The Lost Symbol

«okay, relax. . it was my own money, and nobody’s using pod five right now. when you’re done with your experiments, you’ll move out. besides, pod five has some unique properties that will be perfect for your work.»

Katherine could not imagine what a massive, empty pod might offer that would serve her research, but she sensed she was about to find out. They had just reached a steel door with boldly stenciled letters:

POD 5

Her brother inserted his key card into a slot and an electronic keypad lit up. He raised his finger to type his access code, but paused, arching his eyebrows in the same mischievous way he always had as a boy. «You sure you’re ready?»

She nodded. My brother, always the showman.

«Stand back.» Peter hit the keys.

The steel door hissed loudly open.

Beyond the threshold was only inky blackness. . a yawning void. A hollow moan seemed to echo out of the depths. Katherine felt a cold blast of air emanating from within. It was like staring into the Grand Canyon at night.

«Picture an empty airline hangar waiting for a fleet of Airbuses,» her brother said, «and you get the basic idea.»

Katherine felt herself take a step backward.

«The pod itself is far too voluminous to be heated, but your lab is a thermally insulated cinder-block room, roughly a cube, located in the farthest corner of the pod for maximum separation.»

Katherine tried to picture it. A box inside a box. She strained to see into the darkness, but it was absolute. «How far back?»

«Pretty far. . a football field would fit easily in here. I should warn you, though, the walk is a little unnerving. It’s exceptionally dark.»

Katherine peered tentatively around the corner. «No light switch?»

«Pod Five is not yet wired for electricity.»

«But. . then how can a lab function?»

He winked. «Hydrogen fuel cell.»

Katherine’s jaw dropped. «You’re kidding, right?»

«Enough clean power to run a small town. Your lab enjoys full radio-frequency separation from the rest of the building. What’s more, all pod exteriors are sealed with photo-resistant membranes to protect the artifacts inside from solar radiation. essentially, this pod is a sealed, energy-neutral environment.»

Katherine was starting to comprehend the appeal of Pod 5. Because much of her work centered on quantifying previously unknown energy fields, her experiments needed to be performed in a location isolated from any extraneous radiation or «white noise.» This included interference as subtle as «brain radiation» or «thought emissions» generated by people nearby. For this reason, a university campus or hospital lab wouldn’t work, but a deserted pod at the SMSC could not have been more perfect.

«Let’s go back and have a look.» Her brother was grinning as he stepped into the vast darkness. «Just follow me.»

Katherine stalled at the threshold. Over a hundred yards in total darkness? She wanted to suggest a flashlight, but her brother had already disappeared into the abyss.

«Peter?» she called.

«Leap of faith,» he called back, his voice already fading away. «You’ll find your way. Trust me.»

He’s kidding, right? Katherine’s heart was pounding as she stepped a few feet over the threshold, trying to peer into the darkness. I can’t see a thing! Suddenly the steel door hissed and slammed shut behind her, plunging her into total blackness. Not a speck of light anywhere. «Peter?!»

Silence.

You’ll find your way. Trust me.

Tentative, she inched forward blindly. Leap of faith? Katherine could not even see her hand directly in front of her face. She kept moving forward, but within a matter of seconds, she was entirely lost. Where am I going?

That was three years ago.

Now, as Katherine arrived at the same heavy metal door, she realized how far she had come since that first night. Her lab — nicknamed the Cube — had become her home, a sanctuary within the depths of Pod 5. Exactly as her brother had predicted, she had found her way through the darkness that night, and every day since — thanks to an ingeniously simple guidance system that her brother had let her discover for herself.

Far more important, her brother’s other prediction had come true as well: Katherine’s experiments had produced astonishing results, particularly in the last six months, breakthroughs that would alter entire paradigms of thinking. Katherine and her brother had agreed to keep her results absolutely secret until the implications were more fully understood. one day soon, however, katherine knew she would publish some of the most transformative scientific revelations in human history.

A secret lab in a secret museum, she thought, inserting her key card into the Pod 5 door. The keypad lit up, and Katherine typed her PIN.

The steel door hissed open.