Visiting Abigail Adams

Boston, the United States of America

January 22nd, 1777

General Kim was "on vacation," so to speak. He was taking some time off from leading the Marines and left Brigadier General Knowlton (who was promoted like many of the Marines officers) in charge of the Marines until he returned. Currently, he was visiting the home of John Adams in the city of Boston, the place where his adventures started. Elizabeth, his "girlfriend" of sorts, was off visiting one of her relatives in the city so he was visiting the household with only his sons in tow. While John Adams was currently in Europe and was negotiating a treaty with the British to bring an official end to the Revolutionary War, General Kim was visiting to see John's wife, Abigail. Apparently, she wanted to meet with him face to face and discuss some political matters, which surprised him to some extent. According to her letters, she was aware that he was a main driving force of minorities ' and women's rights through her conversations with John Adams, though she was still unaware of his secret.

Feeling relaxed for the first time in ages, the Asian man knocked on the front door and waited for someone to answer. While he was waiting, he fiddled with the three "books" in his hand. They were books he had written over the course of the Revolutionary War and knowing that Abigail was an avid reader, he wanted her opinion on them.

"Samuel, whose house is this?" Benedict asked.

Samuel smiled at the boy fondly, "This house belongs to one of my colleagues in Congress. Do you remember what I told you about Mr. John Adams?"

"Yes. He was a delegate of Congress and was sent to Europe as an ambassador to end the war against Britain."

"You're absolutely right!"

Over the last week or so, he taught the boys the basics of science, literature, history, and politics personally. While they were young, the three Arnolds were fast learners and sharp. He knew that all of them would have careers in the British military and had high hopes for them. Of course, their fate would be much different without their biological father around. Regardless, he was taking steps to make sure that they grew into well-educated men that would carry on his legacy.

When the door finally opened, he came face to face with a young boy around Benedict's age. The boy looked surprised to see him and turned his head towards the house, "Mother! There are three children and a strange man at the front door!"

The Marine chuckled as he heard a woman scolding the boy and telling him to return to his studies. It took Abigail Adams several moments to appear at the front door, but she gave him a friendly smile when she did. She was dressed in simple clothing, yet she looked elegant and graceful like Samuel imagined her to be, "Thank you for visiting, General Kim. I'm sorry for my son's rude outburst. He has never seen a man... of your race before. And neither have I for that matters."

"No worries, Mrs. Adams. And please, just call me Samuel," He replied, "There is no need for formalities."

"Then call me Abigail," Abigail looked down at children in surprise, "I didn't know you had children, Samuel!"

"Well, they are the sons of one of my close friends and best officers who died in battle. I am looking after them in his place."

"Please come in! I'm sure my children will be glad to meet them!"

The children set off to play with Abigail's four children (Samuel discovered that the boy that answered the door was John Quincy Adams) while the two adults sat by themselves in the sitting room.

"Do you want some coffee, Samuel?"

"That would be excellent, thank you."

Abigail poured him a cup of black coffee and he drank it without any added substances, "Now then, I'm sure you have many questions for me. Feel free to ask anything on your mind."

"I hope you have some time on your hand because I do have a number of questions I want to ask you," Abigail said as she placed down her cup on a saucer.

"By all means, fire away."

"I'm sorry?"

"My mistake. I have a rather unique set of terms that I use on a daily basis. "Fire away" means to start right away, like "fire away" the cannon."

The Adam looked puzzled, but maintained her smile, "I see. Now, the first thing I wanted to ask you about was the Constitution. I heard from my husband that you played an important role in establishing minorities' and women's rights in the document. While I do not know how much of an impact you had, I wanted to ask why you were so adamant about supporting them."

"Because I am a minority myself," Samuel looked down at his cup bitterly, "While I have been generally accepted by society even though I am Asian, I know that if it weren't for my military successes, I would have been treated as an outcast. During my journey to the Americas, I met many different types of people and recognized that the color of a person's skin should not determine their merit. Their merit should be determined by their actions, achievements, and "merit." Thankfully, I managed to be recognized for my merits here and treated fairly well. However, I know that without lawful protection to minorities, they would be trampled by the majority and scorned regardless of the talent and abilities they hold. I am an exceptional case. I have seen many freed slaves accomplish much despite their background. Imagine what they can do for our future nation if they were considered as equals and devoted themselves to improving our nation instead of spending their lives trapped as a slave."

"I'm assuming that your parents also influenced your decision?"

Samuel glanced up at the woman and gave her a small grin, "Quite so. Slavery is a terrible institution that has no place in our republic. If we keep slaves shackled to chains, then we would be holding back the future of our nation for meager monetary gains."

"I see," Abigail nodded her head approvingly, "I agree with you in that regard, Samuel. I must admit that I was surprised to see your Emancipation Proclamation and your support for minorities' rights, but I supported your moves regardless. But what about women's rights? Why were you so supportive of them?"

"My reasoning is the same as my justification for minorities' rights. Women have great potential as well, and they should have the chance to better our nation and improve themselves. By holding them back, we would always be moving forward with one arm tied behind our backs."

Abigail looked genuinely interested as she sat upright in her chair, "You are a very exceptional indeed. Even my husband was reluctant to support women's rights until you convinced him. Judging by your statements and your ability to move my husband's mind, I understand why those delegates in Congress allowed such a revolutionary document."

Samuel scratched his cheeks sheepishly, "It wasn't much."

"But it was! And you have changed the future of this nation for the better!" Abigail nearly shot out her seat, but composed herself at the last second, "I apologize. I rarely speak about political matters other than my husband. Most of my lady friends are a bit less involved in the political matters of the country, which I find shameful."

"No worries, Abigail. I am enjoying this conversation as well."

"I have already asked too much, and I know that you had some things in mind to discuss. Please, "fire away."

The general laughed and pulled out his three books, "I have written three different books, and I am looking to have them published. Do you mind reading some of the content?"

"Gladly," Abigail replied as she took the books from Samuel. She read the names on the covers and was intrigued, "Interesting... It seems like the three of them are diverse in topic."

The book with the red cover was labeled, The Revolutionary War: A Perspective by Samuel Kim. The book with the blue cover was labeled, The Avengers: The Beginning. And the final book, with a white cover, was titled The Necessity of the Republic and the Constitution.

"Feel free to read the summaries I have provided on the covers of each book. Each one of them is several hundred pages long, so I thought a summary would be helpful."

The room went silent for a few minutes as Abigail read the summaries of the books. After she finished with the final summary, she closed the books and placed them on her lap, "They are most definitely interesting. The books are very different from one another, yet all of them managed to grab my attention."

"Which one do you prefer?"

"Personally, I would read The Necessity of the Republic and the Constitution first, since I am more familiar with politics and I am also a keen supporter of the republic. The book on the war with Britain would most likely be my second book of choice since the book seems to devolve into battles and politics that I am not familiar with. The Avengers is certainly interesting, though I am a bit mystified by the book's content. It seems as if it's some sort of folklore."

"Well, my aim with the Avengers was to create American folklore and spread a message about acceptance and equality through imaginative storytelling."

"Yes... A former slave with unimaginable powers, a creature that is the creation of an Indian goddess, a Pennsylvanian inventor that reminds me of an opposite version of Mr. Franklin, a farm girl from Massachusetts Bay, and an ordinary soldier all grouping together to combat British infiltration and help America achieve its independence. It certainly is creative."

Samuel shrugged, "It's most definitely different and unordinary, but I think it's a good story with subtle messages."

The two continued to converse for several hours, and by the time he was finished, he discovered that the three boys had befriended all four of the Adams children.

Life was certainly interesting outside the military.