In chapter 42, Cardinal Mortati thinks about the missing preferiti and what the rest of the cardinals are going to do if they don’t show up.
In chapter 43, the camerlengo, Olivetti, Langdon, and Vittoria discuss what they should do. Olivetti states that the missing cardinals are a lost cause and that they should focus their efforts on finding the antimatter.
In chapter 44, the junior content editor of the British Broadcast Corporation (BBC) answers the phone. The voice on the other line with a Middle Eastern accent tells her that he has a breaking story that their network might be interested in regarding the papal election. She asks what the angle is and he asks if they have a TV reporter in Rome covering the election. She replies yes and he says that he needs to speak to him directly and that there is a threat to the conclave. She looks up who is covering the election and laughs to herself. He is a new guy the BBC had just brought up from some trashy London tabloid and editorial had obviously started him at the bottom rung. She gave the anonymous caller the reporter’s number.
In chapter 45, the camerlengo, Langdon, and Vittoria are still trying to figure out what they should do. The killer’s voice resonates in Langdon’s mind. “Midnight…mathematical progression of death…sacrifice vergini nell’ altare di scienza.” Then, suddenly, he bolts to his feet. He tells the camerlengo that for three years he has petitioned the Pope’s office for access to the Vatican Archives and has been denied seven times. He says that he needs access immediately because he might be able to figure out where the four missing cardinals are going to be killed. He says that explaining it would take longer than they’ve got, but if he is right, they can use the information to catch the Hassassin. By papal mandate, which the camerlengo gives him, he is allowed to go find whatever document he needs in the Vatican Archives.
In chapter 46, as Langdon and Vittoria go to the archives, Vittoria asks what exactly are they looking for. He tells her that they have to find a little book written by Galileo. The book is supposed to contain something called il sengo, “the sign.” It is a sign to a secret location. Galileo’s Illuminati needed to protect themselves from the Vatican, so they founded an ultra secret Illuminati meeting place in Rome that they called the Church of Illumination. Galileo’s Illuminati were not the least bit satanic, he explains. They were scientists who revered enlightenment and their meeting place was simply where they could safely congregate and discuss topics forbidden by the Vatican. Although scholars know the secret lair existed, to this day nobody has ever located it. The Illuminati never revealed the location of their hideaway to anyone outside the brotherhood which kept it a secret and protected them, but it was a problem when it came to recruiting new members. The word of Galileo’s brotherhood started to spread in the 1630s and scientists from around the world made secret trips to Rome hoping to join the Illuminati. Unfortunately, because of its secrecy, scientists arriving in Rome never knew where to go for the meetings or to whom they could safely speak. So, the Illuminati created a kind of ingenious map directing scientists to their sanctuary. The map wasn’t the kind of map on paper; it was a blazed trail of sorts across the city. The map consisted of a series of carefully concealed symbolic markers placed in public locations around the city. One marker led to the next…and the next…a trail…eventually leading to the Illuminati lair. They called their string of markers “The Path of Illumination.” The markers were camouflaged as religious art sculptures. Each of the four sculptures was a subtle tribute to one of the four elements: earth, air, fire, and water. The four pieces were placed in carefully chosen churches in Rome. The Illuminati called these four churches the “Altars of Science.” Vittoria exclaims, “L’altare di scienza? The Illuminati assassin warned that the cardinals would be virgin sacrifices on the altars of science!” Langdon says, “Four cardinals, four churches, the four alters of science.” They arrive at the archive building and a Swiss guard takes them inside.
In chapter 47, Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca walks to the conclave. On his way, he remembers his childhood and the miracle that led him to be a part of the Church.
In chapter 48, BBC journalist Gunther Glick, the reporter on the papal election in Rome, is bored out of his mind. He then receives a phone call. The man on the line has a think Arabic accent and he says, “Listen carefully. I am about to change your life.”
In chapter 49, Langdon and Vittoria are in the Vatican Archives. They are looking for Galileo’s Diagramma della Verita, the “Diagram of Truth.” Diagramma is how Galileo got the word out about the Path of Illumination. The segno was apparently hidden in plain view in the book: invisible to those who didn’t understand it. According to historic record, the segno was revealed in a mode the Illuminati called lingua pura.
In chapter 50, Langdon and Vittoria find Galileo’s vault of documents.
In chapter 51, Gunther Glick tells his videographer, Chinita Macri, what he was told on the phone and she doesn’t believe him. He then asks her search the BBC database for what other stories the BBC has run on the group.
In chapter 52, Langdon and Vittoria find Diagramma della Verita and look for the segno.
In chapter 53, somewhere beneath Rome the dark figure prowls down a stone ramp into the underground tunnel. Up ahead the frightened voices of grown men call out in vain. As he turns the corner, he sees them exactly as he had left them – four old men, terrified, sealed behind rusted iron bars in a stone cubicle. The killer checks his watch and says, “Now then. Who will be first?”
In chapter 54, Langdon and Vittoria are still looking at the document. Vittoria finds a page that has a footnote obscured in a crease. It says, “The path of light is laid, the sacred test.” It is the only thing in the book that is not Italian – it is in English. Langdon realizes that English was the only language not spoken in Italy at that time, not even by the clergy, and so English must be la lingua pura because it was the one language the Vatican did not control. Langdon also notices the line is written in iambic pentameter. Vittoria then sees that it’s not the only line. She rotates the document 90 degrees at every turn. She sees that there is a different line on every margin and figures out that it is actually a poem written by John Milton, Galileo’s friend. She grabs the page of the document and they leave.
In chapter 55, Vittoria reads the entire poem aloud:
From Santi’s earthly tomb with demon’s hole,
‘Cross Rome the mystic elements unfold.
The path of light is laid, the sacred test,
Let angels guide you on your lofty quest.
Langdon figures the poem is referring to the Pantheon where Raphael Santi is buried. They leave the archives and run into Olivetti who asks for an explanation. Langdon tells him that they have good news.
I love the treasure hunt kind of aspect to this thriller now. In the Da Vinci Code, it was the clues left by Sophie’s grandfather and the cryptexs. In this novel, it is the segno and the “Altars of Science” churches. It creates one more task they have to complete before stopping the bomb. I also think it adds a stronger sense of urgency because they now have to get to the Pantheon and find a way to save the cardinal who is going to be killed. I think the BBC reporter is really dumb and selfish. If he knows when and specifically where someone is going to be murdered, he should contact the Swiss or the police to try to stop it from happening. Instead, he is happy that someone is going to be murdered because then he will have an interesting story to cover.
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