«And yet this particular myth relates directly to the Ancient Mysteries?»

«Sure, as do plenty of others. The Ancient Mysteries are the foundation for countless legends that have survived in history — stories about powerful wisdom protected by secret guardians like the Templars, the Rosicrucians, the Illuminati, the Alumbrados — the list goes on and on. They are all based on the Ancient Mysteries. . and the Masonic Pyramid is just one example.»

«I see,» Sato said. «And what does this legend actually say?»

Langdon considered it for a few steps and then replied, «Well, I’m no specialist in conspiracy theory, but I am educated in mythology, and most accounts go something like this: The Ancient Mysteries — the lost wisdom of the ages — have long been considered mankind’s most sacred treasure, and like all great treasures, they have been carefully protected. The enlightened sages who understood the true power of this wisdom learned to fear its awesome potential. They knew that if this secret knowledge were to fall into uninitiated hands, the results could be devastating; as we said earlier, powerful tools can be used either for good or for evil. So, in order to protect the Ancient Mysteries, and mankind in the process, the early practitioners formed secret fraternities. Inside these brotherhoods, they shared their wisdom only with the properly initiated, passing the wisdom from sage to sage. Many believe we can look back and see the historical remnants of those who mastered the Mysteries. . in the stories of sorcerers, magicians, and healers.»

«And the Masonic Pyramid?» Sato asked. «How does that fit in?»

«Well,» Langdon said, striding faster now to keep pace, «this is where history and myth begin to merge. according to some accounts, by the sixteenth century in europe, almost all of these secret fraternities had become extinct, most of them exterminated by a growing tide of religious persecution. the freemasons, it is said, became the last surviving custodians of the ancient mysteries. understandably, they feared that if their own brotherhood one day died off like its predecessors, the ancient mysteries would be lost for all time.»

«And the pyramid?» Sato again pressed.

Langdon was getting to it. «The legend of the Masonic Pyramid is quite simple. It states that the Masons, in order to fulfill their responsibility of protecting this great wisdom for future generations, decided to hide it in a great fortress.» Langdon tried to gather his recollections of the story. «Again, I stress this is all myth, but allegedly, the Masons transported their secret wisdom from the Old World to the New World — here, to America — a land they hoped would remain free from religious tyranny. And here they built an impenetrable fortress — a hidden pyramid — designed to protect the Ancient Mysteries until the time that all of mankind was ready to handle the awesome power that this wisdom could communicate. According to the myth, the Masons crowned their great pyramid with a shining, solid-gold capstone as symbol of the precious treasure within — the ancient wisdom capable of empowering mankind to his full human potential. Apotheosis.»

«Quite a story,» Sato said.

«Yes. The Masons fall victim to all kinds of crazy legends.»

«Obviously you don’t believe such a pyramid exists.»

«Of course not,» Langdon replied. «There’s no evidence whatsoever to suggest that our Masonic forefathers built any kind of pyramid in America, much less in D.C. It’s pretty difficult to hide a pyramid, especially one large enough to hold all the lost wisdom of the ages.»

The legend, as Langdon recalled, never explained exactly what was supposed to be inside the Masonic Pyramid — whether it was ancient texts, occult writings, scientific revelations, or something far more mysterious — but the legend did say that the precious information inside was ingeniously encoded. . and understandable only to the most enlightened souls.

«Anyway,» Langdon said, «this story falls into a category we symbologists call an ‘archetypal hybrid’—a blend of other classic legends, borrowing so many elements from popular mythology that it could only be a fictional construct. . not historical fact.»

When Langdon taught his students about archetypal hybrids, he used the example of fairy tales, which were recounted across generations and exaggerated over time, borrowing so heavily from one another that they evolved into homogenized morality tales with the same iconic elements — virginal damsels, handsome princes, impenetrable fortresses, and powerful wizards. by way of fairy tales, this primeval battle of «good vs. evil» is ingrained into us as children through our stories: merlin vs. morgan le fay, saint george vs. the dragon, david vs. goliath, snow white vs. the witch, and even luke skywalker battling darth vader.

Sato scratched her head as they turned a corner and followed Anderson down a short flight of stairs. «Tell me this. If I’m not mistaken, pyramids were once considered mystical portals through which the deceased pharaohs could ascend to the gods, were they not?»

«True.»

Sato stopped short and caught Langdon’s arm, glaring up at him with an expression somewhere between surprise and disbelief. «You’re saying Peter Solomon’s captor told you to find a hidden portal, and it didn’t occur to you that he was talking about the Masonic Pyramid from this legend?»

«By any name, the Masonic Pyramid is a fairy tale. It’s purely fantasy.»

Sato stepped closer to him now, and Langdon could smell her cigarette breath. «I understand your position on that, Professor, but for the sake of my investigation, the parallel is hard to ignore. A portal leading to secret knowledge? To my ear, this sounds a lot like what Peter Solomon’s captor claims you, alone, can unlock.»

«Well, I can hardly believe — »

«What you believe is not the point. No matter what you believe, you must concede that this man might himself believe that the Masonic Pyramid is real.»

«The man’s a lunatic! He may well believe that SBB Thirteen is the entrance to a giant underground pyramid that contains all the lost wisdom of the ancients!»

Sato stood perfectly still, her eyes seething. «The crisis I am facing tonight is not a fairy tale, Professor. It is quite real, I assure you.»

A cold silence hung between them.

«Ma’am?» Anderson finally said, gesturing to another secure door ten feet away. «We’re almost there, if you’d like to continue.» Sato finally broke eye contact with Langdon, motioning for Anderson to move on. They followed the security chief through the secure doorway, which deposited them in a narrow passage. Langdon looked left and then right.

You’ve got to be kidding.

He was standing in the longest hallway he had ever seen.