The Twelve

by William Gladstone

  ***

  A powerful swimmer, Dr. Alan took only moments before he was on top of Max’s attacker who, weakened from holding his own breath so long, was unable to defend himself.

  Alan pulled Max from the man’s grip and began to make his way back to shore, kicking out at their pursuer whenever he attempted to approach.

  The man must have realized that he was beaten, and he swam away while Dr. Alan got Max to the beach. Immediately he started mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, and after several minutes, Max coughed and vomited the large quantity of saltwater that he had swallowed while pinned under the waves.

  After a few more moments, he sat up, groggy but alive.

  “Who was that maniac, and why was he trying to drown you?” Alan asked. “I’ve encountered surf Nazis in my time, but I’ve never witnessed anything like that. Maybe I can find a policeman and have him arrested. He nearly killed you.”

  Max motioned for him to forget about it and explained.

  “That man who tried to drown me was my brother,” he said, and Alan was incredulous. “He was just doing what he always does—it’s not important.

  “The important thing is that we get back to the hotel. The others will be waiting and wondering where we are. We still have time to get to Izapa before the sun sets.”

  He stood and looked gratefully at his rescuer.

  “You saved my life. Hopefully the Twelve can still save the world. We need to get going.”

  Dr. Alan agreed and drove as quickly as he could back to the hotel in Tapachula. During the drive he glanced over at his friend to make certain he was alright and was happy to see the color return to Max’s face. Finally, after a few more moments of coughing, Max spoke up.

  “I am not certain why my brother followed us and tried to kill me, but I do know that your intervention has prevented a catastrophe. Even though we haven’t found the One, we have to assume that he will somehow yet appear.

  “Please don’t let the others know about this attack, though. They’re worried enough already, and I don’t want them to see this as a negative omen or to become concerned about me, while they should be focusing on praying that the One will appear.”

  Dr. Alan agreed.

  “Whatever you think is best,” he said. “Frankly I still just find it all preposterous. The Mayan calendar is just another myth, no greater or lesser than any other myth. I never believed the Bible story that said the world was created in seven days, and I’m not inclined to believe this story of the end-times either.

  “Don’t get me wrong—I do hope something miraculous occurs today. But dollars to doughnuts, I’ll be surfing tomorrow—and if that lunatic of a brother of yours shows up, he’ll be the one to drown, not you.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  The End of Time

  December 21, 2012

  THE AIR GREW HEAVIER AND COLDER AS THE VANS MADE THEIR WAY to Izapa.

  By the time Manuel met the Twelve at the base of the mountain to start the hike to the clearing by the cave, it had started to rain, cold and hard. Before they reached the clearing, the rain had turned to hail.

  It never hailed in Izapa, Juan claimed. It truly did seem as if this might be the end of the world.

  The mood was one of apprehension. Even C.D. was wincing as the hail bounced off his dark hair and skin. By the time they reached the gathering place, it was close to 4:30—just thirty minutes before the solstice.

  And there was still no sign of the One.

  Everyone was cold, so they all went to the cave to get away from the stinging mixture of rain and ice. Running Bear, again dressed in his ceremonial garb, including the single eagle feather in his headband, built a fire. They huddled close together and were able to dry off. But the calmness and euphoria they had felt when they had last been in the cave were only distant memories.

  Suddenly the rain and hail stopped, and the last rays of the sun pierced the trees, and there was utter stillness.

  As one, the group left the shelter of the cave and returned to the clearing. The Thirteenth Apostle had reappeared.

  The Thirteenth Apostle spoke with calmness and clarity.

  “You have returned at the designated hour, yet there is no new face among you—the face of the One. What of your quest?”

  No one spoke, and though it was only a minute of silence, it seemed to last forever.

  The sun was now sinking quickly.

  The end of time was at hand, and the group had failed.

  High in the sky, a condor appeared and swooped down, almost landing on the shoulder of Running Bear. Running Bear was startled, but he quickly regained his composure and spoke.

  “It has long been said in the Lakota and the Hopi secret ceremonies that the signal for the beginning of the time of peace and harmony would be at hand when the condor and the eagle came together.” He gestured to the feather he wore. “Surely this is a sign that we have not failed and that somehow the One is in fact with us now.”

  After a moment, the Thirteenth Apostle’s voice was heard again.

  “Running Bear is correct. This condor’s appearance is a sign that in this very moment the One must be present. One of you must in fact be the person for whom you searched.”

  The news surprised them all, and they glanced quickly at one another. Before anyone could speak, the voice came again.

  “Whoever you are, you must step forward now. The sun will set, and unless the One is identified and redeems the world and His creation, undesired prophecies will be fulfilled.

  “An age of darkness, rather than light, shall be mankind’s fate.”

  All eyes turned to C.D. Among the Twelve, only he seemed to be without ego. Only he seemed likely to without knowing be the One.

  But C.D. simply turned to Max and looked at him with eyes of adoration and love.

  Max looked back at C.D., and in that moment Max remembered his own birth and the love he had received from his mother.

  He realized that, despite all the numbers he had been calculating, he had never calculated the exact numerology of his own birth.

  In that instant he realized that his birthday—December 12, 1949—possessed the exact numerical value and vibration of 12/21/2012.

  He reexperienced his birth and the birth of all humanity, and for the first time, he remembered who he actually was.

  He remembered being born as Max. He remembered agreeing to forget all he knew, so he could experience human life.

  And as he stepped forward into the center of the clearing, he felt himself a part of all that is and felt his consciousness reestablish connections with all who had ever lived.

  For the first time he saw the Thirteenth Apostle in physical form—the form of faithful messenger and accomplice in the grand scheme they had initiated to redeem mankind, many eons ago when first they had observed the unfortunate choices humans had made in creating civilizations of violence.

  There was absolute silence as Max and the Thirteenth Apostle looked calmly into each other’s eyes. As they shared an endless look of gratitude and recognition, they seemed to mirror each other and become each other.

  Then they morphed into thousands of different humans—men and women, young and old of every race and type who had ever lived on planet Earth.

  A is and is not equal to A.

  Max was and was not Max. Max was and was not the Thirteenth Apostle. Max was and was not every human being who had ever lived.

  The Twelve—Melody, Maria, Yutsky, Chill, Dr. Alan, Rinpoche, Erol, Sun Pak, Juan, Yoko, Running Bear, and C.D.—were transfixed as the sun set and time as mankind had previously experienced time ended.

  Birds stopped singing.

  There was no wind.

  Only stillness and absolute silence.

  ***

  The moment might have lasted forever.

  It might have lasted less than a second.

  No one would ever know.

  The Mayan prophecy was complete. All had come to pass as eons ago had been predicted. />
  For Max it was a déjà vu of his near-death experience. Again there was light and love, and only the nurturing warmth from the human forms who stood with him, and the countless souls that surrounded the Twelve and rejoiced in the beginning of a new time for man and perhaps for the universe.

  As time began again, Max spoke, but it was not the purely human Max. It was a Max imbued with his own awareness that he indeed was the One and that he had seeded the consciousness of each of the Twelve, millennia ago. He spoke with a gentleness and calm that was comforting to all who listened.

  “Time has ended, and a new era will now begin,” the One said. “The great shift has occurred. Nothing will change, and yet everything will change.

  “The Earth remains and all its creatures, and yet the consciousness of all has shifted and will continue to shift in the times yet to come. As humans you will be entering an era of love, harmony, and freedom more suited to your destinies. Wars will cease as you discover the infinite bounty of all that has been created.

  “There is no lack on this planet and no need for strife. The energy you have expended for survival and competition shall be directed into creativity and play. This is what was intended from the beginning and what each and every one of you shall now achieve.”

  He paused for a moment, then spoke again.

  “This new era will last for one hundred and forty-four thousand years but may be extended endlessly, depending upon the choices made by you and by your descendants. There is always free will, and it is free will that has brought you to this place at this time. Each of you has played your role, as have all with whom you have lived and interacted. Although this moment was predestined, it was not predetermined that it would arrive.

  “It has been your acts of courage, love, and choice that have brought these times of bliss upon the Earth.”

  The afterglow of the setting sun filled the clearing with pink and orange light. Every member of the gathering was glowing in the reflected joy of Max’s awakening, and this joyful energy spread to every living creature on planet Earth. Instantly there was a new aliveness that could be felt in every tree and plant, and even the rocks and the soil upon which they stood became vibrant with shared consciousness and love.

  The Thirteenth Apostle stepped back from Max and spoke again to the Twelve.

  “I leave you now for realms beyond your current knowing but delight in all that you have done and will do,” he said. “Know that in other dimensions we are already reunited, sharing the mystery of life and the great awakening that never ends.

  “Max shall stay with you, and although he is the One, he is also—as a human—just Max. Do not draw attention to him as anything other than the being Max, for though he can leave at any time, his own desire was that he would walk among you as an equal and not be distinguished.

  “Even as gods, our ultimate joy is experiencing the full breadth of human experience, including failure, disappointment, and struggle. Humans often seek to bury the shadow side of life, but as gods we rejoice in all that can be experienced. Even as awakened beings you will have your challenges, but rest assured that even in your defeats and failures, you shall be experiencing an ever grander and ever more complex human existence.

  “Protect Max and protect yourselves and enjoy the lives that you were destined to create and live.” He said finally, “May the joy of the universe be with you always.”

  With those final words, the Thirteenth Apostle was gone.

  ***

  Even as night fell, there was brightness in the faces of the Twelve and Max as they descended the still-wet path and reached the spot where Manuel was faithfully waiting.

  There was a smile on Manuel’s face as he greeted each of them. Even the drivers who had been waiting in the vans were smiling. No one spoke, and yet there was a silent communication among them all as they drove back to Tapachula.

  The end of time had come and gone. The apprehension that all had shared was gone.

  A new era had begun.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  The Awakening

  December 21, 2012

  BY THE TIME THE VANS WERE UNLOADING THE TWELVE AT THE HOTEL in Tapachula, even in this remote Mexican town in Chiapas, news was filtering in that something extraordinary had happened.

  Scientists had recorded a sudden change of the axis of the Earth. The magnetic fields had shifted. The very orbit of the Earth had shifted.

  The consequences were still unknown but television, radio, and Internet sites were constantly updating with new speculation and new findings.

  Although the result should have been sheer panic, while there was some apprehension among those who were reporting these events, the majority seemed calm, almost serene. Scientists expressed astonishment that such a shift could have occurred without warning and with no perceivable catastrophic impact.

  There were no tsunamis.

  There were no earthquakes.

  In the Far East, where it was already the morning of December 22, 2012, the sun had risen on clear skies with a softness that was unusual.

  Everywhere on Earth, it seemed like it was going to be a wonderful day.

  ***

  When Max walked into the hotel, everyone from the bellmen to the desk attendants was relaxed and smiling. It was almost as if everyone was part of the same inner knowing, the same inside joke—secure in the knowledge that everyone was interconnected on the deepest level.

  It was as if they were different cells in the same living body. And for Max, this wasn’t a metaphor, but an actual fact.

  Over dinner—the final dinner they would share as a group—Max revealed that it was only in the moment of his realization that he was, in fact, the One that the shift had actually occurred.

  “It was never guaranteed that we would make this shift,” he explained. “Throughout this lifetime of being Max, I’ve been more asleep than awake. I had to be, in order for the experiment to work.

  “All humans are put to sleep when they incarnate,” he elaborated, “so they can truly awaken. It’s not enough for one or two to awaken, however, for consciousness to evolve and grow on a planetary scale. That’s why it was necessary for all of you to participate. It was a group process—and a group awakening—that triggered my own realization.

  “Each of you holds the energy of the One. As the Kabbalah and other ancient sciences have taught, the moment of Creation was a fragmenting of the consciousness of the One into infinite individual entities. Each of you—and every human being on the planet—cocreated the expanded consciousness upon which the shift depended.

  “On this level, each of you and all who exist are equally the One.”

  Ever the practical inquirer Erol pressed the point.

  “But if this was the case, why did you not become aware of who you were last August when we first met as a group and the energies were activated?” he asked. “Was there any purpose in having to search for you these last four months, or was it just a test of our belief and commitment to the mission?”

  Several others nodded, as if he had given voice to something they, too, had been wondering.

  “Nothing was arbitrary,” Max replied. “I was not aware, but the plan required Max as a human being to activate all the energy vortices of the Earth, because it was the planet itself that had been suffering. The Gaia hypothesis really is true.”

  That yielded some confused looks from the group, and he explained.

  “Gaia is a Greek goddess, and the hypothesis is that the Earth has a singular consciousness, and everything that takes place affects it. Over the centuries, every violent act has had its impact on the Earth, and above all on the sacred sites on the planet. The sacred sites themselves were chosen eons ago—sometimes consciously and sometimes not—by shamans, based on the powerful energies that appeared there.

  “Each site is a vortex of energy, and it was necessary for me to journey to those places, to heal them. It was a long process that started when Max was a young man.”

&nb
sp; “But how did you know you would visit so many sites, spread so far apart across the world?” asked Melody.

  “As Max I never had a clue,” he replied. “The journey really started with my first trip as a student—to Peru and Bolivia, when I visited Lake Titicaca, and then even more while I was working on In Search of Ancient Mysteries. But I wasn’t aware that anything extraordinary was occurring.

  “It wasn’t until I had made my initial trips as an individual, that all Twelve of you would enter the picture,” Max explained. “That’s why I couldn’t know your names until I encountered each of you, one by one, and it wasn’t until I met Running Bear that I could see the importance of the gathering.”

  “But what was the point of retracing your steps with each of us these last several months?” Sun Pak asked.

  “First of all, there were places I had never been, which each of you identified as places of power—such as the monasteries in Tibet, the sacred Isle of Iona, the castles in Germany, and the remote springs in Vietnam and China,” Max said. “And even if I had been there before, I hadn’t been back for many years.

  “When I returned with each of you, I was carrying the energy of each and every spot I had previously visited and was bolstered by your individual energies,” he continued. “It was as if we ignited each site.

  “But still my presence alone did not cause the shift. That could not occur until each and every sacred site had been given its charge. Once that had been done, all that was missing was the ignition key itself.”

  “What do you mean, the ignition key?” Chill asked.

  “As Max, I was the ignition key. But it required a special type of current—a current based on integrating the highest level of consciousness into Max’s being. This level of consciousness only took place for me when I finally realized that my very birth was linked to the date December 21, 2012, and that my only purpose in incarnating was to free humanity from a materialism that was dehumanizing each individual and debasing nature, the heart of creation on planet Earth.”