Solomon's Private File #37
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 14 in this story, in the Winter of 2040-2041.
Solomon's Private File #37 "Counseling"
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I started the PK training for the first year students, with separate
classes for S and Adept raised kids, and for other students, with Galya
and Ed assisting, and sometimes George, at the school. Popular classes.
Ivanna is bringing the older students up to date, with me monitoring.
For myself, I've earned a lot more degrees. Some of my papers have made
the news.
It's getting around the FBI that I can and do real counseling, and
that I really keep secrets. What started that was some of my
interviewees who were accepted and made it through the Academy, talked
about me, and how impressed they were. Some asked to see me about minor
issues, and went away happy. I had a meeting with the Director and the
head of their regular psychology department. I told them what was
happening, and why. I said, "There is a problem. That's not our job."
The shrink nodded. I said, "Why, is simple. We may discover something
in a session that we know would involve or interfere with the agent's
job performance. That would require us to know about the job. When we
know that, we take the case over. For our own humanity, we can't see a
real problem and not work to solve it." They nodded in understanding. I
said, "And what we would do, and how, isn't fully compatible with the
justice system, and would reveal too much of us to the public, and
could cause something of a backlash. Also, how can we refuse to help
any of you, when you need us to? We love and care about you." The
Director said, "Yes, we do need to do something." I said, "A proposal.
We help, if asked, with non job related issues, such as child rearing,
or sexual things, as examples. And we keep secrets. But, we tell them
we have to transfer their issue to your regular shrinks if we think it
negatively impacts their job performance. And that they should not
discuss their cases with us. Or you could ban the whole situation, and
keep our office only for applicant and employee screening."
He said, "Or you could moonlight in our main psychology department."
The shrink was about to object. I said, "No. It won't work for some of
the same reasons, and for another big one, which you might not want to
accept." He said with a smile, "Tell me anyway." The shrink said,
"Permit me. We don't want to admit it, but for our own, er, humanity,
we should. He would take over our department. Not intentionally, but by
sheer ability and leadership. And then the whole Bureau. That wouldn't
be good for him, or us, or the public." I said, "I can't deny that
would happen. I've already taken over my school, and the leadership of
all of us, even though I resisted it. All that responsibility takes
time away from my research I'm trying to do." The shrink said, "And
that's a shame. I've heard about some of that. Will be groundbreaking!"
I said, "Er, thanks." He grinned.
The director said, "I had expected some rivalry between your two
departments." The shrink smiled and said, "You know them. How can we
not love them?" I cleared my throat, and they chuckled. I said, "I
should get back to work." They nodded, and I left. They accepted my
proposal, and word was passed. My first counseling client came in, not
a full agent, but one of the guards. He hemmed and hawed for a while,
and then said, "Are we really private here?" I said, "Yes, and no. I'll
explain. There are no listening devices allowed in these offices. It's
just you and me. But I have total recall, so I'll always remember. Oh,
and our files are unbreakably encoded. Not even the NSA can read them.
You can tell me anything, and I won't judge you, and by law, I won't
tell anybody else." He said with pain, "I'm a pedophile!" I said,
"Please explain how you have come to that conclusion." He said, "I have
sexual attractions to boys about age 12 to 15." I said, "The definition
of pedophilia applies to prepubescent children, but the general public
would accept your label. I see you feel some pain for your
orientation." He said, "Yes! I'm a really bad man!" I said, "We'll get
to that later. Do you have other sexual attractions?" He said, "I do,
but not as strongly. Older boys and young men." I said, "Sexual
attraction doesn't make anybody good or bad. It's just part of our
natures. Do you think you are bad for another reason?" He said, "I've
had sex with boys." I said, "Tell me about the circumstances where you
think you were the most bad in your opinion."
He did tell me those things. I said, "You were young then, too. And
it was consensual. Were you ever forced when you were a child?" He was.
I said, "So that's why you feel you are bad. We'll work on that. What
do you do now for sexual activities?" He said, "Just masturbation." I
said, "No social situations?" He said, "No." I said, "Too ashamed?" He
said, "I have to say, yes." I said, "Do you consider that a healthy way
to live?" He struggled a little with that, and said, "No."
I said, "From what I see, I have to tell you something very
important." He gave me a look of absolute dread. I said, "You are NOT a
bad man. Rather, a good man, actually." He was in shock. Then he
collapsed in on himself, and really cried. I rent around my desk and
hugged him until he stopped. I said, "I think you have a little trouble
believing me. Don't worry about it. Changing a long held judgement
isn't like changing your clothes. Er, if you're wearing any at the
time." He tried to smile. I said, "We need to work on some issues. Or
you can go to another shrink. We don't charge here. If you go
elsewhere, they could demand an arm and a leg, and that could interfere
"The whole building's heard about your humor. I didn't know how that
would be in this situation. Not bad, though." I said, "Er, thanks. Can
you make it Tuesdays and Thursdays after work for an hour?" He said,
"Yes, if my schedule doesn't change." I said, "Don't worry about that."
He said, "But what about yours?" I said, "I make my own schedule. Yes,
I'm in charge of this office. And I teach in the mornings." He said,
"Oh! But isn't the Director your boss?" I said, "Strange situation
here. We're independent contractors. If he doesn't like what we do, he
can kick us out. We do cooperate very well, but we do NOT usually mess
with criminals." He nodded. We went to the sec and set up the
appointment schedule.
Another client had trouble with his teenage son. After I got him to
describe specific incidents, which was almost like pulling teeth, I
said, "You're forgetting something important." My silence after that,
prompted him to ask, "What important thing am I forgetting?" I said,
"How YOU were and felt at his age." After he thought for a while, I
said, "Consider what you really wanted from your father that you didn't
know how to tell him. Remember your own confused feelings, and your
absolutely agonizing frustration over them. Consider that he doesn't
have the perspective you have now, and can't have it except through
experience. Remember, what is most important to him now, isn't what is
important to you, but he really needs you to respect that, and show it,
even if you need to oppose it. Remember always, he is a thinking and
feeling different human being, and he needs to know you respect that,
and love him no matter what. Direct confrontation leads to a return of
it, in a vicious cycle. Save it for true emergencies. Really listen to
him. You are not his buddy, you are his mentor. Be somebody you would
want him to emulate. One more thing. A smile goes a long way." He
thought some more. He said, "That's very good advice, and I didn't
expect it all at once. Thank you." I said, "Here's a digital recorder.
If you like, I'll record what I just said, so you can play it back at
times for a reminder. Better than counting to ten." He grinned and
said, "A very good idea!" I did that and gave it to him. I said as he
was leaving, "It might be interesting some day soon, if you played it
for him." He looked odd, and said, "Your reputation is confirmed." I
said with fake despair, "I didn't offer to help, just to be
embarrassed. Some gratitude I get!" He laughed. We shook hands, and he
left, looking much happier than when he came in.
My reputation spread like a thousand jars of peanut butter, and just
as sticky. I was very busy doing counseling for a while, with a waiting
list, and then it slacked off. I discharged my first patient, who was
feeling much better about himself, and starting a relationship with an
adult. I was asked to a meeting with the Director. The shrink was
there, and the supervisor who had the teenage son issues. I said, "What
did I do wrong, and how can I blame it on somebody else?" They laughed.
The Director said, "Not wrong, but right. We have never had before,
such a happy and well adjusted workforce. And we owe it to you." I
said, "Rubies. I'll accept sapphires, too." They chuckled. I said, "Did
you ask me here just to embarrass me?" He said, "While that's a worthy
goal, it was for a related issue." The supervisor said, "Your recorded
advice. I want to make it public. It could help a lot of families." I
said, "But things like that have been around for ages. Well, after
Socrates, considering his known opinion." They smiled. I said, "And who
I am might cause it to lose some credibility." The shrink said, "We
think just the opposite." I said, "Then how to release it? Oh, and bear
in mind, it was specific to the original situation. It might not be
perfect for all. Tell me, did you play it to him?" He said, "Yes. And
this is HIS idea." I said, "He shouldn't know who I am. He will, if you
attach my name to it." He said, "I know. I think you should risk it. I
think he'll keep your secret." I said, "It's not just mine. He could
blow the whole operation. Even if he's not gay." They laughed hard. I
said, "If he accepts an implanted command not to tell. We could even
meet then, if it's alright." He said, "Wait a sec, and I'll call him."
He did, and it was agreed.
I said, "We can make a press release for CNN for the recording if you
want, but as text. My different voices my different disguises use can
cause people not to believe the source." The Director said, "Shouldn't
we get your mother's opinion on this?" I grinned and said, "If she
wanted you to have it, nothing we know of in the universe could stop
her from giving it to you." They had to grin back. I said, "Something
more you might want to consider. Have you ever heard of any of us
arguing with each other?" The shrink said with interest, "You don't?
Not ever?" I said, "Not ever. When you live naked in body, in emotions,
and sometimes even in thought, with a group like that, you just don't
argue. We are the most sensible people in history. Yes, we can
disagree, but when you can follow the thought processes of your
opponent, and when all can see who is the better and wiser thinker,
arguing is useless. We don't do useless. Interferes with the clarity of
our minds." He said, "You read minds?" I said, "Minds aren't books.
Appendix is a little lower down." Chuckles
I said, "There are many ways to tell what somebody is thinking, but
what people think of as full telepathy, is the rarest of psionic
skills. To such a person, the mind of another is a virtual cesspool of
very disgusting things, and is in a very complex personal language of
sensory associations, images, emotions, and fragments of words. Making
sense of that mess can take a lot of work. My father was the first of
our group with that ability, and even when he should have used it, he
had it turned off. No, I won't say who else, now. And I didn't need to
read your mind to know you had that question. We feel emotions, and are
experts in reading face and body language, including that of below the
surface." He said, "Below the surface?" I said, "To our object sense,
matter isn't an impediment. We see/feel what we sense, inside and out,
all around us continuously. That's why we don't bother to wear clothes
at home. They don't hide anything, and just get in the way of real
hugging." He said, "I didn't realize how different your people are." I
said, "That's why we're here. So we don't become TOO different." He
looked thoughtful and surprised. Or the other way around. He said,
"Good idea." I said, "Yep, we've been known to have a few." Chuckles.
I said, "I can meet with him, but my schedule is rather tight. Some
evening, porting to his bedroom?" The supervisor said, "That'll work."
I said, "If he wants it private, it WILL be, and you need to tell him
that." The shrink nodded to him. I said, "Which appearance should I
use?" He grinned and said, "I know my son. All of them." I said,
"That's different. I like that. Hmm, this could be interesting." They
produced some almost face splitting grins.
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Grant
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