Chapter 43 Chapter Forty-Two

"Invisible cameras? I don't understand." Sato said sternly, "You'll understand soon." She ran a document on her laptop. The video window pops up and fills the entire screen.Sato lifted the suitcase and placed it on Langdon's lap, leaving him to watch alone. A strange picture appeared.Langdon recoiled in horror.What the hell is this? ! The screen was blurry and dark, and a blindfolded man appeared.Wearing the clothes worn by medieval pagans when they were dragged to the gallows—with a rope around the neck, the left trousers rolled up to the knee, the right sleeve rolled up to the elbow, and the shirt was opened wide, exposing the chest.

Langdon stared in surprise.He had read enough of the Masonic rituals to see what was happening. Masonic Initiation Ceremony...ready to join the First Order. The man was tall and muscular, with familiar-looking blond hair and dark bronze skin.Langdon recognized him instantly.His tattoos were clearly concealed by bronzer makeup.He stands in front of a full-length mirror and uses a camera hidden in his forehead wig to record himself in the mirror. Fade to black screen. Peter Solomon not only oversees the temple, but also serves as the venerable in the assembly hall where he is located.The initiation ceremonies of Masonic members are held in these halls, and it is here that the newcomer's Masonic journey begins...from the first class to the third class.

"Brothers," Peter's voice sounded so familiar, "in the name of the great architect of the universe, I open this assembly hall to newcomers who practice the first level of Freemasonry!" As soon as the words fell, there was another hasty hammer sound. Langdon couldn't believe his eyes. The video had been edited, with several superimposed images snapping through the more stark moments of Peter Solomon's ritual. A cold dagger is placed on the naked chest of the entrant... If the entrant "discloses the secrets of the Freemasonry at an inappropriate time", he will be punished by a sharp sword piercing his heart...Describe the black and white checkered floor as a symbol of "the two realms of life and death"... ...a rough disciplinary regulation, including throat cutting, tongue pulling out, burning sand and burying oneself...

Langdon was stunned.What's even more weird is that this video also mentioned the "Bible" saying about human burnt offerings... "Abraham feared God and was willing to offer his first-born son as a burnt offering." The image transitions.This time, it's the rite of passage to the second rank...the third rank...murder, with fast-cut violence shot from the point of view of the terrified victim, recreating the brutal murder of the oath-taker.Punches rained down on his head, including the Masonic stone mallet.Of course, the attack was only a simulation, but the effect on camera was creepy.After a brutal beating, the oath-taker—now the "old dead self"—was placed in a symbolic coffin, with eyes closed and arms folded in exact imitation of a corpse.Masonic brothers rose and mourned around the dead body, and an organ played the Death March.

The brothers gathered around the slain brother, their faces clearly captured by the invisible camera.Langdon realized that Solomon was not the only celebrity in the room.The man who is looking down at the ordination in the coffin is on the TV screen almost every day. And a prominent U.S. senator. The scene changed again.Now it's outdoors...at night...the same shaking image...the man walking on the city street...a few locks of blond hair are blown by the wind, swaying in front of the camera...turned a corner...the camera's perspective is down, Aim at something in your hand...a dollar bill...a close-up of the Great Seal...and then, suddenly, look up at a familiar silhouette in the distance...a huge pyramid-shaped building...a sloping wall Gathering upwards, they converge on a roof without a spire.

holy temple. The vision continues...the man is walking quickly towards the sanctuary...up the steps...to the majestic bronze doors...and the seventeen-ton sphinx statues line the sides.New members step into the pyramid, heading for a new round of initiation ceremonies. dark field. On screen, the cavernous interior is brightly lit.Beneath the skylight, the black marble altar glistened in the moonlight.Around the altar, the top members of the Thirty-third Order of Freemasonry sat in hand-crafted pigskin chairs, sitting gloomily, waiting to witness their initiation.The camera pans slowly across their faces with ulterior motives.

Although he had never seen this scene before, it was very easy to understand.The most prominent and distinguished Masonic high-ranking figures gathered in the most powerful city in the world, and there must be many influential and famous people making appearances.Sure enough, those sitting around the altar, clad in silk gowns and Masonic skirts and jewels, were mostly the most famous and famous in the United States.