Solomon's Private File #79
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 16 in this story, in the Fall of 2042.
Solomon's Private File #79 "PBS Moon Pledge"
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Our museum shows aired on PBS on consecutive nights. Beth, Brian,
Sharon and I, were in the discussions after them, those evenings. Beth,
Brian and I, had discussions in the afternoon and on weekends with area
kids, all over the country. There were a lot of questions that were not
related to the museums, such as the relationships. The kids wanted to
know about the couple, and about me and my girlfriend, and how it was
working together. We answered the questions of the last kind. A boy
said, "What's it like working with all those scientists?" Beth said,
"It was great. Some didn't know how to work with kids, but they got
used to us right away, and we all really liked each other." Brian said,
"Sol helped with that a lot. He could speak to the scientists like an
adult scientist, and he is a kid to us. He made us into a real team. We
could see him doing that, but I don't think we really understood how
that worked. We started out as strangers, and Sol fixed that, so now we
are all good friends." A girl asked me, "How did you do that?" I said,
"I helped them to want to help each other. They did, and liked it." She
said, "You make it sound so simple, but I bet it wasn't." Brian said,
"It really wasn't! He's a genius." Beth said, "I think something like
that is harder to do than stopping tsunamis." I said, "Actually, you're
right. A little dryer, though." Chuckles.
One said, "I don't understand the difference between weight and
mass." I said, "It's tough, I know. Weight can change, because gravity
can change, and that's what pulls things down to cause weight. Mass
doesn't change, no matter what the gravity is. Want a demonstration?"
They really did. I said, "Here is something like an air hockey table.
The puck can go very fast, because the air keeps it off of the surface
of the table, so it has much less friction from that slowing it down.
In fact, that simulates almost weightlessness for the puck. Now lets
substitute a forcefield for the air. It does the same thing, but with
the forcefield, we can put really heavy things on it, without blowing
the roof off with high pressure air that would be needed to keep this
big iron block off the table. Give it a push." He said, "Wow! That's
hard to move! Oops! It won't stop!" I said, "It will, but you have to
apply the same force in the other direction to do it. How much force
you need to use to make it move, depends on the mass of the object,
even though it's effectively weightless, suspended over the table."
Beth said, "That's why it was so hard to learn to move on the Moon. We
felt light, but we moved like we weighed the same sometimes." Brian
said, "And when you pick up something that's heavy on Earth, on the
Moon, it wants to keep on going, so you have to be very careful of
that."
I said, "Hmm, I think there's room in the studio..." Brian said, "Go
for it!" I said to the host, "I can create a space here that has
gravity equal to the Moon. Perfectly safe." The host said, "Alright.
Let's see it." I said, "That space is surrounded by a yellow tinted
field. The open door is outlined in blue. The field is flexible, so you
can't get hurt in bouncing off of it. The floor is only a little
padded. YOU are not padded, so try not to bang into each other. There
are objects of different mass in there, to experiment with. Notice the
scales. One works by spring tension, which uses gravity. The other
works by balance, and so doesn't measure with gravity, but against
another calibrated object. There are identical scales and objects
outside the field in normal gravity. Girls with dresses, I'll try to
keep them down for you." The kids went in. Beth and Brian took the
lead, and showed them some experiments. Two of the boys jumped too
much. I said, "If you jump and hit anybody in there, well, I wonder of
you could be charged with assault." That toned things down a little,
which their parents appreciated. I let it go for 20 minutes. Then I
said, "Ten seconds, and the experiment is over. Everybody stop moving."
Then it all vanished. Then we reviewed what they had learned. The
adults were impressed. Some admitted they had learned new things, too.
One said to me, "You're a very good teacher." Beth said, "He's a GREAT
teacher!" Brian said, "Right." I said, "I was raised by great teachers,
and learned from great teachers. Blame them, not me." They all grinned.
The people in the other studios we went to, wanted the same
experience. We gave it to them. Very popular. There were other
questions about some of the museums. One started well. He said, "That
memory of the slave boy. You said you were kicked in the head. And then
you woke up paralyzed." I said, "That's mostly accurate, yes." He said,
"If you were kicked hard enough to cause that, you wouldn't remember
the kick." I said, "Well, that can be true in some cases, but we can't
have proof that it is true in all cases, because we haven't examined
all of them, and even if we could question the survivors, we couldn't
do that to those who died from their injuries. I have some doctorates
in neuroscience, so I know something about this subject. So, your
statement can only be an opinion expressing reasonable likelihood, not
actual fact." He said, "I think you're lying, that you made the whole
thing up." I said, "Another opinion, but it's not based on any fact or
evidence. And you missed something. I didn't say I actually remembered
being kicked in the head. I described what happened as my present self,
interpreting those memories with more knowledge and intelligence than I
had as that boy. I saw the kick coming fast at my head, but I didn't
remember it actually hitting me. I judged by my knowledge of physics
and the damage I noticed later, that it did strike me, and so I
reported that it did. I didn't lie in what I said. I am not able to
lie." He looked really strange.
I said, "One more thing. The kick to the abdomen. That could have
caused an aneurism in the brain to give way, resulting in paralysis.
There is a way we can settle this. Before he died, I asked my father to
do time research on my past lives. I have the results of that in one of
my mental compartments, but I've never looked at that one. If you stand
by your accusation, then you must allow me to offer proof. I can
examine that life recording. WE can examine it together, my full
memory, and my father's research, including ALL the pain and heartbreak
in it, which we will feel as if it's ours now. So, state your will. Do
we go after proof, or do you retract your false and unfounded
accusation?" He got up to leave. I said, "Sir. You have defamed me on
live TV. Retract your accusation, or face legal action." He said, "I
will not! You're a liar!" I said, "Then I give you my memory of that
life." He fell down and cried. I said, "Now you know what it's like to
be a slave as a child. How I died, hurts, doesn't it?" He said, "Yes! I
didn't realize!" I said, "Do you still maintain that I lied?" He said,
"No! You didn't lie. In fact, you didn't say how bad it really was!
Can... Can you remove this memory from me?" I said, "I can, but all
knowledge is useful. I really don't like removing knowledge. I live
with it, and many more. Some of them are worse. If I make it not so
intense, so it feels like it happened to somebody else, will you keep
it?" He said, "Please change it, and I'll see." I said, "Done." He
said, after a while, "He was a good boy. I'll keep him. I don't know
how to say this so it doesn't sound strange, but thank you." I said,
"You're welcome. You now share a part of me. Do well by it. I was
Jemmy." He nodded, and walked away, in something of a daze. There were
a lot of wows in the studio.
Sharon said to me, "If you meant to scare people to not doubt your
word, I think you were very successful!" I said, "I don't mean to scare
people. If I did want to, I would ask to wear an ID of the IRS." Some
chuckles. I said, "Doubt is a good thing, when done within reason, in
regard to persons in public. If somebody wants to hurt the reputation
of another, they should have real truth on their side, not unfounded
personal opinion. There are laws that support that concept. I see a
question. Yes there is free speech, but all freedoms have consequences
when abused. How about an example using a different freedom? We have
freedom of assembly. That means we can't be prosecuted just for having
a meeting. That was put in the Constitution, because prohibiting people
from having meetings is one of the ways repressive regimes keep in
power. That is also applied to demonstrations, where groups of people
gather to protest something. But that freedom isn't absolute. You have
to respect the property rights of others. If they own a park, and they
don't want you to stay there after the park closes for the day, you
have to leave. If you are breaking laws in your meeting, like gambling
where it's against the law, then you can be arrested. Most cities
require a permit for a parade, so they can schedule city services in
support. So you see, our freedoms are not absolute, but have to work
within the framework of all the other freedoms of everybody. One more
thing. You give up some of your constitutional freedoms when you join
the military, or go to prison. And also in some work environments. In
the military, you have to follow lawful orders. That can go against
some rights." Brain said, "Can you give an example?"
I said, "In the military, order and discipline are necessary. That is
enforced by the requirement not to publicly criticize your superiors. A
member of the military my not participate in political activities in
uniform, because that uniform represents the entire country, and the
President, who is Commander in Chief of the military. The laws that
limit our freedoms are usually there to protect the freedoms of others.
Even where there aren't laws against what we would do, there are still
consequences. Tell too many lies about people, and who does that, soon
won't be believed very much about anything." A lot of nods. I said, "A
good basic rule is, don't do to other people what you don't want them
to do to you. That probably wont stop people from doing bad things to
you, but most will be less likely to want to. And, doing that will make
YOU feel better about yourself, and that's not a bad thing at all. You
can choose your friends, and dump them too. But the one person you
can't get away from is yourself. Better make that person, you, somebody
you can like, even love, as a person, or you won't be very happy with
your life, no matter what else you do." There were some thoughtful
nods.
Beth asked me, "What do you like best about yourself?" I said, "That
I get to help people. Everybody listen. If you really want to like
yourself, help people. Can't be beat. If you don't know how to help
people, ask those who know. They WANT you to ask. In fact, you can't
get them to shut up!" Chuckles. I said, "Well, they like themselves so
much, they can't stop sharing that." Brian said, "Something like you?"
I said, "Sure. Doing that now. Just try and get me to shut up." More
chuckles.
In another studio they had a grand piano, and wanted me to play it.
There were kids there, too. I said, "Why me?" The host said, "Can't you
play?" I said, "I'm not my father. I'm not nearly as dead as he is."
Some strange looks. He said to the kids, "Now we really know it's
Solomon here." They laughed. He said to me, "Well?" I said, "I can play
a little. I never got serious with it." I played some notes, and said,
"This is one sick piano! Who ruined it, raise your sledge hammer."
Giggles. I played a note, and said, "Somebody should be charged with
murdering this note." Laughter. I ported a box to me, and opened it. I
said, "Anybody who wants to learn about how pianos work and don't work,
come and see." A crowd formed around me almost instantly. I said, "Took
your time, didn't you." Laughter. I opened the top and said, "Those
wires are like a harp laid on its side. These keys hit the wires with
little hammers to make the sound, but it's not loud enough. The wood
board under the strings vibrates with them and make the sound of pain,
er, music, louder." Giggles. I took out a tuning wrench and applied it.
I said, "Tell me when it sounds right." I pounded on the key while
making small adjustments in the string tension. They all said it was
better at different times. I said, "Anybody play the violin here?" I
girl raised her hand. I said, "You tell me." She did. I said, "That's
very close. Thanks." Another asked, "Why did you ask about the violin?"
I said, "Because you have to tune it all the time, and it doesn't have
frets like a guitar, so you have to be VERY sensitive about the pitch
of notes to play it without making people run out of the room." She was
nodding while they were laughing.
I said, "Now this other note plays too loudly, compared to the
others." I took out the keyboard assembly, and smoothed one of the
pads. I put it back, and it played right. I did that, and a few other
things, and then I said, "Finished. Until the next guy who attacks it
with a sledge hammer." One asked, "Have you fixed a lot of pianos?" I
said, "Nope. This is my first." He said, "Then how did you know how to
fix it?" I said, "Well, I know mechanical engineering pretty well, and
I can see all of the piano with my mind, inside and out VERY well. And
I've heard perfect ones played, with my very sensitive hearing, and I
can't forget anything. Did you know they used to use ivory for the top
of the keys, and they called playing, tickling the ivories." I ran the
scales and at the end, tickled the kid standing there. I said, "Ha!
Worked." They laughed. I played "Mary had a little lamb." I said,
"Anybody name that?" One did, I said, "So she had a lamb. What did she
DO with it?" They didn't know. I said, "Exercise! Well, it kept getting
lost, and she had to go running around to find it. Yep, she was in very
good shape with all that. Hungry, too. Well, there are always other
lambs. What else should I act like I'm playing, here?"
Sharon said, "Autumn leaves!" I said, "Of course Autumn leaves, and
then Winter comes in." Groans and giggles. I said, "Oh, alright. But
I've never played it before." I did. Then one asked, "If you never
played it before, how could you play it now?" I said, "I can see the
internet with my mind. Found the music there." One said, "Play
something difficult!" I said, "Who said that?" Silence. I said, "Who is
the afraid person who said that?" Giggles. I motioned one to me and
said to her, "You said that. So, what did you have in mind?" She said,
"I don't know what's difficult. I was hoping you did." I said, "Well, I
haven't played much, so that would make almost everything difficult.
Any suggestions?" One said, "Blue Danube!" I did that. Applause. Sharon
said, "Minute Waltz." I said, "Really? Who else have you tortured
today?" She and some others laughed. I said to the kids, "It's called
that because it's a test of a pianist's skill to play it under a
minute. Have to be a good player."
They all said, "Play it!" I said with a sigh, "Who didn't expect
that?" Chuckles. Well, I did it, and under a minute. Applause. One
said, "What was the first serious thing you ever played?" I said,
"List's La Campanella. Dad's best music student told me to play it
once, when he visited where I was staying when I was 11. I know! Now?"
I did it. Really good applause. They wanted me to play more. One asked
if I could sing. I said, "Well, yes. Alright, I'll play one more. My
Dad played this once in an opera hall before a real performance. It
wasn't appreciated by the serious musicians there. It's a little loud
and energetic, called, 'Great Balls of Fire!'" I did that, and they
really applauded. After that, I asked PBS to pass the word to the other
stations, no more music. I was doing the event for the Smithsonian and
education, not for musical performance. They grumbled a lot about that,
but did as requested.
The rest of the event went well. Back at home, Hawk said, "Do it
again?" I said, "I don't think so. No reason, from my point of view. I
liked it less than the other things I could be doing. And you KNOW
they're going to want me to perform again, and I don't want to." Mom
said, "Why don't you want to?" I said, "I just don't like it. Boring.
Personal preference." Chad said, "But you're SO good at it!" I said,
"What do I do that I'm not good at?" He said, "Oh. Right. You do your
best. You can't help it if your best is better than everybody else's."
Hawk said, "I see. Being so good actually makes it boring for you." I
nodded. I said, "Not with sex, though." They all grinned.
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Grant
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