Solomon's Private File #124
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 19 in this story, in the Summer of 2045.
Solomon's Private File #124 "Bending"
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The response to Mom's show about me were all over the map. Some
people said she was just being an overcautious mom. Then some said in
return that she said the danger affects her, too, and she doesn't lie.
What drew the most interesting comments were the two offworld missions
she showed. Some didn't understand about the breaking, like the
reporter, but most comments did show understanding about the second
mission, and liked what I did and said. Then there were the comments
about me being hurt by being with criminals. Some couldn't understand
it. Some who did were very sympathetic. Then some people reported how I
was with those situations, and then more understood.
I did get some different looks in the Bureau offices again. I said in
reception, "Did you know that sticking out your tongue to somebody in
Tibet is a sign of respect?" I had to explain it. Then I said, "So when
into my office, the woman who had been raped on the job as a police
officer and CSI. She said, "The case is set to go to trial. DA is sure
of a plea bargain before that." I said, "Cops don't do well in prison."
She grinned. I said, "Now is that nice?" She said, "Right. But he
didn't just rape me, he raped the whole community with who he was and
what he did." I said, "I agree. You knew I would. Do you know how we
broke the case?" She said, "No, that's not available yet." I said,
"After you came to us, another officer of your department did. He just
couldn't work there anymore, feeling as he did about his fellow
officers, and about what happened to you. Please don't tell him I told
you this, well, you know how men are, but in talking about you, he
actually cried." She was really surprised, and made a silent "Oh!"
I said, "I told him we were working the case, and he immediately said
he had to go tell you. I told him not to. Wouldn't be good, him looking
like swiss cheese, before he could say anything." She had an
interesting mix of emotions. I said, "And that he would blow his cover
when he went back to work as our wired plant. I'm not saying I like to
surprise people a lot, but if I did, I would absolutely love this." She
had to laugh. I said, "Seriously, it was torture for him. But he did
very well. Perps are going down! Er, maybe that was the wrong choice of
words." She laughed again. I said, "And he's approved by this office as
part of his application to work here. You might see him at the Academy,
so you had to know this before that. Er, if you both are hired." She
grinned. She said, "Would you tell me who he is?" I did. She nodded and
said, "I'm not surprised. Thanks. Thank you for everything!" I said,
"You're welcome."
She said, "Would you tell me who the outside person was, who would
have worked the case?" I said, "If you keep it to yourself. She did
help a little. We come across anything of this nature involving
government workers, she wants to help, and being who she is, we like
it. More, when she can stay within the law. I'll give you a clue.
You'll probably get it. The most powerful woman the world knows of, who
you would MOST want on your side." She whispered, "Rose?" Mom said in
the air, "Yes. I need to do this for women, and my son supports that
absolutely. He was a woman in many past lives, and has been through it
all. The Bureau lets me know of cases I can help with, even if it's
only in research." She said, "Thank you!" Mom said, "You're welcome.
Take care." I said, "Well, that was interesting." She grinned. I said,
"If you need any help before the class starts, let us know. You are one
of us now, and we care." We shook hands, and she left feeling very
good. I felt good, too.
A man walked into my office. I took his file and said, "Why the hat?"
He said, "I don't want my mind read." I said, "Oh. Would you like it
yellow, instead?" It took him a while, but he finally got the joke. He
had to laugh to release the tension. I said, "Your hat doesn't concern
me, but the reason for it does. And your ability to reason. Think about
it some, and then we'll explore that." He did, and said, "I think I see
what you mean. This isn't a good place to be for anybody who wants to
hide things, and so obviously. And the paranoid issue." I said, "Here
we don't need to see the thoughts of applicants. Got tests." He
grinned, ashamedly. I said, "But how do you know that actually works?"
He said, "Some people came to our company and gave us a briefing on
"Right. OUR briefing came from Solomon. From that, we know that mind
reading is extremely rare, even among his people, and those who can,
REALLY don't want to do it. That's why our Special Agents don't need to
wear those hats. Only guards do, because accomplished psis can will
people to sleep, but it takes a lot out of them. That should have been
in the briefing." He nodded. I said, "There is something else. The
insulation works both ways. Any psionic ability you have, even minimal,
is blocked, and so is its development. In fact, when you first put that
on, did you feel a slight closed in feeling for a moment?" He said in
surprise, "I did!" I said, "If you sometimes were aware of other
people's feelings, you won't with that hat on. Or have hunches. Another
reason why our people don't wear them. And you won't receive a love
broadcast. Oh, and anybody who uses psionics to help commit a crime,
and we have meters to test their ability, Solomon said he would disable
their ability. All this means that we have the issue well in hand, if
not always under our hats. You work for us, that comes off. And to be
approved, we need to see if you are capable of that."
He grinned and took it right off. I said, "Not bad, with a little
difference. Test my ability?" I took out the meter, and pointed at him,
and showed him the reading. A quarter psionic. I said, "And this shows
you can improve a little over time. That would place you at about one
in fifty in psionic ability. No control, and unreliable, but
recognizable impressions." He said, "How can I improve?" I said, "By
improving you, the person. Better body helps make a better mind. A
better mind, helps itself, and the body. It's all one. For your mind,
don't lie. Not even a little one. Learn new things. Avoid anger. Help
people. Have love. You can do a lot of that working for us. Well, we
would NOT approve of making a person worse than he is." He said,
"Thanks." We did the tests, and he was approved. He took the hat with
him, looking a little embarrassed to my grin. I had a lot of comments
going on in my mind about that interview. Ivanna said, "Good you were
the first with the cat in the hat." Groans. She said, "Alright, I
deserve that. Now we know how to handle it. Going to give out the
meters?" I said, "I suppose I have to. Iron Lady first." Galya, home
with Dawn, said, "I love what you're doing with her." I said, "I'm not
exactly hating it, myself. Eager student. Great making the Academy boss
jump." Laughter.
I ported to her office at the time we scheduled. I said, "Have you
noticed your boss after what we do here works on you?" She grinned
really wide and said, "I sure do!" I said, "Yeah, it's fun." We traded
grins. I said, "Got something for you. First outside of my office. Psi
meter." I showed her how to use it. I said, "Better not try it on me.
Might get hysterical." She laughed. I said, "Been thinking of what
could be next?" She said, "You know I have. Light fires?" I said, "Last
time, you could, if you had tried. Not a very useful skill." She said,
"I think you know I had to try. Did it." I said, "Don't expect a lot of
praise for that. But you DO get a lot of credit for trying on your own.
Did you do the reverse?" She said, "Oh, I didn't think of that." I
said, "Got a space?" We went to one. I ported a big candle to the
floor. She lit it. After a while it went out. I said, "Good! Now a
customary warning. That works on almost every kind of energy. Do that
to an electrical socket, you will likely die horribly. Do that to a
person, and one of my people will be on you like paint on a wall, and
you will never be able to do that again. Or much else. That's our
primary mission." She said, "I understand. You had to say that. I won't
let you down." I said, "I knew that. By the way, people who do that,
are what the legend of the vampire is based on." She said, "Oh! But now
that!" She grinned.
I ported a propane tank to the floor, with a vertical flame torch,
and lit it. I said, "Bend the flame without putting it out." It took a
while, but she did it. I said, "Very good. Now split it." She did. I
said, "Better." There was a very big candle near it. I said, "Light it
with that flame, without blowing us up." She grinned, and then
concentrated. Eventually, a little offshoot of the flame shot to the
candle and lit it, and vanished. I said, "That last one was tough,
wasn't it." She said, "Yes, very!" I said, "You are now a fire bender."
She looked REALLY surprised, and said, "So that's real!" I said, "Er,
kind of obvious." She almost laughed.
I said, "With water and air, you can move them with energy from your
palms, but controlling them at some distance from you, requires a LOT
of energy, and practice." I ported a clear room to the gym. I said,
"Note it's filled with smoke. It's plastic on all sides, but the front.
There is a force field there that's only real to the smoke particles,
which will stay suspended. Want to see what you can do?" She really
did. After a while, she made some nice looking swirls in the smoke. I
ported a pinwheel toy into the room. She made it spin, and then knocked
it over. I said, "Well, now I don't need to ask you if you can knock it
over." She chuckled. I said, "But I CAN ask you to lift the whole thing
up. With just the air." That took a half hour. I said, "This lesson is
complete. You are now a fire and air bender. You've done VERY well. We
don't need to do the water here. Play in your own bathtub. If you want
to keep the smoke chamber, tell me where." She did, and I ported it
there. I said, "For your information, those in Shaolin don't know about
these skills except only as they apply to Adepts. And those can't, in
their entire history, do as well as you have except in using direct
force. I almost heard that wow." She almost chuckled.
I said, "Before you ask, yes, there is more, but not today. You're
too tired. So, when I said to you in our first meeting, that I did
mostly Ki, was this what you had thought?" She laughed and said,
"Absolutely not! Just amazing!" I said, "I have to agree. The human
potential IS amazing. Here is something to consider. The old west
gunfight, which hardly ever happened. With the opponents of equal skill
and equipment, the first to draw, lost. Why?" She thought a little and
then said, "He had to decide to draw. The other gunman just had a
reaction to that, which is faster. Your knife throwing lesson. The
reflex in no-mind!" I said, "Yes. Just a little example you can use in
lessons." She said, "Thank you!" We bowed. I ported away.
A man walked into my office. I said, "Application is off the pending
list?" He said, "I hope. Harris knows?" I said, "Yes. She was here,
too. I told her what you did. She was REALLY not unhappy!" He smiled
and said, "That's good. Restriction off?" I said, "Right. Advise you
call, first. Armed." He grinned and said, "Assumed." I said, "You might
see each other at the Academy. Er, oops." He laughed.
I met with the Director. I presented the psi meter and the
instructions. I said, "I can let you have as many as you want, but ONLY
for the Bureau. Any other LEA wants them, they get one of you with it
for that specific job. Here, trust, there, no. I will not support
random invasion of privacy. For use only on a perp suspected of using
psi. Any other use needs to be entirely voluntary. Good suspicion, and
reads positive, I get called, before he gets away. One of my students
might handle it for me. Depends on availability." He said, "Better the
student." I said, "Yes. Practice. Could have a name of Frank Stein." He
laughed. I said, "Frank is laughing, too. He played my Inspector's
intern. In disguise, of course. Also escorted the Director of FEMA.
Yes, he's worked here. We can actually use different names, you know."
He said, "I do know." I said, "Got a secure storeroom, I'll fill it
with these." He said, "I'll let you know. Your mother's show. The ankle
story was in the Russia crystal." I said, "Yes, That wasn't in the show
script. I had to remove the memories of that from my former team
members. Those who received a crystal already knew it was me. Mom was
just too proud of me to hold back." He said, "I completely understand.
It's a strain not doing that myself." I said, "Don't. She and I can
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Grant
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