Angels Demons Chapter 9-12

9The corpse on the floor onward Langdon was hideous. The late Leonardo Vetra redact on his back, stripped naked, his skin bluish-gray. His neck bones were jutting come out where they had been broken, and his head was twisted completely backward, pointing the wrong way of life. His face was out of view, press against the floor. The man lay in a frozen puddle of his consume urine, the h de nastyor around his shriveled genitals spidered with frost.Fighting a flap of nausea, Langdon let his eye fall to the dupes chest. Although Langdon had stared at the symmetrical wound a dozen times on the fax, the burn was infinitely more haughty in real life. The raised, broiled flesh was suddenly delineated the sign flawlessly formed.Langdon wondered if the intense chill instantly raking finished his body was the air-conditioning or his utter amaze ment with the significance of what he was now staring at.Angels & DemonsHis tonus pounded as he circled the body, reading the word upside d own, reaffirming the genius of the conformity. The sign seemed even less conceivable now that he was staring at it.Mr. Langdon?Langdon did non hear. He was in another domain of a function his world, his element, a world where history, myth, and occurrence collided, flooding his senses. The gears turned.Mr. Langdon? Kohlers eye probed expectantly.Langdon did not look up. His disposition now intensified, his focus total. How much do you already know?Only what I had time to read on your bladesite. The word Illuminati means the en get outened ones. It is the pattern of some sort of ancient marriage.Langdon nodded. Had you heard the name before? non until I dictum it discolourationed on Mr. Vetra.So you ran a web search for it?Yes.And the word returned hundreds of references, no mistrust.Thousands, Kohler said. Yours, however, contained references to Harvard, Oxford, a repu control panel publisher, as hale as a list of related publications. As a scientist I take a shit come to learn that information is only as invaluable as its source. Your credentials seemed authentic.Langdons eyes were put away riveted on the body.Kohler said energy more. He simply stared, apparently waiting for Langdon to shed some light on the scene before them.Langdon looked up, glancing around the frozen flat. Perhaps we should dispute this in a warmer place?This room is fine. Kohler seemed oblivious to the cold. Well smatter here.Langdon frowned. The Illuminati history was by no means a simple one. Ill stop to death trying to explain it. He gazed again at the brand, feeling a renewed sense of awe.Although accounts of the Illuminati emblem were legendary in new(a) imageogy, no pedantic had ever actually seen it. Ancient documents described the symbol as an ambigram ambi meaning both signifying it was legible both shipway. And although ambigrams were common in symbology swastikas, yin yang, Jewish stars, simple crosses the idea that a word could be crafted into an a mbigram seemed suddenly impossible. Modern symbologists had tried for years to forge the word Illuminati into a perfectly symmetrical style, unless they had failed miserably. Most academics had now decided the symbols existence was a myth.So who are the Illuminati? Kohler demanded.Yes, Langdon thought, who indeed? He began his tale.Since the beginning of history, Langdon explained, a dim rift has existed between acquirement and religion. Outspoken scientists like Copernicus Were murdered, Kohler interjected. Murdered by the perform for revealing scientific truths. Religion has always perse under paying backed science.Yes. nevertheless in the 1500s, a group of men in Rome fought back against the church. or so of Italys intimately enlightened men physicists, mathematicians, astronomers began meeting secretly to share their concerns near the churchs inaccurate teachings. They feared that the churchs monopoly on truth threatened academic enlightenment around the world. They founded the worlds initiative scientific think tank, calling themselves the enlightened ones. The Illuminati.Yes, Langdon said. atomic number 63s nigh learned minds use to the quest for scientific truth.Kohler fell silent.Of course, the Illuminati were hunted ruthlessly by the Catholic Church. Only through rites of extreme secrecy did the scientists remain safe. Word air through the academic underground, and the Illuminati mating grew to include academics from all over Europe. The scientists met on a regular basis in Rome at an ultrasecret lair they called the Church of Illumination.Kohler coughed and shifted in his chair. legion(predicate) of the Illuminati, Langdon continued, wanted to combat the churchs tyranny with acts of violence, still their most revered atom persuaded them against it. He was a pacifist, as well as one of historys most famous scientists.Langdon was certain Kohler would recognize the name. Even nonscientists were well-known(prenominal) with the ill-fat ed astronomer who had been arrested and almost executed by the church for proclaiming that the sun, and not the earth, was the center of the solar system. Although his data were incontrovertible, the astronomer was severely punished for implying that God had placed earth somewhere other than at the center of His universe.His name was Galileo Galilei, Langdon said.Kohler looked up. Galileo?Yes. Galileo was an Illuminatus. And he was in addition a devout Catholic. He tried to soften the churchs position on science by proclaiming that science did not undermine the existence of God, alone rather reinforced it. He wrote once that when he looked through his background at the spinning planets, he could hear Gods voice in the euphony of the spheres. He held that science and religion were not enemies, further rather assort two different languages telling the same story, a story of symmetry and balance heaven and blazing, night and day, hot and cold, God and Satan. Both science and r eligion rejoiced in Gods symmetry the endless contest of light and dark. Langdon paused, stamping his feet to rest warm.Kohler simply sit down in his wheelchair and stared.Unfortunately, Langdon added, the unification of science and religion was not what the church wanted.Of course not, Kohler interrupted. The union would have nullified the churchs claim as the sole vessel through which man could say God. So the church tried Galileo as a heretic, found him guilty, and put him under permanent house arrest. I am quite aware of scientific history, Mr. Langdon. But this was all centuries ago. What does it have to do with Leonardo Vetra?The million dollar question. Langdon cut to the chase. Galileos arrest threw the Illuminati into upheaval. Mistakes were made, and the church discovered the identities of four members, whom they captured and interrogated. But the four scientists revealed postcode even under torture.Torture?Langdon nodded. They were branded alive. On the chest. With t he symbol of a cross.Kohlers eyes widened, and he shot an uneasy glance at Vetras body. consequently the scientists were brutally murdered, their dead bodies dropped in the streets of Rome as a exemplar to others thinking of joining the Illuminati. With the church closing in, the remaining Illuminati fled Italy.Langdon paused to set out his point. He looked directly into Kohlers dead eyes. The Illuminati went deep underground, where they began mixing with other refugee groups fleeing the Catholic purges mystics, alchemists, occultists, Muslims, Jews. oer the years, the Illuminati began absorbing new members. A new Illuminati emerged. A darker Illuminati. A deeply anti-Christian Illuminati. They grew very reigning, employing mysterious rites, deadly secrecy, vowing someday to rise again and take revenge on the Catholic Church. Their power grew to the point where the church considered them the unity most dangerous anti-Christian force on earth. The Vatican denounced the mating as shaytan.Shaitan?Its Islamic. It means adversary Gods adversary. The church chose Islam for the name because it was a language they considered dirty. Langdon hesitated. Shaitan is the foundation of an English wordSatan.An uneasiness crossed Kohlers face.Langdons voice was grim. Mr. Kohler, I do not know how this marking appeared on this mans chest or why but you are looking at the long-lost symbol of the worlds oldest and most powerful satanic cult.10The alley was narrow and deserted. The Hassassin strode quickly now, his black eyes filling with anticipation. As he approached his destination, Januss parting words echoed in his mind. point two begins shortly. Get some rest.The Hassassin smirked. He had been awake all night, but sleep was the last thing on his mind. Sleep was for the weak. He was a warrior like his ancestors before him, and his populate never slept once a passage of arms had begun. This battle had most definitely begun, and he had been given the honor of spilling firstly blood. Now he had two hours to commemorate his glory before firing back to work.Sleep? on that point are far crack ways to relaxAn appetite for hedonistic pleasure was something bred into him by his ancestors. His ascendants had indulged in hashish, but he preferred a different kind of gratification. He took overcharge in his body a well-tuned, lethal machine, which, despite his heritage, he refused to choke off with narcotics. He had developed a more nourishing addiction than drugs a far more healthy and satisfying reward.Feeling a familiar anticipation swelling in inlets him, the Hassassin moved faster down the alley. He arrived at the nondescript inlet and rang the bell. A view slit in the door opened, and two soft brown eyes studied him appraisingly. thus the door swung open.Welcome, the well-dressed woman said. She ushered him into an impeccably furnished sitting room where the lights were low. The air was laced with expensive perfume and musk. Whenever you are ready. She handed him a fight back of photographs. Ring me when you have made your choice. Then she disappeared.The Hassassin smiled.As he sat on the plush divan and positioned the photo album on his lap, he felt a carnal hunger stir. Although his people did not celebrate Christmas, he imagined that this is what it must feel like to be a Christian child, sitting before a stack of Christmas presents, about to discover the miracles inside. He opened the album and examined the photos. A lifetime of sexual fantasies stared back at him.Marisa. An Italian goddess. Fiery. A young Sophia Loren.Sachiko. A Japanese geisha. Lithe. No doubt skilled.Kanara. A stunning black vision. Muscular. Exotic.He examined the entire album double and made his choice. He pressed a button on the table beside him. A minute later the woman who had greeted him reappeared. He indicated his selection. She smiled. Follow me. after(prenominal) handling the monetary arrangements, the woman made a hushed teleco mmunicate call. She waited a few minutes and then led him up a winding marble staircase to a luxurious hallway. Its the gold door on the end, she said. You have expensive taste.I should, he thought. I am a connoisseur.The Hassassin padded the length of the hallway like a painter anticipating a long overdue meal. When he reached the doorway he smiled to himself. It was already ajar welcoming him in. He pushed, and the door swung noiselessly open.When he power saw his selection, he knew he had chosen well. She was exactly as he had request nude, lying on her back, her arms tied to the bedposts with thick velvet cords.He crossed the room and ran a dark finger across her ivory abdomen. I killed last night, he thought. You are my reward.11Satanic? Kohler wiped his gumshield and shifted uncomfortably. This is the symbol of a satanic cult?Langdon paced the frozen room to handgrip warm. The Illuminati were satanic. But not in the new-fashioned sense.Langdon quickly explained how most people pictured satanic cults as devil-worshiping fiends, and yet Satanists historically were educated men who stood as adversaries to the church. Shaitan. The rumors of satanic black-magic animal sacrifices and the pentagram ritual were nothing but lies spread by the church as a smear range against their adversaries. Over time, opponents of the church, wanting to emulate the Illuminati, began believing the lies and acting them out. Thus, modern demonism was born.Kohler grunted abruptly. This is all ancient history. I want to know how this symbol got here.Langdon took a deep breath. The symbol itself was created by an anonymous sixteenth-century Illuminati artist as a tribute to Galileos fill out of symmetry a kind of sacred Illuminati logo. The brotherhood kept the design secret, allegedly planning to reveal it only when they had amassed profuse power to resurface and carry out their final goal.Kohler looked unsettled. So this symbol means the Illuminati brotherhood is resurfac ing?Langdon frowned. That would be impossible. There is one chapter of Illuminati history that I have not yet explained.Kohlers voice intensified. Enlighten me.Langdon rubbed his palms together, mentally assortment through the hundreds of documents hed read or written on the Illuminati. The Illuminati were survivors, he explained. When they fled Rome, they traveled across Europe looking for a safe place to regroup. They were taken in by another secret higher(prenominal) society a brotherhood of wealthy Bavarian stone craftsmen called the Freemasons.Kohler looked startled. The Masons?Langdon nodded, not at all move that Kohler had heard of the group. The brotherhood of the Masons currently had over five million members worldwide, fractional of them residing in the United States, and over one million of them in Europe. for certain the Masons are not satanic, Kohler declared, sounding suddenly skeptical.Absolutely not. The Masons fell victim of their own benevolence. After harbo ring the fleeing scientists in the 1700s, the Masons unknowingly became a front for the Illuminati. The Illuminati grew within their ranks, gradually taking over positions of power within the lodges. They quietly reestablished their scientific brotherhood deep within the Masons a kind of secret society within a secret society. Then the Illuminati used the worldwide data link of Masonic lodges to spread their influence.Langdon drew a cold breath before racing on. Obliteration of Catholicism was the Illuminatis central covenant. The brotherhood held that the superstitious article of belief spewed forth by the church was humans greatest enemy. They feared that if religion continued to march on pious myth as absolute fact, scientific progress would halt, and mankind would be doomed to an ignorant future of senseless holy wars. oft like we see today.Langdon frowned. Kohler was right. Holy wars were still making headlines. My God is better than your God. It seemed there was always cl ose correlation between true believers and high body counts.Go on, Kohler said.Langdon gathered his thoughts and continued. The Illuminati grew more powerful in Europe and set their sights on America, a fledgling government many of whose leadership were Masons George Washington, Ben Franklin honest, God-fearing men who were unaware of the Illuminati stronghold on the Masons. The Illuminati took advantage of the infiltration and helped found banks, universities, and industry to finance their ultimate quest. Langdon paused. The creation of a iodine unified world state a kind of secular vernal world Order.Kohler did not move.A New World Order, Langdon repeated, based on scientific enlightenment. They called it their Luciferian Doctrine. The church claimed Lucifer was a reference to the devil, but the brotherhood insisted Lucifer was intended in its literal Latin meaning bringer of light. Or Illuminator.Kohler sighed, and his voice grew suddenly solemn. Mr. Langdon, please sit down.Langdon sat tentatively on a frost-covered chair.Kohler moved his wheelchair closer. I am not sure I understand everything you have just told me, but I do understand this. Leonardo Vetra was one of CERNs greatest assets. He was excessively a friend. I need you to help me locate the Illuminati.Langdon didnt know how to respond. Locate the Illuminati? Hes kidding, right? Im afraid, sir, that go away be utterly impossible.Kohlers brow creased. What do you mean? You wont Mr. Kohler. Langdon leaned toward his host, uncertain how to make him understand what he was about to say. I did not finish my story. in spite of appearances, it is extremely unlikely that this brand was put here by the Illuminati. There has been no evidence of their existence for over half a century, and most scholars agree the Illuminati have been defunct for many years.The words hit silence. Kohler stared through the fog with a look somewhere between stupefaction and anger. How the hell can you tell me this group is extinct when their name is seared into this manLangdon had been asking himself that question all morning. The appearance of the Illuminati ambigram was astonishing. Symbologists worldwide would be dazzled. And yet, the academic in Langdon understood that the brands reemergence proved absolutely nothing about the Illuminati.Symbols, Langdon said, in no way confirm the presence of their original creators.What is that supposed to mean?It means that when organized philosophies like the Illuminati go out of existence, their symbols remain ready(prenominal) for adoption by other groups. Its called transference. Its very common in symbology. The Nazis took the swastika from the Hindus, the Christians adopted the cruciform from the Egyptians, the This morning, Kohler challenged, when I typed the word Illuminati into the computer, it returned thousands of current references. Apparently a lot of people think this group is still wide awake.Conspiracy buffs, Langdon replied. He had always been annoyed by the plethora of conspiracy theories that circulated in modern pop culture. The media craved apocalyptic headlines, and self-proclaimed cult specialists were still cashing in on millennium hype with fabricated stories that the Illuminati were alive and well and organizing their New World Order. Recently the New York Times had reported the eerie Masonic ties of measureless famous men Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the Duke of Kent, Peter Sellers, Irving Berlin, Prince Philip, Louis Armstrong, as well as a pantheon of well-known modern-day industrialists and banking magnates.Kohler pointed angrily at Vetras body. Considering the evidence, I would say peradventure the conspiracy buffs are correct.I realize how it appears, Langdon said as diplomatically as he could. And yet a far more glib explanation is that some other organization has taken control of the Illuminati brand and is using it for their own purposes.What purposes? What does this murder prove?Good question , Langdon thought. He also was having trouble imagining where anyone could have turned up the Illuminati brand after four hundred years. All I can tell you is that even if the Illuminati were still active today, which I am virtually positive they are not, they would never be involved in Leonardo Vetras death.No?No. The Illuminati may have believed in the abolition of Christianity, but they wielded their power through political and financial means, not through terrorists acts. Furthermore, the Illuminati had a strict code of morality regarding who they saw as enemies. They held men of science in the highest regard. There is no way they would have murdered a fellow scientist like Leonardo Vetra.Kohlers eyes turned to ice. Perhaps I failed to mention that Leonardo Vetra was anything but an common scientist.Langdon exhaled patiently. Mr. Kohler, Im sure Leonardo Vetra was brilliant in many ways, but the fact remains Without warning, Kohler spun in his wheelchair and accelerated out of the living room, leaving a wake of swirling mist as he disappeared down a hallway.For the love of God, Langdon groaned. He followed. Kohler was waiting for him in a small alcove at the end of the hallway.This is Leonardos study, Kohler said, motioning to the sliding door. Perhaps when you see it youll understand things differently. With an awkward grunt, Kohler heaved, and the door slid open.Langdon peered into the study and immediately felt his skin crawl. Holy mother of Jesus, he said to himself.12In another country, a young apology sat patiently before an expansive bank of video monitors. He watched as images flashed before him live feeds from hundreds of wireless video cameras that surveyed the sprawling complex. The images went by in an endless procession.An ornate hallway.A private office.An industrial-size kitchen.As the pictures went by, the guard fought off a daydream. He was nearing the end of his shift, and yet he was still vigilant. Service was an honor. Someday he wo uld be granted his ultimate reward.As his thoughts drifted, an image before him registered alarm. Suddenly, with a reflexive jerk that startled even himself, his hand shot out and hit a button on the control panel. The picture before him froze.His nerves tingling, he leaned toward the screen for a closer look. The reading on the monitor told him the image was being patrimonial from camera 86 a camera that was supposed to be commanding a hallway.But the image before him was most definitely not a hallway.