The Lost Symbol

Warren makes multiple phone calls, trying to reach an unknown person. At the same time, Langdon asks him many questions about the pyramid. Warren tells Langdon that the pyramid leads to a spiral staircase that is hidden by a massive stone. Warren surprises Langdon by telling him that he must not open the package or remove the capstone, and that he should forget about saving Peter and should strive instead to keep the secret of the capstone safe at all costs. Katherine arrives at the Library of Congress and bangs on the doors to get Langdon’s attention.

Langdon lets Katherine into the building and tries to comfort her. Warren shoves the pyramid into Langdon’s bag just as their makeshift alarm system goes off. Warren takes Langdon and Katherine to a cupboard and orders them both inside.

Mal’akh recalls how his plan began. While he was a prisoner in Turkey, Mal’akh orchestrated his death and moved to a Greek island, where he changed his name to Andros and used steroids to change his appearance. After growing bored, he saw a program featuring the Freemasons and remembered his father’s pyramid. He decided to take back what was his, but everything went wrong, and his endeavors end in a confrontation between “Andros” and Peter at the river’s edge.

The Special Forces team, led by Agent Turner Simkins, track Warren and Langdon through the tunnel from the Capitol Building, finally arriving at the door that connects the tunnel to the Library of Congress. They blow the door open with explosives and enter the building, using thermal imaging equipment to search for the fugitives. They track the two men to a central room. They spot Warren and chase him down, but they cannot find Langdon anywhere. Warren refuses to tell them where Langdon is.

Langdon’s claustrophobia causes him near-panic as he lies on a conveyer belt that moves through a series of tight spaces. The conveyer is used to transport books from one library to another, which means that Langdon will be stuck in this confined space for a long period of time. He closes his eyes and worries about Warren’s safety due to his decision to stay behind.

A female security guard arrives at Mal’akh’s house to investigate a 911 call which suggested that a kidnapping victim might be inside. The guard walks around and finds the house to be peaceful, which is unusual in a neighborhood that produces a lot of false alarms and prank calls. The guard radios in to say all is clear but then notices a window that has been painted black from the inside. The paint is beginning to chip. Shocked by what she sees, the guard reaches for her radio but is knocked out by a taser before she can communicate with anyone.

Captured by the Special Forces team, Warren is blindfolded and marched through the stacks. In a flashback, Warren recalls witnessing Peter offer the secrets of the pyramid to his son, Zachary, as part of his family legacy. Zachary turned his father’s offer down. At the time, Warren suggested that Zachary might not be worthy of receiving such a secret to safeguard, but Peter shunned the idea until his mother’s death compelled him to decide to hide the capstone and pyramid in separate places, far away from each other.

Back in the present day, Langdon and Katherine arrive in the circulation room of the Adams Building. Katherine explains to Langdon all that has happened to her and how the current events are connected to her mother’s death as well as to her work. Langdon comforts Katherine. He then shows her the package containing the capstone and explains how he came to have it. Katherine insists that they open it to save Peter’s life, while Langdon continues to argue that it is Peter’s property and therefore should not be opened. Katherine opens the package anyway.

A young man finds his superior in the garden of an unknown house and informs him of a phone call that he just took. The young man tells his superior that the call came from Warren Bellamy. He relates the question that Warren asked: a question that causes the older man to immediately insist on going inside.

Inside Peter’s package, Katherine finds a stone box. Inside the box is a golden pyramid. On the lid of the box is an inscription that reads, “The secret hides within The Order” (316). Langdon believes that the capitalization of the phrase “The Order” is a clue but cannot decide what it might mean.

At the same time, Director Sato speaks to Nola on the phone, but there are no updates in the attempt to decipher the code on the pyramid. Director Sato speaks with a member of the tactical team and learns Langdon has not been found. Sato gives orders for Warren to be taken to another location.

Mal’akh reflects on his physical appearance and on the upcoming steps of his plan, reassuring himself that he will be far from this place in the morning. He admires what he has become. Mal’akh hopes that Langdon will be able to figure out the secrets held within the pyramid.

On the underside of the stone box, Katherine notices the number 1514, along with a symbol. She thinks it refers to a date, but Langdon recognizes it as a reference to a person.

The unnamed young man helps his superior from the garden and into the building, anxious at the implications for the man’s health, because his superior rarely allows himself to be aided. The young man doesn’t know that the old, blind man is concerned about the phone message because the question that Warren asked is really a code to indicate a Mason in trouble.

Langdon explains to Katherine that many artisans used symbols to sign their work. The symbol on the underside of the box indicates Albrecht Durer’s signature, and the number 1514 refers to one of Durer’s paintings. Katherine and Langdon look up the painting, Melencolia I, on the computer, and Langdon points out that not only was the painting created in 1514, but Durer also placed the number itself inside the painting. Langdon points to the number. It is part of a square that contains other numbers, an image that is known as a magic square. He realizes that the magic square is a primer that can be used to decipher the symbols on the side of the pyramid itself.

The tactical squad take Warren to the jungle at the center of the US Botanic Garden, which is located next to the Capitol Building. They leave him alone, still with the cover over his head, but Warren can hear someone breathing on the bench beside him.

Langdon explains that a magic square is a grid of numbers on which all the rows, columns, and diagonals add up to the same number. In this case, all the numbers add up to 34. Langdon takes the grid of letters he obtained from deciphering the symbols on the side of pyramid, lays a copy he made of Durer’s magic square over it, assigns each letter a number, then rewrites the numbers in order. The result is a phrase in Latin. In English, the phrase is “One true God” (334). Langdon suggests that this again means that the information the pyramid hides is metaphorical, but Katherine does not believe his interpretation of the data. At that moment, Langdon receives a phone call from a friend of Warren’s. The friend uses code to invite him to a certain location and warns him to make sure that he isn’t followed.

Mal’akh takes a shower, removing all the hair on his body before standing in cold water to open his pores. Again, Mal’akh studies himself in the mirror, amazed at his physical transformation over the past 16 years, particularly in the most recent decade. He is covered in tattoos and has made himself a eunuch, motivated by the belief that all gods are sexless. As Mal’akh goes into his bedroom to dress, he finds a text message on his phone that assures him that what he requires will soon be his.

The CIA continues to search the Library of Congress building for Langdon. One agent sees thermal signatures on the conveyer belt and realizes how Langdon escaped. He reports back to his team leader, and they send out an alert to search the Adams Building.

Katherine and Langdon leave the Adams Building and flag down a cab. A short distance away, they can see evidence of the ongoing search to find them. Katherine tells the cab driver what direction to go but does not give him a specific address. However, the driver has already identified them as fugitives based on information given to him by dispatch. The driver reports the information and is put in contact with a CIA agent. The agent instructs him to open the intercom system and allow the CIA to listen to his passengers’ conversation over the driver’s phone, but not to give away that he knows his passengers are wanted.

Director Sato removes the bag from Warren’s head and explains to him that the current situation goes beyond mere concern for Peter’s safety. Director Sato attempts to convince Warren to tell her where Langdon and Katherine have gone. Warren refuses, but Sato gets word that Langdon and Katherine have been located in a cab.

Katherine suddenly comes up with a theory that they are going to the wrong place. Based on a conspiracy theory that the six-pointed star on the dollar bill spells out the word “Mason,” she tells Langdon that they must go instead to Freedom Plaza. The CIA listens as Katherine instructs the cab driver to pull over at Freedom Plaza.

While Langdon and Katherine get out of the cab to look at something, the cab driver reports to the CIA what he is witnessing. The CIA instructs him to keep Langdon and Katherine where they are, but Langdon informs the driver that they have decided to take the blue line on the subway train to their next destination. The CIA arrives a few minutes later, unconcerned because they know that Langdon and Katherine are going to Alexandria and that they can intercept the train that the fugitives have taken.

In a flashback, Mal’akh recalls falling into the river after fleeing Peter on the night he killed Peter’s mother. Mal’akh survived the fall and moved to New York, where he continued to heal and worked on educating himself about the pyramid. A drug dealer suggested to him that he cover his scars with tattoos, and a tattoo artist encouraged Mal’akh to find a tattoo with meaning before covering his scars. Upon searching for meaningful symbols, Mal’akh discovered the books of Aleister Crowley, a mystic from the early 1900s, and those readings led Mal’akh to pursue the path he is now on. Mal’akh began making blood sacrifices using animals, and then he discovered John Milton’s Paradise Lost. This text introduced him to the concept of the angel called Moloch, or Mal’akh, and allowed him to transform himself to his current physical state and embrace his philosophical ideals.

In the present moment, Agent Simkins and his team arrive at the train station in Alexandria, believing that Langdon and Katherine will arrive shortly. When the train arrives, Simkins and his team search for the fugitives, but Langdon and Katherine are not aboard.

The narration reveals that while in the taxicab, Katherine noticed that the light for the intercom was on and guessed that the driver was speaking to the CIA. For this reason, she convinced Langdon to leave the cab. Once away from the cab driver, she suggested that they take the red line of the subway to Tenleytown.

Once there, they walk to the National Cathedral in accordance with the coded instructions of Warren’s friend and are greeted by the elderly, blind priest who summoned them.

Director Sato informs Warren that she knows Peter’s kidnapper called him and informed him of Langdon’s mission at the Capitol. She also knows that Warren responded to Mal’akh by informing him that Langdon was successful in obtaining the pyramid. Director Sato tells Warren that Peter’s cell phone has been tapped and she has been monitoring the calls. Director Sato insists that something bigger is happening, something far more significant than Peter’s kidnapping. Director Sato then shows Warren a video on her computer that she assures him will change his mind about cooperating.