“Agents of Cosmic Intelligence emerges from a unique viewpoint in which science and religion meld into a singular explanation that makes each person a vital part of the greatest real-life adventure ever.”
One would be hard-pressed to find a more enticing series introduction for fans of science fiction. In Pandemonium and The Message, the two latest installments in author Bill Harvey’s Agents of Cosmic intelligence series, readers will be swept away by a metaphysical, thought-provoking story that’s as scarily prophetic as it is a blast. Fans of Bradbury and Asimov will be delighted to see that Harvey has climbed atop their shoulders.
Check out our Q&A below for a peek into Harvey’s vision for the series and the inspiration behind his work.
Q: Tell us about the stories of Pandemonium and The Message. How are the two connected?
A: All of the stories in the Agents series are connected by the main characters who are the five Agents, Cosmic Intelligence itself, plus The First Avatar and the second. The books are not coming through in chronological order, nor are we releasing them in the sequence of history — which means that any given reader of any book in the series may be reading any one of them, not even knowing the others exist: so, each book has to stand alone. As a reader, I enjoy figuring things out from clues before the author comes right out and explains something, so as a writer I am always planting hints that refer to something that happens in a different book in the series. Aha moments are fun so the more of them the merrier.
Q: Explain the unique structure and timeline of the Agents of Cosmic Intelligence series
A: The epic adventure Agents of Cosmic Intelligence emerges from a unique viewpoint in which science and religion meld into a singular explanation that makes each person a vital part of the greatest real-life adventure ever. Agents is a sweeping saga that unfolds forward and backward in time to become a story of the Universe, how it might have “started” and where it might be “going”. By restoring a sense of wonder at what the Universe could really be, the series aims at having a transformative effect on people and their lives. There are 15 stories planned in the series, covering from the latest Big Bang through Cosmic Armageddon. Historic events are presented in a different light, explaining why our history is unfolding the way it is.
Q: What is the Human Effectiveness Institute?
A: The Institute was formed in 1976 and was granted a federal tax exemption as a 501C3 scientific and educational foundation. Objectives of The Human Effectiveness Institute are, to quote from the Certificate of Incorporation:
- To conduct research into how humans internally process sensory, cognitive, emotive and intuitive information in order to make moment-to-moment action decisions — both normatively and optimally (i.e. how do most humans do this, and how can this be maximally improved).
- To create, test, refine and distribute educational materials which tend to documentably improve the information-processing basis for decision-making in the sphere of normal day-to-day human life.
In plain-speak, our vision is that by becoming more effective individuals, the human race can solve all of the world’s problems which the race has created.
Q: What inspired you to write this series?
A: I grew up with science as my religion. From an early age I spent time each day meditating, contemplating questions and watching my own mind and feelings, trying to figure myself out as a scientist might. I discovered the Flow state (I called it “perfection”) at age five. With an open mind, I saw my hunches as hypotheses worth testing. Eventually I could not ignore the likelihood of a greater intelligence helping me, based on uncanny synchronicities which were extremely improbable as coincidences. I gradually gained a spiritual connection with the Universe and wished to share it. In my nonfiction book Mind Magic, I shared my methods for attaining and maintaining Flow state, and its doorway, the Observer state. But I found that the exultation I feel about life couldn’t be imparted through nonfiction. It takes great art, drama, cinema, novels to convey deep feelings so that the audience experiences it and can reproduce it on their own. That is how Agents was born.
Q: Which authors do you look up to? Do you attempt to emulate any aspect of their work?
A: I love reading and Shakespeare, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Dostoevsky, Flaubert, Salinger and many other incredible novelists helped fan the flame of my early inspiration to be a writer. Focusing on sci-fi, Heinlein is an idol of mine, and I’ve read everything written by him, Asimov, Bradbury, Philip K. Dick, Frank Herbert, Aldous Huxley, Neal Stephenson, William Gibson, Thomas Pynchon and many other greats. Neal’s Baroque Trilogy is the high point in sci-fi to me among living authors, although Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow is very close. I don’t consciously emulate any of them, the words flow out of me so it isn’t a conscious process that would lend itself to emulation. I aspire to be able to write like that but it isn’t something I’m methodically attempting.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from your novels?
A: Two things: firstly, not to foreclose the nature of reality just because science has not yet discovered that the multiverse is intelligent. Keep an open mind that “God” may be a primitive way of dealing with observations which strongly suggest the universe itself is conscious. Secondly, watch your own mind and feelings carefully because they are probably working against you at least half the time. Learning the methods used by psychic warriors to detect others tampering in their minds, the story sensitizes readers to be observant of what goes on inside their own minds. In Pandemonium, Templegard hears Williams training Theta to resist enemy psychics, which is exactly the same as training yourself to defend yourself against your own self-belittling thoughts and feelings.
Q: What is your next project?
A: The Great Being, Episode One in the Agents series, chronicles from the beginning of the Multiverse, through Melchizedek’s teaching of Abraham. There is a Great Rebellion going on in Heaven and therefore throughout the Universe, all of which is a single Mind at play — call it “Cosmic Intelligence” or call it “God.” The Rebels retreat further and further and take their final stand on Earth. Two Agents of Cosmic Intelligence, Melchizedek and Layla, are dispatched to infiltrate the Rebels on Earth. However, the Rebels have interfered with Earth evolution, so that the human brains the Agents step into suppress their knowledge of who they really are. They lose track of their mission, getting sidetracked into following the conditioning they receive on Earth.
Bill Harvey is a world-renowned media researcher who has on more than one occasion changed the course of the media industry. He is credited with many innovations to research and business process over the past 35 years, based on new insights into media audiences and new ways of thinking. Bill received an Emmy® Award in 2022 for pioneering technology development. He is also the recipient of the Advertising Research Foundation’s Great Mind Award. His childhood experience on stage led to a lifetime of study of the flow state, the state of consciousness most conducive to success.
Bill evolved the trigger words contained in his books and videos as his own internal system for bringing himself up to his highest level of creative effectiveness. This process started early in his life when his show business parents had him on stage from age five on.
Bill discovered that he sometimes experienced perfect performances which occurred while he observed himself without making any effort to perform – as if from outside, behind, or above himself. At other times performance required effort and was not perfect and at these times he appeared to be inside himself in the familiar daily state of “normal waking consciousness”. He sought to find out more about the first state which he observed to be “supernormal” in terms of performance effectiveness.
Bill lives with his wife Lalita and their cat Zohreh in the beautiful Hudson Valley. He has a daughter Nicole, and with Lalita has four grandchildren, Nicholas, Gabrielle, Jessica, and Alexander, and now their first great-grandchild, Zara.
