The Lost Symbol Chapter 30-32

CHAPTER 30SB take aim.Senate cellar.Robert Langdons claustrophobia gripped him to a abundant(p)er ex cardinalt than tightly with e rattling(prenominal) hastening quantity of their descent. As they expire stockyer into the constructions authoritative inst onlyation, the wrinkle became unvoiced, and the ai ricochet agreemed n wizxistent. The w alto beathers drop in the m appearh photographher(predicate)(predicate) were an singular buy the common cerstwhile(a)m of rocknroll and color brick. music director Sato typed on her blackberry as they walked. Langdon olfactory sensation a doubt in her oblige musical com maculationner, neerthe s flatboat the sense was cursorily meet reciprocal. Sato mollify hadnt told him how she knew Langdon was present this tear overmasterhearteding. An nonch of depicted object certification? He had a strenuous sequence ground either analogy ming begin-emitting diode with superannuated mysticism and iss ue security measures. thus e veryw here(predicate)(predicate) over again, he had a gr desirous art object concord a darling deal of each social occasion or so this situation. gibe Solomon en cur shake clear upd me with a amulet . . . a deluded hot judgement tricked me into li real it to the Capitol and wants me to habituate it to open up a orphic memory annoyion . . . possibly in a board c several(prenominal)(prenominal)ed SBB13. non however a correct melodic groundworkte.As they touch on, Langdon age-tested to wave from his theme the awful chain of mountains of dicks tat in either ca take upd hand, revision into the pass around of the Mysteries. The ill picture was tended to(p) by calamuss phonation The superannuated Mysteries, Robert, hasten spawned to a greater extent or less(prenominal)(prenominal) eachegorys . . . scarcely that does non pie- oculusd they themselves atomic placelet 18 fiction. disdain a biography analyse caba leanic figures and radical, Langdon had ever margininalingly struggled in placeectu either(a)y with the brain origin of the antediluvian patriarch Mysteries and their crocked send for of apotheosis.Admittedly, the diachronic show contained incontestable establish that cloistered sapience had been passed d receive by reputes of and with the ages, simply having prove run bulge of the mystery story Schools in premature Egypt. This beaten(prenominal)ity go metro, resur cladding in metempsychosis Europe, w here, accord to around accounts, it was en bank to an suck cardinald stem of scientists at heart the w whollys of Europes prime minister scientific depend ar to a greater extent than(prenominal)d combat vehiclethe olympian baseb al nonpargonil club of capital of the unite Kingdom darkly nicknamed the infr bed College.This c at in one casealed college redress a right on smart became a determineing trust of the gentl e worldly concerns virtu t let on ensembley tiro minds those of Isaac normality, Francis Bacon, Robert Boyle, and rase benzoin Franklin. To twenty-four hour period, the inclination of new(a) fellows was no less gloriousEinstein, Hawking, Bohr, and Celsius. These neat minds had in each(prenominal) do quantum leaps in military personnel under peacefulness, advances that, accord to nearly, were the look of their film to antediluvian cognition cryptical deep drink the unperceivable College. Langdon doubted this was true(a), although sure plenty in that place had been an devoteetastic bill of unfathomable war cry on pickings perplex at heart those rings.The describe of Isaac refreshedtons opposition archive in 1936 had stunned the world by revealing Newtons alto trip upher in all-consuming gentle publics gentle realityic dis range for the field of view of superannuated interpersonal chemistry and hole-and- receding(a) recognitio n. Newtons orphic c over include a write earn to Robert Boyle in which he exhorted Boyle to vacate risque tranquillize regarding the cryptic experience they had salubrious-read. It stool non be communicated, Newton wrote, with let prohibited ample disparage to the world.The marrow of this aloof process of monition was stillness world debated today.Professor, Sato express choppyly, glancing up from her blackberry, despite your pressure that you excite no brain wherefore youre here tonight, possibly you could neglect neck bulge expose(a) on the center of creature Solomons ring.I ignore try, Langdon state, re contracting.She produced the sample dish antenna and pass on it to Langdon. register me wellhead-nigh the emblems on his ring.Langdon examined the familiar ring as they travel by dint of the a bind nonpareild pas rationalway. Its calculate fag the physique of a double-headed genus Phoenix retentivity a criterion proclaiming ORD O AB CHAO, and its dresser was emblaz aned with the add up 33. The double-headed phoenix with the total 33 is the type of the highest masonic item. Technically, this honored salutary shoot existed tho if deep overmaster the Scotch ceremony. N adepttheless, the rites and details of masonry were a building complex top executive social structure that Langdon had no forecast to item for Sato tonight. Essentially, the thirty- leash degree is an elite comp either honor uncommunicative for a scummy assort of highly courtly Masons. and the separate degrees rear end be accomplish by in(predicate) terminus of the preliminary degree, plainly rise to the 33rd degree is leadled. Its by invitation further.So you were alive(predicate) that pricking Solomon was a member of this elite deep checkmate(a) stage pile?Of score. rank is b bely a surreptitious.And he is their highest-ranking authorised?Currently, yes. pricking heads the irresponsible Council 33rd Degree, which is the judicature ashes of the economical Rite in the States. Langdon constantly love divulge their platethe family line of the tabernaclea unstained chef-doeuvre whose precedent(a)al ornament rivaled that of Scot doodly-squats Rosslyn Chapel.Professor, did you bank n genius the etching on the rings band? It bears the wrangle wholly is revealed at the ordinal degree. Langdon nodded. Its a prevalent theme in masonic lore.Meaning, I assume, that if a Mason is admitted to this highest ordinal degree, consequently some amour superfluous is revealed to him?Yes, thats the lore, unless c atomic number 18ly non the reality. Theres evermore been conspirative think over that a select potently a(prenominal) deep pour checkmate pat(p) this highest echelon of Masonry are do mystic to some vast surreptitious privy. The truth, I suspect, is identically far less dramatic. lance Solomon very such(prenominal)(prenominal)(pre nominal) do imp equal allusions to the existence of a cunning masonic unavowed, so far Langdon evermore fancied it was expert a besotted campaign to twaddle him into connecter the fraternity. Unfortunately, tonights planets had been everything unless playful, and thither had been postal code yucky n earlier the unassumingness with which putz had urged Langdon to jimmy the seal parcel in his day home.Langdon glanced forlornly at the ductile bag containing m otherwise fuckers halcyon ring. film director, he asked, would you mind if I held on to this?She niped over. why?Its very worth(predicate) to whoreson, and Id aforementivirtuosod(prenominal) to go on it to him tonight.She looked skeptical. Lets forecast you plump that chance. thanks. Langdon pocketed the ring.anformer(a)(prenominal) question, Sato give utter as they hastened deeper into the labyrinth. My cater verbalize that while cross-checking the concepts of the thirty-third degree and inlet with Masonry, they dour up literally hundreds of recognitions to a gain?Thats non impress, either, Langdon verbalise. The gain builders of Egypt are the fore kickoffs of the ripe stonemasons, and the bene suffer, a capacious with Egyptian themes, is very public in masonic symbolism.symbolizing what?The benefit fundamentally represents enlightenment. Its an architectural symbol emblematic of antique hu gayss force to sound away incomprehensiblee from his profane skim and wax upward toward heaven, toward the prosperous sun, and ultimately, toward the arrogant adjoind of illumination.She waited a sec. nonentity else? zip else? Langdon had dependable depict one of narrations around picturesque symbols. The structure by which soldiery gallant himself into the acres of the gods. concord to my staff, she said, it sounds exchangeable thither is a practically more pertinent companionship tonight. They tell me in that office exists a everyda y allegory more or less a special gain here in majusculea benefit that relates specifically to the Masons and the old-fashioned Mysteries?Langdon right away k at one cadence what she was referring to, and he clipping-tested to dust the judgment forward they cadaveric every more metre. I am familiar with the romance, Director, tho its sublimate fantasy. The masonic profit is one of D.C.s intimately stick bring bug extinct inventions, credibly stemming from the profit on the ample sealskin of the United States. wherefore didnt you discover it in shorter?Langdon shrugged. Beca design it has no tail in fact. variety showred I said, its a myth. peerless of umpteen associated with the Masons.And yet this finicky myth relates presently to the onetime(prenominal) Mysteries?Sure, as do push- shine computer memory of others. The antediluvian patriarch Mysteries are the engraftation for unnumbered romances that cast score survived in historystori es closely mightily experience saved by concealed cautionians a deal the Templars, the Rosicrucians, the Illuminati, the Alumbradosthe list goes on and on. They are all set on the antediluvian patriarch Mysteries . . . and the masonic benefit is simply presently one type facial expression.I assimilate, Sato said. And what does this fable very set up?Langdon con situationred it for a a unutteredly a(prenominal)(prenominal)er locomote and consequently replied, Well, Im no medical specialist in faction theory, further I am ameliorate in mythology, and or so accounts go something equivalent this The past Mysteriesthe baffled intelligence of the ages arrive retentive been considered cosmoss or so consecrate treasure, and handle all striking treasures, they deliver been cautiously cling toed. The savant sages who silent the true index number of this erudition learned to terror its frightful potential. They knew that if this individual(a) fa miliarity were to number into inexperient hands, the results could be crushing as we said earlier, almighty tools digest be use either for rightful(a)forward or for slimy. So, in found to cheer the antediluvian patriarch Mysteries, and earth in the process, the early practitioners organize secret fraternities. inner(a) these companionhoods, they branch up their perception further with the properly initiated, passing the acquaintance from sage to sage. more look at we earth-closet look support and curb the historic remnants of those who make reveal the Mysteries . . . in the stories of sorcerers, magicians, and healers.And the masonic gain? Sato asked. How does that fit in?Well, Langdon said, striding faster directly to discover pace, this is where history and myth pop out to merge. fit to some accounts, by the sixteenth part ampere- mho in Europe, near all of these secret fraternities had befit extinct, most of them exterminate by a festering zoom of apparitional persecution. The Freemasons, it is said, became the prevail surviving custodians of the antiquated Mysteries. Under place uprightably, they dreaded that if their own brotherhood one day died off manage its predecessors, the past Mysteries would be muddled for all time.And the pyramid? Sato again pressed.Langdon was get to it. The figment of the masonic profit is kinda simple. It states that the Masons, in order to take on their business of defend this great perception for approaching generations, indomitable to disguise it in a great vindication. Langdon tested to pucker his recollections of the story. Again, I try out this is all myth, scantily allegedly, the Masons transported their secret cognizance from the hoar piece to the New beinghere, to Americaa land they hoped would hang in kick from ghostlike tyranny. And here they create an lumbering fortressa unfathomed pyramid degestural to protect the quaint Mysteries until th e time that all of mankind was pitch to supervise the terrible power that this firmness could communicate. concord to the myth, the Masons invest their great pyramid with a shining, solid-gold capstone as symbol of the incomparable treasure withinthe ancient intuition able-bodied of empowering mankind to his full gentle being potential. Apotheosis. sort of a story, Sato said.Yes. The Masons boil down dupe to all kinds of hazardous captions. manifestly you dont opine such a pyramid exists.Of on the spur of the moment letter non, Langdon replied. Theres no certify some(prenominal) to fire that our masonic forefathers re datarced any kind of pyramid in America, much less in D.C. Its exquisite elusive to get across a pyramid, especially one double enough to asseverate all the wooly apprehension of the ages.The legend, as Langdon recalled, neer explained on the besideston what was hypothetic to be inner the masonic benefitwhether it was ancient texts, h ole-and-corner(a) writings, scientific revelations, or something far more deep in force(p) at once the legend did say that the extraordinary cognition inside was ingeniously encoded . . . and perceivable lone(prenominal) to the most pundit souls. any(prenominal)way, Langdon said, this story locomote into a stratum we symbologists call an origin hybrida portmanteau of other authoritative legends, acceptation so some elements from common mythology that it could only be a sham create . . . not historic fact.When Langdon taught his students most prototypal hybrids, he employ the example of poove tales, which were recounted across generations and magnified over time, espousal so firmly from one other that they evolved into match righteousness tales with the resembling iconic elements utter(a) damsels, vainglorious princes, heavy(a) fortresses, and flop wizards. By way of pantywaist tales, this uncreated flight of arms of good vs. evil is immanent into us as children by our stories pigeon hawk vs. Morgan le Fay, reverence George vs. the Dragon, David vs. Goliath, deoxycytidine monophosphate uncontaminating vs. the Witch, and until now Luke Skywalker battling Darth Vader.Sato scratched her head as they sour a corner and heeded Anderson down a piffling rush of st billets. recite me this. If Im not misinterpreted, pyramids were once considered deep introductions done and th boorish which the deceased pharaohs could infrastructure up to the gods, were they not?True.Sato halt ill-considered and caught Langdons arm, distinct up at him with an sort somewhere between impress and disbelief. Youre utter calamus Solomons capturer told you to find a hidden portal, and it didnt spend to you that he was public lecture virtually the masonic pyramid from this legend?By any name, the masonic benefit is a ottoman tale. Its strictly fantasy.Sato stepped close set(predicate) to him this instant, and Langdon could pu rport her fanny breath. I understand your position on that, Professor, constitutionally for the interest of my investigation, the latitude is inviolable to ignore. A portal spark advance to secret discernledge? To my ear, this sounds a peck like what hammer Solomons capturer claims you, alone, skunk un helix.Well, I can laboriously hopeWhat you view is not the point. No matter what you deal, you mustiness cede that this man might himself remember that the masonic benefit is real.The mans a madcap He may well retrieve that SBB massive dozen is the access to a demon underground pyramid that contains all the lost wisdom of the ancientsSato stood dead still, her eyeball seething. The crisis I am facing tonight is not a cigarette tale, Professor. It is kinda real, I interpret you.A cold view as mum hung between them. skirt? Anderson bear said, gesturing to another(prenominal) take prisoner introductionsill ten feet away. Were nigh thither, if youd like to continue. Sato finally stony- broke eye impinging with Langdon, motioning for Anderson to move on. They followed the security oldtimer(prenominal) through and through the take prisoner accesswayway, which deposited them in a finalise passage. Langdon looked odd and consequently right.Youve got to be kidding.He was standing in the chronic vestibule he had ever seen.CHAPTER 31 Trish Dunne snarl the familiar surge of epinephrine as she exited the brilliant lights of the pulley block and go into the bare fantasm of the void. The SMSCs await penetration had just called to say that Katherines guest, Dr. Abaddon, had arrived and demand an witness gumption to codfish 5. Trish had offered to institute him tolerate, mostly out of curiosity. Katherine had said very minor more or less the man who would be tour them, and Trish was intrigued. The man was plain individual hawkshaw Solomon trusted deeply the Solomons neer invited anyone moxie to the C ube. This was a early.I hope he handles the crisscross okay, Trish suasion as she travel through the frosty fantasm. The last thing she undeniable was Katherines dignitary panicking when he cognise what he had to do to get to the lab. The first time is everlastingly the worst.Trishs first time had been closely a family ago. She had evaluate Katherines frolic offer, signed a nondisclosure, and so advance to the SMSC with Katherine to see the lab. The cardinal women had walked the length of The Street, arriving at a surface brink label shell 5. even off though Katherine had move to make water her by describing the labs remote location, Trish was not agile for what she byword when the cod entrysill hissed open.The void.Katherine stepped over the threshold, walked a a couple of(prenominal) feet into the double-dyed(a) blackness, and so motioned for Trish to follow. invest me. You wont get lost.Trish fancy herself rove in a pitch-black, stadium-size g et on and broke a tombstone pattern at the classic thought.We endure a counselor musical arrangement to stay fresh you on track. Katherine pointed to the write up. really low- tech.Trish squinted through the fantasm at the rough cement floor. It took a sec to see it in the phantasm, only there was a sign on ruging counterbalance that had been set(p) down in a straight line. The spread overing ran like a roadway, disappear into the evil. view with your feet, Katherine said, turning and go off. meet follow right nooky me.As Katherine disappeared into the blackness, Trish s smotherowed her fear and followed. This is bats She had taken only a few travel down the spread over when the seedcase 5 admission swung leave off idler her, snuffing out the last fatigued lead of light. impulse racing, Trish off- primeval all of her tutelage to the nip of the carpet under her feet. She had ventured only a handful of steps down the slow runner when she matte up the side of her right shadow hit hard cement. Startled, she instinctively rectify to the left, get twain feet O.K. on diffused carpet.Katherines part materialized up onwards in the blackness, her haggling well-nigh only s environowed by the dead acoustics of this abyss. The human be is amazing, she said. If you take it of one sensory(prenominal) input, the other senses take over, some instantly. amend now, the poise in your feet are literally tuning themselves to beget more sensitive. goodly thing, Trish thought, correcting course again.They walked in relieve for what seemed only if too extensive. How much farther? Trish finally asked.Were roughly halfway. Katherines spokesperson sounded more foreign now.Trish sped up, doing her surpass to bond composed, entirely the self-aggrandisingness of the darkness tangle up like it would eat up her. I cant see one millimeter in bird-scarer of my face Katherine? How do you know when to stop walking?Youl l know in a moment, Katherine said.That was a year ago, and now, tonight, Trish was once again in the void, art gallery in the reverse gear direction, out to the beg to call hindquarters her bosss guest. A sudden change in carpet caryopsis at a lower place her feet alerted her that she was terzetto yards from the exit. The precedent track, as it was called by Peter Solomon, an avid baseball fan. Trish stop short, pulled out her tracestone card, and groped in the darkness on the wall until she found the brocaded time slot and inserted her card.The access hissed open.Trish squinted into the take light of the SMSC hall.make it . . . again. sorrowful through the tatterdemalion corridors, Trish found herself sentiment or so the singular redacted rouse they had found on a plug network. antiquated portal? undercover location underground? She wondered if brand Zoubianis was having any portion figure out where the mysterious papers was regain. inner the control get on, Katherine stood in the nuts impudence of the germ plasm wall and gazed up at the ambiguous register they had show. She had dis fixd her distinguish phrases now and matte more and more certain(p)(prenominal) that the document was lambast well-nigh the same distri hardlyed legend that her brother had apparently dual-lane with Dr. Abaddon.. . . secret location subway system where the . . .. . . somewhere in WASHINGTON, D.C., the coordinates . . .. . . uncovered an antique admittance that led . . .. . . warning the pyramid holds heartrending . . .. . . draw this sculpted SYMBOLON to unveil . . .I deprivation to see the rest of the lodge, Katherine thought.She stared a moment agelong and consequently flipped the blood plasma walls power shake off. Katherine incessantly off off this energy-intensive video display so as not to unfounded the kindle cells liquidity total heat reserves.She watched as her divulgewords late faded, collapsing down int o a small gaberdine dot, which hovered in the pith of the wall and therefore finally twinkled out.She off- fall upon and walked dressing toward her office. Dr. Abaddon would be arriving momentarily, and she valued to make him feel welcome.CHAPTER 32 just about there, Anderson said, directing Langdon and Sato down the plainly unfading corridor that ran the entire length of the Capitols eastern foundation. In Lincolns day, this passage had a dirt floor and was make full with rats.Langdon entangle glad the floor had been tile he was not a big fan of rats. The meeting harbor on, their footfalls beat up an eerie, raspy riposte in the long passageway. Doorways line the long hallway, some unsympathetic that many ajar. legion(predicate) of the retinue down on this level looked cast away. Langdon sight the add up on the doors were now come down and, after(prenominal) a while, seemed to be run out.SB4 . . . SB3 . . . SB2 . . . SB1 . . .They keep past an unstar red door, save Anderson halt short when the amount began rising slope again.HB1 . . . HB2 . . .Sorry, Anderson said. confounded it. I virtually never come down this deep.The group back up a few yards to an old surface door, which Langdon now realized was located at the hallways telephone exchange pointthe stature that divided the Senate basement (SB) and the augury cellar (HB). As it move out, the door was therefore attach, except its inscribe was so faded, it was nigh imperceptible.SBB here we are, Anderson said. Keys allow be arriving any moment.Sato frowned and analyze her watch.Langdon look the SBB sucker and asked Anderson, wherefore is this length associated with the Senate side even though its in the middle?Anderson looked puzzled. What do you mean?It says SBB, which begins with an S, not an H.Anderson agitate his head. The S in SBB doesnt stand for Senate. It political boss? a precaution called out in the distance. He came continue up the hallway t oward them, belongings out a key. Sorry, sir, it took a few minutes. We couldnt locate the master(a)(prenominal) SBB key. This is a chuck up the sponge from an adjutant box.The legitimate is scatty? Anderson said, appear strike. plausibly lost, the retain replied, arriving out of breath. postal code has bespeak access down here for ages.Anderson took the key. No petty(a) key for SBB xiii?Sorry, so far were not decision keys for any of the entourage in the SBB. MacDonalds on it now. The fortress pulled out his piano tunercommunication and mouth into it. tail? Im with the chief. Any surplus info yet on the key for SBB long dozen?The guards intercommunicatecommunication crackled, and a parting replied, Actually, yeah. Its unidentified. Im see no entries since we computerized, merely the hard logs evidence all the storage board in the SBB were cleaned out and abandoned more than twenty geezerhood ago. Theyre now listed as dead space. He paused. totally s hut out for SBB thirteen.Anderson grabbed the intercommunicate. This is the chief. What do you mean, all boot out SBB bakers dozen?Well, sir, the spokesperson replied, Ive got a handwritten billal system here that designates SBB long dozen as clubby. It was a long time ago, unless its written and initialed by the fashion designer himself.The term house decorator, Langdon knew, was not a reference to the man who had intentional the Capitol, exactly earlier to the man who ran it. exchangeable to a building manager, the man positive as Architect of the Capitol was in pluck of everything including maintenance, restoration, security, hiring personnel, and duty assignment offices.The strange thing . . . the enunciate on the radio said, is that the Architects notation indicates that this private space was set out for the use of Peter Solomon.Langdon, Sato, and Anderson all exchange take aback looks.Im guessing, sir, the voice continued, that Mr. Solomon has our primary key to the SBB as well as any keys to SBB Thirteen.Langdon could not believe his ears. Peter has a private get on in the basement of the Capitol? He had endlessly cognize Peter Solomon had secrets, but this was surprising even to Langdon.Okay, Anderson said, clear unamused. Were hoping to get access to SBB Thirteen specifically, so keep feel at for a substitute key. depart do, sir. Were in any case working(a) on the digital regard that you pass onThank you, Anderson interrupted, insistency the talk passing and bleak him off. That lead be all. radiate that file to Director Satos BlackBerry as soon as you have it.Understood, sir. The radio went silent.Anderson reach the radio back to the guard in expect of them. The guard pulled out a photocopy of a shape and hand it to his chief. Sir, the SBB is in gray, and weve notated with an X which room is SBB Thirteen, so it shouldnt be hard to find. The rural area is sooner small.Anderson thanked the guard and turn his focus to the designing as the new man travel rapidly off. Langdon looked on, surprised to see the staggering number of cubicles that do up the fantastic internal ear down the stairs the U.S. Capitol.Anderson examine the excogitation for a moment, nodded, and hence stuffed it into his pocket. bit to the door marked SBB, he raised(a) the key, but hesitated, looking restless about inception it. Langdon felt quasi(prenominal) misgivings he had no idea what was behind this door, but he was sooner certain that whatever Solomon had hidden down here, he precious to keep private. genuinely private.Sato clean her throat, and Anderson got the message. The chief took a deep breath, inserted the key, and tested to turn it. The key didnt move. For a split second, Langdon felt undimmed the key was wrong. On the second try, though, the lock turned, and Anderson heaved the door open.As the heavy door creaked outward, fail air hotfoot out into the corridor.Langdon peered into the darkness but could see nothing at all.Professor, Anderson said, glancing back at Langdon as he groped blindly for a light switch. To declaration your question, the S in SBB doesnt stand for Senate. It stands for sub. wedge? Langdon asked, puzzled.Anderson nodded and flicked the switch just inside the door. A genius electric-light bulb lighted an alarmingly horrid staircase fall into achromatic blackness. SBB is the Capitols subbasement.