The Lost Symbol

Robert Langdon heads to Washington, DC, on a private jet. As the plane lands, Langdon reflects on his former mentor, Peter Solomon, the man who brought him to Washington. The private jet is met by a chauffeured car that will take Langdon to the US Capitol Building. Langdon overhears the chauffeur calling someone to announce Langdon’s arrival. Knowing Peter’s intense attention to detail, Langdon assumes that the driver is reporting to Peter in accordance with his mentor’s wishes.

Mal’akh finishes tattooing a spot on his head, careful to leave a small section on the top of his head clean for a special tattoo. He goes into the bathroom to admire his body and all the tattoos that cover every inch of his torso. Mal’akh is satisfied with how well his plan is progressing so far. After a shower, Mal’akh covers his visible tattoos with makeup and puts on clothing that he has selected specifically for this night.

Langdon reflects on how he arrived home early that morning and was surprised to find a message on his answering machine. The call was from Peter’s assistant, who asked that he return the call immediately. Langdon also found a fax from Peter requesting a call. Langdon called the number provided by the messages and spoke to Peter’s assistant, who explained that Peter, the secretary of the Smithsonian Museum, would be throwing a party for museum supporters that night and that the keynote speaker canceled at the last moment. According to the assistant, Peter wanted Langdon to take the man’s place. Langdon agreed to the task. Now, he is riding in a limo through downtown Washington, DC, reviewing his notes for the speech he plans to give, one he previously gave on Bookspan TV a few years earlier.

Alfonso Nunez, a new security guard at the Capitol Building, makes small talk with a bald man whose arm is in a sling. The bald man empties his pockets and prepares to go through the metal detector. The metal detector goes off, and the man claims that on his injured hand, he is wearing a ring that is impossible to remove due to swelling. Alfonso runs a wand over the man and allows him to continue through security. The man is Mal’akh, and he is amused by how easily his disguise allowed him to gain entrance to the Capitol.

Katherine Solomon, a “Noetic” scientist whose research is based upon the idea that the sheer power of thought can change the universe, arrives at the Smithsonian Museum Support Center (SMSC) for a meeting with her brother, Peter. The building serves as a storage warehouse for the Smithsonian. It contains five pods, each larger than a football field. The building is self-contained and specially designed to protect irreplaceable artifacts.

Katherine is a single woman who never married. Both her parents have died, and her nephew, Peter’s son Zachary, is believed to have been killed years ago in a Turkish prison. Peter is therefore Katherine’s only living family. As she arrives at the SMSC building, she receives a cryptic call from Mal’akh telling her that something Peter believes in can be found in Washington, DC.

Langdon is running late when he arrives at the Capitol Building. He rushes through security and navigates his way to Statuary Hall, admiring the architecture despite his rush. Langdon’s surroundings lead him to think about the Masons who designed Washington, DC, and a lecture he gave to his Occults class that past spring about the use of astrology by the architects who built Washington’s primary buildings. Langdon’s lecture brought on questions about the secrecy of the Masons, and he explained that the Masons are not a secretive organization nor a religious one, but rather a public organization that protects secrets.

Katherine walks into the SMSC and speaks briefly to the security guard, Kyle, who is listening to the playoff game. He asks if she will ever tell him what she does in Pod 5, and she answers in the negative.

Langdon is confused by the fact that Statuary Hall is empty. Learning from a passing employee that there is no Smithsonian function scheduled for that night, Langdon attempts to call Peter. When the phone is answered, it is the same man Langdon spoke to that morning, but he has dropped the southern accent. This man, Mal’akh, says that he brought Langdon to Washington for his own purposes.

Mal’akh tells Langdon that he is holding Peter hostage and that only Langdon can save Peter’s “soul.” Mal’akh wants Langdon’s help with finding an ancient portal that exists in Washington, DC, claiming cryptically that Peter will point the way. A second later, Langdon hears someone scream.

Investigating the scream, Langdon learns that a small group of tourists saw a man take a severed hand out of his sling and place it in the center of the Capitol’s Rotunda. Langdon initially thinks that it is a manikin’s hand but soon realizes that the hand is real and that it belongs to Peter. A series of numbers and letters has been freshly tattooed on the hand.

Katherine is concerned for Peter because he hasn’t arrived for their regular Sunday evening meeting. She reflects on when he first showed her the lab that he built for her research. The occasion marked her first visit to the SMSC, where the overflow from the Smithsonian Museums is kept. On that day, Peter took Katherine to Pod 5, a massive room that sits in total darkness. Peter told Katherine that Pod 5 would be perfect for her research because of the lack of light and of outside interference. He encouraged her to find a way to navigate alone through the darkness to the cinder-block room set against the furthest corner of the pod and powered by a hydrogen fuel cell.

Capitol Police Chief Trent Anderson watches security footage of the moment when the severed hand was placed in the Rotunda and rushes out to conduct a search for the suspect. He focuses on the south exit after tourists tell him that they saw the suspect headed that way. Unfortunately, Mal’akh has already changed his clothes and easily slips out the east exit.

As Capitol police cordon off the Rotunda, Langdon studies the hand. He is relieved when he examines the congealed blood and realizes that Peter was still alive when the hand was removed. He then observes several tattoos on the thumb and index finger that he knows were not there before. Langdon connects these tattoos with a secretive icon called the Hand of Mysteries, which is an historical invitation of sorts. A guard pushes Langdon back even as Langdon insists that he can help with the investigation.

Mal’akh drives away from the Capitol in a limousine, thinking about Katherine and her research. He believes that her research is meant to enlighten the world, but he knows that he must extinguish it before it sees the light of day.

Katherine arrives in the Cube and thinks about her research. Noetic science is about mind over matter. She recalls how in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, outputs from Random Event Generators around the world stopped being random. This phenomenon supports the existence of a collective, cosmic-level consciousness and forms the basis of Katherine’s research. Katherine believes that thought can influence anything if it is concentrated and powerful enough. She also believes that harnessing the power of thought can alter the universe and how humans understand its mechanisms. Peter has always been supportive of Katherine’s research and has shared with her that he believes the answers she seeks are hidden in ancient mysticism.

Capitol Police Chief Anderson goes to the Rotunda to investigate the severed hand. As he does, one of his men tells him that the CIA has arrived. Anderson is shocked to learn that Director Inoue Sato, the director of the CIA’s Office of Security, is on the phone. Sato is a petite Asian woman, but because she had throat surgery due to cancer, she has a rough, whispery voice. Sato asks for Langdon. Langdon identifies himself and is handed the phone. Sato demands to know what Langdon knows, but he has no clue what she is talking about.

Director Sato announces that she is taking over the investigation. Anderson argues that she doesn’t have jurisdiction, but she insists that the situation is a matter of national security. Langdon confirms that the hand is Peter’s based on the Mason ring it still wears. Langdon also explains his theory about the tattoos, telling Sato that he believes the hand is meant to serve as a Hand of the Mysteries: an invitation to receive secret knowledge.

At the Cube, Katherine checks the data-storage room to be sure everything is working properly. Protecting her work is the most important part of continuing it. She hears the door open and thinks that it must be Peter, but she is mildly disappointed to find Trish Dunne, her metasystems analyst. Katherine asks Trish to run an internet search for specific keywords, asking for any occurrence “anywhere in the world, in any language, at any point in history” (87). Trish is slightly surprised by this request, especially since she doesn’t know one of the words. However, Trish is used to Katherine’s strange requests, which are a part of her unique research.

Langdon tells Sato about the phone call with Mal’akh, explaining that Mal’akh wants Langdon to help him find a secret portal to ancient knowledge. Langdon expresses a belief that the knowledge Mal’akh seeks is a myth known as the Ancient Mysteries. The Ancient Mysteries refer to a body of knowledge amassed thousands of years ago: knowledge that supposedly allows a person to access abilities that lie dormant in the human mind. Langdon states that this knowledge is thought to be so dangerous that it was hidden long ago to protect humanity. Langdon admits that Peter believes in the existence of these Ancient Mysteries, but that he also understands that the portal itself is likely a metaphor that doesn’t exist in any physical sense.

Langdon explains to Director Sato that the Hand of the Mysteries is supposed to be presented in a sacred place, and that the person who placed the hand in the Rotunda chose that location intentionally. Langdon explains that Washington, DC, was originally designed to be a new version of ancient Rome, and that the Capitol was likewise designed to mimic the Temple of Vesta in the Roman Forum. Just like that building, the Rotunda is also circular and once had a gaping hole in the floor. In the original building, the sacred fire of enlightenment, an eternal flame, could be seen in this hole. The Rotunda once had such a hole, but it was covered. Langdon goes on to explain that apotheosis, the transformation of man into a god, is the theme of the Rotunda.

Langdon points to the ceiling where a fresco titled The Apotheosis of Washington is displayed. The fresco depicts Washington transforming into a god as he is surrounded by other founding fathers and gods, all of whom invented or helped to invent certain aspects of modern technology such as farming equipment. Langdon also tells Director Sato that Peter’s hand is in the same position as the hand of a statue that once adorned the Rotunda: a statue of Washington that was crafted to resemble Zeus. Director Sato pressures Langdon to tell her why Mal’akh chose him. Langdon continues to deny any knowledge or suspicions of Mal’akh’s actions, yet as they speak, he realizes that he might be able to find another clue. Langdon informs Sato that there might be a sixth tattoo on the palm of the hand. Impatient, Sato uses a pen to uncurl the fingers.

As Katherine waits for the results of Trish’s computer search, she recalls the particulars of a phone call that she received earlier in the day from a doctor named Christopher Abaddon. In the phone conversation, Dr. Abaddon claimed to be Peter’s therapist and said that he had been treating Peter for a year. Dr. Abaddon invited Katherine to his home, where he told her that Peter had been struggling with the death of his mother, which occurred 10 years earlier. When Dr. Abaddon started fishing for information on Katherine’s research and the pyramid, however, she gave him very little information.

Langdon studies the tattoo on the palm of Peter’s hand and does not initially understand it. As Langdon and Director Sato discuss it, Sato expresses her lack of trust in the Masons. Across town, Mal’akh is still driving his limo when Peter’s cell phone begins to ring. He notes that the caller is Katherine and listens to the voicemail, amused by Katherine’s worried tone as she begs Peter to call her back. Mal’akh is parked near the SMSC and is waiting for someone to invite him inside.

Langdon recalls an occasion years ago when Peter arrived unexpectedly at his classroom at Harvard. Peter gave Langdon a package and asked him to keep it safe. Peter explained that it was a talisman of sorts and that it would be dangerous in the wrong hands. He felt that it wasn’t safe among the Masons. Langdon agreed to keep the package, secured it in his library wall safe, and forgot about it until Peter’s executive assistant asked him to bring it with him to Washington, DC, that morning.

Trish finds a redacted document that includes all the keywords Katherine is looking for, but she cannot determine its origin, so she calls a hacker friend to help. Katherine receives a text message, ostensibly from Peter, which asks her to invite Dr. Abaddon to meet her and Peter at her lab. She follows the instructions in the text. (It is later discovered that Dr. Abaddon is actually Mal’akh. He has sent Katherine the text using Peter’s phone.)

Langdon translates the symbols on Peter’s palm to read “SBB 13.” Director Sato and Anderson recognize the translation as the designation of a specific room in the Capitol Building. Sato insists that Anderson take her and Langdon to this room. Sato also asks Anderson to have the X-ray of Langdon’s bag sent to her BlackBerry. Sato also insists on keeping Peter’s Masonic ring.