Free The Lost Symbol (Robert Langdon) by Dan Brown Page B

all things. He has always wanted to become ‘one’ with the universe . . . to achieve the state of ‘at-one-ment.’ ” Her brother raised his eyebrows. “To this day, Jews and Christians still strive for ‘atonement’ . . . although most of us have forgotten it is actually ‘at-one-ment’ we’re seeking.”
    Katherine sighed, having forgotten how hard it was to argue with a man so well versed in history. “Okay, but you’re talking in generalities. I’m talking
specific
physics.”
    “Then
be
specific.” His keen eyes challenged her now.
    “Okay, how about something as simple as
polarity
—the positive/negative balance of the subatomic realm. Obviously, the ancients didn’t underst—”
    “Hold on!” Her brother pulled down a large dusty text, which he dropped loudly on the library table. “Modern polarity is nothing but the ‘dual world’ described by Krishna here in the Bhagavad Gita over two thousand years ago. A dozen other books in here, including the
Kybalion,
talk about binary systems and the opposing forces in nature.”
    Katherine was skeptical. “Okay, but if we talk about modern discoveries in
subatomics
—the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, for example—”
    “Then we must look
here,
” Peter said, striding down his long bookshelf and pulling out another text. “The sacred Hindu Vendantic scriptures known as the Upanishads.” He dropped the tome heavily on the first. “Heisenberg and Schrödinger
studied
this text and credited it with helping them formulate some of their theories.”
    The showdown continued for several minutes, and the stack of dusty books on the desk grew taller and taller. Finally Katherine threw up her hands in frustration. “Okay! You made your point, but I want to study cutting-edge
theoretical
physics. The future of science! I really doubt Krishna or Vyasa had much to say about superstring theory and multidimensional cosmological models.”
    “You’re right. They didn’t.” Her brother paused, a smile crossing his lips. “If you’re talking superstring theory . . .” He wandered over to the bookshelf yet again. “Then you’re talking
this
book here.” He heaved out a colossal leather-bound book and dropped it with a crash onto the desk. “Thirteenth-century translation of the original medieval Aramaic.”
    “Superstring theory in the thirteenth century?!” Katherine wasn’t buying it. “Come on!”
    Superstring theory was a brand-new cosmological model. Based on the most recent scientific observations, it suggested the multidimensional universe was made up not of
three
. . . but rather of
ten
dimensions, which all interacted like vibrating strings, similar to resonating violin strings.
    Katherine waited as her brother heaved open the book, ran through the ornately printed table of contents, and then flipped to a spot near the beginning of the book. “Read this.” He pointed to a faded page of text and diagrams.
    Dutifully, Katherine studied the page. The translation was old-fashioned and very hard to read, but to her utter amazement, the text and drawings clearly outlined the
exact
same universe heralded by modern superstringtheory—a ten-dimensional universe of resonating strings. As she continued reading, she suddenly gasped and recoiled. “My God, it even describes how six of the dimensions are entangled and act as one?!” She took a frightened step backward. “What
is
this book?!”
    Her brother grinned. “Something I’m hoping you’ll read one day.” He flipped back to the title page, where an ornately printed plate bore three words.
    The Complete Zohar.
    Although Katherine had never read the
Zohar,
she knew it was the fundamental text of early Jewish mysticism, once believed so potent that it was reserved only for the most erudite rabbis.
    Katherine eyed the book. “You’re saying the early mystics
knew
their universe had ten dimensions?”
    “Absolutely.” He motioned to the page’s illustration of ten intertwined