The Power of Twelve by William Gladstone Read Free Book Online Page A

the gardens below.
    EVEN MORE BEAUTIFUL than the gardens were the beaches below the property. Many believed that the beaches of Naranjada were the most spectacular in the entire universe. Because Naranjada was a planet of advanced consciousness, the majority of sea and land creatures that inhabited the planet no longer required nutrition from living sources but could capture all they needed from the air and water itself. As a result, countless varieties of birds, fish, seaweed, coral, and other life forms cohabited in harmony along the coastal margins.
    From the garden, Mother Magnificence looked down upon the beach below and contemplated the incredible beauty that lay before her. The waves were orange, but the orange whitecaps created a stunning contrast to the deeper orange of the vast sea before her. The constant motion, the breaking of the waves and thunder of the water crashing on the rocks below, created a meditative state that had her wondering if all this beauty could possibly be destroyed by some random events occurring on an obscure planet in Universe 769.
    Freddy the Freeroller came up behind Magi and voiced her very thought. “Seems unlikely that this stunning beauty can be impacted by anything occurring in such a distant galaxy.”
    â€œYes, it would be such a pity,” Magnificence murmured back.
    â€œAnd no doubt I would be the one they would all blame,” Freddy confessed.
    Magi turned in surprise. “Why would it be your fault?”
    â€œI did an experiment, you see, trying to accelerate the consciousness on Earth 769,” Freddy explained, “and I am afraid it is not working out.”
    â€œYou did what?” Magi questioned in disbelief.
    Yet she shouldn’t have been surprised. Freddy was always trying out new experiments. “I wanted to see if I could plant an avatar on Earth 769 to prevent the destruction of that planet. This was about forty-nine years ago,” he said, pointing out that he had seen the growing problem a long time ago. “It seemed like an excellent idea at the time. How was I to know that the wrinkle in the weave of time would create a ripple through which this failed experiment could pollute all of the known universes?” Freddy said sheepishly.
    â€œOh, my,” Magi exclaimed. “You must let the entire Council know the details of your experiment. Perhaps it will be possible to correct whatever has gone wrong and prevent this impending catastrophe.”
    â€œOf course. That is exactly what I plan to do,” he said. A new glint entered his eyes. “But I wanted to ask you to support a rather outrageous plan that I have been contemplating since learning of our dilemma.”
    â€œI have always supported your experiments no matter how unconventional they have been. Your curiosity has always kept the universe interesting.” And, after all, if he created the problem, she thought, he would know better than anyone how to correct it. “I think the entire Council will agree. You may have gone too far this time, but if your plan can bring a resolution—no matter how outrageous it might be—you will have my support,” Magi reassured him.
    When the Council reconvened, Freddy spoke first.
    â€œMany years ago, before we could be certain that The One’s plan to incarnate as Max would, in fact, prevent the destruction of planet Earth, I decided to conduct an experiment on Earth 769. As you know, Earth 769 is identical to the original Earth in almost every detail. I saw what was happening and thought it would be valuable to plant an avatar on Earth 769 to see if such a being could avert the coming disaster on that planet. My idea was that if I were successful there, then I could implement a similar plan for original Earth.”
    â€œWhat type of avatar did you send, and how did you send him?” asked Karl the Kingmaker, alarmed to hear this news. “I have had my own experiments going on with Earth 769 for