Page 39 of The Secret of Secrets (Robert Langdon #6)

Langdon lowered his head against the wind as he and Sasha Vesna descended the wooded slope away from the bastion. The dense tree cover provided enough dry ground that Langdon was able to descend more gracefully than anticipated, sliding several times on the slick snow but maintaining a steady pace.

By the time they emerged from the woods into Folimanka Park, Langdon’s loafers were caked with snow and his feet were frozen. A scattering of pedestrians dotted the pathways, heads down, making their way to work.

Without speaking, Sasha led them quickly across the park, heading due south.

As they passed Folimanka Fountain, Sasha spoke under her breath.

“I’m convinced Katherine never entered the bastion this morning…

the display on the EPR pod showed Brigita had been in that pod since late last night, which is far longer than anyone could survive. ”

Langdon hoped this meant Katherine had arrived at the lab, received no answer at the buzzer, and simply returned to the hotel.

She and I might have crossed paths, he told himself, trying to ignore the nagging sensation that something with Katherine was indeed very wrong.

He felt terrified by the prospect of losing her.

For the past three days, he and Katherine hadn’t spent a moment apart, and it amazed Langdon that after nearly thirty-five years, their casual friendship had ignited into such a natural, passionate romance, catching them both off guard.

Langdon had savored the days together. He took Katherine to see the bizarrely fetishistic Infant Jesus of Prague statue, which was ritualistically undressed and dressed in different outfits like some kind of sacred Barbie Doll.

He showed her the mysterious 165-pound Devil’s Bible, the largest book in the world, whose terrifying legend involved an adulterous monk, the skins of 160 donkeys, and death by “immurement”…

and even dared Katherine to taste the local tla?enka —“meat jelly”—which she agreed was surprisingly delicious despite being made of pig’s heads.

Katherine had also been on an adrenaline ride these last few days, having just finished her manuscript.

With a mixture of enthusiasm and coy reserve, she had told Langdon about it in general, playfully rebuffing his attempts to learn more about the details of the book in order not to ruin the surprises for him.

But mainly, Langdon recalled, she had fretted about whether readers and book reviewers would be open to new ideas.

“Let’s face it—the human mind hates change,” she had said yesterday while sipping espresso at the stylish La Boheme Café. “And the mind despises abandoning existing beliefs.”

Langdon smiled. That’s why religions endure for millennia despite mountains of evidence contradicting their beliefs.

“ Thirty years ago,” Katherine complained, “physicists proved that communication between two entangled particles is instantaneous …and yet we’re still teaching Einstein’s mantra that ‘nothing travels faster than the speed of light’!”

The original experiment, as Langdon recalled, involved using a magnet to reverse the polarity of one entangled particle, resulting in the polarity of its “twin” particle reversing instantly—whether it was in the same room or miles away.

Upping the ante, Chinese scientists had later performed the same experiment using satellites to demonstrate that two entangled particles remained “instantaneously connected” over a distance of twelve hundred kilometers.

Science Magazine ran the cover story “China Shatters ‘Spooky Action at a Distance’ Record,” referring to the phrase coined by Albert Einstein in the mid-1930s to describe the phenomenon.

“And it’s been decades,” Katherine continued, “since we’ve proven repeatedly that human thought, when focused, can quite literally alter one’s body chemistry. And yet…the notion of remote healing is skeptically debunked by medical experts as voodoo.”

An obdurate mind can be an immovable mountain, Langdon thought, always amazed how many people still fervently believed humans came from Adam and Eve despite the overwhelming scientific evidence for evolution.

“I’ve got a student with a one forty-eight IQ,” Langdon recounted, “who insists the earth is six thousand years old. So, I took her down the hall to the geology department and showed her a three-million-year-old fossil. She simply shrugged and said, ‘I believe God placed that fossil on earth as a trick…to test my faith.’?”

Katherine laughed. “If you think religious zealots are irrationally tied to their worldviews, you should meet the tenured academics of higher education.”

“ I’m a tenured academic of higher education!”

“And you’ve always been a skeptic, Robert. Old-fashioned, but cute.”

“Old-fashioned?” Langdon cocked his head. “I’m younger than you are…hate to remind you.”

“Careful…” she said, flashing a devastating smile. “You took my undergrad seminar twice, lover boy, and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t my slideshow you were staring at.”

Langdon laughed out loud. “Guilty as charged.”

“The point is, nobody likes change,” she continued.

“And stodgy academics have a tendency to cling to the comfort of their existing beliefs long after their models are clearly obsolete. For this reason, establishing a new scientific paradigm—like that of human consciousness—becomes an exceptionally frustrating and slow process.”

Langdon thought of Thomas Kuhn’s 1962 classic, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, describing how paradigm shifts occurred only when a critical mass of incompatible phenomena had been attained.

Katherine was clearly hoping her book would add substantial weight to that ongoing quest for a critical mass.

“Your manuscript…” Langdon said. “You still haven’t told me specifically what your big breakthrough is.”

Katherine smiled. “Patience. I think you’ll find it all quite fascinating—but I’d rather you read it and give me feedback.”

A car horn blared, and the warm memories of the café evaporated, returning Langdon to the cold of Folimanka Park. Shivering, he followed Sasha out of the park through an iron gate, pleased to see a line of yellow ?koda sedans idling at a taxi stand.

They climbed into the first cab, Langdon very grateful for the warm interior. Sasha gave the driver an address, and the cab pulled out onto Sekaninova Street.

Then she pulled out her phone and placed a call on speaker.

Michael Harris’s familiar voice answered. “Sasha?!”

“Michael!” she exclaimed, her voice distraught. “Something terrible happened to Brigita!” Sasha weepily relayed their grim discovery.

“I’m so sorry,” Harris said, sounding stunned. “I had no idea. I’m here at the bastion now.”

Damn, we just missed him, Langdon realized.

“úZSI is here too,” Harris added. “They have no idea Brigita is dead.”

Pavel must not have seen the body.

“Sasha,” Harris said, “did you attack an úZSI officer?!”

She hesitated, startled. “He attacked Robert Langdon! I didn’t know what to do.”

“Langdon?” Harris demanded. “Is he with you?”

“Yes, he wanted to take a taxi to the embassy, but—”

“Bad idea. úZSI will intercept.”

“I know. So I’m taking him—”

“Don’t say it on the phone!” Harris interrupted. “I know where you’re going. Tell Harry and Sally I said hello. I’ll be there as fast as I can. Maybe twenty minutes. Stay off the phone.”

The call ended.

“Harry and Sally?” Langdon asked.

“My cats. He didn’t want me to say we’re going to my apartment.”

Smart. “Sounds like you know him well.”

She nodded, looking almost embarrassed. “A couple of months now.”

“And obviously you trust him,” Langdon said.

“I do.” Sasha’s eyes welled with sudden emotion. “He’ll know how to help you.”

What about helping you ? Langdon hoped the embassy would be able to protect the Russian woman despite her attack on an úZSI lieutenant.

He wished Sasha had asked Harris for any new information about Katherine, but the attaché seemed to trust the phones as little as Sasha did, and he probably wouldn’t have said anything anyway.

I’ll speak to Harris shortly at Sasha’s home.

Next to him, Sasha closed her eyes and settled into her seat.

She began rocking her body gently, as if trying to comfort herself.

She needs calm, he thought. She had just endured an epileptic seizure, as well as a physical battle with an úZSI officer, and was now putting herself at risk to shepherd Langdon to safety, all after witnessing the gruesome death of her mentor.

Langdon checked his watch. Mickey Mouse’s outstretched arms indicated it was just past 9 a.m…. only a few hours since he had awoken peacefully with Katherine in his arms.

It felt like a lifetime ago.