Chapter Two

Illyria laid her head back against the seat of the helicopter and stared out at Rome. It was such a breath-taking city, even though she had been there many times before. After all, she had studied abroad here before becoming a professor at her cousin's recommendation. So many happy memories in this city...And all of them ruined...

Vincenzi broke the silence amongst the three of them by saying, "If the Illuminati have returned and are in Rome, we will hunt them down and kill them."

"The Illuminati did not become violent until the 17th century. Their name means 'the enlightened ones'. They were physicists, mathematicians, astronomers. They were concerned that with the Church's inaccurate teaching, then they were dedicated to the scientific truth, but the Vatican didn't like that, so the Church began to- how did you say it? Oh, "hunt them down and kill them." Drove them underground into a secret society," Langdon said.

Illyria looked up and said to Vincenzi, "If the Illuminati truly are behind this, they are already willing to go this far for revenge. Think how much more violent they would become if you began to hunt and kill their members."

ooooooooooooooooooo

Finally, the helicopter touched down within the Vatican's walls. As the blades slowly decelerated, the three people alighted from the craft. While the two professors looked around at the ancient architecture, Vincenzi merely strode purposely forward, drawing the Americans' attention back to the present.

"Professor Langdon?" the man in the suit asked, approaching them quickly.

"Yes," Langdon answered.

"Welcome to Vatican City. Ernesto Olivetti, Inspector General of the Vatican Police Force- Who is she?" he said with an air of command about him.

"Professor Illyria Di Angeli of Harvard University," she said, holding a hand out.

"Why are you here?" he demanded suspiciously, disregarding her hand.

"Because I know more about Rome than he," she said bluntly, gesturing to Langdon. Thankfully, this argument was distracting her from her acute discomfort.

After a few seconds to collect his thoughts, Olivetti gestured toward the door and said, "This way. Headquarters of the Swiss Guard."

"I thought you were Swiss Guard," Langdon said ignorantly.

"No. They are responsible for everything inside the Vatican Wall whilst the Swiss Guard is devoted entirely to the protection of the Pope. Do you have the Roman Polezia as advisors?" she said, directly the last to the Inspector General.

"Yes," Olivetti said, astonished by her knowledge.

They continued to walk, passing two Swiss Guards to enter a gallery.

"Ah, yes. Pope Pius IX's great castration," Langdon said, recognizing the statues.

"I beg your pardon?" Olivetti asked.

"1857. Pope Pius IX felt the male form would inspire lust," Illyria explained, attempting to hold back her amusement at such a concept amongst such 'pious and holy' people.

"So he took a hammer and chisel and unmanned hundreds of these statues," Langdon continued.

"The plaster fig leaves were added later," Illyria added in passing, pointing to one of the statues.

"Are you two anti-catholic?" Olivetti asked.

Langdon and Illyria looked at each other for a second and responded in unison. "No, anti-vandalism." Olivetti studied them for a second. After all, who wouldn't be alarmed by two apparently unrelated people speaking in unison?

They entered the Swiss Guard armoury and Olivetti said to the two Professors, "I urge you to guard your tongue here. The Swiss Guard is a calling, not a profession, and it requires a certain..."

"Zealotry? Fanaticism? Chauvinism?" Illyria supplied, listing off a few possibilities.

"Yes. Exactly. How did you know?" he asked. Obviously, he had not expected either of them to understand the way of life within the Vatican.

"A friend of mine described the Swiss Guard that way," she explained quickly, almost too quickly to be believable.

Olivetti nodded, though he was obvious still perplexed. "Commander Richter, the head of the guard, is a deeply spiritual man. He was close to the late Pope. Understand?"

"Look, I don't study symbols because I consider them unimportant ceremonial traditions. I just hope we can help," Langdon said.

"So do I," Olivetti said with a smile.

"You were my idea, and I wish you, Professor Di Angeli, were as well," Olivetti continued, turning to usher them into the Swiss Guard Headquarters. They were instructed to wait at a bench beside the door. They sat near another woman who was waiting.

Soon, she was called to the Commander. "Dr. Vetra."

"Commander Richter of the Swiss Guard," he introduced himself.

"Hello," she said, shaking his hand.

Illyria and Langdon rose. "Professor Langdon, and...?"

"Professor Illyria Di Angeli of Harvard," she said, offering her hand. The Commander shook hers and Langdon's, though he looked quite sceptical of the worth of having them there.

"What a relief. The symbologists are here," he said mockingly. "This way, please, Miss Vetra."

"The situation has changed," Olivetti said quietly to them. "We received another threat from the kidnapper."

"The canister was taken from my lab around noon yesterday," the scientist was saying as they came over. "They intruder killed my research partner Silvano Bentivolio, and mutilated him in order to bypass security... We use retinal scanners. They cut out his eye."

"Is that your stolen canister, Miss Vetra?"

"Where is that camera, #86?"

"It's wireless. It too was stolen. It could be anywhere inside the Vatican walls."

"That canister contains an extremely combustible material called anti-matter. We need to locate it immediately, or evacuate Vatican City," Vetra continued.

"I am quite familiar with incendiaries, Miss Vetra. I've never heard of anti-matter used as such."

"It's never been generated in significant quantities before. It's a way of studying the origins of the universe to try to isolate what some people call the 'God particle'. There are implications for energy research."

"God particle?" the Commander interrupted.

"What you call it isn't important. It's what gives all matter mass, the thing without which we could not exist," Vetra continued.

"You're talking about the moment of creation," Langdon intervened in awe.

"Yes. The anti-matter is suspended there in an air-tight container with electromagnets at each end, but if it were to fall out of suspension and come in contact with matter, say the bottom of the canister, the two opposing forces would annihilate one another violently."

"What might cause it to fall out of suspension?"

"When the battery goes dead just before midnight," she said, offering an instance, the most pressing of many possibilities.

"Annihilation? How violent?" the Commander asked.

"It would be a cataclysmic event, a blinding explosion equivalent to about five kilotons."

"Vatican City will be consumer by light," Langdon quoted.

"Those are the exact words the kidnapper used," the Commander said, suspicions forming.

"It's a part of the ancient Illuminati threat against the Vatican," Illyria said, defending her cousin's innocence in the matter whilst surprised they hadn't noticed the origin of the words immediately.

The Commander walked over to a tape player and began to play a tape. It showed a man in somewhat dim lighting.

"We will destroy your pillars. We will brand your preferiti and sacrifice them on the Altars of Science. Then bring your church down upon you. Vatican City will be consumed by light, a shining star at the end of the path of illumination," the kidnapper said on the video.

"The destruction of Vatican City through light, the threat word for word," Langdon said.

"The four pillars are the kidnapped Cardinals," Illyria said. That much at least was obvious.

"You didn't tell us they were the preferiti, the favourites to be named the next Pope," Langdon continued.

"Play it again," Illyria instructed, tapping her finger in thought.

The tape began to play again, but Langdon had them stop right after the kidnapper said, "Brand your preferiti."

"Brand them?" Langdon said pensively. "That's another Illuminati legend." He went on to explain the legend. Illyria didn't bother to add anything. This was, after all, his area of expertise.

"He said they'd be killed publicly," the Commander said speculatively.

"Revenge, for the Perga," Illyria put in.

"For the Perga?" the Commander asked.

"Geeze, you guys don't even read your own history, do you?" Langdon asked. He continued to explain that legend, as well. Once again, it was pointless for Illyria to add anything.

However, she felt there was a need for a summary at the end. Olivetti looked rather confused. "Perga invented newer and darker Illuminati, one bent on retribution," Illyria said.

"And look how they intend to finally get it: using anti-matter, technology to destroy the church," Langdon said.

"Science obliterates religion," Illyria said softly. It was impossible to distinguish what feeling accompanied it.

"Is there anymore?" Langdon asked.

The video began to play again.

"Path of Illumination," Langdon whispered speculatively in the midst of it.

"L'Altare della scienza?" Illyria asked, looking to her cousin for confirmation.

Her cousin nodded and said, "We need access to the Vatican Archives."

The Commander scoffed and sat down. Olivetti began to say, "Professor, I don't this is the time for-"

"Your petition has been denied seven times," the Commander said bluntly.

"You don't think...This has nothing to do with my work!" he insisted.

"The path of Illumination is a hidden trail through Rome itself to find the church of Illumination, the place where the Illuminati would meet in secret," Illyria began. She stopped and allowed Robert to finish. She could tell he was itching to explain this.

"If we can find the segno, the sign, that marks the beginning of that path, then four churches may be where he intends the murder your Cardinals," Robert finished.

"One every hour at 8, 9, 10, and 11, then the device explodes at midnight," Illyria finished.

"If we can figure out the first church and get there before he does, then maybe we can stop it, but we can't find the start of the path until we get into the archives," Langdon insisted.

"You forget that access to the archives is only by the Curator and the Board of the Vatican Librarians," the Commander said.

"Or by papal mandate," Illyria said suddenly.

"Yes, and as you no doubt have heard, the Holy Father is dead," the Commander said callously.

"Il Camerlengo," Langdon and Illyria said in unison.

"The Camerlengo is just a priest here, a former Pope's chamberlain," the Commander said.

"The power of the Holy Seat rests in him during Tempe Sete Vicante," Illyria said. They all looked down as though they thought she would not know that. What did they expect from experts?

"Fellas, you called us," Langdon said bluntly. Illyria looked over at him with an expression clearly saying, 'Did you have to phrase it like that?'