Solomon's Private File #353
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 31 in this story, in the Fall of 2057.
Solomon's Private File #353 "Can't See The Forrest..."
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I walked into the office of the manager of a big forestry and biotics
corporation's expeditionary base on a recently discovered world, and
said, "Port clearance may have scheduled an immediate appointment with
you. I'm Solomon." I looked like my usual me, and he looked like the
species that was working in that company, which was a blue humanoid. He
said, "What is your business with me?" I said, "I am from the Standards
Agency." That got his attention. He said, "We are obeying all the
standards for our operations here." I said, "From what we know of you,
that would be very unusual." He was annoyed, but tried to hide it. He
said, "I filed a complete report." I said, "It is neither complete nor
accurate. Your actual exports are greater than what is listed in the
report. We know what transpires in each member world spaceport." He
said, "If there is an error, it is not known to this office. There will
be an investigation."
I said, "But that's not why I'm here. There have been some issues
with some new and unregulated drugs, source undetermined. Statistical
analysis has indicated that this world may be the source. I am here to
investigate this, and all else of your operation." He said, "How may we
assist you?" I said, "I request assistance in transportation, and a
guard who knows the language of the natives." He said, "I will arrange
that for you. And a place to stay?" I said, "That would be convenient,
thank you." He called an assistant in, and told her what to do. I went
with her out of the office. While walking with her, I checked my
wristcomp, and said, "He's listening through your com. That happen
often?" She clearly didn't want to say anything. I made an adjustment,
and said, "He's only hearing jungle noises now, with occasional nerve
shattering screams. Oh, that didn't last long. He gave that up rather
quickly." She almost choked, trying not to laugh. I said, "I'm an
investigator who works alone. This is far from my first mission. That
should tell you something."
She nodded, and said, "It does. Thank you." She showed me my suite of
rooms in the VIP guest house, and called the port to have my luggage
brought to it. I said, "I wonder how well they will try to conceal
their thorough examination of my things." She said with interest, "Will
they find anything unusual?" I grinned, and said, "Er, yes, actually. A
note addressing them by names, requesting them to refold my clothes
carefully." She grinned, and said, "This is going to be interesting! Is
there a weapon?" I said, "Yes, a standard stunner. Think it will still
work, when I get it?" She said, "I don't know. Not my area." I said,
"But the guard will have one. We know their effect on us. What about
the natives?" She said, "Less effect, but still useful." I said, "You
know something more about that. Please tell me. I'll discover it,
eventually." She said, "The natives claim it causes them serious mostly
temporary damage in something involving their relationship with each
other." I said, "That wasn't complete." She looked at me strangely, and
said, "They believe they communicate with the trees."
I nodded, and said, "Their religion. They believe their ancestors are
in the trees. They were studied before your company came here." She
said, "Oh! Survey! You would have seen their report. I should have
remembered." I smiled, and said, "Yes." She said, "I see I should be
completely honest with you." I said, "Your choice. Would be unusual in
these situations." She looked strange. We went outside, and she showed
me where the other facilities were. A native came out of one of the
buildings. He was a little shorter than the company people, hairless,
and green and brown in coloring, with pointed ears, a humanoid in body
configuration. He noticed me, and was very surprised. He bowed to me,
which I returned. He hurried away. She noticed all that, and looked
very interested, but didn't say anything. I said, "A green native life
form. I have yet to actually meet any of them." She was confused, and
said, "He acted like he knew you." I said, "Something like that, it
seems so. Interesting. He wasn't in a hurry on emerging from that
building, but became so after noticing me. That indicates he's going to
inform his associates about me, and he considers that to be very
important. I wonder if he will be believed. We'll know, if others come
to look for themselves. I see you want to wait here to discover that."
She looked at me with a lot of respect. I nodded and said, "Yes, I'm
a real investigator." We smiled. I said, "It didn't take long. Some
natives are peaking around the corner of that, er, best not to let them
know we know. Your boss is going to ask you for a complete report. I
would aid me if he thought I was a little less intelligent and
competent than otherwise." She said, "It might. And the native's
said, "True. How?" I knew she meant how did I know she would help me. I
said, "You have a sense of humor. Obviously severely stifled here." She
tried not to grin. I said, "But do not place yourself in danger. I
would very much dislike this to cause you any unpleasantness." She
nodded, and said, "Thank you." She answered her com, and then told me,
"Your guard escort will be available tomorrow morning at 0900.
Transportation will be at your disposal." I said, after indicating that
he was listening, "Thank you for your help." She said, "Please contact
my office, if you have any need of my assistance. One request. This is
an unsettled planet, please keep us informed of where you are, outside
of this base, for your safety." I said, "I will remember that. Thank
you."
I said, "He's disconnected." She said, "How do you know that?" I
said, "My comp is er, advanced. And I have something like an implant
aid." She said, "Oh! I can see how useful that could be." I said, "Very
convenient." Smiles. She left. I wandered around some. When I was
unobserved by all but the natives, I beckoned one to me. She looked at
me in awe. I said in her language, "I am Solomon. I am here to stop
them, but it must be done very carefully. You know how big your world
is. There are many other worlds, more than there are trees here. The
people of them mostly cannot feel others like you do, and so there are
some very powerful bad people that are difficult to stop, because of
the great distance between worlds. If they have cause to, they can
easily destroy this world to conceal their crimes, and that couldn't be
stopped, because it would not be discovered for a long time. We must
work carefully, so they won't want to do that. Do you understand this?"
She said, "I do!" I said, "They don't know my plans, but if they see
how you are to me, they will suspect something. Please treat me as you
would treat them here, where they can notice that. Tell the others?"
She said, "I will tell them. They will listen to me, their Singer!" I
smiled, and said, "I know." We hugged with love, and she almost
fainted. When she recovered, she said, "It's going to be very difficult
to keep them from honoring you." I said, "Not for me. Embarrassment
isn't my pleasure." Grins. She ran off.
She did pass the word. They all reacted differently, and there was
much discussion. I ate in the VIP section of the dining hall that
evening. A man asked to sit at my table. I said, "Chief of Security."
He said, "How did you know?" I said, "Corporate personnel files on
Mansom. Hmm, your body language is indicating something about my food.
Truther? You're not too difficult to read. I'm immune." He said, "Good
to know." I said, "Better to know that it raises some interesting
possibilities. For you to know, actually. Your future here could be
less pleasant, if your boss were to know you helped me to discover
this, even if involuntarily. You might not want to tell him." He said,
"Will you?" I said, "I have no reason to, now. To keep that going, it
would be helpful if you didn't interfere with me. Oh, I understand you
have to at least a little, to earn your keep, but you know what I mean.
Oh, and no one has heard this." He said, "I accept that. I was informed
about your er, correction of unasked-for listener action. And the note
to the er, inspectors. You are not a beginner."
I said, "True. I suspect you have been busy examining your recent
arriving personnel, to try to determine if any of them could be part of
my support team. Ah, so I was correct. There aren't any. I don't
suppose you will believe me?" He said, "Correct." I said, "Those poor
people are going to be spilling all their secrets. I hope that
embarrasses you." He smiled, and said, "I'll live through it." I said,
"I'll be blunt. Killing me will be more difficult than you imagine, and
attempts will cause more trouble than you would want. There is more
involved in this than you know. You might want to be careful in picking
sides. I see you're going to be doing some hard thinking. Consider your
personal survival and future in that, very carefully. Change always
happens, but better to those who are prepared for it. Yes, I care." He
said, "Thank you."
I said, "Tomorrow I will be inspecting Processing and Engineering. I
don't need a guard for that. The next day, Harvesting." He said, "For
that, you will need guards. Some of the natives fight us in that." I
said, "And I want to see that." He said, "You will be in danger." I
said, "Maybe not as much as you think. I look different from you. They
may see in me some hope for a better future." He said, "You suspect
some will want to talk with you?" I said with a smile, "And now you
do." He said with a smile, "Correct. Interesting possibilities in that.
Should I allow it?" I said, "No." He said, "I didn't expect that!" I
said, "Good. I like that." He almost laughed. I said, "We want time to
study their reactions to that. They may reduce their fighting, in some
hope for my assistance. Or increase it, to impress me. Who wouldn't
want to know that?" He grinned, and said, "You think like a security
man!" I said, "Well, I haven't done THIS job all my life. And you
should have suspected." He said, "Yes, I should have."
I said, "You know there are some irregularities here. You don't have
to tell me. It's bigger than you think. You wouldn't be a part of it
willingly, if you knew the full scope of it." He sighed, and said, "I'm
caught here." I said, "I understand. Keep as clean as you can, and,
well, you know my past occupation. That path is common." He nodded, and
let me see his feeling of appreciation. He left. Then my first guide
came in, and asked to sit with me. She said, "I saw Drogan with you.
He's dangerous." I said, "True. To people he doesn't respect or like."
She tried not to grin, and said, "We are not heard?" I said, "Correct.
As he knows, with him." She said, "You made him yours." I said, "Maybe,
when he finishes straightening out his mind." She said, "I know the
feeling!"
I said, "I told him I suspected he's examining new arrivals to try to
determine if any of them are my support team. I told him there weren't
any." She was surprised, and said, "You create them on site!" I said,
"That comes from who I am. I care." She said, "I see that. I just
didn't consider the full effect of that." I said, "And how people
respond to that and me, shows me who they are, and how I should
proceed." She said, "I'm suspecting something strange and unusual. The
natives say they can communicate with each other with their minds." I
said, "That's rare in the galaxy, but known in some individuals. More
rare is an entire population with that ability. Oh, and those abilities
are in different strengths." She said, "Most people don't believe in
that." I said, "Difficult to prove in the lab. Unreliable, and emotions
interfere with them. The very few people who have useful abilities of
those kinds don't go around advertising it. Murder is unpleasant." She
said, "Can they recognize each other?" I said, "Depending on levels of
ability, sometimes. Those who can see the auras of people, can also see
their level of ability, if they can understand what they see. As in
everything else, knowledge helps. An investigator needs to know about
this. We can be discovered by these people." She said, "Oh! Their
reaction to you. They know something of why you're here!" I said, "One
of the basic abilities is feeling the emotions of others. They would
know that I have good feelings for them, if they had that ability. And
if they can see my aura, they will know I'm VERY intelligent and
perceptive." She said, "I don't need those abilities to know that about
you."
I said, "But you've seen them demonstrated." She said, "I sure have!"
I said, "Hmm, I wasn't intending to cause you to embarrass me." She
chuckled. I said, "I will be inspecting Processing and Engineering
tomorrow." She said, "More building of your support team?" I said, "In
Engineering, maybe. In Processing, well, I could have inspected them
this afternoon. I wanted the manager to think I was stupid in letting
them have some time to hide what they were doing that they don't want
me to see, but it won't be enough time to hide that effort, which they
won't believe." She tried to hide her reactions to that. I said, "Good
effort." She almost laughed.
I said, "My assigned rooms have just entertained another guest. I
expect to find some spying devices when I return." She said, "Can you
you actually asking me to do that?" She was embarrassed. I smiled. That
didn't help. I said, "I'm not going to let them know I know. I don't
plan to do or say anything there they would be concerned about." A man
across the room yelled and jumped up. Everybody looked at him. I said,
"Except for him." She coughed, trying to hide her laughter. I said, "Do
you know when the company ship I arrived on, leaves?" She said, "It's
scheduled to leave in three days. Will you be leaving then?" I said, "I
haven't decided when I'll be leaving." She said, "When it leaves,
you'll be stranded here." I said, "Depressing way to put it." She said,
"You are mysterious." I said, "I've been called worse." She tried not
to laugh. We walked out together, and then went our separate ways.
There were spy devices all over my rooms. Mostly audio, and two
video. One in the lounge, and one in the bedroom. I cleaned up and went
to bed. Four hours later, I shifted to outside of one of the processing
plants. I pried open a window, and climbed in. It had been alarmed,
which I had disabled. I walked around the place, leaving obvious signs.
There was plenty of evidence of unauthorized drug processing that they
hadn't had time to clean up or disguise. I put traces of that in places
they wouldn't think of, for me to find later. I left the same way I
entered. A grinning native was waiting for me there. He motioned for me
to follow him, I did.
In an unobserved part of the base, more of his people were there,
including the Singer. We sat. I said, "We may talk normally. They won't
hear us, just as they don't see you when you don't want them to."
Grins. I said, "Good that they don't see our spirit lights." She said,
"Yours is so big!" I said, "And strong enough that all would see it, if
I allowed it." They said, "Oh!" I said, "That's not what they would
say." Chuckles. One said, "They take our jaro! Why do they do that?
Don't they have their own?" I said, "People of other worlds are
different. Some of them couldn't live here. Their bodies work
differently. Most do not exist as you do, and do not understand how it
is possible that you do, and you haven't told them what they would
never believe, that each of you will become a tree someday. That is so
different from all they believe, and think they know, they must think
you are being untruthful, and then they must try to discover what you
are hiding from them, and why. I understand. They are not like all the
people of other worlds. All people have some of them who are very
selfish, and who care not for other people. You, much less so, but your
people are unusual. Most of the people of the stars, and there are many
kinds, do not approve of what the people here are doing, and would want
it to stop. If they knew. And if they could be made to care about a far
away people they know nothing about, more than they have to care about
their own busy lives."
Singer said, "You have explained this very well. Why are you here?" I
said "You know why. To stop them. They are much more powerful than you
know. I have to work carefully, or they will destroy this world to keep
people from knowing what they did. They don't know that I know, and
those I work with on another planet know. But that isn't enough. I have
made two important friends here who will help me. They don't know any
more than their people know. Less, actually." One said, "How could they
be your friends?" I said with a smile, "Two reasons. They are not bad
people, and they like me." Grins. I said, "But if they aid me in a way
that is discovered, they will be killed. I don't what that to happen."
One said, "They are killing our people!" I said, "Yes, they are. If I
kill all the offworlders now, more will come, and with more powerful
weapons. I don't like this, that more of you may die before they can be
made to stop, but there is no other way. More, if you act differently
now, they will suspect that I have caused it, and will try to kill me."
Singer said, "Try?" I said, "They may think they succeed, but it
won't happen. But then they will have a big problem. I'm an important
person. They will be in much trouble for that, when I don't report
back. They surely are not going to say THEY killed me." One said, "They
will say WE did it!" I said, "To them, truth is as much respected as
is, er, I don't want to say that." Grins and chuckles. I said, "That
will enable them to ask for more people and weapons, and MORE of you
would be killed." One said, "You have said all the bad things that will
happen, but not how you will make a good thing happen." I said to the
Singer, "Does he do this a lot; ask inconvenient questions?" They
laughed, and she said, "Yes he does!"
I said, "I will teach your trees how to defend your world." They
stared at me in shocked surprise. I said, "I like surprising people. A
little too much, maybe." Grins. I said, "There are problems with that.
I have to help the enemy to understand the trees are causing their
problems. ALL the trees of the world. That will take a LOT of
convincing, being that it's so far from what they believe is possible.
They will be feeling very badly, by then. I will convince them that the
only way to feel better, is to leave. You know some of my power. People
I convince, stay that way." Grins. I said, "Then they will have a
reason to point to, and then this world will be posted. That means no
visitors. Except for me and a friend." More grins. Singer said, "Will
you tell us what you will do with the trees?" I said, "That will be for
them to tell you, if they think it's wise." She said, "YOU are wise." I
said, "I er, have been called worse." Laughter. I stood and opened my
arms. They knew what to expect. Singer helped them to sit, and then I
hugged her with love, too. I said, "You know I love you. I will work
hard for you."
I walked back to my rooms. They knew I knew they were following me.
Then they lost me. Well, I had shifted that body out. They respected my
skill in evading them. I gave them an extra shot of love, and they
grinned all the way home.
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Grant
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