Robert Langdon stood beneath the lofty cupola of the deserted Chapter House and stared into thebarrel of Leigh Teabing's gun.

　　Robert, are you with me, or against me? The Royal Historian's words echoed in the silence ofLangdon's mind.

　　There was no viable response, Langdon knew. Answer yes, and he would be selling out Sophie.

　　Answer no, and Teabing would have no choice but to kill them both.

　　Langdon's years in the classroom had not imbued him with any skills relevant to handlingconfrontations at gunpoint, but the classroom had taught him something about answeringparadoxical questions. When a question has no correct answer, there is only one honest response.

　　The gray area between yes and no.

　　Silence.

　　Staring at the cryptex in his hands, Langdon chose simply to walk away.

　　Without ever lifting his eyes, he stepped backward, out into the room's vast empty spaces. Neutralground. He hoped his focus on the cryptex signaled Teabing that collaboration might be an option,and that his silence signaled Sophie he had not abandoned her.

　　All the while buying time to think.

　　The act of thinking, Langdon suspected, was exactly what Teabing wanted him to do. That's whyhe handed me the cryptex. So I could feel the weight of my decision. The British historian hoped thetouch of the Grand Master's cryptex would make Langdon fully grasp the magnitude of itscontents, coaxing his academic curiosity to overwhelm all else, forcing him to realize that failure tounlock the keystone would mean the loss of history itself.

　　With Sophie at gunpoint across the room, Langdon feared that discovering the cryptex's elusivepassword would be his only remaining hope of bartering her release. If I can free the map, Teabingwill negotiate. Forcing his mind to this critical task, Langdon moved slowly toward the farwindows... allowing his mind to fill with the numerous astronomical images on Newton's tomb.

　　You seek the orb that ought be on his tomb.

　　It speaks of Rosy flesh and seeded womb.

　　Turning his back to the others, he walked toward the towering windows, searching for anyinspiration in their stained-glass mosaics. There was none.

　　Place yourself in Saunière's mind, he urged, gazing outward now into College Garden. What wouldhe believe is the orb that ought be on Newton's tomb? Images of stars, comets, and planetstwinkled in the falling rain, but Langdon ignored them. Saunière was not a man of science. He wasa man of humanity, of art, of history. The sacred feminine... the chalice... the Rose... the banishedMary Magdalene... the decline of the goddess... the Holy Grail.

　　Legend had always portrayed the Grail as a cruel mistress, dancing in the shadows just out of sight,whispering in your ear, luring you one more step and then evaporating into the mist.

　　Gazing out at the rustling trees of College Garden, Langdon sensed her playful presence. The signswere everywhere. Like a taunting silhouette emerging from the fog, the branches of Britain's oldestapple tree burgeoned with five-petaled blossoms, all glistening like Venus. The goddess was in thegarden now. She was dancing in the rain, singing songs of the ages, peeking out from behind thebud-filled branches as if to remind Langdon that the fruit of knowledge was growing just beyondhis reach.

　　Across the room, Sir Leigh Teabing watched with confidence as Langdon gazed out the window asif under a spell.

　　Exactly as I hoped, Teabing thought. He will come around.

　　For some time now, Teabing had suspected Langdon might hold the key to the Grail. It was nocoincidence that Teabing launched his plan into action on the same night Langdon was scheduledto meet Jacques Saunière. Listening in on the curator, Teabing was certain the man's eagerness tomeet privately with Langdon could mean only one thing. Langdon's mysterious manuscript hastouched a nerve with the Priory.

　　Langdon has stumbled onto a truth, and Saunière fears its release. Teabing felt certain the GrandMaster was summoning Langdon to silence him.

　　The Truth has been silenced long enough!

　　Teabing knew he had to act quickly. Silas's attack would accomplish two goals. It would preventSaunière from persuading Langdon to keep quiet, and it would ensure that once the keystone wasin Teabing's hands, Langdon would be in Paris for recruitment should Teabing need him.

　　Arranging the fatal meeting between Saunière and Silas had been almost too easy. I had insideinformation about Saunière's deepest fears. Yesterday afternoon, Silas had phoned the curator andposed as a distraught priest. "Monsieur Saunière, forgive me, I must speak to you at once. I shouldnever breach the sanctity of the confessional, but in this case, I feel I must. I just took confessionfrom a man who claimed to have murdered members of your family."Saunière's response was startled but wary. "My family died in an accident. The police report wasconclusive.""Yes, a car accident," Silas said, baiting the hook. "The man I spoke to said he forced their car offthe road into a river."Saunière fell silent.

　　"Monsieur Saunière, I would never have phoned you directly except this man made a commentwhich makes me now fear for your safety." He paused. "The man also mentioned yourgranddaughter, Sophie."The mention of Sophie's name had been the catalyst. The curator leapt into action. He ordered Silasto come see him immediately in the safest location Saunière knew—his Louvre office. Then hephoned Sophie to warn her she might be in danger. Drinks with Robert Langdon were instantlyabandoned.

　　Now, with Langdon separated from Sophie on the far side of the room, Teabing sensed he hadsuccessfully alienated the two companions from one another. Sophie Neveu remained defiant, butLangdon clearly saw the larger picture. He was trying to figure out the password. He understandsthe importance of finding the Grail and releasing her from bondage.

　　"He won't open it for you," Sophie said coldly. "Even if he can."Teabing was glancing at Langdon as he held the gun on Sophie. He was fairly certain now he wasgoing to have to use the weapon. Although the idea troubled him, he knew he would not hesitate ifit came to that. I have given her every opportunity to do the right thing. The Grail is bigger thanany one of us.

　　At that moment, Langdon turned from the window. "The tomb..." he said suddenly, facing themwith a faint glimmer of hope in his eyes. "I know where to look on Newton's tomb. Yes, I think Ican find the password!"Teabing's heart soared. "Where, Robert? Tell me!"Sophie sounded horrified. "Robert, no! You're not going to help him, are you?"Langdon approached with a resolute stride, holding the cryptex before him. "No," he said, his eyeshardening as he turned to Leigh. "Not until he lets you go."Teabing's optimism darkened. "We are so close, Robert. Don't you dare start playing games withme!""No games," Langdon said. "Let her go. Then I'll take you to Newton's tomb. We'll open thecryptex together.""I'm not going anywhere," Sophie declared, her eyes narrowing with rage. "That cryptex was givento me by my grandfather. It is not yours to open."Langdon wheeled, looking fearful. "Sophie, please! You're in danger. I'm trying to help you!""How? By unveiling the secret my grandfather died trying to protect? He trusted you, Robert. Itrusted you!"Langdon's blue eyes showed panic now, and Teabing could not help but smile to see the two ofthem working against one another. Langdon's attempts to be gallant were more pathetic thananything. On the verge of unveiling one of history's greatest secrets, and he troubles himself with awoman who has proven herself unworthy of the quest.

　　"Sophie," Langdon pleaded. "............