Solomon's Private File #384
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 33 in this story, in the Spring of 2059.
Solomon's Private File #384 "A Wing And A Prayer"
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I was at a news conference in the big fight club with my opponent,
who was all covered with scars. His was a tall skinny bat-like form,
covered with short brown fur, with arms and leathery wings, just like
me, and the other people of that world. A reporter said to me, "You
don't have any scars. You haven't fought before?" I said, "There are
three possible reasons why a person who is to fight, is without scars.
It could be he hasn't fought like this before. Or he's an exceptional
healer. Or he's so good he hasn't been injured in his fights." He said,
"So which one is it for you?" I said, "I'm hoping for the last two, but
the first one is true now." One said, "So you've never fought before.
He's going to kill you!" I said with a smile, "Oh, do you predict the
future? Who's going to win the next election? Should other people not
buy lottery ticks now?" Chuckles. One said, "He's never lost!" I said,
"Well, he's never fought me. Record might change. If Mr. Fortune Teller
here is wrong." Chuckles.
That one said, "Why are you fighting? You don't have to. You can take
back what you said." I said, "I can't change what's true, even if the
legal system is against it. Rich men bought it. Grungit bought most of
it himself, and look what he's done with it." He said, "You could have
hired a proxy like he did." I said, "I will NOT pay another man, a
desperate penniless man, to die for me! That's disgusting! And
cowardly. I fight my own fights, and live or die by my own hand. And
feet. And wings. And eyes. And really by my mouth." Chuckles. One said,
"How can you joke at a time like this?" I said, "Very well, I hope. I
have to listen to me more than you do. I should like what I say, don't
you think?" Thoughtful nods.
One said, "What is your strategy for the fight?" I said, "I'm not
going to tell you that! I said I haven't fought like this before. I
didn't say I was stupid." Laughter. He said, "Yes. Sorry. Have you
studied his fights?" I said, "I looked at some. There hasn't been much
time." He said, "So you haven't studied them." I said, "That depends of
how you mean that. I never forget anything." He said, "You memorized
them?" I said, "Had to. Happens with everything I experience." One
said, "Do you actually know how to fight?" I said, "I read some books
on it, and how the body works, so I think I know how to fight now." He
said, "How many books?" I said, "Er, all of them about it in the
central library. Film readers are FAST." My opponent said, "You're
lying! That's impossible." I said, "Hold on there. I never lie. That's
what got me into this trouble. Think about it. If I can memorize things
when do we fight?"
Referee said, "In a minute, you strap on your spurs." I looked at the
long metal spikes that would be strapped to my feet, and said, "They
look dangerous!" They laughed. I said, "I mean dangerous to ME, to wear
them. I sure don't want to stab myself by accident before he gets a
chance to do it to me himself. That's almost like cheating. I don't
want them. I won't use them." Ref said, "But you could use them on
him." I said, "He already has his own." He said, "No, I meant if you
wear them, you could attack him with them." I said, "Why would I want
to do that?" He said, "So you could prevent him from killing you." I
said, "I don't want to kill him. I think I should be able to stop him
without hurting him much. That way somebody else can kill him. Er, if
they want to. They shouldn't, though. He seems like a nice person.
Quite likable, actually. Hmm, you're all staring at me. Try blinking?"
Chuckles.
I said, "There's one of you here who's not nice. That's why he's got
a gun with him. If he thinks I might be winning, he's supposed to shoot
me with a poison dart. That man there." I pointed, and the man turned
and ran, and tripped. I said, "Maybe I wasn't in as much danger as I
thought, if he shoots as poorly as he runs. I wonder how well he
flies." Chuckles. He got up, and tripped again. I said, "Let's watch.
Maybe he'll shoot himself. Oh there's the gun. He dropped it. And
himself." Chuckles. One said to me, "How did you know?" I said, "A
person holds his body differently, carrying a weapon. He moves
differently. If he's not used to it, he has to keep stopping his hand
from reaching for it, to make sure it's there. That little jerk is
noticeable. The way he was looking at me, was like he was aiming at me
as a target. I could feel it." Nods. I said, "The kind of gun was a
deduction, from probabilities of why he would want to kill me, and
doing it where something else would be more noticeable." One said, "So
you don't just have a good memory, you have high intelligence as well."
I said, and with gestures, "When I'm up there, it's high. Down here,
it's a little lower." Chuckles.
My opponent said, "You said I was likable. I see it's really you who
are likable." I said, "We all have to live with how and who we are.
Better we like ourselves, than not. Being likable sure helps with that.
I'M not complaining." Grins. One said, "Could that man have actually
killed you?" I said, "All I can say is, not at the moment." Nods. I
said, "If he comes back, we'll see." One said, "Will who hired him,
send another?" I said, "If who we all suspect, did it, then that's a
high probability. He who can buy the law, and people to die or kill for
overlooking him in this." He said, "Accepted. I can hardly believe I
said that. Or anything about this!" I said, "I've felt something
similar for a week. A person is to be killed, legally, or illegally,
for saying the truth that all know? Who could believe that could happen
in a civilized society? And it's to happen to ME, who doesn't want to
hurt any living thing. I know I'm not dreaming this, or I would make
myself better looking." Chuckles. My opponent said, "And add to that,
your opponent who doesn't want to kill you, but who must." I said, "Not
even a fiction writer would dare try to publish this story. Hmm, should
I survive, I might actually try that. And end up in this very same
situation. Absurd!"
One of the reporters said, "My station is being ordered to stop
broadcasting this." Some others said the same. I said, "Is that legal?"
He said, "No it isn't. But being killed is rather permanent." I said,
"I think you've been listening to my odd humor a little too much."
Chuckles. I said, "You should not put yourselves in danger over this.
Think how I would feel if you were hurt because of me. How could I live
with that? Better I die, than you be harmed. Somebody tell that
assassin to come back. I'm ready for him." I said to my opponent, "No,
I don't want you to have to live with killing a friend." All had tears.
One said, "There are armed men in my station! They're not responding
to my signals now." One said, "My station is telling me that your
station is overrun, but that their equipment is still sending your
signal out, even after their equipment is smashed!" I said, "Is that
usually how it works?" He said, "No it isn't!" One said, "My station is
reporting that the people there are being threatened with death, if it
continues. It stopped!" I said, "Who doesn't think they were killed,
anyway? Doesn't it seem like the people actually like this, that they
let those in power abuse them so? They could stop it, if they really
wanted to." One said, "I think we've all wondered about that." I said,
"Courage. It's always other people who have it. I have said I will die
for you, so that you may live and bring this truth to all. I just ask
that you don't forget me, and what I want to share with you. I am
Solomon." I showed my aura. I said, "Do not do to others, what you
don't want to be done to you. I originated that universal law more than
two thousand years ago. I may return some day to see how you have lived
it. I give it to you now, with my life and love." They did feel my
love. So did much of the world. I took one of the spurs, and pushed it
into my chest, and dropped. My love stopped, and my aura went out. They
sobbed with grief.
I said to CNN, "Got a different kind of action. Going to make people
talk!" He read the crystal, and said, "Oh my God!" I nodded, glumly. He
said, "Ordered?" I said, "Yes." Mario was the host. He introduced me,
and said, "I haven't seen this action." I said, "It's an alien action.
I was just told to go there. I was supposed to discover the problem,
and correct it. It was obvious what the problem was, but not how to
change the whole society. So, I decided to be me, if not with my
regular body, and let that flow into the solution. Then I was ordered
to share it." He said, "That means you didn't want to, because it would
make people see you in a way that would make you uncomfortable." I
said, "Yes. We've been through this before. A note. When I work inside
of a society, I try not to show unusual powers. One of my goals is to
show them that they can do what I did." He said, "I understand. You're
a teacher. You can't teach the impossible." I said, "And people need to
fix their own problems, or they won't stay fixed. In this action, well,
you'll see."
They ran it with one break in the middle. At the end, I had to call
for the break, because Mario wasn't able to. I hugged him, and said,
"It's alright. I didn't die. Only that body died. And for a good
cause." He nodded, and wiped his tears. He said, "They seem like good
people. I said, "They are, and so deserved my help." He nodded.
Back on air, he said, "I see parallels with Jesus." I said, "I
noticed, but I didn't plan any of it. In that action, I was more like
who I really am, than in almost anything shown here." He said, "They're
going to worship you." I said, "They might. It's going to be
interesting how they do that, when they discover in researching my
background, that I didn't actually have any. They can create any back
story they want. Who could dispute it? But the important thing is, the
message went world wide. It can't be changed. There will always be an
original copy." He said, "You gave them an example to follow.
Compassion and courage." I said, "And don't forget the likableness and
humor. Well, I have to like that." He grinned, and said, "Yes you do."
He said, "The real message they should derive from that action, is a
holy man brought truth to the world, with compassion and love, and a
universal law to support that, and died for that, and them, with
sacrifice and courage, and may come back to see how well they improved
themselves." I said, "Something like that. It depends on who has the
loudest voice in causing that message, and what their agenda is." He
said, "That usually makes a mess of things. Er, on other worlds." I had
to grin. He said, "But this time, you're going to manage it." I said,
"I would rather not manage it. It should be their voice, not mine, that
makes them who they are. I just gave them a wakeup call with the golden
rule and an example of how they can be as good people, attached. Who
they create from that should be theirs." He said with a smile, "With a
little help." I said, "Maybe. I'll just have to see."
He said, "Those in the overrun station. Were they killed?" I said,
"They were shot at. Some were wounded, but none were killed, despite
what the hired guns tried to do, and one camera did record it." He
said, "You managed that." I said, "Not so it was obvious, but enough so
some might suspect the possibility." He said, "Oh! A little like back
from the dead." I said, "Well, we do know that idea has worked in the
past." He grinned, and said, "Yes it has. You sacrificed for them. No,
not in allowing that body to die, but that they will worship you, which
you totally dislike. And that you were ordered to share this. Did you
suspect that would happen?" I said, "I try not to think about that. Not
much point in stewing over what I can't change. I did what I should,
there. It's working. I felt approval for it, but I don't know how much
that was for."
He said, "You changed people with just being you. That's remarkable!"
I said, "Not really. They were capable of it, and were ready for it. I
was just the last bit that pushed them past the final leg of their
change. The catalyst." He said, "That sounds right. Do you love them?"
I said, "I do. I thought that was rather obvious." He said, "It was to
me, but we're being asked." I said, "Oh. Alright. They were actually
too nice of a people. That allowed some bad ones to get away with being
very bad, too long. They're realizing that now. They'll still be good,
but a little more realistic about it in the future." He said, "Will you
go back there someday?" I sighed, and said, "I haven't left. Wherever I
go, I'm there forever." He said, "Wow! I can't wrap my mind around
that." I said, "Better that way. Too much of anything, is a lot. Or
something like that." Chuckles. We ended it.
I said, "I didn't tell my people in advance. Getting a lot of hugs
there." He tried not to grin. We hugged, and I shifted out. Galagos
said, "That was amazing! YOU were amazing! They HAVE to love you!" Hawk
said, "As we do." I said, "But with wings and fur." He said, "Big
feet." I said, "Works in place of a tail, in flight. Yes, I flew.
Strange!" Grins.
Dawn said, "Do they sleep hanging upside down?" I said, "No, they
sleep sitting down, or on their stomachs. Can't sleep on the back,
because of the wing joints. Civilization isn't much compatible with
people who can fly. Shopping is a big problem. Can't carry much with
you when you're flying, and not even when you're walking. Have to be
very skinny to be light enough to fly, so with such small muscles, they
have relatively weak arms and legs. Big lungs, though."
Harahm said, "I want to fly!" Regis said to him, "But you don't have
wings." He said, "I'll grow wings." Arrow said, "That could take a
while." We grinned. Harahm said to me, "You had wings." I said, "I did.
And fur. But that was there. Here I don't. They breathe a different
kind of air there. They couldn't live here." He said, "Oh! I like this
air." I said, "Me, too. It's got you in it." We chuckled, and hugged
him. He gave us love.
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Grant
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