The Secret of Secrets: A Novel
by Dan Brown
Contents
Chapter 132
Overview
Nagel summons Langdon and Katherine to warn that the Folimanka blast is triggering an imminent U.S. military lockdown and a CIA investigation that will begin by targeting them as suspects. She frames Threshold as part of a decades-long intelligence race to weaponize consciousness and argues Director Judd will prioritize results, even amid ethical violations.
Claiming she has leverage and a plan to protect them, Nagel says the next few hours require decisive action and that she needs Langdon’s help to pursue a “decent” path forward. The chapter ends with a major reversal: Sasha Vesna arrives at the embassy alive.
Summary
Ambassador Heide Nagel reflects on her life of public service and privately resolves to resign and leave Prague, now believing she has enough leverage to survive any political backlash after recent events. Despite that security, she feels hollow and realizes her life must be about more than mere survival.
Sergeant Kerble abruptly delivers Robert Langdon and Katherine Solomon back to Nagel’s office, where Nagel serves coffee and announces urgent developments. Nagel explains that a U.S. military task force from Ramstein is about to land to lock down Folimanka Park and begin cleanup, and that a CIA team from Langley is incoming to investigate the explosion.
Nagel warns that the investigation will start with Langdon and Katherine because an Army photo shows them leaving the underground facility minutes after the blast. Their illegal entry and their prior conflict with the CIA over the manuscript create apparent motive, making them plausible sabotage suspects despite the existence of Dr. Gessner’s confession, which Nagel says gives her leverage to protect them.
Nagel says the next few hours are critical and that she has a plan, but first she explains what they are up against: Threshold is the latest stage of decades of CIA work that began with remote viewing and expanded into attempts to master consciousness—mind-to-mind and mind-to-machine communication, long-distance influence, and even contact across “dimensions.” She argues that the CIA director, Judd, sees this as a national-security race akin to the atomic bomb, citing foreign advances in brain-reading, implants, and influence technologies.
Katherine apologizes for seeming dismissive but insists the core problem is unethical, nonconsensual experimentation. Nagel agrees, yet claims Judd was never informed about a patient fatality or Finch’s methods for obtaining test subjects, adding that intelligence leaders often prioritize outcomes and sometimes choose the least objectionable option.
Nagel returns to the immediate crisis: to execute what she calls a “right” and “decent” way through, she will need Langdon’s help. She then reveals the turning point that reframes everything—Sasha Vesna has just walked into the embassy alive.
Who Appears
- Heide NagelU.S. ambassador; warns of incoming investigations, defends CIA logic, proposes a plan, reveals Sasha alive.
- Katherine SolomonNeuroscientist; learns she is a suspect, challenges Threshold’s ethics, listens to Nagel’s warning.
- Robert LangdonScholar; named a suspect, presses about Gessner’s confession, is asked by Nagel to help her plan.
- Sasha VesnaPreviously endangered figure; unexpectedly walks into the embassy alive, shifting the stakes.
- Sergeant KerbleMarine escort; delivers Langdon and Katherine to Nagel for the urgent briefing.
- Director JuddCIA director; described as driving Threshold’s mission and authorizing an investigation that targets Langdon and Katherine.
- FinchThreshold operator; referenced as gone and accused of unethical subject procurement and hidden fatalities.
- Dr. GessnerConfessor; his recorded admission is cited as leverage Nagel can use to protect Langdon and Katherine.