I was watching an interesting show last night that was hosted by Morgan Freeman. I believe it was called "Through the Wormhole." It touched on issues that I have always found of interest, like life after death and consciousness. Back in 1999 I began doing research for one of my first screenplays, Cipher. Those of you who have kept up with my blog here (and I thank you for doing so) will be aware of that story to some extent; and any of you who read my novel, Monarch, when it is released in December, will also become aware of my fascination with consciousness and the possibility of some trace of ourselves continuing on after we, our physical selves, have expired.
In the show they interviewed a doctor, I believe he was a neurologist, who suffered from meningitis and fell into a coma for a period of time. After he came out of a coma and recovered he vividly remembered experiencing things that he, as a neurologist, would have otherwise found hard to believe; but remember he did. He described crawling around through the dirt and leaves for an extended period of time, saying that it was awful. But then he emerged from the dirt and was taken to flight, as if on the wings of a butterfly. Now he had my attention. He described effortlessly fluttering through valleys along with a large group of other butterflies. He went on to describe being drawn towards space and a source, possibly the source of all existence. Heady stuff for a guy who is not suppose to have the capacity to remember anything after being in the diseased state that he was in.
The show continued on, talking about other near-death experiences, but I was fixed on the doctor's butterfly memory. Can you blame me? I too have an interest in butterflies, especially since my soon-to-be-released novel is titled and patterned after North America's most spectacular butterfly of them all, the Monarch.
Where does 2012 come in to all of this? My story does most definitely deal with that looming date in the not so distant future, and life and death do play an integral part of the story. The story my main character reads, Cipher, also deals with life and death and a parallel existence to ours here, as well as what it postulates for 12/21/2012. Her reading of that particular story as time winds down to 12/21/2012, for her, and all of those in her life, is the crux of the story.
The number four plays a big role in my telling of Monarch. There are not only four stages to my novel, much like there are four stages to the life cycle of the Monarch butterflies life cycle, but also, if I am successful, there are four layers of experience. Allow me to explain. The first layer is of my main character, Ginger, and her life; the second is of the main character in Cipher, Ted Parker, and his struggles; the third is the parallel world that Ted becomes all too aware of; and the fourth is, hopefully, that of the reader of Monarch and the effect the reading of the story might have on the reader. All four of the layers converge on 12/21/2012. Ginger must finish Cipher before that date. Ted's life is all but controlled by the date. The parallel world in Cipher is tied to this one, so it too is controlled by the date. And any reader who I hope will read my Novel will be compelled to read it, much like Ginger is compelled to read Cipher, before 12/21/2012 arrives in one year, six months and four days.
The writing of this story, which I consider beginning way back in 1999 with the first ideas for Cipher, has been the most magnificent journey of my life. The experiences over the past twelve years have been good, bad and somewhere in between. I wouldn't trade them for anything, even if there are days that I wish I could. I can't wait to share it all with you.
Thanks for reading.
-aap
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