Women in the Media in Kuwait Essay Kuwait is a Middle Eastern country boarded on the east by the Arabian Gulf and slot in between Iraq and Saudi Arabia on the south and west. Kuwait became a fully independent country since 1961. Kuwait was the first Arab country in the Gulf to have an elected parliament. Women were not allowed to vote or elect or stand as candidates in the elections until 1999, when Shaikh Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah issued a decree giving women their political rights but it was defeated in the National Assembly. Finally, in 2005 Kuwaiti parliament gave women their fully political rights. In pre-oil, Kuwaiti women were forbidden from going to schools and usually were allowed only to recite Quran at (Al Mutawa’a) house. The merchant classes were the first to educate their daughters to extend their families’ power. After the new oil economy stage, women started to participate in the society to change stereotypes and traditional role. In addition they started to deal with the positive changes on lifestyle and contributed in the development of Kuwait society. Without any doubt, when women in Kuwait were granted the right for education by law, their life started to change and became part of the workforce. Education gave women the power to claim for their rights by the efforts of other women who were working in media sectors. Kuwaiti women in media highlighted and raised their problems and demands through TV and Radio programs, articles published in the newspapers, TV drama and plays on the theatre stage. Media was the most effective field that women made progress and gained power to achieve their goals. Media is a broad term that includes mass and social media; mass media is the means of transmitting messages to broad audiences. It includes television, radio, newspaper, magazines, books and so forth. Social media are the means of connecting and interacting actively it includes cell phones, e-mails, PTA and the web. Media in Kuwait includes news, newspapers, television, radio, journals, news services, press abstracts, publishing and bookseller associations. Kuwaiti women made a good contribution in the media because Kuwait has the most vocal and transparent media among Arab countries also well known in the freedom of press. The government funds some of the newspapers and satellite channels and owned Kuwait news agency (KUNA). I 2009, Kuwait had fifteen newspapers companies besides the English newspapers; Arab times, and Kuwait times. The Kuwaiti law controls media to forbid insulting religion references related to God, Islam, and Profit Mohammed (PBUH). Moreover, another law was made to forbid anybody from criticizing the ruling family in specific the Emir. In order to join media a person has to stick to the pervious laws concerning religion and the Emir otherwise he/she will be eligible for fines or send to the jail. Under the Press and Publication Law, the government suspended some of the local newspapers for violating this law for example; Al-Anba’a was suspended for five days for publishing an article about separating between the positions of crown prince from prime minister. Women respected both laws in media especially in the press. In the old days rarely women were encourage to join media in Kuwait because it is an Islamic country and women were preferred to stay home. Some women were very lucky because they have been married to an open-minded educated husbands and made positive impact on the women who had joined Kuwaiti media and became stars of Kuwaiti society. It was noticeable that Kuwaiti women in the media were attacked by some Islamic groups. Kuwaiti women who wear the hijab didn’t dare to study any subject related to media. Studies and social research proved the impact of media messages on the individual behavior and collective beside their power on the political decision. Women started media in Kuwait through television, radio, the press and other means; the famous publication was through T. V. Kuwait T. V. began to broadcast at the earliest sixties in black and white, the building was closed to the Dsman Palace. The first Kuwaiti woman who entered the media on Kuwaiti television in 1961 was Fatima Hussein, followed by a number of announcers such as Nouria Al-Sdani, Anissa Jafar who was known as “Mama Anissaâ€. Other active women in Kuwait radio were; Amina Al-Ansari, Iqbal Al-Gharaballi and Amal Al-Abdullah who later turned to the T. V. activities, the previous names were the first generation of female announcers in Kuwait T. V. and radio. One of the most famous announcers in Kuwait T. V. and radio is Fatimah Hussein. Fatimah Hussein Al-Essa Al-Qanaie, born in Kuwait 1937, completed her Secondary School Education in Kuwait and was granted a scholarship by Government to study abroad in the University. She was the first woman who was allowed to study out of Kuwait at Cairo University, College of Arts, and Journalism Department 1956-1960. After graduation she was married in 1960 to Suliman Al Mutawa and accompanied him to the USA for his Master Degree. She did not waste her time and decided to study English at the Community Services Department of Columbia University. She started to practice broadcasting in New York, with the Voice of America Radio, where she prepared and presented messages to Radio Kuwait, under the theme name “Journal of a Kuwaiti Lady in New Yorkâ€. Radio Kuwait awarded her efforts and offered her another scholarship to study the art of Broadcasting in the University of New York and she managed to take several courses in the Art in the Art of Broadcasting. After she returned to Kuwait and started to work at Radio Kuwait she prepared he own daily program about woman and the family for 15 minutes. She became a media woman with the programs she prepared on the family issues. Kuwaiti Journalist women were the less in media sector due to the nature of work and the difficult circumstances. Hidaya Sultan Al-Salem was the owner and editor of the weekly al-Majales. She was supposed to be honored for her contributions and articles but instead she was murdered on 20 March at her 66 years old. She was famous and active journalist when she was killed on her way to work. A Kuwaiti military man was following her and in the middle of the street he opened fire on her chauffeur-driven car in Kuwait City. The killer confessed that he took revenge and killed Hidaya because of her article about the girls of his ribe Al Awazem. Moreover, Kuwaiti women made significant contributions in TV drama and were famous in Gulf and Arab countries. Also, they made influential contribution in Kuwaiti movie (Bas Ya Bahar), which presented the old Kuwaiti life when they were diving for pearls and traveled six months away from their homes. In this movie Hayat Al Fahad expressed the life of Kuwaiti women at that time. More contributions of Kuwaiti women in media were developed by Dr. Suad Al Sabah; one of the ruling family members in Kuwait. She was graduated from the Faculty of Economics and Political Sciences at Cairo University in 1973. In 1981 obtained PhD in economics from Guilford University (UK). She established Suad Al Sabah Publishing and Distribution House. She writes poetry that was published in several books. Another famous flag does not need any introduction, who does not know Mama Anissa? More than 45 years she was introducing and preparing programs for children in Kuwait. Her programs attracted children beside adults and brought happiness to the children who participated from all over Kuwait. She approached the childhood world and became the mother of all Kuwaits children. Conclusion Kuwait, which is located in the north west of the Arabian Gulf generally, divided into two different periods: pre-oil and after the discovery of oil. In the pre-oil period Kuwait society was controlled by male only while women were not involved in any work except house working and did not attend schools for education, they were reciting Quran at (Mutawa) house. Kuwaiti women had very hard life , they were not involved in the public life and were forbidden from education. The first who made changes in women life were the merchant families when they sent their daughters to schools. Education was the spark that lightened women life. After oil, the government realized that education is necessary to make the progress and development. Women claimed for their rights and struggled until they were able to elect, vote and nominate in 2005. They fought for their freedom by different means. Kuwaiti women who were involved in Media encouraged women to claim for their rights. Women in media have a powerful role in the social and political life. Some of these women joined Kuwaiti TV such as Fatima Hussain who was famous for the family program, Mama Anisa who was famous for Children programs, Amina Al Sharrah, Mona Taleb who were from the irst generation of media women. Other women became journalist such as Hidaya Alsalem who was murdered because of her politics view and articles. Moreover, Kuwaiti women developed the drama, poetry and movies to express their demands. I believe that Kuwaiti women deserve to be honored for their will to win, as they did not slender to the cruelty of traditions and custom. Even though they have paid their life for the sake of their beliefs and courage but at the end they made progress and moved on to share with men all aspects of life and cancel the discriminations between men and women.
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12/12/2019 0 Comments Water clock Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 wordsWater clock - Research Paper Example
However this is not the case and many experiments are underway all around the globe to find the best product possible which can wake up an individual as ordinary alarms do not do the trick when it comes to waking them up from sleep. The product that has been chosen for the sake of this paper is that of a water clock which is in the form of a top lamp. It aims to spill water on to the sleeper if he does not get up and avoids using the alarm so that he could get an extra dose of sleep in the early hours of the morning. This paper will discuss the basis of a water clock and how it has been studied from the aspect of four dimensions of the marketing – product, price, place and promotion. The water clock runs with electricity and is basically an alarm clock. It is different from other clocks because it has a water tank fitted inside it. However this water tank is small in size and does not take that much space. The water clock is an interesting idea because it helps the sleeper to wake up and get on his toes immediately. The basic intention is to make him feel all soggy so that shall wake him up quickly. Some people find it hard to digest the fact that they would be spilled with water so early in the morning; however the advantages of such a water clock cannot be denied at all, especially if the sleeper believes in having deep sleep patterns. The water clock acts as a deterrent to sleeping for long period of time, thus offering a chance to the sleeper to be on his toes instantly. As far as comparing it with other products in the market is concerned, the water clock acts as a product that is one step ahead of them. Other products make use of the cell (alkaline battery) technology while this water clock is run through electricity alone. Hence if the cells go off in the middle of the night, the sleeper can still be assured that his water clock will wake him up early in the morning, at his own designated time. The 12/4/2019 0 Comments Angels Demons Chapter 113-117113
Something was wrong. Lieutenant Chartrand stood outside the Pope's office and sensed in the uneasy stance of the soldier standing with him that they shared the same anxiety. The private meeting they were shielding, Rocher had said, could save the Vatican from destruction. So Chartrand wondered why his protective instincts were tingling. And why was Rocher acting so strangely? Something definitely was awry. Captain Rocher stood to Chartrand's right, staring dead ahead, his sharp gaze uncharacteristically distant. Chartrand barely recognized the captain. Rocher had not been himself in the last hour. His decisions made no sense. Someone should be present inside this meeting! Chartrand thought. He had heard Maximilian Kohler bolt the door after he entered. Why had Rocher permitted this? But there was so much more bothering Chartrand. The cardinals. The cardinals were still locked in the Sistine Chapel. This was absolute insanity. The camerlegno had wanted them evacuated fifteen minutes ago! Rocher had overruled the decision and not informed the camerlegno. Chartrand had expressed concern, and Rocher had almost taken off his head. Chain of command was never questioned in the Swiss Guard, and Rocher was now top dog. Half an hour, Rocher thought, discreetly checking his Swiss chronometer in the dim light of the candelabra lighting the hall. Please hurry. Chartrand wished he could hear what was happening on the other side of the doors. Still, he knew there was no one he would rather have handling this crisis than the camerlegno. The man had been tested beyond reason tonight, and he had not flinched. He had confronted the problem head-on… truthful, candid, shining like an example to all. Chartrand felt proud right now to be a Catholic. The Illuminati had made a mistake when they challenged Camerlegno Ventresca. At that moment, however, Chartrand's thoughts were jolted by an unexpected sound. A banging. It was coming from down the hall. The pounding was distant and muffled, but incessant. Rocher looked up. The captain turned to Chartrand and motioned down the hall. Chartrand understood. He turned on his flashlight and took off to investigate. The banging was more desperate now. Chartrand ran thirty yards down the corridor to an intersection. The noise seemed to be coming from around the corner, beyond the Sala Clementina. Chartrand felt perplexed. There was only one room back there – the Pope's private library. His Holiness's private library had been locked since the Pope's death. Nobody could possibly be in there! Chartrand hurried down the second corridor, turned another corner, and rushed to the library door. The wooden portico was diminutive, but it stood in the dark like a dour sentinel. The banging was coming from somewhere inside. Chartrand hesitated. He had never been inside the private library. Few had. No one was allowed in without an escort by the Pope himself. Tentatively, Chartrand reached for the doorknob and turned. As he had imagined, the door was locked. He put his ear to the door. The banging was louder. Then he heard something else. Voices! Someone calling out! He could not make out the words, but he could hear the panic in their shouts. Was someone trapped in the library? Had the Swiss Guard not properly evacuated the building? Chartrand hesitated, wondering if he should go back and consult Rocher. The hell with that. Chartrand had been trained to make decisions, and he would make one now. He pulled out his side arm and fired a single shot into the door latch. The wood exploded, and the door swung open. Beyond the threshold Chartrand saw nothing but blackness. He shone his flashlight. The room was rectangular – oriental carpets, high oak shelves packed with books, a stitched leather couch, and a marble fireplace. Chartrand had heard stories of this place – three thousand ancient volumes side by side with hundreds of current magazines and periodicals, anything His Holiness requested. The coffee table was covered with journals of science and politics. The banging was clearer now. Chartrand shone his light across the room toward the sound. On the far wall, beyond the sitting area, was a huge door made of iron. It looked impenetrable as a vault. It had four mammoth locks. The tiny etched letters dead center of the door took Chartrand's breath away. IL PASSETTO Chartrand stared. The Pope's secret escape route! Chartrand had certainly heard of Il Passetto, and he had even heard rumors that it had once had an entrance here in the library, but the tunnel had not been used in ages! Who could be banging on the other side? Chartrand took his flashlight and rapped on the door. There was a muffled exultation from the other side. The banging stopped, and the voices yelled louder. Chartrand could barely make out their words through the barricade. “… Kohler… lie… camerlegno…†“Who is that?†Chartrand yelled. “… ert Langdon… Vittoria Ve…†Chartrand understood enough to be confused. I thought you were dead! “… the door,†the voices yelled. “Open…!†Chartrand looked at the iron barrier and knew he would need dynamite to get through there. “Impossible!†he yelled. “Too thick!†“… meeting… stop… erlegno… danger…†Despite his training on the hazards of panic, Chartrand felt a sudden rush of fear at the last few words. Had he understood correctly? Heart pounding, he turned to run back to the office. As he turned, though, he stalled. His gaze had fallen to something on the door… something more shocking even than the message coming from beyond it. Emerging from the keyholes of each of the door's massive locks were keys. Chartrand stared. The keys were here? He blinked in disbelief. The keys to this door were supposed to be in a vault someplace! This passage was never used – not for centuries! Chartrand dropped his flashlight on the floor. He grabbed the first key and turned. The mechanism was rusted and stiff, but it still worked. Someone had opened it recently. Chartrand worked the next lock. And the next. When the last bolt slid aside, Chartrand pulled. The slab of iron creaked open. He grabbed his light and shone it into the passage. Robert Langdon and Vittoria Vetra looked like apparitions as they staggered into the library. Both were ragged and tired, but they were very much alive. “What is this!†Chartrand demanded. “What's going on! Where did you come from?†“Where's Max Kohler?†Langdon demanded. Chartrand pointed. “In a private meeting with the camer – “ Langdon and Vittoria pushed past him and ran down the darkened hall. Chartrand turned, instinctively raising his gun at their backs. He quickly lowered it and ran after them. Rocher apparently heard them coming, because as they arrived outside the Pope's office, Rocher had spread his legs in a protective stance and was leveling his gun at them. “Alt!†“The camerlegno is in danger!†Langdon yelled, raising his arms in surrender as he slid to a stop. “Open the door! Max Kohler is going to kill the camerlegno!†Rocher looked angry. “Open the door!†Vittoria said. “Hurry!†But it was too late. From inside the Pope's office came a bloodcurdling scream. It was the camerlegno. 114 The confrontation lasted only seconds. Camerlegno Ventresca was still screaming when Chartrand stepped past Rocher and blew open the door of the Pope's office. The guards dashed in. Langdon and Vittoria ran in behind them. The scene before them was staggering. The chamber was lit only by candlelight and a dying fire. Kohler was near the fireplace, standing awkwardly in front of his wheelchair. He brandished a pistol, aimed at the camerlegno, who lay on the floor at his feet, writhing in agony. The camerlegno's cassock was torn open, and his bare chest was seared black. Langdon could not make out the symbol from across the room, but a large, square brand lay on the floor near Kohler. The metal still glowed red. Two of the Swiss Guards acted without hesitation. They opened fire. The bullets smashed into Kohler's chest, driving him backward. Kohler collapsed into his wheelchair, his chest gurgling blood. His gun went skittering across the floor. Langdon stood stunned in the doorway. Vittoria seemed paralyzed. “Max…†she whispered. The camerlegno, still twisting on the floor, rolled toward Rocher, and with the trancelike terror of the early witch hunts, pointed his index finger at Rocher and yelled a single word. “ILLUMINATUS!†“You bastard,†Rocher said, running at him. “You sanctimonious bas – “ This time it was Chartrand who reacted on instinct, putting three bullets in Rocher's back. The captain fell face first on the tile floor and slid lifeless through his own blood. Chartrand and the guards dashed immediately to the camerlegno, who lay clutching himself, convulsing in pain. Both guards let out exclamations of horror when they saw the symbol seared on the camerlegno's chest. The second guard saw the brand upside down and immediately staggered backward with fear in his eyes. Chartrand, looking equally overwhelmed by the symbol, pulled the camerlegno's torn cassock up over the burn, shielding it from view. Langdon felt delirious as he moved across the room. Through a mist of insanity and violence, he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. A crippled scientist, in a final act of symbolic dominance, had flown into Vatican City and branded the church's highest official. Some things are worth dying for, the Hassassin had said. Langdon wondered how a handicapped man could possibly have overpowered the camerlegno. Then again, Kohler had a gun. It doesn't matter how he did it! Kohler accomplished his mission! Langdon moved toward the gruesome scene. The camerlegno was being attended, and Langdon felt himself drawn toward the smoking brand on the floor near Kohler's wheelchair. The sixth brand? The closer Langdon got, the more confused he became. The brand seemed to be a perfect square, quite large, and had obviously come from the sacred center compartment of the chest in the Illuminati Lair. A sixth and final brand, the Hassassin had said. The most brilliant of all. Langdon knelt beside Kohler and reached for the object. The metal still radiated heat. Grasping the wooden handle, Langdon picked it up. He was not sure what he expected to see, but it most certainly was not this. Angels & Demons Langdon stared a long, confused moment. Nothing was making sense. Why had the guards cried out in horror when they saw this? It was a square of meaningless squiggles. The most brilliant of all? It was symmetrical, Langdon could tell as he rotated it in his hand, but it was gibberish. When he felt a hand on his shoulder, Langdon looked up, expecting Vittoria. The hand, however, was covered with blood. It belonged to Maximilian Kohler, who was reaching out from his wheelchair. Langdon dropped the brand and staggered to his feet. Kohler's still alive! Slumped in his wheelchair, the dying director was still breathing, albeit barely, sucking in sputtering gasps. Kohler's eyes met Langdon's, and it was the same stony gaze that had greeted Langdon at CERN earlier that day. The eyes looked even harder in death, the loathing and enmity rising to the surface. The scientist's body quivered, and Langdon sensed he was trying to move. Everyone else in the room was focused on the camerlegno, and Langdon wanted to call out, but he could not react. He was transfixed by the intensity radiating from Kohler in these final seconds of his life. The director, with tremulous effort, lifted his arm and pulled a small device off the arm of his wheelchair. It was the size of a matchbox. He held it out, quivering. For an instant, Langdon feared Kohler had a weapon. But it was something else. “G-give…†Kohler's final words were a gurgling whisper. “G-give this… to the m-media.†Kohler collapsed motionless, and the device fell in his lap. Shocked, Langdon stared at the device. It was electronic. The words SONY RUVI were printed across the front. Langdon recognized it as one of those new ultraminiature, palm-held camcorders. The balls on this guy! he thought. Kohler had apparently recorded some sort of final suicide message he wanted the media to broadcast… no doubt some sermon about the importance of science and the evils of religion. Langdon decided he had done enough for this man's cause tonight. Before Chartrand saw Kohler's camcorder, Langdon slipped it into his deepest jacket pocket. Kohler's final message can rot in hell! It was the voice of the camerlegno that broke the silence. He was trying to sit up. “The cardinals,†he gasped to Chartrand. “Still in the Sistine Chapel!†Chartrand exclaimed. “Captain Rocher ordered – †“Evacuate… now. Everyone.†Chartrand sent one of the other guards running off to let the cardinals out. The camerlegno grimaced in pain. “Helicopter… out front… get me to a hospital.†115 In St. Peter's Square, the Swiss Guard pilot sat in the cockpit of the parked Vatican helicopter and rubbed his temples. The chaos in the square around him was so loud that it drowned out the sound of his idling rotors. This was no solemn candlelight vigil. He was amazed a riot had not broken out yet. With less than twenty-five minutes left until midnight, the people were still packed together, some praying, some weeping for the church, others screaming obscenities and proclaiming that this was what the church deserved, still others chanting apocalyptic Bible verses. The pilot's head pounded as the media lights glinted off his windshield. He squinted out at the clamorous masses. Banners waved over the crowd. Antimatter is the Antichrist! Scientist=Satanist Where is your God now? The pilot groaned, his headache worsening. He half considered grabbing the windshield's vinyl covering and putting it up so he wouldn't have to watch, but he knew he would be airborne in a matter of minutes. Lieutenant Chartrand had just radioed with terrible news. The camerlegno had been attacked by Maximilian Kohler and seriously injured. Chartrand, the American, and the woman were carrying the camerlegno out now so he could be evacuated to a hospital. The pilot felt personally responsible for the attack. He reprimanded himself for not acting on his gut. Earlier, when he had picked up Kohler at the airport, he had sensed something in the scientist's dead eyes. He couldn't place it, but he didn't like it. Not that it mattered. Rocher was running the show, and Rocher insisted this was the guy. Rocher had apparently been wrong. A new clamor arose from the crowd, and the pilot looked over to see a line of cardinals processing solemnly out of the Vatican onto St. Peter's Square. The cardinals' relief to be leaving ground zero seemed to be quickly overcome by looks of bewilderment at the spectacle now going on outside the church. The crowd noise intensified yet again. The pilot's head pounded. He needed an aspirin. Maybe three. He didn't like to fly on medication, but a few aspirin would certainly be less debilitating than this raging headache. He reached for the first-aid kit, kept with assorted maps and manuals in a cargo box bolted between the two front seats. When he tried to open the box, though, he found it locked. He looked around for the key and then finally gave up. Tonight was clearly not his lucky night. He went back to massaging his temples. Inside the darkened basilica, Langdon, Vittoria, and the two guards strained breathlessly toward the main exit. Unable to find anything more suitable, the four of them were transporting the wounded camerlegno on a narrow table, balancing the inert body between them as though on a stretcher. Outside the doors, the faint roar of human chaos was now audible. The camerlegno teetered on the brink of unconsciousness. Time was running out. 116 It was 11:39 P.M. when Langdon stepped with the others from St. Peter's Basilica. The glare that hit his eyes was searing. The media lights shone off the white marble like sunlight off a snowy tundra. Langdon squinted, trying to find refuge behind the façade's enormous columns, but the light came from all directions. In front of him, a collage of massive video screens rose above the crowd. Standing there atop the magnificent stairs that spilled down to the piazza below, Langdon felt like a reluctant player on the world's biggest stage. Somewhere beyond the glaring lights, Langdon heard an idling helicopter and the roar of a hundred thousand voices. To their left, a procession of cardinals was now evacuating onto the square. They all stopped in apparent distress to see the scene now unfolding on the staircase. “Careful now,†Chartrand urged, sounding focused as the group began descending the stairs toward the helicopter. Langdon felt like they were moving underwater. His arms ached from the weight of the camerlegno and the table. He wondered how the moment could get much less dignified. Then he saw the answer. The two BBC reporters had apparently been crossing the open square on their way back to the press area. But now, with the roar of the crowd, they had turned. Glick and Macri were now running back toward them. Macri's camera was raised and rolling. Here come the vultures, Langdon thought. “Alt!†Chartrand yelled. “Get back!†But the reporters kept coming. Langdon guessed the other networks would take about six seconds to pick up this live BBC feed again. He was wrong. They took two. As if connected by some sort of universal consciousness, every last media screen in the piazza cut away from their countdown clocks and their Vatican experts and began transmitting the same picture – a jiggling action footage swooping up the Vatican stairs. Now, everywhere Langdon looked, he saw the camerlegno's limp body in a Technicolor close-up. This is wrong! Langdon thought. He wanted to run down the stairs and interfere, but he could not. It wouldn't have helped anyway. Whether it was the roar of the crowd or the cool night air that caused it, Langdon would never know, but at that moment, the inconceivable occurred. Like a man awakening from a nightmare, the camerlegno's eyes shot open and he sat bolt upright. Taken entirely by surprise, Langdon and the others fumbled with the shifting weight. The front of the table dipped. The camerlegno began to slide. They tried to recover by setting the table down, but it was too late. The camerlegno slid off the front. Incredibly, he did not fall. His feet hit the marble, and he swayed upright. He stood a moment, looking disoriented, and then, before anyone could stop him, he lurched forward, staggering down the stairs toward Macri. “No!†Langdon screamed. Chartrand rushed forward, trying to reign in the camerlegno. But the camerlegno turned on him, wild-eyed, crazed. “Leave me!†Chartrand jumped back. The scene went from bad to worse. The camerlegno's torn cassock, having been only laid over his chest by Chartrand, began to slip lower. For a moment, Langdon thought the garment might hold, but that moment passed. The cassock let go, sliding off his shoulders down around his waist. The gasp that went up from the crowd seemed to travel around the globe and back in an instant. Cameras rolled, flashbulbs exploded. On media screens everywhere, the image of the camerlegno's branded chest was projected, towering and in grisly detail. Some screens were even freezing the image and rotating it 180 degrees. The ultimate Illuminati victory. Langdon stared at the brand on the screens. Although it was the imprint of the square brand he had held earlier, the symbol now made sense. Perfect sense. The marking's awesome power hit Langdon like a train. Orientation. Langdon had forgotten the first rule of symbology. When is a square not a square? He had also forgotten that iron brands, just like rubber stamps, never looked like their imprints. They were in reverse. Langdon had been looking at the brand's negative! As the chaos grew, an old Illuminati quote echoed with new meaning: “A flawless diamond, born of the ancient elements with such perfection that all those who saw it could only stare in wonder.†Langdon knew now the myth was true. Earth, Air, Fire, Water. The Illuminati Diamond. Angels & Demons 117 Robert Langdon had little doubt that the chaos and hysteria coursing through St. Peter's Square at this very instant exceeded anything Vatican Hill had ever witnessed. No battle, no crucifixion, no pilgrimage, no mystical vision… nothing in the shrine's 2,000-year history could possibly match the scope and drama of this very moment. As the tragedy unfolded, Langdon felt oddly separate, as if hovering there beside Vittoria at the top of the stairs. The action seemed to distend, as if in a time warp, all the insanity slowing to a crawl… The branded camerlegno… raving for the world to see… The Illuminati Diamond… unveiled in its diabolical genius… The countdown clock registering the final twenty minutes of Vatican history… The drama, however, had only just begun. The camerlegno, as if in some sort of post-traumatic trance, seemed suddenly puissant, possessed by demons. He began babbling, whispering to unseen spirits, looking up at the sky and raising his arms to God. “Speak!†the camerlegno yelled to the heavens. “Yes, I hear you!†In that moment, Langdon understood. His heart dropped like a rock. Vittoria apparently understood too. She went white. “He's in shock,†she said. “He's hallucinating. He thinks he's talking to God!†Somebody's got to stop this, Langdon thought. It was a wretched and embarrassing end. Get this man to a hospital! Below them on the stairs, Chinita Macri was poised and filming, apparently having located her ideal vantage point. The images she filmed appeared instantly across the square behind her on media screens… like endless drive-in movies all playing the same grisly tragedy. The whole scene felt epic. The camerlegno, in his torn cassock, with the scorched brand on his chest, looked like some sort of battered champion who had overcome the rings of hell for this one moment of revelation. He bellowed to the heavens. “Ti sento, Dio! I hear you, God!†Chartrand backed off, a look of awe on his face. The hush that fell across the crowd was instant and absolute. For a moment it was as if the silence had fallen across the entire planet… everyone in front of their TVs rigid, a communal holding of breath. The camerlegno stood on the stairs, before the world, and held out his arms. He looked almost Christlike, bare and wounded before the world. He raised his arms to the heavens and, looking up, exclaimed, “Grazie! Grazie, Dio!†The silence of the masses never broke. “Grazie, Dio!†the camerlegno cried out again. Like the sun breaking through a stormy sky, a look of joy spread across his face. “Grazie, Dio!†Thank you, God? Langdon stared in wonder. The camerlegno was radiant now, his eerie transformation complete. He looked up at the sky, still nodding furiously. He shouted to the heavens, “Upon this rock I will build my church!†Langdon knew the words, but he had no idea why the camerlegno could possibly be shouting them. The camerlegno turned back to the crowd and bellowed again into the night. “Upon this rock I will build my church!†Then he raised his hands to the sky and laughed out loud. “Grazie, Dio! Grazie!†The man had clearly gone mad. The world watched, spellbound. The culmination, however, was something no one expected. With a final joyous exultation, the camerlegno turned and dashed back into St. Peter's Basilica. |