Alien Among Us (TJ Steele Book 1)

by L. Edwin Brown

  The great thing about the UCLA program, was all students could progress at their own speed. However the college also had a right to guide the students, towards the programs that best suit their knowledge and talents. The only cost to my parents, was extra spending cash for me. All the housings, classes, and food, was covered by the program.

  On Sunday, August 9th I told his parents, I wanted to go to UCLA. My mother called Dr. Alford on Monday and told him of our decision. Dr. Alford instructed Mary to have me at the university, by September 3rd for orientation.

  My mother and I spent the next few weeks, going through my cloths, to decide what I would take with me. The great part about me going to the University of California at Los Angeles, was it was less than a two hour drive from Edwards’s air base. If I wanted to come home for a few days, the trip was short.

  It was now just one week away from when mom and dad would take me to UCLA. Mom was fixing her and me a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch. I was sitting at the table reading and mom was standing in front of the stove. She was thinking about me and what life was going to be like without me around the house.

  It will be okay, I said to her, without taking my eyes off the book in front of me. Mom turned and stared at me. Do you know what I’m thinking, she asked? I shook my head yes. What am I thinking now? You want me to get us a Coke out of the refrigerator, I responded.

  I retrieved two bottles of Coke Cola from the refrigerator, while mom sat two plates down on the table, with a grilled cheese sandwich on each plate. She cut the bread diagonally, just like I liked it.

  How long have you known what I’ve been thinking, she asked. Since I was five years old, I responded. I know what the teachers and other kids at school, thought about me, but I don’t let it bother me. I also know the day Dr. Alford and I talked, he was overwhelmed and fascinated by me.

  Mom was quiet for a few minutes, as we ate our sandwiches. When we finished, she wanted me to join her out on the patio. We sat in the shade of the large table umbrella with our two bottles of Coke.

  Do you remember the time I burned my wrist on the oven, she asked. I nodded my head yes and said, it was on my fourth birthday. You were wearing black shorts and a light blue blouse. She looked at me strangely. I said her hair was pulled back in a ponytail with a blue ribbon.

  Remembering exact details from my past was natural for me. I didn’t think it was anything special or that it was strange. My mom asked me other questions, about our past and I was able to remember all the details, as far back as two years old.

  You have a photographic memory, she said to me. You have the ability to vividly recall images from memory, after only a few instances of exposure. You mean I have a eidetic memory, I responded. Yes, she replied, surprised that I knew that word.

  The ability to know what someone is thinking, or remembering things from my past, and to heal ones wounds with the touch of my hand, was all natural to me. I never considered myself special or better than anyone else. I have never been sick or in any pain, except for the times I healed my mom and Lorain. My normal body temperature has always been a hundred and two degrees. The doctors have always been confused by my higher body temperature, but it never concerned my parents.

  I can see you’re worried, I said to my mom. She smiled at me and said. I want to tell you something that happened to me almost eleven years ago.

  She told me about the night she and my father went to Red Rock Canyon with her new telescope. She told me about the events of that evening and being transported to another dimension or inside of a space vehicle.

  She went on to tell me the doctors at UCLA Medical Center had told her and my father, she would never be able to have children, due to a serious illness, when she was young.

  She said at first, she thought she had dreamed the events at Red Rock. Your father was a sleep or unconscious through the whole event, but I could see what was going on and could feel the creatures all around me. I believe now, I was inseminated that night by both your father and the alien’s.

  I sat across from her, slowly turning the small Coke Cola bottle in my hand and trying to absorb what she had just told me.

  TJ, mom said. I raised my head and looked at her. You’re going to be okay, she said with a smile. You just need to remember that you are one of a kind and most people will never understand you. Don’t ever allow anyone to know, you can read their minds, or that you can heal them when they’re injured.

  My mom and I talked all day, until about an hour before my father, was to come home. While we were eating dinner I looked over at her. She stared at me and without uttering a word, she thought. Do you know what I thinking now. I nodded by head yes. I continued to look at her and she subconsciously asked, if I knew what my father was thinking. Once again I nodded my head yes. We never spoke a word. She just smiled at me and went back to eating dinner.

  On Thursday, September 3rd my parents loaded up the trunk of my mother’s 1970 Chevy Impala for the trip to UCLA. I would have rather rode in my father’s old Nomad, but the Impala had air conditioning. We arrived at UCLA around 11:30 that morning and Dr. Alford helped get me get situated in a private dorm room.

  We had lunch in the small dorm cafeteria and met some of the other parents of gifted students. I was the youngest at age ten and the next youngest was twelve. All together their were fifteen prodigy students. Three were of oriental decent, two Hispanic’s, and the rest Caucasian.

  My parents spent the whole Labor Day weekend with me, before heading for home, late Monday evening. I was in a dorm room by myself, even though all the rooms had two beds and could accommodate two students. I had gone through all the necessary orientations and was ready to start my classes on Tuesday.

  The first two weeks was spent with testing. The college would use the results of the test to determine how best to start our training. I found the test to be beneath my intellect, as I whizzed through them with a breeze.

  Each day, I would finish my test several hours ahead of everyone else. To occupy my time, I would go down to the engineering lab, which was in the same building, and spend the rest of the day with college aged students.

  After the two weeks of testing had been completed, we were being split up and sent to classes with college age students and professors.

  Our days started with breakfast, then at nine in the morning all fifteen gifted students would meet in a large room, where the chairs were formed in a circle. We were supposed to share ideas, but I wasn’t interested in what the other prodigy’s thought. They were arrogant, and full of themselves. They all had egos the size of Texas and thought they were smarter than anyone else in the room.

  I knew how they felt about me. They were jealous of all the attention the professors were showing me. My IQ couldn’t be determined, but they knew it was somewhere between 250 and 300. One professor, Dr. Gunter Kruger, had taken a huge interest in me. My knowledge of the universe and astronomy at ten years old, made him take special interest in me.

  I wasn’t sure whether it was the alien part of me or the fact, I can remember everything I see and read, but I felt I had only put a small dent in to what I was capable of.

  I was hearing the thoughts of everyone around me and was disturbed by most. My mannerisms and maturity was that of an adult. I could carry on a strong professional conversation with anyone.

  After my round table meetings every morning with the other gifted students, I was off to a class with Professor Kruger, which lasted until one in the afternoon.

  As a young man, Professor Kruger fled Germany in 1938 and joined other German scientist, who had escaped Hitler’s regime, and came to the United States. He was a mathematics professor, but also worked in the field of Smatrix, a study of quantum gravity, particle and condensed matter physics, cosmology, and pure mathematics.

  I had some interest in S-matrix, but was more interested in mechanical engineering and electronic science. Each day after Kruger’s class, I would by-pass lunch and head to the engineering building. The
other professor’s allowed me to work in the engineering labs without supervision.

  This was my daily routine, Monday through Friday, for the first four months, I was at UCLA. While Professor Kruger pushed his S-matrix crap, I started working with String Theory while in his class.

  In physics, string theory is a theoretical framework in which the point-like particles of particle physics are replaced by one dimensional object called strings. It describes how these strings propagate through space and interact with each other. The science of string theory made more sense to me, but was still not my true vocation.

  During the Christmas break, which I spent at home with my parents, at Edwards Air Force Base, Professor Kruger convinced the board of regents, I was wasting my time and talents, in the engineering building, and that I should spend my afternoons working on string theory.

  When I returned after the Christmas break, the university set me up with my own space in the Westwood Building. This action only brought on more hatred and animosity from the other fourteen gifted students. They were all older than me, but were not as smart or advanced. I was the only one of the fifteen gifted students, the university had given a private lab and research area to.

  I quickly became bored with string theory and hated the classes and isolation of my research room. I was reduced to weekends only in the engineering building and the rest of my time was dedicated to string theory.

  By the end of my first year at UCLA, I began to rebel and retaliate, skipping my afternoons in the Westwood building and going to the engineering building.

  Professor Kruger called me to his office and said if I didn’t return to my regular schedule, I would be expelled. It was that meeting, when I realized the professor was using me to advance his own personal agenda. He had battled for answers to S-matrix and I had come closer to the answers to string theory, than he ever had with Smatrix.

  He was hoping I would come up with the perfect superstring theory and he would take the credit for it. I had already written several papers for Science America. Dr. Kruger listed his name as primary and mine as the coauthor.

  I may be ten years old, but I could see right through him. I also didn’t want to disappoint my parents, so I returned to my regular schedule, but did not advance any further with my research.

  I headed home the first of June to spend my summer vacation on the base. While at home my father took me to the engineering building every day and allowed me to work with other engineers. That summer, I had figured out several ways to speed up jet propulsion, without changing the engine designs.

  I was now almost eleven years old and five foot six in height. I was more like an adult than an eleven year old and the airmen on the base, treated with respect.

  My birthday brought a card from Lorain. She said they lived in a nice home and her school was pretty cool. I could read between the lines and knew she was settling into the San Diego way of life.

  While my mother and father had birthday cake with me, I thought about all the past birthdays, I had with them, Lorain and Kenny. I figured out, when I returned to UCLA, I would work in the Westwood Building, but would not advance any further, in the field of string theory, than the point where I was at, when I left in the spring.

  I was back at UCLA in September and met two additional prodigy’s that was added to the current fifteen. I was lucky they had placed them together in their own dorm and I still had the same room, I occupied last year. When I first returned, the college had me by-pass the two weeks of testing, the other students were required to take. I took right off with my work in the Westwood Building.

  When our session’s started and I was once again working on string theory. I found, no matter how hard I tried, I could not avoid my duty. It was not in my nature to just do nothing all day. I had to achieve something every day. I was able to retain everything I was learning, without writing it down. With an eidetic memory, everything was imbedded in my brain. I continued to release hopeful information to Professor Kruger, but held back my true findings.

  As the year went on, I figured out ways to satisfy Professor Kruger, by feeding him little bits of information, but nothing he could take to the bank. I also began to do research at the campus library during the afternoons. Professor Kruger would come by the library and make sure I was there and not at the engineering building. After several months, of one and two days a week spending in the library, Kruger quit checking on me.

  I was becoming more defiant, spending a lot of time avoiding Professor Kruger. He was becoming more suspicious or paranoid of me. He would wander around my lab at night going through my notes and papers. I deliberately left a memo to myself, I knew he would read.

  The memo said. Reading the Professor’s mind is becoming simpler. He’s not aware that I know everything he is thinking.

  I would leave mathematic equations on the chalk board that appeared to be leading somewhere, but in reality, didn’t mean anything. I made it look like I was going to soon have a major breakthrough. This kept Professor Kruger at bay and not trying the challenge me.

  I was spending more time in the engineering building now that the school year was almost over. The week before we were to break for the summer vacation, my parents were called to UCLA for a consultation. I was unaware they were in town and meeting with Dr. Leonard Alford, Professor Kruger and the university president.

  The three gentlemen were letting my parents know, I was not doing the job, they wanted me to do, here at the university.

  Job, what job my father said. TJ came here for an education worthy of his talents, not to do a job for you. My wife and I are aware of Mr. Kruger’s attempt, to use my son to achieve some theory, he’s been working on his whole life and could never solve, even if it jumped up and bit him in the ass.

  Mary spoke up and said, TJ has already achieved and surpass the goals, you have strived for, Mr. Kruger. He has all the answers and had worked out the S-matrix theory, before spring break this year. He also has all the right answers to string theory, she said in anger.

  Orville Walker the school president said that all the information, Theodore James has developed, here at the university, belongs to the university. That was the agreement you two signed, when he came here, he said.

  We understand that, Bradly stated. We have no intention of taking any materials, papers, or documents with us when we get our son today and leave here for good. Can you tell us where we can find TJ, my mother asked? He’s over in the Westwood Building, replied Dr. Alford.

  Bradly and Mary stood up from their chairs and Dr. Alford took them to TJ. My parents told me, they were there to take me home and that I will never be coming back here again. Mary hugged her son, who was now as tall as she was. Bradly patted him on the back and said he was just too damn smart for these stupid ass people and that’s why he’s going home.

  There was a gentleman from the campus police, standing in the lab with Dr. Alford and the Steele’s. He was there to make sure they didn’t remove anything from the lab. The campus police followed the Steele’s over to TJ’s dorm room and waited until they packed up his personal belongings and left the campus.

  We showed them bastard, said Mary as they drove east towards Edwards Air Base. They were home just as night fell and I went straight to my room. I wondered what would become of me now. There was no way, I could go back to school on the base.

  The next morning I woke and was glad to be at home. I heard my father out in the kitchen. My mother had fixed my dad breakfast and a large cup of coffee. My dad turned and saw me standing in the doorway. He stepped over and put his arms around me. He said he was proud of me and everything was going to be alright.

  I had been home for two weeks now. My mother had classes for another week, before school was out. I spent time with her, while she finished up things at school in her classroom.

  Friday, June 23rd my mother got a call from Dr. Alford. He wanted to meet with her and my father. He said he could come to us, the next day, Saturday. He wouldn’t tell h
er what it was he wanted to talk about, but said he thought it would prove to be beneficial, to Theodore James’s future.

  After she hung up, she thought he was coming to the air base, to try and talk them in to sending me back to UCLA. She knew the school had never seen anyone quite like me and to lose me was a disaster for the university.

  When Bradly got home Friday evening Mary told him about Dr. Alford planned visit on Saturday. What’s he want, asked Bradly, with sarcasm in his voice. He wouldn’t say, but said the visit would benefit TJ.

  It was 11:00 Saturday morning when Dr. Alford arrived at our home with another gentleman. He introduced the other gentleman to my parents as Dr. Bryan Stenson, university president of Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

  I was in my room, with the door closed, reading an engineering book. My mom invited the two men into the house and after shaking my father’s hand, they took a seat in the living room.

  Dr. Alford said he wanted to apologize for the treatment Theodore James, received at UCLA. Once the other professors at university had found out Theodore James had been forced out, they let the President know he had made a drastic mistake. I told Dr. Orville Walker, the university had lost one of the most intelligent individuals in the world. I made sure he knew, there was no other child anywhere, like Theodore James Steele.

  Dr. Walker asked me to represent the university and try to get Theodore James’s parents to send him back to UCLA. I told him I wouldn’t do that and if he wanted to try, he could.

  Dr. Bryan Stenson spoke up and said he would like Theodore James to attend MIT. He said the university spans five schools, architecture and planning, engineering, humanities, arts, social sciences, management science. I know Theodore James is interested in astronomy and we have one of the nation’s best Science in Astronomy programs there is.

  Dr. Alford has told me that Theodore James’s is an engineering prodigy. MIT is a leader in training the next generation of creative thinkers, who pioneer new technologies, launch businesses, and bring needed solutions to many of the greatest challenges facing humanity. Theodore James’s would have the full resources, MIT can provide. He will earn degrees and rise to any level of education he desires.