"Angels and Demons" - the plot thickens Quiz

Answer: CERN nuclear research labs

All the major clues in "Angels and Demons" involve a killing or attempted killing and in each case, the victim has a word branded on their chest. In the case of CERN physicist Leonardo Vetra, the first victim of the serial killer, the word is "Illuminati".

Answer: Ambigram

Ambigrams are writings that remain the exact same when turned around by a fixed angle, usually 180 degrees (creating one that would work at 90 or 120 degrees would be extremely hard, although they do exist: the logo of Sun microsystems is a 90 degree ambigram).

Of course, creating ambigrams will usually involve some calligraphy skills in getting the shapes just right - unless, of course, you use a computer to design one.

Answer: An antimatter canister

The perpetrator behind the murders has stolen an antimatter canister from CERN, which will, inevitably, fail to contain the antimatter and thus trigger an explosion that will exceed those of a thermonuclear weapon. The canister requires substantial amounts of power to function and, unconnected to CERN's energy supply, it only has 24 hours of battery life.

Answer: The four most likely candidates

The evil schemer behind the attack has chosen the four most likely candidates - the Preferiti or papabiles - as his victims. They are to be killed, each in one of the churches of Rome, and in very specific ways.

Answer: Earth - Air - Fire - Water

The first cardinal to be found murdered had soil stuffed down his throat (earth), then the next one was located with punctured lungs (air), the third burned alive (fire) and the last one drowned (water).

The order is unusual as it does not correspond to a traditional alchemical order - it was chosen to drive the plot as, in this order, the protagonists have a chance to locate and save the later victims. None of the four however survives, although for the last two, the investigators still arrive in time to witness the actual act of murder.

Answer: False

The actual killings are carried out by a paid assassin. He claims a total of six victims - the four cardinals, the CERN scientist and the commanding officer of the Swiss Guard before meeting his own end at the hands of the novel's main hero Robert Langdon. However, we later learn that the mastermind has also personally killed the previous pope.

Answer: One hour

The four murders of the cardinals happen in key churches of Rome, several kilometers apart from each other which drives the urgency of the plot - even traveling from one location to the next in the time frame available is not a small feat in the city which is packed due to the conclave.

Answer: Four statues, each one at or near one of the murder sites

The four angel statues each stand in or, in some cases right outside, the churches chosen by the mastermind. Each of the statues also contains a clear allusion to the respective element in its design.

The location of the statues is vital to the plot because the connecting lines between them form a cross with Castel Sant'Angelo - supposedly the secret Illuminati headquarter - at the center where the final encounter is to happen. In essence, the investigators thus only have a chance to even find, much less reach, that location, when the timer is down to one hour.

Answer: A metal brand

The Illuminati Diamond is the culmination of the four elemental ambigrams - its diamond shape contains all the four element names in one single ambigram. Like all the others in the book, it was discovered in the form of a metal brand. Camerlengo Ventresca is the one who gets branded with this particular iron.

The ambigrams in the book were all created by typographer John Langdon. Robert Langdon, the protagonist of the book and series (continued in "The Da Vinci Code", "The Lost Symbol", "Inferno" and "Origin"), was actually named for the typographer.

Answer: Partially - the election was unanimous, but he was not direct successor

Mortati was unanimously elected, but he did not directly succeed the murdered pope. Instead, Camerlengo Ventresca, mastermind of the whole plot, murderer of the pope and also the pope's illegitimate son (by artificial insemination), had, by canonical law, become pope for a few minutes before he self-immolated due to an "election by acclamation" rule that provided for a way to have a pope appointed by direct divine inspiration. That rule was actually stricken from real life canonical law by John Paul II four years before the novel was published.