The Lost Symbol

Langdon follows Director Sato and Capitol Police Chief Anderson into the crypt beneath the Capitol Building. Langdon intellectually understands that the area is not a literal crypt for bodies, and that it is instead used as a storage area. Still, he cannot suppress a chilling emotional reaction to the crypt, due to his lifelong claustrophobia: a result of his traumatic fall into a well when he was a child. As they pass doors marked with either a S or an H, Langdon realizes that the doors are given their designation based on whether they are on the Senate side or the House side of the building. They come to a door marked SB. Anderson explains the letters stand for “Senate Basement.”

Mal’akh arrives at the security gate outside the SMSC and pretends to be a chauffeur. He shows the guard an identification card for Dr. Abaddon. As he drives to the front door, Mal’akh recalls doing the same thing at Peter’s exclusive apartment building the previous evening. Peter had been expecting him, believing Dr. Abaddon to be a member of the Masonic Lodge. However, when Mal’akh arrived at Peter’s apartment, he revealed that he was the man who had broken into the home of Peter’s mother 10 years earlier, and that his actions today are driven by the same purpose that motivated him then. Mal’akh then tased Peter and carried him to his car.

As they walk deeper into the chambers under the Capitol, Director Sato asks Langdon to explain the markings on Peter’s Masonic ring. Langdon explains that the double-headed phoenix with the number 33 symbolizes the highest Masonic degree. He further explains that reaching the 33rd degree is achieved by invitation only, while the other degrees can be reached by completing a list of set requirements. Director Sato states that when her staff conducted keyword searches for “33rd degree” and “portal,” the search results returned references to a pyramid. Langdon explains that although the symbol of the pyramid is connected to the concept of enlightenment, the idea that there might be a Masonic Pyramid that leads to the Ancient Mysteries is a fantasy. Langdon relates the myth that the Masons were entrusted with the protection of the Ancient Mysteries, which they placed inside a great pyramid that is located in Washington, DC. However, Langdon dismisses the story as pure fiction, reasoning that the existence of such a pyramid would be difficult to conceal.

Trish recalls her first journey through the darkness of Pod 5 to the Cube. The way is marked by a carpet runner that must be followed by touch. As Trish walks to the security area to meet Katherine’s guest, she wonders how he will handle the journey in darkness.

Capitol Police Chief Anderson, Director Sato, and Langdon come to a door marked SBB. A guard meets them to hand over a key to the door, explaining that because the original key is missing, they located a backup. He also says that although they cannot find a key for SBB Thirteen, they are still looking. A guard back at the office tells them that SBB Thirteen is the only occupied room in the SBB. It has been marked private by the Architect of the Capitol, the man who runs the building, and it was signed out to Peter Solomon.

Mark is still attempting to unmask the IP address of the document that Trish sent him when he receives a phone call from CIA, demanding to know why he is trying to hack into a classified database.

At the same time, Warren Bellamy, the Architect of the Capitol, arrives at the Capitol Building. Warren demands that Alfonso take him to where Capitol Police Chief Anderson is—without alerting Anderson to Warren’s arrival.

Trish greets Dr. Abaddon, surprised by his aristocratic appearance, and they share small talk as they walk through the facility. Dr. Abaddon stops outside Pod 3, entranced by the giant squid he can see through the window in the door. Trish sees his fascination and unlocks the door, taking him inside to get a closer look.

Meanwhile, Langdon, Director Sato, and Capitol Police Chief Anderson traverse a dark hallway. Fighting his claustrophobia, Langdon feels as though they are in a mausoleum. When they reach the door marked 13, they find it closed and locked, and they do not have a key. Losing patience, Sato takes Anderson’s gun and shoots the lock. The door swings in on a dark chamber.

The first things they notice in SBB Thirteen are a human skull and the scent of sulfur. Director Sato and Capitol Police Chief Anderson are shocked, but Langdon assures them that he knows what purpose the room serves.

At the same time, Warren sends his escort, Alfonso, back upstairs and continues into the subbasement.

Trish shows Dr. Abaddon around Pod 3, explaining the various creatures that are kept in there, including a tank holding the remains of a giant squid preserved in ethanol. Dr. Abaddon, who is really Mal’akh, grabs Trish and forces her to tell him the pin number for her access card before shoving her head into the tank of ethanol. Mal’akh drowns Trish in the ethanol-filled tank, notices his marred makeup, and continues on to Pod 5.

Meanwhile, Langdon explains that the room is a Chamber of Reflection, a place where Masons can meditate. Langdon tells Sato and Anderson that the artifacts in the room are symbolic of transformation, and that Peter likely set it up for Masons working in the building to have a place to escape their work and meditate for a few minutes. Director Sato finds this idea ridiculous. A breeze moves through the room, and Langdon sees the back wall shimmer. He walks over and realizes that there is a canvas hanging there. They pull the canvas aside and find an opening where a pyramid sits.

The pyramid is about nine inches tall and is made of granite. Sato orders Langdon to remove the pyramid, again asserting that this must be the pyramid associated with the portal in which Mal’akh is interested. Langdon argues that the figure is not a true pyramid, as the top is flat. Sato examines the pyramid and suggests that Langdon was lured to Washington, DC, in order to decipher the pyramid’s secrets.

Katherine grows concerned when Trish does not returned with Dr. Abaddon. She calls the security desk and learns that they left the lobby ten minutes earlier. Katherine’s instincts tell her that something is wrong, but she ignores them.

Director Sato gets the picture of Langdon’s x-rayed bag and shows it to Capitol Police Chief Anderson before accusing Langdon of lying to her. Sato announces that she is taking Langdon into custody for questioning and uses Anderson’s gun to hold him still while Anderson moves to detain him. However, a man (Warren Bellamy) suddenly bursts into the room, knocks Anderson out, and hits Director Sato, which allows Langdon to grab his bag and run.

Warren introduces himself to Langdon as a friend of Peter’s. Warren leads Langdon through a maze of corridors and into a tunnel that is still under construction.

Meanwhile, Mal’akh makes his way to Pod 5 in the SMSC in search of Katherine, congratulating himself on the fact that all the pieces of his plan are quickly falling into place.

As Langdon follows Warren, he receives a phone call from Mal’akh. Langdon insists that the pyramid he has found cannot possibly be the one Mal’akh is searching for, but Mal’akh just laughs. Mal’akh tells Langdon that the pyramid does not contain the Ancient Mysteries but is instead a portal, or map, to the actual location of the Ancient Mysteries. Mal’akh tells Langdon that he is the only one who can decipher the map because he has the capstone to the pyramid. Langdon refuses to help decipher the map until he has proof that Peter is alive, but Mal’akh insists that he will kill Peter if Langdon doesn’t decipher the map before the night is over.

Langdon calls his editor, Jonas Faukman, to ask for Katherine’s phone number. (Jonas has Katherine’s contact information because he once considered publishing a book she had written.) Jonas provides Langdon with Katherine’s cell phone number, and Langdon hangs up on him.

Katherine receives a call from Langdon informing her that Peter has been kidnapped. Katherine tells Langdon about the text she received from Peter, and Langdon insists that the text did not come from Peter. Langdon warns Katherine to get out of the SMSC. Katherine calls security again to ask for Trish’s location. Kyle, the security guard, tells Katherine that Trish took her guest into Pod 3 and that the man came out alone. The security guard then tells Katherine that the man used Trish’s access card to get into Pod 5. Katherine leaves the Cube and begins moving in the darkness toward the door, but she smells ethanol and realizes that the man is close. She leaves the carpeted path.

The tunnel that Langdon and Warren are traveling through leads to the Library of Congress. Once there, Warren leads Langdon into the central reading room, a circular room in the heart of the building. Langdon gives Warren the stone pyramid, and they both study the symbols on its side. Langdon recognizes the symbols as Freemason’s Cipher, an encoded language that he can break in a manner of seconds. Warren wonders what Sato’s interest in the pyramid is and worries that she might know what the pyramid is meant to hide.

Katherine attempts to flee Mal’akh by using the smell of ethanol on his clothing to detect where he is. However, she soon realizes that he has laid the ethanol-soaked clothing around the room to confuse her. Upon reaching the door, she finds that the lock has been damaged. She goes to the large specimen bay door along the outer wall of the pod and reaches the lawn. Mal’akh follows, but Katherine manages to get to her car and escape.

Capitol Police Chief Anderson searches the security cameras to find where Langdon and Warren went. Alfonso tells Anderson where the two went, but Director Sato has already figured it out by reviewing the surveillance clips.

Langdon tells Warren that he doesn’t believe in the myth surrounding the pyramid based on the fact that the myth says, “God Himself can reach out and touch it” (246). Warren explains that Masons believe there is a little bit of God in each human being, so in a sense, God can touch the pyramid, if a human being is the agent of the action. Warren further insists that the stories of the pyramid changed over the years because people misinterpreted the stories, just as early artists misinterpreted the description of Moses in the Bible and depicted him with horns. Warren reinforces Mal’akh’s statement that the pyramid is a map and encourages Langdon to decipher the symbols on the pyramid. Langdon does so, but he does not understand what the translation means.

Nola Kaye, a CIA Office of Security analyst, also breaks the code on the pyramid. She calls Director Sato and reports her findings; the translation has yielded only a jumble of letters. Nola also tells Director Sato that analysis of the X-ray of Langdon’s bag shows that the pyramid in the package is made of gold and has symbols written on it. Back at the Capitol Building, Director Sato sends a group of field-op specialists down the tunnel after Langdon and Warren.

Having escaped from the SMSC, Katherine drives wildly, her thoughts filled with memories of the night her mother died. On that night, Katherine was determined to cheer Peter up and provide moral support, because he was still grieving the loss of his only son, Zachary, who had been arrested and murdered in a Turkish prison. Suddenly, a man broke into the house and claimed to have killed Zachary. The intruder held a gun on Peter and insisted on knowing the location of pyramid. Katherine had no idea what the man was talking about, and Peter seemed just as confused. Katherine’s mother burst into the room with a rifle and fired at the intruder. The intruder fired his handgun wildly around the room. Peter grabbed the gun that the intruder dropped and chased him into the woods. At the same time, Katherine realized that her mother had been shot. As her mother died in her arms, Katherine heard gunshots in the woods.

Back in the present moment, Mal’akh returns to the Cube, lets himself in, and attempts to enter the data-storage area, but he cannot access it. Mal’akh needs to destroy Katherine’s research because he believes that if her work gets out, it could “light the way for the unworthy” (262). Mal’akh finds canisters of hydrogen in the power room. He takes one to the data-storage door and slips a tube underneath the door to fill the room with the gas. Mal’akh then squirts Bunsen burner fuel on the canister. Meanwhile, Katherine is on the phone with emergency services, attempting to get someone to go to Dr. Abaddon’s house to find Peter.

Warren explains to Langdon that the deciphered text must be combined with the information on the pyramid’s capstone to be fully understood. He says that the two pieces have been kept apart for generations for a reason. Langdon finds this idea ridiculous and feels as though Warren is lending too much credence to a myth.