The Lost Symbol

Langdon eyed the grid.

Heredom, circumpunct, pyramid, staircase. .

langdon sighed. «well, peter, as you can probably see, this is an allegorical pictogram. clearly its language is metaphorical and symbolic rather than literal.»

Solomon chuckled. «Ask a symbologist a simple question. . Okay, tell me what you see.»

Peter really wants to hear this? Langdon pulled the page toward him. «Well, I looked at it earlier, and, in simple terms, I see that this grid is a picture. . depicting heaven and earth.»

Peter arched his eyebrows, looking surprised. «Oh?»

«Sure. At the top of the image, we have the word Heredom — the ‘Holy House’—which I interpret as the House of God. . or heaven.»

«Okay.»

«The downward-facing arrow after Heredom signifies that the rest of the pictogram clearly lies in the realm beneath heaven. . that being. . earth.» Langdon’s eyes glided now to the bottom of the grid. «The lowest two rows, those beneath the pyramid, represent the earth itself — terra firma — the lowest of all the realms. Fittingly, these lower realms contain the twelve ancient astrological signs, which represent the primordial religion of those first human souls who looked to the heavens and saw the hand of God in the movement of the stars and planets.»

Solomon slid his chair closer and studied the grid. «Okay, what else?»

«On a foundation of astrology,» Langdon continued, «the great pyramid rises from the earth. . stretching toward heaven. . the enduring symbol of lost wisdom. It is filled with history’s great philosophies and religions. . Egyptian, Pythagorean, Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic, Judeo-Christian, and on and on. . all flowing upward, merging together, funneling themselves up through the transformative gateway of the pyramid. . where they finally fuse into a single, unified human philosophy.» He paused. «A single universal consciousness. . a shared global vision of God. . represented by the ancient symbol that hovers over the capstone.»

«The circumpunct,» Peter said. «A universal symbol for God.»

«Right. Throughout history, the circumpunct has been all things to all people — it is the sun god Ra, alchemical gold, the all-seeing eye, the singularity point before the Big Bang, the — »

«The Great Architect of the Universe.»

Langdon nodded, sensing this was probably the same argument Peter had used in the Temple Room to sell the idea of the circumpunct as the Lost Word.

«And finally?» Peter asked. «What about the staircase?»

langdon glanced down at the image of the stairs beneath the pyramid. «peter, i’m sure you know as well as anyone, this symbolizes the winding staircase of freemasonry. . leading upward out of the earthly darkness into the light. . like jacob’s ladder climbing to heaven. . or the tiered human spine that connects man’s mortal body to his eternal mind.» he paused. «as for the rest of the symbols, they appear to be a blend of celestial, Masonic, and scientific, all lending support to the Ancient Mysteries.»

Solomon stroked his chin. «An elegant interpretation, Professor. I agree, of course, that this grid can be read as allegory, and yet. .» His eyes flashed with deepening mystery. «This collection of symbols tells another story as well. A story that is far more revealing.»

«Oh?»

Solomon began pacing again, circling the table. «Earlier tonight, inside the Temple Room, when I believed I was going to die, I looked at this grid, and somehow I saw past the metaphor, past the allegory, into the very heart of what these symbols are telling us.» He paused, turning abruptly to Langdon. «This grid reveals the exact location where the Lost Word is buried.»

«Come again?» Langdon shifted uneasily in his chair, suddenly fearing that the trauma of the evening had left Peter disorientated and confused.

«Robert, legend has always described the Masonic Pyramid as a map — a very specific map — a map that could guide the worthy to the secret location of the Lost Word.» Solomon tapped the grid of symbols in front of Langdon. «I guarantee you, these symbols are exactly what legend says they are. . a map. A specific diagram that reveals exactly where we will find the staircase that leads down to the Lost Word.»

Langdon gave an uneasy laugh, treading carefully now. «Even if I believed the Legend of the Masonic Pyramid, this grid of symbols can’t possibly be a map. Look at it. It looks nothing like a map.»

Solomon smiled. «Sometimes all it takes is a tiny shift of perspective to see something familiar in a totally new light.»

Langdon looked again but saw nothing new.

«Let me ask you a question,» Peter said. «When Masons lay cornerstones, do you know why we lay them in the northeast corner of a building?»

«Sure, because the northeast corner receives the first rays of morning light. It is symbolic of the power of architecture to climb out of the earth into the light.»

«Right,» Peter said. «So perhaps you should look there for the first rays of light.» He motioned to the grid. «In the northeast corner.» langdon returned his eyes to the page, moving his gaze to the upper right or northeast corner. the symbol in that corner was.

«A downward-pointing arrow,» Langdon said, trying to grasp Solomon’s point. «Which means. . beneath Heredom.»

«No, Robert, not beneath, » Solomon replied. «Think. This grid is not a metaphorical maze. It’s a map. And on a map, a directional arrow that points down means — »

«South,» Langdon exclaimed, startled.

«Exactly!» Solomon replied, grinning now with excitement. «Due south! On a map, down is south. Moreover, on a map, the word Heredom would not be a metaphor for heaven, it would be the name of a geographic location.»

«The House of the Temple? You’re saying this map is pointing. . due south of this building?»

«Praise God!» Solomon said, laughing. «Light dawns at last.»

Langdon studied the grid. «But, Peter. . even if you’re right, due south of this building could be anywhere on a longitude that’s over twenty-four thousand miles long.»

«No, Robert. You are ignoring the legend, which claims the Lost Word is buried in D.C. That shortens the line substantially. In addition, legend also claims that a large stone sits atop the opening of the staircase. . and that this stone is engraved with a message in an ancient language. . as a kind of marker so the worthy can find it.»

Langdon was having trouble taking any of this seriously, and while he didn’t know D.C. well enough to picture what was due south of their current location, he was pretty certain there was no huge engraved stone atop a buried staircase.

«The message inscribed on the stone,» Peter said, «is right here before our eyes.» He tapped the third row of the grid before Langdon. «This is the inscription, Robert! You’ve solved the puzzle!»

Dumbfounded, Langdon studied the seven symbols.

Solved? Langdon had no idea whatsoever what these seven disparate symbols could possibly mean, and he was damned sure they were not engraved anywhere in the nation’s capital. . particularly on a giant stone over a staircase.

«peter,» he said, «i don’t see how this sheds any light at all. i know of no stone in d.c. engraved with this. . message.»