British Embassy, Prague – 1:12 p.m.
Langdon stared at the encrypted files now open on the embassy's computer screen. The flash drive recovered from Katherine's car wasn't just storage—it was bait.
Inside was a short video.
The grainy footage showed Katherine speaking directly to the camera in a dim lab.
"If you're watching this, I've either gone missing—or worse. What I'm about to show you is the culmination of fifteen years of work. A discovery that rewrites our understanding of the mind... and perhaps, of the soul." She held up a transparent cube—a portable device, like a quantum memory capsule.
"This contains recordings of psi-field responses—the measurable physical effects of conscious intention. If released, it would validate centuries of mystical knowledge. But more importantly, it proves that thought is not confined to the brain." The video glitched.
Langdon felt the room shrink.
A voice cut in—digitally distorted, male.
"You were warned not to awaken the mind. Deliver the cube by midnight. House of Silence. Or she dies." Langdon's hands trembled.
He had no idea what this "cube" was.
But someone believed he had it.