
helped you, from Solomon's actions shows on TV?" She said, "Oh, did he
show something I should have seen?" John tried to hide his reaction to
that, and said, "The fusion in the spaceship?" She said, "Oh, that. No,
that was useless. You can't really make something completely new, from
what other people did, and REALLY not if they haven't explained it to
you. Staring at a picture of it is a big stupid waste of time. I'm not
going to be like THAT!" I said, "Bravo!" We went to break.
Her parents were looking at her with adoration, making Misty more
embarrassed. I just grinned like Dak did. We nodded to each other. Back
from break, I said, "That this is remarkable, is a tragedy." John said,
"I know what you mean. It shouldn't be as rare as it is." I said, "Most
educational systems stifle creativity. Some, deliberately, in some
parts of the world. And where there are almost NO opportunities at all
for an advanced education, the children suffer in ignorance. It's worse
for girls. In many parts of the world, they are actually prevented from
having a good education! There are girls in our scholarship program who
wouldn't have even gone to high school, if we hadn't helped them. Many
of their parents just won't believe that girls can be that smart. I
think Misty has proved THAT wrong. Some of our other scholarship
students will, too. We're not doing this show to make anybody famous,
but to show the world what COULD be, for a lot of children, if we work
to make that happen. The children of the world are the future of
humanity! Let's not hold them back, but to help raise them up, so they
can lead us to the brightest future possible!" There were some wows
before we went to break.
Producer said in the air, "You KNOW we're going to replay THAT a
lot!" I said, "Good." Nods. Back from break, John asked me, "What do
you know about the new battery patent?" I just grinned. He said, "Oh,
right. You know everything. You knew Misty was going to do this, when
we asked you!" I said, "Yes." He said, "I understand why you didn't
tell us. It could have made it not happen, interrupting the process." I
said, "Absolutely correct." He said, "So, how does this new battery
work?" I said, "It's not technically a battery, but something like a
variable discharge capacitor. It stores electricity not as chemical
energy as a battery does, but as electrical potential, a manipulation
of physics. More than that isn't in the patent." He said, "Is that
invention known in the galaxy?" I said, "Actually, no, not exactly as
it is here. This is another reason to try not to copy others. We can do
it better on our own!" He said, "Wow!" I said, "We can do that, too."
Chuckles. I said, "We have more creativity than any other intelligent
species I know of. We should NOT waste ANY of it!"
Misty said, "Solomon, can you help me to get in touch with the people
who invented that?" I said, "You don't know how tempted I am to tell
you that's a good idea you're thinking of, but I shouldn't say that."
She laughed well, and the others looked at us in wonder. I said, "I'll
have to ask them. They might not be ready to talk about it." She said,
"Thank you." John said, "A lot of patents are more about ideas than
actual workable things. Is that one real?" I said, "It is. I just
asked, and have permission to say that prototypes have been made, and
are working as expected. Expensive. We can make energy, and store it
efficiently now, or will when it's better understood, but there is
still a primitive weak link in the chain." John said, "Yes, there is.
We have only one way to create a large amount of electricity from other
forms of energy, and that's through a mechanical system, a generator,
which is like an electrical motor in reverse. They're very expensive,
and have to be maintained."
Misty said, "Fusion creates heat. So does a nuclear reactor. That's
what they're for. They both heat water to make steam, that makes
turbine blades spin to cause a generator shaft to rotate to make the
electricity. Even with all that advanced technology, were's still using
an inefficient steam engine in the middle of our power systems!" John
said, "Well said!" I said, "So, what's needed is a way to turn heat
directly into electricity on a large scale, without using mechanical
systems." John said, "Can it be done?" I said, "You KNOW I'm not going
to say either way." He said, "I do, but I had to ask. Are any working
on it who might succeed?" I said, "Not giving up?" He said, "Well, I'm
being asked." I said, "I'm not going to interfere with the creative
process. Anything I could say about it, could actually cause harm." He
said, "Oh! I should have thought of that. That's why you just enabled
Misty, not coached her." I said, "Right. I'd like to think a few jokes
might have helped." Chuckles, and the show ended.
Misty said, thoughtfully, "Most fusion systems create a plasma.
to all be quiet, and leave the studio. In another room, I said, "Want
something good with what she's cooking, don't stir the pot." Hawk said
in the air, "Good one!" I said, "Thanks. That was Hawk." Grins. Her
mother said, "She really IS a genius!" I said, "And not a one shot
wonder. The inventor of the workable television was a teenage farm boy.
He lost the patent wars, so he couldn't make money off of it, but he
went on to invent the scanning electron microscope, and other, er, good
stuff, including fusion." John nodded, and said, "Farnsworth." I said,
"Not a reincarnation." He was embarrassed, and said, "Oh." Grins.
I said, "Misty just asked to be ported to her lab. Practically
demanded, actually. I know she didn't say goodbye, but I think you
understand." Family grinned and nodded. I said to Dak, "You said she
would be famous. Feels good to be right?" He said, "It does! Can I ask
you a question?" I said, "You can, and more than one." He said, "Is it
okay if I don't wear clothes in my room?" His mother said, "Dak!" I
said to her, "May I answer him?" She clearly didn't want me to, but
said, "Yes." I said to him, "Does it bother you if your family sees you
with no clothes on?" He said, "No. I don't know why it should. They
know what I look like. They gave me baths when I was little." I said,
"Do you change your clothes in your room?" He said, "I do." I said,
"So, there IS a time there, that you have nothing on. Isn't that
right?" He said, thoughtfully, "That's right." I said, "So it's just
not possible for you to have clothes on all the time, there." He said,
"True." I said, "So, if you spend a little more time in selecting the
new clothes to wear, that shouldn't be much of a problem, would it?" He
said, "I think so. But a long time?" I said, "It depends on how slow
"Oh. I understand."
I said to his parents, "It's not wise to make rules that are
impossible to enforce, and for things that cause no harm." They looked
thoughtful. Dak said, "I want this to be on TV. A lot of my friends
want to, and can't. I want to help them." I said, "Teach them about
buttons?" He grinned, and said, "They already know how to do that!" I
said, "There is something else you want, that you haven't said. Do you
plan to surprise your mother with that?" He said, "Oh. Do I have to say
it?" I said, "You know it would be fair to do that." He said, "Yes.
When my friends visit. They don't like to wear clothes, too." I said to
the parents, "In my group, boys and girls aren't allowed in each
other's bedrooms. When they meet other genders at home, it's in common
said, "Announce that?" I said, "Depends on what goes with it, yes. I
should say something, because you know I WILL be asked. Those in my
group see all around us, inside and out, all the time. Clothes can't
hide anything from us, so we don't care about wearing them or not in
our homes. And hugs are ever so much better without clothes coming
between us." Dak said, "That's true!"
His mother said, "How do you know that?" He said, "We all know that.
Sleepovers. We hug. Great way to sleep. You KNOW you're with a friend
then. YOU know that. You and Dad sleep together. It's not because you
hate each other! Oh, I know about sex. You sure can't do it while
you're sleeping! Don't you want the rest of us to feel so good to sleep
in a hug?" She said, "Wow!" I said to them, "You know, there's more
than one kind of genius. Some can't be measured in regular tests.
Social wisdom, for instance. Some just have it." Dak said to me, "I
know you do it. You're smarter than us. You have to know it." His
father said, "Do you?" I said, "Those of my group are different from
most people. A VERY small minority. Some hate us, and want to kill us
for who we are. We can FEEL that. That makes us VERY lonely, and as
children, a least a little afraid. More so at night in the dark. NONE
of us EVER sleeps alone. We, who as children in our school, can all
have our own bedrooms, don't want to be alone in them. It just doesn't
feel right. Incomplete. Even hostile. But with a friend, it's none of
those things. And in a hug, there is no negative thought, but love and
care for your friend. You KNOW you are safe from all the bad of the
world." Dak said through his tears in my hug, "That's really TRUE!"
There was not a dry eye in the room. Father said, "What about sex?" I
said, "I know what you mean. It can happen. Mutual masturbation, or
contests, usually. It's aways been happening. It can't be stopped.
Better they don't have to hide it. For boys, well, at the age where
they might want to do it with each other, before they're attracted to
girls, how long could it take?" He grinned, and said, "Right. Five
minutes doesn't make much of a visit." I said, "Versus hours of
companionship and hugging?" He said, "I understand." I said, "One more
thing. Sleepovers, and other visits, should be with a variety of kids.
It's for sharing friendships, not possessiveness or jealousy." Nods.
Dak said, "Yes, We found that out. We have rules." I said, "You set
them up, didn't you." He said, "Er, ah, a little." I said, "Good for
you!" He really didn't hate that. His mother said, "What you said about
social awareness about him. I have to agree. I already loved him, but
to have such respect for him, so young, well, I don't know what to
say." He hugged her, and they both had tears.
Father said to me, "Would you share this?" I said, "Only with the
issue resolved for your home. No incompletes here. I don't want to
frustrate people, unless on purpose." Parents looked at each other, and
the father said, "It's a new world, and a new generation. We shouldn't
hold them back. We will allow the no clothes request, but everybody
must be dressed at the dinner table." Dak said, "No clothes in the rest
of the house, too?" Father said, "Restricting it to just one room seems
a little silly. What if you have to go to the bathroom? Have to put
clothes on to step out of your room to walk a few meters? I don't want
you to think we're that stupid to require that." Dak said, "Wow!" I
said, "You would say more than that, if you had no clothes on, and you
spilled hot soup in your lap." He said, "Oh! I really don't want to do
that!" I said, "And don't even think about dropping a knife." He said,
"Ouch!" I said, "Not yet." He giggled. I said, "When you cook, and you
really should learn to do that, wear something, usually an apron. There
are some things you REALLY don't want to fry." He laughed. I said,
"Keeping yourself clean is very important. When you aren't covered up,
dirt really shows. Don't play with your friends in the bathroom. If you
aren't alone in there, be VERY careful. One fall the wrong way can
actually kill you. That almost happened to my father in his first
modern Stephen incarnation. Cracked his skull on the corner of a sink,
slipping on a pencil on the floor. Yes, two in the bath or shower can
be fun, and saves time and water, but you have to be VERY careful.
said, "I know all, remember?" He said, "Oops!" Chuckles. I said, "Out
of respect for others, no sexual things outside of the bedroom." He
nodded. He said, "Friendly kissing?" I said, "Sure! Wherever you want
to be friendly. My people do that so much, we could almost recognize
people by their lip prints." Chuckles.
I said, "There is one more thing. Something can make all this very
bad, and hurt people terribly. Don't lie. That doesn't just kill
relationships, it murders them. And lies damage your mind over time,
and can even make you a little insane, then. PLEASE don't do that!" He
said, "Wow! I didn't know that. I promise." I said, "And if a friend
wants you to keep something private and secret, where it doesn't hurt
somebody, you should, out of respect for him, and so he will be that
way to you. If a friend doesn't want to undress, respect that, and his
privacy. Never do anything to anybody, you wouldn't want them to do to
you, because they probably will. For anything personal you want to do
to somebody, ask them first, and if they say no, respect that, as you
want them to respect your decisions about yourself. Be smart, and share
how smart you are, with love." He hugged me, and said, "I will, I
promise." I said, "Your parents are smart, and they love you. Listen to
them. You know if they have problems they would want to ask me about,
they will." I said to all there, "You know I will always love you." I
hugged them all. I gave recordings to the producer.
I said, "Ready to port home?" They were, and then we were there. Dak
reached for his shirt, and I said, "No, no undressing in a public area.
People find that distracting, and they can trip over the clothes we
KNOW you will leave lying around." He grinned, and ran upstairs. Mother
said to me, "Good one! This is so new. I didn't think of that." I said,
"You would have, soon, with some significant irritation." Chuckles. I
said, "You can talk to me any time. I know all, so I know when you want
to do that, even before you say it. Yes, it's hard to understand that,
even with my group. May I show this action to the President of LDS?" He
said, "I should have asked you to do that. Yes, please." I said,
"Thanks. I should leave before I have to defend myself from a bare
naked tackle." Grins, and I shifted out.
By appointment, I shifted to the office of the President of LDS, and
said, "Got an action for your review." He read the crystal, and grinned
widely, and said, "My grandchildren are already doing that. I don't
understand what's causing it." I said, "Internet, and the resulting
reduction in body modesty. A lot of sharing going on, and that I know
and see all, a real person they have no secrets from, not like God that
can't be as real to them. Why bother to cover up when you don't need
to? And then there's the hugs. Starting with the first Stephen, with
his supercharged hugs, and with all the rest of my group being
something like it, and all the publicity with my hugs, they're being
valued and used all the more with regular people. That body closeness
doesn't like barriers. And kids are actually more logical with social
conventions than they ever will be as adults. They know what's stupid.
And they do have an urge to rebel, to be different from their parents."
He said, "You've explained it well. Thank you. May I have a recording
of this I can share?" I gave him some. I offered to hug, and he
grinned, and came into my arms. I said, "You know I know what you were
thinking." He said, "Yes. Grateful we weren't naked." Grins, and I
shifted out.
I met with the Pope, and gave him a crystal. He said, "Inevitable.
You're making a more sane society." I said, "A little, in a few places.
Western Europe is already like that, just not making noises about it.
Muslim countries aren't in line with this. Who knows, they may make it
swing back the other way." Her said, "Still going to be interesting.
More with your meeting with the Ayatollah." I said, "You peeked!"
Grins, and a hug. I did meet with the Grand Ayatollah. He read the
crystal, and said, "Oh! We aren't going to do that!" I said, "Pope knew
that." He grinned, and said, "Seeing us in order, I see. Will it happen
with us?" I said, "Eventually, yes. All those love broadcasts will add
up. Someday almost all people will feel good about being nice to each
other. More will be psionic to a level where clothes don't hide
anything. The mouth can lie, not so the body. There will be more truth
in the world, and love and respect. Is all that really such a bad
thing?" He sighed, and said, "No, it isn't. We will try to not rule
against it." I said, "I couldn't even ask for that. No force." He said,
"You make us do it to ourselves. The Solomon Effect." I said, "And I
didn't say anything bad. How could you do that to me!" He laughed. We
stood, I said, "Oh, alright. This time." We grinned into our hug.
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