The Power of Twelve

PRAISE FOR

The Power of Twelve

“
The Power of Twelve
is a hilarious send-up of politics and those who believe in conspiracy theories. Yet within the humor there is much wisdom. This is a fun read that will change the way you think about the future.”

—Thom Hartmann, Host of “The Thom Hartmann Program” and author of the
New York Times
bestseller
Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight

“
The Power of Twelve
is a real page turner. As entertaining and dramatic as you will find the story is the powerful message of the subtext. If you want to laugh while getting in touch with deep truth, read
The Power of Twelve
. A quick read with the right heroine at the right time.”

—Victor Villasenor,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Rain of Gold

“A wonderful love story. A great page turner and whodunit. A Roddenberry science fiction romp. An
Alice in Wonderland
fantasy ingeniously imagined, a buoyant outlook on the future of life for those who want to seize it.

I like that the planet Earth is a free will place, the wisdom that ultimately violence remains a part of the reality and can be transformed to good ends when compelled, that complexity along with clarity lead to the higher realms, that George Bush at base has a good
heart, and that while nothing can be pre-ordained, in the long run everything that has happened will have had to happen in the infinite realms of time.

Well done!”

—Gene Schwartz, Editor at Large, ForeWord Reviews

“William Gladstone does not bore God. Brilliant and entertaining from start to finish, The Power of Twelve will keep you laughing and thinking.”

—Jean Houston, Philosopher, speaker, and author of
The Possibl
e
Human
and
The Wizard of Us

“This novel is amazing.”

—Barbara Marx Hubbard, Founder of the Foundation for Conscious Evolution and author of
Birth 2012 and Beyond

“Sometimes fiction captures the essence of reality.
The Power of Twelve
is such a book. You will be entertained, inspired, and motivated to action.”

—Tamar Geller,
New York Times
bestselling author of
The Loved Dog

Copyright © 2013 by William Gladstone

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

This novel is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales are included for the reasons fully described in the Introduction. All other names, characters, places, dialogue, and incidents portrayed in this book are the products of the author's imagination.

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Printed in the United States of America

First e-book edition: October 2013

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available for this title.

Gladstone, William, 1949-

The power of twelve / by William Gladstone.

pages cm

ISBN 978-1-937856-91-5 (trade cloth) – ISBN 978-1-937856-92-2 (ebook)

1. Prophecies–Fiction. 2. End of the world–Fiction. I. Title.

PS3607.L344P69 2013

813'.6--dc23

2013013573

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To Gabriel García Marquez

My favorite novelist

for teaching us

what it means

to be fully human

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

W
HEN WRITING MY NOVEL
The Twelve
, I was tempted to provide as a subtitle, “Memoir or Prophecy?” My American publisher thought that would be a mistake, since clearly
The Twelve
, written primarily in 2008 and 2009, could only be a fictional story and not a true memoir. Nor could it be an authentic prophecy, since the overall outcome for what would occur in 2012 was at best only true in a general and not specific sense. The individuals who assembled for the final dinner with Max in Izapa could not possibly be the actual Twelve, so clearly
The Twelve
could only be considered fiction and neither memoir nor prophecy.

And yet I still wonder if this logical thinking was correct. As a literary agent, I have had the pleasure of representing some extraordinary authors and thinkers. Among them is Dr. Ervin Laszlo, whose new Akasha Paradigm suggests that the boundaries between fact and fiction are rapidly, as my other good friend and client Jean Houston states, “leaking.” When Jean speaks of “leaky margins,” she is telling us that we must let go of our own sense of boundaries and explore the amazing connections that exist within and throughout all of creation. What is the boundary between ourselves as human beings and ourselves as spiritual beings? What is the boundary between our knowledge that time is finite and linear and that we all must die, and the new vision that time itself is but an illusion?

Growing up, my favorite writers were Jorge Luis Borges and Gabriel García Márquez. They had an innate understanding of “leaky margins.” Borges created worlds in which nothing seemed impossible. His story
The Aleph
, in many ways, was the first theorization of the existence of what Dr. Ervin Laszlo and other scientists are calling the “zero point.” The only real difference is that for Borges, the aleph or zero point was situated in an upstairs bedroom closet in a home in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In his novel
One Hundred Years of Solitude
, Márquez initiated a branch of literature that was subsequently labeled “magical realism.”

In my opinion, Gabriel Garcia Marquez is the greatest writer of the 20
^th
and 21
^st
centuries. I also feel that One Hundred Years of Solitude is the greatest novel ever written. Do you agree or disagree? Either way, who are your five favorite novelists or novels (include in the comments)?