Solomon's Private File #43
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 15 in this story, in the Spring of 2041.
Solomon's Private File #43 "American History"
START Page
We all met in the National Museum of American History. I announced
that on camera. I said, "Here you will find things of importance to our
culture and history. But that's not just American things. Other parts
of the world influenced who we are, too. Right. We didn't just do it to
ourselves, although we sure tried a lot. Did you know that our
democracy, the first in modern history, was called an experiment? The
term social experiment isn't a new one." Beth said, "Didn't they have
Parliament in England?" I said, "Good one, Beth! Yes they did. They
served at the King's will. When he didn't like them, he threw them out.
So, even though there were representatives, they didn't represent much,
and the King's word was still law. Even a really mixed up King. Such as
Mad King George. He was called that, and by his own people. But mostly
in whispers. Heads without attached bodies, didn't say much. Most
governments in the world, and the people in those countries, well, they
actually placed bets against our new government succeeding, that we
would soon have a regular King. A lot of times it almost happened. I
think they lost those bets, and I'm not at all sad about that." Brian
shouted, "Yes!" Then he looked around in embarrassment. I gave him a
thumb's up.
I said, "It's amazing they succeeded as much as they did. There was
no money. No army. No unity except for the desire to be free of
England, but not all thought that way. Most of the people who were in
the new government were wealthy, but quickly losing money. There were
really desperate times. Could have used Harry Potter then. But we have
his robe here now. That's right. Poor kid, he's somewhere out there,
naked and shivering." The kids giggled.
I said, "Thomas Jefferson. A very complex person. I doubt there would
be anything like America as it is today, if he had never existed. A
very religious man, who didn't actually like religions. He was our
soul, AND our intellect, but his very existence was a compromise with
what he felt was the devil. He opposed slavery, yet he owned slaves.
Even when he could have freed them, he didn't. Here is what you could
call his Bible scrapbook. He took what he thought were the bits and
pieces from the Bible that described the true feelings of Jesus,
leaving out the things that looked to him to be against reason." Brian
said, "Why did he do that?" I said, "Reference. He tried to live his
life like that. He was a scholar, and a VERY intelligent thinker. He
felt that a lot of what's in the Bible about Jesus, after careful
study, was just contrary to, well, let's just say, contradictory, and
foolish sounding at times. He wanted to understand the Man behind the
words, not necessarily what other people wrote about him." Beth said,
"Why?" I said, "Those who wrote the Gospels could only write to their
own level of knowledge and intelligence. And their desires and
prejudices. They wrote what they wanted you to see, of what they
thought and saw. We all know that's different for everybody." She said,
"Oh. I understand."
I said, "A lot of history is like that. People wrote it down
specifically to mold your opinions about it, or they wouldn't have
bothered." Brian said, "Oh! So history isn't real?" I said, "Not
specifically in most circumstances, no. It actually can't be. People
just can't write down all that happens, even now. It's a million times
too much. So what they did, even those who were motivated to be most
accurate, was record what was most important. That's a personal
judgement, based on what they knew, which was usually just a part of
the whole thing. They had no idea what the future would think was
important, so much was left out that we would really want to know about
now. But it's worse than that. The history we know has been through
many hands, before it reached ours. They er, messed with it. Some parts
of historical records and art were deliberately defaced and destroyed
to satisfy the societal ideas of the time. We try to piece together
what history really was, by comparing different sources and records.
The more we uncover of that, the more we are learning. But even some of
American popular history that's taught in some schools isn't true, and
some of those people who teach it, know it, and refuse to change it.
Thus, history is being manipulated even now. Here in these museums, we
try to be as accurate as possible."
Sharon said, "That's true. It isn't easy. There are still political
and religious factions that are pressuring us to change what they don't
like. That was even attempted for Stephen's things. Some people took
their personal dislike of him too far, and tried to force the removal
of all his contributions, which would have included his illustrations
and Native American art. They had no idea that he was Navajo, and his
wife Rose, well, she said a few things in the right places, and scared
those people almost out of their skins." Brian and Beth grinned really
hard. Don said, "I remember that. I think we weren't told about all
that happened." I said, "Not nice to mess with Mom about anything
Native American. At least one of them shouldn't have had so much
liquids in him when she visited him. Right. A mess." Laughter. I said.
"That's NOT what HE did." More laughter. I said, "I bet you don't know
what else she did. They didn't like Dad because he wasn't in a
Christian religion. I know that's really stupid, because of what the
Vatican said about him and his past lives. Well, you know my Dad made a
lot of recordings of all kinds of singing. I see you're guessing right.
Christian religious music already in the stores. His, in their offices.
On all the time, and they couldn't turn it off. Attached to their desks
they had to throw out to get rid of. No amount of baby powder would
help relieve THAT irritation." They laughed well.
Beth said, "Why didn't your father take care of it?" I said, "Mom
learned about the problem the same time Dad did. She was as angry as
she could be, and so did what she wanted to, before Dad did. Dad was
proud of her. Actually, his whole school was. They watched, and laughed
a lot. We've got recordings. That's why I know about it. Oh, and most
of the Native American Nations know about it, too. Shed not a tear for
those she er, confronted." Chuckles.
I said, "Here's a bit of history you don't know about. Paul Revere.
Did you know he wasn't the only rider out that night, warning about the
British er, arriving? That was a good thing, because he was captured by
them. They were really suspicious about why he was riding around in the
middle of the night. Want to know why they didn't kill him?" Sharon
said, "Yes!" We grinned at her. I said, "He said his wife wasn't in the
er, mood, and hadn't been for some time. He couldn't take it anymore,
so he was racing to meet with his mistress. Those soldiers far from
home, really knew how he felt, and sympathized with him." She said, "So
reasonable, it has to be true." I said, "Actually, there was a little
bit of truth in his story, too." She laughed. The kids grinned widely.
Beth said, "How do you know that?" I said, "Well, the conspirators used
to meet in a tavern. There was ale. Loosened tongues do tell. That's
all I'll say about the source."
We were at the lasers exhibit. I said, "Did you know my father, when
he was the first Stephen, invented lasers before anybody else did?"
Brian said "Wow!" Sharon said, "Tell us more." I said, "He already had
a doctorate in physics. He was experimenting with his psionics, with
internal energy control, shooting different kinds of it out of his body
though his palms. Then he thought up the principles of the laser, which
is light amplification through bouncing back and forth between two
reflective services, which is actually incorrectly described. It's not
so much amplified, although the results sure look like it, but
organized and concentrated. He couldn't store enough energy in his body
to do more than a tenth of a second burst of cutting power before
recharging. Want to see me do it, er, safely?" They all said a big yes.
I said, "You didn't have to whisper." They laughed. I said, "I have to
build the right kind of controls and energy storage and channels inside
me. Dad had a real problem at first. Whenever he fired it, it came from
inside of his hand. He had scars in his palms for the rest of that
life. Later, he figured out how to have the point of emission outside
of his body. What I'm going to do now is like a low power laser
pointer, and is perfectly harmless if it doesn't go into anybody's eyes
or camera lenses. I'll shine it against this wall." I did, and a red
dot appeared. I wiggled my hand, and the dot moved the same way. I
said, "Bet you'll never guess what he used it most for, at cutting
power." They didn't. I said, "He really liked crystals and other
minerals. Used it in prospecting, and in jungle camps, to trim logs."
Brian said, "Did he ever use it in a fight?" I said, "Yes he did,
actually. There was a bad Adept doctor he fought. He used his hand
laser at very low power to destroy the doctor's psionic ability. He
really didn't like doing that, even while that doctor was caving in his
chest. So, let's not go further with that subject."
I said, "Here is Archie Bunker's chair. It was from a popular TV show
called, 'All in the Family'. Sharon you know it." She said, "I do. The
lead character was a grumpy very bigoted old man, so over the top, he
was funny. That was what the show was about. Showing the worst of us so
we could learn to be better, in a way we could accept, and even laugh
at." I said, "I mention this, because one episode has some relevance to
me personally." Sharon said, "Which one?" I said "Sammy Davis Jr." She
said, "Oh! I see that. He was a famous singer and dancer, a black man
who had been in a bad car crash and almost didn't survive it. He lost
an eye, and he credited his survival to something of the Jewish faith,
so he converted to it. He visited the Bunkers, and although warned not
to mention the false eye, Archie immediately asked which one it was."
Chuckles. She said, "Then Archie said to him, 'You being Colored, I
know you had no choice in that, but whatever made you turn Jew?'. That
was one of the classic moments in the whole series. I see how it
applies to you. They ask you that, too?" I said, "They do. Tempts me to
do an impression of Davis, sometimes." She said, "Please." I said,
"Right here, and in front of THAT chair?" She grinned, and said, "Yes."
sound man, "Really now. I thought a professional sound man would know
not to yell into his own equipment." He said, "I already had that
thought." Laughter.
I said, "I'll try to make my voice sound like his. I'll play the
accompaniment from memory with virtual speakers, of his most known
song. Only my appearance is illusion." I ported a cane to me, and
twirled it, and I looked like him. I sang and danced to "Candy Man".
With some really fancy tap dancing in the middle. Then I was back in my
museum disguise. They were all gaping at me. I said, "Hello? Anybody
home?" Don recovered first, and said, "That was amazing!" I said,
"Nope. Was me." He said, "All joking aside, I'm a fan of his. That was
a perfect impression!" I said, "Thanks. I always try my best." Beth
said, "Why?" I said, "Well, it wouldn't be the same if I tried somebody
else's best." They started to laugh, and thought otherwise, and then
thought some more. Don said, "Another one of Sol's odd combinations of
humor and wisdom." Beth said, "I like it." Brian said, "Me too." Sharon
said, "Usually frustrates me when he does it to me in public." I
grinned, and said, "Good!" She had to chuckle. So did Don.
I said, "Star Spangled Banner. You know about the flag, but did you
know some of those holes were intentional? Yep. Cut up and given as
souvenirs. Not done anymore."
I said, "Exhibit of Stephen. I know a little about this." Sharon
said, "We only had one picture in it. Sol was visiting with his mother,
and decided to make some changes. His own art." I said, "I didn't tell
anybody I was going to do it. Caused some surprises when it changed
instantly." Beth said, "How did you choose which pictures?" I said, "I
didn't really choose. I just knew what I wanted to show. That one there
with the sick child, I didn't put in at first. I felt that the
explanation it needed would have been a little too much." Sharon said,
"He showed it to me, and I asked him to include it." I said, "They
showed what he means to the world, and who he was. Husband and
musician, great father, broadcaster of love and healing, and helping
people as individuals." Brian said, "Good job!" I said, "Thanks."
I said, "Wars show the best and worst of us. I was in the First World
War. It was called 'The war to end all wars'." Beth said, "Were they
stupid?" I said, "No, not more than usual. Mainly, just tired and sick,
and very hopeful. A lot of people died in the war, but more died of
disease during that time. One of the weapons used then was poison gas.
It was so bad, it was banned after the war. I was American, what we
called a Doughboy. I didn't make it home. World War II. More technology
involved. More advanced tactics, too This war was different in another
way. It was a war of extermination. The aggressor in Europe was The
Nazi government of Germany. The purpose was to eliminate from humanity
all what they felt were inferior people. When they took over a country,
they rounded up all those kinds of people they had on their list, sent
them off to special camps, and while they were very efficiently
slaughtering some of them, they made the rest of them work to death.
It's estimated that twelve million people were killed, murdered, that
way. And untold millions in Russia, where they murdered whole villages.
Mass graves are still being found there. The world knows about the Jews
being killed, but they were just half of the total. The others were
Gypsies, homosexuals, people of color, the mentally and physically
disabled, and some religious people, too. Most of the world didn't know
it was happening, but there were rumors. When the advancing armies of
the Allies fond a camp, they weren't prepared for the absolute horrors
they found. Some soldiers never recovered from that experience. It's
strange, considering the purity of the race that drove the Nazis, that
Japan became their ally in the war. They treated the Koreans and
Chinese like dogs, for much the same reason. Well, it's very difficult
to go to war against people you respect and feel kindly to. More
difficult to kill, too. I wasn't involved with that war. I'm not sorry
I missed it."
I said, "That war was caused by the Great Depression, which was
caused by rampant under-regulated capitalism. The blame game abounded.
People took emotional refuge in Nationalism. In Germany, that was
intense, because they were still under restrictions from losing the
First World War. Leaders came to power based on Nationalism, and
blaming other people for their problems, who were not in the majority,
such as Jews and homosexuals. A very successful tactic, that is still
being used today in many parts of the world, including in America. Yes,
blame somebody who can't defend themselves, for your problems. VERY
dishonorable, mostly so for people who should be blaming themselves for
what they caused. War was the only way to sustain that power, and those
in control didn't care about how much suffering they caused because of
that. They actually thought they could win, and almost did, because
most of the world just didn't feel like stopping them until it was
almost too late. Please note that I said the Nazis caused the war, not
the whole German people. Most didn't know what was going on, and did
what they could to survive, victims themselves. They still feel
enormous guilt for that, though, so we should be sensitive to that."
They nodded agreement.
Beth said, "The atom bomb. Was it really necessary?" I said, "That
depends on your point of view. A case can often be made that nothing is
ever necessary. That's what caused the War in Europe to last so long.
The Samurai revival military of Japan was just not going to give up.
America discovered that in the Battle of Okinawa. The only way to stop
the war would be continuous bombing and invasion by sea, and it would
have taken more than twenty years before the fighting would have
stopped. Japan is a very mountainous group of islands. That would have
resulted in the almost complete destruction of the Japanese society.
Their whole people, actually. A gigantic loss to the whole world, in my
opinion. The atomic bomb provided a solution to the problem of
convincing the military that they couldn't possibly win, or even
survive as a people, if they didn't surrender. The first bomb didn't
convince them. It was fortunate the second bomb did, because that was
the last one available at that time. You should realize that scientists
then didn't really know what the full effects of the bomb would be, and
they had almost no idea of the effects of radiation. They might not
have used the bomb if they knew then, what we know now. Strategically,
it was the best tactic. In human cost, the best, also. Many more would
have died in the continuation of the war. One more thing that might
shock a lot of people. Don, did your ears just wiggle?" He chuckled and
said, "Not that I'm aware of." I said, "Other countries were developing
the bomb. Sooner or later, somebody was going to use it. Better it was
used to end the biggest war in history, as it was, than on something
that could have been more terrible, later. That way, we could learn
what a real horror it is in a way that actually saved more lives than
it took. This is what history is for; to give us perspective." They
nodded solemnly.
At Dumbo, the flying elephant, I said, "Anybody think ANY animal
could ever fly by flapping its ears?" Beth giggled, and Brian said,
"Can YOU do it?" I said, "Sure." They were surprised. I said, "First,
planes take of and land on runways. Why are they called that?" They
said, "At times they did. The planes were so slow, people could and did
run with them to keep them stable in landing and taking off. Even in
the 21st century, there is an aircraft that needs help to land that
way. Vehicles drive alongside of it to keep the wings from dragging on
the pavement." Sharon said, "You said you could fly." I said, "You
know, I actually do remember that." She growled. I said, "I assume you
want some proof?" They all said yes. I floated up in the air, and said,
"I'm manipulating the energy of my body that science doesn't believe
exists, to influence the property of matter that involves gravity.
Doing that requires very little energy. I can move, by expelling energy
in the opposite direction I wish to move in." I flew around the room. I
stopped and said, "I went head first, to cause less resistance from the
air." I settled back down to the floor, and said, "That's not really
practical. You go at any real speed and hit a bug, that's NOT fun. A
bird could kill you. And how the heck do you know were you are? No
street signs. Sure there is GPS. Just like in a car, you'd better pay
more attention to what's in front of you, than that thing you're going
to drop on somebody's head."
Beth said, "If it's not practical to fly like that, why did you learn
to do it?" I said, "We don't know what we might need in the future.
Port to visit an amphibian friend on a water planet, and you might want
to stay above the water. Can also help on a heavy gravity planet. So,
if it's something we can learn, we do, even if we can't think of a use
for it right away. And it might lead to other things we can learn that
could be really important someday." She said, "I understand. But you
didn't flap your ears." My ears grew gigantic, and flapped up a storm,
that actually lifted me into the air, and then back down. I said, "You
know it can't really work like that. I had to use some gravity control
to make me light enough, and ear muscles just aren't strong enough to
do what I made it look like. Oh, and one more thing. I said this
levitation flying isn't practical, but I didn't say it isn't a whole
lot of fun playing tag that way. If you can remember where the ground
is." Brian said, "Wow!" I said, "I agree." Chuckles. I said, "And you
REALLY don't want a real elephant to fly. Birds are bad enough. Just
ask any statue. But those gigantic hay eaters? Better wear a BIG hat
while one is flying over your head." Chuckles.
END Page
--
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Grant
|
|