The Twelve (13 page)

Even in a Rolls-Royce, four in the backseat was one too many, and Max was overcome by the body odor of his hosts, whom he suspected did not bathe daily in their desert town.

Then as the Rolls turned onto a dirt road, the ride became even less pleasant. Precision engineering notwithstanding, the ruts in the road caused huge bounces, and Max did his level best not to vomit. After forty minutes, the car slowed down at a divide in the road. Situated at the divide was a young man on a motorcycle.

Upon seeing the Rolls, the cyclist took the inner road straight to the center of town, while the car followed a circular route that ran past a cemetery on the outskirts.

The Rolls took about ten minutes to reach the center, and the extra time allowed the village to prepare for their “very important guest.” The car lurched to a stop, a band played on the bandstand, and a large banner was displayed on which huge red letters proclaimed, in English:

WELCOME HOLLYWOOD!

Max stepped out of the car, and a speech was recited by the mayor of the town. It reminded Max of the greeting Dorothy had received from the Munchkin mayor when her house killed the Wicked Witch of the West.

The band continued to play, and then Max was escorted down the main street of the town, where on each side of the road all the inhabitants had been assembled in order of spiritual seniority, there to receive Max's blessing. Each and every individual touched Max, and tried to embrace him. There were two thousand inhabitants, Max learned, and he found the experience exhausting.

After he had greeted the entire town, he was taken to a special guest house where a feast had been prepared, featuring the most sacred and delectable dishes the Ahmadiyya could obtain. There were dates, fresh-grated coconut, soft drinks, and special appetizers, followed by a selection of main courses that included many exotic vegetarian entrées as well as meat, fish, and poultry dishes.

It was a meal of enormous variety and quantity, a kind of Thanksgiving feast that seemed endless.

***

Two hours later, after a very necessary nap, Max was ready for the tour. Only then did he discover why he had been given such a royal welcome.

Of the twelve prophecies that the founder of the town and of the Ahmadiyya religion had made in the nineteenth century, all had now come true.

The first eleven prophecies included such unlikely claims as:

The desert shall bloom.

The founding group of twelve families shall become more than twelve million believers of the Ahmadiyya.

A great temple—which will hold more than one hundred thousand in prayer—shall be constructed.

These and eight other lofty predictions had all come true, but it was with Max's arrival—representing a Hollywood film crew—that the final prophecy was deemed complete.

The world will seek us out.

Having cleared up that mystery, Max set out to examine the sacred sites the town had to offer.

Very quickly he realized that there was nothing visually interesting to film, and there was no need to include any of the details of the Ahmadiyya beliefs. So in the end, as with so many prophecies, their fulfillment rested with the subjective experience of those who believed . . . or chose not to believe.

Louis

1976–1977

W
HILE MAX WAS TRAVELING THE WORLD, LOUIS WAS FINISHING UP
law school at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. He was last in his class at Duke, not because he couldn't do the work, but because he did not want to work. He felt that he was owed a living by his father, whom he hated even more than he hated Max.

Louis had even confided to Max that the only reason he went to law school was that it was the longest and most expensive graduate school program he could find. He knew that their mother would force Herbert to pay for law school, since to her education was the highest priority.

The summer following Louis's graduation, Herbert arranged for Louis to work in a law firm in New York City. At the same time, Louis began preparing to take the bar exam—the same test for which his father's publishing company published the primary test preparation guide.

Ironically, he failed the test on the first two tries, and it was on his third attempt that Louis finally passed. It had taken him more than a year, and during that time he had worked as a lowly clerk for the prestigious firm of Gottlieb Harris.

Gottlieb was a criminal attorney who handled some of the most notorious Mafia bosses in New York City. Herbert had met Gottlieb at a Jewish Defense charity benefit, and they had become casual friends. Herbert made it clear to Louis that he was doing his son a great service to get him a position with such a prestigious law firm. For his part, Louis felt he was doing his father a tremendous favor by taking a position that paid him anything at all.

Louis hated working for Gottlieb, whom he thought was as crooked as his clients. He would complain to his mother that Herbert must be a criminal, as well, just to be associated with Gottlieb. In the course of his college career, Louis had become a self-proclaimed moralist with rigid ideas about what was ethical and unethical behavior. Thus, he said, he felt that any behavior that generated “easy money” was certain to be unethical.

When confronted with the fact that he'd been financially dependent on his father his whole life, he responded loudly that he didn't consider that “easy money”—that it was an altogether different circumstance and that such was his right as the eldest son.

It was during a Thanksgiving dinner that Louis—pent up with frustration, hatred, and resentment—finally cracked in front of his father. Max was away, so it was just the three of them at the house in Greenwich. He handed Herbert a letter from the IRS that threatened action against Louis for not having paid his income taxes—yet another thing Louis felt was unfair, given the meager income he had earned at Gottlieb Harris.

“It's not right I have to pay taxes,” Louis stated angrily. “You have plenty of money—you should pay this for me.”

Herbert just laughed as he handed the letter back to Louis.

“That's ridiculous. Everyone pays taxes, and that includes you.”

“Well, if that's the case, then I'm going to start billing you and mom for the time I spend here. My special rate for you will be $50 an hour, but I've already been here more than twenty-four hours, so you owe me more than a $1,000.”

Herbert laughed even louder, but there was a harshness to his laugh. He rose and left the table to go into the garden room, where he sat in his favorite chair among the plants, next to the fireplace, and began to read the newspaper.

Not long before, Herbert had had a second heart attack, and he knew he should avoid an emotional confrontation with his eldest son.

Undeterred, Louis followed Herbert and continued his rant as to why he should be paid for his “legal services.” When his father made it quite clear that he was not going to pay any of Louis's bills—or his taxes—and that he expected his son to get a real job now that he had passed the bar, Louis started yelling, calling his father a crook and a cheat.

Finally Herbert rose and made as if to strike Louis—something he had not done since his son was twelve.

This was all the provocation Louis had been waiting for. He seized Herbert by the neck, thrust him to the hard marble floor, and started beating his head against the marble.

He yelled more obscenities at his father, releasing resentment that had built up over his entire life.

“You son of a bitch, you never wanted me! You never loved me!”

The commotion brought Jane racing to the garden room, and she tried to separate them, but she simply wasn't strong enough to pull Louis away.

She ran to the phone and called the police, who arrived within minutes.

They found Herbert, semi-conscious on the marble floor and covered with blood, a distraught Jane holding a towel to his head.

The two officers pulled their guns and carefully searched the house. It didn't take long, and they cornered Louis in the garage, where he was hacking away at Herbert's Rolls-Royce with an axe.

Subduing him, they marched him off to jail as the ambulance arrived to take Herbert to the hospital.

***

Herbert had suffered a concussion, and it was several days before he could leave the hospital, but there seemed to be no permanent damage.

For the first time he had experienced directly the rage that had repeatedly been directed at Max, and he now realized that Louis wasn't just lazy and mean, but that he was dangerous.

Nonetheless when it came time for Louis's trial, Herbert couldn't bring himself to testify against his own son. A deal was worked out with the prosecutor, requiring Louis to spend thirty days in a mental treatment facility rather than go to jail. If after that time the doctors at the mental institution felt that he was competent to take care of himself, he would be released.

There was an added provision that, if released, Louis would be subject to a restraining order that covered the entire town of Greenwich, Connecticut, where Herbert and Jane were living. Since prior to this, Louis had never committed violence against anyone other than Max, they had no reason to think that he would cause any harm to others.

As long as there was no contact with them, Jane and Herbert hoped that perhaps Louis would find his way in life.

***

To everyone's surprise, Louis was a model patient while incarcerated in the mental institution, and at the end of the thirty days he was released.

It was clear to Jane that he was never going to find traditional work, let alone take advantage of his law degree. She felt tremendous guilt over his mental condition, and despite her son's brutal behavior, she insisted that Herbert set up a small trust fund for him so that he would be able to sustain himself. Jane hoped this would take some financial pressure off her son and perhaps allow him to find a modest career, which might keep him away from the family and out of trouble.

***

When Max returned from his travels and learned of the events, he was openly relieved. Finally his father and mother understood Louis's violent nature and had taken some action to protect the family.

He felt sorry for Louis and actually loved him and wanted to help him, but at the same time he did not want to have any contact with him.

Max was still frightened that Louis might continue to erupt violently against him.

Disillusionment

1978

I
T WAS WITH A SENSE OF RELIEF THAT MAX RETURNED TO HARVARD AND
what he thought would be praise from his professors and colleagues for his use of anthropology in his involvement in the creation of documentary films.

However, he was greatly disappointed to learn that his side-career did not sit well with his colleagues at the university. This popularization of science wasn't, in their eyes, serious scholarship. They felt that the recognition that Max was receiving was almost unseemly and not appropriate for a graduate student.

But just as Max's professors were becoming disenchanted with Max, he was becoming disenchanted with Harvard.

He was bored and in search of greater challenges.

***

It didn't take long for the challenges to find Max. His father called and confided to him that the publishing company needed him. Herbert had backed out of the deal to sell to Perfect Films and had spurned all offers since. Herbert promised that if Max would agree to move to New York and run the editorial department, Herbert would attempt to buy his partner out and turn the company over to Max.

However, Herbert was adamant that Max gain more experience in the New York office before he made his move.

Max accepted and moved to New York City, but he quickly became disenchanted. Despite a new romantic entanglement that quickly became serious, he did not enjoy living in the city and didn't find the position particularly challenging.

Less than a year into his work with the editorial department, Max received a phone call inviting him to go around the world on behalf of yet another documentary feature. It was to be a twelve-week shoot, and he could write his own terms.

Based on the length of the gig, Max arranged to take a leave of absence.

No big deal, he thought. It will all be here when I get back.

***

Unknown to Max, Herbert Doff suffered his third heart attack the day Max left for India and points unknown. This was a more serious heart attack than the previous two, and Herbert felt compelled to protect his family and sell the company to the highest bidder. By the time Max returned, the sale was complete.

For the first time in his life Max could choose his own destiny. It was liberating.

He tore up the three-year contract his father had negotiated for Max and moved to Hollywood to act as the associate producer on a major documentary film. After two weeks, he realized that he had made yet another mistake.

He hated his job.

As an associate producer, he was expected to ensure that the creative team remained productive and happy. That meant that if they wanted cocaine, Max was supposed to arrange to acquire the drug for them.

Max resigned on the spot.

He moved back to New York, but far from being liberated, he had no job and no direction.

He considered his options and decided that his best immediate alternative was to play poker in a dive bar in Soho on Saturday nights. Louis had taught Max how to play poker when they were quite young, and Max had gained additional poker experience in his travels with the various film crews. Max also had the gift of being able to visualize any card he needed. Somehow he simply willed a card to be the one he needed, and it seemed to appear.

Whether this was luck or something more, Max had always had an affinity for numbers. They'd been alive within him when he was a child and unable to speak. They were his playmates . . . his friends.

So poker was a natural for him.

***

He would show up on Saturday around midnight for the weekend game. The stakes weren't particularly high, but there were always suburbanites out for the night who proved to be easy marks. They would drink too much and play loose hands.

They were there to have fun.

Max was there to make money.

Very few of the regulars were what could be called legitimate players. Frequently they found ways to team up or cheat in ways that wouldn't cause them to get caught. Thus, Max didn't get involved in hands with the regulars.

And there were enough tourists for Max to make his $200 or $300 every Saturday night, and that was all he needed each week to pay his rent, his gym fees, and food bills.

But none of this was satisfying—nor was it much of a career choice.

Max was at a crossroads.

He had bailed on Harvard, bailed on his father's publishing company, and even bailed on Hollywood. And another romantic relationship had ended badly.

***

He had been engaged to Tina just before heading off for his twelve-week film project. While away, he had bought her a beautiful engagement ring in Damascus and exotic silks so that she could create a custom wedding dress.

There had been no date set nor a formal announcement, but Tina and Max were agreed that upon his return they would let the families know.

Unfortunately for Max, by the time he returned from the project, Tina had changed her mind about marriage altogether. She had started seeing a therapist to explore issues concerning past traumas that related to early childhood sexual molestation.

This, of course, came as a complete surprise to Max.

In the process of the therapy, the therapist had suggested that Tina abstain from sex until she could sort out her deeper feelings. She thought this was a good idea and announced to Max that she also felt that getting engaged—or even continuing the relationship—made no sense.

Max couldn't understand what had happened. They had seemed so happy together. Suddenly his fiancée was distant, and he hardly recognized the person she had become.

The magic in his life was gone, and Max was not certain how to get it back.

Once again he fell into a deep state of depression. He stopped eating, shaving, or even bathing. He slept for days. He was worn out and had lost perspective on who he was and what he wanted to do with his life.

In his eyes, there was little likelihood that he would ever reach the expectations to which he had aspired as a child. He was a disappointment to his father . . . to himself.

In the midst of this funk, he decided to write a novel that would reflect his present state, and he called it Suicide Plus. He crafted the opening line:

Sir Winston awoke to the sound of muffled screams . . . his own.

The novel documented the daily struggle Max encountered with his own thoughts of suicide. He began to write his feelings in erratic bursts on an old typewriter his father had given him.

I have reached the black edge of despair . . . I don't know who I am or what I want or what I can do or where I am going . . . I'm sick of self . . . no hope . . . must cash in this life . . . I want to abdicate.

He knew that death itself wasn't something to fear and longed to return to the white light and bliss he had experienced in Dr. Gray's office, back in 1965.

At the same time Max still believed that he had some kind of destiny that required him to remain alive. He decided to turn his fate over to a higher power and wrote: THY WILL BE DONE.

He carried on writing and fighting against his suicidal tendencies.

The day Max finished his novel, a neighbor two floors above his apartment leaped to his death. It was an act Max had contemplated many times and had visualized for weeks. The reality of it stunned him, and he wondered if his novel had been capturing his own destiny or someone else's.

***

Louis reappeared in Max's life.

When he appeared at the front door, Max barely recognized him. He was smelly, dirty, unshaven, and overweight with a potbelly.

He was grotesque.

Louis babbled incoherently about how everyone was break-
ing the law—especially his father and the lawyers at Gottlieb
Harris.

“You have no idea how rotten they are . . . and it's not just them. Everyone's breaking the law . . . all the laws. They're even starting to break the laws of gravity, and when that happens, you know we're all going to go to hell,” Louis proclaimed, expecting Max to support his concerns.

But Max could only smile at the combination of intelligence and madness his brother exhibited. And it caused him to shudder, realizing that what his own existence had become wasn't much better.

So Max bought Louis a nice meal—perhaps the first he had had in a very long time. The entire time he hoped that Louis's insanity wouldn't erupt into violence and was very relieved when it did not.

Then he gave his brother a hug and suggested that he find a quiet place outside of New York City, where fewer people would be breaking the laws of gravity, and he would be safe.

Louis left, and Max wondered what would come next.