In chapter 23, Vittoria demands to see her father. Kohler asks who else knew about the antimatter and she tells him that no one knew. He then asks if someone did find out and gained access to the lab, what would they be after and what would be missing. She tells him that she has no idea and that “everything up here looks fine.” Kohler asks “Up here?” and she tells him they are in the upper lab. She tells him that they are using the lower lab for storage of a single specimen of antimatter. Kohler asks why it isn’t with the rest of the specimen in the upper lab and she tells him it is much larger. It is no microscopic speck; it’s a full quarter of a gram the size of a BB. Kohler freaks out and exclaims that that much antimatter could literally liquidate everything in a half-mile radius. Vittoria tells him that her father kept it under a fail-safe power and a redundant security system, a second retina-scan. They travel down another seventy-five feet in the elevator. Vittoria aligns her eye with the lens of the retina-scan and she sees that it is spattered with blood. She is confused and looks at Kohler and Langdon, whose eyes are fixed on the floor at her feet. She follows their line of sight down and sees in horror her father’s eye, discarded like a piece of trash.
In chapter 24, the security technician and his commander are looking at the object on the monitor. They are looking at a canister with transparent sides with a small droplet of metallic liquid that seems to be floating in midair.
In chapter 25, Vittoria freaks out. The door to the lower lab opens and they see that the recharging podium is empty and the canister is gone. Vittoria feels really guilty that whoever murdered her father did it to steal the specimen and she was the one who convinced her father to create the specimen in the first place. She thinks how antimatter in the wrong hands could be deadly. Antimatter was a lethal weapon and once removed from its recharging platform, the canister would count down inexorably. Antimatter was the ultimate terrorist weapon because it had no metallic parts to trip metal detectors, no chemical signature for dogs to trace, and no fuse to deactivate if the authorities located the canister. The countdown had begun.
In chapter 26, the Hassassin enters through a huge door at the end of a stone tunnel.
In chapter 27, Kohler tells Vittoria that a terrorist group murdered her father and that is why Langdon is there. He tells her that Langdon is a specialist of in cult symbology and the group claiming responsibility is a satanic cult that calls themselves the Illuminati. Kohler shows her the fax with picture of her father on it and shows her that they branded his chest.
In chapter 28, Secretary Sylvie Baudeloque is in a panic. She began to get concerned when Kohler failed to return at the proper time for his daily injections; the director’s physical condition required regular treatment. Whenever he didn’t get his treatment, the results were respiratory shock, coughing fits, and a mad dash by the infirmary personnel. At the moment, Sylvie’s concern for the director’s health was less important than the current dilemma. The CERN switchboard had phoned five minutes ago in a frenzy to say they had an urgent call for the director and she couldn’t get a hold of him. Out of options, she walked to Kohler’s desk and grabbed the microphone.
In chapter 29, Vittoria remembers her father and childhood. They ascend up the elevator.
In chapter 30, “Maximilian Kohler. Kindly call you office immediately,” is heard over the PA system. Kohler calls his office and is patched through to someone. He is having a coughing fit. He tells the person on the phone that he will meet them at the Leonardo da Vinci Airport in forty minutes. He barely manages to tell them to locate the canister immediately and that he is coming. Langdon has an epiphany and knows that the Leonardo da Vinci Airport could only mean one thing. In that moment, he became a believer. Two paramedics appeared and Kohler, gasping for air, says “Rome.” Vittoria asks who called and Kohler says “The Swiss,” and tells Langdon to go. Then the paramedics roll him away. Vittoria asks Langdon what was that about the Swiss and Langdon says, “The Swiss Guard: the sworn sentinels of Vatican City.”
I understand the epiphany that Langdon had. It means that it really is the Illuminati and that they are going to blow up Vatican City. That is really hard core and intense. I like how in the Da Vinci Code, the church was kind of bad, but in this novel they are the victims of the situation. I feel really bad for Vittoria. First, she loses her father and now she is responsible for this weapon of mass destruction that was supposed to bring so much good into the world, but now brings terror and evil. That’s rough. I think it’s nice that Langdon is trying to comfort her, even though he doesn’t really know how to.
No comments:
Post a Comment