Status Updates From Posledné tajomstvo (Robert ...

"“You’re saying our memories function like cloud computing? All of our memory data are sitting elsewhere… waiting for us to access them.” “Exactly.”"

"The brain is a receiver… and consciousness flows in, not out."

"“Halos are entirely misunderstood,” she had said. “They have always been imagined as radiant streams of light encircling the head and depicting energy flowing out of an enlightened mind. But I believe we are interpreting halos in reverse. Those rays represent beams of consciousness… flowing in… not out. To say someone has an ‘enlightened mind’ is simply another way of saying they have a ‘better receiver.’”"

"HALO.
Is the universe taunting me?
This ominous poster,of course,was not referencing a radiant symbol of the enlightened mind but rather a hugely popular computer game series,which,according to Langdon’s students, had cleverly appropriated the cultural resonance of Christianity by incorporating biblical terms like the Covenant,the Ark,the Prophets,and the Flood,along with a tapestry of erudite religious references."

"Langdon’s favorite had been a soaring projection on the Archbishop’s Palace depicting the origin and evolution of species— an irony that mirrored Prague’s unflinching affinity for avant-garde artistry."

"He passed the opulent Mozart Prague hotel, where Wolfgang himself had played numerous private concerts, and he recalled once having witnessed its pale facade magically transformed into towering staves of sheet music that scrolled past in synch with an amplified recording of Eine kleine Nachtmusik."

"As he walked, he found himself thinking of Franz Kafka and recalling the first time he had seen Prague’s famously eerie statue of the author— a cloaked giant with no head… carrying on his shoulders a much smaller man. A faceless creature who carries the burden of a weaker soul."

"“The cockroach!” the guide said dramatically. “Franz Kafka wrote a novella, right here in this city, called The Metamorphosis— in which a young man wakes up in bed one morning and discovers he’s been transformed… into a giant cockroach!”"

"“This Art Nouveau masterpiece,” the guide declared, “depicts the leader of the Czech reform movement— Jan Hus— who was burned at the stake in 1415 for refusing to obey papal orders.”"

"Good, Nagel thought. Fear may be the only way to control her."

"“Confidence is high?” Finch snapped, his tone like ice. “In my experience, that phrase is used only by those whose confidence is lacking.”"

"“Yes, I’ve read about it,” he said, chuckling, “and I choose to ignore it!” “Precisely…” Katherine said. “That’s how we humans have always dealt with phenomena that don’t fit our reality. We ignore the occasional oddity rather than admit our entire model is wrong.”"

"In other words, the nature of our universe was unified, or, as the title of a recent Oscar- winning film had so aptly described it— Everything Everywhere All at Once."

"Historically speaking, important truths often begin their lives as total impossibilities. And just because we can’t imagine how something could possibly be true, doesn’t mean we can’t observe it to be true."

"“We could try to explain our reality to Mozart,” she continued, “but he would have no frame of reference to comprehend it.”"

"“In the nonlocal model,” she continued, “your brain does not create consciousness, but rather your brain experiences what already exists around it.” She glanced from Faukman to Langdon and back. “In simple English, our brains interact with an existing matrix of awareness.”"

"“The theory,” Katherine had said, “is called nonlocal consciousness. And it’s based on the premise that consciousness is not localized to your brain… but rather it is everywhere. That is to say, consciousness permeates the universe. Consciousness is, in fact, one of the fundamental building blocks of our world.”"

"“History contains many inexplicable anomalies, and this is one of them.”"

"There is no degradation of the lettering from beginning to end… no signs of fatigue, loss of eyesight, decreasing mobility, aging, senility. No change in style whatsoever. You put all those factors together, and it’s a puzzle that is technically impossible.”"

"In the thirteenth century, life expectancy was approximately thirty years— and it would have taken at least half of those years to master the artistic skill exhibited in this calligraphy and illustration. Stranger still, the specialists confirm that the penmanship is astonishingly consistent across the entire book."

"“But whether or not you believe in its divine origins,” Langdon said, “there are other significant mysteries within this book. One of Codex Gigas’s most enigmatic features is the extraordinary quality of the calligraphy. More than a dozen top handwriting experts have examined the codex over the past century— and every specialist insists that the entire manuscript was written by a single hand. A lone scribe.”"

"Miracles and mystery had always been catalysts for hope—“ reality softeners,” as Langdon sometimes called them."

"“Memento mori,” Langdon said. “Remember death is coming… and live well.”"

"“Sedlec Ossuary,” Langdon said. “The Bone Chapel. It contains the skeletons of an estimated seventy thousand people, mostly victims of the Black Death. If you ever visit Czechia, it’s worth a trip— about fifty miles outside Prague."

"According to legend, the scribe who created this illumination did so as a way to thank Satan for a favor. Rumor holds that this massive codex was written in a single night, by a single monk, who was able to complete the inconceivable task only because Satan himself stepped in to help him.”"

"Recto and verso— front and back— were the terms used by iconographers to designate which page of an open book should be read first… in other words, the direction in which a language should be read. Enochian was a right- to- left language— like Hebrew, Arabic, or Farsi— the opposite of English."

"Maybe the universe was right after all."

"Prague’s historic Zrcadlové Bludiště— Mirror Maze— was built in 1891 for the Prague Jubilee Exhibition, and to this day it remains a popular spot for tourists and children."

"Before his act of compassion, he had been an empty vessel, a ghostly spirit. But in that instant, as if struck by a beam of energy from another realm, he felt his life begin, immediately understanding who he was and the nature of his mystical connection to Sasha Vesna. I am her guardian angel. She is my entire reason for living, for suffering, for being. And yet… she must never know."