Prologue
Epilogue
As a young man, I was terrified of death and dying. Because of that fear, I spent endless nights without sleep, because I was afraid that if I went to sleep, somehow death
would creep up on me, and somehow I would be cheated of life. The thought of me
being buried under the ground and being aware of it the whole time terrified me. So
as a youth, death or dying was my biggest nemesis. It was always there, stalking me,
scaring me. And for all my life, I lived with death as this constant shadow companion
everywhere I went and in spite of everything I did. I remember as a child seeing all
the old people die in their homes, and death seemed so personal and up close—never
saying a word but letting you know he was there and could come for you at any time.
So here we are at the birth of the Mu-ji-Man Code. Once this work gets published in
one form or another, the world will be made aware of the Mu-ji-Man Code and its
two companions, the Mu-ji-Man clock and the Mu-ji-Man ruler. Like every birth, it’s
an exciting time and an opportunity to celebrate.
As a teenager growing up on the tiny Caribbean island of Grenada, I was very close
to my parish priest, Father Smart. I was his main altar boy, so he always took me to
all the funerals he was called upon to perform. I got to see the face of death up close
and personal many, many times. Ironically, Father Smart also passed away, and I can
clearly remember this like it was yesterday—me helping the mortician place Father
Smart’s body in the coffin. It was the first time I had touched death itself rather than
being fearful of it or observing it from a distance. With the death of Father Smart, I
felt that death had gone too far this time, and I wasn’t going to let him scare me anymore. So I made up my mind to stare him down, no matter the cost.
As a young adult growing up in these United States, I became very familiar with
death from all the street violence, movies, TV shows, video games, and the many
wars we have embarked on as a nation and brought to life on TV. It was as if death
was a video game being played out right before our eyes as we watched the precisionguided bombs in flight, carrying their cargo of good-old death and destruction. Cheers
came from the control center as the missiles hit their targets and claimed their healthy
share of collateral damage. So yes, death is still with me, but I see him for what he
is—a villain in the movie of life, going about the business of playing his role in a very
precise and convincing manner, just like any good actor would.
Today I”m a young man in my fifties, and I am beginning to understand death a little
more. I’m no longer afraid of him, and sometimes I even see him as a friend. For example, back in 2008, I was visiting my family in Bali, Indonesia, when I received the
unexpected news that I was being indicted for conspiracy to commit money laundering. Well, I must say that before that day I always th