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Subject: +*+*+*+ Solomon's Private File #240 "Circus At Omricon" +*+*+*+
Date: Fri, 30 Sep 2016 22:31:13 -0400
From: " +Grant. " <+Grant@grant.grant>
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Solomon's Private File #240
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 26 in this story, in the Fall of 2052.
Solomon's Private File #240 "Circus At Omricon"
START Page
I said to the manager of the circus, "Plans are in action. Crown is
informed. My status has changed." He said, "So, who are you now?" I
said, "Depends on who's asking. To the enemy, I'm their senior
undercover agent here, the circus who spies for THEM. So, they are
unlikely to bother us." He had to laugh. I said, "Our job is to clean
each place we visit. Completely. Except at Omricon. Self contained
stations can easily be isolated when the time is right. Before then,
they can be the conduit of our misinformation work. There is an issue.
At each planet, we need to coordinate with the Governor General. If one
can't keep it secret, we'll be exposed. We don't know who the big boss
is. I suspect it's a high ranked Imperial, or in local government. In
our actions, we have to be sure that no academy graduate is captured by
them. Alive. They are adept at all kinds of conditioning. Our people
here already know things, and will know more, that the enemy should NOT
know, that they can be conditioned to tell if captured." He said, "I
understand. But you can break the conditioning." I said, "So can these
crystals." I explained how they were to be used.
I said, "Jurk has been on some missions with me, and others, in this.
Because he knows more than most here should, that makes him my second,
in whatever authority I might have. Other grads here need to be told of
my double agent status, or they might act on their suspicions er,
inconveniently violently." He smiled, and then looked strange. He said,
"Can you be killed?" I said, "That hasn't been asked here so far.
Fortunately." He nodded. I said, "What I do, must not be seen to be
impossible, or the future here will be damaged." He said, "I think I
almost understand a little of that." I said, "Oh, why don't you be more
unsure?" Laughter.
I said, "I'll have to tell Mirch and Hrach about my double agent
news. Here's your info package." He said, "Your status here?" I said,
"Better you get it from that." He grinned and said, "Too embarrassing?"
I said plaintively, "I thought we were friends!" He laughed. I said,
"You run the circus. In matters of our dealing with the enemy threat, I
er, do things." He said, "I knew that, boss." I growled, and he
laughed.
In their room, I said to Mirch and Hrach, "There have been some
developments where you are concerned. I suspect you might want to know
about them." Mirch said to Hrach, "Is he joking?" He said, "Well, he's
a clown." I said, "You couldn't just play along? Somebody wants a
spanking." Chuckles. I said, "Some of your former colleagues think I'm
now their lead agent here, and the circus is spying for THEM." Hrach
said, "Wow!" I said, "Qualifies. You should know, in case er, unusual
things happen because of that. Boss knows, and he'll tell those here he
can trust. If you're contacted, tell me, or if I'm not available, the
boss, or Jurk. Hold the laughter until I get back." Chuckles. I said,
"We still have a circus to make happen. Let's get to work!"
I said to Jurk, while we were inspecting some rigging, "I can tell
each one of them are told, right after that, by how they look me. Some
spies!" He laughed, and said, "Me, too. I agree. Too obvious. I'll have
a talk with them about it." I said, "Problems with their seniority?" He
said, "I expected some, but they told me, first in the last class,
rules. Most current training, or some such thing." I said, "Some
justification in that. And you've seen real action in the current
problem, and some of them haven't seen any at all." He said, "They said
that, too." I said, "Changed you. They can see it. More mature." He
poked him, and he had to chuckle.
We boarded our ship, and arrived at Omricon two weeks later. During
the trip, the manager and I met with the ship's crew, and the new
detachment of GP Service Marines. He said, "Omricon is virtually
lawless. More so now, than ever before. The bosses there are suspicious
of us, and more than usual now. Sol has some contacts there, and will
be exploring that in unusual ways. The more we know, the better we can
protect ourselves. We'll be on the station. Those of you here, could be
even more vulnerable, so isolated. Be on the highest alert, and contact
me at the slightest suspicion of action." The Marine Major said,
"Authorization for action?" He said, "If you have to, save the ship,
more than us. You can report back, where we can't without you. There
are other ships here. We can take what we need, when we need to. And
not be too sad about that, too, in those circumstances." I said, "Those
of you with us, if I'm not with you at the time, you see a weapon
pointing at you or us, stop them, any way you have to. Be nice to have
somebody to question, though." They looked at the manager, who smiled.
He said, "Regarding action, Sol commands."
I said, "I see they need some convincing." Manager grinned widely,
and said, "I've been hoping for that." I said to him, "Is that nice?"
He said, "It isn't, and I don't care." The Major said, "Do you mean
what I think you mean? You want to fight with us?" I said, "No, I
don't. But If I'm to command you so it works, you need to trust that
I'm fully capable." He said, "You circus people are very highly trained
athletes, but a clown?" Manager said, "Our clowns have to be able to do
ALL we do, and better than any of us. Sol is the best clown we've ever
had." Major said with a smile, "This is going to be interesting. To the
gym?" Manager said, "And recorded. He shouldn't have to repeat this." I
said to him, "That's not why you want it recorded. You want to show it
around." He said, "I knew I shouldn't have tried to fool you." I said
with a smile, "But you did try." Chuckles all around.
A private handled the camera. I said, "I see you throw knives. Do
that. At me." They all looked very surprised. Major said, "Do what he
says." A Staff Sergeant threw a knife at me, hard, aimed at my chest. I
skipped sideways and caught it, and threw it at the target on the wall,
dead center, all in one motion. They were surprised. I said, "Three of
you at the same time." They did that. I caught them, and juggled the
knives for a while, and then threw them all at once with one hand at
the target, and they lined up perfectly. I said, "Hope you got the
point of this." Chuckles. I went to a braced heavy bag. I kicked it
across the room, ripping it from its mount. I said, "This is just a
start. Anybody want to fight? All at once, if you like. I'll try not to
hurt you. Er, too much." Major called out some names. They came at me.
I used Aikido, mostly. None of them could touch me. I said, "Stop. Most
powerful kicker, step forward." One did. I said, "Your best effort,
here." I pounded my chest and stomach. He did a spinning back kick. It
hit with a big thud. I didn't move.
I said, "There is a technique that only the most advanced martial
artists can use. Somebody tell me what it is." One said, "To strike
with one's internal energy. Even light fires with it." I knocked over
an equipment rack from three meters away, with my Ki, which was flowing
fully then. One said, "Sir! I'm a sixth pin, a Master. I feel your
power! You are beyond me." We exchanged martial salutes. I stopped my
flow of Ki, and he reacted. He caught my slight smile at that. Major
said to me, "Sir, I and my men will follow your commands with honor!"
More salutes. Walking back to the airlock, I said to the manager, so
that others could hear, "I have to admit, that light workout was fun.
said, "They wouldn't have believed it." He said, "I wouldn't have, if I
hadn't seen it with my own eyes. You said you weren't good enough for
us, with something none of us had ever done before, and still can't,
that you did for your first time. And you didn't even have proper
equipment!"
Major said, "I have to ask, what was that?" He said, "Sol did a full
one armed handstand on the slack wire, and without gloves, at GP
gravity." Major said, "I don't understand." He said, "We are the best
circus performers in all history, at ANY gravity. None of us can do
what he did, even with armored gloves. He ripped his hands up. That's
remarkable enough, but to balance like that, the heavy part of his body
in the air, which makes it much more difficult, and he can't use his
arms to aid in the balance, but must use his less finely controlled
legs, well, that's just impossible. Most people just don't know what's
involved with balancing on the slack wire. And to do it with such
control in comedy, is amazing beyond words." Mayor said, "What's so
difficult about the slack wire, more than the high wire?" He said, "It
moves! You shift your weight to balance, it moves sideways in the
opposite direction. You have to constantly correct for that, or you
fall right off. And the wire bows in the middle, throwing off your
perceptions. You can't walk up and down hill on that, so there is no
platform you can grab to save yourself. That's why the slack wire is
never high. All will fall sometimes. Impossibly, Sol rarely does.
Somebody did fall from the high pole in practice. Sol ran to be
underneath her. He was injured, saving her life. You'll follow his
leadership, because you know enough to respect him. Now you know all
the circus will, too."
They were amazed. I said, "And you just HAD to embarrass me." He
grinned and said, "Absolutely!" I said, "Fortunate for you, I don't
believe in revenge." He said, "Oh, I know it!" Chuckles. Major said, "I
have to see this." Manager said, "Better you see it in a real
performance, and then in practice, if you want to. What he can do on
the high wire, is amazing, too. But he makes it look like he doesn't
know how, and that's supremely difficult." Major said, "I think I'm
beginning to understand a little. Skill isn't enough. It has to be
entertaining, and that makes it more difficult." I said, "And comedy is
the most difficult. Timing is almost everything. And it can't be all
scripted. Each audience is different, and responds differently to
different things. Even the same audience on different days." Manager
said, "That's why our clowns have to be our best, even in observing and
thinking." He said, "I'm beginning to see that." I said, "Really the
beginning. What till you see it in real time, now that you know some of
what's behind it, that we don't want our audience to know." He said,
"Why is that?" Manager said, "Audience is to react, be amazed, be
amused, to enjoy themselves. For most, thinking and knowing, would
interfere with that. For us to succeed, they should truly be children
of all ages. We do it for them, and we do it to support our world, to
show us to the Imperium in a good way, as cultural ambassadors of our
people." Major said, "I've found a new appreciation for the circus.
Thank you." We both said, "You're welcome."
Our arrival on Omricon was without incident. Jurk expressed some
disappointment at that, for which I poked him. We laughed. We offloaded
things from the ship, with shuttles, and began setting up in the arena.
It was a lot of work, and a little slow because of the limitation of
the shuttle system. It took a week, before we could begin rehearsing.
That used two days. The evening of the first day, I was contacted. I
was then asked to meet with the big boss of the station. I was escorted
there. One of the guards pushed me from behind. I flattened him. I
said, "Next?" They declined. I waited in the outer office. One of my
escort went in to announce me, and to tell him about the incident. I
was asked to go it. Before he could say anything, I said, "You were
told not to mess with the circus. Why do you want to expose me to
them?"
He said, "You will address me as sir!" I said, "First, he's your
second? Knows all you know?" He said, "He is. He does." I was across
the desk in a flash, and had touched the boss in a few places. He was
out. I said to the second, "Was second. Want to live to be first for
long, you obey. Got it?" He gulped, and said, "Yes sir!" I said, "He's
not dead. He'll wake up eventually, but he won't be the same. He might
be able to feed himself. Just. See he stays alive. Visible lesson." He
grinned, and said, "Good idea!" I said, "So, what am I here for?" He
said, "We were to ask you how well you were in, and if you needed
anything. And if you had anything to report." I said, "I need to be
left alone. Here is sewed up tight. Others on the list need more work.
I'm in so solid, most of the people there will obey me almost without
question. It wasn't easy! Involved some risk and injuries, but that's
the situation now. If they do any spying, I'll know, and will probably
be asked to join it. Could be a little fun. Like this action was." He
said, "Wow!" I said, "Eh, that, too." Chuckles.
I said, "I went down to GP with my sick roommate. Some of our people
were guards at the port. I had to er, adjust their presence a little.
They were too obvious. People were actually noticing them. No, I didn't
hurt them. At least not physically." He laughed. I said, "Same with one
on the shuttle back to the station. Seriously incompetent people. Our
two people at the circus are much better. No action so far. Boring."
Chuckles. I said, "Anything else?" He said, "No, that's all. Thank
you." I said, "I should wander around the station for a while, to make
this look what it isn't. That fool!" He nodded, and said, "Want some of
my boys for company?" I said, "Sure, but not the one who pushed me.
After he recovers." He laughed. He said, "How good are you?" I said,
"Any of us high gravity types can rip you low gravs to pieces. Among
the high gravs, I'm one of the best. Better than any in the circus, and
their marines, and they know it." He said, "Wow!" I said, "Right. Your
former boss should have known it. My boss showed him that." He said,
"Oh! I see now. Thanks." I said, "Better tell your people my er,
status, if you want them to stay healthy." He laughed hard, and went
out with me to do just that.
My escort were a lot more friendly then. We wandered into clubs,
casinos, and gaming centers. At one, I said, "Tell me how this works."
One said, "You toss the rings onto the uprights to win prizes." I said,
"Looks easy, but isn't." They said, "Right. Bad angle, and the posts
are bigger than they look." I said, "But I'm going to beat it." They
grinned. I did. Every ring went around a post. The operator wasn't
happy about that, but one look at my escort, caused him to pay up
without a problem. I gave them the winnings. I said, "I'm the highest
paid performer at the circus. I don't need this small change." One
said, "Really?" I said, "Would YOU pay me less than the best?" Grins
and chuckles.
There was a small caliber rifle range. I chose a rifle, and said to
my escort, "These sights are wrong. Fixed that way. All of them?" One
said, "Er, yes, actually." While I was still looking at him, I fired
all the rounds in the magazine, hitting the moving targets. Some hard
stares helped motivate the operator to pay me my winnings that I gave
to the guards. I won at some other carnival events, too. In a casino,
there was throwing dice. I threw what I wanted, every time, betting the
limit. Even after they changed the dice to specially weighted ones, to
shift the odds to be more in their own favor. We were "invited" to see
the owner, after collecting the winnings. He knew who my escort
belonged to, so he was seething mad, but polite. He said, "How did you
do it?" I said to the leader of my escort, "Tell him about the other
wins." He did. The owner said, "Why tell me all that?" I said, "To show
you I win from skill alone. No tricks." He said, "I don't believe you."
I said, "Last person who was like that, probably can feed himself, but
not much more now." My escorts nodded vigorously, and with a little
fear. He noticed that. I said, "Psionic watched me. Ask him. I'm
psionic, too, so I know he knows I didn't use any tricks. Don't doubt
me again, if you want to live. You won't want to miss what's coming."
He looked surprised, and then said, "Oh! Thanks. I get it. Have a good
time here." I said, "Thanks, but I've had enough. I should be getting
back."
We left. I said to the escort, "Interesting, what you're going to
tell your boss." Grins. He said, "Allow everything?" I said, "Yes. Wish
I could watch his eyebrows wiggle while you're telling him." Laughter.
At the door to the circus quarters, I said, "Thanks for company. If I
do this again, want to?" He said, "You bet!" I said, "Already did some
of that." Chuckles. We shook hands, and I went in. They were waiting
for me. Jurk said, "We were afraid something might have happened to
you!" I said, "It did, to somebody else." Chuckles. We all gathered
around, and I told them, leaving out the enemy references. There were a
lot of wows and laughter. Then Jurk and I met with the manager, and I
told them the rest. More wows and laughter. Jurk said, "The big boss?"
I said, "He'll recover in about two years. I was justified in doing
much more to him, the murderer. He's not physically harmed, just
partially mind-locked." They nodded. I said, "I've got a problem. I won
a lot at the casino. I don't need or want it. I don't approve of
gambling for money." Manager said, "We have an emergency fund." I said,
"Here, do what you want with it. Something that helps people, I like
best." He said with love, "I understand."
END Page
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Grant
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