Chapter 10

During the day the queen had to go on tours of the city and formal reception was to take place that night. That was the time the queen would make known the money for the poor clinic. Then she would talk on her feelings about the situation with the whites segregating the blacks.

I would normally stay home and in this case be with Charles, Anne and Lusa. However, this time I would be at the meal because of my knighthood and Lusa would be beside me to show our family's feelings. Mom bustled around the house even more trying to get ready for the festivities. Dad's knighthood would be bad enough but to have a son too was difficult to get everything right.

Fancy cars in the capital were now scarce and dad had to make do with his own vehicle. We pulled up close but security was tight and a valet had to come to us to park the car. The car left and we joined the line waiting to get into the public building. Dad had his invitation firmly in his hand when mom said, "Oh, I forgot my makeup in the car."

Dad said that he would get it and I said I would do it or we would loose our place in the line. Lusa insisted that she come with me and we soon found the car and the errant case. When we got back to the line we found that dad and mom had made it in and Lusa and waited again till our turn came.

The man doing the primary checking was Sergeant Colin McBride. He was one of the people from Internal Security that had killed and continue to kill any black that they thought was too uppity for their own good. Granted they usually got some severe warning first but no second chance.

When it came our turn he looked at me and recognised my face from the papers and had been give word by dad that I and another family member was coming a little later. "Your invitation please."

"I saw dad talk to you and inform you that we would be coming. Does security seem to be afflicted with memory loss?"

"Look boy, you don't have an invitation so and you and this darkie can leave."

"I am not boy. My name is Sir Shawn Boz. The sir might mean nothing to your obvious bigotry but my companion is part of my family and specifically invited by Her Royal Majesty Elizabeth II. Your choice of words shows that you are unsuited for your job on many grounds." Looking to my right I saw Corporal Kulbir following our conversation with more than a hint of levity.

"As for the derogatory term you used, I suppose your wishes would be to only have whites allowed to attend the reception?"

The man was angry but kept his cool and called one of his men to move us out of the line. When the man came and told me to leave I refused and then he bent down and grabbed Lusa in a painful grip and simply picked me up. Since this was assault I drove my hand into his shoulder and then across his throat. My arms were short and I could not move much but it was enough for him to drop me.

The man's eyes almost blazed and he said, "I will kill you."

He came at me again and I ducked and got under him then raised him by the scrotum and drove his head into the concrete walk. As he recovered I ran in and kicked his face with the sole of my shoes.

I turned to find McBride pointing a revolver at me. "Halt!" The people that had retreated during the fight retreated even further.

"Are you going to shoot a three year old boy, or are you going to shoot a person knighted by our sovereign and told quite explicitly to protect the weak?" My voice was loud enough to reach everybody even those just inside the door.

The gun wavered a little but stayed on me. A man in a tux came running forward and looked at the standoff. He was the appointed head of Internal Security and felt quite exposed at the moment. "What are you doing McBride? He has been knighted and has an invitation. Put away that gun now." The gun came down but the urge to kill remained.

The man looked at me and said, "You may pass."

"I might but what is going to happen here? Is the next guest invited by the Prime Minister or our Sovereign going to be harassed, attacked, forced to defend himself and his companions?"

"He will be disciplined."

"What about your other thug that threatened to kill me?"

"He did not. I was just inside the door."

"Sir you are a liar and the leader of goons and thugs. Corporal Kulbir," I called.

The Ghurkha came forward and snapped to attention as if I was his commanding officer. "Sir."

"Did this man assault me at McBride's orders?"

"Yes sir, he did."

"Did this man on the ground threaten to kill me?"

"Yes sir. Quite a stupid thing to do I think."

"Apparently this liar in a tux would like to call you to task for that comment. Perhaps he can put forward the idea that since you are not white you naturally lie."

"He would not do that to my face sir."

"I don't think anyone would call that to your face but you would be a liar behind your back. I will talk to our Queen as to see who can be trusted with the truth."

I held Lusa's hand and pulled her around the man and passed Corporal Kulbir, who had a small smile on his face. When we stepped within the hall there was no noise at all, even the kitchen was quiet. I escorted Lusa to her seat at the table with the queen and I stopped long enough to show her the bruising on Lusa's arm. She asked, "Are both of you all right?"

"Yes Your Majesty. We just ran into the usual bigots and liars on the way in."

She turned to the man beside her and asked, "Why is this beautiful county saddled with such people Mister Prime Minister?"

He mumbled something and left to see what could be salvaged. I pulled out Lusa's chair and sat her before getting into my own. Dad and mom had serious looks an their faces and I added, "I had to make a stand. I couldn't let this bigotry be hidden any longer. Now they would assault young mixed race girls, at another time they murder men and dump their bodies out of town."

The queen turned to one of her bodyguards and gave him some orders.

I had not whispered when I had uttered my words and most of the people around the table were politicians or very wealthy business people. There was very little chance to get active sympathy here. The business interests wanted cheap dependable labour and the government controlled by business tried its best to assure that this happened.

Conversations started and it wasn't for at least five minutes until the usual hubbub began. The Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice came back and took their seats.

The bodyguard came back and whispered in the queen's ear, giving a concise rendition of the incident.

The queen turned and asked the Prime Minister, "I hear when a security man gets caught doing something illegal or immoral in this country he is transferred to a different department and then carries on as if nothing happened." The men's faces turned red signifying they had been caught again. "Your personal appointee lied to Sir Shawn. How much of his dishonesty comes from the men around him? I feel as though I have fallen in with a pack of jackals."

I was very surprised to hear these strong words. I saw that this woman had a lot of scruples and backed them up with her will and words.

The meal progressed and the politicians around the queen felt that this was their last meal. When it came time the queen left her prepared speech and lambasted bigotry in general. She went so far as to say that it undermined democracy and all the things the monarchy now stood for.

Reporters in the back were writing notes furiously. This was like no other speech she had given before.

Dad gave his speech and talked of man working with man to build a better world than what we had. He got in a lot of jabs about under funding the native health care system. Nothing was said about education because it did not exist.

I was given the microphone and had to get on my chair to be seen. This caused a few laughs and I laughed with them. "It is a real pain to be short and young," I started. "People treat you like a pet dog or ignore you. I have been born special. As you can tell I am more fortunate than the usual three year old and because I exercise I am stronger too. I have been afflicted with curiosity which has led me to explore and learn all about the world around me.

"When my family went to Britain on a holiday we met some survivors of a tragedy at sea. Through a lot of effort of Doctor Quigley and dad we were able to save the ones we managed to drag from the sea. I was fortunate to notice something that proved crucial for two lives.

"Her Royal Majesty saw fit to knight me for this and other things that I had done. My oath said that I was to be brave, ready and loyal. It was also said that I was to protect the weak and uphold the laws of God and man.

"While at the palace I found a rare opportunity. My oath told me to protect but I could not do that well. The Royal Family have a group of soldiers that I would think are the most loyal, trustworthy and honest men the world has to offer. They were kind and considerate to teach me a few things that could save my life and those around me.

"Outside this building I found that my parents had gone into this room before I got back from an errand. I tried to follow. Dad left specific word that I would be coming. This I heard myself, just before he entered the main doors. Because the girl beside me is not fully white the man called her 'darkie'. This is a common word and is meant as derision.

"I stood my ground as any man in this room would. When we refused to leave this gathering, we were assaulted. I used the knowledge given me by those non white men tonight to fight a man and his subordinate. A man pointed a gun at me for protecting my family. He is from Internal Security. It seems that a three-year-old boy with the ability to fight with his hands and a ten-year-old girl are a viable threat to the stability of the country we love.

"The head of Internal Security came out to rescue what he could at this time. He lied at hearing his man threaten to kill me, however I was lucky enough to have many witnesses. Some were honest civilians and others the queen's own men, they came forward and told the authorities what they had witnessed.

"Now we come to the men who run this government. Will they hide this man away so he can continue to do his work or will they allow him to enter private industry so that he can do the same thing? I for one would look suspiciously at anybody that would hire a man like that.

"If anybody thinks I have committed slander I want the Minister of Justice to look into it now and gather the facts. None of us want to hear 'oh I forgot to ask.' at a possible future trial.

"Now before I sit down I would like the Prime Minister to speak as he was going to do and address these issues with plain talk. Let's all listen to see how he approaches the subject, or evades it."

The Prime Minister was intelligent or he would never have got where he was now. He attacked my age and memory in a polite way but saw that he was getting nowhere. With everybody here having listened to the queen's words he was obliged to look into the matter and if the facts were true to terminate the head of Internal Security.

That night dad, mom and the queen were all angry with me. I hadn't manipulated much if any of the situation. It was out now that I was very bright and able to fight after a fashion. I would be watched very intently and possibly killed because of the way I embarrassed the government. The explanation of their motives for keeping the native population in chains later proved even more of an embarrassment for almost each and every person in the room.

The papers were full of the event and even the ones owned by interests in Britain were torn by loyalty. The queen had made a phone call and then another phone call had come back telling the local paper to print the truth or their editors would need to find themselves all new jobs. The one independent paper didn't print much of the incident, hoping to let the public forget.

That night the queen, her children and her retinue left and I was sorry to see them go. I could have asked them to stay like I did but the threat to my life and that of my family made that unthinkable.

Dad went back to his practice and his work did not suffer for his views. I had to help long distance for mom would not let me off our grounds. The poor clinic was the same way but this time there was money available for an additional doctor. The Ministry of Health gave us more money when they were shown to the world for being so stingy.

The visitors to our home changed. The only ones that came now were people sympathetic to our cause. Here mom walked a fine line, for she knew we were watched and possibly the phone was tapped too. If she said too much a public trial could be held and jail would surely follow.

Mom was getting so paranoid that I believe she overdid it. I was sent to London to stay with dad's parents and go to school there. A stipulation made that I stayed away from the palace for fear of carrying danger to the Royal Family.

I bordered the plane with the greatest of reluctance. Mom, Japera and Lusa had cried and still found enough tears to shed when I got on the BOAC flight for London. Dad had shed a few tears as well but had hid them much better. I had hardly ever cried but found a few to shed as I walked up the flight or steps.

The stewardess was a young woman and saw me as only a very young child that was sent alone on a long flight alone. I was given preferential seating in first class even though I told dad to book me with the rest of the ordinary people in economy. This time I was too distraught to argue and allowed the woman to buckle my seat belt and gave me a box of tissues. Two seats over a large man smoked a cigar that smelled up the cabin. On other seats men talked and smoked as they read the financial section of the paper.

Just before the flight a young pretty woman got on with an older man. She was the 'secretary' that performed many special duties for her boss. This made me even more homesick and the wheels had not even left the tarmac yet.

Lusa had demanded that I find a woman or two to keep me happy while I was away. She still didn't understand that the glands governing this type of action were inactive. I could perform though but it was necessary to use my brain instead. I really didn't know how Lusa would function because we made love almost every day since she was six.

Mom and dad had set-up a large bank account in my name and arranged many of the things that I could easily do for myself. It was just their way of doing this last little bit for me as if I had the mentality of a three-year-old along with the body that was approaching the ripe old age of four.

Japera cried so hard I thought that she would never see me again. In the last week I lost count of the times she broke down and couldn't continue. Usually this set mom off too and they would both cry. Mom though did not back down for she saw this as the best way to ensure my safety.

Lusa couldn't take it so she played music for so many hours that I think she was fixating on it to exclude all else. Our lovemaking was almost animalistic in its intensity. She wanted me in her all the time thinking I could give her a baby. The sad fact was that she was not even pubescent yet.

The engines started to roar and the propellers spun till they disappeared. I couldn't directly see them even if I was at the window because of my height. The plane started its run down the asphalt and soon the nose climbed and I was still saying goodbye to my family many miles later as we climbed higher and higher.

I found in my anxiety that I had communicated almost a hundred miles before it finally faded. This made me even more morose and I curled up in my chair after taking off my seatbelt.

The stewardess, Shelley by name, came by and asked in a child like voice if there was anything I would like. "Only a pillow. Maybe I can get some sleep. I just find it upsetting to leave my family for such a long time."

Shelly was thinking of my speech and trying to reconcile it with my apparent age. When the pillow was presented is put it beside me and tried to think of it as Lusa.

I must have slept. At home all the feelings of imminent parting had kept me awake and those of everyone else in the house. My eye flew down and I could see land and then I had to search the navigator's mind and saw that we were just crossing the southern border of Chad.

The plane and its controls began to pique my interest because there was basically nothing else to do. The businessmen were thinking of profits and how they could screw the people above them so they could work their way up. Others already at the top looked how to screw competitors and fight off underlings from below.

The engines were fairly simple but the hydraulic and electric controls proved to be fascinating. After another meal I started on the captain and his crew and saw all the things that must be done to fly a plane of this size and complexity. By the time we were touching down in London I figured I could fly the plane myself and do most of the basic repairs if needed.

We coasted to a stop. A small towing machine came out and pulled us into position. We wearily disembarked. When the luggage was brought out I waited until most of the other people were done before fighting for my property. A young woman helped me with a small suitcase and asked, "Where are your parents, little boy?"

"Thank you for your assistance ma'am. My parents are in Salisbury worrying about me being away from home and my grandparents will soon be here after I get through customs."

The woman stood up straight and looked at me funny trying to see if I was a midget or something similar.

I pulled over a frame on wheels and threw my luggage on it. I was at the end of a line when the customs and immigration man looked over the counter at me.

"Hello there young man. May I have your papers please?"

"I handed my new passport up to him and he read the changes to it. The 'Sir' stood out and he said, "This is your dad's. Do you have anything for you?" Children usually came in under their parent's papers and if they were from a commonwealth country, a birth certificate was good enough.

"Sir, I thank you for your concern for protecting this country and of one small boy trying to make it to school here. But the fact is the passport is mine and I happen to have been knighted recently to get it."

"Well I'll be... I never thought I would meet somebody like you here. Where are you going?"

"My grandparents will put me up and then others will assess me to find my place in the British educational system. By my own reckoning I should be entering the final year of university while majoring in six subjects."

The man looked at the passport and especially the date August 12 1950. He looked at me again then at the passport then at me again and started to laugh. "You had me there, young man. You won't be four for another three months."

"Sir, I did not exaggerate. I will be a physician like my dad, a mathematician to understand physics and chemistry, I already understand many languages and will need a final topping up of business administration."

The man believed my words but had a very difficult time getting the rest of his brain to accept it. He simply stamped my passport and because I was last he helped me to the room where grandma and grandpa were nervously waiting. The kindly man recognised them from their pictures in the paper but surprisingly didn't keep an image of me.

I ran like any other boy and hugged one then the other. I finally turned around and thanked the officer for his help and his sympathy for a small boy alone for a time in a strange country.

In the taxi home I was asked all sorts of questions and had to field some for the time being. Mom and dad were great I told them but worried about me. Japera and Lusa were the same and promised to keep working on a better education just as I was doing.

I was given dad's old room and with all my clothes and some of dad's I felt less lonely.

Grandpa had arranged an assessment the next morning and he managed to get some time off work to accomplish this. Over a cuppa I told him that this was not necessary, "Grandpa, I only look little. I read all the maps and know them by heart. Taxi drivers can take me where I need to go if necessary and the train schedule is posted and I will have it memorized the first time I see it."

"That is good but you need an adult with you. I even think it is the law."

"Grandpa I love you and grandma but I can manage this easy thing myself. There is no reason for you to lose a day's pay," I smiled, "or deprive the Chancellor of the Exchequer his portion of your wages."

The next day I stepped out the front door in a cool day in the last days of May and waved to both grandparents. I had won this small battle and would take the trolley to my goal. With two changes of conveyance I was able to make it to my destination without incident even though most drivers were worried about someone so young getting on his vehicle.

A public call box reminded me to make a few courtesy calls and I phoned a private number at Buckingham Palace. A secretary picked up the phone and I gave my name and asked for Charles. He was able to take the call and I explained where I was and why. With a few pieces of information I explained how I was only able to meet him where the Ghurkhas could guard us both. In a way he did not understand but in a simpler way he did. He sounded a little down and I explained how I could be invited to come for a visit if his family thought it advisable.

After the call I climbed the many steps to an imposing stone building and looked at the heavy oak door. Its handle was out of reach and I had to wait till nobody was looking before opening the massive portal.

The floor was stone and I walked down a deserted hallway to the door I wanted. The room had a counter and glass separating the front of the room from the important people in the back. Nobody came to see who the visitor was and cared little. "Hello, Is there anybody here?"

A click of china was heard and someone pushed back their chair and slowly came to the small opening in the glass. The woman about 40 or so looked out and then down to me. "What do you want, little boy?"

"I came to see Mr. Driscoll. I have an appointment."

"Where are your parents, little boy?"

"My parents are in Rhodesia. My appointment is here and now. I may be a little boy ma'am but my name is not little boy, it is Shawn Boz, as it says on your scheduling. Will you please inform Mr Driscoll that I am here and ready at his convenience?"

"Who do you think you are, little boy? Your parents were remiss in your education and you are sorely lacking in your manners."

I took a breath and let it out then took an oak chair and placed it in front of the opening then climbed onto it to see my antagonist face to face. "Madam, my parents went to a lot of effort to teach me a great many things, including manners. I was to respect age, intelligence and be polite to people that are polite to me. You show very little politeness and I tried to be nice. I assume you can understand my simple requests but I see you need stimulation to start this effort. First of all I am 'Sir' Shawn Boz. Secondly I almost brought down the government in Rhodesia and managed to get the government to fire the head of Internal Security. Do you think one receptionist in a minor building in a large city would be too much harder?"

Looking at the grey haired woman harder I said, "Now please inform Mr. Driscoll of my presence as your job requires."

The woman backed up and fled the room. Three other people were sitting at their desks, some with tea part way to their mouths, with said orifices wide open in shock or amusement.

In a moment a door on the side was flung open and a heavyset man rushed out. "What is the meaning of this young man. You frightened one of my workers half to death?"

"Since you choose to ask in public, I will reply the same way. Your appointment book has my name. It is not 'young man'. Your workers are having their break at 8am when the designated time is an hour later. That is of no matter as long as they handle their jobs. It seems that you do not run a very tight ship and that you have let things slide to the point that the ministry would have to be called in to rectify matters. Lastly I came here for an assessment not a confrontation with people that think that their senior position is the only thing to consider when dealing with the public."

The man sputtered then gained control of himself. "Come into my office and we can get you sorted out Master Boz."

I took a chair in his large panelled office and waited for the man to start. He was trying to think of ways to be vindictive and also throw roadblocks in my way. "There are quite a few tests to be done and we can start in the other room." His idea was to give me tests for a child starting school and work my way up through each of them then find one way or another to see that I fail.

"Before we start Mr. Driscoll, I want you to save any and all records you have of this testing. If I do not like the results I will take them to the minister for a review. Second I feel I can enter university now. Give me the tests that will assist me in this endeavour. Failing this I will bring in my solicitor to make my wishes better known. My name by the way is 'Sir' Shawn Boz and I will gain the minister's ear if I need."

The man sat up straighter and reassessed his course but not his objective. "There is no need for that young man."

"That is fine. I believe the minister will personally view my scores in any case. After the completion of these tests I will tell him that you are busy processing them."

The tests came in and I worked on them quickly. I put my name, date and a sequential number on each sheet I did. Within an hour I had completed more tests than were required but did them regardless. When Mr. Driscoll found nothing more for me to do, I wrapped them all up and made out a sheet of which tests I had completed and the number of extra sheets of paper that I had handed in. If some were going to be 'lost' I wanted the ministry to know that they were handed in.

Mr. Driscoll refused to give me the receipt that I requested, so I took his phone against his wishes and stuck my finger in the holes on the dial and dialled the personal number of the Minister of Education. I was lucky that the man was in his office. I referenced the man's job title then gave my own name and title. I explained where I was and who I was with. I gave my suspicions about my tests and the failure of Mr. Driscoll to give me a receipt. A minute later I hung up the phone.

"I believe you will be getting a call from somebody that will inform you to give me a receipt."

"You didn't have to do that Mr. Boz."

"I am past the point of trying to work with you. The name is Sir Shawn to you and I will not have you try to sidetrack my education because you and some old biddy like their prerequisites in an out of the way petty bureaucracy."

We were quiet for three minutes until a woman came to his door and knocked then came in and said, "There is a call for you sir in the other room." I found this was done so that Driscoll would not have to take the call in front of me.

Five minutes later a shaken man came back. In his hand was a receipt of the test taken. I handed him my more detailed receipt to put his signature on instead. When it was done I said, "You will find that the tests I did would be very easy for an adult to do. My score will be judged and re-evaluated many times in the near future. If you give me even one extra point everybody will know it. If I am not given a point the same thing will happen. I am only saying this so that I get what is fair and nothing more."

I walked out of the building to see many people moving along the busy street. The confrontation that I had just came from made me feel ill, particularly it didn't make me feel proud to have had to call in assistance. Granted I could have taken the tests and in a few weeks be where I was now but that was counter productive in many ways. Their time and my own would be wasted. I could be learning so many new things instead of taking exams on how to add integers or see how Spot ran with Dick and Jane. I could see how this would drive an adult to drink.

It took a while with trams and buses to get to University College London. The bus stopped on Euston Road and I walked a short distance to the Medical Science Centre just off Gower Street. I wandered into the building trying to get a feel for the place. Everybody was rushing about going to classes and I blended in but I had to worry about being trampled. I tried to stay out of sight as much as possible while I assessed the professors.

They were quite busy with mundane things and what I hoped to find was specific information. The Journal of the American Medical Association that I'd read in dad's office had mentioned that Salk had been working on a vaccine for poliomyelitis and I wanted to see how the people here interpreted the man's findings.