CHAPTER
21
The Apotheosis
of Washington
—a 4,664-square-foot fresco that covers the canopy of the Capitol Rotunda—was completed in 1865 by Constantino Brumidi.
Known as “The Michelangelo of the Capitol,” Brumidi had laid claim to the Capitol Rotunda in the same way Michelangelo had laid claim to the Sistine Chapel, by painting a fresco on the room’s most lofty canvas—the ceiling. Like Michelangelo, Brumidi had done some of his finest work inside the Vatican. Brumidi, however, immigrated to America in 1852, abandoning God’s largest shrine in favor of a new shrine, the U.S. Capitol, which now glistened with examples of his mastery—from the trompe l’oeil of the Brumidi Corridors to the frieze ceiling of the Vice President’s Room. And yet it was the enormous image hovering above the Capitol Rotunda that most historians considered to be Brumidi’s masterwork.
Robert Langdon gazed up at the massive fresco that covered the ceiling. He usually enjoyed his students’ startled reactions to this fresco’s bizarre imagery, but at the moment he simply felt trapped in a nightmare he had yet to understand.
Director Sato was standing next to him with her hands on her hips, frowning up at the distant ceiling. Langdon sensed she was having the same reaction many had when they first stopped to examine the painting at the core of their nation.
Utter confusion.
You’re not alone,
Langdon thought. For most people,
The Apotheosis of Washington
got stranger and stranger the longer they looked at it. “That’s George Washington on the central panel,” Langdon said, pointing 180 feet upward into the middle of the dome. “As you can see, he’s dressed in white robes, attended by thirteen maidens, and ascending on a cloud above mortal man. This is the moment of his apotheosis . . . his transformation into a god.”
Sato and Anderson said nothing.
“Nearby,” Langdon continued, “you can see a strange, anachronistic
series of figures: ancient gods presenting our forefathers with advanced knowledge. There’s Minerva giving technological inspiration to our nation’s great inventors—Ben Franklin, Robert Fulton, Samuel Morse.” Langdon pointed them out one by one. “And over there is Vulcan helping us build a steam engine. Beside them is Neptune demonstrating how to lay the transatlantic cable. Beside that is Ceres, goddess of grain and root of our word
cereal;
she’s sitting on the McCormick reaper, the farming breakthrough that enabled this country to become a world leader in food production. The painting quite overtly portrays our forefathers receiving great wisdom from the gods.” He lowered his head, looking at Sato now. “Knowledge is power, and the
right
knowledge lets man perform miraculous, almost godlike tasks.”
Sato dropped her gaze back down to Langdon and rubbed her neck. “Laying a phone cable is a far cry from being a god.”
“Perhaps to a
modern
man,” Langdon replied. “But if George Washington knew that we had become a race that possessed the power to speak to one another across oceans, fly at the speed of sound, and set foot on our moon, he would assume that we had become gods, capable of miraculous tasks.” He paused. “In the words of futurist Arthur C. Clarke, ‘Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.’ ”
Sato pursed her lips, apparently deep in thought. She glanced down at the hand, and then followed the direction of the outstretched index finger up into the dome. “Professor, you were told, ‘Peter will point the way.’ Is that correct?”
“Yes, ma’am, but—”
“Chief,” Sato said, turning away from Langdon, “can you get us a closer look at the painting?”
Anderson nodded. “There’s a catwalk around the interior of the dome.” Langdon looked way, way up to the tiny railing visible just beneath the painting and felt his body go rigid. “There’s no need to go up there.” He had experienced that seldom-visited catwalk once before, as the guest of a U.S. senator and his wife, and he had almost fainted from the dizzying height and perilous walkway.
“No need?” Sato demanded. “Professor, we have a man who believes this room contains a portal that has the potential to make him a god; we have a ceiling fresco that symbolizes the transformation of a man into a god; and we have a hand pointing straight at that painting. It seems everything is urging us
upward.
”
“Actually,” Anderson interjected, glancing up, “not many people know
this, but there is
one
hexagonal coffer in the dome that actually swings open like a portal, and you can peer down through it and—”
“Wait a second,” Langdon said, “you’re missing the point. The portal this man is looking for is a
figurative
portal—a gateway that doesn’t exist. When he said, ‘Peter will point the way,’ he was talking in metaphorical terms. This pointing-hand gesture—with its index finger
and
thumb extended upward—is a well-known symbol of the Ancient Mysteries, and it appears all over the world in ancient art. This same gesture appears in three of Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous encoded masterpieces—
The Last Supper, Adoration of the Magi,
and
Saint John the Baptist.
It’s a symbol of man’s mystical connection to God.”
As above, so below.
The madman’s bizarre choice of words was starting to feel more relevant now.
“I’ve never seen it before,” Sato said.
Then watch ESPN,
Langdon thought, always amused to see professional athletes point skyward in gratitude to God after a touchdown or home run. He wondered how many knew they were continuing a pre-Christian mystical tradition of acknowledging the mystical power above, which, for one brief moment, had transformed them into a god capable of miraculous feats.
“If it’s of any help,” Langdon said, “Peter’s hand is not the first such hand to make an appearance in this Rotunda.”
Sato eyed him like he was insane. “I beg your pardon?”
Langdon motioned to her BlackBerry. “Google ‘George Washington Zeus.’ ”
Sato looked uncertain but started typing. Anderson inched toward her, looking over her shoulder intently.
Langdon said, “This Rotunda was once dominated by a massive sculpture of a bare-chested George Washington . . . depicted as a god. He sat in the same exact pose as Zeus in the Pantheon, bare chest exposed, left hand holding a sword, right hand raised with thumb and finger extended.”
Sato had apparently found an online image, because Anderson was staring at her BlackBerry in shock. “Hold on,
that’s
George Washington?”
“Yes,” Langdon said. “Depicted as Zeus.”
“Look at his hand,” Anderson said, still peering over Sato’s shoulder. “His right hand is in the same exact position as Mr. Solomon’s.”
As I said,
Langdon thought,
Peter’s hand is not the first to make an appearance in this room.
When Horatio Greenough’s statue of a naked George Washington was first unveiled in the Rotunda, many joked that Washington must be reaching skyward in a desperate attempt to find
some clothes. As American religious ideals changed, however, the joking criticism turned to controversy, and the statue was removed, banished to a shed in the east garden. Currently, it made its home at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, where those who saw it had no reason to suspect that it was one of the last vestigial links to a time when the father of the country had watched over the U.S. Capitol as a god . . . like Zeus watching over the Pantheon.
Sato began dialing a number on her BlackBerry, apparently seeing this as an opportune moment to check in with her staff. “What have you got?” She listened patiently. “I see . . .” She glanced directly at Langdon, then at Peter’s hand. “You’re certain?” She listened a moment longer. “Okay, thanks.” She hung up and turned back toward Langdon. “My support staff did some research and confirms the existence of your so-called Hand of the Mysteries, corroborating everything you said: five fingertip markings—the star, the sun, the key, the crown, and the lantern—as well as the fact that this hand served as an ancient invitation to learn secret wisdom.”
“I’m glad,” Langdon said.
“Don’t be,” she replied curtly. “It appears we’re now at a dead end until you share whatever it is you’re still not telling me.”
“Ma’am?”
Sato stepped toward him. “We’ve come full circle, Professor. You’ve told me nothing I could not have learned from my own staff. And so I will ask you once more. Why were you brought here tonight? What makes you so special? What is it that
you
alone know?”
“We’ve been through this,” Langdon fired back. “I don’t know why this guy thinks I know anything at all!”
Langdon was half tempted to demand how the hell
Sato
knew that he was in the Capitol tonight, but they’d been through that, too.
Sato isn’t talking.
“If I knew the next step,” he told her, “I’d tell you. But I don’t. Traditionally, the Hand of the Mysteries is extended by a teacher to a student. And then, shortly afterward, the hand is followed up with a set of instructions . . . directions to a temple, the name of the master who will teach you—
something
! But all this guy left for us is five tattoos! Hardly—” Langdon stopped short.
Sato eyed him. “What is it?”
Langdon’s eyes shot back to the hand.
Five tattoos.
He now realized that what he was saying might not be entirely true.
“Professor?” Sato pressed.
Langdon inched toward the gruesome object.
Peter will point the way.
“Earlier, it crossed my mind that maybe this guy had left an object clenched in Peter’s palm—a map, or a letter, or a set of directions.”
“He didn’t,” Anderson said. “As you can see, those three fingers are not clenched tightly.”
“You’re right,” Langdon said. “But it occurs to me . . .” He crouched down now, trying to see up under the fingers to the hidden part of Peter’s palm. “Maybe it’s not written on paper.”
“Tattooed?” Anderson said.
Langdon nodded.
“Do you see anything on the palm?” Sato asked.
Langdon crouched lower, trying to peer up under the loosely clenched fingers. “The angle is impossible. I can’t—”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Sato said, moving toward him. “Just open the damned thing!”
Anderson stepped in front of her. “Ma’am! We should really wait for forensics before we touch—”
“I want some answers,” Sato said, pushing past him. She crouched down, edging Langdon away from the hand.
Langdon stood up and watched in disbelief as Sato pulled a pen from her pocket, sliding it carefully under the three clenched fingers. Then, one by one, she pried each finger upward until the hand stood fully open, with its palm visible.
She glanced up at Langdon, and a thin smile spread across her face. “Right again, Professor.”
CHAPTER
22
Pacing the
library, Katherine Solomon pulled back the sleeve of her lab coat and checked her watch. She was not a woman accustomed to waiting, but at the moment, she felt as if her whole world were on hold. She was waiting for Trish’s search-spider results, she was waiting for word from her brother, and also, she was waiting for a callback from the man who was responsible for this entire troubling situation.
I wish he hadn’t told me,
she thought. Normally, Katherine was extremely careful about making new acquaintances, and although she had met this man for the first time only this afternoon, he had earned her trust in a matter of minutes.
Completely
.
His call had come this afternoon while Katherine was at home enjoying her usual Sunday-afternoon pleasure of catching up on the week’s scientific journals.
“Ms. Solomon?” an unusually airy voice had said. “My name is Dr. Christopher Abaddon. I was hoping I might speak to you for a moment about your brother?”
“I’m sorry,
who
is this?” she had demanded.
And how did you get my private cell-phone number?
“Dr. Christopher Abaddon?”
Katherine did not recognize the name.
The man cleared his throat, as if the situation had just become awkward. “I apologize, Ms. Solomon. I was under the impression your brother had told you about me. I’m his doctor. Your cell number was listed as his emergency contact.”
Katherine’s heart skipped.
Emergency contact?
“Is something wrong?”
“No . . . I don’t think so,” the man said. “Your brother missed an appointment this morning, and I can’t reach him on any of his numbers. He never misses appointments without calling, and I’m just a little worried. I hesitated to phone you, but—”
“No, no, not at all, I appreciate the concern.” Katherine was still trying to place the doctor’s name. “I haven’t spoken to my brother since
yesterday morning, but he probably just forgot to turn on his cell.” Katherine had recently given him a new iPhone, and he still hadn’t taken the time to figure out how to use it.
“You say you’re his
doctor
?” she asked.
Does Peter have an illness he’s keeping from me?
There was a weighty pause on the line. “I’m terribly sorry, but I’ve obviously just made a rather serious professional error by calling you. Your brother told me you were aware of his visits to me, but now I see that’s not the case.”
My brother lied to his doctor?
Katherine’s concern was now growing steadily. “Is he sick?”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Solomon, doctor-patient confidentiality precludes me from discussing your brother’s condition, and I’ve already said too much by admitting he is my patient. I’m going to hang up now, but if you hear from him today, please ask him to call me so I know he’s okay.”
“Wait!” Katherine said. “Please tell me what’s wrong with Peter!”
Dr. Abaddon exhaled, sounding displeased with his mistake. “Ms. Solomon, I can hear you’re upset, and I don’t blame you. I’m sure your brother is fine. He was in my office just yesterday.”
“Yesterday? And he’s scheduled again
today
? This sounds urgent.”
The man heaved a sigh. “I suggest we give him a little more time before we—”
“I’m coming by your office right now,” Katherine said, heading for the door. “Where are you located?”
Silence.
“Dr. Christopher Abaddon?” Katherine said. “I can look up your address myself, or you can simply give it to me. Either way, I’m coming over.”
The doctor paused. “If I meet with you, Ms. Solomon, would you please do me the courtesy of saying nothing to your brother until I’ve had a chance to explain my misstep?”
“That’s fine.”
“Thank you. My office is in Kalorama Heights.” He gave her an address.
Twenty minutes later, Katherine Solomon was navigating the stately streets of Kalorama Heights. She had phoned all of her brother’s numbers with no reply. She did not feel overly concerned about her brother’s whereabouts, and yet, the news that he was secretly seeing a doctor . . . was troubling.
When Katherine finally located the address, she stared up at the building in confusion.
This is a doctor’s office?
The opulent mansion before her had a wrought-iron security fence,
electronic cameras, and lush grounds. As she slowed to double-check the address, one of the security cameras rotated toward her, and the gate swung open. Tentatively, Katherine drove up the driveway and parked next to a six-car garage and a stretch limo.
What kind of doctor
is
this guy?
As she got out of her car, the front door of the mansion opened, and an elegant figure drifted out onto the landing. He was handsome, exceptionally tall, and younger than she had imagined. Even so, he projected the sophistication and polish of an older man. He was impeccably dressed in a dark suit and tie, and his thick blond hair was immaculately coiffed.
“Ms. Solomon, I’m Dr. Christopher Abaddon,” he said, his voice a breathy whisper. When they shook hands, his skin felt smooth and well tended.
“Katherine Solomon,” she said, trying not to stare at his skin, which was unusually smooth and bronzed.
Is he wearing makeup?
Katherine felt a growing disquiet as she stepped into the home’s beautifully appointed foyer. Classical music played softly in the background, and it smelled as if someone had burned incense. “This is lovely,” she said, “although I expected more of . . . an office.”
“I’m fortunate to work out of my home.” The man led her into a living room, where there was a crackling fire. “Please make yourself comfortable. I’m just steeping some tea. I’ll bring it out, and we can talk.” He strode toward the kitchen and disappeared.
Katherine Solomon did not sit. Female intuition was a potent instinct that she had learned to trust, and something about this place was making her skin crawl. She saw nothing that looked anything like any doctor’s office she had ever seen. The walls of this antique-adorned living room were covered with classical art, primarily paintings with strange mythical themes. She paused before a large canvas depicting the Three Graces, whose nude bodies were spectacularly rendered in vivid colors.
“That’s the original Michael Parkes oil.” Dr. Abaddon appeared without warning beside her, holding a tray of steaming tea. “I thought we’d sit by the fire?” He led her over to the living room and offered her a seat. “There’s no reason to be nervous.”
“I’m not nervous,” Katherine said entirely too quickly.
He gave her a reassuring smile. “Actually, it is my business to know when people are nervous.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“I’m a practicing psychiatrist, Ms. Solomon. That is my profession. I’ve been seeing your brother for almost a year now. I’m his therapist.”
Katherine could only stare.
My brother is in therapy?
“Patients often choose to keep their therapy to themselves,” the man said. “I made a mistake by calling you, although in my defense, your brother did mislead me.”
“I . . . I had no idea.”
“I apologize if I made you nervous,” he said, sounding embarrassed. “I noticed you studying my face when we met, and yes, I do wear makeup.” He touched his own cheek, looking self-conscious. “I have a dermatological condition, which I prefer to hide. My wife usually puts the makeup on for me, but when she’s not here, I have to rely on my own heavy touch.”
Katherine nodded, too embarrassed to speak.
“And this lovely hair . . .” He touched his lush blond mane. “A wig. My skin condition affected my scalp follicles as well, and all my hair jumped ship.” He shrugged. “I’m afraid my one sin is vanity.”
“Apparently
mine
is rudeness,” Katherine said.
“Not at all.” Dr. Abaddon’s smile was disarming. “Shall we start over? Perhaps with some tea?”
They sat in front of the fire and Abaddon poured tea. “Your brother got me in the habit of serving tea during our sessions. He said the Solomons are tea drinkers.”
“Family tradition,” Katherine said. “Black, please.”
They sipped their tea and made small talk for a few minutes, but Katherine was eager for information about her brother. “Why was my brother coming to you?” she asked.
And why didn’t he tell me?
Admittedly, Peter had endured more than his fair share of tragedy in his life—losing his father at a young age, and then, within a span of five years, burying his only son and then his mother. Even so, Peter had always found a way to cope.
Dr. Abaddon took a sip of tea. “Your brother came to me because he trusts me. We have a bond beyond that of normal patient and doctor.” He motioned to a framed document near the fireplace. It looked like a diploma, until Katherine spied the double-headed phoenix.
“You’re a Mason?”
The highest degree, no less.
“Peter and I are brothers of sorts.”
“You must have done something important to be invited into the thirty-third degree.”
“Not really,” he said. “I have family money, and I give a lot of money to Masonic charities.”
Katherine now realized why her brother trusted this young doctor.
A Mason with family money, interested in philanthropy and ancient mythology?
Dr. Abaddon had more in common with her brother than she had initially imagined.
“When I asked why my brother came to you,” she said, “I didn’t mean why did he
choose
you. I meant, why is he seeking the services of a psychiatrist?”
Dr. Abaddon smiled. “Yes, I know. I was trying to sidestep the question politely. It’s really not something I should be discussing.” He paused. “Although I must say I’m puzzled that your brother would keep our discussions from you, considering that they relate so directly to your research.”
“My research?” Katherine said, taken totally off guard.
My brother talks about my research?
“Recently, your brother came to me looking for a professional opinion about the psychological impact of the breakthroughs you are making in your lab.”
Katherine almost choked on the tea. “Really? I’m . . . surprised,” she managed.
What is Peter thinking? He told his shrink about my work?!
Their security protocol involved not discussing with
anyone
what Katherine was working on. Moreover, the confidentiality had been her brother’s idea.
“Certainly you are aware, Ms. Solomon, that your brother is deeply concerned about what will happen when your research goes public. He sees the potential for a significant philosophical shift in the world . . . and he came here to discuss the possible ramifications . . . from a
psychological
perspective.”
“I see,” Katherine said, her teacup now shaking slightly.
“The questions we discuss are challenging ones: What happens to the human condition if the great mysteries of life are finally revealed? What happens when those beliefs that we accept on
faith
. . . are suddenly categorically proven as
fact
? Or disproved as
myth
? One could argue that there exist certain questions that are best left unanswered.”
Katherine could not believe what she was hearing, and yet she kept her emotions in check. “I hope you don’t mind, Dr. Abaddon, but I’d prefer not to discuss the details of my work. I have no immediate plans to make anything public. For the time being, my discoveries will remain safely locked in my lab.”
“Interesting.” Abaddon leaned back in his chair, lost in thought for a moment. “In any event, I asked your brother to come back today because yesterday he suffered a bit of a
break
. When that happens, I like to have clients—”
“Break?” Katherine’s heart was pounding.
“
As in breakdown?” She couldn’t imagine her brother breaking down over anything.
Abaddon reached out kindly. “Please, I can see I’ve upset you. I’m sorry. Considering these awkward circumstances, I can understand how you might feel entitled to answers.”
“Whether I’m entitled or not,” Katherine said, “my brother is all I have left of my family. Nobody knows him better than I do, so if you tell me what the hell happened, maybe I can help you. We all want the same thing—what’s best for Peter.”
Dr. Abaddon fell silent for several long moments and then began slowly nodding as if Katherine might have a point. Finally, he spoke. “For the record, Ms. Solomon, if I decide to share this information with you, I would do so only because I think your insights might help me assist your brother.”
“Of course.”
Abaddon leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees. “Ms. Solomon, as long as I’ve been seeing your brother, I’ve sensed in him a deep struggle with feelings of guilt. I’ve never pressed him on it because that’s not why he comes to me. And yet yesterday, for a number of reasons, I finally asked him about it.” Abaddon locked eyes with her. “Your brother opened up, rather dramatically and unexpectedly. He told me things I had not expected to hear . . . including everything that happened the night your mother died.”
Christmas Eve—almost exactly ten years ago. She died in my arms.
“He told me your mother was murdered during a robbery attempt at your home? A man broke in looking for something he believed your brother was hiding?”
“That’s correct.”
Abaddon’s eyes were appraising her. “Your brother said he shot the man dead?”
“Yes.”
Abaddon stroked his chin. “Do you recall what the intruder was looking for when he broke into your home?”
Katherine had tried in vain for ten years to block out the memory. “Yes, his demand was very specific. Unfortunately, none of us knew what he was talking about. His demand never made sense to any of us.”
“Well, it made sense to your brother.”
“What?” Katherine sat up.
“At least according to the story he told me yesterday, Peter knew exactly what the intruder was looking for. And yet your brother did not want to hand it over, so he pretended not to understand.”
“That’s absurd. Peter couldn’t possibly have known what the man wanted. His demands made no sense!”