Robert Langdon, #1
Angels & Demons
by Dan Brown
Contents
28
Overview
Sylvie Baudeloque’s perspective shows the growing disorder at CERN after Leonardo Vetra’s disappearance and Kohler’s secretive actions. Kohler’s failure to return for essential medical treatment and his total unreachability heighten the sense that events are spiraling beyond his control.
An urgent call from a powerful or significant caller forces Sylvie to override normal protocol and use an emergency means of contacting Kohler. The chapter shifts attention back to CERN and raises the stakes around Kohler’s absence.
Summary
At CERN, secretary Sylvie Baudeloque panics outside Maximilian Kohler’s empty office because Kohler has vanished during an already strange day. Earlier, Kohler had ordered Sylvie to find Leonardo Vetra, but Vetra did not answer pages, calls, or emails.
Kohler left to search for Vetra himself and returned looking even worse than usual. After locking himself in his office to use his modem, phone, and fax, Kohler left again and did not return.
Sylvie first treats Kohler’s behavior as another of his difficult moods, but she becomes worried when Kohler misses the proper time for his daily injections. Because Kohler’s health depends on regular treatment and he reacts angrily to pity, Sylvie hesitates to page him merely out of concern.
A more urgent problem replaces Sylvie’s concern for Kohler’s health: the CERN switchboard reports an urgent call for the director from a caller whose identity shocks her. Sylvie tries Kohler’s cell phone, beeper, and mobile computer, but receives no response, making it seem as though Kohler has disappeared.
With the important caller waiting and Kohler unreachable, Sylvie decides to use the only remaining method to get the director’s attention. Despite knowing Kohler will be displeased, Sylvie enters his office, opens a metal control box, selects the correct button, and takes the microphone.
Who Appears
- Sylvie BaudeloqueKohler’s secretary; panics when she cannot locate him for an urgent call.
- Maximilian KohlerCERN director; absent, unreachable, and overdue for required medical injections.
- Leonardo VetraMissing physicist-priest whose unavailability prompted Kohler’s earlier search.
- CERN operatorSwitchboard employee who alerts Sylvie to the urgent call for Kohler.
- Unidentified callerImportant caller whose identity alarms Sylvie and demands Kohler’s attention.