Solomon's Private File #82
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 Winter of 2042-2043.
Solomon's Private File #82 "From Russia Without Love"
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Galya said to me in a private communication, "I loved what you said
to my mother." We shared love. She said, "About going all the way. You
know what it's like. You said what we are doing now is better. But is
it so for a female?" He said, "I think so, but I could be wrong. One
thing I do know, we would have to do it outside of our homes, and it
WILL change things for us. I said you will be my first. It doesn't have
to be so for you. Anything that makes you happy, makes me even more
happy." She said, "Will our child be the best of her generation?" I
said, "How can I know that?" She said, "So you DO know, and the answer
is she won't be. Right. You don't really want to hide anything from me,
so you don't let yourself try too hard." I gave her a rude noise, and
she giggled. She said, "I know what your mother goes through with you,
when you have to take risks for us, being the best. I won't be too
unhappy not to go through that myself with our children." We shared
love.
I said, "We could take an apartment in Guardhome, or you could use
one for your own er, explorations. I would like to wait, but if you
really want to do it, I will, and LIKE it. If you want to discuss this
with somebody else, my mother has been through it. Or you could talk to
your brother. For practice, there's him, and George, too." She said,
"You wouldn't mind?" I said, "Of course not! We all love each other.
You didn't think we could be totally exclusive, did you? I don't think
that would be possible." She said, "Right. I'll think about it." I
said, "If you let me watch that thinking, it would be quite a turn on."
She gave me a rude noise, and we laughed.
George said to me, "You asked all the S Kids to tell you their
precise sexual orientation for your research. I'm interested, too. Your
father was the most genetically dominant of us, and he was straight. If
any of his kids turned out to be gay, that would be important
information. I just discovered it, so, I'll tell you. Even bi." I said,
"You ruined it!" We laughed and hugged and kissed. I said, "Messed with
Hawk?" He said, "Not yet. Plan to." I said, "Good. I like that." We
shared love.
I asked to see the PM of Russia. No response. I ported a request to
his desk. He trashed it. I said in his ear, "Only you can hear this.
Two of your small atomic bombs have been stolen. I would like to
coordinate their recovery with your people. I think you might have some
interest in that. If you talk, even under your breath, I will hear
you." He said, "Where were they taken from?" I told him, and said, "But
if you ask them there, they will say they still have them. Well, they
know they will be in trouble if they tell the truth, and they don't
expect you to come and look for yourself." He had to smile. He said,
"How do you know they are gone?" I said, "My father had a watch on all
atomic weapons. My group has continued that." He said, "Can you put
them back?" I said, "Sure, but there are medical issues. Could give
heart attacks to the thieves and the former guardians." He chuckled. I
said, "And removing the evidence of the crime, can prevent appropriate
prosecution." He said, "Do you want this thing to be known?" I said,
"I'm undecided if indecision is right for this." He tried not to laugh.
I said, "Your opinion. Is it good for people to know they are being
protected from their foolishness in creating these things and not
guarding them properly? Sometimes a little fear, and the caution it
promotes, is a good thing for a society. Then again, that they have
been stolen by extremists who DO plan to use them, could cause even
more caution to come from it, and increased sales of garment
protectors." He had to laugh. I said, "And there is my embarrassment
issue."
He said, "I didn't expect to like you. I apologize for ignoring your
requests. I also have conflicted opinions. I would NOT like it known
that my country can't guard its atomic weapons effectively, but I would
like it to be known that our police are good enough to catch the
thieves, and as a warning that extremists are still active and
dangerous." I said, "That's why I'm asking you this, so I can have good
company in my conflicted state." He laughed well. He said, "This is
difficult." I said, "Tell me something I don't know." He laughed. I
said, "It's your country. I shouldn't take away your right to ruin, I
mean, to run it." He chuckled and said, "I see I'm not yet as high in
victim status as your Senators." I said, "Well, we hardly know each
other. Give it time." More chuckles. He said, "Do you know where they
plan to use them?" I said, "One in Moscow. One in Washington, if they
can figure out how to get one there. May be the only kind of voting
extremists believe in. But then, that's just as fair as your usual
election process is." He said, "So you know about that." I said, "Er,
actually, no. Not until you kind of just told me." He laughed well. He
said, "I heard you were a master psychologist. I have to believe it
now." I said, "How long do you think it will take before you use up all
you can think of to delay your decision?"
He said, "I wish I didn't like you! Here is my decision. I agree that
your involvement shouldn't be public. I would like our own forces to
retrieve the devices safely, and that should be made public. That they
were stolen, but tracked, and that we recovered them." I told him what
I planned. He liked it a lot. He made some calls and set the process
going.
I met with my team in Nizhniy Novgorod. I was in a Russian Army
uniform, rank of full colonel. They were in police and army uniforms,
because that's who they were, except one technician. I said in Russian,
"Some important items were stolen. We will take them back and capture
the thieves. Note I said capture. The PM wants to make an example of
them. Dead bodies are no more than ornaments." Some suppressed smiles.
I said, "I don't want any holes in them. That would require that they
go to a hospital, and we would have less control of them. So, what do
you think will happen to anybody who shoots one of them? You! Answer!"
He said, "He will be shot?" I said, "You think well. And I will
administer the punishment I choose, myself. All understand?" They did.
I said, "I told you my name and rank. They are real only for this
mission. I work in intelligence. The thieves do not consider themselves
to be of Russia." The captain said, "Sir, you are not military?" I
said, "I was." He nodded.
I said, "Now we will test. Who is the best fighter here? Any or no
weapons." They looked at each other. Eventually, a sergeant stepped
forward and said, "I think I might be, sir, with no weapons and the
knife." I said, "You may change how you are dressed, and attack me with
your knife or without it. I will not harm you if you attack well." He
said, "But what if I harm YOU?" I said, "All here will be your
witnesses that I commanded you to do this. Note my technician and his
camera. It is recorded." He said, "Yes sir!" I said, "It looks as if we
need some room. This table is in the way." It was solidly made of wood.
I ripped it apart with my bare hands, and stacked the pieces in a
corner. A lot of eyes looked ready to pop out. He took off his extra
gear, but kept his shoes on, because they train that way. I said to the
sergeant, "Ready?" He gulped and said, "Yes sir." I said, "Attack when
ready." He immediately came at me, hoping to surprise me. I took his
knife arm and twisted him to the floor, and held him there in a lock. I
stood and backed away, and said, "Try again."
He tried a feint. I blocked the real thrust, and took that arm and
pushed it across his neck in a choke. He tapped out. I said, "Again."
He tried a side thrust kick. I made it go by me, and slapped my right
instep high on his inside thigh. I said, "Stop! You know where my
return kick would have hit if I had chosen to do that." He nodded. I
said, "Why haven't you thrown the knife?" He said, "You would be
injured, sir." I said, "Not so. Throw it." He stepped back and threw it
at my chest. I sidestepped and caught it by the handle as it went by.
Then I threw it up so that it spun very fast, and picked it out of the
air by the handle. I picked up a wooden table leg, and said, "Hold this
against the wall and say go. AFTER I turn my back." He nodded. I turned
and stuck the knife blade under the belt at my back. He yelled "Go!" I
spun in a blur, and drew and threw the knife, and it was stuck in the
middle of the chair leg. Even though the leg was at an angle, the blade
was perfectly parallel to the long dimension of the leg and its wood
grain. He was very aware of how difficult that was to do so fast, not
knowing in advance exactly where the target would be.
I said, "Do you now think you are the best fighter here?" He said
with a LOT of respect, "No SIR! You are the best fighter I have ever
seen! A true master." I said "That is true. I wanted you all to know
this for two reasons. If you don't follow my commands exactly, you will
NOT escape what I will do to you. The other reason is I might have to
take the lead in physical combat, to further the mission to the
conclusion I have been ordered to achieve. We need our targets alive
and talking. They will have weapons." I gave them the list. I said, "I
see you wonder how I know these things. They are not professionals. I
know they can talk, because they already have, in other places. Those
people they talked to were quite willing to share all they knew. They
might be allowed to heal." Some looked a little sick. Besides the high
respect they had for me, they also had fear. That's what I was going
for.
I said, "Have somebody move what used to be a table into another
room." While that was happening, I called for some food and another
table. We waited while they brought those things in. We ate. I said,
"Clear the table." I put a map of the city on it. I said, "They will be
arriving by air tonight. Here, because in Moscow, what they have in the
cargo hold would have been noticed with some excitement they don't
need. Those things will be unloaded and brought to a house they have
rented here in the city. There they will wait for some people. We will
take them before that happens, and then play with the new arrivals,
before they can take the stolen items to the locations where they will
be armed and exploded. Yes, they are terrorists, but after we have
them, only then will they know what real terror is." The captain said,
"Those items, they are bombs?" I said, "Atomic bombs. Two of them."
They had some strong reactions. I said, "There is no danger to us from
them, unless we drop one on our feet. They require special keys to arm,
and expert knowledge. Neither of which the transporters have. They plan
to explode one in Moscow, and the other in America, in Washington.
There was some thought in helping them to choose at least one other
target." Chuckles.
I said, "When the weapons are secure, the army will return them to
their proper storage facility. We will wait for the new arrivals, and
greet them interestingly. No, we need them to talk, too. I'm sorry to
disappoint you. I DO know how you feel." They nodded. One said, "Are
some of them in the house now?" I said, "It is empty." He said, "Then
we can go there and prepare some surprises." I said, "Captain?" He
grinned and said, "Sir, I know something of you now. You have already
done that." I nodded, and opened one of my equipment cases, and took
out some current model computer tablets. I turned one on, and started
the app. I showed them that by tapping on a room, they can see what the
camera in it shows. They were all impressed.
I said, "If we sneak up on the house, their neighbors will report
something to the police, and might warn our targets. We could not
require them to leave, because empty houses would make our targets
suspicious." I waited. The Captain said, "You wish us to guess what you
have already planned?" I said, "I make no claim to being perfect." One
said, "Gas to make them sleep?" I said, "There aren't any that would
cause what we need." One said, musingly, "It's going to be a cold
night." I said, "Continue." He said "No fuel, or their heating system
is not working. Are proper telephone numbers on those things in full
view?" I smiled and said, "Very large numbers." They grinned. Another
one said, "What if they decide to go to a hotel, leaving one as a
guard?" I said, "Which is the nearest hotel to that house?" They
grinned even more. I nodded. The captain said, "We have a truck of the
heating company?" I said "We do, and some of their uniforms." He said,
"I have not seen this before. You have plans for different things they
may do. I would really like to know what you have planned for if they
do none of those things." I said, "Then they will have a gas leak. They
will be asked to evacuate, along with their neighbors. They will know
it is true by the smell." He said, "So it will be real?" I said,
"Cooking and heating gas has no smell when it comes from the ground.
That is added later, before it goes into homes, so a leak can be
detected. Radio controlled emitters will release that smell if we need
to. If we do that, they might be expressing some interesting fear as
they leave." Chuckles.
I said to him, "What would you do about that if you were their
leader?" He nodded and said, "I see that. He would leave a man outside
to watch the house in secret. Er, do one of those cases contain night
vision instruments?" I said, "Yes. What are the lessons in this?" Some
looked surprised, and then appreciative for what they could learn from
me. He said, "One must think about all the possibilities, and plan your
moves like in a chess game." I said, "Very good. Yes. But you also must
understand and think like your enemy, so you can anticipate what he
will do, and do it before he does. In this case, we must always keep in
mind that they care less about living, than they care about not
succeeding. Do not expect them to surrender under any circumstances.
They will not concede the game. We must checkmate them." One said, "I
just thought of something! Oh, please pardon me." I said, "That is not
a problem, if you don't er, explode like that in the middle of a silent
operation." They laughed, and so did he, but with embarrassment. I
said, "Tell us." He said, "If they believe in the gas leak, they won't
fire their weapons." I said, "Comments?" Another said, "True, but if
they think they will be captured, they will do that, to take us with
them. But that won't work, and they will be very confused." I said, "A
confused enemy is a very dangerous and out of control enemy.
Unpredictable even to themselves, but there will be a moment of
opportunity for us, in the small time between the shock of discovery,
and any action they may do as a result of that realization. So we must
act fast then. With these." I showed them a taser. They nodded in
understanding. I said, "And you will be wearing vests." They liked
that. I said, "If they are too, aim for their legs. We will know this
from the cameras." They gave me admiring looks.
The captain said, "We now know your very good preparations and plans.
But we don't know how you will get them to talk." I said, "You have
seen something of me. Would YOU refuse to talk if you were them?" He
shuddered and said, "Truthfully, I would rather die." I said, "Yes. But
to them, dying for their God is something of a good thing." He said,
"You are leading to something." I said, "What if they discover that it
is not to Paradise they will go, but that a demon will cause them to
suffer for all eternity?" He said, "Wow!" I said, "They probably will
say something different." They were too shocked to chuckle. I said,
"Makeup and some technology will make me look the part, suddenly. With
surprised and thoughtful, and said, "I think that could work." I said,
"Oh, and with a little sonically induced hypnosis." He said, "I think
we can fear you more now, but more in admiration for your cleverness."
I said, "I wouldn't want to be them. In fact, I think I might be
feeling a little fear of my own self." They chuckled in the release of
the tension, but the tech fell on the floor, laughing almost
hysterically. We looked at him with interest. When he could, he said,
"I've never seen anything like this. Sir, your intelligence is
astounding, as is your skill in handling people. Why is it we have
never heard of you?" I said, "Because I work in intelligence. If our
enemies thought of me as you do, they would be much more careful, and
so more dangerous and more difficult for us to fight. If you are loyal
to Russia, you will not talk of me, and others like me." They all
nodded in agreement, with an assortment of emotions coming from them.
I said, "Have any of you ever fired a crossbow?" The captain said, "I
see it! The gas leak! We can't threaten them with guns!" I said, "We
will have tasers, but the enemy might not fear them enough, and the
sparks could be a little unfriendly to a supposedly gas filled room.
a case, with bolts. I said, "This poor table." They laughed, while
setting it up as a target. They had a lot of fun with the practice.
When they were resting from it, the captain motioned to me for a
private talk. In a bedroom, he said, "I know you more now. We aren't
going to use the crossbows tonight. If we need weapons, the tasers will
be enough." I said, "Partially correct. We can't practice with the
tasers, and they are unfamiliar with them, so we shouldn't depend
totally on them. It's usually a good thing to have more than one
appropriate weapon system ready and available. And they needed some
physical activity to pass the time and still keep their edge." He said,
"I see. Thank you. I also see you really were in the military, and at
command rank." I said, "And I think you understand how boring that was
to me." He laughed and said, "Yes sir, I do!" We went back to the men.
After a while, I said, "The plane should be landing soon." One said,
"Sir, you do not have a timepiece, yet you know the time. How is that
so?" I said, "I always know the time. It's an ability we can all train
to have. Would you like to know how?" They really did. I said, "There
are very accurate time awareness functions in our bodies. This skill
comes from connecting to those unconscious signals, but by using a
strange trick you might not believe will work. For this you must have
an always on accurate clock somewhere nearby that you can refer to very
often. You visualize that clock very clearly, noting the position of
the hands. Yes, this works best with that kind of clock. When you can
make that visualization clear without effort, which can take much
practice, you call that up when you want to know the time. Then you
compare that to the real clock, noting the difference. After some
practice, which can take months, your visualization of that clock will
become more accurate in the time it shows. This is not some strange
mental ability you might have heard about. You are fooling your body's
own time sense into giving information to your mind in the form of that
picture of the clock. After a year, you won't need the clock at all,
even a mind picture. You will just know the time when you want to."
Some wows. I said, "Very few people do this, even when they know about
it and believe it works. The process is inconvenient, and for almost
all people, not worth their time. But it is for people like me. Our
lives can depend on it, and the future of our country. One more thing.
You can use this kind of process to learn to control the functions of
your body that are not usually controllable by our wills. If I am
captured, and it looks as if I might be drugged, I will stop my heart,
if I can't escape before revealing secrets." They looked at me with a
lot of admiration and respect.
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Grant
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