Solomon's Private File #164
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 21 in this story, in the Fall of 2047.
Solomon's Private File #164 "Murder at the Academy"
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There was a massive explosion in an underground coal mine in West
Virginia. My quake sensors detected it. I ported to the site and said
to the man in charge of the rescue efforts, "I'll port the survivors to
the surface, where you say." He said, "To the triage area." I said,
"They won't need that. I'll do a healing right after." He said,
"Please! Thank you very much!" He was in tears. I hugged him. I ported
32 men to the designated area, and started the broadcast, and they were
healed. The mine manager asked me, "Do you know what caused this?" I
said, "Big natural gas leak. High pressure." I projected a translucent
site map, and said, "Here. And what happened." I showed him an
animation of that. I said, "Coal dust made it worse. I need to do
something more. Where do you want the dead?" He said, "They're setting
up the tent. That one." I nodded. I said, "It's going to take a lot of
work to reopen this mine, if you ever do."
He said, "Was there anything we could have done to prevent this?" I
said, "Detectors weren't yet in the new area, but even if they had
been, it wouldn't have changed anything. Very unusual circumstance,
with the high pressure. Any spark could have set it off, even a
footstep. You couldn't have known, it happened so fast. This time, it's
not your fault. But you're going to have a problem. The mine is filled
with gas under pressure. It's leaking to the surface, making the whole
area VERY dangerous. All people need to be OUT of the area, and move
with extreme caution. NO power systems. NO vehicle engines. I'll port
away any equipment you want moved. I'm suppressing ignition now, but
I'm not going to do that forever. The longer I keep doing that, the
bigger the possible bang when I stop." He said, "Got it. Radius of
danger?" I said, "From geographical center, about 13k, if it goes all
the way. Some debris might go farther. Shape of the bedrock and
excavations, causing that."
He said, "Got it." He started yelling orders. People really moved!
The newly healed miners helped a lot. I ported all the equipment to
where I was asked to, even from inside the mine. Then we had a
conference with the engineers. I showed them what had happened, and
what was happening with the gas. One said, "Could you seal the leak?" I
said, "The major ones, yes, but the blast caused a lot of fractures.
Trying to seal them all isn't practical, without flooding the entire
mine with concrete. Seal too many too slowly, the others will open up
more. Even with all individually sealed, any slight ground shift will
open more." The manager said, "So the only safe thing to do is concrete
flooding, but we couldn't do that well enough or fast enough." I said,
"Concrete, even pumped in as I can do it, will expand slightly with
it's own internal heat in curing. And have big gas bubbles. Could cause
more cracks. And it may not be necessary, or even a good thing, to do
anything at all but isolate the area and let it do its thing until it
gets tired. Wouldn't be the first." They nodded. They were undecided.
I said, "I can do something to help a little now. I could port into
place sealed battery operated detectors and cameras. Tell me where, and
I'll do it if you want." They did, and I did, giving them the
receivers. One said, "How did you know about this? You were here pretty
fast!" I said, "My earthquake detection mind feelers triggered my
attention. That was a BIG bang!" He said, "So you would be instantly
aware of any atomic bomb explosions." I said, "Yes, and more, because I
am specifically watching for them." The manager said, "If I know
anything about you, I think you're watching all the making of them, and
their storage." I said, "I took over my father's work in that." He
said, "I feel a lot safer now. Thank you VERY much!" There was a lot of
agreement. I gave them crystals and memory cards of what we had
discussed, and maps and diagrams, and possible resolutions. We hugged
before I ported away.
Congress called for an investigation of the explosion and the mining
company. I asked to speak to the committee. I said, "I was there less
than a minute after the explosion. I time researched the explosion, and
determined the cause. I consulted with the operator and the engineers
after it. The cause of the explosion was an unusual occurrence that
they couldn't have detected with any accuracy, or prevented. Here is my
research and conclusions, which I have shared with them." I gave them
the memory cards and crystals. The Chairman said, "Thank you Solomon.
How did you learn about it?" I told them. They all looked at each other
and nodded. I said, "Implication speculation outside of this incident
should be kept private. Good of the world sort of thing." He said,
"Understood and accepted. Thank you very much!" I nodded and ported
out.
The Director of the FBI asked to see me. He said, "There's been a
murder at the Academy. They're asking for you." I said, "I didn't do
it!" He just stared at me. I said, "Oh, alright, but which me?" He
said, "Your Colonel, actually. American version?" I said, "That would
be Jack. They're going to see a side of me they won't want to again."
He nodded in satisfaction. I took a staff car, with others in it, to
the Academy. I was hard faced and silent. After one look at me, nobody
talked. I went into the main office and into a conference room. All the
upper levels were there, waiting for me, including the Iron Lady. I
said to her, "You know who did it, but you can't prove it. Who?" She
told me all about it, while the others were looking at her in surprise.
The department head asked me, "Please explain?" I said, "I know her.
She would know, even if she didn't want to. It's in how people move,
their expressions, where they look, all tiny signals, unnoticed by
most, but glaringly obvious to a Senior Master. She did right to ask me
here. You wouldn't have believed her, and could have ruined the
resolution of the case." They were unhappy with that, but had to agree.
I said, "She and I are going to smoke him out. I see at least one of
you would object. I would strongly advise that you don't. You would not
like what could happen if you interfere. The Director and I are in
agreement on this. He expects to look at my report with a lot of
satisfaction. I don't intend to disappoint him." I looked at the Iron
Lady and said, "Now we get to work." She walked out with me. In her
office, we exchanged tight grins. I have her my time research on the
crime and on the perp. She said, "A secret master! Kyokushin. I don't
know that style." I said, "Heard of Mas Oyama?" She said, "Oh! So that
was his." I said, "Yes. A mix of styles, but mostly Okinawan, with an
emphasis on strength and toughness. They train hard, and do full
contact practicing. One of my group is Japanese, and his family is in
it, and other styles. He's a Master, of course, and known there as
such. He wants in on this. Agree?" She said, "Absolutely!" Ichi ported
in, and I did the intros. He said to me, "So, how are we going to work
this?" I said, "You'll see." He growled. Iron Lady grinned.
Then Ruth ported in, looking like the murdered woman. There were a
lot of Ohs expressed in surprise. Ichi said to me, "I know you. This
isn't the end of surprises." I said, "If that's true, might it mean
that I want you all to be really surprised in public, as part of the
setup?" They looked at me and nodded, seeing how serious I was. I said,
"We will demonstrate the martial art style. Ichi will referee a
practice between me and the required volunteer, the killer. If he
declines, he will fight Ruth, who will look different then. She will
reveal the disguise as the victim at the right time. That's the plan in
general. We'll see how it actually transpires in action." Iron lady
said, "What if he doesn't want to be a part of it at all?" I said,
"Threat of dismissal, and true." She nodded. We carried out the
equipment I had ported in, and we went to a practice area and set
things up. Classes were called to attend.
I said to the crowd, "We are the premiere law enforcement agency in
the world, but we are not the toughest. Any guesses who is?" I cupped
my ear. No answer. I said, "Don't know? Then I'll tell you. Korea and
Japan. They don't usually cary guns, so they have to know how to fight
for real. In both countries, they can't advance in the police unless
they know martial arts, and to be in much above the lowest ranks, they
have to be black belts. In Japan, they all study Judo. For a hard
style, they can study any, but a lot of them choose Kyokushin, founded
by Mas Oyama, because they practice toughness and being hit, which is
most like real life." I said to the Iron Lady, "From his reaction, I
see one of your students knows something of this art." She nodded to
me, and said to him, Mr. Ruskin, please join us." He said, "But I don't
know it!" She said, "We still need an assistant for this demonstration.
Here! Now!" He didn't really want to, but he came running. Then he
recognized Ichi, who I introduced as an honored guest of the style. We
bowed. I said to the perp, "Choose who you will practice with, and the
other will referee, me, or him." He said, "Are you his student?" I
said, "We have practiced together, but I prefer Aikido and Kenjutsu.
Kind of like making people fall down, and playing with shiny toys."
Chuckles. He said to me, "You, then. But I don't know this." I said,
"We'll see." I said to the crowd, "This style originated full contact
sparing with gloves in Japan, including strikes to the head." Ichi
said, "O'Sensei Oyama wanted to make his style as realistic as
possible, without causing serious injury in practice."
I took off my jacket, tie, shoes and sox. Ruskin and I put on
protective headgear and mixed martial arts gloves. I said to him, "I
see you DO know something of this, by the way you gear up. Drop the
pretense. We Senior Masters can see it in you." He sighed and nodded.
With Ichi's direction, we demonstrated some moves. Then he asked us to
go full contact. Ruskin said, "Oh no, you're too good for me." Ichi
said, "Then my assistant here, Ruth?" He looked at her, and liked what
he saw. He said, "Sure, I'll do that." Ruth geared up, and they fought.
It looked like he was better in the beginning, but then she became
better, and practically whipped his butt. They stopped for a rest, and
Ruth took off her headgear and her disguise, or it looked like that,
but she actually did the opposite and disguised herself as the murder
victim.
When Ruskin saw that, his mouth dropped open in surprise. She said to
him, "What's the matter, big boy? Seeing a ghost?" She prodded him with
a front kick. She said, "You thought you killed me? Poor fool, you're
too easily deceived." He said, "But you're dead!" She said, "Oh really?
Prove it, you slimy bastard. When did you see me last?" She kicked him
again. He said, "But you're dead! In the back, behind the west gym! You
weren't breathing, and your head was at a crazy angle!" She said, "But
you're only a Shodan. You couldn't beat me and break my neck, you
little weasel." He said, "But I'm a Rokudan! And I'm SURE I broke your
neck! You were DEAD!" Then they fought for real.
Then Mom ported in, and shouted, "Stop!" We all froze in surprise.
Everybody recognized her, and she looked very angry. She said to Ruth,
"Give me the crystal." Ruth pulled the chain of the pendant over her
head, and she looked like Ruth again. Mom took it and said to Ruskin,
"You killed Ms. Portman, and you just confessed to that in front of all
these witnesses." She went to stand right in front of him and said,
"Now you will fight ME!" He tried to back away, but I was right behind
him, and stopped him. He was really afraid, and said, "Special powers!"
Mom said, "I won't use them. I can't in a fight. I have to fight fair.
So, we fight for real. Come on, you murderer, take it like a man. Or
are you so much less than a man, you can only fight those so much less
skilled than you are?" He fell to his knees and said, "Please, no!" She
said, "I knew it. A coward. You killed a fellow student here. Did you
think your senior instructor, a Senior Master, wouldn't immediately
know who did it? Yes, this was a setup to get you to confess before
your peers. All life is full of lessons. Here is a big one. Don't mess
with the women of the FBI, or whoever does, is going to seriously
regret it!" I shouted, "Right!" So did Ruth and the Iron Lady. We
encouraged the students to do the same, and did, with energy. Mom
nodded to us, and ported away. Some Special Agents came out of the
crowed and took the perp away.
I said to the crowd, "Being and playing fair, is tremendously
overrated, in regards to emotions. We wanted to rip him to shreds, but
we are not HIM. He had a lesson here, but so did we. Questions?" They
were still in shock. After a while, one said, "He said he didn't know
the martial art, but then he did. Do you know why he hid that?" I said,
"You would ask a shrink something like that, who doesn't know. Oh,
thanks a lot!" They chuckled, but the Iron Lady laughed. I looked at
her, and she said with a grin to the crowd, "There is more than one way
to beat a great martial artist." More chuckles. I said, "A lot of very
good martial artists prefer to conceal their skill. There are a lot of
reasons. One we can rule out for HIM; humility." Nods of agreement. I
said, "Some don't want to risk being challenged, and having to hurt
people. Some just don't want the attention. I sure can relate to that!"
Chuckles. I said, "Some don't want to reveal what they can do, for the
element of surprise when it's needed. That could have been his biggest
reason." One said, "Who set up the er, surprise?" I said, "Group
effort. Director informed me of the murder. Your Senior Instructor told
me who did it. I have a standing request from Rose to tell her about
what she might be able to help with, concerning violence against women.
You KNOW I wouldn't refuse to do THAT!" Chuckles. I looked at Ichi. He
said, "I know Rose through martial arts. We've practiced together. And
Dr. Nimbol. For his er, hobby." I said, "So speaks a purist." We bowed
to each other. I said, "While we're all here, which might not happen
this?" Some did, and we split up and worked with a lot of people. After
almost two hours of that, we stopped, and they were dismissed.
Back in the main office, I said, "Successfully concluded. Anybody
think there will be a lot of murders now?" The head of the Academy
said, "Absolutely not! Nor will I disbelieve our head physical training
instructor!" Ichi said, "Now I know something about our transportation.
Rose?" He and Ruth vanished. I said, "He might be a little annoyed at
being used. He'll get over it." Smiles.
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Grant
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