I could feel that Ruthorn had become very serious when he talked about this topic, and when I looked at Hepf and Piet, I noticed that their facial expression was equally solemn, too. I said to myself that maybe I should be concerned about the fact that I was about to entrust my life to a junior pilot, but instead, I felt at ease because I knew I could rely on God. I really believed that I wouldn’t be in any danger during my journey.

“You’re right. I also believe you have made the right choice, and I rely on God as well,” Ruthorn turned to me, having read my thoughts.

“You know, I had to say that, because for one to have the ability to fully control a spaceship, one normally has to train extensively to acquire full proficiency. I wouldn’t have forbidden you to do anything during your journey if I was certain that the pilot has enough experience. A skillful pilot can talk to you while flying, but given Hepf’s and Piet’s current capabilities, I rather they don’t risk making a navigational error. If they are not fully focused, this could end badly,” Ruthorn explained.

“But even if something would go wrong, wouldn’t this be God’s will?” I asked.

“Well, all of us are free,” Ruthorn answered. “Even though this mission is God’s will, and everything will go well as prescribed, but in reality, our actions and our decisions pose a variable. We can control things to a certain extent, but they can go wrong whenever we change our minds or decide on a new course of action.”

And, after a brief pause, he added “God gave us the freedom to choose, and in exchange, we have to live with the risk.”

“Oh! Are you implying I am wrong to trust Him?” I asked.

“No, not at all,” Ruthorn said, shaking his head, “It is the right thing to do. Trusting Him means to follow His will with determination and courage. It also means that you believe in His plan and that this plan will be fulfilled, unless you change your mind. A change of plan can have two causes: either you change it deliberately, or you do it without exercising proper care or skills.”

“And, by the way, both behaviours are expected of human,” he added.

“Ah, I see! Now I understand. I remember when you earlier described the emergence of a spiritual leader in my world as ‘You’ll see when he arrives – if he comes at all’ and now I understand what you meant. Initially, I thought that you had intended to make fun of me,” I admitted.

“Yes, that’s right,” Ruthorn confirmed. “You can always change everything – as long as it hasn’t happened yet. And this is the reason why everything in your world has fallen into chaos: because no one follows the plan. Most people are careless and reckless, but most importantly, they follow their emotions and their feelings which arise out of their conscious minds, and that’s the opposite of what they should really be doing.”

“That’s why all of you, including you, Areeya, always have to keep in mind that you must fulfill the promise you made to God,” Ruthorn said sternly.

“I will,” I gave him my word.

“Areeya Metaya,” Ruthorn called me by my new name.

“Yes?”

“I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for choosing to go back. This plan has been prepared a long time ago. Your name and your mission have already been described in the legend of the one who was born a spiritual leader a long time ago. The decision to go back is God’s plan, and it’s your plan as well.”

“Which legend are you talking about?” I asked curiously.

“If we go back thousands of years, almost all spiritual leaders in your world in those days described the moment of your emergence as a dark era. It was predicted to be an era of violence. The legend says that this will mark the world’s utmost decline. Humans will lose all morals. Real priests and monks as well as true religions will cease to exist. Humans will hate and kill each other using anything that they can as weapons. They will be overwhelmed with greed and lust. Men and women will copulate like beasts. This will be the era of chaos like the world has never seen before. Wars will break out everywhere. Fireballs will fall from the sky, and the resulting fires will raze houses to the ground. Water will flood the earth up to the sky, so high that the fish can nibble at the stars. People will starve until, in their desperation, they turn to eat human flesh. Rainstorms and lightning will strike all over the earth’s surface with deafening roars. The world will be split into parts and hell will surface to the ground. Giant waves in the sea will become angrier than ever before. Epidemics will infest and kill half of humanity in the world. Screams and wails will be heard everywhere, driving the survivors insane.”

“Then He will emerge among those disasters. He will come to set all humans free. He will come to announce the greatest truth. He will be the one who wakes all human beings up from their deep sleep. He will guide them to create a new world filled with happiness and love. Everyone will consider the others as their brothers and sisters. That world will no longer suffer from hunger.”

“His name was inscribed in the ancient scripture of the Jews. It was a sacred book that described the arrival of the ‘Messiah’. Back then, God told the people through his representatives to wait for the Messiah who would set them free from slavery.”

“From Eastern Europe to Central Asia, people will share a very similar story and will know him by the name of ‘Metteyya’. And for those in the Far East, among the Buddhist countries, he will go by the name of ‘Sri Ariya Metteyya’ or ‘Phar Sri Arn’, but all these names refer to him.”

Ruthorn made a longer pause and looked me straight in the eye, before he said:

“And that person is you, Areeya Metaya.”

I was too stunned to answer right away.

“Me? No, now you’re making fun of me, right?” I brushed him aside.

“I never make fun of anyone. Everything will be as it must be, not as it is designated by anyone. A long time ago, you announced to the universe that you would be that person. But don’t worry, it will all happen as it must.”

Keeping his eyes locked into mine, Ruthorn went on “Today you will finally discover who you really are. You have to accept it now. Over these past days, you were astonished at all the things that have happened to you, and at being highly honoured and welcomed with the highest courtesy. Now it’s time to acknowledge these things and allow them to become part of your personality. You shouldn’t reject them from now on.”

I was still in shock and struggled to take in what Ruthorn had just said. “Oh God! I just can’t believe that I am … Him!” Again, I had used the name of God as an expression of my bewilderment, but at the same time, I felt more grateful and fulfilled than I had ever felt before in life. This time, it was an exclamation filled with the awareness of His plan.

“Thank you, God,” I thought gratefully.

“Master Ruthorn, I know this name well as I’ve heard it since I was small, but I have to tell you frankly that I know very little of His legend. Could you please refresh my memory and tell me His story?” I asked.

“Of course, I’m happy to do that,” Ruthorn obliged. “So, Messiah, Metteyya, Sri Ariya Metteyya, or Phra Sri Arn are the names that appear in the legends of every ancient religion. You will notice that the pronunciation of those names is very close to your name. Messiah and Metteyya are the same as Metaya, and Ariya, or Sri Arn sounds very much like Areeya. Your name will be known as the one who has come to proclaim the new absolute truth to bring peace to the world. But your arrival will be more unique than the others as you will appear right at the end of an era. And for that, you will be mentioned all over in the whole universe, because everyone understands that this the most dangerous and the most difficult moment in the history of your planet,” he said.

“One day of the universe equals 3,600 years in the human world, and God has determined that one era of the universe equals 24 universal days, or 86,400 years in the human world. Now that the old era has almost come to an end, this is the moment in which everyone is looking forward to your appearance. The rumours about your emergence are still circulating. Some say that you have already arrived, while others say that this moment is still yet to materialise. Many claimed to be you or say that they have already met you. However, the most discussed arguments are about the place of your emergence. Some said you were born in their country, and others say you came from their religions because they wanted to claim ownership of you.

In the past, a man called Damus gave a hint about the place of your emergence, and it will occur as he said. He predicted many events correctly by noting down what God had told him, speaking to him through a metal basin. He saw the future of the world in the reflection of water. He wrote down the place of your emergence to be a city of angels that once used to be under the sea,” Ruthorn paused.

“Bangkok, or Krung Thep in Thai, is translated as ‘City of Angels’. And, long ago, the place where Bangkok now stands was once an ocean, exactly as the man had described. He also wrote about your childhood as a son of a poor man,” Ruthorn said.