Page 137 of The Secret of Secrets (Robert Langdon #6)

A sylum?

Robert Langdon paced the ambassador’s office, trying to organize his thoughts. The startling update that Sasha was alive had left him on edge both physically and emotionally. Langdon was relieved to learn of her survival, but Sasha’s existence raised an alarming array of delicate questions.

The most immediate concern— Is she dangerous? —had apparently been handled by restraining Sasha and locking her alone in a guarded conference room. It seemed harsh somehow, but considering everything that had happened, what else could Nagel do?

Langdon was mystified why Sasha would request asylum from the same government that had abused her.

Unless Sasha doesn’t know what they’ve done to her?

The only other possibility was that her alter had arrived posing as Sasha, which also made little sense; Sasha’s alter wanted to protect her, and delivering her into the hands of the U.S. government seemed the opposite of that.

Langdon returned to his seat beside Katherine while the ambassador poured more coffee.

“Earlier tonight,” the ambassador said, “Dr. Solomon reminded me that Sasha and her alter are two different people and should be considered as such. I’ve been trying, and as hard as that is for me to grasp, I have concluded that Sasha Vesna—if considered alone—is an innocent victim.

She was a child epileptic, institutionalized, physically and mentally abused in a secret program whose exploitation of her body quite possibly exacerbated her mental issues to their current state. ”

“I agree,” Katherine said. “She is definitely a victim.”

“And then we have this, ” the ambassador said, motioning to the handwritten note laid out on the coffee table.

Please help Sasha.

“While I don’t make a habit of taking orders from killers,” the ambassador said, “I have given this note a lot of thought, and considering the circumstances, it seems that helping Sasha is an ethical thing to do.”

A moral imperative, Langdon thought.

“The challenge, of course, is that Sasha Vesna is two people.” The ambassador sighed and shook her head.

“She is an innocent victim…and a cunning killer. There is no way to grant one asylum…and prosecute the other. Whether Sasha is aware of it or not, she is harboring a dangerous criminal. She is also in possession of a highly classified prototype brain chip and cannot be allowed simply to roam free.”

Langdon sensed in the ambassador’s eyes that the issue of Sasha, beyond being exceptionally complex, was deeply personal.

“Another problem,” Nagel continued, “is that our time is very short. Prague is not safe for Sasha. By dawn, this embassy will be in the midst of an onslaught of international inquiry, outrage, and demands for a forensic investigation into the events at Folimanka Park. Sasha’s fingerprints are all over Crucifix Bastion, most likely on multiple dead bodies, and her face—or, shall I say, faces —will no doubt be pulled from surveillance archives and her past movements carefully tracked.

It will not take long for investigators to assemble enough pieces to identify Sasha as a person of interest.”

Along with Katherine and myself, Langdon thought, feeling the walls closing in.

Nagel took off her glasses and leaned toward them. “While I have not yet told anyone that Sasha is alive, I’m guessing Director Judd will know very soon. In fact, he may already know she’s here at the embassy.”

“How?” Langdon asked.

“Surveillance, staff leak, or most likely—GPS. I wouldn’t be surprised if Sasha’s brain chip includes a tracker of some sort.”

Of course it would, Langdon realized.

“And not to be grim,” she added, “considering the sensitive nature of this project…her chip might also be equipped with remote destruct capability. It’s a common protocol for advanced technologies in the field, and it’s embedded in everything from sat phones to submarines…

in case the technology falls into the hands of an enemy who might try to reverse engineer it. ”

“Wait,” Langdon said. “You think Sasha’s brain chip can be remotely… destroyed ? I trust that means remotely switched off or erased…not exploded or something.”

“Definitely nothing so dramatic,” Nagel said, “but I happen to know that Q holds patents for silicon chips embedded with a sealed layer of hydrofluoric acid that can be released by a phone call to dissolve the entire processor.”

“In her brain ?!” Katherine exclaimed. “That would kill her!”

“Quite possibly,” Nagel said, “but killing Sasha, I believe, would be a last resort for the agency. The director knows I would consider it a flagrant breach of our agreement, and he is well aware I have countermeasures. Right now, my primary concern is keeping clear lines of communication open with the director. If there’s one thing the Cold War taught us about mutually assured destruction, it’s that communication is critical.

Don’t make your adversary guess what you’re doing—let them know.

If Director Judd suspects that Sasha is in play, it is crucial, for all of us, that he hear the details from me… all of them, and in context.”

In light of everything the ambassador was balancing, Langdon was impressed with the clarity of her strategic thinking. Nagel must have been one hell of an attorney.

“And the video?” Katherine said. “Do you think it’s enough to keep the CIA at bay?”

“In isolation, perhaps not,” she replied. “But in conjunction with the explosion and Dr. Gessner’s death, the agency will have a hard time claiming the video is fake. Even if they do, it shines a light in a direction that would be very damaging for the agency.”

“What about Sasha?” Langdon asked, aware that Threshold’s lone surviving test subject was now locked in a room downstairs. “Do you trust the video will protect her too?”

“Yes, but she doesn’t need it,” the ambassador said.

“Sasha enjoys an exceedingly rare level of protection—she is far more valuable to the agency alive than dead. The director will undoubtedly rebuild Threshold—not here, but somewhere —and Sasha will be viewed as an irreplaceable asset to a billion-dollar program. She represents years of R&D, and I imagine the first thing Director Judd will do is attempt to negotiate with us…for Sasha’s return. ”

The thought sent chills through Langdon. “So how do we keep Sasha out of his hands?”

Nagel took a deep breath. “We don’t.”

The response took Langdon off guard. “I’m sorry?”

“We don’t,” she repeated, her voice firm.

“Ambassador Nagel,” Langdon protested, his voice rising. “Are you suggesting we give Sasha back to the CIA?”

“That is precisely what we will do. It is the only option.”

“Absolutely not!” Katherine exclaimed. “Threshold already killed one patient! You can’t send Sasha back into—”

“I can’t ?!” Nagel interjected forcefully. “I will remind you both that inside this embassy, I am the ranking official, and I will ask you both to hear me out before telling me what I can and can’t do.”

The ambassador gave it a moment, and Katherine sat back, quietly shaking her head in defiance.

“These are the facts,” Nagel declared in an even tone.

“Sasha Vesna requires highly specialized care—both physical and psychiatric. She has proven herself extremely dangerous, meaning whoever is involved with that care will need to take caution and also understand her situation completely. Considering the hardware in Sasha’s brain, the list of entities qualified to care for her is exceedingly short.

Perhaps a list of one. When I reflect on what you told me about these advanced artificial neurons in her brain, I have to conclude that the only people qualified to give Sasha proper mental care are the scientists involved in Threshold. ”

Langdon could see the logic in her argument, but at its core, the ambassador’s plan was essentially to entrust Sasha to the same people who had used her as a laboratory animal. Beside him, Katherine was still shaking her head, clearly not convinced.

“Make no mistake about it,” Nagel said. “I am not suggesting Sasha return to Threshold as it was. I will tolerate zero further testing on Sasha Vesna. Period. She will return as the program’s most valuable and cherished asset, to be treated as such, and to live well.

Sasha is a triumph—she represents the program’s greatest victory to date, and her presence offers an invaluable research opportunity.

I will stress to the director that Threshold’s experimentation on this woman’s brain most likely exacerbated her mental condition, if not caused it altogether.

In other words, I will make him understand that Sasha’s mental well-being is the agency’s ultimate moral responsibility.

In the end, Director Judd will be highly motivated to ensure Sasha’s overall health—especially knowing I will be watching with my finger on a trigger. ”

A long silence fell between them, and Langdon found himself in the throes of the quintessential archetypal battle—the Apollonian-Dionysian conflict, as it was known in mythology—the ultimate internal struggle.

Brain versus Heart. Langdon’s Apollonian brain saw order and reason in Nagel’s plan, while his Dionysian heart saw chaos and injustice.

“You paint a nice picture,” Katherine said, breaking the silence. “But Sasha never asked to have Threshold in her life.”

“Nor did you, Dr. Solomon, and yet here we are.” Nagel’s gaze was unflinching now.

“We all must play the cards we are dealt. In order for Sasha Vesna to live a healthy life, she will need to interact in some capacity with Project Threshold. The level of her involvement can be her own decision, and perhaps only in those parts of the project related to consciousness research. But once Sasha’s mental state is stable, I have to believe that being part of a team might even provide her a purpose and a status unlike anything she has ever experienced in her life. ”

Langdon felt wary. We all need purpose. But what Nagel was describing relied on the agency doing the right thing, and Langdon had little confidence in that.

“I realize trust may be hard to summon in this case,” Nagel continued, as if sensing Langdon’s hesitation.

“Especially after all you’ve witnessed with the agency.

But please remember, your experience was with Everett Finch.

You will now be dealing with Director Gregory Judd.

His mistake was giving Finch too much leeway, but I have always found Judd to be a decent man in a world of indecent options. If nothing else, he is honest.”

“Honest?” Katherine challenged. “You were his senior counsel, and still he lied to you—telling you Stargate had failed.”

Nagel gave a dismissive wave. “DBD protocol—disinformation by deception. It’s a common compartmentalization tactic.

False narratives protect employees who don’t need to know the truth.

We all lie better when we actually believe the lie we’re telling.

And obviously Stargate was not the only classified project the agency lied about and then rebooted.

If my trust in Director Judd is misplaced,” the ambassador concluded, “I will remind him of the sword of Damocles over his head, making it crystal clear that I have every intention of bringing it down should the agency not meet its moral obligations to Sasha.”

The three sat silently in the ornate office. “Not to mention,” the ambassador added, “in almost any other scenario, Sasha will be unprotected—and quite possibly detained and prosecuted for treason, terrorism, and murder.”

Katherine turned slowly to Langdon, her eyes still tentative, but a tired nod delivered a clear message. I will follow your lead on this.

Langdon pictured Sasha locked up downstairs, and his heart went out to her.

Despite profound concerns about the ambassador’s plan, Langdon saw no better option.

As hard as it was to admit, the absolute safest place on earth for Sasha Vesna was probably in Langley, Virginia.

It felt paradoxical to Langdon that Sasha’s oppressors would now become her guardians… but it was also somehow…unavoidable.

Perhaps even ingenious.

The fact that Sasha had materialized outside the embassy made Langdon wonder if her mysterious golem guardian might already have thought all this through. He had provided Nagel the leverage required to take the upper hand…and then made the simplest of appeals.

Please help Sasha.

Now, as Langdon considered everything the ambassador had just proposed, he heard a single unanswered question echoing in his mind.

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

Despite having never studied Latin, Ambassador Nagel recognized the question Langdon had just posed. It was the ubiquitous battle cry of antigovernment whistleblowers everywhere.

Who will guard the guards?

It was a fair question, and one asked with increasing frequency.

In this case, the CIA would be watching over Sasha…

but who would be watching over the CIA? Even if Nagel threatened to release the video in response to violated protocols, she would have no reliable way to know if protocols were being followed unless she had a trusted source right there … in the middle of it.

Who will guard the guards?

Nagel realized she already knew the answer, and when she spoke it out loud, she heard a purpose in her voice that had been absent for years.

“ I will,” she said, raising her eyes to Langdon.

As she made the vow, Nagel felt a sudden upwelling of emotion, and she realized that caring for Sasha Vesna might actually be the exact redemption her own battered soul required…a gradual atonement for her complacency and fear for her part in all that had transpired in Prague.

I will never make up for Michael Harris…but I can try.