The Power of Twelve Page 9

  When he asked how his father could be so sure, George senior told him, “It is better that you not ask. Many years ago my father, your grandfather, entered into a contract with a group of international business leaders with powerful connections. Ever since then our family has been ‘blessed.’ It was not an accident that our first explorations into oil generated extraordinary wealth. It was not an accident that I was elected president. As my son, you have a duty to these families to serve, and it has been decided that you will serve best by being president.”

  “But I do not enjoy politics. I find running large organizations burdensome. Heck, I even made a mess of running the Texas Rangers baseball team when we owned it. Do you really think I can handle being president?”

  “Son, you will find a way. Your mother and I will be behind you, never fear. We got you through Yale and we will get you through this as well. Trust me. We owe the families a great deal, and this has already been decided.” His father turned away abruptly, indicating that the conversation and any further questions from his son were over.

  Even now, though he was no longer president, George Bush Junior found the continuous presence of Secret Service agents a burden. He no longer enjoyed traveling off his ranch and increasingly limited his circle of acquaintances to those who came to visit him. In his latest refusal to appear at a function, he had been invited to Chateau Mcely to learn about Project Wake Up by Prince Charles of England, but had chosen not to go.

  Prince Charles was a close friend of Jim Cusumano. They had first met through Jim’s wife, Inéz, while hosting a meeting of environmental leaders at the Chateau. Prince Charles was interested in preserving ancient historical landmarks and marveled at the restoration work Inéz had supervised to bring the 150-year-old castle back to pristine condition. Since that original meeting, Jim and Prince Charles had stayed in touch, collaborating on special projects. When Jim became involved with Project Wake Up, he naturally invited Prince Charles to join the inaugural meetings. He was only slightly surprised when Otto mentioned that he and Prince Charles were also friends of long standing. Jim felt that the relationship must be more professional than social, but having heard of the extraordinary healing powers that Otto was purported to possess, he felt it would not be appropriate to pry.

  George Bush Junior, though he had not attended the meetings, had participated through video conferencing from his Texas ranch. His mother, upon learning that he had declined the invitation to go to Prague, insisted that he install special 3-D screens and cameras that would allow him to participate as if he were there in person. The Chateau had already had the special conferencing equipment installed for earlier events, and setting up a receiving station in George’s den at his ranch was relatively simple, though not inexpensive.

  George was not surprised when the first images from Mcely showed a group sitting around a table at which fruit, desserts, and after-dinner drinks were still being cleared. George recognized many of the royals, former leaders of state, and CEOs of large oil and technology companies in attendance. After brief introductions the meeting began.

  Jim served as master of ceremonies. “First, I want to thank you all for coming—and I want to thank you, George, for attending via satellite. For some this is the first time we have met, but many of us have worked together for environmental and disaster relief projects in the past. As successful as we have been on individual projects, I think we realize that there is, at present, a global crisis that is affecting all aspects of our lives and jeopardizing the future. Although no one has an immediate solution to the specific challenges we face, I believe that Project Wake Up is a vital first step.”

  Jim then introduced Barbara Marx Hubbard, who gave an overview of Project Wake Up. In turn, each of the luminaries shared their reactions to Barbara’s comments and made commitments to support the noble vision of providing free education via the Internet to every person on the planet. There was some discussion of how such an initiative might conflict with universities already providing higher education, but it was pointed out that Project Wake Up would focus on courses related to “raising consciousness” and would complement, rather than compete with, existing educational institutions.

  George quickly became bored by the proceedings. He looked longingly out the window of his den on a bright, sunny afternoon. He looked at his watch and thought, “I could still get in a little hunting. It’s almost three o’clock here, must be ten p.m. in Prague.” He glanced back at the screens, hiding a yawn. “What a bunch of windbags,” he thought. “Conscious evolution, courses on raising consciousness. The only thing I want to raise is my shotgun and get me a couple of nice rabbits for dinner.”

  He decided to act on his impulse. “Barbara, Jim, Prince Charles, everyone in attendance,” he announced to the gathered multitude, “you can count me in on whatever you decide. I have a prior appointment, though, and need to sign off. It’s been a fascinating two hours hearing about Project Wake Up. Next time any of you are in America, just give me a call and we can set up a nice barbecue for you all to continue our discussions here at the ranch. Fascinating project, really fascinating. Take care.”

  Without further formalities, George switched off the monitors. To hell with technology. He hurried down the hall to his gun case to pick out his best gun for rabbit hunting.

  As he made his way down the path to his SUV to head to his “hunting meadow,” all he could think was, “Damn you, Dad. What kind of deal with the devil did Granddad make that we have to continue to support all these damn projects? Just gives me a headache. I never have understood what I am really protecting or supposed to do, and this seems like the craziest project yet. Project Wake Up. Damn. I’m already awake, and if I’m not, then being asleep works just fine for me.”

  George took special pleasure in that afternoon, as he shot not just five rabbits but an unexpected deer that wandered onto his property just as the Sun was setting. He would have a good dinner that night and a venison barbecue the following weekend. Life was good. Life had always been good for the George Bush family.

  Shortly after returning to the house with his strung-up rabbits and deer, George received a phone call from Arnold Wheeler.

  George had always looked up to Arnie and valued his friendship, perhaps above any other. Arnie not only was one of the wealthiest men George had ever met, but he was also one of the most polished. Nothing ever seemed to faze Arnie. He had dated the prettiest girls while at Yale and always dressed and acted impeccably. Unlike George, Arnie had breezed through Yale with straight A’s. He had been an economics major but had excelled in every subject. He helped George through cramming sessions, and George felt he was a true brother.

  “Arnie, it’s great to hear your voice. I just shot me one of the best bucks I’ve bagged in years. We’re going to have a barbecue this weekend and that fella’s going to taste mighty good. Can you join us?”

  “I’m pretty busy, George, but I think I will,” Arnie answered enthusiastically. “Say, I’m calling because our new genetic seeds are ready. I was going to have you introduce them to your farm friends next month. I tell you, George, we can turn western Texas into the most productive growing area in the world.” He paused, as though he was checking his mobile calendar. “I’ll just move up my schedule and fly in this weekend. Be sure to have the other growers at the barbecue. It will save me an extra trip.”

  “No problem, Arnie. Everyone will be invited to the barbecue anyway. It will be great to see you.”

  “That’s great, George,” Arnold replied. “Just make sure the growers understand this is not just a party invitation but a must-attend meeting. What I have to show them will change their businesses forever,” Arnold said in a more serious tone than the lighthearted one George had expected. “We have developed some new chemicals that we are using, and the results are nothing short of astonishing. When combined with our GMOs, we are seeing the doubling and tripling of yields. This is a game changer, George. Be sure they are all in attendance.”


  “I don’t really get what you’re talking about, Arnie, but I’ll get out the word and let ’em know this barbecue is a must-attend event.”

  “Thanks, George, and congratulations on bagging that deer,” Arnold signed off. “I’m looking forward to a feast.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  A TIGHT FIT

  ABIGAIL WAS NOT SURE what to do. Back home in Santa Barbara, she was getting dressed for the day but could find nothing to wear. Everything she chose felt tight, especially around the waist. She did not want to stop eating chocolate, but realized that Barbara’s clothes were no longer fitting easily. Abigail had, of course, no experience with a normal human body that changed form based on dietary choices and the level of consumption. Despite her audacious accomplishments as a luminous spiritual being, she was starting to panic. She would have nothing to wear if she didn’t cut back. She was not truly addicted to chocolate, but she would sorely miss her new favorite treat.

  “How do humans deal with such problems?” Abigail thought as she continued to fret. Increasingly, Abigail had taken over Barbara’s form so that Barbara’s own consciousness was passive, sleeping in while Abigail got up each morning, showered, and went about the normal tasks of hygiene and preparing for the long days and nights of trying to “undo” the release of The Book of the Dream and coordinate the activities needed to bring Project Wake Up to the hundreds of millions of souls for which it was intended.

  Fortunately for Abigail, Barbara’s consciousness, which was just waking up, overheard Abigail’s conundrum about chocolate and clothes and suggested a simple solution. “Abigail, I have plenty of money. Let’s just go on a shopping spree and get clothes one size larger.”

  Abigail immediately smiled and set off for the mall. Being human was beginning to be the most glorious adventure she had ever undertaken. She could sympathize with why The One had decided to stay on planet Earth with Maria and enjoy the life of Max as long as he could. Abigail knew that her mission was too important to allow herself to contemplate the luxury of making such a decision herself, but she did wonder if after she had saved planet Earth 769, perhaps she would want to reincarnate as a human being herself. Higher beings always had the choice to incarnate as humans, but the limited use of the human form was so inferior to the eternal that her friends and colleagues would just laugh when anyone suggested they incarnate as a human being. The idea of being a human “just for the fun of it” had never occurred to Abigail or any of the celestial beings with whom she consorted.

  While shopping at the trendy boutique Peaches for new clothes, Abigail/Barbara bumped into Natalie Rhinegold, the wife of Horatio Rhinegold, the former head of Coca-Cola Bottling Company and the founder of the Secular Ethics Center, located at their winery outside of Santa Barbara. Abigail had met the Rhinegolds at Chateau Mcely. It had seemed odd that this couple, living only a few miles away, had never been part of Barbara’s inner circle nor had participated in her birthday bash on December 22, 2012. The Rhinegolds spent much of their time in Aspen and in Europe. Horatio had retired more than fifteen years ago and had left a legacy of ethical management practices and unprecedented growth and profitability during his twenty-year tenure as CEO of Coca-Cola Bottling. Every business leader and many philanthropists wanted Horatio on their short list of dinner guests for their exclusive events. They not only admired and respected Horatio’s opinion on business and technical issues, they enjoyed his company and ability to cut immediately to the truly important questions.

  Horatio and Natalie had been invited to Mcely by Wolfgang Roter to join the initial meeting convened by Jim for Project Wake Up. Wolfgang was known as an eccentric but incredibly successful business leader in Germany. He lived in the beautiful town of Traben-Trarbach on the Mosel River and had dedicated his life to philanthropic projects. Wolfgang had purchased an old winery and converted the primary residences and wine cellars into the Library of Wisdom. This was his pet project of the moment, and he was enjoying assembling the greatest collection of books of wisdom from around the world. He had hired specialists and had already collected tens of thousands of priceless original manuscripts and books as well as hundreds of thousands of electronic versions of books recommended by his advisors as encapsulating the lasting wisdom of humanity. Abigail had been amused when shortly after she met Wolfgang at Chateau Mcely, he started to explain his grand vision of the Library of Wisdom, as she felt the concept of “wisdom of humanity” truly laughable. From her perspective as a member of the Council of Twelve, the amount of human wisdom in the universe wouldn’t fill a thimble. Why, she would not have had to come on this mission in the first place if humanity on Earth 769 had any true wisdom.

  Horatio and Natalie had a shared enthusiasm for wine with Wolfgang and his wife, Greta, and it was only natural that they would become close friends. Horatio provided Wolfgang with introductions to his many contacts throughout the world to help Wolfgang assemble additional supporters for his Library of Wisdom. Wolfgang, in turn, was able to direct many of his business associates to assist Horatio and Natalie in creating their Secular Ethics Center.

  Natalie greeted Abigail/Barbara with a big smile and a warm hug. “So good to see you. Some meeting at Chateau Mcely! Horatio and I often attend events with major movers and shakers, but that was something else. Such elegance and such clarity of purpose. I really think Project Wake Up can work. Even Horatio is willing to donate his time. He is willing to cut short his next ski trip to Aspen to return for meeting number two. That is a real sacrifice for Horatio, you know. He is addicted to his ski trips.”

  “You are so kind,” Abigail/Barbara responded. “And I am so grateful to have your support. I am not sure why we had to fly halfway around the world to meet, but I am sure about the timing. The time for action is now!”

  “Yes, that certainly seems to be the case,” Natalie confirmed. “As far as I can tell, the most powerful families in the world are lining up behind Project Wake Up.”

  “May that be the case.” She excused herself and headed to the dressing room to try on her new leather business suit, one size larger. While Barbara fiddled with the hook on the skirt, Abigail beamed in to Barbara the thought, “I am not sure what is going on here, but this process seems almost too easy. Every time you turn around, you find more supporters for Project Wake Up. I am always cautious when things seem to be too easy. Often dark forces are working to make things happen that are not what they appear.”

  Barbara reflected back, “You have been in my body only a few weeks. Believe me, getting people behind Project Wake Up has not been easy. It has taken me years of working on similar initiatives to get to this point.”

  “OK,” Abigail beamed back, “but just be certain that these powerful people are part of the solution and not part of the problem. My concern is that some of these wealthy supporters may be members of the Illuminati and will use Project Wake Up to maintain and increase their power. Information in the wrong hands about the goals of Project Wake Up could accelerate the destructive trends already in motion.”

  Barbara took an assessing look at herself in the dressing room mirror and responded, “I appreciate your concern, Abigail, and I guess the conundrum is how to allow the information to leak out in just the right way to just the right people at just the right time.”

  “Exactly,” agreed Abigail.

  “Ahh,” sighed Barbara as she fit snugly, but comfortably, into her new skirt. “This is just right. Now I don’t feel overweight at all.”

  On her way back to the car with her new clothes on and others in boxes, Abigail could not resist stopping at Starbucks for her favorite triple espresso and a bar of special dark chocolate. Yep, she thought, that was the solution to the problem. Just buy larger human clothes.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  IN THE DEN OF WILLIAM THE PEN

  AS THE GRAND SCRIBE for the Council of Twelve and The One and keeper of sacred manuscripts on planet Naranjada, William the Pen had been gifted an extraordinary residence with a two-story lib
rary with bookcases that held more than five thousand volumes. He had access to computers that contained every book ever written, but he kept those in the basement, for his library also served as his den for entertaining guests.

  At a large mahogany round table with six chairs in the middle of the room, William the Pen would select his favorite books, sit in one of the six overstuffed chairs, and commence reading. This table was also where his guests would sit, and today he had invited the Collector of Data, or, more accurately, the Collector of Data had invited himself.

  “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?” William the Pen asked while offering him some nice orange tea.

  “No tea for me, thank you.” The Collector of Data nodded with a polite smile. “I am afraid I will not be staying very long. I just came to give you some important news that I know you will want to share with the Council of Twelve.”

  William the Pen could see the concern in the Collector’s eyes. “What is wrong?”

  “I don’t really know how to say this, but the problems on planet Earth 769 are more severe than we had anticipated. The socalled Illuminati on that planet are going to create a catastrophe that may not only end their universe but ours as well. I have written up this report, which I leave for you to peruse and share with the Council of Twelve.” The Collector handed William the Pen a short bound booklet entitled “Data from Planet Earth 769” with the words CLASSIFIED AND CONFIDENTIAL written in large capitals across the front.

  “I really must get going,” the Collector stated as he nearly ran out of the den.

  Disturbed by the odd behavior, William the Pen opened the book and began to read. Soon his mouth hung wide open in shock. He could not believe what he was reading. The head of the Illuminati had developed chemical fertilizers that he thought would increase productivity but would in fact destroy all the vegetation on the planet. It was just a matter of time before Earth 769 would be a wasteland. Even more alarming to William the Pen, the rift in the universe was accelerating. At the present rate the end of Earth 769 would occur in less than ninety Earth days. The chain reaction would destroy the 769 universe and that in turn would destroy all of the multiuniverses, including the universe in which their beloved planet Naranjada existed.