Freddy Anderson’s Home: Book 1 (2 page)

Chapter 2
Government

T
wo years later, at the age of eight, I had read everything in the university libraries and a lot of stuff online. I challenged every class I could and obtained doctorates in chemistry, physics, biology, and electronics, and master’s degrees in a dozen other disciplines. I had written four books and posted a dozen papers. The work I enjoyed most and at which I worked hardest was inventing. I needed to fix that Earth-destruction problem, so I invented several useful items. The university lawyers and my parents were very helpful in setting up a trust for me, and they helped sell my patents for millions of dollars. My professors would often say, “I’ve never seen anyone so driven.”

One day, the news media got hold of my records, and they blew everything out of proportion. I was on the front page for weeks: “Whiz Kid,” “Super Genius,” “Smartest Kid in the World.” Of course, the sleaze magazines had to do worse, with headlines such as “Super Boy—is he human or alien?” and “Alien born of human mom has super intelligence.” The news media made it very hard on my parents and me, and all that attention caught the government’s interest.

Mommy and Daddy were peeking through the curtain of the front window when I came down for breakfast. When they saw me, they told me to go back to my room and stay there. I peeked out my window and saw hundreds of people with cameras and big microphones, just waiting. There were also several people, dressed in white, carrying signs that read, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live!” And one person held up a sign that read, “Kill the alien!”

Several big black cars drove up, and men got out and forced the crowd back. Two people got out of one of the big cars and walked directly to the door. They showed their FBI badges. They argued with my daddy for several minutes but produced a warrant for my arrest and retention, pending a government review of my abilities and human status.

Against my will, I was taken by agents of the federal government and retested. They found that I was human—thank goodness!—but also found that they could not measure my IQ, because it was way too high. They thought I was cheating in some way.

I hid my other abilities from them. The last thing I wanted was for the government to know that I could read minds, move objects, and—as I was working on—heal people. I found that out after my father slipped on the icy driveway and broke his leg. I ran out, all upset and worried, but when I placed my hands on his arm, he glowed for several seconds, and his leg was healed. Luckily, no one saw, and Daddy did not notice the glow. For several days, he said, “I thought I broke that leg, but it must have just been a painful twist.” I practiced on dogs and cats after that.

After twelve weeks of extensive testing, the FBI had to let me go. My parents had finally convinced the court that I was being held against my will. I was very glad to see my parents again.

The big Gray said, “You did not go far enough. Close this door and open another!”

The Green removed a tentacle from my head. Everything went black, and the voices returned.

“Yes, master.”

Just before my ninth birthday, Mommy and Daddy took a second honeymoon. Their plane crashed, killing everyone on board. I mentally felt my mommy and daddy die. I was devastated and cried for weeks. It took a while, but I finally started planning what I would do. I was left in a bad situation, so the county placed me in a foster home near the university until things could be worked out. I had to find a place to live, somewhere secluded, away from the city. I started researching a place to live and created a plan for a home there.

Luckily, I had a lot of friends at the university, including lawyers. Within a few months, I obtained a hearing and proved that I was more than capable of taking care of myself. As one judge admitted, I was “much better than most eighteen-year-olds I’ve seen.”

However, the problem could not be settled in the lower courts, and it quickly escalated to the higher courts. I was ten when I was taken before the US Supreme Court as a statement on my constitutional right to freedom. Young or not, I was a collage grad and had my own funding. I did not need to stay in a foster home with people who did not really want me, other than for the government funding they received. (Note: Washington is no place for a telepath to live!)

It was a miracle that the Supreme Court saw me so quickly, but I was still in the media and constantly hounded. The justices were very considerate and listened to my lawyers, but I could tell that they were not going to give me custody of myself. I asked to meet with them alone, and they agreed. When we were in their chambers, I asked if everything said and done would be treated confidentially, and they agreed. I had not planned on revealing my secrets, but I was left with no choice. They were astounded when they saw me raise and turn the couch they were sitting on, but my verbalizing everything they were thinking caused them to become agitated, especially when I pointed out that one judge was upset that my hair was long and my ears pierced, so I stopped that. But when I touched one judge and healed his skin cancer, suddenly they were very interested in what I could do.

People are funny. It meant little to the justices that I had to move away before I had a mental breakdown, because I’m not able to shut people out when they are in trouble or dying. Proving that I was more intelligent than they were, that I could move objects and read minds, was nothing compared to my ability to heal. It seems that elderly judges always have someone they love who is dying of something. Once I realized this, I offered to help them if they would help me.

They talked among themselves and then asked if I would heal one person for each of them. If I agreed, then they would grant me custody of myself and help me find a secluded place to live.

One of the justices said, “As you can read minds, then help us with a case.” That was something else I had not expected, but I made a quick decision and said, “I agree to help with the case, in exchange for a grant of land that runs along the Pacific Ocean. It’s federal property, but it’s secluded enough to prevent me from going insane. The army uses the land for training and the navy for a radar system site. I have only one stipulation: I don’t want to enter the mind of a serial killer or something worse.” They assured me that the case was quite important but did not involve violence and that they would look into the situation regarding the land.

Over the next six weeks, each Supreme Court justice brought a person to me, and I healed each of them—nine in all. Each one sapped my strength, so I had to wait several days between each healing. It was weeks before I could help with their case. I think my showing them that I had limits helped them become a little more comfortable around me.

The justices investigated the land situation and decided it was perfect. During a private meeting, which I mentally spied on, the justices concluded that the place definitely was secluded, but they just couldn’t send a young boy out there without monitoring. “We’ll get the military to keep watch on him. We’ll grant him the land in exchange for his services a few more times.”

The next day, the justices brought me to their chambers to tell me their decision. It was less than I had hoped for, but a compromise was in order, as I did not have a good position from which to negotiate. I reluctantly agreed but put a limit of five times maximum on the additional help. I made it clear that I would do them a favor by checking in with this admiral of theirs, but that I was not in his custody and could do as I wished.

Everything was set. I was granted my own custody and the land was placed into my trust, permanently and tax-free, for as long as the trust existed. No one could take it away or enter upon it without my permission, except the navy, as it still had to run its radar station. I granted access rights for that purpose only. Congress approved the agreement by unanimous vote, and the president of the United States signed it. When the justices handed me the deed, they made it very clear that they had to pull in a couple of favors to get it. I got the idea that they were expecting a payback.

The next day, the justices had me sit behind a one-way mirror during the questioning in their case. We had worked out beforehand what questions would be asked. The US attorney was stunned by the questions but asked them anyway. The criminal answered, but I wrote down the true answers as they popped into his head, which were different than the answers he said aloud. My answers were given to the US attorney, and the evidence to prosecute the man and close the case was found the same day. The justices were so impressed that they assured me they would keep their promises. Their surface thoughts were,
Just in case we need him a
gain.

After everything was finalized, I had to talk to a lot of people, including congressmen, senators, and even the president. The president seemed very nervous about my being able to read minds over the phone.

I placed almost everything I owned into storage. My trust sold the family house and cars and made sure I paid the taxes. The last thing I wanted was the government having a hold on me for tax evasion.

When I was in Washington, I met a very honest man with whom I contracted to build me a special house. (One of the benefits of being telepathic is that it’s easy to find the best people with whom to contract.) I had completed building the platform base for my house over a year ago, so I made a trip to his company in South Carolina, just south of Greenville, and gave him the base and plans for building the house. We talked for days about the specifications and plans. During the visit, I drifted for two days, just thinking about what changes I could make. Luckily they had seen this before and let me drift while taking notes. “Drifting” is when I concentrate so hard that all else is excluded. Many top scientists have an issue with drifting. I didn’t sleep, drink, eat, or go to the restroom; I just thought about the issues. I tend to talk out loud and walk around when I drift, and that can be very dangerous. When I was younger, I drifted and fell down the stairs and didn’t know until I stopped drifting and found myself in the hospital with a broken leg. (On another note, I need to learn how to control it before I take up driving.)

I did the research on my new wilderness home site and printed a map off the Internet. I had a horrible time trying to arrange transportation. First, I had to set up a one-way flight to the nearest big city and then a private plane to fly me to the nearest small airport. I wanted to arrange for a limousine to a hotel, but there were none—no limousine and no hotel. A very nice lady operator connected me with the only place to stay, the Seaward Inn. (“By the water,” she said.)

The lady at the inn said she could arrange for a taxi to pick me up. I gave her my flight information and estimated time of arrival. She said, “Don’t worry, honey. I’ll make sure old Jake is on time.”

My only real worry now was that I had promised the justices and the president that once I got settled, I would see Admiral Bates, whom the justices told me would help to oversee my new home.

The big Gray ordered, “Hold there!”

Everything went black.