I.

Title and Author

Title: Angel’s and Demon’s

Author: Dan Brown

II. Setting

The main setting of the book is in Rome, and the Vatican City. Their
hunt for the canister leads them throughout the streets and ancient
churches and chapels of Rome, not to mention its attempts to rewrite
much of the religious history of Catholic Christianity.

It seems the story is set around the 21st century, based on the
scientific breakthroughs of the time. That fits well in with the time of
writing.

III.Characters
a. Major Characters

• Protagonists
• Robert Langdon is a professor of symbology at Harvard
University and the main protagonist of the novel. He is
flown to CERN to help investigate the murder of Leonardo
Vetra. He is described as wearing a pair of chino pants,
turtleneck, and tweed jacket. His name is a tribute to John
Langdon.

• Vittoria Vetra is the adopted daughter of Leonardo Vetra,

and works as a scientist at CERN (European Organization
for Nuclear Research) in Geneva, Switzerland.
Vittoria was an orphan who was described as being
extremely curious. She became mutually attached to
Leonardo Vetra when he visited her orphanage, as he
would teach her things (like why rain fell) and she could
make him laugh. When Leonardo announced his departure
to work for CERN, he offered to adopt Vittoria so that they
could stay together. Vittoria agreed to come with him and
became a marine biologist and a physicist. Vittoria later
gave an idea to her father to create antimatter. She's
fluent in English, French, Italian, and Latin.

She features prominently in Angels and Demons as Robert

Langdon's sidekick. Vittoria helps Robert locate kidnapped
Cardinals throughout the course of the book. She is
kidnapped by the Hassasin when they try to get to Cardinal
Guidera, and the Hassasin brings her to his Illuminati
hideout where he plans to rape her. She is brought to
Castle Saint'Angelo by the Hassasin, but Robert finds her
bound to a divan and gagged and the Hassasin with his
knife to her navel when he appears to rescue her. Vittoria
somehow manages to free herself from the ropes and uses
a torch to burn one eye of the Hassasin, who falls from the
balcony and dies. When Robert miraculously returns to
Vatican City after the Antimatter Detonation, she is
overjoyed and they kiss passionately. At the end of the
book Vittoria and Robert have intimate relations, but no
details are given. In The Da Vinci Code, it is mentioned that
Robert and Vittoria had planned to meet each other at a
different romantic location every six months, but that
Robert had not seen her since they departed from Rome. It
is implied that the relationship did not last very long.
• Antagonists

• Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca (named Patrick

McKenna in the film adaptation) aka Janus is
the main antagonist of the book. Carlo Ventresca is
the Camerlengo and faithful servant to the Roman Catholic
Church during the papal conclave in the Vatican City. In the
2009 film adaptation, to accommodate Scottish actor Ewan
McGregor who plays him, Ventresca's name is changed and
he is fromNorthern Ireland instead of Italy.

He was raised by his mother Maria, whom he used to

call Maria Benedetta (the blessed Mary). To the questions
about his father, she would always reply that he had died
before Carlo was born and that now God was his father.
She raised him a strict Catholic by bringing him to Mass
every day.

During a vacation on Sicily, the church they visited came

under attack by the Red Brigades and Carlo was the sole
survivor. In the film, the story was altered so that the
attack occurred in Northern Ireland and the attackers were
the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). Later he would say that
God had saved him by leading him into a safe corner.
A bishop from Palermo then took him in and Carlo lived and
learned under monks. But at the age of 16 he
was conscripted into the Italian army. There he refused to
fire a weapon, so the army taught him to fly a helicopter
and to parachute. After serving two years, he entered a
seminary. When the bishop was elected Pope, he named
Carlo his Camerlengo.

Before the initial events occurred within the novel, Carlo

had been sent, by the Vatican, to CERN (European Center
for Nuclear Research) to meet with scientist Leonardo
Vetra. This was to investigate claims that a discovery of
profound religious significance had occurred. Here, he was
shown the procedure to create antimatter. Carlo was
ethically disturbed by this discovery, and reported his
findings to the Pope, which was met with a positive
response. The Pope claimed that he owed a great debt to
science, and he agreed with Leonardo Vetra that the
discovery held profound religious significance. Carlo was
saddened to hear this from the Pope, so the Pope
explained that he had fathered a child, so he owed a deep
debt to science. Shocked and disappointed about this
betrayal to God and the church, Carlo abandoned the Pope
before the situation was explained. Carlo found himself on
St. Peter's tomb where he believed he received instructions
from God.

Carlo carried out this believed instruction by poisoning the

Pope with lethal dose of Heparin (which the pope required
for his illness). Due to his role as the Camerlengo, he took
the authority of the Holy See while a new Pope was elected
(although without most of the Pope' prerogatives). During
this time period, he hired an assassin to kill the four
Cardinals held in the highest regard by the
college,papabili or preferati),thus ensuring a confusion in
the Conclave as to who should be elected to the papacy.

He covered up many of these actions by assuming an alias

as the leader of the Illuminati, known as Janus.

The novel then begins with the antimatter having been

stolen from CERN and hidden in the Vatican, and used as a
terrorist threat against the church. This is known to have
been engineered by the Illuminati, which Carlo is claiming
to be the leader of. The Illuminati claims that they wish to
destroy the Vatican as vengeance for the murder and
repression of science before the Age of Enlightenment.

During the novel, with one hour before the antimatter is

due to destroy the Vatican, Maximilian Kohler claims to
have information regarding the location of the antimatter,
and reports to the Vatican to help. It then turns out that
Kohler knew about the plans of the Camerlengo, and
intended to unmask him. When he was confronted, he
branded himself with the Illuminati diamond, claimed that
Kohler was an Illuminatus and had him shot. During this
time, Kohler has recorded the meeting on hidden camera.

Being carried outside to St Peter's Square due to his

injuries, he suddenly awoke and jumped up, presenting the
brand to the masses. Then he pretended to receive a
heavenly message revealing the position of the antimatter,
with only 30 minutes until its destruction. He and Langdon
used a helicopter to try to get the antimatter away. Carlo
took the sole parachute and landed safely in the Vatican
Gardens (without the knowledge of the media or the
devout in St Peter's Square). He then climbed up to the
Basilica and presented himself a perfect miracle to the
cheering masses.

Meanwhile, Langdon had listened to Kohler's video tape,

which was handed to him as Kohler died, on which Carlo
confessed that he had killed the Pope and that he was
responsible for the terrorist threat and the murder of the
Cardinals. In front of the horrified College of Cardinals, he
tried to justify his actions, gathering only comprehension.
Then, Saverio Mortati, the Cardinal Dean told him the truth
about the Pope; that he had fallen in love with a nun called
Maria, that their child had been fathered through artificial
insemination and he therefore broke no vow. Mortati also
told him the child's identity: Carlo Ventresca.

Horrified by the truth and his guilt, he burnt himself

alive on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica. His ashes,
recovered by Mortati, later the new Pope, were put next to
his father's sarcophagus.
 Shortly thereafter, it becomes clear that Ventresca was
elected Pope by a method called Acclamation by Adoration,
which is when all the Cardinals freely chant one
clergyman's name, which they did before Carlo lit himself
on fire. He reigned for under 17 minutes, and therefore his
burial next to his father's tomb in the Vatican grottoes was
appropriate.

From early on in the story, the Camerlengo is revealed as

extremely modern compared to other clergy. This is
especially revealed when Lieutenant Chartrand remembers
a conversation with the Camerlengo in which he asks about
how God can be both omnipotent and benevolent. When he
mentions children skateboarding, however, Chartrand
understands that he is very "up with the times", so to
speak.

• The Hassassin (or The Killer; named Mr. Gray in the film
adaptation) is a secondary antagonist. The Hassassin is not
part of the ancient Illuminati group. He is co-opted into
carrying out evil deeds under the Illuminati name by a
character called "Janus". He is of Arabic descent, often
referring to the murders the Crusaders committed against
his people.

In the prologue of the book, The Hassassin demanded a

password from Leonardo Vetra to gain access into the
Vetra's secret underground laboratory which contained a
small, but nonetheless destructive, quantity of antimatter.
When Leonardo failed to comply and give out the key, the
Hassassin cut out one of Leonardo's eyes (which turned out
to be the key into Vetra's underground laboratory) and
branded the Illuminati logo onto his body. Leonardo's body
was severely mutilated and his neck was twisted 180
degrees with one eye missing. The Hassassin stole
antimatter (a very reactive and explosive substance when
exposed with matter), in order to initiate revenge against
the Roman Catholic Church in the Vatican City by the
secret society organization The Illuminati.

After killing Leonardo, the Hassassin went to a prostitution

house as a reward for himself, and has sex with a
prostitute in bondage. The Hassassin later kidnapped four
Cardinals and made contact with Camerlengo Carlo
Ventresca, Vittoria Vetra and Robert Langdon were
discussing the missing antimatter from CERN. He gave
information regarding the missing Cardinals and gave them
warning "Every hour from 8pm each Cardinal will be
branded with the four elements Earth, Air, Fire and Water
in four different churches across Rome". After giving the
warning he contacted 2 BBC News correspondents who
were in the Vatican covering the papal conclave and gave
the same information to them about the four missing
Cardinals. In the movie, the Hassassin is played by Nikolaj
Lie Kaas.

He branded the Earth symbol onto one of four Cardinals

and murdered him through oxygen deprivation because of
the Hassassin lodging dirt into the Cardinal's throat. The
Cardinal was murdered at the first altar of science which
was Chigi Chapel at the Santa Maria del Popolo. The
second Cardinal was branded with the Air symbol and had
his lungs punctured. His body was thrown out minutes after
Langdon and Vittoria arrived to the second altar of science
at the West Ponente at Saint Peter's Square. This death
was seen in public and caused a frenzy with media
networks beginning coverage about the death and possible
speculations of other kidnappings.

The third Cardinal was branded with the Fire symbol and
was burned alive at the third altar of science which was the
Ecstasy of St Theresa at the church of Santa Maria della
Vittoria. Unlike the other Cardinals, the Hassassin decided
to leave this Cardinal alive in order for him to witness his
own death. Langdon and Vittoria intercepted the situation
at the church, Vittoria evidently was kidnapped by the
Hassassin, and Robert was forced into a Sarcophagus.

At the third altar of science, the Hassassin killed

Commander Olivetti in a manner similar to Leonardo
Vetra's death. He then kidnapped Vittoria Vetra and
escaped with her after trapping Robert Langdon under a
sarcophagus.

The Hassassin takes Vittoria to the Church Of Illumination,

which he is using as his base of operations, and leaves her
bound and gagged before he leaves with the fourth and
final Cardinal. He confronts Langdon at a fountain, where
he drowns the Cardinal and battles Langdon. He thinks
Langdon is dead after their confrontation (unknown to him
that he used an underwater air hose to stay alive) and
returns to the church, greatly anticipating what he is
intending to do to Vittoria. He takes a great liking to her.
He then thinks about raping her before he flees.
As the Hassassin prepares to rape Vittoria, Langdon
manages to find the church and confronts him with a large,
metal pole. Langdon, however, is no match for the highly
trained killer and forced out onto a balcony. As the
Hassassin moves to finish Langdon, the yoga-trained
Vittoria, who manages to escape her bonds by dislocating
her shoulder, attacks the Hassassin with a torch, burning
his back and drawing his attention away from Langdon.
With the Hassassin distracted, Langdon and Vittoria
manage to push him over the side of the balcony, sending
him plunging onto a pile of cannonballs below, breaking his
spinal cord.

In the film adaptation, the Hassassin (now renamed Mr.

Gray), is portrayed as assassin with an unknown nationality
and motivation, apart from monetary gain. His history is
not mentioned, apart from a brief moment where he, in
pain from a bullet wound, states "[the Church] made me a
sinner". He retains a skill with weapons that suggest he has
military training. In the film adaptation the Hassassin, does
not kidnap Vittoria at the third altar of science. The
Hassassin is unsuccessful at the fourth alter of science as
Langdon manages the save the fourth prefereti from
drowning at Bernini's Four River Fountain.

The Hassassin chooses not to kill Langdon and Vittoria at

the Church of Illumination, claiming he'd be "wasting
bullets, since I wasn't paid to finish the both of you off".
Instead of being killed by Langdon the Hassasin is killed
when he climbs into a getaway car set up for him by
Illuminati master, with the pay-off for his work inside and
 attempts to drive off. The Hassasin is double-crossed as
there is a bomb in the car, which goes off when the
Hassasin turns on the ignition.

b. Minor Characters

• Gunther Glick and Chinita Macri are, respectively, an

investigative reporter and camerawoman who in the world of
Dan Brown's Angels and Demons, work for the British
Broadcasting Corporation and are assigned to cover the papal
election presented in the novel.

Glick is described as looking rather odd, with a thin face and

slim build. Chinita is of African American descent (implying
that she is originally from the United States), slightly
overweight, with a jovial manner.

Macri is depicted as more conscious and less of a risk taker

than Glick, but also very protective of him. They are
considered nuisances by the protagonists for much of the
novel because they come along to relate for the television
audience the events of the night.

Glick has been hired away from a fictional British gossip

magazine to work on "less important" (in Macri's estimation)
stories for the BBC. Glick is called by an unknown individual
(revealed as The Hassassin) who scoops him on the
murder/torture of four members of the College of Cardinals
and planned bombing of Vatican City.
After the first murder is revealed, Glick and Macri latch on to
the protagonists, Robert Langdon and Vittoria Vetra, in their
all night search for the antimatter canister cleverly placed to
destroy Rome and the Catholic Church. It is they who reveal
the details to other over the air networks (MSNBC, CBS, ABC,
NBC and CNN, among others) and continue to provide live
updates (including Carlo Ventresca's live speech from inside
the conclave) despite threats from the Swiss Guards and
Papal Office personnel. Glick also attempts to spice up the
coverage with theories of his own, which comes back to haunt
him later.

In the last hour of the novel, Glick and Macri capture for the
worldwide audience Ventresca's mad dash into St. Peter's
Basilica to retrieve the antimatter canister. After the stunning
conclusion, a subdued Glick and Macri wrap up with the
announcement of the new pope, Cardinal Saverio Mortati, and
a brief explanation of why Ventresca could also be considered
a pope.

• Maximilian Kohler is the paralytic executive director of

CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) in
Geneva, Switzerland and one of the most respected and
feared people at CERN. People working at CERN called him
König because he seemed to be like a king sitting on an
electronic wheelchair. The character was left out of the film
adaptation, but a similar character, Commander Maximilian
Richter, plays his part in the plot, along with shearing
numerous characteristics of Kohler's.

In the novel, Kohler is well-known for his wheelchair filled with

different electronic gadgets such as computer, telephone, and
pager. One of his armrest contains a hidden miniature video
camera that allows him to record videos secretly during
meetings. His wheelchair also hides a gun, as he is a good
marksman and known to practice shooting during his free
time.

Kohler is also known for his staunch atheism and hate for
religion. He blames religion for his disability and inability to
live a normal life. Ironically, his best friend, Leonardo Vetra, is
a priest and has a great respect for him.

He was born in Frankfurt, Germany, as a child of a prosperous

Christian family. A childhood illness left him using a
wheelchair because he was denied treatment by his
extremely religious parents who believed the disease a test
from God. Kohler survived only because a doctor treated him
without his parents' knowledge. As a result, Kohler developed
a fanatical hatred of religion and a fanatical love of science.
He has become a world renowned physicist as part of a
crusade to use science to disprove all religion.

At the beginning of the story, Kohler finds Leonardo Vetra's

body when Vetra did not show up for a meeting. Kohler went
to his apartment and saw him dead. He freezes the body to
preserve it and contacts Robert Langdon via his personal
website which supposedly contained contact details, but
Langdon in Boston, Massachusetts dismisses Kohler as prank
caller as his website gives no contact details. Kohler
eventually convinces Langdon of his sincerity by faxing him a
picture of Leonardo's dead body, which is branded with an
ambigrammatic Illuminati logo.

Langdon agrees to investigate and Kohler sends his jet to take

Langdon to CERN's headquarters where they are met by
Leonardo's daughter Vittoria Vetra who believes that her
father was murdered to facilitate the theft of his work - a large
sample of antimatter in Vetra's underground laboratory. When
Kohler returns to the main lobby he receives a phone call from
Vatican City about the missing antimatter. He starts to feel ill,
so he persuades Langdon and Vittoria to go in his place.

Within hours, he recovered and went to Vetra's study where

he found a diary locked in Vetra's desk. After reading his
diary, he was able to find out the other person who knows
Vetra's research and flies to the Vatican. With the help of
Captain Rocher, whom he contacted earlier and revealing to
him the real identity of Janus, he interrogates the Camerlengo
and proves his guess is correct - the Camerlengo is Janus.
With Kohler pointing his gun at the Camerlengo, he manages
to extract the confession from the young priest who was
unknowingly being recorded by Kohler in his video cam. The
Camerlengo, not wanting Kohler to succeed, brands himself
with an ambrigrammic Illuminati iron and cries out for help.
Langdon, Vittoria and the Swiss guards, already suspicious
that Kohler might be Janus, charge into the room and shoot
Kohler.

As Kohler lies dying, he passes the recording to Langdon

instructing him to give it to the media. Langdon thought it was
an Illuminati speech at first until he was reminded of the tape
by a nurse while in hospital. Langdon played the video in front
of the Cardinals and exposed the Camerlengo.

By the end of the novel, Gunther Glick reported that Kohler

died, due to his long-time illness, as he tried to offer help with
the crisis.

In the movie version this character does not exist, but rather
is combined with the character Captain Olivetti into
Commander Richter, head of the Vatican Police Force.

• Commander Olivetti is the commander of the Swiss

Guards in the Vatican City. During the papal conclave in the
Vatican City, Olivetti is in charge of protecting the Cardinals
during the traditional services. When a security camera goes
missing in the Vatican, Olivetti is determined to find out the
new location as the camera is still producing a strong signal.
When Robert Langdon and Vittoria Vetra arrive in Rome to
explain the harsh reality of the crisis, Vittoria explains that her
father Leonardo Vetra was murdered and his invention (a
large quantity of antimatter) has gone missing from the CERN
headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Vittoria explains the
reactivity of antimatter to him and urges that he conducts an
immediate search or else the Vatican City will be wiped out.

Olivetti disagrees to follow such a dramatic step and locks up

Vittoria and Langdon in his office in order to prevent such
news from reaching Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca. Vittoria
manages to contact Carlo Ventresca by using Olivetti's office
phone. Vittoria manages to explain the situation briefly to the
Camerlengo, and Olivetti is later ordered to bring both
Langdon and Vittoria to see him. Olivetti was later killed by
The Hassassin during his mission to track down four
kidnapped Cardinals at the fire altar of science which was the
Ecstasy of St Theresa and the church of Santa Maria della
Vittoria. His neck was severely damaged and is identical to
Leonardo Vetra's death. His body was discovered by Vittoria
Vetra after hearing his phone going off behind several pews.

• Captain Rocher is the second-in-command of the Swiss

Guard. He is described as "barrel-chested man with soft
putty-like features". He is slightly flamboyant, wearing a red
beret in addition to his Swiss Guard uniform. While the main
storyline covers Commander Olivetti with the help of Robert
Langdon and Vittoria Vetra search for the Hassasin, Captain
Rocher is placed in charge of the search for the antimatter
canister.

His search is unsuccessful since he insists on searching only

the "white zones", the public access areas. He firmly believes
it must have been an outsider who placed the antimatter
since he believes the Swiss Guard is incorruptible. When the
11th hour Samaritan arrives, Rocher is suspected of being an
Illuminati since he insists Maximilian Kohler is allowed in for a
private meeting with the Camerlengo without a Guard
present.

When a scream is heard and the Swiss Guards led by

Lieutenant Chartrand burst through the door and shoot
Kohler, the Camerlengo points at Rocher screaming
"Illuminatus". Rocher is enraged and walks toward him in mid-
insult, until Chartrand steps back and reacts immediately
shooting Rocher in the back. It turns out Rocher appears to
have suspected the Camerlengo after Kohler told him
everything. Chartrand notices and questions himself "Why is
Rocher acting so strangely?" In the book, it is said that Rocher
finds out who he has been taking orders from after a phone
call, implying that he is an Illuminatus learning the identity of
Janus. In fact, he learns that the Camerlengo's true identity.

In the film, the character doesn't exist but the character was
changed into Father Simeon, portrayed by actor Cosimo
Fusco. In the film, when the Camerlengo screams Illuminatus
at Simeon, he was shot by the cops along with Commander
Richter. Langdon and Vetra learned the Camerlengo's true
identity by watching on Richter's video recordings.

• Leonardo Vetra was a scientist that was working at CERN

(European Organization for Nuclear Research) in Geneva,
Switzerland. Before joining CERN (Conseil Europeen pour la
Recherche Nucleaire) (in English 'European Council of
Nuclear Research'), Leonardo was a priest and often
attended Vittoria's orphanage. Leonardo was obsessed
with Galileo Galilei's work and decided to join CERN in
order to merge both Religion and Science together. When
Leonardo got a request to work at CERN, he adopted
Vittoria and both of them moved to Geneva, Switzerland.

Both Leonardo and Vittoria became physicists and were

often involved in each other's work. Vittoria and Leonardo
created the substance antimatter from nothing and
 Leonardo achieved what he set out to do by proving that
something can be created from nothing. Leonardo took this
new invention and method seriously and upgraded security
into the lab by adding retina scanners for Vittoria and
himself. Leonardo and Vittoria secretly mass produced a
large amount of antimatter and kept every CERN employee
in the dark. When Leonardo was murdered by the
Hassassin, he cut out Leonardo's eye and used it to steal
the antimatter.

• Cardinal Saverio Mortati is the most senior cardinal in

the conclave, and the current Dean of the College of
Cardinals. He was the Devil's Advocate for the late pope.

• Cardinal Ebner is one of the four Preferiti and a cardinal

from Frankfurt, Germany. He is killed by asphyxiation, by
means of putting dirt and soil into his mouth.

• Cardinal Lamassé is one of the four Preferiti and a

cardinal from Paris, France. He is killed by punctures to his
lungs, from which he bled to death.

• Cardinal Guidera is one of the four Preferiti and a

cardinal from Barcelona, Spain. He is incinerated alive.
 • Cardinal Baggia is one of the four Preferiti and a cardinal
from Milan, Italy and the favorite to succeed as the new
pope. He was drowned to death.

IV. Plot

The plot follows Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, as he tries to

stop what seems to be the Illuminati, a legendary secret society,
from destroying Vatican City with the newly discovered power of
antimatter.

CERN director Maximilian Kohler discovers one of the facility's most

respected physicists, Leonardo Vetra, murdered in his own secured,
private quarters at the facility. His chest is branded with a symbol—
an ambigram of the word "Illuminati"—and one of his eyes has been
removed. Instead of calling the police, Kohler contacts Robert
Langdon, whom he has determined through his research is an
expert on the Illuminati. Kohler requests his assistance in
uncovering the murderer.

Langdon determines that the ambigram is authentic, which means

that the secret society of legend, long thought to be extinct, has
apparently resurfaced. Kohler calls Vetra's adopted daughter
Vittoria to the scene, and it is later revealed that the Illuminati have
also stolen a canister containing a quarter of a gram of antimatter—
an extremely dangerous substance with immense destructive
potential comparable to a small nuclear weapon, a potential
unleashed upon contact with any form of normal matter. When
charged with electricity at CERN, the canister's magnetic field
controls the drop of antimatter to float suspended in a high vacuum,
ensuring safety; but when it was taken away from its electricity
supply, it automatically switched to its back-up battery, which will
only power it for 24 hours, at which point the antimatter will fall,
come into contact with the base of the canister, and self-destruct.
The Illuminati have placed the stolen canister somewhere in Vatican
City, with a security camera in front of it, as its digital clock counts
down to the explosion.

Langdon and Vittoria make their way to Vatican City, where the
Pope has recently died, and the papal conclave has convened to
elect the new pontiff. Cardinal Mortati, host of the election,
discovers that the four Preferiti, cardinals who are considered to be
the most likely candidates in the election, are missing. After they
arrive, Langdon and Vittoria begin searching for the Preferiti in
hopes that they will also find the antimatter canister in the process.
Their search is assisted by Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca (the late
pope's closest aide) and the Vatican's Swiss Guard, including
Commander Olivetti, Captain Rocher, and Lieutenant Chartrand.

Convinced that the Illuminati are in some way responsible for the
disappearance of the Preferiti, Langdon attempts to retrace the
steps of the so-called "Path of Illumination", an ancient and
elaborate process once used by the Illuminati as a means of
induction of new members; prospective candidates for the order
were required to follow a series of subtle clues left in various
landmarks in and around Rome. If the candidate followed the clues
properly, he would be able to locate the secret meeting place of the
Illuminati and be granted membership in the order. Using his
extensive knowledge of religious and occult history, Langdon sets
off on the Path of Illumination in hopes of uncovering clues as to the
disappearance of the Preferiti and the location of the antimatter
canister.
The Path leads Langdon to four major locations in Rome (Vatican
City is within the city of Rome), each associated with what the
Illuminati believed to be the four primordial elements of all things in
existence: 'Earth', 'Air', 'Fire', and 'Water'. Upon arriving at each
location, Langdon finds one of the Preferiti murdered in a fashion
appropriate to the location's respective element: The first cardinal
was branded with an Earth ambigram, had soil forced down his
throat and was buried; the second was branded with an Air
ambigram and had his lungs punctured; the third was branded with
a Fire ambigram and was burned alive; and the fourth was branded
with a Water ambigram and was chained and left to drown at the
bottom of a large fountain.

After finding the bodies of the first two Preferiti (Earth and Air),
Langdon hurries to the Santa Maria della Vittoria Basilica and finds
the Preferiti's abductor in the act of setting the third cardinal on fire.
The kidnapper, who is also responsible for Leonardo Vetra's murder
and the theft of the antimatter canister, is an unnamed assassin
who is working under the orders of the Illuminati master "Janus",
whose true identity is unknown. Commander Olivetti is killed, and
Langdon nearly dies himself in this encounter with the assassin,
who manages to kidnap Vittoria. Langdon manages to escape and
meets the assassin yet again at the final element's landmark
(Water), but is unable to save the final cardinal.

Langdon nevertheless attempts to complete the Path of Illumination

in order to find the assassin and rescue Vittoria. His search leads
him to Castel Sant' Angelo, that hides an underground tunnel
leading directly into the pope's chambers in the Vatican. Langdon
frees Vittoria, and together they send the assassin falling several
hundred feet to his death. The two hurry back to St. Peter's Basilica,
where they find that Kohler has arrived to confront the camerlengo
in private. Langdon and Vittoria fear that Kohler is Janus, and that
he has come to murder the camerlengo as the final step in his plot
against the Church. Hearing the camerlengo scream in agony from
being branded with the Illuminati Diamond, the Swiss Guards burst
into the room and open fire on Kohler. Captain Rocher is also killed
by Lieutenant Chartrand after being accused of being an Illuminatus
by the Camerlengo. Just before he dies, Kohler gives Langdon a
videotape that he claims will explain everything.

With time on the canister running out, the Swiss Guard begins to
evacuate the Basilica. As he is exiting the church, the camerlengo
apparently goes into a trance and rushes back into the Basilica,
claiming that he has received a vision from God revealing the
location of the antimatter canister. With Langdon and a few others
in pursuit, the camerlengo ventures deep into the catacombs
beneath the Basilica and finds the canister sitting atop the tomb of
Saint Peter. Langdon and the camerlengo retrieve the antimatter
and get in a helicopter with only five minutes to spare. The
camerlengo manages to parachute safely onto the roof of St. Peter's
just as the canister explodes harmlessly in the sky. Langdon's fate is
not immediately known, as there was not a second parachute on
board the helicopter. The crowd in St. Peter's Square look in awe as
the camerlengo stands triumphantly before them. Because of this
"miracle", the papal conclave debate whether exception to Catholic
law should be made to elect the camerlengo as the new Pope.
Langdon managed to survive the explosion by using a window cover
from the chopper as a parachute, and landed in the Tiber River near
Tiber Island, which is famous for its reputation as an island blessed
with miracles of healing. He is hurt, but not seriously.
Langdon returns to St. Peter's and views Kohler's tape with the
College of Cardinals. Langdon, Vittoria, and the cardinals confront
the camerlengo in the Sistine Chapel, where the truth is finally
revealed; Shortly before the beginning of the novel, the Pope was
scheduled to meet with Leonardo Vetra concerning his research at
CERN. Vetra, a devout Catholic, believed that science was capable
of establishing a link between Man and God, a belief that was
manifested by his research on antimatter. Vetra's beliefs caused
great discomfort to the camerlengo, who firmly believed that the
Church alone, not science, should dictate the moral creed of the
Christian faithful. While discussing Vetra, the pope reveals that his
support is due to science having given him a son. Without waiting to
hear the explanation (that the child was the result of artificial
insemination), and horrified that the Pope appeared to have broken
his vow of chastity, the camerlengo plots to "rectify" the situation.
He poisoned the pope and, under the guise of an Illuminati master
(Janus), he recruited the assassin, a killer fueled by the same zeal
and animus towards the Church as his ancestors during the
Crusades, to kill Vetra, steal the antimatter, and kidnap and murder
the Preferiti just as the papal conclave was set to convene. The
camerlengo planted the antimatter in St. Peter's, and feigned his
last-minute vision, in order to be seen as a hero and the savior of
Christendom by those who witnessed his brave acts. The Illuminati
thus had no actual role in any of the novel's events, and its
"involvement" was merely a plot engineered by the camerlengo to
cover his own plans. As Langdon suspected from the very
beginning, the Order of the Illuminati was indeed long extinct.

As one final twist, it is revealed that Camerlengo Ventresca himself

was the birth son of the late pope, conceived through artificial
insemination. Suddenly overcome with grief and guilt at having
 caused so much death, especially that of his own father, Ventresca
soaks himself in oil and immolates himself before a crowd of
onlookers in St. Peter's Square. The conclave elects Cardinal Mortati
as the new pope. In an ironic twist, through a quibble, a loophole in
the papal election process known as election by acclamation, two
popes were chosen: Ventresca by all the cardinals cheering his
name before he lights himself on fire, and Mortati through normal
means.

Langdon and Vittoria retire to the Hotel Bernini, where they engage
in a romantic interlude. Lieutenant Chartrand delivers a letter and
package to Langdon from the new pope. It is the "Illuminati
Diamond" brand, which the pope has decided to loan indefinitely to
Langdon.

V. Learning / Insights

The book seems to be that science and religion are two sides of the
same story. The bible talks about God that created good and evil,
warmth and coldness etc. Everything has an opposite. In the same
way, matter is the opposite of anti-matter, and for all we know, there
may be solar systems just like ours consisting of antimatter. By
creating energy out of nothing, genesis was proved possible, and the
extreme energy in all things that can be released in contact with their
opposites (matter and antimatter) may be looked upon as a life-force
that can’t be equaled.

It is unclear whether the theme is that science proves God, or that

science is God. I think the second one seems the more suitable,
although it seems the author backs the first explanation the most.

“Science and religion are not at odds. Science is simply too young to
understand.”
For several years, scientific researches have always been in contrast
with spiritual convictions. While some scientists proliferate weapons of
mass destruction and clone living creatures, religious advocates beg
them to use restraint and likewise consider the moral implications of
such actions.
Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons proved that these two disciplines,
though engaged in a seemingly endless ancient warfare, could indeed
transcend all differences and come together to reinforce one another
and rectify all faults. Aptly plotted and intricately paced, the novel
weaved together the secret nuclear research of Conseil Européen pour
la Recherche Nucléaire (CERN) and the archaic and modern secrets of
Vatican.

With the intense suspense that never seemed to wane, the story ended
enthralling, without casualties from the explosion of matter and the
antimatter collision.
Angels and Demons was packed with twists and shocking events that
could make the readers wired right up until the last page. The author
really excelled himself in creating intellectual forays among readers
because of the intriguing information rationally and critically
presented.
The novel was an insightful and lucid examination of the ever present
dichotomy of religion and science. It also served as a tangible proof
that both could serve as vessels through which man could understand
 God. Science has technical proofs. Religion has immaculate logic. Both
aim for man’s goodness. Both are genius. Thus, a halt to intellectual
clashes by accepting each other’s views will prove to be advantageous.
After all, genius accepts genius, unconditionally.

VI. Comments / Suggestions

The title itself consists of two opposites, Angels and Demons, Matter
and antimatter. In addition to the theme discussed above, the plot of
the book is between good and evil, being the church and science,
standing side by side, and the Illuminati, who only seek to destroy. I
think it is a very suitable title.

Personal evaluation

I liked this book very much, like every Dan Brown-book I have ever
read (rounding up my third at the moment). It was exciting,
educational and philosophical, in a very reader-friendly way. While The
Da Vinci Code – it had long chains of reasoning, sometimes making the
reader/s head a complete mess, Angels and Demons - it makes it all
simple. Dan Brown explains very complex scientific issues in such a
simple way that small children might understand it!

The combination of short chapters and the author/s unique ability to

end them makes the defenseless reader drive through the many pages
of the book with far too few breaks. While many people state that Dan
Brown’s language is flat and dull, I never had time to stop reading to
think about it. I finished the 569-page-long book in just a little more
than a week and I can’t really find anything negative to say about it. I
only wish for others to have the same experience reading the book as I
had.