Robert Langdon, #1
Angels & Demons
by Dan Brown
Contents
119
Overview
Vittoria, Langdon, Chartrand, and the BBC crew follow the camerlegno into the depths beneath St. Peter’s, where the antimatter is believed to be hidden. Vittoria realizes that moving the canister upward could kill the crowds outside, while Langdon accepts that sacrificing the basilica may be the only way to save lives. At the gate to the necropolis, the camerlegno rejects their fears and insists he can save the church without further deaths, deepening the uncertainty around his supposed divine mission.
Summary
Vittoria races down the steep stone passage beneath St. Peter’s after the camerlegno, with Langdon, Chartrand, and the BBC crew close behind. Chartrand has stopped Langdon from restraining the camerlegno, apparently convinced that the camerlegno’s divine certainty is genuine, so the pursuit continues toward the necropolis and St. Peter’s tomb.
As Vittoria descends, Vittoria reasons through the stakes of the antimatter’s location. If the canister is truly buried deep underground, the blast might be partly contained, sparing the crowds outside while destroying the basilica. Vittoria struggles to understand Kohler’s alleged conspiracy and concludes that Rocher could have acted as Kohler’s Vatican accomplice, hiding the canister in a restricted site and preventing a proper search.
Vittoria then questions whether the camerlegno’s knowledge could really have come from God. Remembering Leonardo Vetra’s explanation that prayer and revelation may be heightened states of human clarity, Vittoria begins to accept that the camerlegno may have intuited the antimatter’s location through trauma. That realization leads Vittoria to a new fear: if the camerlegno brings the antimatter to the surface, the explosion will kill the vast crowds around Vatican City.
Vittoria and Langdon shout warnings as Langdon closes in on the camerlegno. Langdon, despite his reverence for St. Peter’s Basilica and its art, realizes the terrible logic that leaving the antimatter underground may be the only way to save the people outside. The need to preserve lives now outweighs the need to preserve the church.
At the bottom of the stairs, the camerlegno reaches a wrought-iron gate marked with skulls. Langdon forces the gate shut to block the camerlegno, while Chartrand again tries to defend him. Vittoria explains that an explosion aboveground would be far worse, but the camerlegno calmly insists that he does not intend a ground-level explosion, asks them to trust him, and declares that he has been called to save the church without causing more death.
Who Appears
- Vittoria VetraChases the camerlegno underground and realizes moving the antimatter upward could kill the crowds.
- Robert LangdonPursues the camerlegno and tries to prevent removal of the antimatter from underground.
- Camerlegno Carlo VentrescaLeads the descent toward St. Peter’s tomb, claiming faith and certainty will save the church.
- Lieutenant ChartrandDefends the camerlegno’s actions and restrains Langdon from interfering.
- Gunther GlickBBC reporter following the descent, visibly shaken as the camera records events.
- Leonardo VetraAppears in Vittoria’s memory explaining divine revelation as heightened mental clarity.