Chapter 8 Chapter VII

Maximilian Kohler, head of CERN, is called "The Monarch" behind his back, not out of respect, but out of respect for the man who rules the territory from a wheelchair of fear.Although few had personal acquaintances with him, the horrific story of his mutilation was widely known at CERN, and few accused him of vitriol or his oath of devotion to pure science. Although Langdon had only met Kohler for a short while, he already felt that this was a difficult person to approach.Kohler drove the wheelchair towards the main entrance, and Langdon unconsciously began to trot in order to keep up with Kohler's electric wheelchair.This wheelchair was completely different from the wheelchairs Langdon had seen before—the wheelchair was equipped with an electronic system, including a multiple telephone, a call system, a computer monitor, and even a small detachable video recorder.It can be said that King Kohler's wheelchair rules the center.

Langdon followed Kohler through the mechanical door into the large main hall of the European Nuclear Center. The glass cathedral, Langdon thought, staring at the dome. Overhead, the pale blue glass roof shimmered in the afternoon sun, projecting various geometric figures that made the hall look even more magnificent.Mottled shadows cast on the tiled walls and marble floors.The air smells crisp and clean.Several scientists walked briskly in the hall, and the sound of their footsteps echoed clearly in the air. "This way, Mr. Langdon." Kohler's voice sounded almost like a robot, stiff and dull, really like a human being.Kohler coughed, wiped his mouth with a white handkerchief, and stared at Langdon with his impassive gray eyes. "Please hurry up." His electric wheelchair seemed to be bouncing on the tiled floor.

From the main hall, Langdon followed through an innumerable number of small halls, each of which was busy with people.The scientists who saw Kohler seemed to be surprised. They looked at Langdon, as if they were thinking, what does this person do?It surprised Kohler to greet him in person. "I'm so sorry." Langdon wanted to strike up a conversation with him, so he said boldly, "I've never heard of 'CERN'." "It's nothing to be surprised about," Kohler interrupted Langdon, sounding blunt, "Most Americans don't see Europe as a world leader in scientific research, they only see us as a Elegant shopping district - it's incredible when you think of the likes of Einstein, Galileo and Newton among these peoples."

Langdon didn't know how to answer.He took out the fax from his pocket and asked, "The person in the photo, can you..." Kohler waved his hand and interrupted him, "Please don't talk here, I'll take you to see that person right away." He stretched out his hand and said, "Maybe this thing is better for me." Langdon handed the fax to Kohler and followed in silence. Kohler made a sharp left turn into a spacious foyer hung with certificates of honor.The most eye-catching thing at the door is a huge plaque.Langdon slowed down and looked carefully at the words engraved on the copper plaque:

Electronic Arts Award for Cultural Innovator of the Digital Age Tim Bernards Lee, Inventor of the World Wide Web and Euronuclear Center Oh, I'm so ignorant.Langdon thought as he read the words on the plaque.The guy really wasn't lying.Langdon always believed that the World Wide Web was an American invention, and his knowledge of the Internet was limited to the URLs of his own books and the occasional online inspection of the Louvre on his old Macintosh. "The network," Kohler coughed again, wiped his mouth and said, "It started with the indoor networked computers here, which allowed scientists in different departments to share their daily research results with each other. Of course, the whole world thought that The web is American technology."

Langdon followed Kohler down the aisle and said, "Then why not correct that statement?" Kohler shrugged, apparently uninterested in the question, "It's a trivial misunderstanding about a trivial technology. 'CERN' is much more than a global network of computers that our scientists create almost every day Miracle." Langdon gave Kohler a puzzled look. "Miracle?" You won't find the word "miracle" around Harvard's Fairchild Science Building. "Miracle" is a seminary thing. "You don't seem to believe it," Kohler said. "I think you're a religious semiotician. Don't you believe in miracles?"

"I'm still skeptical about miracles," Langdon said. "Especially ones born in science labs." "Maybe saying miracle is a misnomer, I was just trying to say what you said." "My words?" Langdon suddenly felt very uncomfortable. "Not afraid to disappoint you, sir. I study religious semiotics—a scholar, not a priest." Kohler suddenly slowed down, turned around, and his eyes softened a little. "Of course, look how stupid I am. One doesn't need to have cancer to analyze cancer symptoms." Langdon had never heard such an analogy.As they walked along the aisle, Kohler nodded approvingly and said, "I think we will be open and honest, Mr. Langdon."

For some reason, Langdon was skeptical of this. As the two hurried forward, Langdon felt a muffled rumbling overhead.The sound echoed in the four walls, and the further they walked, the clearer the sound became, as if it was coming from the end of the corridor in front of them. "What's that sound?" Langdon asked aloud.It seemed to him that they were approaching an active volcano. "Free fall," Kohler replied, his hollow voice piercing the air.He said nothing else. Langdon didn't ask.He was exhausted, and Maximilian Kohler didn't seem interested in being nice to him.Langdon reminded himself why he was here.Illuminati.He guessed there was a dead body in this sprawling research center... a marked dead body that he'd flown in from three thousand miles away to see.

They were nearing the end of the aisle, and the rumble was so deafening that Langdon felt the soles of his shoes vibrate.Rounding the front corner, a viewing porch is visible to the right, with four thick glass doors fixed to the curved wall like the windows of a submarine.Langdon stopped and looked out a door. Professor Robert Langdon has seen some strange things in his life, but what he sees is the strangest.He blinked and blinked, wondering if he was hallucinating.There was a circular room in front of him, and he stared at it with wide eyes.The room turned out to be a person, floating, as if weightless.There were three people in total, one of them waved his hand and did a somersault in mid-air.

God!Langdon thought.I'm here. The floor of the house is a mesh grille, like a huge barbed wire fence, and underneath is the metal casing of a huge thruster. "Freefall," Kohler said, stopping to wait for him, "is indoor skydiving. It's about stress relief. It's a vertical." Langdon watched, dumbfounded.One of the overweight women who fell freely was doing tricks towards the window.She was rocking back and forth in the draft, but grinning nonetheless, and gave Langdon a quick thumbs-up sign.Langdon smiled feebly and returned the same gesture, wondering if she knew it was an ancient phallic symbol of male fertility.

The large woman, Langdon noticed, was the only one wearing what looked like a small parachute.The bulging braid she was wrapped in made her look like a toy. "What's her little parachute for?" Langdon asked Khloe. "This thing may not be more than a yard in diameter." "Friction," Kohler said, "reduces the air resistance on her so that the fan can lift her up." He propelled the motorized wheelchair down the corridor. "One square yard of air resistance can slow a body down twenty percent." Langdon nodded blankly. Little did he know that later that night, in a country thousands of miles away, this message would save his life.

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Notes: (The Wizard of OZ) in a fictional place.