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By midmorning, white smoke rises from the Sistine Chapel, signaling the election of a new Pope. In St. Peter’s Square, Gunther Glick prepares for what he expects to be his final BBC transmission, while Chinita Macri warns him not to turn the wrap-up into another sensational spectacle.

Once live, Glick initially delivers a sober report. He announces that Cardinal Saverio Mortati has been elected Pope by a unanimous vote, then summarizes the Vatican’s silence about the previous night’s extraordinary events and lists the dead: the four cardinals, Commander Olivetti, Captain Rocher, Leonardo Vetra, and Maximilian Kohler.

Glick also reports that CERN has responded to the antimatter crisis through a statement from Sylvie Baudeloque: antimatter research and licensing will be suspended while safety concerns are reviewed. He then notes Robert Langdon’s strange survival, citing reports that Langdon was seen in St. Peter’s Square and treated after apparently falling into the Tiber River from the sky.

Macri believes the broadcast has ended perfectly, but Glick refuses to sign off. Instead, Glick introduces Dr. Joseph Vanek, a Vatican scholar from DePaul University, alarming Macri until she realizes Vanek is a legitimate expert rather than a conspiracy crank.

Vanek reveals that ancient papal election law recognizes a method called “Acclamation by Adoration,” in which all cardinals spontaneously and unanimously proclaim one person’s name. Because the cardinals chanted Carlo Ventresca’s name from St. Peter’s Square, Vanek argues they unknowingly elected Carlo Pope before Mortati’s later election.

Vanek explains that this method bypasses the usual cardinal eligibility requirement and can elevate any ordained clergyman. As a result, Carlo Ventresca legally reigned as Pope for just under seventeen minutes before his fiery death, giving Glick the final sensational revelation he had been saving.