* *
-(men clamoring) -(grunts)
Please. Please, don't.
(sobbing)
(screaming)
(screaming continues)
LANGDON: When it comes to symbols of the past,
what was relevant then
is relevant now.
-(door closes) -Sure, there are a lot less people
who think they can change the weather with runes
or summon the devil with a pentagram.
-Looking at you, Clark. -(students chuckle)
But there are still a lot of people
who ascribe extranatural powers to symbols.
The sign of the cross.
The number 13.
Four-leaf clover.
Luck symbols.
Bad luck symbols.
Symbols that cure or curse or protect.
It's all superstition,
but people can believe what they want.
Right? It's a free country.
At what point, though...
...do their convictions and your pursuit of happiness
become mutually exclusive?
When do benign symbols
become malignant?
What was relevant then
is relevant now.
The difference is that now people can push symbols
out to millions with the click of a button.
Promoting myths as fact.
And in this post-truth world, where does that leave us?
Where do we draw the line
between respecting the beliefs of others
-and calling bullsh... -(phone vibrates)
-MAN: Professor Langdon? Hello? -Hi.
I-I was expecting Peter.
Yes, sorry, I'm his new assistant.
He asked me to jump on and let you know
about a kind of urgent situation.
He could use your help.
What, the secretary of the Smithsonian
can't ask his own favors?
It's last-minute, I-I know,
but he said he can count on you.
Oh, I'm-I'm kidding. Wh-Whatever I can do.
Terrific.
Do you think you can get to D.C. by 5:00?
What, like, tonight?
-(bell chimes) -MONK: Tayatha om
bekandze bekandze maha
bekandze maha bekandze.
Radza samudgate soha.
Tayatha
om bekandze bekandze...
-(door opens) -(typing)
(door closes)
How's Monk-chella?
See for yourself.
(chanting continuing faintly)
-TRISH: This is a live image, right? -KATHERINE: Mm-hmm.
So, cell growth has been almost completely arrested.
And keep in mind, this isn't just any cancer.
These cells are poorly differentiated,
chemo-resistant, highly aggressive.
And these guys sung them right to sleep.
This is breakthrough stuff.
Harnessing the power
of focused thought beats the hell out of chemo, right?
And we may only be scratching the surface.
(phone vibrates)
Langdon, this is a surprise.
To what do I owe this pleasure?
Well, you can thank your dad.
Apparently the keynote speaker for his gala got sick,
so he wants me to step in.
I don't know anything about a gala.
The Smithsonian Gala at the Capitol.
He didn't mention it?
He may have. I've just been so buried.
But that's nice of you to come in on such short notice.
You know I'd do anything for Peter.
Yeah, and a captive audience.
-That's a slander. -Come on.
Beguiling a room full of wealthy, half-drunk patrons
with your historical expertise? It's pretty much your dream.
That's nice. Okay.
Uh, I thought maybe we could have dinner tonight.
I can't.
-Hey, no. No worries. -I'm right in the middle
of an experiment. We're seeing some incredible phenomena.
Like moving dice with your mind?
You know, my dad thought he could do that.
And there it is.
You know I think you're brilliant.
It's just your field.
Noetic science.
You should remember those words. One day,
-they're going to rewrite physics. -Ah.
-When do you get in? -Oh, I didn't mention it?
I'm already here.
NUÑEZ: Did y'all just meet here?
You picked up a date? Here?
That-that... He's smooth, man.
I like your style, man.
We're finding love over here.
-(beep) -That's okay.
-Come on. Step over. -I thought that might happen.
I'm wearing a ring under this.
My finger was too swollen to get it off.
Oh, yeah? (chuckles) Open up.
Thank you.
My girlfriend says, you know, a man shouldn't wear jewelry,
-but I disagree. -(wand beeps)
Must have hurt.
Yeah, you'd think after 30 years,
I'd be able to walk down an icy driveway
without falling on my ass.
-No, I-I meant the ink. -Mm.
You know, I got a Little Mermaid tattoo on my back,
and I almost cried when they put it on.
-A Little Mermaid. -Yeah.
Well, that must have been some party.
Well, you know how it is. Misspent youth.
Yeah, well, same here, I guess.
I'd like to, um, get a good look inside before you close.
Yeah, sure. Yeah, you're all good to go.
God bless you.
NUÑEZ: Everything okay, sir?
Yeah.
Can't read my own writing.
-Hmm. -Um...
Thank you. Thanks. Statuary Hall?
-It's, uh, upstairs, to the left. -Thanks.
Excuse me. Hey.
Sorry. Um,
there's supposed to be a Smithsonian event in there.
Nothing on the schedule.
Maybe it got moved to another room.
I-I'm supposed to give a speech.
I doubt it.
But don't let that stop you. I'm a real good listener.
-(phone vibrates) -(chuckles)
Peter.
Nobody's here. Did I get the time wrong?
MAN: No. You followed directions perfectly,
which bodes well.
But the hall's locked. Th-There's no event.
I'm sorry, c-could you just put Peter on?
(chuckles)
Peter is in the A'raf.
I'm sorry, what?
The borderland between heaven and hell.
Yeah, thank you. I know what the A'raf is.
And whether he returns to your world
or moves on to the next will depend on your actions.
There exists within the city an ancient portal.
Now, I need you to find it.
And unlock it.
An ancient portal.
I know Peter likes to be the center of attention, but...
this is objectively extreme.
Um, Peter, if you're listening, honestly, consider medication.
For someone with so much knowledge,
you know so little.
But that will change.
You will solve the great mystery.
-It looks so real. -MAN: And Peter
-will point the way. -Well, where is he?
MAN: As above,
so below.
-Hello? -(woman screams)
* *
(indistinct chatter)
Hey, okay, we're clearing this area.
-Phones away. Sir. -OFFICER: Ma'am. Ma'am.
NUÑEZ: Sir, please. Phones away.
Keep it moving. Ma'am. Thank you.
Clearing this out.
Get these guys... Get these guys away from here.
Please, keep moving.
Thank you. We're closed up now.
Clearing this out. Thank you.
Sir?
Sir.
LANGDON: I know these symbols.
He's got Peter.
That's his ring.
NUÑEZ: Stay right there.
* *
PETER: The shucking of the oyster. We break in
at the hinge here.
Then we...
tear through the adductor muscle.
Sure not to break the mantle. Et voilà.
-(Isabel chuckles) -Wow.
ISABEL: Don't worry. He does this
-every year. -The oysters or the TED Talk?
-(chuckles) -PETER: One of the many lies
told to us at Thanksgiving
is that early American settlers feasted
on turkey. Now, duck, maybe. Swan, even.
But most certainly, bountifully,
-on oysters. -My dad would rather us be
historically accurate than happy.
PETER: Robert appreciates history. He may be
one of the sharpest students
I've ever known. But I've told him
that raw intellect can only get you so far.
KATHERINE: Raw oysters,
on the other hand, is a very different story.
PETER: Indeed, it is.
-I lost track of time. -Well, Descartes will do that to you.
My daughter is doing a thesis on Passions of the Soul.
ISABEL: I originally thought it was a romance novel,
but I was wrong. It is not.
Well, it does romanticize nonsense.
Have you ever read him?
I-I tried.
Genius mathematician. He lost me
when he said the pineal gland was the gateway
-to the soul. -Can you disprove it?
Do I need to? A-As far as I can tell,
he had a prehistoric understanding of anatomy.
And yet he posited psychophysiological laws
-that are still relevant today. -Psychophysiological.
Oh, that's right.
Peter mentioned you're into the pseudosciences.
-Did he? -PETER: "A credible mind
drawn to incredible things"
-is the way I put it. -Mm.
I suggest we change the subject.
Zachary, why don't you tell us about your itinerary.
PETER: Yes, my son is going to the Middle East
to lay siege to the beaches
-of Aqaba. -Just to get away from here, really.
Really? Why?
Oh, I-I just mean, uh,
is it always like this?
Like, debating, exchanging ideas,
even if they aren't... credibly rational?
(chuckles): What... I-I just mean, um...
You're all very lucky...
to have this.
You really hit the jackpot with this one, Dad.
Each year,
Professor Solomon takes in a stray
for Thanksgiving as some sort of a charitable exercise,
but, really, he's just looking
for a new audience to fawn over him.
What he doesn't realize is
you don't really care any more than we do.
I care.
-(chuckles) -I think he really does.
Can we keep him?
PETER: I think
he's earned an open invitation.
(indistinct chatter)
All right, let me know when you hear from the chief.
In the meantime, we sweep the building
and keep it locked down.
-OFFICER: Roger that. -Are you in charge here
-or what? -Yeah. Um, for now.
For now? What does that-what does that mean?
Just give me a sec, okay? Ma'am, you can't be here.
-This is a crime scene. -Maybe you shouldn't let
a bunch of tourists tweet photos of it.
-Excuse me? -Just a thought.
Oh, sorry. (chuckles)
I should have this on.
Inoue Sato.
CIA? I-I thought the Bureau handled kidnappings.
They do. Sometimes. It depends.
I can't really say anything else.
Those two are with me, by the way. They'll need full access.
So, I understand this hand may have belonged to Peter Solomon.
Yeah. You know him?
-Of him. -Ah, well, this is Robert Langdon.
He's a coworker of Mr. Solomon's.
-The suspect called him. Twice. -Yeah,
we-we're not coworkers.
I teach at Harvard. Symbology.
Peter was my mentor.
This morning, I got a call from his assistant.
Least, thought it was his assistant.
He said that Peter wanted me to come down,
speak at the Capitol at this gala.
Peter's not known for his consideration
of other people's time,
so it didn't seem out of the ordinary to me
-to get on a plane... -Robert. Take a breath.
(exhales)
Did this person say what he wants?
Uh... it won't make sense to you.
Tell me anyway.
He said he's looking for an ancient portal
buried within the city.
He wants me to locate
-and unlock it. -And that means something to you?
It didn't until I saw that.
On the other three fingers,
I expect you'll find more tattoos.
A sun, a lantern and a key.
* *
He's replicated the Hand of the Mysteries.
It's an icon you see throughout history.
The alchemists, the cabalists.
It's an invitation to seek a body of ancient knowledge
beyond a mystical gateway.
-A portal. -NUÑEZ: Yeah, the suspect
walked through security earlier with his hand in a sling
like it was his.
And he was wearing makeup, I think.
-Concealer. -You got a good eye.
See if the sergeant can pull some security stills
of the suspect.
The ring on Peter's hand--
33rd-degree Mason. From what I remember,
that comes with some ancient knowledge of its own.
Despite what some people think,
the Masons are essentially a social club.
Still, it could explain why he was targeted.
If this guy thought Peter knew about the portal thing...
Then he would've been sorely disappointed.
Peter knows that what this guy is after doesn't exist.
He has a daughter, right? What's your relationship with her?
-Uh, we're friends. -We need to make sure she's secure,
and we'll need a DNA reference
to confirm that's actually her father's hand.
Uh, let me do it. Let me-let me call her first.
(phone vibrates)
-Hey. -LANGDON: Katherine.
Something's happened.
It's your dad. He...
He's been taken.
And, um, I don't know exactly what's going on,
but we're gonna get him back.
* *
(phone vibrates)
Have they left the Rotunda?
OFFICER: Hey!
Hey, you can't be in here, man. Park's closed.
Sorry, I didn't realize.
Hey, Ma, I got to go.
Rich!
Those yours?
Uh, does it look like I'd wear that?
RICH: So that wasn't you by the Capitol earlier?
Oh, yeah. They were vetting me for the Supreme Court.
Yeah, very cute. Let's see some ID.
Man, I don't... I don't want any trouble.
RICH: Just want to see some ID, sir.
Of course. Yeah. Yeah.
-(grunting) -OFFICER: Hey!
(choking)
(grunting)
No! Stop!
(screaming)
(whimpering) No.
(panting)
(grunts)
Liberty. Freedom.
E pluribus unum.
13. 13. 13 states.
Local PD found Solomon's car
in a lot off of Canal Road.
No cameras. No witnesses. No signs of struggle.
You know, it would be helpful if I knew
what our actual interest in this is.
I know.
Liberty. Freedom.
13 maidens.
SATO: What's he doing?
No idea.
"Peter will point the way."
He said that on the call.
The fresco above us
is Brumidi's Apotheosis of Washington.
From the Greek "apo," to become, and "theos," God.
There, in the central panel,
George Washington is ascending
on a cloud above the mortals.
His moment of transformation.
I think this guy
is telling us what he wants.
Apotheosis.
To become a god. And he thinks he can do that
by accessing this ancient knowledge?
It was said to hold the keys to unlocking abilities
that lay dormant in the human mind.
I'm-I'm playing catch-up,
but th-the ransom is superpowers?
Everything he's doing is-is in accordance
with ancient protocols.
The Hand of the Mysteries.
It must be presented in a sacred place.
-That's why he chose this room. -SATO: Sacred?
They sell "We the People" shot glasses in the gift shop.
It's symbolic.
This room was built
as a tribute to the Temple of Vesta in Rome.
There's a purpose to-to everything he's done.
And everything he's said.
What is it?
"As above, so below."
It's the last thing he said before he hung up.
I wonder...
-Oh. -Wait.
There it is. Roman numerals?
No. As a subtractive notation, it doesn't work.
-Uh, e-excuse me. -It could be, uh, an Arabic...
-Not Arabic. -No?
SATO: It's a specialty of mine.
If I can just interject for a quick second...
Well, it actually looks like a runic variation.
Hey, smart people. It's upside down.
So it's not 885. It's S-B-B. Right?
We use that numbering system here in the Capitol.
Subbasement. Room 13.
Okay. Let's go.
* *
(drill whirring)
Come on.
(sighs)
Sorry, Dad.
(exhales)
-Aah! -(Katherine grunts)
(grunting)
What are you doing in my father's house?
(panting)
CIA?
Your turn.
Let me see some ID.
How's that?
I'm gonna need you to come with me to the Capitol.
NUÑEZ: No, Larry. Surprisingly,
the master key doesn't say "master" on it.
No labels. Just numbers. Find it.
Okay. Down we go.
(Langdon breathing shakily)
* *
(water dripping)
You good, man? Come on.
* *
We're below sea level, so it can get pretty wet down here.
Probably why no one ever comes down anymore.
SATO: Didn't stop Peter Solomon. They just told me
room 13 was designated as his private space.
NUÑEZ: Oh, this keyhole's
a bit funky. None of these are gonna work.
(keys jangling)
(Nuñez grunting)
LANGDON: Hang on.
This sconce.
Sprigs of acacia.
Masons consider it a symbol of immortality.
* *
(lock clicks)
(door creaks)
SATO: Do you have any idea what Peter would have been doing
down here?
NUÑEZ: What's that smell?
Sulfur.
SATO: Maybe you don't know Peter as well as you thought.
These bones look human.
They are.
Uh-huh.
And this book, it's bound in human flesh or what?
It's just a Bible.
This isn't some sacrificial altar.
It's a Masonic Chamber of Reflection.
-Hmm. -Meant to be a place
to come and reflect on one's own mortality.
-With some dude's femur? -That any stranger
than chanting before a four-armed elephant
or praying at the feet of a man nailed to a cross?
-SATO: Something wrong? -LANGDON: This symbol. The...
The Leviathan Cross.
It's incongruous. It shouldn't be here.
What about this?
LANGDON: "VITRIOL."
It's an acronym. How's your Latin?
Not as good as my Arabic, better than my German.
"Visita interiora terrae
rectificando invenies occultum lapidem."
"Visit the interior of the Earth,
and, purifying it, you will find a dark stone."
Hidden stone, technically.
(faint creaking)
SATO: Do you know what it means?
LANGDON: It's a Masonic mantra.
"Purifying it, you will find the hidden stone."
(chuckles softly)
(creaking)
Did you happen to put that key back in the sconce?
You-you mean this?
No, no one told me to put it back.
Maybe we should hurry.
Uh, in alchemy,
the first purification is dissolution,
represented by the dissolving of calcifications.
These letters are calcifications.
It's salt.
(stone scrapes)
The wall.
LANGDON: I know, it's remarkable.
No, the wall!
I-I think it's moving.
LANGDON: These aren't just letters. They're handles.
(rumbling)
-(grunts) Damn it, I can't get it. -Yeah, yeah, we're okay.
We're okay. Hurry, please.
Oh!
Oh, man.
That's not... That's not gonna hold. We got to go.
Watch out. Watch out.
Hurry up. Come on! What we waiting for?!
(Sato grunting)
LANGDON: Whoa.
Whoa, whoa.
(Sato panting)
SATO: Come on, let's go.
-NUÑEZ: Come on! -(Sato grunts)
NUÑEZ: Langdon!
SATO: One step at a time. Come on!
NUÑEZ: Are you kidding me right now?!
-Come on! -SATO: You've got this. Come on!
-Let's go! -NUÑEZ: Take a step.
Come on. Just keep going forward.
Langdon! Langdon!
-SATO: Langdon, come on! -NUÑEZ: Snap out of it!
-(breathing shakily) -(water dripping)
SATO: Come on!
(Langdon panting)
-(Nuñez panting) -(Sato coughs)
* *
I used a common Masonic decryption key,
and the, uh, resulting cleartext is, to use a technical term,
gibberish.
Well, maybe your decryption's off.
No.
I think it's a segmented cipher.
When the Greeks wanted to store secret information,
they inscribed it on a tablet,
then shattered it into pieces,
storing each piece in a separate location.
Only when the pieces were gathered together
could the secret be understood.
Which would explain why the top is missing.
The capstone could complete the message.
In theory.
Why are you here?
You said before that, uh,
maybe I didn't know Peter as well as I thought.
Was he working for the CIA?
No.
(phone vibrates)
LANGDON: It's him.
Hang on.
-Go. -Just like we talked about.
Hello?
MAN: What have you found?
Um, I'll tell you,
but first, I-I want to know that Peter's okay.
I want proof that he's alive.
Oh, he's alive. But,
by any measure, in great distress.
You expect me to just accept that?
I expect you to focus on what you can control,
which is whether he lives or dies.
There's a small granite pyramid.
Contains a numerical grid.
But if this is your, uh, portal,
then I'm afraid I got some bad news.
I'll be the judge of that.
Any deciphering of the grid
would require further context.
The capstone.
You didn't think it was gonna be that easy,
did you?
We have more work to do, Robert.
Find it.
I-I-I wouldn't know where to start.
Well, this is the journey.
And it's just begun.
Got the trace. Three miles away.
-Let's go. -We're on our way.
Not you.
I'm not gonna just sit here.
You're the only expert we have. I need you safe and secure.
Sounds like a nice way of saying I'm not allowed to leave.
-You're not. -Hey. Hey. Hey!
* *
NUÑEZ: Hey, man. They didn't have oat.
Soy okay?
(sighs) Guess it'll have to be.
-Thanks. -Yep.
Look...
I know you want to get out there
and help find your friend,
but I think CIA lady's pretty capable.
I think there's something she's not telling us.
(sighs)
It's a "need to know" world, man.
(sighs)
I did two tours in the desert.
I'm still waiting for someone to tell me why.
They like their secrets.
Yes, they do.
All this talk about a portal,
that's what Peter was to me.
A gateway.
To books. To-to art.
Myth.
You think you know everything,
then you meet someone who actually does?
It's, uh, it's-it's humbling.
And it could be hard.
He'd push me to open my mind,
appreciate points of view that I found...
...unsupportable.
PETER: Good evening.
Oh, hey.
Sorry to interrupt, but, uh...
I'm sure we're all relieved that I did.
(chuckles): Oh, no. No, no, no, no. We were... We...
-Dad, what are you doing in here by yourself? -Okay.
-Working on the notes for my lecture. -You're hiding
from your guests.
Hiding from your mother's guests.
Sorry to disturb you. Uh, we should probably...
I'm happy you did,
'cause I actually wanted to ask you about these notes,
and your thoughts always change things for the better.
-Uh... -(laughs) Okay, you know what?
I'm gonna get us a drink. Um...
Dad? Scotch?
I'm good, Katie. Thank you.
I thank the gods
I had the good taste to introduce you two.
Katherine would probably call it fate.
Or the immutable reality of the Akashic Field.
You don't believe in that kind of thing, do you?
God, no.
But you do believe in Katherine?
The worst thing you can do if you love someone
is to give them reason to doubt themselves.
Our partners. Our family. These are people we lean on
because these are people we trust
and who trust in us
no matter what.
I guess I-I never had that.
You have it now.
Yeah, he never gave up on me.
(sighs) I can't give up on him.
* *
(grunts)
SATO: Solomon's phone.
-Goodness. -SOJANI: Okay. So,
the statue's a symbol.
That's how this guy works, right?
Like with the fresco at the Capitol?
It's not about the statue.
It's about the inscription.
"Mundus vult decipi ergo decipiatur."
"The world wants to be deceived,
so let it be deceived."
Deceived.
Well, that sounds like
we brought everyone out here for nothing.
Almost everyone.
Get Simmons on the phone.
(phone vibrates)
-Yeah. -(speaking indistinctly)
Oh, it's all quiet over here.
Yeah, we are secure.
Okay.
* *
(Nuñez breathing raggedly)
Whoa. Why are you doing this?
Mal'akh needs you free of here to find the portal.
Mal'akh.
JANITOR: Take that and go.
He'll be in touch.
-He needs help. -JANITOR: He'll need last rites
if you don't go.
* *
-Whoa, whoa, whoa! -DISPATCHER: Officer down.
-Repeat, we have reports of an officer down. -OFFICER: Stop!
DISPATCHER: Can we get EMS Code 3, East Capitol and First.
-That's coming from inside the Capitol. -Stay here.
-What does this have to do with my dad? -Just stay here.
-Hey! -ADAMU: CIA.
(indistinct chatter)
SOJANI: Still no sign of Langdon.
But we've got everyone looking.
I want to show you something.
You asked about my interest in this case.
Solomon's kid worked for us?
Briefly. In Ankara.
Then he got locked up for trafficking.
(shouts)
Three years ago,
there was a riot in the prison.
(breathing raggedly)
SATO: Zachary Solomon was beaten to death.
So, what's the connection?
That's what you're going to Turkey to find out.
Langdon?
(indistinct announcement over P.A.)
Langdon!
Kat.
What are you doing here? Are you okay?
No, not really.
Where are you going? What do...
Oh, my God. Are you...
Is that blood?
It's not mine.
Tell me what's going on.
You're gonna have to trust me.
If I'm gonna help your dad, I got-I got to go.
-Robert. -The people who took him
want me to find something.
A... A-An artifact, a piece of a very old puzzle.
-Then I'll help you. -No.
They shot two people back there
so I could do this thing alone.
It's... It's not safe. I got to go.
I have something.
-Katherine. -Maybe it can help.
(sighs)
What is it?
I don't know, but Dad said that its secrecy
was more valuable than his life.
He said that? Those exact words?
Close enough.
He made me promise to destroy it
if anything ever happened to him.
I'm coming with you.
What is it?
LANGDON: A Leviathan Cross.
MAL'AKH: There's been a shift.
A stirring in the atmosphere.
Can you feel it?
Your fate is in Robert's hands now.
And the fate of mankind, as well.
Now, hopefully, he's not a disappointment.
Like your son.
Poor, disappointing Zachary.
You know nothing of my son.
I do, though.
I was there with him in the end.
I was the one who ended him.
* *
SATO: Langdon, I'm giving you a chance to come out on your own
or I'm sending someone else in after you.
-(hangs up) -Robert?
Well, you just hung up on the CIA.
I've been friends with Peter for 30 years.
He was the one who brought me into the group.
The Leviathan Group was formed based on
a belief that the ancient wisdom unlocked hidden power.
And what would happen if this power
fell into the wrong hands?
LANGDON: And you think Peter would die to keep
-that secret? -Be careful.
We wouldn't be here if had any other options.
You were right about Sato. There's something she's hiding.
Do what you do best.
(grunting)
LANGDON: Only way to get Peter back
is to find the capstone, give Mal'akh what he wants.
Time is running out. We have to finish this.
-Or my dad is dead. -MAL'AKH: Death will be a blessing for him.
* *
You're in my world now.