I hated myself for not reading this fantastic book earlier (bought it in 2007).
Science is the new god... or is it?
In our modern world of technological wonders, Science has embedded itself deeply within each of us. Medical breakthroughs, environmental conservation, space exploration, genetic alteration - Science seems to be able to solve all our problems with tangible means.
So pardon my boldness but - do we still need religion?
Back in ancient times when humans were still retarded entities with no technology, we look to our faith for hope. We look to our gods. Sometimes, our prayers will be answered. Sometimes, they went unheard. Statistics-wise, I have to say that the ratio of unheard prayers is higher than that of answered prayers. Miracles do not happen everyday. And even if they do, can we be sure they are miracles?
So now we have Science that can give us tangible results with tangible means. Do we still need our faith in our religion; intangible faith that might not give us any results at all?
Angels and Demons will reveal everything. Go read it!
In a peanut's shell, the book is about the revival of an ancient anti-christ and pro-science organization and their plan to annihilate their long time oppressor - the Catholic Church. The story will bring you from the technological brilliance of CERN to the ancient and mysterious Vatican City. In the end, you will realize that there is more to it than it meets the eye.
As a big fan of the occult and conspiracy theories, I hereby reach out to those that are like me out there to read the book if you haven't already!!!
I was intrigued by the various landmarks and locations in the book and decided to go see how it looked like in real life. I want to know if they still bear the secret markings of a secret history...
So this is where the story started off - CERN. The white circle marks the underground Large Hadron Collider used by CERN to conduct particle research. And as its name suggests, its L-A-R-G-E in every sense of the word. The white dotted line is the boundary between France and Switzerland.
A country by itself, the Vatican City stands within Rome, a capital of another country. At just 0.44km sq big, the Vatican is... do the math yourself. Singapore is 710.2km sq big and already people criticize us for being a dot on the map.
Behold the St. Peter's Square, heart and core of the Vatican City!
This is the St. Peter's Basilica, situated right in front of St. Peter's Square. It houses the office for the Pope and many many other secret chambers... the entrance to the original Vatican Hill is somewhere inside.
These are Swiss Guards - sworn protectors of the Pope and the Holy See. Do not be fooled by their uniforms for they are specially trained to be in charge of the Pope's security. Think of them as equivalents to the US Secret Service. And do not laugh. Their uniform are derived from the designs of Michaelangelo himself!
Let angels guide you on your lofty quest.
I saw in his hand a long spear of gold, and at the iron's point there seemed to be a little fire. He appeared to me to be thrusting it at times into my heart, and to pierce my very entrails; when he drew it out, he seemed to draw them out also, and to leave me all on fire with a great love of God. The pain was so great, that it made me moan; and yet so surpassing was the sweetness of this excessive pain, that I could not wish to be rid of it.
The Fountain of the Four Rivers. This is a crucial clue in the quest to finding the Path of - I have said too much...
The St. Angelo's Castle. I fell in love with it when I first saw it. I want a castle like that too!
Another interesting feature in the story is the use of ambigrams. An ambigram is a graphical figure that spells out one or more words not only in its form as presented, but also in another direction or orientation. Take a look at the following to see what it means:
Angels and Demons
Smile
Ambigram
Thank you
Copy these images and then rotate them 180 degrees in your image viewer or if you can use your imagination. They will still depict the same word. Interesting eh? You can read up more on ambigrams at John Langdon.
The Vatican is now on my places to visit list.
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