A
little less than two years ago the grandson of a college friend of
mine died. Fredi
was a real “whiz.” Like his father who excelled in scientific
development, he outdistanced all his peers.ii
He was top of his class at Stanford from which he got an MBA, not
too long after finishing in the highest five percent of graduates at
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he had majored in
computer science while taking several courses in aeronautical
engineering as well. He was ready to take on the world when it
happened. Whatever it was. That was never quite clear, but, after
collapsing at work and being taken by ambulance to the hospital, he
was pronounced dead by a doctor at New
York–Presbyterian, only to be revived using CPR by a medical
student who walked by a moment later and saw him twitch. (A similar
event had occurred with his father but he had never talked about it.)
The whole incident raises a lot of questions which I'll ignore for
now, because it also initiated a situation which is far more
interesting.
Let
me tell you first a little about Fred. I gave you some of the
highlights of his academic background earlier, but I didn't mention
enough about the fact that he was a real go-getter. He was
determined to be rich,iii
and he had decided that the entrepreneurial path was the one for him.
His first effort involved aeronautics. He developed computer
software that could analyze aircraft function and diagnose and repair
potential problems during flight, before they could manifest
themselves and threaten the situation. He was in the middle of beta
testing when he died, but his program had already attracted a lot of
attention in the industry and he appeared to be on the way to achieve
his goal of self-earned riches.iv
This was primarily as the result of a single incident in which the
software, although it didn't actually fix it, located a problem on a
plane in flight that would have been unrecoverable and would have
resulted in loss of one of the engines if it hadn't been discovered
as early as it was, allowing the pilots to land the airplane safely,
if prematurely.
And
he “died” prematurely. His apparent demise occurred during the
testing phase of the device, but since he didn't actually succumb, it
didn't die with him. “A Wing And A Prayer,” the name of the
product he was creating, may have been delayed but it made a soft
landing. His interest in it, however, seemed somewhat muted after he
returned from the hospital and others took it over, though he
continued as consultant and advisor on the project. No one else could
solve the technical problems as elegantly as he. All he would say
when questioned about what seemed to be a loss of interest was “I
have other things on my mind.”
Most
people attributed his new attitude to a very uncharacteristic
obsession with “the meaning of life.” His interests had been
very concrete and what they considered the switch from science to
philosophy was unexpected. But, after all, he had gone through an
experience which is rare – one that no one among his acquaintances
could imagine, so none of them challenged what seemed to be a change
in personality and a change in focus. The loss to the company of his
drive and brilliance was of greater concern to stockholders than to
friends. His friends – at least those whom he had not solicited as
investors in the aeronautics project – were more worried about his
mental and physical health than about computer software.
But
they were wrong. Fred felt well – better than he had ever felt –
though his mind was on a new project. Those who spoke with him
assured me that he was completely “with it.”
Well,
that could be debated.
Some
of his friends pressed him to talk about his feelings – to tell
them what had been going through his mind. They wanted to know what
accounted for the change in him. Perhaps they had been reading too
much pop-psychology, but talking and hugging seemed to be the answer
to all problems. Fred refused the hugging, but he was willing to
talk a little. One of them (our mutual friend Carl) related what he
had experienced.
“It
all results from my conversation with Bernie.”
That's
what Fred told him.
“Bernie
who?”
A
little more questioning from our friend.
“
The
angel Bernie.v
And his ideas about the OWWW.”
“I
don't understand. And it all sounds weird. Tell me more about
Bernie.”
Fred was happy to continue.
“He's
an angel like all the others. Robe, wings, and all that sort of
stuff.”
That
was where the discussion ended. Carl was too befuddled to continue.
It
sounded weird to me too when I heard about it, so I pushed Fred a
little harder when I spoke with him. Carl had backed off and
“humored” him. So he never got the whole story.
Fred
was “dead” for only a few minutes. At least that was the way it
seemed in our terms. But when I asked him about the experience, he
had an entirely different perception.
“It was just like the way everyone
describes it – that is, not really everyone, but the ones who have
been through it like me. There was a tunnel and a very bright light
at the end. A hand took me and brought me into the light. It was
wonderful, but I can't describe it more specifically than that. I
know that I was in whatever place it was for a long time, but I'm
sure of that only because so much happened. There was no feeling of
time passing, so I can't judge it that way.”
I
don't pretend that he convinced me. You read stories of “near-death
experiences” all the time. They seem to be simply expressions of
what people want to believe. They're afraid of death and the “dream”
they had during their coma (or whatever it is) serves to provide them
with something to believe so that when they awaken they're immunized
against that fear for ever after. And that's the way I understood
Fred's story. Until he started going into particulars.
“The place was filled with ethereal
figures, but it wasn't crowded. The whole thing didn't seem to make
much sense. It was,” and
he paused for a moment,
“kind of like a dream.”
That
was what I had assumed. It wasn't real – only repression,
regression, or one of those psychological defense mechanisms.
Dismissing what he said was easy. At least at the beginning.
“One
of the first people – no angels – I met was Bernie.”
I
nodded and smiled.
“I
know this sounds bizarre, but this is exactly what happened.”
Right.
“Anyway, Bernie introduced me to
some of the others, but he was the one whom I found most interesting.
He had died a few hundred years earlier. Told me his whole story.
Before his heart attack he had been a banker in Germany. Even though
I don't know German I understood him completely. No accent. And he
understood me too. As a matter of fact everyone understood everyone
else. It didn't seem to matter where you came from, or when. In
fact he introduced me to some old Egyptian Pharaoh and we had no
trouble communicating. He told me all about all the things buried
with him and how much he enjoyed them. There were lots of others
there too. And they all seemed to be happy.
“I wondered how they kept busy and
was fascinated when Bernie told me that most of them were
entrepreneurs. He got my attention. The time at Stanford was great,
but it hadn't prepared me for this. When I pressed him a little on
the subject he said that his work was actually something that I might
know a little about. He had long ago perfected 'cloud' technology
and 'virtual reality,' and could use the latter to inform earthbound
techies about the latter – or anything else for that matter. When
the time was right he'd simply 'invade' every computer. He had me.”
Now
I
was starting to get bizarre ideas.
“The
next day ...”
“You
were only unconscious for a couple of minutes.”
He
ignored me and just continued.
“I found the Pharaoh and asked him a
few more questions. I got most of my information from him, but he
underlying idea was also based on what I learned from Bernie. And
it's Bernie who's implementing it.”
Besides
the underlying doubts, I really didn't understand what he was saying.
It was clear that he had a well-formed picture of what he was
describing, but it was a little difficult for me to swallow in
undigested form.
“Sorry. It's all so vivid for me.
Anyway, I was struck by the fact that the Pharaoh had possessions but
no one else did. But the reason turned out to be obvious, if not
intuitive. He was better prepared. All the things he thought he'd
need were buried with him. So he had them. Of course he learned
quickly that nothing he had was of any value, but he had all of it.
Even the servants that were buried with him were of no use to him.
They were now his equals. Everyone was equal wherever it is that we
were.”
“Men and women?”
“There were no men. There were no women. There were only souls – souls that were pure, and there was no difference in their nature. And they weren't at all corporeal. There were no bodies. So there were no physical defects. None was young or old.
He continued.
“Well, that's not completely
accurate. There was kind of a hierarchy and it was based on a couple
of things. The Pharaoh did have an advantage over many of the others
because he had been rich and highly positioned in life. (You don't
specifically get recognition for that but it's a better starting
point than poverty.) And there was an advantage to having been
religiously observant. It doesn't matter what the religion was. The
Pharaoh earned credit for his belief, even though it was misplaced.
There everyone is brought around to the one true religion. And when
they reach that level they seem to be completely happy; completely at
peace. That takes longer for some than others – for those who were
distant from their heritages – especially atheists – it may take
centuries. But eventually they're happy.
“And sooner or later so are the
wicked, although it takes a lot more time if you flouted the rules of
the society in which you lived – especially if you oppressed
others. The basic premise is that those who were evil chose not to
fight the unworthy instincts with which we were all born. Their
happiness was delayed not because they were evil – we all have that
potential – but because they accepted that condition without an
adequate fight.”
It made a lot of sense to me. And I
certainly wanted to believe it. I'm reasonably well-off, and if not
that much of a community leader, at least I'm relatively honest and
respectful of all around me. It's reassuring to know that at least
there's a possibility that I'll enjoy an afterlife in which I'll be
happy. But I didn't know where Fred was leading. All that he had
said seemed to be the preamble to something, even though it wasn't
clear what the upshot was.
So I pressed him.
“Where is this all leading?”
He went on. I'm not even sure that he
heard me. I had the feeling that he was simply continuing his story.
“Later that day – or was it the
next day? – ”
This
time I didn't bother to make any attempt to bring him back to
reality, yet I was impressed, or maybe amused, by the amount that he
claimed to have experienced. And he seemed to believe it.
“I spoke to Bernie again. Told him
all about my conversation with the Pharaoh. He smiled and told me
that Tut was getting there, but he had a long time to go – at least
a millennium or two – and that the scenario he related was only
part of the story. It's good for now, but sooner or later the
Messiah will come. That's no myth. Of course we don't know when
that will be. Interestingly, Bernie didn't know, although he didn't
seem to lack any other information.
“'Yes. Someday the Messiah will
come.' I had always considered that a good thing, but Bernie
disabused me of that idea.
“'In many ways it will be a
continuation of this life, but there will also be differences.' I
asked him to tell me what he meant and he told me that the good life
we'd been enjoying would continue in 'Heaven' (that was his word) and
all those on then earth would come and join us. But they could bring
their money and purchase all the temptations that they'd learned to
love during their time on earth. Anything they desired would be
available on the OWWW and we'd get an eternal supply for the initial
price. Only those already in Heaven would lose out since they'd have
no money to spend."
He
had never clarified “OWWW” and I had no idea what it was. So I
interrupted and asked. This time he heard me.
“It's the 'Other-World Wide Web.'
The main use is as part of the program to bring everyone up to speed
on the true religion and all the virtuous acts that our residents
perform. They can help each other to see the light, though I suspect
that I did so without their help when I was in the tunnel. Souls can
communicate with each other as well. They can learn from each other,
because learning is never finished. And, to a point, they can
connect with the WWW, although their address is changed so there is
no trail to the OWWW.
And they can't log onto any site that
requires money.vi
That makes it impossible to get some of the most recent religious
insights. Of course they're not short of divine wisdom in Heaven,
but for more than a millennium it's been a human prerogative to
determine the meaning of the holy works and they only learn of the
advances after the various authors die.vii
Since their books cost money, no one on the OWWW can get them and
they only learn the new ideas after the authors die. And,
unfortunately, medical progress on earth is resulting in longer life
spans, so we have to wait longer. Since time progresses slowly in
comparison to what we experience on earth, it can be a while before
the new information reaches Heaven. Not that they have any place to
go or that they're likely to run out of time, but they're junkies for
that stuff. After all, spiritual knowledge is one of the criteria
for status in that venue.”
I
still wasn't sure where he was going. Fred had a lot to say and he
seemed to be unstoppable. And what he said was a little complicated.
But I was beginning to take him seriously. Even if I didn't really
understand what he was telling me. Even though my own education was
in law and, though I knew some science, my knowledge of it wasn't
much beyond that of an intelligent layman, I was most struck by
concepts of time – that of “Heaven” and ours here on earth. I
still believed that the apparent expansion of time in dreams was the
best explanation, but I couldn't rid myself of thoughts of Einstein.
Suppose Heaven is in motion, and moving close to the speed of light.
Time would certainly slow down in comparison to what we experience.
Maybe that's what was happening. Or was I just getting sucked in?
And why do I have to use rational concepts to explain anything as
mystical as he was relating?
So
I just listened.
“And then it all started falling in
place.”
Finally
Fred was getting to the point.
“
'Bernie,' I said, 'I think that
working together we can solve some of the problems you've described.
As I understand it, Heaven isn't so different from earth. The
biggest problem is money. And what makes it a problem is
distribution. But it doesn't have to be. As long as your OWWW can
communicate with the WWW it's possible that some way can be found to
transfer money.viii
I could try to convince them to have their money buried with them
like the Pharaoh, but that would be up to their heirs, and I suspect
it wouldn't happen very often. It's not a feature of modern
religions and people are greedy. They'd rather pocket the money than
throw it into a hole.' But what I needed personally was some
assurance that I hadn't died and I'd get back to the world I knew. I
saw a real opportunity, not only to make scientific progress, but
money.”
That was the Fred I knew. I also knew
that he was very level-headed and I wasn't ready to disregard his
views. In fact, I was becoming convinced.
“I explained to him what I was
thinking and asked for the assurance. But, of course, he couldn't
give it. Life and death were not decisions he made. 'We'll see what
happens and work from there.' I have to admit that if I stayed dead
it wouldn't have been a calamity. Everyone seemed happy where they
were and I was sure I would be, too. The challenge, though, was
tempting. It was an entrepreneur's heaven. Here was the chance to
link this world with the afterlife and make money doing it.
Everything was already in place, all it needed was someone
imaginative enough to connect the dots. I can do that, but I'll need
your help to make it work.”
As
I mentioned earlier, a medical student at Presbyterian played a
critical role – though it's hard to deny that he had Divine help.
And that set in motion the plan that Fred had worked out.
The
first steps were mine. I had to charter a bank. That took much more
knowledge than my legal practice provided and I set out on a search
for information, but it was available and it wasn't long before I
knew the steps involved. It wasn't cheap though. Fortunately I had
some “comfortably-0ff” friends who loved life and hated their kids.
They were ready to take a chance on eternity while sticking it to
their spawn. Fred chose the name “Bank of Heaven.” It set the
right tone for the venture. He even opened his own account.
In
a sense he was a real humanitarian. For him, at least as far as I
could determine from what he told me, everyone was equal – rich and
poor alike. And they were
alike. Rich and poor were invited to open accounts under the
following conditions: You had to deposit a certain percentage of
your net worth in the bank and that was set arbitrarily at twenty
percent, but you could deposit more if you chose. It didn't matter
if that was in dollars, pesos, Euros, rupees, or whatever currency
you used, and if you were broke the minimum amount was one dollar or
its equivalent. And the money you deposited was not refundable under
any circumstances while you were alive. In fact, it was given a
status outside of your estate and continued as a separate entity in
perpetuity. Undeposited money, of course, was part of your estate
and went to your heirs.ix
Withdrawals
could come at either (or both) of two times – in Heaven so you
could get new religious writings on the internet, or when the Messiah
came and all earthly pleasures were available. You'd be sorely
tempted in Heaven because of an overwhelming desire to learn and
because it would speed your ascent to perfection. But whatever you
withdrew during your time there would mean that much less to spend
when you returned in the days of the Messiah – whenever that would
come. As for the account size, it was either what you deposited or,
for the poor, an unlimited amount in Heaven, and enough to live
comfortably in Messianic times. Since that would last forever, those
with ample accounts of their own – those who planned for their
future – would seem to risk running out, while the poor would
always live in comfort. But, as I said, they were alike. At least
ultimately. And when someone's own money ran out he (or she) was on
the same terms as the poor, perpetual comfort, but not profligacy.
So
budgeting – for those who chose to establish accounts – was a
balancing act. How much for the current stay on earth, how much for
Heaven, and how much for the initial period of the Messianic times.
It was comforting, however, to know that no matter what decisions you
made, and no matter how poor you might be now, you would eventually
live a comfortable life. Forever.
Anyway,
I managed to charter the bank. It wasn't easy. The red tape and
regulations were truly prodigious. I somehow suspect that there
isn't nearly as much paperwork in Heaven, but I could be wrong.
Money turned out to be less of a problem than I had feared. As I
said, there were enough rich people who were willing to make the
gamble. Of course those who provided the initial funding were
promised the addition of their investments, with interest, to their
accounts.
That
was the next step. Getting people to set up accounts. But that was
also easier than I expected. Those in the “middle class” were
suspicious of the whole project and very few of them were willing to
take the risk. But for the rich, the ones who didn't even know how
much they had or how to use it, it was worth the risk. They wouldn't
be greatly affected – if they were affected at all – by a twenty
percent investment in an eternal future. (The fear of death proved
to have much more power than any concerns they may have had about
risk.) The poor could usually find a way to get a dollar, and the
potential benefit was incalculable.
With
each account we set up an internet account (a free one) which those
without computers could access at the library. Fred arranged with
Bernie for the issuance of OWWW addresses for all participants, and
they'd be activated when account-holders died. He had made all the
arrangements with his angel friend before he was resuscitated. He
did it “just in case” he returned to life, and his work paid off.
And
it seems to have paid off as well for some of the account holders.
There are now over three million of them. The majority of the
solicitation was through newspaper ads and Bernie's invasion of their
computers. Most of the depositors are poor, but some of them are
very wealthy. And after a few of them died and were in Heaven there
were moderately large withdrawals from their accounts. I suspect
they were getting books with modern insights.x
It's clear that they were benefiting from their advanced planning.
And there's still plenty left for when they come back. Accounts of
the poor, and of the living like me, of course, have not been
affected. I'll have my chance. And I certainly have less anxiety
about that day than I did a few years ago.
In
the meantime, Fred's situation has also improved. He gets a small
commission on the withdrawals. It's not a large amount,xi
but enough so that he can use the money both to pay off initial
investors and cover ongoing expenses, including a small salary for
his work, and he does well on it. He has an account himself – not,
however, anything compared with some of the billionaires alive and
dead who have participated. His account not only assures his future,
but he uses it for demonstration to those considering the project.
And
I'd be kidding you if I didn't let you know that I'm also going to
get some income from the project. I didn't make anything on the
chartering (in all honesty I didn't lose anything either) but I'll
soon take Fred's position as manager of the enterprise – its CEO.
There will be steady income from that and Fred has assured me that
he'll review with me all of the detailed knowledge necessary to run
the bank. He's beginning a new project soon in Dubai or Bhutan or
some place like that,xii
and he'll have to take a leave of absence from the bank to devote his
time to that. The longer the better as far as I'm concerned. The
income I'm expecting will allow me to be comfortable, although I must
admit that responsibility for so many billions is daunting. He'll
certainly have to explain to me the mechanics of deposits,
withdrawals, and fund management, but he assures me that it won't be
a problem. And I'm a quick learner, if I do say so myself.
I
should be able to live a good life. But the real reward will come
when I die.
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
ADDENDUM:
Carl died a few days ago following a heart attack. Unlike Fred he
could not be resuscitated. He has already removed most of the money
from his account, so he must be adapting well to Heaven.
I I
won't identify him further for legal reasons and privacy, as well as
the possibility that he'd like to do his own advertising.
ii Actually
he had no peers.
iii Rich
on his own. Not simply because his father had made a fortune with
his own inventions and computer development ideas.
iv In
fact he had already picked out a house in the Bahamas.
v Yes.
That's what he said. You can't make this stuff up.
vi Actually,
they can't log into most sites other than the religious ones.
Certainly not pornography and other social media.
vii Remember
how slowly time passes up there compared to what we experience. A
human lifetime would seem endless in their terms.
viii Fred
and Bernie eventually worked out the protocols necessary to do this.
Mostly Fred. His education was worth all that his father paid for
it.
ix And
the money of non-participants similarly would go to heirs and to the
government, and would not be available to those who were returned to
life in Messianic times.
x Obviously
I don't know from personal experience, but I'll get the complete
facts after I die.
xi Though
it's certainly more than adequate considering the billions that the
deceased have withdrawn and that has been transferred to them.
xii He
said he'd send me his address as soon as he was settled.