The Power of Twelve

by William Gladstone

Gayle had volunteered to be secretary and note taker throughout the entire session, and she started reading from her notes:

  “The plan for Project Wake Up is no longer to raise a hundred million dollars but to raise one hundred billion dollars. To do this, we will rely primarily on Horatio, George, Otto, and Arnold to contact the billionaires and foundation heads of the largest, best-funded organizations and multinational companies throughout the world. We will seek a minimum donation from each of one billion dollars. The money will be utilized to purchase one hundred million tablet computers and to load each tablet not just with The Book of the Dream but also with the sacred teachings from the twenty most important books selected by Wolfgang from his Library of Wisdom project. Horatio will use his relationship with Wolfgang to coordinate the selection of the most essential titles. Jack will work with Synchronicity, Choice Point, Quantum Think, and other organizations to ensure that the tablets will also contain information not just on how to implement personal growth but on how to coordinate group projects. The one hundred million initial recipients of these tablets shall be chosen for their ability and commitment to share the tablets with others, and all information on all tablets will be provided without any restrictions on passing the information to any computer or other electronic device, including smart phones, without cost to the recipient. Special attention will be given to the poorest villages on the planet to ensure that at least one Project Wake Up tablet is provided to each rural village, no matter how remote. Horatio will utilize his relationship with Coca-Cola to distribute the tablets to remote areas, and Otto will lean on FedEx and other international carriers with whom he has special relationships to ensure immediate delivery of all devices. The timeline for raising the money is thirty days, and the production of the first ten million devices will commence immediately. It is anticipated that the entire project will take two years to implement, but that the first one million devices can be in the hands of key thought influencers within sixty days.”

  “Excellent summation,” Jim observed. “Does anyone have any last questions before we adjourn for dinner?”

  Arnold mounted his broadest smile as he spoke up. “I have never been with a more pleasant group of people. George may not have told you, but I was somewhat skeptical of Project Wake Up when I arrived. I was really coming because George had been so enthusiastic about the project. But now that I have met each of you and learned how dedicated you are to the good of humanity, I can assure you of my complete support. In fact, I am going to pledge not just the original one hundred million dollars I had intended, but a full one billion dollars. I am sure this extra money will help convince some of your other donors to move closer to the billion-dollar goal you have set for each of them. I will in fact write a personal letter to each of those targeted for the campaign. Just give me the list, and I will get my foundation to immediately start contacting these key donors.”

  Although Horatio knew from Karl that Arnold had no intention of providing a single dime for Project Wake Up, let alone a billion dollars, and although he knew that Arnold would not write a letter of support but negative letters discrediting the project, he settled on flattery for the time being. “This is an amazing gift, Arnold. With your reputation and support behind Project Wake Up, I know we will be successful. It is hard to thank you enough.”

  “Hear, hear,” said Abigail/Barbara, adding her voice to the praise for Arnold. “We should all toast Arnold for his generosity and commitment to Project Wake Up. My dream of a united humanity evolving toward a higher state of consciousness will now be a reality due in large measure to Arnold’s support. For the first time in human history, every being on this planet will have access to the essential information needed to live a better life and to understand how they are all connected to each other. The synergy wheel will become a reality. The sharing of what works instantly throughout the world will become a reality. The ability of every human being to evolve at their own pace, with access to all current and future breakthroughs in technology and information, will now be achieved. This is indeed a great day.”

  Inéz raised her glass of water and commenced her own toast. “Although we only have water in these glasses, may the purity of this water match the clarity of Arnold’s vision in seeing the validity of Project Wake Up and making this billion-dollar commitment. To Arnold.”

  “You are all too kind,” Arnold responded as he was toasted. “But there is much work to do, and my role is not nearly as essential as yours. You have my full support, but without the relationships you all already have with technology companies and visionary teachers and educators, Project Wake Up could never happen. Most important, without the vision of Barbara, and really all of you, Project Wake Up could never become a reality.”

  “I appreciate your recognition of our efforts,” Abigail/Barbara answered him. “But in reality, I think a project like Project Wake Up is inevitable. If not us, another group would step forward to create a similar project. Humanity itself is requiring this next step in evolution. We are but the pioneers and catalysts.”

  “That may be true,” Arnold responded. “But instead of all this happening in two to three years, it might have taken twenty to thirty. Given the state of the planet, I doubt we even have thirty years before we see serious breakdowns in the infrastructure and governance of the planet. The work being done here today is absolutely vital and unique. Without it I doubt any significant change would really occur.”

  Arnold concluded his comments by thinking to himself, “And fortunately for me and the Illuminati, now that I know the exact plans for Project Wake Up, there won’t be any change at all.”

  On his way out the door to take a walk with Eugene Green at his side, Arnold saw a van similar to the one from the evening before driving up to the basement entrance, as he had previously arranged. Turning to Eugene, he said, “This is an even more important delivery than yesterday’s. You need to meet the van and discreetly place the package where no one will find it.”

  “As you wish,” Eugene responded and headed toward the van.

  “One more thing, Eugene,” Arnold added. “This package is extremely fragile. Handle with extreme caution. I think it best that you not open it until I give you further instructions later this evening.”

  “I understand,” Eugene confirmed.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  PLAN C

  DESPITE HIS PROMISES to his wife, George Bush had not been able to refrain from overindulging in one of the most exquisite meals he had ever been served. The chefs at Chateau Mcely were among the best in the world, and Jim and Inéz had felt that the easiest way to accommodate the many special diets of the members of the directors of the board for Project Wake Up was to provide a buffet with samples of all the meat, fish, cheese, and vegetarian dishes for which Chateau Mcely was most famous. In addition, the pastry chef prepared more than a dozen different desserts. George sampled not only every dish on the buffet but all of the desserts as well.

  After dinner, all of the guests had visited the downstairs Alchymist Club bar, and Jim had prepared special after-dinner drinks with many samplings of eaux-de-vie made from plants and herbs grown in the Chateau gardens. Again, George was unable to control his appetite and sampled each of the more than twenty drinks Jim and the bar’s mixologist had prepared. Even though George took only small sips, by the end of the night he was inebriated. It was the first time in more than thirty years that George had had that much to drink. In the middle of a slurred sentence, George slumped back in his chair and passed out.

  Jim noticed that George would need help to get upstairs and asked Arnold, the bodyguard Eugene Green, Jack, and Otto to each take an arm or a leg and carry George to his room, where they gently placed him on his bed fully clothed, shut his door, and turned out the light.

  Four hours later, George woke up with minor diarrhea and stomach cramps. He was no longer inebriated, but he was not fit as a fiddle. His stomach hurt and he was cramping from his overindulgence in the meats and desserts.
“Damn, I should have known better,” he thought as he saw his blurry image in the bathroom mirror. George opened the cabinet behind the mirror, hoping to find antacids or other medicine that might relieve his stomach cramps. Yet he found nothing helpful, and after another sharp cramp George remembered that when he visited the alchemy lab the previous morning, Jim had displayed the many home remedies that he, a former chemist, had re-created. These were stored in glass jars carefully labeled with the name and the ailment for which each home cure had been used in ancient times.

  The clock on the antique bedside table said it was 4:44 in the morning. He did not want to wake anyone, so he took off his shoes and carefully tiptoed down the stairs to find a cure for his stomach cramps. As he entered the basement, he was shocked to see Eugene Green and Arnold Wheeler in a room just to the side of the entrance to the alchemist’s lab. They were attaching canisters with big red logos to the air ducts connecting the Chateau’s heating system to the individual rooms.

  “What the hell are you guys doing down here?” George blurted out almost instinctively.

  Eugene Green froze, ashamed of what he was doing, and just looked at Arnold, not knowing what to say. Arnold got down from the step stool he was using to place some elaborate-looking canisters. Looking George straight in the eye, he said with a calm smile, “Better you just go back to bed, George.” He assumed, as had been customary for the past fifty years of their relationship, that George would do exactly as he suggested.

  But George was not himself and did not behave normally.

  “No, I’m not going back to bed. I came down here to get some antacids or home cure for a little bit of indigestion, and I’m not going back upstairs until I do.” Rather aggressively he added, “And what the hell are you guys doing down here? I don’t know a lot about these things, but I can tell that some of those canisters contain poisons, and others look like mini nuclear devices.”

  Caught red-handed, Eugene started to explain, but Arnold interrupted. “Eugene, I think I can handle this myself. George and I have been friends for many years, and we will just talk this out. You have done important work this evening. Best you get some sleep, as we may have to implement our plans later this morning.”

  “Whatever you say, Mr. Wheeler,” Eugene responded as he left the basement and headed back upstairs. For the first time in his many years of employment as Arnold Wheeler’s bodyguard, Eugene allowed a hint of resentment and irritation in his reply.

  In the interim, Arnold had taken George by the shoulder and maneuvered him out the door and into the alchemy lab next door. He went to the shelf that contained the home remedies, selected one that highlighted its use for “stomach cramps and indigestion” written in French, which Arnold spoke fluently, and poured a glass of water into which he inserted three tablespoons of a white powder.

  “Here, drink this, George,” Arnold said as he handed him the glass.

  “How do I know this isn’t some of the poison you were just connecting up to those air ducts?” George asked, still unsure what was going on.

  “Now, now, George, why would I poison you? You’re one of my dearest and oldest friends,” Arnold said.

  “I don’t know, but why would you poison any of these nice people here at the Chateau?” George scratched his forehead, trying to understand what was going on. “You seemed so enthusiastic about their plans. You even offered to give them a billion dollars. I was surprised by how generous you are being, but I thought you had just changed your mind about this whole Project Wake Up deal.”

  “George, you are such a child,” Arnold answered, more pitying George than exasperated with him. He brought the glass to George’s mouth and had him take first a sip, and then down the entire glass of bubbling medicine.

  “Say, that does feel better,” George stated as he wiped his lips and sat back in the chair. “I just need a few minutes to rest and let this medicine do its work. While I’m recovering, do explain to me what’s going on.”

  “To some extent you are correct about my flip-flop on Project Wake Up,” Arnold began. “But the change in my position is based on my surprise that the project may actually succeed, not any desire that I might have to see it succeed. Given what is at stake, I need a plan B in case I am unable to persuade the other members of the Illuminati not to participate. You have done your job well, and everyone seems to trust the both of us. They have already given me the names and contact information for their primary donors and supporters, but much to my surprise, some of the major potential supporters are not members of the Illuminati. Some are people over whom we have no control. We need a plan B to ensure that if we fail to derail the project through our influence, we can still derail the project through other means.”

  “By other means, do you mean poisoning our friends or blowing up the Chateau?” George asked, starting to understand why Arnold and Eugene Green had been placing canisters at five o’clock in the morning.

  “George, these people are not our friends. They are misguided idealists who do not understand how the world really works. If the information they intend to share with hundreds of millions of people actually is shared, the world will change radically, and not for the good,” Arnold started to explain.

  “Well, they seem friendly to me, and I don’t understand how helping people learn how to take care of themselves is going to hurt anyone,” George countered.

  “George, think about it. Think about your family. Do you really believe that if everyone had the ability to make their personal wishes come true, they would need your family’s oil and energy products in the way that they do now? Do you really think that your wealth and that the wealth of your true friends would not quickly be eliminated with this insane desire of your new Project Wake Up acquaintances to redistribute the knowledge of the universe to every person on this planet? If you start with the redistribution of knowledge and information, it is only a matter of time before you start to see the redistribution of actual wealth. I was taught this lesson by my mentor, Mackenzie Hardy, when I was just a boy, and that lesson is as true today as it was then,” Arnold concluded with a calm air of certainty.

  “You may be right about all this,” George said. “I really do not understand all this mumbo jumbo about thought directing action and how people are empowered by knowledge, but I do know that it seems wrong to blow up the Chateau and hurt these people. They mean well, and I doubt their Project Wake Up is going to have much impact even if they do raise their hundred billion dollars,” George suggested, hoping that he might be able to convince Arnold to change his plans.

  “I hope that is the case, and that plan A remains in place. I really do think I can just derail the entire project through persuasion with other members of the Illuminati, but it is better to be safe than sorry. We need to have a Plan B, and in this case, even a Plan C, just to destroy the organization if necessary.” Arnold patted George’s knee, reassuring him that the plan was really a matter of prudence. “Eugene and I have just been making precautionary plans. We can use our remote activators at anytime from anywhere in the world to either poison those who are sleeping here, our plan B, or our plan C, to blow up the entire Chateau. We are not intending to do so at this moment, mind you, but if by the time of the next Project Wake Up board meeting I have not been able to quash the project, we may have no other choice. I will, of course, let you know so that you will not be present for any unpleasantness that may occur.”

  Arnold helped George to his feet and escorted him upstairs.

  After seeing that George had safely returned to his room, Arnold knocked on the door of Eugene Green’s room. Eugene had anticipated Arnold’s knock and had remained fully dressed.

  “I am afraid that we will have to go directly to Plan C,” Arnold announced with deadly calmness. “George is too much of a loose cannon and his discretion cannot be trusted. Be ready when we leave later this morning to activate the nuclear device.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  THE NATURE OF THE SEEDS

&
nbsp; LATER THAT MORNING George Bush woke up with only the mildest of hangovers. He still had a headache and diarrhea, though, and barely made it to the bathroom in time.

  “You really stink,” laughed Harry the Hilarious as George released additional gas.

  “Never again. I swear. I am never going to mix so many foods at once no matter how tempting.”

  “Not a problem for me, George. I’m going to be with you only a short time longer anyway. In fact, based on what I heard Arnold tell you last night, that time might be even shorter than we had thought.”

  George’s mouth opened in horror, remembering the conversation in the basement. “So last night was not just a bad dream. I really did catch Arnold and Eugene rigging up the basement to poison everyone or blow up Chateau Mcely altogether, didn’t I?”

  “Yes, you did, George. I’m afraid your friend Arnold is evil.”

  “But he’s been my best friend for almost fifty years. He’s really smart and he’s always looked out for me.” George was upset by this revelation, and he tried to think of ways to explain what Arnold was plotting. “He has lots of responsibilities, and perhaps he knows best.”

  “Come on, George. You must be joking. Do you really think Arnold is worthy of being your best friend?”

  George was pensive as he considered the enormity of what he had uncovered. “I have never wanted to know the details of what Arnold does or how he does it,” he said quietly. “Perhaps I should have paid more attention. It was always curious to me that Arnold was so insistent that I avoid Washington or New York City on September 11, 2001.” He squirmed uneasily at that thought. “I know that he has sometimes had to resort to violence to ensure that the world would maintain a sense of order, but he has always insisted that he was motivated by what was good for the planet as a whole and that when violence was used, it was to prevent even greater violence in the future,” George said, trying to defend his relationship with Arnold.