The statement hit me hard. That meant there was a contagion from both sides, and the balance shifted daily depending on how consistently those in Alignment could hold their truth with others.
“Do you see what this is?” Coleman added. “It’s confirmation of Kant’s categorical imperative: Act and be as though how you are dictates that everyone else will be that same way. His peers thought he was crazy. But his intuition was absolutely correct. Influence works exactly this way!”
I caught his eye. “Rachel said that we would integrate how to amplify our positive influence together. Does the Document say how?”
Coleman was looking intently at the pages in his hand. “It says the first thing we must do is keep the balance scale fully in mind at all times, and to remember that every thought and every action reverberates far beyond ourselves.
“It also says if enough of us fail to hold the energy of Alignment, the world could slip into even more fear and anger. In politics that would mean the far Left and Right will continue their dehumanization of the other until one side does something extreme, usually an act of despotism to take over and control, out of a need to save the world. In the area of religious ideology, the polarization goes more negative as well. It says that in prior cases in history, the antagonism has always gone as far as the current technology could take it.”
We looked at each other, knowing that for this time period that meant an escalation to the nuclear level.
Suddenly, I realized we were nearing the guardhouse, where we had to be very careful. We could see individual soldiers patrolling in the area just below us, so I suggested to the others that they stay hidden while I moved back up the slope to take a better look.
As I climbed, I saw a movement above me and froze. As I strained to see who it was, the figure moved into plain view. It was one of Peterson’s operatives, motioning for me to come up. When I arrived, he pulled me out of sight and whispered something into a microphone mounted near his mouth. In five minutes, Peterson was standing in front of me.
“What are you doing here?” he said. “We’ve been following your movements. And we can’t make any sense of them.”
“It’s all intuitive,” I said. “The Document says that in order to keep rising in Influence, we have to return to the Mount. Something’s going to happen up there.”
He shook his head skeptically. “What else is this Document saying about Influence?”
“We’re finally understanding the power of intention and prayer. We’re going to learn how to amplify our Influence.”
“That’s it?” he said. “All you have left is prayer?!”
“It’s more than ordinary prayer,” I protested. “You have to be seeking a higher level of experience. Otherwise, you may add to the energy of those Apocalyptics up there.” I was looking at the next ridge ahead of us.
“Whoa!” he said, clearly shaken. “Are you telling me the Apocalyptics are up in these mountains somewhere?”
“Yeah, they’re up ahead about five hundred yards. We think someone in the Egyptian army is keeping the soldiers from going anywhere near them.”
He looked away, thinking, then said, “This is another piece of the puzzle. We know they have something planned in Jerusalem and in Saudi Arabia on the mountain where there’s a missile base. Now they’re here. They’re planning a whole chain of events that they think will bring the world to war. I told you, the charges are already placed under the Dome of the Rock.”
I looked at him, puzzled.
“Don’t you see?” he said. “They think they have to do everything according to scriptural Prophecy, which means Armageddon can’t come until David’s temple in Jerusalem is rebuilt. The Muslim mosque, the Dome of the Rock, is in the way. It has to be removed, so they’re going to blow it up.
“The Judeo-Christian faction in the Apocalyptic group is pushing for this, because they already have the capstone from the original temple. They think if the capstone is quickly placed on the foundation, then it counts as if the rebuilding is underway. So the biblical Prophecy can be said to be fulfilled. After that, all they have to do is get the fighting started.”
“But all those prophecies can happen in a different way!” I said, intuiting it fully now.
“Look,” he replied, “we have to get real. We’re right on the edge here. Do you hear me? We’re right on the edge. Sooner or later this Apocalyptic plot is going to start, and it’s going to create complete chaos in the Western countries.
“Iran already has missiles that can completely close the Suez Canal and the Strait of Hormuz. That’s where most of the oil for the West originates. When this war gets started, gasoline will rise to thirty dollars a gallon. That alone could cause food shortages and hoarding. If China gets involved, there could be a simultaneous cyber attack on us. Then the lights could go out. What do you think would happen then? No gas, no food in the stores. Hundreds of thousands in the streets, rioting.”
He paused and looked at me. “If anyone, us or otherwise, goes in and tries to stop these extremists piecemeal, the charges go off and the whole thing escalates. The wild card is Saudi Arabia. We don’t know how that plays out exactly, because your government should be able to control whether those missiles are fired or not. And I don’t know what they are planning here at Sinai, either, but you can bet it isn’t good. That’s why we’re going forward with our plan to intervene. We can’t wait.”
“No, listen,” I said. “Your actions are as extreme as those of the Apocalyptics. You’re planning to take over tyrannically because you think it’s the only way to save Western culture!”
I could hear the others looking for me down below, calling my name.
“Listen,” I said, “I have to go, but you must understand: the Document says if enough people get consciously involved in using their Influence, we can stop this war another way.”
He was shaking his head. “It can’t be stopped. It will erupt in the Middle East, and only if my group acts quickly can we counter the Chinese and contain the war. A lot of people will protest, but we can deal with that, too. And besides, you’re not going anywhere. You’re getting an escort out of here right now. You’ve had your chance.”
He raised his radio to his lips.
“Wait a minute,” I said. “You gave me five days, remember? That gives us through tomorrow.”
I held the Agape, merging with his higher self. His expression softened ever so slightly, and he looked at me with a kind of longing, wishing the situation wasn’t so bad.
After a long moment, he said, “Okay, you have one more day. We run the risk of you stumbling around up here and starting a war. But you know, I guess that’s okay. We have everything in place to do what we have to do. We’re ready.”
“Come on,” I whispered to the others when I got close. “Let’s go.” I grabbed my pack, my hands shaking slightly. The group followed me around a large outcropping and down toward the gorge.
Luckily, the soldiers were now running up to where Peterson was, so we took our opportunity to slip over the edge of the gorge, out of sight, and head up the ledge toward the Mount.
As we hurried up the slope, I moved closer to Coleman again and told him what Peterson had said. He shook his head and forced a smile. I could tell he was struggling to keep his energy up.
“What else is the Document saying?” I asked.
“It says the solution is the same for all time periods. In politics, an enlightened center, aligned in an open discussion of the truth, has to emerge to end the outright manipulation of voters and the corruption from both Left and Right.
“And in religion, an equally truthful group made up of the tolerant center of every religious tradition, all seeking the direct experience to which we have access, has to take center stage. No longer would one tradition try to impose their doctrine on other people or claim their way is the only path to Divine Connection. All religions would begin to emphasize those aspects of their traditions that are in line with this Connection, so that
the religions would move closer to the truth and to one another.”
Now he stopped dead in the pathway, looking down at the Document.
“This is important,” he stressed. “It says the final part of the Eleventh Integration occurs when people in Alignment everywhere, across all cultures and religions, consciously begin to tune in to each other.”
Of course, I thought. We have to tune in one more time at a higher level.
“How does it say to do that?” I asked.
“By consciously connecting in Agape not only with those we can make eye contact with but with everyone all around the world. We do that by intending and envisioning such a Connection fully in our minds. The Document says when this Connection is made, the natural influence of the individuals involved is amplified many times.”
I nodded and concentrated on the climb, which was increasing in difficulty. After many hours of weaving in and out of crevices and jumping across small ravines—where we had to toss our backpacks to one another—we climbed onto the fortlike overlook where Rachel and I had been together earlier. The sun had long set, and a hazy dusk was descending over the mountain. We could see the bare outline of the rocky mound down below. Behind it, I knew, were the Apocalyptics.
I awakened the next day just before dawn, as usual, and got up quickly, knowing this would be an eventful day. Outside, I found everyone still asleep, which was not surprising. We had been up late talking about the Eleventh Integration.
Wil drifted into my mind. We hadn’t heard from him since his last text, which said he would soon be on his way back to us. The question now was how would he find us. I pulled out the phone and checked. No texts from him. I wasn’t surprised. He wouldn’t risk using the phone to get directions.
Suddenly, I caught sight of the faint glow of flashlights far down the slope. I leaned over the rocks to watch the activity. Fortunately, the lights were heading away from us, so I relaxed again. Our climb had been much more difficult than I had remembered with Rachel, and I knew it would be equally difficult for anyone else to reach us now.
As I walked around, I suddenly realized Coleman was making noise on the other side of his tent. When he saw me, he handed me a cup of coffee. In the other hand was a pair of binoculars.
“It’s about dawn,” he said. “Want to see if we can spot the Apocalyptics?”
I nodded, and we walked over to the edge of the outcropping and hunkered down behind its natural raised edges. As I peered out through the early morning haze, I realized our position here was situated perfectly. From this vantage point, we could see not only the mound of rock where the extremists were hiding, but also the large, massive summit of Mount Sinai towering above us, and all the trails leading up to it.
The mound itself was about a hundred yards down the incline directly in front of us. For fifteen minutes we waited until it was light enough for Coleman to use his binoculars. The others awakened, one by one, and joined us.
“I see them,” Coleman suddenly said. “They’re doing something to the rock bed just beyond the mound.”
Abruptly, I saw an image in my mind of myself going down to get a closer look. The image was accompanied by a surge of urgent energy. I grimaced at the idea and lowered my head. Tommy was behind me and noticed.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I think I need to go down there and take a look. Anybody else get that idea?”
No one responded.
“Are you sure you want to do that?” Coleman asked. “Remember the Second Integration: logic first.”
“I know it’s dangerous, but too much has happened for me not to follow an intuition now. Rachel followed all of hers.”
For a moment, the whole group looked at me, and I could see the determination building.
“I better go with you,” Coleman said finally.
I tuned in to whether I was down there alone or with someone, and could see only myself.
“Looks like I have to go it alone this time.”
Turning to Tommy and his mother, I asked them for advice on the route and they pointed out the way they would go, giving me encouragement.
“We’ll focus on helping you,” Tommy said, “like the Angels.”
I gave him a pat on the shoulder and eased down over the ledge as the sun broke above the horizon for the first time. Focusing on the beauty, I managed to hold my energy as I crept down the rocky slope. I thought about my father’s advice on how to keep one’s wits while in situations of extreme danger. And smiled. I knew he was around.
At last, I arrived at a spire of rock that rose up about twenty-five feet in front of me. Very carefully, I crawled forward and gazed over. Within fifty feet of me, about a dozen men were covering something in a twelve-foot crevice with rocks. Anish was nowhere to be seen.
Then I spotted someone sitting alone, his hands tied behind his back. He turned his head, and my stomach seized. It was Wil!
I stared at him until he felt me looking and jerked around and saw me. He immediately began to point with his eyes toward the ground to his left, where a handheld two-way radio was sitting on an old leather briefcase on the ground. I was bewildered. What did he want me to do? Grab the radio? I couldn’t understand how that would help us.
Suddenly, I heard a noise in the rocks directly below me. I rolled backward quietly and dropped into a mild depression in the rock, hoping to hide. The noise continued, and to my horror I realized someone was climbing the same spire I was lying on, coming my way. I tried to duck down but it was too late. The individual, holding a pair of binoculars, had climbed to a point just ten feet below me. Anish.
He turned and looked, recognizing me immediately.
“I thought you were around here somewhere,” he said. “I could feel you. You’re like me. You never give up.”
His tone and demeanor were casual, even serene, again like someone feeling invulnerable. Rachel had tried to reach him, and now it was my turn. As best I could, I tried to center myself and move into Oneness, hoping he might sense his own Divine Connection.
“I have to talk to you,” I said. “I don’t know what you’re doing, but you have to rethink it. There’s another way.”
“Will you stop exporting your corruption to my world? Will you stop trying to reform my religion?”
I sat up so he could see me better. “We all have souls. We’re all the same, spiritually. It’s true, there’s too much corruption everywhere. But we can fix that, all of us together, if we find the one experience.”
He laughed and gave me a look of pity. “The prophets don’t lie! The end must come now.”
For a moment there was only silence. I didn’t know what to say. Then I thought of Rachel and remembered my last conversation with her.
“The Prophecies all point to an Armageddon,” I stressed. “And a Rapture where the true believers are protected, so they can avoid this war. What if the message of the prophets is really for all of us? And the message is that we can all find a higher God Connection together that will allow us to avoid Armageddon? Do you see what I’m saying? Armageddon doesn’t have to happen!”
I could feel Rachel wanting me to say something else about the Calendar and about the point of Connection I had felt on Secret Mountain, but I couldn’t put it together in my mind.
Anish looked at me, first in confusion and then in anger. When he reached inside his belt for a weapon, I was ready. I rolled over and slipped off the crest of the huge rock on the side away from him. As I did, I glimpsed from the corner of my eye the item the extremists were covering up. It was about the size of a suitcase and had several blinking lights on one side.
For a minute or two, I ran up the hill frantically, thinking he was chasing me. Then I heard him yell from back at the mound.
“If I see you again,” he called out, “your friend will be the first to die.”
When I got back to the others, I was so out of breath and exhausted from the climb that I couldn’t tell them anything for a full minute.
“They have Wil!” I finally blurted out. “I tried to convince Anish to stop what he was doing, but it didn’t work. There wasn’t enough energy. They have some kind of device.”
Coleman was listening intensely. “What did the device look like?”
“It’s a boxlike item,” I said, “like a small suitcase with handles. There are lights on one side.”
He grimaced and stared at all of us. Our hearts sank. We knew what he was going to say.
“It has to be a small nuke,” he voiced.
We were all shocked and speechless. Everyone’s fear had just turned into a reality.
“Why here?” Tommy finally asked.
“Probably,” I guessed, “to make it look as if someone had attacked Egypt, so that other countries would retaliate, igniting the war.”
For a long moment, we were all alone with our thoughts, knowing this could be the end. Every one of us might die right here on Mount Sinai.
Then I saw something down below. Hundreds of people were approaching Mount Sinai from all directions, pressing up against the checkpoints and being held back at gunpoint by the soldiers.
“Hurry,” Tommy shouted. “We have to connect with them.”
THE RETURN
Tommy was gathering us all together at the top of the outcropping. Down below, the crowds were becoming larger every minute.
“First,” Tommy was saying, the Document in his lap, “we have to amplify Agape with one another and with the Great Spirit.”
We all elevated into that Connection in seconds.
“Then,” he continued, “it says to project the Agape to ever larger groups, by intending Oneness with everyone who is genuinely seeking spiritual Connection, across all religions, especially those down below us.”
As we did so, our energy increased even more until we regained the level of collective intention that we had felt spontaneously on Secret Mountain. For a moment we looked at one another, feeling the Eleventh elevation fully, then immediately went into a template discussion.