Page 65 of The Secret of Secrets

These religious claims were widely ignored by modern thanatologists—those who studied the science of death. And yet, astonishingly, scientists today readily admitted that they had made very little progress in answering the fundamental question of their field:

What happens when we die?

The question was, without compare, the greatest mystery of life…the secret we all longed to know. Ironically, the elusive answer was revealed to each of us eventually…but with no way back to share it.

“Cat got your tongue?” Gessner asked, smirking.

“Not really,” Langdon replied testily. “I just find it curious that you accept as absolute fact a premise you’re unable to prove. In my world, we call that faith…not science.”

“Zbabělče,” Gessner huffed. “I know you’re a materialist, Professor, and with a little luck, tomorrow when Katherine comes to the lab, I can persuade her to join us in the rational world.”

With that, Gessner unlocked her leather briefcase, extracted a business card, and placed it in front of Katherine.

Langdon eyed the card.

Dr. Brigita Gessner

Gessner Institute

Crucifix Bastion, 1

Prague

“Give this card to your driver tomorrow morning,” Gessner said. “My lab is private, but the location is well-known. The bastion is quite famous actually.”

Langdon groaned inwardly. Famous in the 1300s perhaps…

As Gessner moved to close her briefcase, Langdon caught a glimpse of the meticulously organized contents—various documents in folders, a pen in a loop holder, a smartphone secured with a leather strap, and a collection of credit cards, IDs, and key cards all perfectly aligned in individual transparent sleeves. Among the group, a symbol caught his eye.

“What’s that card?” he asked, pointing to a black card sticking out of a specialized, lead-lined sheath designed to safeguard cards equipped with radio frequency identification. He could see only the top half inch of the card but was intrigued by the six characters printed boldly across it.

Gessner glanced down at the card, faltering a moment. “Oh, it’s nothing.” She closed her case. “It’s for my health club.”

“Oh?” Langdon said. “I’m curious. The third character—what was it?”

She gave him an odd look. “You mean the letter A?”

“That wasn’t an A,” Langdon said, having seen it clearly. “It was a Vel spear.”

Both women looked puzzled.

“I’m sorry?” Gessner said.

“The crossbar is the difference,” Langdon said. “An A has a single line. That logo had three lines and a dot. Whenever you see an upward-facing blade—that is, the shape of a capital A—with three crossbars and a dot, it’s a specialized icon with a very specific meaning.”

“Does it mean health?” Katherine ventured, sounding a bit tipsy.

Not even close, Langdon thought. “The Vel spear is a Hindu symbol of power. The point of the spear represents enlightenment, a sharply tuned mind, the superior insight used to cut through the darkness of ignorance and conquer your enemies. The Hindu god of war, Murugan, carried the spear with him everywhere.”

Gessner looked genuinely surprised.

“Killing your foes with insight?” Katherine said. “Strange message for a health club.”

I agree.

“Happenstance, obviously,” Gessner scoffed. “I’m sure the club has no idea and simply liked the design.”

Langdon let it go, but he felt quite certain Gessner was hiding something. A shielded RFID card seemed an unusually high-tech passkey for a health club, and Gessner hardly seemed like someone who would tolerate exercising with the unclean masses. Besides, a local health club would most likely use the Czech spelling, “PRAHA,” rather than English.