Angels Demons Chapter 49-50

49Langdon and Vittoria stood al one at present outside the doubled doors that led to the familiar sanctum of the Secret Archives. The interior decoration in the colonnade was an incongruous mix of wall-to-wall carpets over marble floors and radio receiver security cameras gazing down from beside carved cherubs in the ceiling. Langdon dubbed it Sterile Renaissance. Beside the arched unveiling hung a small bronze plaque.ARCHIVIO VATICANOCuratore Padre Jaqui TomasoFather Jaqui Tomaso. Langdon recognise the curators let out from the rejection letter at home in his desk.Dear Mr. Langdon, It is with regret that I am writing to denyRegret. Bulls despatch. Since Jaqui Tomasos reign had begun, Langdon had never met a atomic act 53 non-Catholic American scholar who had been given access to the Secret Vatican Archives. Il gaurdiano, historians called him. Jaqui Tomaso was the toughest bibliothec on earth.As Langdon pushed the doors open and stepped through the vaulted portal into the in ner sanctum, he half expected to view Father Jaqui in full moon mi well-lightedary fatigues and helmet standing guard with a bazooka. The space, however, was deserted.Silence. Soft clear uping.Archivio Vaticano. ace of his life dreams.As Langdons eyes took in the inspirational chamber, his first reception was one of embarrassment. He tangibleized what a callow ro humanstic he was. The images he had held for so m any(prenominal) a nonher(prenominal) days of this inhabit could not ca-ca been more inaccurate. He had imagined dusty bookshelves piled high with tattered volumes, priests cataloging by the light of candles and stained-glass windows, monks poring over scrollsNot even close.At first glance the room appe atomic number 18d to be a darkened airline hangar in which individual had built a dozen free-standing racquetball courts. Langdon knew of course what the glass-walled enclosures were. He was not surprise to see them humidness and heat eroded antediluvian vellum s and parchments, and proper delivery required hermitic vaults like these airtight cubicles that kept out humidness and natural acids in the air. Langdon had been inside hermetic vaults many clips, comely forthwith it was everlastingly an unsettling experience some subject active entering an airtight container w here(predicate) the oxygen was regulated by a annexe librarian.The vaults were dark, ghostly even, faintly outlined by circumstantial dome lights at the end of apiece stack. In the blackness of each cell, Langdon sensed the phantom whales, row upon row of towering stacks, laden with explanation. This was one hell of a collection.Vittoria also seemed dazzled. She stood beside him staring mutely at the giant transparent cubes.Time was short, and Langdon wasted none of it scanning the dimly lit room for a book catalog a bound encyclopaedia that cataloged the librarys collection. each(prenominal) he saw was the glow of a handful of information processing system terminals dotting the room. Looks like theyve got a Biblion. Their index is computerized.Vittoria looked hopeful. That should speed things up.Langdon wished he shared her enthusiasm, redeem he sensed this was bad news. He walked to a terminal and began typing. His fears were today confirmed. The gaga-fashioned method would befuddle been better.Why?He stepped back from the monitor. Because real books dont produce password protection. I dont suppose physicists are natural born(p) hackers?Vittoria shook her head. I can open oysters, thats to the highest degree it.Langdon took a intricate breath and turned to face the eerie collection of diaphanous vaults. He walked to the nearest one and squinted into the dim interior. Inside the glass were amorphous shapes Langdon recognized as the usual bookshelves, parchment bins, and examination tables. He looked up at the indicator tabs glowing at the end of each stack. As in all libraries, the tabs indicated the con decennaryts of that r ow. He acquire the headings as he travel down the transparent barrier.Pietro Il Erimito Le Crociate Urbano II LevantTheyre labeled, he said, still walking. still its not alpha-author. He wasnt surprised. Ancient archives were to the highest degree never cataloged alphabetically because so many of the authors were un get a go at itn. Titles didnt course either because many historical documents were untitled letters or parchment fragments. Most cataloging was make chrono crystal clearly. Disc at one timertingly, however, this arrangement did not appear to be chronological.Langdon mat precious time already slipping a delegacy. Looks like the Vatican has its own system.What a surprise.He examined the labels again. The documents spanned centuries, only all the keywords, he realized, were interrelated. I venture its a thematic classification.thematic? Vittoria said, sounding like a disapproving scientist. Sounds inefficient.Actually Langdon thought, considering it more closely. T his whitethorn be the shrewdest cataloging Ive ever seen. He had al fashions urged his students to understand the overall tones and motifs of an esthetic period rather than getting lost in the minutia of dates and specific works. The Vatican Archives, it seemed, were cataloged on a similar philosophy. Broad strokesEverything in this vault, Langdon said, seeing more footsure now, centuries of material, has to do with the Crusades. Thats this vaults theme. It was all here, he realized. Historical accounts, letters, artwork, socio-political data, modern analyses. All in one place encouraging a deeper understanding of a topic. Brilliant.Vittoria frowned. But data can relate to multiple themes simultaneously.Which is why they cross-reference with legate markers. Langdon pointed through the glass to the colorful plastic tabs inserted among the documents. Those indicate secondary documents specify elsewhere with their primary themes.Sure, she said, apparently letting it go. She put he r hands on her hips and surveyed the enormous space. Then she looked at Langdon. So, Professor, whats the name of this Galileo thing were looking for?Langdon couldnt tending but smile. He still couldnt fathom that he was standing in this room. Its in here, he thought. Somewhere in the dark, its waiting.Follow me, Langdon said. He started briskly down the first gangway, examining the indicator tabs of each vault. Remember how I t gaga you about the Path of Illumination? How the Illuminati recruited new members using an elaborate test?The take account hunt, Vittoria said, following closely.The challenge the Illuminati had was that after they placed the markers, they needed some way to tell the scientific community the row existed.Logical, Vittoria said. Otherwise nobody would know to look for it.Yes, and even if they knew the path existed, scientists would pass on no way of keen where the path began. Rome is huge.Okay.Langdon proceeded down the succeeding(a) aisle, scanning the tabs as he talked. About fifteen years ago, some historians at the Sorbonne and I unveil a series of Illuminati letters filled with references to the segno.The sign. The announcement about the path and where it began.Yes. And since then, plenty of Illuminati academics, myself included, have uncovered other references to the segno. It is accepted theory now that the clue exists and that Galileo mass distributed it to the scientific community without the Vatican ever knowing.How?Were not sure, but most likely printed publications. He published many books and newsletters over the years.That the Vatican no doubt saw. Sounds dangerous.True. nonetheless the segno was distributed.But nobody has ever actually piece it?No. Oddly though, wherever allusions to the segno appear Masonic diaries, ancient scientific journals, Illuminati letters it is often referred to by a number.666?Langdon smiled. Actually its 503.Meaning?None of us could ever figure it out. I became fascinated with 503, tr ying everything to interpret loadeding in the number numerology, map references, latitudes. Langdon reached the end of the aisle, turned the corner, and travel rapidly to scan the next row of tabs as he spoke. For many years the only clue seemed to be that 503 began with the number five one of the sacred Illuminati digits. He paused.Something tells me you recently count on it out, and thats why were here.Correct, Langdon said, allowing himself a rare hour of pride in his work. Are you familiar with a book by Galileo called Dialogo?Of course. Famous among scientists as the ultimate scientific sellout.Sellout wasnt quite the word Langdon would have used, but he knew what Vittoria meant. In the early 1630s, Galileo had wanted to publish a book endorsing the Copernican helio central model of the solar system, but the Vatican would not permit the books release unless Galileo included followly persuasive evidence for the churchs geo centric model a model Galileo knew to be dead d amage. Galileo had no pickax but to acquiesce to the churchs demands and publish a book giving equal time to both the accurate and inaccurate models.As you probably know, Langdon said, condescension Galileos compromise, Dialogo was still seen as heretical, and the Vatican placed him under house arrest.No good enough deed goes unpunished.Langdon smiled. So true. And yet Galileo was persistent. While under house arrest, he secretly wrote a lesser-known manuscript that scholars often confuse with Dialogo. That book is called Discorsi.Vittoria nodded. Ive comprehend of it. Discourses on the Tides.Langdon stopped short, a internal eard she had heard of the unappreciated publication about planetary motion and its effect on the tides.Hey, she said, youre talk to an Italian shipboard soldier physicist whose father worshiped Galileo.Langdon laughed. Discorsi however was not what they were looking for. Langdon explained that Discorsi had not been Galileos only work while under house arr est. Historians believed he had also written an obscure brochure called Diagramma.Diagramma della Verita, Langdon said. Diagram of Truth.Never heard of it.Im not surprised. Diagramma was Galileos most stuffy work supposedly some sort of treatise on scientific facts he held to be true but was not allowed to share. Like some of Galileos former manuscripts, Diagramma was smuggled out of Rome by a friend and lightly published in Holland. The booklet became wildly popular in the European scientific underground. Then the Vatican caught wind of it and went on a book-burning campaign.Vittoria now looked intrigued. And you think Diagramma contained the clue? The segno. The information about the Path of Illumination.Diagramma is how Galileo got the word out. That Im sure of. Langdon entered the deuce-ace row of vaults and continued surveying the indicator tabs. Archivists have been looking for a feign of Diagramma for years. But between the Vatican burnings and the booklets low permane nce rating, the booklet has disappeared slay the face of the earth.Permanence rating?Durability. Archivists rate documents one through ten for their structural integrity. Diagramma was printed on sedge papyrus. Its like tissue paper. Life span of no more than a century.Why not something stronger?Galileos behest. To protect his followers. This way any scientists caught with a copy could simply drop it in water and the booklet would dissolve. It was great for destruction of evidence, but terrible for archivists. It is believed that only one copy of Diagramma survived beyond the eighteenth century.One? Vittoria looked momentarily starstruck as she glanced around the room. And its here?Confiscated from the Netherlands by the Vatican shortly after Galileos death. Ive been petitioning to see it for years now. Ever since I realized what was in it.As if reading Langdons mind, Vittoria moved across the aisle and began scanning the adjacent bay of vaults, doubling their pace.Thanks, he said. Look for reference tabs that have anything to do with Galileo, science, scientists. Youll know it when you see it.Okay, but you still havent told me how you figured out Diagramma contained the clue. It had something to do with the number you kept seeing in Illuminati letters? 503?Langdon smiled. Yes. It took some time, but I finally figured out that 503 is a simple edict. It clearly points to Diagramma.For an instant Langdon relived his moment of unexpected revelation solemn 16. Two years ago. He was standing lakeside at the spousal of the son of a colleague. Bagpipes droned on the water as the wedding companionship made their unique hoodwink across the lake on a barge. The trade wind was festooned with flowers and wreaths. It carried a popish numeral painted proudly on the remove DCII.Puzzled by the marking Langdon asked the father of the bride, Whats with 602?602?Langdon pointed to the barge. DCII is the Roman numeral for 602.The man laughed. Thats not a Roman numeral. T hats the name of the barge.The DCII?The man nodded. The Dick and Connie II.Langdon tangle sheepish. Dick and Connie were the wedding couple. The barge patently had been named in their honor. What happened to the DCI?The man groaned. It sank yesterday during the rehearsal luncheon.Langdon laughed. Sorry to hear that. He looked back out at the barge. The DCII, he thought. Like a miniature QEII. A second later, it had hit him.Now Langdon turned to Vittoria. 503, he said, as I mentioned, is a code. Its an Illuminati magic for concealing what was actually intended as a Roman numeral. The number 503 in Roman numerals is DIII.Langdon glanced up. That was fast. Please dont tell me youre an Illuminata.She laughed. I use Roman numerals to codify pelagic strata.Of course, Langdon thought. Dont we all.Vittoria looked over. So what is the meaning of DIII?DI and DII and DIII are very old abbreviations. They were used by ancient scientists to distinguish between the three Galilean documents mo st commonly confused.Vittoria drew a officious breath. Dialogo Discorsi Diagramma.D-one. D-two. D-three. All scientific. All controversial. 503 is DIII. Diagramma. The third of his books.Vittoria looked troubled. But one thing still doesnt make sense. If this segno, this clue, this publicizing about the Path of Illumination was really in Galileos Diagramma, why didnt the Vatican see it when they repossessed all the copies?They may have seen it and not noticed. Remember the Illuminati markers? Hiding things in plain view? Dissimulation? The segno apparently was hidden the analogous way in plain view. Invisible to those who were not looking for it. And also hidden to those who didnt understand it.Meaning?Meaning Galileo hid it well. According to historic record, the segno was revealed in a mode the Illuminati called lingua pura.The pure language?Yes.Mathematics?Thats my guess. Seems pretty obvious. Galileo was a scientist after all, and he was writing for scientists. Math would b e a logical language in which to lay out the clue. The booklet is called Diagramma, so numeral diagrams may also be part of the code.Vittoria sounded only slightly more hopeful. I suppose Galileo could have created some sort of mathematical code that went unnoticed by the clergy.You dont sound sold, Langdon said, moving down the row.Im not. Mainly because you arent. If you were so sure about DIII, why didnt you publish? Then someone who did have access to the Vatican Archives could have come in here and check over out Diagramma a long time ago.I didnt want to publish, Langdon said. I had worked hard to find the information and He stopped himself, embarrassed.You wanted the glory.Langdon matte up himself flush. In a manner of speaking. Its just that Dont look so embarrassed. Youre talking to a scientist. Publish or perish. At CERN we call it Substantiate or suffocate. It wasnt only wanting to be the first. I was also concerned that if the wrong people found out about the inform ation in Diagramma, it efficiency disappear.The wrong people being the Vatican?Not that they are wrong, per se, but the church has always downplayed the Illuminati threat. In the early 1900s the Vatican went so far as to conjecture the Illuminati were a figment of overactive imaginations. The clergy felt, and perhaps rightly so, that the last thing Christians needed to know was that there was a very powerful anti-Christian effect infiltrating their banks, politics, and universities. Present tense, Robert, he reminded himself. There IS a powerful anti-Christian force infiltrating their banks, politics, and universities.So you think the Vatican would have buried any evidence corroborating the Illuminati threat? preferably possibly. Any threat, real or imagined, weakens faith in the churchs power.One more question. Vittoria stopped short and looked at him like he was an alien. Are you life-threatening?Langdon stopped. What do you mean?I mean is this really your plan to save the day ?Langdon wasnt sure whether he saw amused pity or sheer terror in her eyes. You mean finding Diagramma?No, I mean finding Diagramma, locating a foursome-hundred-year-old segno, deciphering some mathematical code, and following an ancient trail of art that only the most brilliant scientists in history have ever been able to follow all in the next four hours.Langdon shrugged. Im open to other suggestions.50Robert Langdon stood outside Archive drop 9 and read the labels on the stacks.Brahe Clavius Copernicus Kepler NewtonAs he read the names again, he felt a sudden uneasiness. Here are the scientists but where is Galileo?He turned to Vittoria, who was checking the contents of a nearby vault. I found the right theme, but Galileos missing.No he isnt, she said, frowning as she motioned to the next vault. Hes over here. But I hope you brought your reading glasses, because this stallion vault is his.Langdon ran over. Vittoria was right. Every indictor tab in Vault 10 carried the same key word.Il Proceso GalileanoLangdon let out a low whistle, now realizing why Galileo had his own vault. The Galileo Affair, he marveled, peering through the glass at the dark outlines of the stacks. The endless and most expensive legal proceeding in Vatican history. Fourteen years and six hundred million lire. Its all here.Have a a couple of(prenominal) legal documents.I guess lawyers havent evolved much over the centuries.Neither have sharks.Langdon strode to a large yellow button on the side of the vault. He press it, and a bank of overhead lights hummed on inside. The lights were deep red, move the cube into a glowing crimson cell a maze of towering shelves.My God, Vittoria said, looking spooked. Are we tanning or working? sheepskin and vellum fades, so vault lighting is always done with dark lights.You could go mad in here.Or worse, Langdon thought, moving toward the vaults sole entrance. A quick word of warning. Oxygen is an oxidant, so hermetic vaults contain very midget of i t. Its a partial vacuum inside. Your breathing will feel strained.Hey, if old cardinals can survive it.True, Langdon thought. May we be as lucky.The vault entrance was a single electronic revolving door. Langdon noted the common arrangement of four access buttons on the doors inner shaft, one accessible from each compartment. When a button was pressed, the motorized door would kick into gear and make the ceremonious half rotation before grinding to a halt a standard procedure to preserve the integrity of the inner atmosphere.After Im in, Langdon said, just press the button and follow me through. Theres only eight percent humidity inside, so be prepared to feel some dry mouth.Langdon stepped into the rotating compartment and pressed the button. The door buzzed loudly and began to rotate. As he followed its motion, Langdon prepared his body for the somatic shock that always accompanied the first few seconds in a hermetic vault. Entering a sealed archive was like press release from sea level to 20,000 feet in an instant. Nausea and light-headedness were not uncommon. Double vision, double over, he reminded himself, quoting the archivists mantra. Langdon felt his ears pop. There was a hiss of air, and the door spun to a stop.He was in.Langdons first realization was that the air inside was thinner than he had anticipated. The Vatican, it seemed, took their archives a bit more seriously than most. Langdon fought the gag reflex response and relaxed his chest while his pulmonary capillaries dilated. The tightness passed quickly. Enter the Dolphin, he mused, gratify his fifty laps a day were good for something. Breathing more usually now, he looked around the vault. Despite the transparent outer walls, he felt a familiar anxiety. Im in a stroke, he thought. A extraction red box.The door buzzed behind him, and Langdon turned to watch Vittoria enter. When she arrived inside, her eyes right off began watering, and she started breathing heavily.Give it a minute, Langdon said. If you get light-headed, bend over.I feel Vittoria choked, like Im scuba diving with the wrong mixture.Langdon waited for her to acclimatize. He knew she would be fine. Vittoria Vetra was obviously in terrific shape, nothing like the doddering ancient Radcliffe alumnae Langdon had once squired through Widener Librarys hermetic vault. The tour had ended with Langdon giving mouth-to-mouth to an old charwoman whod almost aspirated her false teeth.Feeling better? he asked.Vittoria nodded.I rode your demonic space plane, so I thought I owed you.This brought a smile. Touche.Langdon reached into the box beside the door and extracted some white cotton gloves.Formal affair? Vittoria asked. finger acid. We cant handle the documents without them. Youll need a pair.Vittoria donned some gloves. How long do we have?Langdon checked his Mickey Mouse watch. Its just past seven.We have to find this thing within the hour.Actually, Langdon said, we dont have that kind of time. He pointe d overhead to a filtered duct. Normally the curator would turn on a reoxygenation system when someone is inside the vault. Not today. Twenty minutes, well both be sucking wind.Vittoria etiolate noticeably in the reddish glow.Langdon smiled and smoothed his gloves. Substantiate or suffocate, Ms. Vetra. Mickeys ticking.