24 )
.
The gods granted him immortality. He was excited about never dying. He was in the middle of a war, fighting in the greatest battle of all time. He got caught alone, in the middle of the enemy. He went berserk, fighting without regard to his person. He would live forever. His pocket of enemy thinned out till he was standing alone. He fell over and died. His people were taking the battle field, and would route the enemy.
He appeared in the central temple of his city as a girl. The priests looked at him in shock as She came out of a room no one could enter. She found he was a ten year old child. It took him only a moment to prove who he was.
When the army returned, they carried his body back. It was a strange feeling to face her own body, and for the soldiers to meet a ten year old version of the one they were mourning.
She trained hard with the best masters, to become the great warrior he once was. Being an adult inside, he mainly had to develop his body. He did learn a lot, which became part of him, as a child would about mental control and tactics, but he needed only a fraction of that compared to other children his age.
Generations passed. He found that he could live several generations before his body gave out due to old age. Because he was active, something would happen to kill him and he would return as a child again. Whatever his mood or attitude was when he was an old adult, he started fresh, clean when he was reborn. Each generation, he would alternate between woman and man. Society insisted he be raised as that gender, but he was allowed to become a warrior as that gender.
During the peaceful times, He spent his time and effort in maintaining the temple. He had decided that was the most important thing to him. As long as the temple stood, he would be able to be reborn.
He actually had several children over the years of different periods of peace. They were normal children in all way.
Backlash of a war between the gods wiped out the entire population of the land. he was the only one who survived, only because he was reborn in the temple, six times during the event. He was alone.
Over time, He maintained the temple, built other structures, tended a farm, fought animals. He sometimes lost against them. he also suffered from accidents or from bad planning. He always reappeared in the temple. With each birth, his desire to live became strong again.
It bothered him when he ran across his old remains. He would bury them, placing a marker and writing how he had died. Several happened during exploration and he has never bothered going into those areas again. He knew enough about that part of his world to not care to go again.
One day, while working on the temple, a lifting frame slipped and collapsed onto him. He was reborn. he went to his body and found it still alive. He tried to keep the body open, talking to it, but it was too far gone and it died. it had its own personality and knowledge.
This happened a second time a few years later. He figured out why the frames were slipping, but also figured out there might be a way to have someone to live with him. It was against the nature of the rebirth, but was worth a try.
He had learned that he left the body before the body actually died. He just needed to choose a method of slow death, that could be recovered from if saved soon.
He made a harness and set his head in the harness. he then knelt down. the harness tightened ever so slightly, and he willed himself to keep his hands to his side. he then reappeared in the temple. She walked over to the boy and removed the harness, and ordered the boy to sit down and recover. She then knelt down in the harness.
He did this a dozen times, reappearing as a girl the last time. he took command over the children, the fact that he was the last out of the temple meant she was the high one. she taught them how to eat, drink, clean themselves, taught them how to do the different chores men and women had to know, how to grow food, how to build.
As they grew, she taught them how to be adults, how to read, write, how to properly worship the gods. She especially concentrated on the women on how to be women. That was harder to learn than how to be a man. She had many generations of being a woman and needed to impart that knowledge on.
When they were getting old enough to have children, She set up the harness and forced herself to be reborn. He was back as a child.
Each one has a different personality and they slowly paired off and married. Children soon came of the uniting. The one he lived in still was the more wise and knowledgeable of all of them.
As a boy, he now turned his attention in training the men to be men. He learned from what they had experienced, adding it to his wealth of knowledge and experience. He also taught them.
Generations passed the population grew and the land flourished. He sat on top the temple, looking over the lands.
These were all his children, born of him devoted entirely to the god that granted their existence. In the war of the gods, this god won, big time.

27 )
.
The High Lords, an advanced form of aliens. took over the colony. The colonists were taken as slaves with no effort.
The High Lords took pity on the colonists, for their backward development and decided to start a breeding program to raise them up the evolutionary scale to be more like them.
The colonists liked the idea of their children being more intelligent than they themselves were, but did not like having some other race in charge of it. They also knew that those who were not up to the level the High Lords felt as good enough, would never have children. The colonists had no choice.
The high lords studied the humans for about a generation, to figure out exactly what intelligence was there and what features needed to be emphasized. During this time, the colonists were allowed to run their lives as they saw fit. the high lords saw colonists developing their physical skills, colonists developing their artist skills, colonists developing their intellect. The High Lords then took control of the colonists.
There would be no need for physical abilities with the intellect they would create with the colonists. They chose a fairly narrow set of intellectual abilities to develop in their breeding program.
The colonists were told that those who passed the tests would be used for heavy breeding. Those who failed would be sterilize and used to raise the children of the winners.
The adults were given preliminary tests to classify their general intelligence. the high lords knew who was smart, and who was dumb.
The adults were gathered and put into testing. they had to solve certain problems that did not require education. the education would come, but the natural intellect would be tested first.
The adults all went through the testing. The high Lords never even looked at the results, satisfied that the colonists would be filtered out so only the bets would pass.
The colonists were tested and allowed to go about their business. The high lords then checked the results. There was something seriously wrong with the test. Only two percent of the colonists failed the test. It was the same test the High lords took to prove themselves as ready to enter training. What was more, those that were classified as dumb, did better than the ones who passed the test.
The high lords had to study the problem for a whole year. They upgraded their testing and classifying systems, making sure they had things right.
The people were then given the tests again. this was the tests the high lords took to become adults. There was no way the dumb colonists could pass this test.
The high lords got the test back. Now ten percent failed the test, which was what the High lords commonly did. These were dumb animals. They could not possibly be equal to the high lords.
When they examined the tests more carefully, Many of the intelligent failed also. The dumb ones passed in a higher percentage.
The high lords could not let such a result stand. Another year of study and they decided to give the test the greatest minds of the High Lords sometimes fail. The colonists were gathered and ran through the tests. The high lords made sure that those who took the test could not transmit answers to the others. The High lords watched the results as they came in. there could not be that many super brilliant creatures among these animals. For them to get those results was impossible.
When the last of the testing was done, A quarter of the intelligent colonists had passed. Not quite fifty percent of the dumb ones passed.
The high lords were shaken. they withdrew, leaving the colony. They would study these results for decades and not have an answer as to what to do about it.
The colonists returned to their way of live. The colonists knew they beat the High lords in their own game.
A study among the colonists, after they found the data the high lords had gathered, showed why it happened. First off, when the colonists were selected for this project, they were selected for their imagination, skills, and intellect. They were a higher level of people than normal for back home. The ones classified as dumb by the high lords, were extremely imaginative. They would leap to conclusions based on limited data. They invented solutions for the problems.
The ones that were extremely intelligent, were like the high lords. They only used existing solutions, and developed the use of those solutions to a high enough level to pass.
The high lord's solutions were not imaginative enough to deal with the problem the colonists provide them.

28 )
.
Franklin's truck was old. He kept it well maintained, but problems slowly cropped up. To fix them was going to be expensive, so he decided to live with the problems since he was the only one it would be a problem for.
The biggest one was where the engine sometimes chose not to start. It could be the starter, or it could be the switch on the steering column. When it cropped up, He would have to work the key as many as a dozen times before it would fire up. It would then start normally for a dozen times before it would act up again.
In the area, there was a serial bandit who would break into a place, steal some small, light valuables, then steal a car to make the escape. The guy was good and the police never got any real evidence on the guy as the cars were never seen again either.
Franklin visited the center of the town. He parked in front of a jewelry shop since that was that was the only open parking spot half a dozen blocks away. He walked across the street and down the block to the music store. He asked about what looked like a repair needed on his violin. He could never get it in tune. The store clerk showed him how to get it in tune. What started simply as testing the tuning of the violin, turned into an eight person jam session.
A dark figure came to the back door of the jewelry shop. the figure passed what looked like a remote control over the electronic door lock. A few button pushes and the door opened quietly.
Inside, the figure slipped into a back room and picked out several items that would be of value to slip out with.
Someone down the alley had seen a dark figure go by, and knowing about the crime spree, called the police to the area.
Watching the customers and store owner from the back of the shop, the figure decided it was time to move. the figure rushes out, grabbing some items from a display case that is open from behind, and keeps going. The figure is out of the door before the owner realizes anybody was there.
The police approached the area from all directions.
Franklin forgot all about his truck or the meter and was having a lot of fun, playing music he never got the chance to play. they sounded good together and many other patrons were singing along and applauding them when they finished a song.
The figure glances around for a moment and decides to steal a pickup truck. There is a customer that could use those kinds of parts. The shop he takes the vehicles to strip them down for parts was lead lined and once a vehicle was in there, it would never be found again. The truck was old, but of a brand that made good money.
The figure ran to the truck, took a second to pick the lock and slid in.
The police were almost there.
The figure picked the lock on the steering column and turned the key to start the engine. The power came on and he heard a whine, but the engine did not start. he tried it again. Still no start. A third time and then he saw the police appearing in front of him and behind. The proprietor was now outside with a phone in his hands. The truck still would not start.
The figure reached down to grab the loot to get another vehicle when the police cars squealed to a stop a short distance a way.
The figure stopped and just waited as the police swarmed around the truck with guns drawn.
In the music store, someone was going out, then turned back in. "There are police cars around an old truck out there."
Franklin stands up. "That is my truck. I forgot the meter!" He asks the clerk how much he owes and gives him a twenty, telling him to keep the change. He then rushes out to the door and sees someone inside the truck and police all around. The person comes out with the hands up and is taken to the ground and cuffed.
Franklin comes over to a police officer who is farthest away from the action on his side. "That is my truck."
The police remove the thief's mask and it turns out to be a well known person who is involved in high society. The police make sure no valuables were left in the truck and the thief is placed in a squad car.
Franklin is asked about his security system to keep his truck from starting. He tells them about the problem his truck has on getting started. He checks over the ignition lock. There was no damage. He sticks his key in, turns it and the engine starts. He moves the truck to an empty spot near the music store and visibly puts money into the meter and goes back into the store.
The crime wave was ended because of a truck with a small problem.

29 )
.
The war was not going well. The other side had gained a good portion of air superiority. It was a serious problem. The enemy could not yet hit with high flying craft, as they were still missile targets, but the low flying things had free rein in the battles.
The low flying things could be taken out by lucky shots, but knowing where they were coming from, made it tough to kill them. The force had people on the front line with communications, reporting when they saw something coming and the general route. those behind the line then readied to take something out. It was never perfect, but they did get their kills.
Nevil marched quietly through the brush and trees, scanning the skies. His rifle aimed high all the time since that was where their danger most likely would come from. The squad had crossed a river and were about to mount a hill.
They heard the loud thumping of a helicopter (chopper) and turned to scatter. The chopper was over top them, firing before they could even move. Nevil flicked his rifle to automatic and squeezed the trigger as he ran. Bullets hit all around him as he ran. There was a pause in the bullets flying then they picked up as he dove behind a boulder larger than him. The chopper stopped firing and pulled away.
Nevil looked up and saw a man laying out the door of the chopper. He must have hit the guy and they had to swap gunners to continue firing.
When Nevil came out of cover, only three of his thirty man squad had survived the attack. the four of them called in a report of their losses and location. their mission was changed. they were to take what they could of the supplies and go to the top of the hill and become observers. The bodies would be picked up a little later.
On top the hill, his squad set up shifts. A man came on guard each hour for a two hour shift. Rotating like that would give them even rest.
Nevil laid down around noon. He would have about a three hour sleep before his shift would start again. He dreamed of getting into a chopper and lifting off. The crew was in good sprits, talking about target practice. The chopper headed out over the forests. Nevil noted the landmarks and scenery. Spies told them where the target would be.
They come over a hill and there was a squad of soldiers below. Just as the gunner was about to fire the first shot, Nevil twisted the chopper so the targets were not in line. "What are you doing? the gunner called out.
The chopper bucked as Nevil seamed to fight the chopper, as if there was turbulence or something. he finally kicks the chopper completely out of position, exposing the armored bottom to the target so the gunners had no shot. Just before they were well of sight a rocket just missed them, exploding a distance away.
Nevil woke and leaped to his feet, looking around. The others of his squad asked him what happened. They gave him the communications and had him recount his dream to the command. They are always interested in such dreams.
Nevil finished his recounting of the dream. command then told them about an actual incident, with those very actions happening. Nevil was shaking more now than when he first woke from the dream. it was true.
That night, they received word that they found one of the spies that called in the position.
The next day, Nevil had another dream. This was in a low flying jet. He was a bomber. He faked a sneeze just before he was to hit the target and did not drop a bomb. The target was a missile battery that kept this area safe. The jet then had to dodge and weave all the way home to avoid tracking missiles sent after it.
Nevil kept having these dreams. Each time, he messes up the attack in some way, no one ever got killed. It was not in him to harm his airship sit to be a target, he always fought to avoid being taken out or even damaged.
His side was actually making gains in the battle. They were small gains, but the accumulated. Key forces and key sites were being protected by Nevil activities in his dreams.
command knew all about each and every dream and knew they were actual actions. Nevil realized when he was using his powers of control, he was non-violent. He could not cause deaths of his men or the men on the ground. What he figured out was that he, himself, was keeping his people protected, but the person he was in, was protecting the ship and crew he was in.
He also knew the enemy was aware of what was going on. They had no idea on how to handle it. or deal with it. It was never the same position in the battle. Nevil was even in a tank and was once even a sniper. It was just at a time that would have been a key kill and he held off.

30 )
.
The crime spree, as the government referred to it, was the biggest embarrassment that ever hit the internet. Private and closed door conversations were spread all over the world, nothing seamed to be off limits.
At first, different people who were in on the conversations, were charged with leaking the information. Soon, though, cell phones were found in those areas. It took a while to figure out what was going on.
The cell phones were listed as single use phones. They were left open, linked to some other phone. the phone would be left to record whatever was said in the vicinity. When the battery died, the number that called it, or that it called, was lost.
They were always found dead, the phone time run out and the phone dead. The damage was done well before then.
Security cameras never showed the phones being left or anybody who might have been the source of the phones. it was a serious problem. The phones seamed to be unregistered or stolen.
the discussions posted on line were damning to high ranking people caught by it. They were plotting various back room deals, accepting bribes, commenting on events or people in the news. it never made the people recorded sound good.
the government stepped up security, keeping track of every person entering or leaving any building, even those that are not expected to be visited by an official or assistant. those were usually the buildings that the people would be going to not be heard.
Roberts got involved in some legal problems and had to do a lot of running around. He wore a cell phone case on his belt all the time. it was obvious. He was in the government building, getting documentation, He was in a store to make copies. he was in another government building paying fees. He was in a restaurant for lunch. He stopped at a nearby grocery store to have dinner stuff at home.
the investigators heard the posted recordings of several government people that day. they ran through images of people who were in every single one of those spots on those days. A big man with a large sell phone holster was in every single one of those places. He was noticeable. It happened that he was in each of those places just before the officials arrived to have their conversations.
Roberts had to do more running around in the government buildings. He now had paperwork from home. He stopped at a government building to get paperwork. He then went and got copies made. he made four phone calls while in line to pay a fee. He went to three offices, one a lawyer and then stopped for lunch. He went to a meeting with some legal people about the case. He made two phone calls to get information they needed in the meeting. He then headed to another office and sat and waited. He made a call and was on hold for almost an hour, got through and finished his call when he was called in.
The detectives saw the discussions go up on line. they immediately searched the faces of people going into each place. Every time, always before the recording was that same big person. What was more, now they had his name, Roberts, he was in the same rooms as every phone left to record discussions. they knew they had their man.
Roberts was now able to go home. His phone beeped that it was out of power, so He plugged it into the charger in the truck, stopped at the grocery store and went in.
He was at the back of the store when there was a ruckus at the front of the store. Someone found a cell phone and two officials were in front of it, talking.
Roberts got to the cashier and made his purchase. As he was walking out of the store. Police surrounded him with guns drawn. He carefully set his purchase down on the ground and raised his hands.
A man in a suit came over and opened his phone holster. "It is empty. Where did you leave your phone? In the store?"
"No, It is out in my truck, charging." He pointed to the parking lot. He lead them to his truck and they looked in. His phone was plugged in, as he said it was.
They took him in, towing his truck.
They interrogated him for several hours about his movements. They were checking off every place he said he was at. He had no idea what this was about.
They finally told him that he was under arrest for being the phone dropper, as it was called in the papers.
They were resistant on letting him have a phone call. He got one and called the lawyer he was dealing with, explaining what was happening.
the lawyer called the police and talked to them. The lawyer was able to get the police to not report they caught the person and to wait for a few days before such an announcement.
During another interview, One of the detectives surmised that he put the drop phone into the phone case and took it out when he dropped it.
Roberts mentioned that he made several phone calls from his phone while at those places. He could not be leaving his phone as he was using it. He also said that he would not bother with the cell phone case and instead carry it in his pocket.
the next day, there were several more drop phone recordings. They did not want to release Roberts because he was seen in all those places, but the fact that he was in jail and there were several drop phones said he was not the person.
They finally pick out three more people who were in those buildings around the same time. They were not in all the same buildings, but each were near where phones were left.
The weekend came and went. Roberts had visits from the lawyer who was not able to get the papers from Roberts truck. That held up the case.
The new week came and the detectives changed their tactics. they waited for the three people to arrive at the given buildings. The police met them with a warrant. they were taken in, searched and drop phones were found. Phone numbers on their personal phones were the same as the drop phones. The phone was called and it automatically answered. the phones recorded. Since they had the phones in hand, they did it several times.
Roberts was released from jail and met by his lawyer. They appeared in court and the case was dismissed. The detectives had arrested several other people in relation to the drop phone case and a couple of the people involved turned out to be the people who were creating problems for Roberts. With their arrest, Roberts case was dismissed.
With the arrests, the embarrassing conversations were no longer appearing on the internet.
The officials found quickly that none of the public was happy about this change of the situation. The public loved hearing what they were saying.

31 )
.
I heard a poem that ended with something like "Celebrate that for another day, something tried to kill me. and failed". I had not paid close attention to the poem, hence, a possible miss-wording of what I have above. My mind clicked on what it thought it heard and shifted into story idea mode.
The creators did not even know what it was. It is only known as SOMETHING. It was a creature designed to kill. They did not give it perfect skills or abilities. Really all they did was to give it the ability to regenerate itself, track down and follow the prey anywhere, any time, and a memory for what worked and did not work.
The creators gave control over SOMETHING to the wise council. the wise council would pick out people who had to be stopped, killed and send SOMETHING after them.
In general, whatever SOMETHING was after, was better skilled than it, but it worked with slow attrition. Today, I scratch you. Tomorrow, I cut off a finger, The next day, I remove a hand, A week later, I have injured you enough to kill you.
SOMETHING would lock onto someone and day after day, attack and fight, trying to whittle the opponent down to the point where they are unable to meet the challenge.
Each target knew what was after them. They always talked about "Something is after me." or "something is trying to kill me."
There are, of course, some who are well protected. Something could spend a century eliminating soldiers and guards and never get close. In those cases, Something sneaks as close as possible. it will learn how to follow the patterns of the person and find other ways to attack. There will always be some time or place where the person is vulnerable and that is when something does its job. Over a million targets, it has never failed its mission.
Jasper was in a situation where he was the figurehead for an organization that was not too good. He got the blame for evil when he was more a prisoner than anything. He finally escaped the organization just before its total collapse.
He disappeared, went to a small mining colony and did not bother to even interact with the people. They knew he was there, but only a couple ever saw him as more a speck on the side of some hill.
Based on his reputation as head of the organization, the wise council sent SOMETHING after him.
Jasper was by the sea shore gathering local shell fish when SOMETHING attacked. It was a good fight, but Jasper killed it. Something's body disappeared within a minute of its death.
Over the next week, Jasper kept being attacked. During the day, he found himself watching for any movement at all, being on alert, waiting for Something to attack.
A ship arrived at the colony. Jasper went to the mining community and purchased flight to anywhere else. When asked about why he was leaving the planet, he told them that something was trying to kill him.
when he left the planet, Something faded out. it would trace Jasper as a mote of energy into space and to the destination.
Over the period of about five years, Jasper found that Something followed him and continued to try to kill him. When he was traveling, something left him alone. when he stopped, Something caught up with him and started the harassment. One time, he was on a super passenger liner and Something caught up with him and attached him on board the ship. After that, he always traveled small ships.
during one battle, He shoved a crate against Something, pinning it, and then ran. Jasper had two days of peace while Something slowly worked enough leverage to move the container so it could follow him. By then, Jasper was on his way to a small planet and he had a plan to deal with something.
Jasper arrived on the planet and readied himself for his plan. He practiced his fighting style.
As expected, Something arrived. It attacked from behind a rock. Jasper killed it as he was not quite ready for his plan. Two more days, two more kills. finally he was where he was prepared for his plan.
Something appeared. It did not have cover to spring out of so it came out boldly. Jasper bowed. It bowed. they circled then lunged at each other. Jasper did not strike to kill, but worked Something, into the situation he needed. He finally caught Something just right and felt something break inside. Another strike after several blocks, and another injury. Five more times and Jasper finally hit where he felt he needed. Something went limp. It was injured. It could not move.
Jasper carried Something over to a small stream high in an algae and had small things swimming around. he laid something down partially in the pool. Something could eat and drink to stay alive.
That done, Jasper returned to his ship and left. something could not follow. It would be nearly two centuries before Something finally died and leave the planet. by then, Jasper had lived his full natural life in comfort with no more penalties for his past life.
The effectiveness of Something was a whole lot less because word got out that if it were injured, it could be taken out of the hunt of the prey.
"Celebrate that for another day, something tried to kill me. and failed."