Langdon's eyes had not left the computer screen since the search began.
Five minutes. Only two hits. Both irrelevant1.
He was starting to get worried.
Pamela Gettum was in the adjoining room, preparing hot drinks. Langdon and Sophie had inquiredunwisely if there might be some coffee brewing2 alongside the tea Gettum had offered, and from thesound of the microwave beeps in the next room, Langdon suspected their request was about to berewarded with instant Nescafe.
Finally, the computer pinged happily.
"Sounds like you got another," Gettum called from the next room. "What's the title?"Langdon eyed the screen.
Grail Allegory in Medieval Literature: A Treatise3 on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight4.
"Allegory of the Green Knight," he called back.
"No good," Gettum said. "Not many mythological5 green giants buried in London."Langdon and Sophie sat patiently in front of the screen and waited through two more dubiousreturns. When the computer pinged again, though, the offering was unexpected.
DIE OPERN VON RICHARD WAGNER"The operas of Wagner?" Sophie asked.
Gettum peeked6 back in the doorway7, holding a packet of instant coffee. "That seems like a strangematch. Was Wagner a knight?""No," Langdon said, feeling a sudden intrigue8. "But he was a well-known Freemason." Along withMozart, Beethoven, Shakespeare, Gershwin, Houdini, and Disney. Volumes had been written aboutthe ties between the Masons and the Knights9 Templar, the Priory of Sion, and the Holy Grail. "Iwant to look at this one. How do I see the full text?""You don't want the full text," Gettum called. "Click on the hypertext title. The computer willdisplay your keyword hits along with mono prelogs and triple postlogs for context."Langdon had no idea what she had just said, but he clicked anyway.
A new window popped up.
...mythological knight named Parsifal who...
...metaphorical10 Grail quest that arguably...
...the London Philharmonic in 1855...
Rebecca Pope's opera anthology "Diva's...
...Wagner's tomb in Bayreuth, Germany...
"Wrong Pope," Langdon said, disappointed. Even so, he was amazed by the system's ease of use.
The keywords with context were enough to remind him that Wagner's opera Parsifal was a tributeto Mary Magdalene and the bloodline of Jesus Christ, told through the story of a young knight on aquest for truth.
"Just be patient," Gettum urged. "It's a numbers game. Let the machine run."Over the next few minutes, the computer returned several more Grail references, including a textabout troubadours—France's famous wandering minstrels. Langdon knew it was no coincidencethat the word minstrel and minister shared an etymological12 root. The troubadours were thetraveling servants or "ministers" of the Church of Mary Magdalene, using music to disseminate13 thestory of the sacred feminine among the common folk. To this day, the troubadours sang songsextolling the virtues14 of "our Lady"—a mysterious and beautiful woman to whom they pledgedthemselves forever.
Eagerly, he checked the hypertext but found nothing.
The computer pinged again.
KNIGHTS, KNAVES15, POPES, AND PENTACLES: THE HISTORY OF THE HOLY GRAILTHROUGH TAROT"Not surprising," Langdon said to Sophie. "Some of our keywords have the same names asindividual cards." He reached for the mouse to click on a hyperlink16. "I'm not sure if yourgrandfather ever mentioned it when you played Tarot with him, Sophie, but this game is a 'flash-card catechism' into the story of the Lost Bride and her subjugation17 by the evil Church."Sophie eyed him, looking incredulous. "I had no idea.""That's the point. By teaching through a metaphorical game, the followers18 of the Grail disguisedtheir message from the watchful19 eye of the Church." Langdon often wondered how many moderncard players had any clue that their four suits—spades, hearts, clubs, diamonds—were Grail-relatedsymbols that came directly from Tarot's four suits of swords, cups, scepters, and pentacles.
Spades were Swords—The blade. Male.
Hearts were Cups—The chalice20. Feminine.
Clubs were Scepters—The Royal Line. The flowering staff.
Diamonds were Pentacles—The goddess. The sacred feminine.
Four minutes later, as Langdon began feeling fearful they would not find what they had come for,the computer produced another hit.
The Gravity of Genius: Biography of a Modern Knight.
"Gravity of Genius?" Langdon called out to Gettum. "Bio of a modern knight?"Gettum stuck her head around the corner. "How modern? Please don't tell me it's your Sir RudyGiuliani. Personally, I found that one a bit off the mark."Langdon had his own qualms21 about the newly knighted Sir Mick Jagger, but this hardly seemed themoment to debate the politics of modern British knighthood. "Let's have a look." Langdonsummoned up the hypertext keywords.
... honorable knight, Sir Isaac Newton...
... in London in 1727 and...
... his tomb in Westminster Abbey...
... Alexander Pope, friend and colleague...
"I guess 'modern' is a relative term," Sophie called to Gettum. "It's an old book. About Sir IsaacNewton."Gettum shook her head in the doorway. "No good. Newton was buried in Westminster Abbey, theseat of English Protestantism. There's no way a Catholic Pope was present. Cream and sugar?"Sophie nodded.
Gettum waited. "Robert?"Langdon's heart was hammering. He pulled his eyes from the screen and stood up. "Sir IsaacNewton is our knight."Sophie remained seated. "What are you talking about?""Newton is buried in London," Langdon said. "His labors22 produced new sciences that incurred23 thewrath of the Church. And he was a Grand Master of the Priory of Sion. What more could wewant?""What more?" Sophie pointed11 to the poem. "How about a knight a Pope interred24? You heard Ms.
Gettum. Newton was not buried by a Catholic Pope."Langdon reached for the mouse. "Who said anything about a Catholic Pope?" He clicked on the"Pope" hyperlink, and the complete sentence appeared.
Sir Isaac Newton's burial, attended by kings and nobles, was presidedover by Alexander Pope, friend and colleague, who gave a stirringeulogy before sprinkling dirt on the tomb.
Langdon looked at Sophie. "We had the correct Pope on our second hit. Alexander." He paused.
"A. Pope."In London lies a knight A. Pope interred.
Sophie stood up, looking stunned25.
Jacques Saunière, the master of double-entendres, had proven once again that he was afrighteningly clever man.
自打搜索开始，兰登就紧盯着电脑屏幕，一刻也没有离开过。
五分钟，只搜到两个数据项，并且两者无任何的关联。
他开始担心起来。
帕美拉。杰塔姆就在隔壁的一个房间，准备给他们煮上些饮料。兰登和索菲不仅喝了杰塔姆给他们泡的茶水，还极不明智地问她能否再给他们煮上一些咖啡。隔壁的微波炉传来"嘟嘟"的声音，兰登怀疑杰塔姆是在给他们煮速溶"雀巢"咖啡，以此作为对他们提出的无礼要求的奖赏。
终于，电脑欢快的响了起来。
"好像又有了。"杰塔姆在隔壁房间大声喊道。"标题是什么？"
兰登看着屏幕：中世纪文学中关于圣杯的寓言：论加文爵士和他的绿衣骑士。
"是关于绿衣骑士的寓言。"他大声地回答。
"这没用，"杰塔姆说："神话中埋在伦敦的绿衣骑士并没有几个。"
兰登和索菲坐在电脑前静静地等待，却等来了两个更加难以确信的结果。不过，当电脑再次发出声音时，它提供的信息却是很出人意料的。
瓦格纳的歌剧。
"瓦格纳的歌剧？"索菲不解地问。
杰塔姆手拿一袋速溶"雀巢"咖啡，站在门口回头看了他们一眼。"那看起来很怪啊。瓦格纳是骑士吗？"
"不是。"兰登突然来了兴趣。"但他是位著名的同济会会员。"还有莫扎特、贝多芬、莎士比亚、格什温、乌丹尼以及迪斯尼等等。讲述有关石匠们与圣殿骑士、郇山隐修会以及与圣杯之间联系的作品已是汗牛充栋。"我要看看全文，可怎么打开呀？"
"你不必看全文。"杰塔姆喊道。"你只要点击超文本标题，电脑就会显示包含关键词在内的数据，单个的前语境记录以及三倍多的后语境记录。"兰登不知道她刚才说了些什么，但还是点击了一下。
一个新的窗口马上冒了出来。
……神话中名为帕西法尔的骑士，他……
……隐喻意义上的寻找圣杯之旅，可以用来证明……
……1855 年伦敦交响乐团……
……丽贝卡。波普（Pope）的歌剧作品选，迪瓦的……
……位于德国拜罗伊特市的瓦格纳之墓……
"这里的Pope 不是指教皇。"兰登说，有些失望。不过虽然如此，他还是为计算机竟是如此的便利而感到惊奇。带有上千文的关键词给了他足够的信息，提醒他瓦格纳的歌剧《帕西法尔》是一部通过讲述年轻骑士寻找真理的故事，专门献给抹大拉的玛利亚，以及耶稣基督后裔的艺术作品。
"耐心点儿。"杰塔姆敦促道："不过是数字游戏罢了。让电脑忙去吧。"
接下来的几分钟，电脑又反馈了几个关于圣杯的信息，其中一篇是有关法国著名行吟诗人的文章。兰登知道，从词源学的角度上看，minstrel（行吟诗人）与minister（牧师，部长）具有相同词根决不是什么巧合。吟游诗人，本意是指抹大拉的玛利亚教堂里四处游走的圣职人员或者牧师，他们采用音乐的形式在普通民众中间传播有关神圣女性的故事。直到今天，他们还在唱歌赞美"我们的圣母玛利亚"的诸多美德。她是一位神秘而又美丽的女人，人们对她永远充满了敬意。
兰登急切地查看了超文本，然而一无所获。
这时，电脑又"嘟嘟"地响了起来。
骑士、纸牌里的J、教皇以及五角星形：通过占卜纸牌看圣杯的历史。
"这没什么可奇怪的，"兰登对索菲说："有些关键词与单张牌的名字是一模一样的。"
他抓过鼠标，点击了超链接。"我不敢肯定你祖父跟你玩占卜的纸牌时是否提起过它，但这种游戏，类似于对"失踪新娘以及她被邪恶教会镇压"的故事设置问题，然后再抽卡进行回答。"索菲看着他，一脸怀疑地说："我怎么不知道？"
"那就是了。圣杯的追随者们，通过一种隐喻性的游戏方式进行传授，他们将真实的信息隐藏起来，以逃过教会警惕的眼睛。"兰登常常想，玩纸牌游戏的现代人，有多少人会想到纸牌的四种花色--黑桃、红桃、梅花及方块--是与圣杯有关的符号，并且它们的前身，直接脱胎于占卜纸牌，即印有宝剑、金杯、王杖与五角星形符号的四组牌。
黑桃源自宝剑--即剑刃，它代表着男性。
红桃源自金杯--即基督的圣餐酒杯，代表着女性。
梅花源自王杖--即皇家血统，带有花饰的权杖。
方块源自五角星形--它象征着女神，即神圣女性。
四分钟后，就在兰登他们开始担心找不到要找的东西时，电脑里又蹦出了一个数据。
天才的吸引力，一位当代骑士的传记。
"天才的吸引力？"兰登冲着杰塔姆叫道："一位当代骑士的传记？"
杰塔姆从墙角探出头："怎么个当代法？请不要告诉我说这是你的鲁迪，朱利亚尼爵士哦。我看是有点跑题啦。"兰登对新近被封为骑士的米克。贾格尔爵土自有一番疑惑，但眼下似乎还不是对现代英国骑土制度进行争论的时候。"让我看看。"兰登调出了几个关键词。
……尊敬的骑士，艾撒克。牛顿爵士……
……l727 年在伦敦……
……他的墓位于威斯敏斯特教堂……
……亚历山大。蒲柏，朋友及同事……
"我看所谓的"现代"可能是个相对的概念。"索菲大声对杰塔姆说："这是本旧书，是关于艾撒克。牛顿爵士的。"杰塔姆站在门口，摇了摇头。"那也没用，牛顿葬在威斯敏斯特教堂，英国清教的所在地，所以天主教的教皇是不会到那里去的。咖啡里要不要放奶酪和糖？"
索菲点了点头。
杰塔姆等了一会："罗伯特你呢？"
兰登觉得自己的心仿佛被人用锤子敲了一下，他把视线移开电脑屏幕，站了起来。"艾撒克。牛顿爵士是我们的骑士！"索菲依旧坐在椅子上，说："你在胡说什么呀？"
"牛顿葬在伦敦，他在科学上的新发现触怒了天主教会。他还是位郇山隐修会的大师。
有这些难道还不够，我们还想指望什么？"
"你认为够了吗？"索菲指了指那首诗："那"一位教皇为他主持葬礼的骑士"你如何作出解释？杰塔姆刚才也已经说过，牛顿不是由天主教皇埋葬的。"兰登伸手去摸鼠标："我说了天主教皇什么吗？"他点击了"Pope"超链接，于是一个完整的句子冒了出来。
由王公贵族参加的艾撒克。牛顿爵士的葬礼，是由他的朋友兼同事，亚历山大。蒲柏主持的，他在往坟墓上撒土之前，朗诵了一篇感人肺腑的悼词。
兰登看着索菲："我们在第二个数据里找到了正确的Pope.亚历山大。"他停了停："亚历山大。蒲柏（A.Pope）。""在伦敦葬了一位亚历山大。蒲柏为他主持葬礼的骑士。"
索菲站了起来，大惊失色。
雅克。索尼埃，这位喜欢玩二元论游戏的大师，再次证明了他是位聪明得让人恐惧的大师。
收听单词发音 |
1
irrelevant
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| adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的 | |
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brewing
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| n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式 | |
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treatise
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| n.专著；(专题)论文 | |
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knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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mythological
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| adj.神话的 | |
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peeked
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| v.很快地看( peek的过去式和过去分词 )；偷看；窥视；微露出 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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intrigue
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| vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋 | |
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knights
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| 骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马 | |
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metaphorical
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| a.隐喻的，比喻的 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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etymological
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| adj.语源的，根据语源学的 | |
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disseminate
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| v.散布；传播 | |
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virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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knaves
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| n.恶棍，无赖( knave的名词复数 )；（纸牌中的）杰克 | |
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hyperlink
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| n.超链接 | |
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subjugation
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| n.镇压，平息，征服 | |
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followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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watchful
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| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
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chalice
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| n.圣餐杯；金杯毒酒 | |
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qualms
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| n.不安；内疚 | |
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labors
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| v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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incurred
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| [医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式 | |
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interred
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| v.埋，葬( inter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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