Solomon's Private File #6
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 11 in this story, in the Spring of 2037.
Solomon's Private File #6 "A Matter of Degree"
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I did more in my education than we expected. I decided to go for a
doctorate in neuropsychology, but I needed research I couldn't do
myself. I asked Dad to scan the brains of the inmates in two prisons
and get me their life histories and their families, too. He did that.
From what he gave me, I thought I could see something of a pattern, so
I asked for more inmate scans and histories of a lot of prisons,
concentrating on certain parts of the brain. Then I made my
dissertation from it. I showed it to Dad. He asked to see all of my
workup. He looked very seriously at me, and said, "Wow!" Then while I
was staring at him, he said, "You're going to hear that a lot." We
hugged and kissed. He said, "Did you know I've written, so far, 134
papers on neuropsychology?" I said "Really wow! No, I didn't know." He
said, "I wish I had written what you did. Great work!"
We went to Pete. Dad said, "You have to see this." He read the
crystal, and said, "Wow! You checked?" Dad said, "Completely original
in idea and execution. I gave him the research he asked for, and then
did more to his specifications. I didn't help in any other way. Not
even a discussion. After he finished, I checked it against my own work.
Still original, and valid. Amazing achievement." Pete said "I'll
include that with the package. He's going to get it." Dad said, "Yes.
Our first first year student doctorate." Then he said to me, "Got any
more?" I said, "Did you peek?" He grinned, and said, "I might have, if
I had thought of it." I grinned back and we hugged. I gave him a
crystal. He said "Physics, too!" I said "Strong reaction. Maybe I
shouldn't give you the next one."
grinned and gave it to him. He couldn't even say wow. He said to Pete,
"First year Scholarate." While surprised Pete was studying the
crystals, Dad asked me, "Whoever made these crystals was very good at
keeping secrets. Would you tell me who that was?" I looked falsely
proud, and said, "Yep, I'm a GOOD secret keeper! Wow, what strange
feelings you're pushing at me." He couldn't keep from smiling. I said,
"You know I'm good at projecting images, and I've been practicing. Not
much different to put them in crystals." They both said, "Wow!" I said,
"Good deal. Two for the price of one." They both hugged and kissed me a
lot. It was great. I said after they let me loose, "That was great. I
should make some more." Dad said with a grin, "Probably."
Pete said to Dad, "Do we make these, and the author's name, public?"
He said, "If Sol agrees, after the degrees are awarded, yes. Gives him
some independent standing in the world." They looked at me. I said
"Sure. Why not?" Pete said, "I'll push the process. Degrees should be
awarded before the end of the regular school year. This is going to
double the camp problem." Dad said, "New policy for our students; camp
names." I understood what they were talking about. My privacy at camp.
I would be too famous and bothered with my real name. I said, "Can it
be a funny one?" Dad said, "If you want to be teased for it." I said,
"Depends on there being intelligent bullies. Likely? How about 'Rusty
Doads'? Paved with off center intentions." They laughed very well.
Ed thought that was funny, too. He said, "I don't have to, but I'm
He knew why. He said "I love you. It's not sexual, but I love you more
than anybody, for who you are." I said, "And you love to embarrass me?"
He grinned and said, "Not so much, but it IS an added attraction." We
wrestled, and I pinned him. He said, "Strong!" I sniffed under my arm,
and he laughed.
I like the music we do at home with our family. I missed that with
the foster home in DC. We have a grand piano to play with, but nothing
else. I did play it when I had time. Nobody complained, so I must not
have been too bad, but I wasn't serious about it, and didn't try very
hard. Scholar Srinoy changed that. He used to live at the same foster
home while he was going to school. Dad made the piano for him then.
Srinoy is famous as a music student of Dad's, and is the best pianist
in the world. Some say the best who ever lived. He just agrees he's
living. He's a lot of fun. I love it when he visits. We play music
then. His first visit was strange. He was playing the piano for Mac and
Tim when I came home from school. When he was finished, he got up and
hugged me. I said, "Great hug!" He said, "Strange, I was just going to
say that about yours." We grinned at each other. His grin is like a
lighthouse in the dark. It really lights up the room.
Srinoy said, "I hear you play very well. Please?" He motioned to the
piano, and I sat at it. I said, "I'm not good. I don't study it much.
Chopsticks?" He said "Sure. Fine." I did it, as simple as I could make
it. He looked so sad, I almost cried. Then another piano appeared next
to the one I played, and he sat at it, and did what I did. Then he
said, "It's so simple. What if we did this?" He added some things. I
knew he wanted me to copy it, so I did, but added more complications.
Then he did it with more, and then I did, and we traded back and forth.
After a half hour, our apartment was filled with applauding people. I
said, "We must have fancy woodwork, when people pop out of it at the
slightest noise." That earned some strange noises. I said in a loud
whisper to Srinoy, "Not the best orchestra with that." He had to laugh.
Not that it takes much to cause that.
Srinoy said, "What else can you play?" I said "I don't know. If I
knew how, I could play anything I ever heard. Yes, total recall." He
said "Great. I'll do some exercises, and you watch closely." He did a
lot of them. Then he nodded to me, and I copied them. He said I should
do them faster and faster, and I did. After he told me to stop, he
asked, "Tired? Hands sore?" I said, "No, all fine." He said "Play
List's La Campanella." I said, "I never heard that one before." He said
"Can you accept a push?" I said, "Yes, and to a compartment." He sent
me the music. I played it. He said "Wow!" Everybody clapped. I said, "I
didn't know I could do that. Strange song. It's like he copied it from
a violin." Chad appeared and said, "It does sound a little like that.
Why don't you try the reverse?" He handed a violin to me. I said, "But
I can barely tune this thing. How am I supposed to play it?" Dad and
Mom showed up, and Dad said, "Exercises first. Watch and listen, then
copy." He did, and I did. Then we did more. Then he said, "You know the
music. It's just sounds. You can play it on any instrument in its
range. It might not sound the same, but we should still be able to
recognize it. Try." I did try, and I have to admit, it sounded pretty
good to me. He said, "That was very good, and specially for a first
time at transposition. When you're interested, I'll let you use my
crystals on music theory and practice." I said, "Er, I don't have a
He ported a box of them to my lap. I said, "Wow! You've been busy!"
That made everybody laugh. I put them on the floor, and said, "Thanks.
When I have time." He got the hint, that I didn't want to show that I
already read them all without putting them one at a time to my
forehead. He said, "I think that's all for tonight." The others started
to leave, and then it was just family. I said to some who didn't know,
"I'm trying not to look like I'm too much to most of us, but with
family, I think I should tell you before you ask, I can read crystals
without touching them." Ed said "Wow!" I said "And if they could say
I said, "Now something else. Music is fun for me, but not as much as
other things. I'm SORRY Srinoy! I don't want to hurt your feelings." He
said, "I almost understand. I'll live with it." We hugged and kissed. I
said to them, "I don't need to be famous. I don't need music to help
with that. For me, it would take up time I want to use for learning
other things. And trying to squirt." They had to laugh. I said, "So I
hope you don't feel too badly if I don't get involved with music too
much." We did a lot of hugging and kissing, and they went home. Srinoy
with a gigantic grin splitting his face.
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Grant
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