The Lost Symbol

A Masonic initiate. . preparing to enter the first degree.

The man was very muscular and tall, with a familiar blond hairpiece and deeply tanned skin. Langdon recognized his features at once. The man’s tattoos had obviously been concealed beneath bronzing makeup. He was standing before a full-length mirror videotaping his reflection through the camera concealed in his wig.

But. . why?

The screen faded to black.

New footage appeared. A small, dimly lit, rectangular chamber. A dramatic chessboard floor of black-and-white tile. A low wooden altar, flanked on three sides by pillars, atop which burned flickering candles.

Langdon felt a sudden apprehension.

Oh my God.

Filming in the erratic style of an amateur home video, the camera now panned up to the periphery of the room to reveal a small group of men observing the initiate. The men were dressed in ritual Masonic regalia. In the darkness, Langdon could not make out their faces, but he had no doubt where this ritual was taking place.

The traditional layout of this Lodge Room could have been anywhere in the world, but the powder-blue triangular pediment above the master’s chair revealed it as the oldest masonic lodge in d.c. — potomac lodge no. 5—home of george washington and the masonic forefathers who laid the cornerstone for the white house and the capitol building.

The lodge was still active today.

Peter Solomon, in addition to overseeing the House of the Temple, was the master of his local lodge. And it was at lodges like this one that a Masonic initiate’s journey always began. . where he underwent the first three degrees of Freemasonry.

«Brethren,» Peter’s familiar voice declared, «in the name of the Great Architect of the Universe, I open this lodge for the practice of Masonry in the first degree!»

A gavel rapped loudly.

Langdon watched in utter disbelief as the video progressed through a quick series of dissolves featuring Peter Solomon performing some of the ritual’s starker moments.

Pressing a shining dagger to the initiate’s bare chest. . threatening impalement should the initiate «inappropriately reveal the Mysteries of Masonry». . describing the black-and-white floor as representing «the living and the dead». . outlining punishments that included «having one’s throat cut across, one’s tongue torn out by its roots, and one’s body buried in the rough sands of the sea. .»

Langdon stared. Am I really witnessing this? Masonic initiation rites had remained shrouded in secrecy for centuries. The only descriptions that had ever been leaked were written by a handful of estranged brothers. Langdon had read those accounts, of course, and yet to see an initiation with his own eyes. . this was a much different story.

Especially edited this way. Langdon could already tell that the video was an unfair piece of propaganda, omitting all the noblest aspects of the initiation and highlighting only the most disconcerting. If this video were released, Langdon knew it would become an Internet sensation over night. The anti-Masonic conspiracy theorists would feed on this like sharks. The Masonic organization, and especially Peter Solomon, would find themselves embroiled in a firestorm of controversy and a desperate effort at damage control. . even though the ritual was innocuous and purely symbolic.

Eerily, the video included a biblical reference to human sacrifice. . «the submission of Abraham to the Supreme Being by proffering Isaac, his firstborn son.» Langdon thought of Peter and willed the helicopter to fly faster.

The video footage shifted now.

same room. different night. a larger group of masons looking on. peter solomon was observing from the master’s chair. this was the second degree. more intense now. Kneeling at the altar. . vowing to «forever conceal the enigmas existing within Freemasonry». . consenting to the penalty of «having one’s chest cavity ripped open and pulsing heart cast upon the surface of the earth as offal for the ravenous beasts». .