Robert Langdon, #1
Angels & Demons
by Dan Brown
Contents
16
Overview
Far from CERN, a security technician discovers that a wireless camera has been removed from its assigned position but is still transmitting from somewhere inside a heavily guarded complex. The feed shows an unfamiliar device with a blinking display, suggesting an intentional hidden threat.
The chapter shifts the danger beyond CERN and implies that Vetra’s murder and the stolen technology may already have consequences elsewhere. The technician’s decision to contact a superior raises the stakes by introducing an urgent security crisis at a second location.
Summary
Hundreds of miles from CERN, an unnamed security technician communicates by walkie-talkie with someone searching a hallway for camera #86. The searcher reports that the camera is not where it should be, though its mount remains, meaning someone has removed it.
The technician is confused because stolen wireless cameras usually lose signal once taken out of range, but camera #86 is still transmitting a clear image. The technician concludes that the camera must still be somewhere inside the large guarded complex, but someone has moved it deliberately.
The technician tries to narrow the location by asking whether the original stairwell has closets, cupboards, or dark alcoves, because the image appears to come from somewhere dark. The answer is no, leaving the technician with almost no way to locate the camera among thirty-two buildings, underground tunnels, maintenance spaces, and other concealed areas.
The missing camera is only part of the problem. Its feed shows a stationary, modern device the technician does not recognize, with a blinking electronic display at its base. Although the device seems small, its unexplained presence inside the complex alarms the technician, especially because security is unusually critical today.
Sensing a serious threat, the technician stops trying to solve the problem alone. Sweating and increasingly afraid, the technician calls a superior to report the situation.
Who Appears
- Unnamed security technicianMonitors camera feeds, realizes camera #86 was moved, and reports a suspicious device.
- Unnamed hallway searcherChecks camera #86’s assigned location and confirms the camera has been removed.
- Technician’s superiorUnseen authority whom the technician calls after recognizing a possible security threat.