Solomon's Private File #115
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 18 in this story, in the Spring of 2045.
Solomon's Private File #115 "Solution on Posintan"
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Elise and I took the ship to Posintan. I said to her, "If you don't
stop grinning like that, people are going to think you're insane." She
laughed. She said, "I know. I can't do it in public, so I'm getting it
out of my system now." I said, "Oh, and I'm supposed to believe that."
We poked each other and wrestled a little. I announced us to Orbital
Control. A person came back with, "Welcome Solomon and Elise. Are you
going to compete?" Elise said, "I heard you have a new species here
that could use some er, interesting competition." Silence. Then, some
noise in the background. He came back with, "Oh, we DO!" I said, "I
think I hear some interest in that." Stifled laughter. Elise said, "I
hope we can meet these people soon." There was lot of background noise.
Then a new voice said, "I apologize for the unprofessional behavior of
my staff." I said, "Please don't think poorly of them. We really
understand how they feel." He said, "I knew you would. Would you like
us to er, talk about this a little, planet-side?" Elise said, "I KNEW
you would say that." Chuckles. I said, "Officially, we can't authorize
that, but we would REALLY not complain if it happened. Er, how long do
you think it will take before they notice it?" He laughed. He said, "I
didn't expect this. That you would do this, and your humor." Elise
said, "We did!" More laughter. I said, "Our gravity drive is on auto."
He said, "In five, to the VIP section. I wish you good fortune in your
competitions!" We said, "Thank you."
We landed and took a hotel room. I called our agent, Passinchance. I
said, "There is a new species in town, with bad sportsmanship. Please
arrange competitions for Elise with them." He said, "I'm going to LIKE
this." I said, "No, you're not." He said, "What?" I said, "You're going
to LOVE this." He laughed. I said, "They are a male dominated society.
That's why only Elise should complete with them, because she's a
female." He laughed again. I said, "One more thing, which is secret for
now. We have their President's approval for this." He said, "Wow!" I
said, "We hear that a lot." He had to laugh. He said, "Any and all they
compete in?" I said, "Yes, if it's not involving more than a two person
team. If we don't know the game, we'll learn it. Can I assume they
don't play Stumak?" He laughed and said, "You assume correctly." I
said, "Oh. Muscles for brains." He laughed and said, "Must be! I'll get
to work, and call you as soon as I have anything." I said, "We might be
out, but we'll still get your call."
I called the President's secure line, and introduced myself. She said
right away, "Orbital Control told me of your mission." I said, "I
should just let you conduct both sides of the conversation." She
laughed. I said, "We have more. The Planetary President of the er,
bigmouths [chuckles] approves of our mission. Well, after some er,
work. And he authorizes that work to be shared with your entire planet
at the right time. Would you like to see the recording?" She said, "I
do! I'll send a courier to you. I think you might not want to be seen
to be involved with the government until after you beat, er, meet with
them." I said, "I knew you would understand. But for one thing. They
are a male oriented society, so we are hoping that only Elise will be
competing with them, a female." She said, "Oh that's bad! I like it!"
We all laughed together. We gave a memory card to the courier.
We met Passinchance at the Kopdit Unlimited venue. He said, "There
was a complaint from your opponent about you being a female." Elise
laughed. He said, "I reminded the GM that your mother had done this
before. Your opponent wanted to know who won. We didn't say." My turn
to grin. And get poked. Then she looked odd. I said, "I got it, too."
She nodded. She went to change into the fighting uniform. The
competition was something like judo. Passinchance said, "May I ask?" I
said, "Premonitions. If she wins, he's going to try to seriously injure
her, after." He said, "She knows this, and is STILL going to fight?" I
said, "More reason to, yes. You misunderstand. This is a mission to us,
I said, "Passinchance! Calm yourself!" He looked in shock at me. I
said, "If she is injured in a bad unsportsmanlike assault, that is good
for the mission. Stop that! She will heal herself. We who trained the
people who do the love and healing broadcasts, can do that easily. Yes,
your President knows. Will you behave now?" He gulped, and squeaked,
"Yes sir!" Then he put his hand on his mouth. I hugged him with love.
He relaxed. I said, "She is our second best available fighter." He
Anywhere. Hard. No, people aren't seeing us now. My Ki is preventing
that." He did hit me, and in the stomach. I didn't move. I said, "So
good, I am beyond fighting." After he recovered, he said, "But you can
be hit." I said, "If I allow it. Try again." He hit only air. I said,
"I can move VERY fast. I can strike with Ki, too." He said, "Oh! A true
Master!" I said, "They are ready to begin. I mean, she's ready to
flatten him." He laughed. I said, "But she won't. She will win, but not
as well as she can. Yes, this is a mission for us, not a real
competition. At this level of our maturity, we are too good to
compete." He said in surprise, "You compete only as CHILDREN?" I said,
"Yes. She is still not an adult. Please keep that to yourself." He
nodded while saying wow.
They started. She let him grab her wrist. She took it over his head
and he fell on his back. He tried to sweep her, and she leveraged him
over, and made him let go. She stepped back. She was awarded one point.
They prefer a followthrough. He pushed his Ki at her. She equaled it,
to his surprise. She reached for his shirt. He blocked it and reached,
but she took that extended arm and pulled, and let go. He landed on his
nose. It bled. He got up and tried to kick her ankle. That was allowed
if it was part of a throw. It wasn't, but wasn't called a foul. She
dogged it. He grabbed for her, and she walked into it, and they went
down, her on top of him. Her hand was between their bodies, her thumb
digging like a steel rod into a nerve plexus in his abdomen,
practically paralyzing him.. She whispered to him, "If you try to foul
me again, you WILL regret it." He was really surprised. She rolled off
and stood. He took a while to get up, VERY angry. She was awarded two
points. He swung a fist at her head. She took it in hand, and flipped
him very nicely, and then put it in an arm bar, with an added twist. He
screamed and tapped out.
The GM didn't like the attempted strike one bit, and said to him,
when he got up, "You are suspended from all competitions for a period
of forty days, for attempting an illegal move that would have resulted
in injury to your opponent, a strike to the head with a fist. One more
infraction in a year, and you will be banned for life." The man was
boiling angry. I whispered to Passinchance, "He's going to attack her
when her back is turned. She'll sidestep." He whispered back, "You told
her to?" I said, "No. It's just a good thing to cause him to do that,
for the mission. I see. No, she doesn't need to be told what to do.
After me, she's the most intelligent person on this planet." He looked
at me in awe. I wiggled my eyebrows at him, and he almost choked. She
was being awarded the win, when she wiggled her butt at the opponent.
He charged her from behind in a rage. She sidestepped, and pulled the
GM out of danger just in time, and he banged into one of his own
people.
The GM motioned to the guards, who pointed stun guns at him, and one
said, "You are under arrest for attempted assault on a Games Master.
You will come with us." He was led away, protesting loudly. Elise said,
"If only he could compete as well as he yells." The GM almost choked.
She said, "That was an interesting first match. Who's next?" He said,
"You don't need to rest?" She said, "After that? Not at all. Can I have
more of his kind?" He said, "Why?" She said, "I've competed against
other people. These people are new! I like new. Maybe the next one will
have good sportsmanship." The audience liked that a lot. The next in
line was a Posintan. He withdrew to allow one of the new people to
compete with her. When the new people wouldn't see, I nodded to that
Posintan, and he signaled in the positive.
She beat all of them. They tried to foul her, but she avoided it. The
audience knew. So did the GM, who wasn't happy about it. He required
all to remain, while he reviewed the recordings. He said to them,
"After inspecting the record, I have determined that each of you tried
to foul your opponent. Please tell me why." They denied doing it. The
GM said, "I don't understand why you would lie with a truth telling
instrument present. Please explain." They were silent. I said to the
GM, "If they wouldn't be punished, they may be less reluctant to
discuss it. Yes, I think it's worth it, this time, to promote useful
understanding." We bowed to each other. He said, "I agree. There will
be no punishment for these infractions. Please help us to understand
this situation." Silence. I said to the GM, "May I?" He said to me,
"How much like your father are you?" I said, "Very. Taller, though." We
smiled at each other. He said, "Please proceed." I said to the others,
"I suggest you cooperate in this issue. A recording of this whole
situation will be given to your Planetary President, AT HIS REQUEST.
Yes, I visited him, before coming here. That visit will be broadcast
here soon. There have been well justified questions. Please answer
them."
They looked at each other. One said, "No punishment?" I said, "The
Games Master has said there will be no punishment for your infractions.
LIE! What is wrong with you, that causes you to believe that other
people are as lacking in honor as you are?" He started to become angry,
when one of his people grabbed his arm and said, "Wait. He's right.
They are like dueling referees, here." I said to the GM, "They duel to
the death on their world. Their referees have much responsibility, and
more in honor. I have dueled there." One said, "You did?" I said,
"Again! Why do you continue to doubt the words of people in the
presence of a truth teller? Is it a mental health issue?" He said, "I
don't know, but you have a good reason to think so." I said, "And
that's why you duel all the time. In that, there are no rules. Here,
there are. There you could die. Here, you can't, except by very rare
accident. STOP acting like you are at home, and act here like it's not
a matter of survival, but one of fairness and honor. Here, you are
something like your own dueling referee. You are TRUSTED to be so. Try
to deserve that trust." I had my Ki flowing, too, which they could
feel.
One said, "I can feel your wisdom and understanding. You DO know our
people! I think we have misunderstood what we were doing here, and
why." Another said, "I see it, too. You are correct. We were trying too
hard to win, and disregarded the rules because of what you said. We are
used to dueling, and not this, which is like a kind of play. A game." I
said, "Yes. And being able to obey the rules, even if that could cause
you to lose the competition, is actually an important part of the
competition itself. Fail at that, and you fail as a person." They had
some wows. And more thoughtful expressions. I said, "Something else for
you to consider. The people here see only you of your people. To them,
you ARE your people. Is how you have been, how you want the people here
to think all of your world are like? Would your own people at home,
approve of you as good examples and ambassadors of who they are as
people?" That really woke them up. I said, "And this is being recorded,
and will be given to your President at his request. He may choose to
make it public." They thought some more. I said, "Are you now different
people?" They all looked at each other and said together, "We are." I
said, "Do you now wish to injure Elise?" One said an explosive "NO!" I
said, "Well, except for our hearing." Elise laughed. When she could,
"You don't know! I had to grow up with his odd humor!" Some surprised
laughter. I said, "Elise, sister. So have I. Think about it." She said,
"Oh! You are the one person you HAVE to listen to." I said to all, "She
is more wise than I think she may have intended. We ALL have to listen
to ourselves, and know who we are. Better that we be people we can love
as if we were somebody we just met, because we can't escape ourselves,
or escape how others see us." They looked at me in awe. ALL of them.
I said to nobody in particular, "Honored President, I know you've
been monitoring this. In fact I think we all know nothing but a world
catastrophe could turn your attention aside. Comments?" We could hear
her laughter. I said to the new people, "That's her laugh." They
smiled. She said in the air, "Well done, Solomon and Elise. All of
Posintan thanks you." I said, "It is our nature and privilege to serve.
Not so much to be embarrassed." She laughed. She said, "We are ready to
play your visit to their world." I said, "Please, can that be delayed
until after we leave for our planet? I love the people of Posintan, but
sometimes their er, love can be a little overwhelming, in such large
groups as we might encounter on our way to the spaceport, after that
plays." More laughter. She said, "We will wait. We share love." There
was a click. I said, "A reprieve!" Elise poked me, and I said, "Er,
ouch?" Laughter. I said to the new people, "If you wish to be our
friends, there is something I would give you of me." I held out my
arms. I hugged them all with love, and others who knew what would
but of my group, yes." The GM was wishing, so I hugged him, too. Then
Elise and I walked out with Passinchance, who was in a daze of a
different kind. We made it back to our hotel without too many problems.
In the lobby, I said to him, "We will be having a meeting with somebody
now." He said, "The person who does the love broadcast?" I said, "I
don't know who is doing that here. So, I think not. But I can do a
little one with you now." I did. He left in more of a daze.
Dat was in our rooms when we got there. We hugged all around. He said
to me, "NOT like your father. Different approach, but fully managed as
well." I said, "Well said. He was more of an artist and inventor. All
else was duty with strength. I am more of a research psychologist.
Therapist by duty." Elise said, "And his solutions are sometimes really
twisted. He used me just to get their attention, where our father would
have made that the center of his solution. Right. We didn't want to
waste the genes of the best of us. He continues to have children, even
after death." He said, "I approve. Here, it's more complicated." I
covered my ears and looked fearful, and they laughed.
Back in our ship, waiting for a takeoff slot, I said to Elise, "I
didn't have the heart to tell him that I didn't manage much. He never
saw my father act like this at this age." She said, "Yes. Enlightened.
A different power that he wouldn't understand. I see it, but I don't
understand it, so I know he won't." I said, "It's not something to
understand. It's beyond that. It just IS." We hugged with love, just
being.
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Grant
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