Solomon's Private File #438
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 35 in this story, in the Summer of 2061.
Solomon's Private File #438 "Political Money"
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The man I flamed about terrorism in the TV studio, posted an open
message to me, asking if I would publish a list of all the people who
contributed money secretly to advance a political agenda, and what they
did. I said to him privately in text, "Good idea. Could have some very
interesting, at least in my opinion, results, even for your own party.
Hmm, I see you need another cause you can use to er, motivate people.
This could backfire. I would like to do it, but only if asked by
somebody in politics, live on air. Somebody has to be responsible for
it. I sure don't want to be! You could use a little boost in status,
hopefully positive. Want to?"
He grinned widely when he read that, and said, "I know you can hear
me, Solomon. Yes, let's do it! What have I got to lose?" I said in the
air, "Your shirt? Bring a spare." He laughed. I said, "You've already
caused something of a panic in some people, and they're spreading that
around in private. Isn't that great?" He laughed loudly. I said, "Oh,
poor Hawk." That made it even louder. I told him when I would port him
to CNN.
Greg introduced the show, saying, "Solomon, and candidate for State
Senate in Tennessee, Roland Manson, are here to discuss an issue we
haven't been informed of. I should start this, by saying why I didn't
indicate Mr. Manson's political party affiliation. He's said he's not
presently affiliated. Solomon, why are you doing this to me!" We
laughed. I said, "I should explain that. We usually tell CNN what we
want the show for, so they can prepare intelligently. This time we
didn't, but it's obvious to them that one of my recent shows could be
part of it, but they don't know for sure, and don't want to ruin things
by acting on that, because we could have an entirely different topic to
discuss, and that's got them all very frustrated. Competitors of CNN,
don't you just love that?" That, and my big grin, made even Greg laugh.
I said, "Needing to act in fairness, can either make some people
angry, and some people happy, or a lot of them angry, but it sure is
liberating to the person who does it. And that can create humor."
Roland said, "That's true! And a big relief, when you don't have to be
so careful in not offending those who you want favors from." I said,
"Right. You can offend everybody equally. I sure know that!" Chuckles.
I nodded to Roland, who said, "I asked Solomon to do something. He said
I would have to ask for it live in air, as a politician, before he
would provide the information I ask for." Greg said, "Oh! It must then
involve politics. If he does it this way, he's not interfering in
that." He said, "I figured that out after a few broad hints." Grins. He
said, "I ask Solomon to publish a list of all the organizations and
people who spent money on politics, and how much, and what was the
intent of it, and what it went for, and what it actually accomplished."
I said, "That's not what you asked for the first time." He grinned
and said, "I've since realized the cookie jar is much bigger than I
originally thought." I said, "And extremely fattening!" Chuckles. Greg
said, "I just realized that's more than a joke. That would be a LOT of
information!" I said, "There should be some narrowing limits. How about
spending less than $100 per candidate, party, or even a slightly
political group, in one year, not included?" Roland said, "I agree. I'm
more interested in uncovering the manipulators, not the average
supporters." I gave them my best evil grin, and said, "So am I!" More
grins. Then Greg alerted. I said, "Roland, I offer you and your family
violence protection." He said, "Oh! I should have thought of that. But
already do it?" I said, "Yes. Published on our web site. Do I have your
permission to screen the calls you and your family receive?" He said,
"Yes, please. How I ask for what is in my mind." I said, "Smart in
this. I have to respect that." He said, "You kind of forced me to learn
that." I said, "Oh, that." Chuckles. I said, "Bribery and extortion
efforts have slowed down. Illegal things against you have been
forwarded to the previously warned FBI, with web tracing. They're ready
to take immediate action. Some impulsive people are going to regret
that part of their natures."
Greg said, "Of course you would think ahead, and you would never miss
an opportunity to use anything to help the world to improve. Oh! I've
been informed you're filtering access to your web site to just
journalists now, to manage the overload. Only you could do something
like that." I said, "That's true. Very convenient." Greg said, "Why
weren't you asked before?" I said, "I was, but not by any real
politician, and THEY didn't ask, because they didn't want their own
party to be exposed, along with the others. Now the country knows who
owns them, and what they paid for that." Greg said, "We're discovering
that now. Your analysis section is amazing! Wow! The Tea Party was
deliberately created by big money! And a lot of the supposedly grass
roots spontaneous activities were completely orchestrated and directly
paid for by supporters of the Republican Party. They PAID people to
disrupt Democratic meetings! Is any of that illegal?" I said, "Some
things were. What would interest law enforcement, has been given to
them. May take a while for them to work through all of it."
Roland said, "Legal problems for us?" I said, "They might try to act
against you, but they can't, for this. All you did was ask. There was
no agreement or contract involved. Freedom of speech is all, for you.
For me, I'm going to work with whatever they do, and love it. They
can't do anything real to me, but please me. Who wants to bet against
they won't ever believe that?" Grins and shaking heads. I said, "For
example, the more they oppose me and what I do, the more they expose
who they really are to the public. Can't you almost hear their teeth
grinding?" Laughter." Greg said, "Going back into history shows this
isn't a recent thing." I said, "Romans invented it, but I limited it to
just America, for the request." Roland said, "Would you do this for
politician requests from other countries?" I said, "I don't play
favorites with countries, so yes. That would uncover who hired murders
in some countries. No, the UN doesn't have standing in this. For law
enforcement, I need standard probable cause to investigate people. It
must be a true politician who asks live on TV, for me to provide the
information."
I said, "There are a lot of strange conflicting emotions flapping
around inside politicians all over. Some are mentally kicking
themselves for not doing this years ago, while shaking in terror, that
they might have, if things had been only a little different. Some
believe they would have, if they had thought of it. Most are lying to
themselves." Grins. I said, "Some feel smug that they're clean, so it
won't affect them. A lot of them are wrong. Some know it will affect
them badly, and some of them are wrong. So, as we see, they're behaving
like politicians." Chuckles. I said, "I think what I said isn't helping
them to feel better." Grins. I said to Roland, "Some are wondering how
clean you are. May I tell them?" He said, "Please." I said, "Fully
clean, and likely to remain so, whether you want to, or not." He
laughed. I said, "There's a lot of speculation about your future. Mind
if I speak for the questioners? Internet's a bit jammed." He laughed,
and said, "Ask away." I said, "Are you going to stay in politics and
run for office?"
He said, "I'm still a registered candidate for State Senate in
Tennessee. I don't know which party would want me now. I still support
the Republican platform, but more as a moderate since you er, counseled
me on air." I said, "Oh, so that's what you call it." Chuckles. I said,
"A lot are asking how you feel about that, and me." He said, "I
deserved what you did and said. I was stupid. I did believe what I
said, and I have no idea now, how I could have. If that was what your
kind shock therapy is, I have to say it worked!" I said, "Actually, it
was. Some hard held frames of mind have tough defenses. It can take
years of careful therapy to get past that, to the root of the problem.
Some of that mental defense is like a self destruct mechanism. You push
too hard, you ruin the mind. We should avoid that. As I am now, I
understand people as God does, so I know just what they need, and how
to do it, and I have the skills that make that possible. But there is
something else I'm being pressed to say. I think I was born with that
ability. Even as a young child, I knew what to say to help people to be
better people, even in the worst situations. Even when they wanted to
attack me." He said, "Do you know why you could do that?"
I said, "I was born and raised to be almost enlightened. That wasn't
intentional, but you know who my father was, and I was partially
telepathic almost from birth, and he didn't shield his mind as much as
he should have. I was so close to that state, that one little event
pushed me over when I was eleven. I was almost fully enlightened then,
but I hid it. I would have been too strange to people, who wouldn't
have understood why." Greg said, "Why didn't he shield his mind more
than he did?" I said, "He was the most powerful full telepath who ever
lived before me. He had perfect shields for minds lesser than his. He
didn't think to change that when I was born, who was even more powerful
than he was, even though I was untrained and couldn't control it. His
mind leaked a lot, but I was too young to understand that. I think it
affected me in strange ways. When I grew older, and started hearing
thoughts of regular people, I complained to him, and he showed me how
to block that. But he was a little clumsy in how he did that, so for a
few seconds his whole mind was open to me. He never knew that." We felt
a touch. I said, "He knows it now!" Awe and chuckles. Greg reported the
touch. I said, "He knew it before this, when he joined God. He just
wanted to acknowledge it to me."
Greg said, "Are your children the same way?" I said, "No, they're
different in practically everything. Different people, different
situation in many ways. Better, I think. Well, we've had more practice
in raising psionic kids. Remember, I was the first double psionic child
in modern times, and the first to have the Stephen enhanced genes. We
know better now, how to raise and teach such children." He said, "You
established that." I said, "I I had to, as the only one who could. So,
my descendants will be better than I was. I have to love that." He
said, "But God said you will have no equal." I said, "And I said, how I
WAS. Who I am now, is due to God's extra direct intervention and
specific training. There can't be an equal to me now, because there
isn't any room for that. No, I can't help you to understand that." We
went to break.
I said to Roland, "RNC chairman is really torn in feelings about you.
He wants you on the team, but he thinks there might not be a team left
to have you, and doubts the rest of the party would accept you less
than fully roasted to a crisp, with an acid marinade." They laughed
loudly. I said, "One good thing; Republican who runs the Department of
Transpiration has a bromance for you, and wants me to tell you that."
He said, "Wow! A great honor!" I said, "May I pass that along?" He
said, "Please!" I said, "I can help with a meeting, later." Nods. Greg
said, "Marinade?" I said, "Right. Unexpected. Got Hawk, but good." They
laughed.
Back on air, I said, "People are asking rather insistently, how I
feel about you, after what I did er, to you before. They still don't
understand. I love everybody, personally, and fully, no matter what
they do and who they are. Then, I didn't like or respect you, in my
personal feelings, but that didn't change my love. Nothing can change
that. Now, you are a different person who I have successfully helped
you to become. If I didn't like and respect you now, I would be
admitting to being a failure in that. But I would, if that were true.
It's not. For the new person you've become, I DO like and respect you.
Some are saying, but you're a Conservative. I say to them, so was the
previous President, who I also liked and respected. If you have to hate
somebody you disagree with, just for that, there's something wrong with
YOU. Fix that."
I said, "A lot of people are wondering if the world will think less
of America now, for this. Is that actually possible? They shouldn't,
for this. Most other countries did this worse, and even more
outrageously." Roland said, "Are they nervous?" I said, "They're way
beyond that, to something close to a psychotic break. Some people have
actually tried to harm themselves because of this. I made them sleep.
Spouses are grateful." They tried not to grin. I said, "Some people are
thinking of asking, but that's causing some of them to spend some time
with ceramics." They tried not to laugh. I said, "For their sake, I
think we should end this." And so we did.
I said, "Well, this was little different." Greg said, "In a lot of
ways. We're going to have a lot to talk about with this, for a long
time!" I said, "Isn't that great?" Grins and chuckles. I said to
Roland, "Want to try living in a non disclosed location for a while?"
He said, "I think we should. Where?" I said, "If you've got any
house in Memphis, and are willing to guard it. Internet connection
there is fully anonymous. I do like to plan ahead. Any reasonable
requests, ask. You know I'll hear them." He nodded. We hugged. I ported
him to his house, that was all shuttered up.
I said to Greg, "Your people are just discovering the section on
lobbyists' payments." He said, "Wow!" I said, "They actually said that.
Mind if I poke into your discussions on the sly?" He said, "Please! We
sure don't mind the help!" Grins and a hug.
Roland asked for me, and I shifted into the middle of a family
argument. I said, "Wait! This isn't organized right. You do the
insults, and you do the yelling, and you switch every thirty seconds.
Start now." Silence. I said, "Alright, switch and start. Hmm, that
didn't work. Neither is your trying not to laugh." Then he did. I said
to his wife, "Yes, he did a stupid and thoughtless thing, in placing
the welfare of the whole country over the welfare of his family. There
are going to be a lot of good people who will believe he's a hero, and
some bad rich and powerful people who are very angry with him, and will
try to do bad things to you. Note, I said, 'TRY.' Get it?" He grinned
widely, and then she sighed, and grinned, too. I said, "Ever been duck
hunting?" He said, "I'm a decoy! You're going to shoot them down!" I
said, "Not with a shotgun, although it could seem like they might want
to prefer that. Depends on what they do. One little peep, is all I ask
from them. They bought the government, but they sure didn't get a
bargain." Chuckles.
I said, "I have a special force field around the house. It won't let
reporters come onto the property. I'm managing your phones. They try to
call, they get a different police station each time. Wow! That wasn't a
joke, but it's sure got Hawk going." They laughed. I said, "Your
friends and family can get through. If they want to visit you, I'll
port them. Any recording devices you don't allow with them, won't work.
You didn't think of that. Money is an evil temptation. I recommend a
change of address. He told you. Willing?" She said, "Our children are
I called out, "Come out, come out, wherever you are, little
munchkins." She grinned, and two giggling girls, 7 and 8, came down the
hallway. I knelt down and offered to hug them, and at a nod from their
mother, they ran into my arms. They loved it. I said to the parents,
"You don't need to pack. I'll duplicate whatever you need here, there."
I said to the girls, "Not belly buttons. You're already got them with
you." They laughed. The younger one said, "We've got vaginas, too!" I
said, in a hurry, "And big toes, and noses, and elbows, but do we
really need a catalog right now? How many cats are on logs at any one
I said to the parents, "Situation Manager ability works on all sizes
of er, difficulties." She said, "I see! Thank you!" I said, "Cell
phones can be bugged. I recommend you use the unlisted land lines
there. They can't be traced. Ready to go?" She said, "Wait while I go
convenient." She sad, "What about my job?" I said, "They will be quite
happy with you not drawing reporters there. They don't pay for your
leave of absence, I'll er, ask the government whistleblower fund to do
it, and more. Right now, FBI Witness Support is paying for this. Er,
when I tell them in the morning." He said, "Will they complain?" I
said, "Er, they kind of like me a little." They grinned. I said, "A
Special Agent will be there at all times, usually in the living room,
in shifts. They'll answer the phones, first. They're not used to little
girls. Going to be interesting." Girls giggled, Parents had unusual
expressions. I said, "Think of it as a new adventure, a learning
experience for all." She said, "Will they be sleeping there?" I said,
"The Agents? They'd better not be." Grins.
I said, "Ready to port?" They nodded. Then we were there. I
introduced the Special Agent, saying to him, "These surprised heroes
need a place to crash for a while." He said, "Sure! No problem. Glad to
have them." I said to the parents, "And this is Al, a Corps member.
Yes, she's the one from the martial arts outside action." Big grins. I
said, "She's the sitter, if you need that, and she maintains your er,
unusual support." They hugged. Al took the girls to the bedroom. They
wanted to share. I said, "She'll be available day and night, any time,
even if she isn't here. She'll know." Wife said, "She doesn't sleep?" I
said, "She can go weeks without it, but won't need to. Independent mind
partitions can be set to stay awake while the rest sleeps. We all do
that for our phone and mental contacts, and danger watches on people.
We wouldn't want to be caught er, napping." Grins.
I said, "All you wanted of your own things, have been duplicated
here. Food you use, will be replaced. You want to order out, just say
it, and I'll dump it on you. Er, near you." Chuckles. I said, "I
recommend cooking as a family. Great bonding experience. And who
doesn't like to dump flour all over kids' heads?" Laughter. I said,
"Any problems, or just want to talk to me, do it, and I'll make noises
with you. One more thing. Al is helping on the er, parts issue." Mother
was VERY embarrassed. Father grinned. I said, "That was nothing. Ask
any first grade teacher." Chuckles. We hugged, and I shifted out. I
shifted to be in front of their house, and said to the reporters,
"Nobody's in the house. Not going to be, for a while. Days and weeks,
maybe. Nothing to see here. You can go about your business. Move along
now. May this farce be with you." Most of them got the Star Wars
reference, and grinned. I said, "Do I have to tell your bosses? The
police? Or ask ants to climb all over you? Just them, not the uncles."
Chuckles. I shifted out. Most stayed the night, and left the next day.
The family did have issues with friends. Al gave the girls gymnastics
lessons in the shielded back yard.
Law enforcement asked for time recording evidence for what I posted.
I asked if I could make that public. They had no official comment on
that, but did have a lot of grins, so I did. Some of my victims held
press conferences, and denied a lot of it. They didn't notice the
camera visible red flashes that accompanied their lies, but everybody
else did. Some watchers tried to call and tell the perps that. I
blocked them. Texts, too. Back in their offices, they were told, and
they saw it in their emails. They were very much annoyed by that.
Angry, even. Alright, raging. Anything they said that others could hear
of interest, I recorded.
An elderly media mogul asked to see me. I shifted to his office.
There was an armed security guard there. I said, "You wanted to see me.
A picture wasn't good enough?" He said, "You ruined me." I said,
looking around, "If you're ruined, there are billions of people who
would absolutely LOVE being as ruined as you." The guard nodded
slightly to me, which I acknowledged with a finger wiggle the boss
couldn't see. He said, "I could order my bodyguard to shoot you." I
said, "He can't do it. He can't touch any weapon unless I allow it." He
said, "I don't believe in your special powers!" I said, "I don't need
them for that. Any Senior Master Martial Artist can do that. But, about
those special powers. How did I arrive here?" He said, "It was a
trick." I said, "Like in stage illusions? That would require advance
preparation. You know that wouldn't be possible here. I thought media
moguls were smart people. You sure aren't showing that." He yelled,
"Kill him!" Guard struggled, but couldn't move much.
I said, "Your police department has been watching this as it
happened. You just ordered an employee to commit murder. Were you aware
that's a felony?" He said, "I don't believe they saw anything. Wouldn't
matter if they did. I own them" I said, "That's hard to believe.
Slavery?" He said, "No, you idiot, I PAY them!" I said, "Just cops on
the beat, wouldn't do you much good." He said, "I've got the Assistant
to the Police Commissioner in my pocket!" I said, peering over his
desk, "I don't see the bulge he would make there, but I do see a lot of
your fat. If he's in there, I hope he doesn't mind all that built up
lint." Guard struggled not to laugh. I said, "Is it smart, you saying
all these things? I could tell other people what you said." He said,
"That doesn't matter. I make the truth I want with my newspapers and TV
networks and stations. They'll believe anything I want them to
believe." I said, "You've tried, about me, but they didn't want to be
laughed at. They lost consumers and sponsors when they tried that,
which you really didn't like. Frustrated you?" He said, "Damn right it
did! That won't happen again." He took out a gun and shot it at me. I
moved sideways a little, and allowed the bullet to go through my arm.
He said, "So you CAN be hurt!" He tried to fire again, and it didn't
work. Then he tried to shoot the guard. That didn't work, either. I
said, "I allowed you one shot, for evidence." The door behind me
opened, and a lot of police officers came in, including the Chief of
Police. One of them took evidence pictures of me. Perp was arrested and
cuffed, after they took his gun.
I said to him, before they dragged him out, "The world witnessed this
live on CNN, and with feeds to YOUR system, too. I require you to
refuse bail." I gave the officers my evidence memory cards. Police
Captain said to me, "Sir, I request that you go to a hospital to
document that wound." I said, "My being an MD isn't good enough?" My
grin made him chuckle. I said, "I will. Going to be a big surprise
there." Chuckles. I said to the guard, "Want witness protection, you
know what to do. Bad scene for you. Sorry about that." He nodded. I
said to the Commissioner, "Sorry about your assistant." He said, "I'll
get over it. Thank you for your, er, whatever you do." Grins. I said,
"You're welcome. Unfortunately, this doesn't end here. The whole
corporate top is corrupt. They might not have guns, but they sure do
have big nasty mouths." Guard laughed, and so did some others.
Forensics came in, and worked to get the bullet out of the wall. I
waited, dripping blood, until they were done. I said, "Take some of my
blood, to match any found elsewhere." They did. I said to which
hospital I was porting to, and said, "Who's coming with me?" I ported
the Lieutenant with me to that emergency room. I said to the nurse,
"I've been shot. Attempted murder. I allowed it for evidence. Perp is
swimming with high priced lawyers. Slowly. He's kind of old." He said
with a grin, "Now I know it's really you." I groaned, and they laughed.
A doctor examined me, and wrote it up. Then she said, "Are you going to
heal that?" I said, "No. I don't port much any more. I just destroy a
body I don't need where it is, and build a new one where I want it. One
of me is still at home, playing with children. Got a lot of me
elsewhere." She said, "I don't know how to say this well, but if you
Laughter. I said, "That could cause problems. I'll let you have the
arm, though, as official evidence. Got a marker?" She gave one to the
Lieutenant, who signed my bared arm. I said, "This action could have
cost me an arm and a leg. Got a big discount. Just an arm now."
Chuckles. I said to the Lieutenant, "To the precinct?" He said, "Yes
please." I said, to the doctor, "Remember, it's evidence. Hold on to
it." She did, and we vanished, but my arm stayed behind. Some said wow.
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Grant
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