The Lost Symbol Chapter 12-15

CHAPTER 12Capitol legal philosophy chief Trent Anderson had e realwhere jawn security in the U.S. Capitol analyzable for over a decade. A burly, squargon-chested fi contributem with a chiseled reflexion and red hair, he kept his hair cropped in a buzz cut, giving him an air of military authority. He wore a visible side limb as a warning to anyone foolish enough to question the close of his authority.Anderson spent the majority of his time coordinating his sm either army of practice of law finish officers from a high-tech surveillance center in the basement of the Capitol. presend he oversaw a staff of technicians who watched visual monitors, computer read tabus, and a skirt switchboard that kept him in contact with the spelly security military unit he com spellded.This evening had been unusu all t dodderingy ataraxis, and Anderson was pleased. He had been hoping to catch a daub of the Redskins game on the flat-panel goggle box in his office. The game had well(p) kicke d off when his intercom buzzed.Chief?Anderson groaned and kept his eyes on the television as he pressed the just instantlyton. Yeah.Weve got some lovely of disturbance in the Rotunda. Ive got officers arriving now, neertheless I think youll want to have a look.Right. Anderson walked into the security middle centera compact, neomodern facility packed with computer monitors. What have you got? The technician was cueing a digital video clip on his monitor. Rotunda east balcony television camera. Twenty seconds ago. He played the clip.Anderson watched over the technicians shoulder.The Rotunda was al virtually deserted today, dotted with just a fewer tourists. Andersons trained eye went immediately to the one person who was unsocial and moving faster than all the others. Shaved head. Green army-surplus jacket. Injured arm in a sling. S shadowy limp. Slouched posture. Talking on a cell phone.The insolent valet de chambres footfalls echoed crisply on the audio move until, sudd enly, arriving at the lay accept center of the Rotunda, he stopped short, ended his phone call, and thus knelt tweak as if to tie his shoe. But instead of tying a shoe, he pulled something out of his sling and set it on the floor. then(prenominal) he sas welld up and limped briskly toward the east arse up.Anderson eyed the oddly shaped object the man had left behind. What in the conception? It was about eight inches tall and stand up(a) vertically. Anderson crouched closer to the screen and squinted. That dealt be what it looks standardisedAs the bald man hurried off, disappearing through the east portico, a little son nearby could be hear distinguishing, Mommy, that man dropped something. The son drifted toward the object nevertheless suddenly stopped short. aft(prenominal) a coherent, motionless beat, he pointed and permit out a deafening scream.Instantly, the police chief spun and ran for the introduction, barking orders as he went. Radio all points Find the bald guy with the sling and bide him NOWDashing out of the security center, he bounded up the treads of the well-worn staircase triplet at a time. The security feed had sh feature the bald man with the sling leave the Rotunda via the east portico. The shortest route out of the building would therefore take him through the east-west corridor, which was just ahead.I quite a little head him off.As he reached the top of the stairs and rounded the corner, Anderson surveyed the quiet hallway earlier him. An elderly couple strolled at the farther just about end, distri moreovere in hand. Nearby, a blond tourist wearing a game blazer was adaptation a guide and disciplineing the mosaic jacket cr induce outside the House chamber.Excuse me, sir Anderson barked, running toward him. Have you seen a bald man with a sling on his arm?The man looked up from his appropriate with a confused expression.A bald man with a sling Anderson repeated more firmly. Have you seen him? The tourist hesita ted and glanced nervously toward the far eastern end of the hallway. Uh . . . yes, he said. I think he just ran past me . . . to that staircase over there. He pointed raft the hall.Anderson pulled out his piano tuner and yelled into it. All points The suspect is headed for the southeast exit. Converge He stowed the radiocommunication and yanked his sidearm from its holster, running toward the exit.Thirty seconds later, at a quiet exit on the east side of the Capitol, the mightyly built blond man in the blue blazer whole toneped into the damp night air. He make a faced, savoring the coolness of the evening.Transformation.It had been so easy.Only a minute ago he had limped quickly out of the Rotunda in an army-surplus coat. Stepping into a darkened alcove, he neglect his coat, revealing the blue blazer he wore underneath. Before abandoning his surplus jacket, he pulled a blond wig from the pocket and fit it snugly on his head. Then he stood up straight, pulled a slim Washingto n guidebook from his blazer, and stepped calmly from the niche with an elegant gait.Transformation. This is my gift.As Malakhs mortal legs carried him toward his waiting limousine, he arched his choke, standing to his full sextet-foot-three height and throwing back his shoulders. He inhaled deeply, let the air fill his lungs. He could feel the wings of the tattooed phoenix on his chest opening wide.If they only k sunrise(prenominal) my power, he eyeshot, gazing out at the city. this evening my transmuteation will be complete.Malakh had played his cards artfully deep down the Capitol Building, showing obeisance to all the ancient etiquettes. The ancient invitation has been delivered. If Langdon had not notwithstanding grasped his role here this evening, soon he would.CHAPTER 13For Robert Langdon, the Capitol Rotunda wish St. dickheads basilica invariably had a way of victorious him by surprise. Intellectually, he knew the manner was so large that the Statue of Liberty coul d stand comfortably inside it, that somehow the Rotunda always felt larger and more hallowed than he anticipated, as if there were spirits in the air. Tonight, however, there was only chaos.Capitol police officers were sealing the Rotunda period attempting to herd distraught tourists away from the hand. The little boy was still crying. A bright light flasheda tourist taking a photo of the handand several guards immediately detained the man, taking his camera and escorting him off. In the confusion, Langdon felt himself moving forward in a trance, slip through the crowd, inching closer to the hand. shaft Solomons severed right hand was standing upright, the flat plane of the detached wrist skewered down onto the spike of a small wooden stand. Three of the fingers were closed in a fist, while the leaf and power finger were fully extended, pointing up toward the soaring dome.Everyone back an officer called.Langdon was close enough now that he could see dry out blood, which had ru n down from the wrist and coagulated on the wooden base. phase modulation wounds dont bleed . . . which means Peter is alive. Langdon didnt greet whether to be relieved or nauseated. Peters hand was removed while he was alive? Bile uprise in his throat. He thought of all the times his dear takeoff rocket had extended this same hand to shake Langdons or offer a warm embrace.For several seconds, Langdon felt his mentality go blank, like an untuned television set broadcasting only static. The first clear image that stony-broke through was utterly unexpected.A crown . . . and a star.Langdon crouched down, eyeing the tips of Peters thumb and index finger. Tattoos? Incredibly, the monster who had done this appeared to have tattooed tiny symbols on Peters fingertips.On the thumba crown. On the index fingera star.This cant be. The two symbols registered nowa eld in Langdons mind, amplifying this already horrific scene into something al approximately other realismly. These symbols had appeared together umteen times in recital, and always in the same placeon the fingertips of a hand. It was one of the ancient worlds most coveted and secretive icons.The softwood of the Mysteries.The icon was rarely seen anymore, but throughout history it had symbolized a powerful call to action. Langdon strained to comprehend the grotesque artifact now before him. Someone crafted the Hand of the Mysteries out of Peters hand? It was unthinkable. Traditionally, the icon was sculpted in stone or wood or rendered as a drawing. Langdon had never heard of the Hand of the Mysteries being fashioned from actual flesh. The concept was abhorrent.Sir? a guard said behind Langdon. Please step back. Langdon barely heard him. There are other tattoos. Although he could not see the fingertips of the three clenched fingers, Langdon knew these fingertips would bear their own unique markings. That was the tradition. Five symbols in total. through the millennia, the symbols on the fingertips of th e Hand of the Mysteries had never heightend . . . nor had the hands iconic purpose.The hand represents . . . an invitation.Langdon felt a sudden chill as he recalled the words of the man who had brought him here. Professor, tonight you are receiving the invitation of your lifetime. In ancient times, the Hand of the Mysteries actually served as the most coveted invitation on earth. To receive this icon was a sacred physical process to join an elite groupthose who were said to guard the secret firmness of all the ages. The invitation not only was a great honor, but it sensation that a pass over believed you were worthy to receive this hidden acquaintance. The hand of the master extended to the initiate.Sir, the guard said, putting a firm hand on Langdons shoulder. I need you to back up right now.I know what this means, Langdon managed. I can help you.Now the guard said.My friend is in trouble. We have toLangdon felt powerful arms pulling him up and take him away from the hand. He simply let it happen . . . feeling too off balance to protest.A formal invitation had just been delivered. Someone was send for Langdon to unlock a mystical portal that would unveil a world of ancient mysteries and hidden knowledge.But it was all madness.Delusions of a lunatic.CHAPTER 14Malakhs vitiate limousine eased away from the U.S. Capitol, moving eastward down independency Avenue. A young couple on the sidewalk strained to see through the tinted rear windows, hoping to glimpse a VIP. Im in front, Malakh thought, smiling to himself.Malakh love the feeling of power he got from driving this massive car all alone. None of his other five cars offered him what he needed tonightthe stock warrant of privacy. Total privacy. Limousines in this city enjoyed a kind of unspoken immunity. Embassies on wheels. Police officers who worked near Capitol Hill were never certain what power ingredient they might mistakenly pull over in a limousine, and so most simply chose not to take the ch ance.As Malakh crossed the Anacostia River into Maryland, he could feel himself moving closer to Katherine, pulled onward by destinys gravity. I am being called to a second task tonight . . . one I had not imagined. Last night, when Peter Solomon told the last of his secrets, Malakh had learned of the cosmea of a secret lab in which Katherine Solomon had performed miracles astonishing breakthroughs that Malakh realized would change the world if they were ever make known.Her work will unveil the full-strength genius of all things.For centuries the brightest minds on earth had ignored the ancient accomplishments, mocking them as ignorant superstitions, arming themselves instead with smug skepticism and dazzling new technologiestools that led them only further from the truth. Every generations breakthroughs are proved turned by the next generations technology. And so it had gone through the ages. The more man learned, the more he realized he did not know.For millennia, worldly concern had wandered in the darkness . . . but now, as had been prophesied, there was a change coming. After hurtling blindly through history, mankind had reached a crossroads. This moment had been predicted long ago, prophesied by the ancient texts, by the primeval calendars, and even by the stars themselves. The date was specific, its reaching imminent. It would be preceded by a brilliant explosion of knowledge . . . a flash of clarity to illuminate the darkness and give mankind a final chance to veer away from the abyss and take the rails of wisdom.I have begin to obscure the light, Malakh thought. This is my role.Fate had linked him to Peter and Katherine Solomon. The breakthroughs Katherine Solomon had made within the SMSC would risk opening floodgates of new thinking, starting a new Renaissance. Katherines revelations, if made public, would become a catalyst that would inspire mankind to rediscover the knowledge he had lost, empowering him beyond all imagination.Katherines destiny is to light this torch.Mine is to extinguish it.CHAPTER 15In total darkness, Katherine Solomon groped for the outer door of her lab. Finding it, she heaved open the lead-lined door and hurried into the small entry room. The go across the void had taken only ninety seconds, and yet her essence was pounding wildly. After three years, youd think Id be used to that. Katherine always felt relieved to escape the blackness of Pod 5 and step into this clean, well-lit space.The Cube was a massive windowless box. Every inch of the interior walls and detonating device was covered with a stiff mesh of titanium-coated lead fiber, giving the whimsy of a giant cage built inside a cementum enclosure. Dividers of frosted Plexiglas separated the space into different compartmentsa laboratory, a control room, a mechanical room, a bathroom, and a small search library.Katherine strode briskly into the main lab. The bright and sterile work space glistened with move quantitative equipment pa ired electro encephalographs, a femtosecond comb, a magneto-optical trap, and quantum-indeterminate electronic noise REGs, more simply known as Random Event Generators.Despite rational Sciences use of cutting-edge technologies, the discoveries themselves were far more mystical than the cold, high-tech machines that were producing them. The gormandize of magic and myth was fast becoming reality as the dread new data poured in, all of it supporting the basic ideology of noetic Sciencethe untapped potential of the humans mind.The overall thesis was undecomposable We have barely scratched the surface of our mental and spiritual capabilities.Experiments at facilities like the Institute of cerebral Sciences (IONS) in California and the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research testing ground (PEAR) had categorically proven that human thought, if properly focused, had the cleverness to affect and change physical mass. Their experiments were no spoon-bending parlor tricks, but rathe r highly controlled inquiries that all produced the same extraordinary result our thoughts actually interacted with the physical world, whether or not we knew it, effecting change all the way down to the subatomic realm.Mind over count.In 2001, in the hours following the horrifying events of September 11, the field of Noetic Science made a quantum leap forward. Four scientists discovered that as the frightened world came together and focused in shared distress on this single tragedy, the outputs of thirty-seven different Random Event Generators well-nigh the world suddenly became significantly less random. Somehow, the oneness of this shared experience, the coalescing of millions of minds, had modify the randomizing function of these machines, organizing their outputs and bringing order from chaos.The shocking discovery, it seemed, paralleled the ancient spiritual look in a cosmic consciousnessa vast coalescing of human intention that was actually capable of interacting with ph ysical matter. Recently, studies in mass hypothesis and prayer had produced similar results in Random Event Generators, fueling the claim that human consciousness, as Noetic author Lynne McTaggart described it, was a shopping centre outside the confines of the body . . . a highly ordered animation capable of changing the physical world. Katherine had been fascinated by McTaggarts book The inclination Experiment, and her global, Web-based study theintentionexperiment.comaimed at discovering how human intention could affect the world. A smattering of other progressive texts had also piqued Katherines interest.From this foundation, Katherine Solomons inquiry had vaulted forward, proving that focused thought could affect literally anythingthe growth rate of plants, the direction that fish swam in a bowl, the manner in which cells divided in a petri dish, the synchrony of separately automated systems, and the chemical reactions in ones own body. Even the luculent structure of a n ewly forming solid was rendered mutable by ones mind Katherine had created beautifully symmetrical ice crystals by sending loving thoughts to a glass of water as it froze. Incredibly, the converse was also true when she sent negative, polluting thoughts to the water, the ice crystals froze in chaotic, fractured forms.Human thought can literally transform the physical world.As Katherines experiments grew b older, her results became more astounding. Her work in this lab had proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that mind over matter was not just some New Age self-help mantra. The mind had the ability to alter the state of matter itself, and, more important, the mind had the power to pull ahead the physical world to move in a specific direction.We are the masters of our own humans.At the subatomic level, Katherine had shown that particles themselves came in and out of existence based solely on her intention to observe them. In a sense, her desire to see a particle . . . manifested that particle. Heisenberg had hinted at this reality decades ago, and now it had be come a fundamental principle of Noetic Science. In the words of Lynne McTaggart Living consciousness somehow is the influence that turns the possibility of something into something real. The most essential ingredient in creating our universe is the consciousness that observes it.The most dumbfounding aspect of Katherines work, however, had been the realization that the minds ability to affect the physical world could be augmented through practice. Intention was a learned skill. Like meditation, harnessing the true power of thought required practice. More important . . . some people were born(p) more skilled at it than others. And throughout history, there had been those few who had become true masters.This is the missing link between modern wisdom and ancient mysticism.Katherine had learned this from her chum, Peter, and now, as her thoughts turned back to him, she felt a deepening concern. She walke d to the labs research library and peered in. Empty.The library was a small reading roomtwo Morris chairs, a wooden table, two floor lamps, and a wall of mahogany bookshelves that held some five hundred books. Katherine and Peter had pooled their favourite(a) texts here, writings on everything from particle physics to ancient mysticism. Their collection had full-grown into an eclectic fusion of new and old . . . of cutting-edge and historical. Most of Katherines books jade titles like Quantum Consciousness, The New Physics, and Principles of Neural Science. Her brothers bore older, more esoteric titles like the Kybalion, the Zohar, The Dancing Wu Li Masters, and a translation of the Sumerian tablets from the British Museum.The recognise to our scientific early, her brother often said, is hidden in our past. A long scholar of history, science, and mysticism, Peter had been the first to encourage Katherine to boost her university science precept with an takeing of early Hermeti c philosophy. She had been only nineteen years old when Peter sparked her interest in the link between modern science and ancient mysticism.So tell me, Kate, her brother had asked while she was home on vacation during her sophomore year at Yale. What are Elis reading these days in theoretical physics?Katherine had stood in her familys book-filled library and recited her demanding reading list.Impressive, her brother replied. Einstein, Bohr, and Hawking are modern geniuses. But are you reading anything older?Katherine scratched her head. You mean like . . . north?He smiled. Keep going. At twenty-seven, Peter had already made a name for himself in the academic world, and he and Katherine had grown to savor this kind of playful intellectual sparring.Older than Newton? Katherines head now filled with distant names like Ptolemy, Pythagoras, and Hermes Trismegistus. cypher reads that stuff anymore.Her brother ran a finger down the long shelf of cracked leather bindings and old dusty t omes. The scientific wisdom of the ancients was staggering . . . modern physics is only now beginning to comprehend it all.Peter, she said, you already told me that the Egyptians understood levers and pulleys long before Newton, and that the early alchemists did work on a par with modern chemistry, but so what? Todays physics deals with concepts that would have been insufferable to the ancients.Like what?Well . . . like entanglement theory, for one Subatomic research had now proven categorically that all matter was interconnected . . . involved in a single unified mesh . . . a kind of universal oneness. Youre telling me the ancients sat around discussing entanglement theory? short Peter said, pushing his long, dark bangs out of his eyes. Entanglement was at the impression of primeval beliefs. Its names are as old as history itself . . . Dharmakaya, Tao, Brahman. In fact, mans oldest spiritual quest was to perceive his own entanglement, to sense his own interconnection with all th ings. He has always wanted to become one with the universe . . . to achieve the state of at-one-ment. Her brother raised his eyebrows. To this day, Jews and Christians still strive for atonement . . . although most of us have forgotten it is actually at- one-ment were seeking.Katherine sighed, having forgotten how hard it was to fight with a man so well versed in history. Okay, but youre talking in generalities. Im talking specific physics.Then be specific. His stinging eyes challenged her now.Okay, how about something as simple as polaritythe despotic/negative balance of the subatomic realm. Obviously, the ancients didnt understHold on Her brother pulled down a large dusty text, which he dropped loudly on the library table. Modern polarity is nothing but the dual world described by Krishna here in the Bhagavad Gita over two thousand years ago. A dozen other books in here, including the Kybalion, talk about binary systems and the opposing forces in temperament.Katherine was sk eptical. Okay, but if we talk about modern discoveries in subatomicsthe Heisenberg perplexity principle, for exampleThen we must look here, Peter said, striding down his long bookshelf and pulling out another text. The sacred Hindu Vendantic scriptures known as the Upanishads. He dropped the tome heavily on the first. Heisenberg and Schrodinger studied this text and credited it with destiny them formulate some of their theories.The showdown continued for several minutes, and the stack of dusty books on the desk grew taller and taller. Finally Katherine threw up her hands in frustration. Okay You made your point, but I want to study cutting-edge theoretical physics. The future of science I really doubt Krishna or Vyasa had much to say about superstring theory and multidimensional cosmological models.Youre right. They didnt. Her brother paused, a smile crossing his lips. If youre talking superstring theory . . . He wandered over to the bookshelf yet again. Then youre talking this b ook here. He heaved out a colossal leather-bound book and dropped it with a crash onto the desk. Thirteenth-century translation of the original medieval Aramaic.Superstring theory in the thirteenth century? Katherine wasnt buying it. Come onSuperstring theory was a brand-new cosmological model. Based on the most recent scientific observations, it suggested the multidimensional universe was made up not of three . . . but rather of ten dimensions, which all interacted like vibrating strings, similar to resonating fiddle strings.Katherine waited as her brother heaved open the book, ran through the ornately printed table of contents, and then flipped to a spot near the beginning of the book. Read this. He pointed to a faded page of text and diagrams.Dutifully, Katherine studied the page. The translation was old-fashioned and very hard to read, but to her utter amazement, the text and drawings clearly outlined the comminuted same universe heralded by modern superstring theorya ten-dimen sional universe of resonating strings. As she continued reading, she suddenly gasped and recoiled. My God, it even describes how six of the dimensions are entangled and act as one? She took a frightened step backward. What is this book?Her brother grinned. Something Im hoping youll read one day. He flipped back to the title page, where an ornately printed plate bore three words.The Complete Zohar.Although Katherine had never read the Zohar, she knew it was the fundamental text of early Jewish mysticism, once believed so potent that it was reserved only for the most erudite rabbis.Katherine eyed the book. Youre formula the early mystics knew their universe had ten dimensions?Absolutely. He motioned to the pages illustration of ten intertwined circles called Sephiroth. Obviously, the linguistic communication is esoteric, but the physics is very advanced.Katherine didnt know how to respond. But . . . then why dont more people study this?Her brother smiled. They will.I dont understand .Katherine, we have been born into wonderful times. A change is coming. Human beings are poised on the threshold of a new age when they will begin routine their eyes back to nature and to the old ways . . . back to the ideas in books like the Zohar and other ancient texts from around the world. Powerful truth has its own gravity and eventually pulls people back to it. There will come a day when modern science begins in earnest to study the wisdom of the ancients . . . that will be the day that mankind begins to find answers to the spectacular questions that still elude him.That night, Katherine eagerly began reading her brothers ancient texts and quickly came to understand that he was right. The ancients possessed profound scientific wisdom. Todays science was not so much making discoveries as it was making rediscoveries. Mankind, it seemed, had once grasped the true nature of the universe . . . but had let go . . . and forgotten.Modern physics can help us remember This quest had b ecome Katherines mission in lifeto use advanced science to rediscover the lost wisdom of the ancients. It was more than academic thrill that kept her motivated. Beneath it all was her disapprobation that the world needed this understanding . . . now more than ever. At the rear of the lab, Katherine saw her brothers white lab coat hanging on its hornswoggle along with her own. Reflexively, she pulled out her phone to check for messages. Nothing. A voice echoed again in her memory. That which your brother believes is hidden in D.C. . . . it can be found. sometimes a legend that endures for centuries . . . endures for a reason.No, Katherine said aloud. It cant possibly be real.sometimes a legend was just thata legend.