The Secret of Secrets (Robert Langdon, #6)

by Dan Brown

The day science begins to study non-physical phenomena, it will make more progress in one decade than in all the previous centuries. —Nikola Tesla

I am a neuroscientist, she reassured herself. I am of sound mind. That second statement, she decided, was questionable.

The afterlife is a shared delusion…created to make our actual life bearable.

all those personal attributes that made us who we are—our hopes, fears, dreams, memories—were nothing but chemical compounds held in suspension by electrical charges in our brains.

When a person died, the brain’s power source was severed, and all of those chemicals simply dissolved into a meaningless puddle of liquid, erasing every last trace of who that person had once been.

OBE—out-of-body experience—a hallucination that occurred when critically injured patients were resuscitated after clinically dying.

She was on her back, tightly strapped into a machine she herself had created. A monster stood over her. The creature looked like some kind of primordial man who had crawled out of the earth. His face and hairless skull were coated with a thick layer of filthy clay, cracked and fractured like the surface of the moon. Only his hate-filled eyes were visible behind his earthen mask. Crudely etched across his forehead were three letters in an ancient language.

For years, Dr. Brigita Gessner had derided her patients’ claims of returning from the brink of death. Now she found herself praying that she could join the ranks of those rare souls who had danced to the edge of oblivion, peered into the abyss, and somehow stepped back from the precipice.

Dr. Katherine Solomon Good morning, beautiful, he mused, admiring the headshot of the woman he had just kissed upstairs.

Yes!!!!! From The Lost Symbol

“noetic science is the study of human consciousness. Contrary to what many believe, consciousness research is not a new science—it is, in fact, the oldest science on earth. Since the dawn of history, we have sought answers to the enduring mysteries of the human mind…the nature of consciousness and of the soul. And for centuries, we have explored these questions primarily through…the lens of religion.”

“The symbol I’m referring to,” he said, “is the halo.” Katherine smiled, apparently knowing this would be his answer. “The halo,” Langdon continued, “is the disk of light that appears over the head of an enlightened being. In Christianity, halos hover over Jesus, Mary, and the saints. Going further back, a sun disk hovered over the ancient Egyptian god Ra, and in Eastern religions a nimbus halo appeared over the Buddha and the Hindu deities.”

“The Statue of Liberty wears a radiant crown—an ancient halo—that universal icon we have used through history to identify special individuals who we believe possess divine enlightenment…or an advanced state of…consciousness.”

“The problem is…the currently accepted model is dead wrong. Your consciousness is not created by your brain. And in fact, your consciousness is not even located inside your head.”

But what made The Golěm a truly arresting vision were the three ancient letters emblazoned on his forehead…etched into the clay with a palette knife. אמת The three Hebrew letters—aleph, mem, tav—from right to left, spelled EMET. Truth.

His sole purpose on this earth was to shelter her, and yet she knew nothing of his existence.

Is he thinking of Katherine?

Now, as he turned right at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi, he could see, directly ahead of him, the east entrance to one of the city’s most famous landmarks, illuminated in the amber glow of Prague’s rare gas streetlamps. Hailed by many as the most romantic bridge in the world, Karlův most—Charles Bridge—was constructed of Bohemian sandstone and lined on both sides by thirty statues of Christian saints. Stretching more than half a kilometer across the placid Vltava River, protected on both ends by massive guard towers, the bridge had once served as a critical trade route between Eastern and Western Europe.

All of this makes Prague sound so beautiful!

“Let me cut to it,” she blurted. “I need a plus-one, okay? There, I said it. I need a date for my own lecture.”

He pictured Katherine asleep in their hotel room and wondered if perhaps she was his future. The notion was both unnerving and exciting for the consummate bachelor.

Is this the book where he will finally settle down?

traditionalist science still refuses to deal with the existence of these phenomena or even accept they are real. Instead, they trivialize them as flukes and outliers filed under a dismissive heading—‘Paranormal’—which has become shorthand for ‘not science at all.’ ”

you’re all quite familiar with these paranormal phenomena,” she declared. “They go by names like ESP…precognition…telepathy…clairvoyance…out-of-body experiences. Despite being deemed ‘para’-normal, they are, in fact, entirely normal.

This is a fair statement. Enough people genuinely experience these.

“The question is not if these phenomena are real,” Katherine said. “Science has proven they are. The question is…why do so many of us remain blind to them?”

human perception is riddled with blind spots,” Katherine concluded. “Sometimes we’re so busy looking the wrong way…that we don’t see what’s right before our eyes.”

Prague’s King Rudolf II had secretly practiced the transmutational sciences in his underground Speculum Alchemiae.

Could this be a clue as to what the scientist at the beginning had gotten herself into?

You don’t know me, but I am here to deliver you from evil.

Katherine?

The forces of darkness that threatened her were potent and had exceptional reach. She was more vulnerable now than ever before, especially because she was distracted.

He sees himself as somewhat of a savior. A lot of literary villains do.

“Someone hacked one of your SVWs,” the kid said.

I wonder if it was the Golem?

It was terrifying, Robert…There was a dark figure standing at the foot of our bed. She was dressed in black…she had a spiked halo on her head…and she was holding a silver spear. And she smelled putrid, like death. I shouted for you, but you weren’t there! The woman hissed at me, “Robert cannot save you. You are going to die.” Then there was a deafening noise and a flash, and the hotel exploded in a cloud of fire. I could feel myself burning…

Einstein had famously declared: Coincidence is God’s way of staying anonymous.

What I saw was not a coincidence, Langdon’s gut insisted. It was a statistical impossibility. Either Katherine’s nightmare had predicted the future…or the future had reacted to her dream. Whichever one was true, Langdon remained baffled.

Precognition. The ability to sense or foresee future events before they happen.

Buddha: With our thoughts, we create the world. Jesus: Whatever you ask for in prayer, it will be yours. Hinduism: You have the power of God. The concept, Langdon knew, was echoed by modern progressive thinkers and artistic geniuses as well. Business guru Robin Sharma declared: Everything is created twice; first in the mind, and then in reality. Pablo Picasso’s most enduring quote proclaimed: Everything you can imagine is real.

Prague’s oldest legend. A mystical guardian…just like me.

The Golěm knew the clay monster’s tale by heart because it was his own—a protective spirit…thrust into physical form…tasked with sacrificing his own comfort to carry another’s pain.

And so, within minutes of learning of Solomon’s actions, he had followed his instincts and pulled the trigger, transmitting two words into the field. Execute now. The order had been confirmed by his contacts standing by in Prague and New York City.

What?

The costume had an earthly benefit too. Prague was a city of surveillance, and cameras with facial recognition software were ubiquitous in public places. It was often said that Prague’s passion for costumes and masks was simply its citizens attempting to enjoy a fleeting anonymous moment. So when The Golěm required true anonymity, he found it beneath a thick layer of clay, which afforded him the luxury of moving freely through the physical world.

Okay, I think he may be one of the other characters that we have already been aquainted with -- that is something common with Dan Brown's books.

The Golěm had already decided the kindest thing he could do for her would be to remove this man as quickly as possible. His death would sadden her, of course, but The Golěm would fully absorb her pain and help her forget. The role of a golem is to bear the burden of a weaker soul.

He sees himself as a strong entity, not necessarily a person.

Thank God I still edit off paper, he thought, breathing a sigh of relief to know at least he still had one copy. By habit, Faukman had printed his editorial copy immediately after Katherine had given him access to the manuscript several hours earlier.

Faukman still preferred a stack of paper and a traditional blue pen. For once, being old-school just paid off.

I do this when grading papers, and when proofing my own.

If he slipped into the nearby twenty-four-hour FedEx Office Print & Ship, he could use their OCR and copy machines, which would be anonymous and untraceable—certainly much safer than using the publisher’s networked device. Confident in his plan, Faukman quickly wrapped the manuscript in a padded envelope and sealed it, slipping the package into his backpack. After lacing up his black running sneakers and donning his vintage gray wool peacoat, Faukman hoisted the backpack onto his shoulders and left his office, locking the door behind him. Thirty seconds later, he was riding the elevator down to the ground level.

Oh no.

From behind him, a fist collided with Faukman’s right kidney, and a black bag swooped down over his head. Before Faukman could even process what was happening, two sets of powerful hands lifted him off his feet and heaved him into the van. He landed roughly on the hard floor, the impact knocking the wind out of him. The door slammed shut, and within seconds, he felt the van accelerating rapidly.

Saw this a mile away.

She turned and swooned a bit as she always did when she saw the striking legal attaché, Michael Harris. He treated her politely inside the office; of course, it was how he treated her outside the office and in his bedroom that she found most appealing.

In recent weeks, Michael had been uncharacteristically secretive, especially about his evening activities. He was increasingly unavailable to meet Dana after work and had become evasive when asked what he was doing instead. Dana was starting to suspect there was another woman.

Is he the golem? That would also exolain the Czech.

Langdon could not believe Janáček thought Katherine would run, but his resourcefulness was impressive.

Giving credit where credit is due.

“Professor?” Janáček sauntered slowly over to Langdon. “Do you have any idea why Ms. Solomon would be ignoring me? They are obviously here. Dr. Gessner’s office is unlocked, and there are fresh footprints outside.”

I have a feeling they will join forces and become allies/friends.

She turned off the PowerPoint and walked to the front of the stage. “Materialist scientists remain baffled as to how an organ so small could possibly hold such vast quantities of information. And I have to agree, it seems a physical impossibility…which is why I’m not a materialist.”

Wait, is she implying that a majority of that information isn't "stored" in the brain itself, but outside the body like she believes our consciousness to be?

Noeticists believed that consciousness was not created by brain processes, but rather was a fundamental aspect of the universe—akin to space, time, or energy—and was not even located inside the body.

but Gessner had lazily set the piece directly on the floor, propped vertically with only a stabilizing bar across the top to keep it from falling into the room.

Its a door.

Gessner had confessed a dark truth, revealing that her colleagues had secretly constructed a sprawling, cavernous facility deep beneath the city of Prague. They call it Threshold.

The entrance is behind thd art?

Partly out of spite, Pavel walked around the corner, down the hall, into the restroom. Leaving the door wide open so Langdon could hear, he urinated loudly and then flushed.

Now, that is petty.

The massive sculpture slid effortlessly, balanced on high-precision ball-bearing rollers. Hidden behind it, as Langdon had anticipated, was an opening.