Chapter 1

After you finish reading these pages, you will believe in supernatural forces. You will know that there are more worlds, dimensions, and realities than this one. You will acknowledge the existence of evil. You will understand the causality of evolution. You will exalt the glory of God.

        You will give credence to all this and more, because if you don’t, everything and everyone you hold dear will be lost to you. Absolute, unwavering faith is the only way to defeat the forces amassed against you.

        Conspiracy theorists have long sermonized that there are three giants who currently control the world – the banks, the governments, and the corporations. In this theory, each giant fights constantly with the others for control of the world’s natural resources, currency, and people – the result being a never-ending battle with the people as the casualties. This is exactly what they would like us to think, because the truth is far more insidious. In reality, there is only one giant. And this giant has total control.

        As the old riddle goes, this thing all things devours. Birds, beasts, trees, flowers. Gnaws iron, bites steel. Grinds hard stones to meal. Slays king. Ruins towns. And beats high mountains down. This giant is time.

        You see son, life is a terminal illness – nothing escapes alive.

        I used to wonder why Allah made the world this way. Why he pitted us against an enemy of this caliber. Now, as my demise grows near, I can finally see the brilliance in his plan. It’s amazing what you can see near the end that you couldn’t even fathom at the beginning.

        If you’re reading this, son, then my time has run out, and yours will be dramatically shortened unless you can find a way to stop them. Time has several powerful allies but there is one such assistant that is far more insidious than the rest. This entity lies in wait, sleeping, yet ready for activation at a moment’s notice. Like time, this formidable foe does not pick sides, nor give quarter to its enemies.

        I have been fighting this nemesis ever since it claimed my brother’s (your Uncle’s) life. I was foolish enough to believe I had identified an Achilles heel, but all I did was create the skeleton key that if it gets in the wrong hands, will be the end of us all. You can’t let that happen, Kareem.

        Let me back up a bit. I need to tell you some things, Son. I know I’ve kept a lot of my past from you. I hope this exchange changes some of that, but that’s not why I’m writing this to you. I’m communicating with you now because you are the only person who can decide what’s next. Sorry for being so cryptic, but that last statement will make sense soon.

        So let’s begin.