59 pages • 1-hour read
The Secret of Secrets
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Themes
Content Warning: This section of the guide features depictions of death, graphic violence, emotional abuse, and physical abuse.
The Dangers and Limits of Technology
Throughout The Secret of Secrets, Dan Brown offers a sustained criticism of modern technology, especially social media and artificial intelligence. The novel suggests that social media poses a threat to real-life social engagement, and that there are hard limits to existing AI technologies.
Protagonist Robert Langdon criticizes what he sees as excessive or inappropriate social media usage throughout the novel. In one instance, he privately judges a couple taking selfies at one of Prague’s highest viewpoints, noting that they had been at the spot just “long enough to photograph themselves before moving on, most likely to the next photo opportunity” (226). Langdon concludes from watching this couple that “the only reason to do anything anymore was to post it for the world to see” (226). Significantly, Langdon is not alone in his assessment: The husband of the woman taking the photos is described as being “apologetic” and “clearly mortified” by his wife’s behavior, describing their trip condescendingly as an “Instagram honeymoon” (226). Ultimately, the novel suggests that obsession with social media prevents full social engagement with the world, reflecting the alienation from lived experience that modern technologies can cause.
The novel also reflects a belief in the hard limits of modern artificial intelligence technology, featuring multiple episodes where AI technology is outsmarted or fails entirely. The In-Q-Tel agents who kidnap Jonas Faukman brag about using an “an AI engine that tracks your movement” (110) during their interrogation. However, despite their use of this state-of-the-art program, Faukman is able to outsmart the agents, who are arrested after being trapped in a revolving door with a mechanical lock. Later, however, despite swearing never to use AI, Faukman decides to “screw ethical fortitude” (399) and use AI to determine a connection between In-Q-Tel and Katherine Solomon’s research. His efforts produce no real results, and ultimately, it is Solomon herself who makes the connection, reaffirming Faukman’s stance against AI technologies. These instances of repeated failure suggest that the usefulness of AI technologies is limited in their current forms, and these technologies shouldn’t be relied on as the answer to every problem.
The Ethics of National Security
The action of The Secret of Secrets brings Robert Langdon in direct contact with national security forces and officers, including the American embassy and agents of the CIA and its subsidiaries. Ultimately, the novel argues that while these types of organizations cross ethical lines in the name of national security, these actions are justified. The novel also suggests that the bad actions of these agencies can be overcome by the good actions of individuals within them. The novel’s primary villain, Everett Finch, is an executive with In-Q-Tel, a private equity firm run by the CIA. The novel describes the CIA as an organization wielding “unprecedented influence around the world” (88). Finch’s villainous behavior in pursuit of his goals shows that his moral framework pushes ethical boundaries. Brown is clear that the structure of In-Q-Tel—a real-life organization—means that “the CIA could essentially do whatever it wanted and answer to no one” (379). The novel offers project Threshold as a fictional example of the types of unethical projects that federal agencies pursue in the name of national security.
The novel attempts to justify these unethical behaviors by insisting that the United States is under an immediate active threat from enemies. Ambassador Heide Nagel insists she bugged Langdon and Solomon’s hotel room “in service to [her] oath to protect U.S. interests” (358) abroad. Nagel repeatedly refers to the “very real and potentially catastrophic” (565) threat faced by Americans as a justification for her behavior, telling Langdon that “it’s easy to be indignant until you’ve glimpsed the alternatives” (630). She later repeats this idea. saying that “sometimes the best choice is simply the least objectionable outcome” (630). The fact that Nagel is an important ally for Langdon and Solomon may suggest that Brown intends for this to be a reliable perspective on national security.
Nagel also acts as an example of the novel’s suggestion that boundary-pushing on a large scale can be counteracted by the individual behaviors of ethical actors. After acknowledging that project Threshold crossed ethical boundaries, Nagel decides to make amends for unquestioningly following Finch’s orders. Nagel explicitly attributes her decisions in the second half of the novel to her desire to counteract the unethical behavior of her government, describing it as “the opportunity to redeem myself and the terrible mistakes I’ve made” (639). The fact that Nagel has a direct impact on Langdon and Solomon’s success suggests that the good actions of individuals can counteract unethical behavior in the name of national defense on a larger scale.
The Nature of Human Consciousness
The mystery at the heart of The Secret of Secrets centers on efforts to determine the nature of consciousness for medical, scientific, and military purposes. The novel accepts as fact Katherine Solomon’s belief that “consciousness is not localized to your brain,” but rather permeates the universe, making it one of the “fundamental building blocks of our world” (262). Anticipating skepticism, the novel asserts that, in addition to the presence of concrete proof of nonlocal consciousness, many religions already include this belief. Robert Langdon’s background in world religions and his journey of disbelief to acceptance are used to anchor the argument for skeptical readers.
The novel begins with an author’s note claiming that all experiments, programs, technologies, and scientific results described in the novel “are true to life” (3). Although Brown does not provide references, the novel offers repeated references to studies demonstrating the existence of nonlocal consciousness. Brown’s descriptions of these studies stress their disciplinary diversity: He writes that nonlocal consciousness was proven “by noetic science, by quantum physics […] by plasma physics, nonlinear mathematics, and consciousness anthropology” (408-9). The variety of fields outlined here is designed to prove that noetic science is an active field with a diverse group of practitioners who universally support Solomon’s theory.
In addition to sharing these studies, the novel also suggests that the theory of nonlocal consciousness is reflected in major world religions. As Langdon concludes, “the notion of an ‘eternal, incorporeal soul’ […] was a universal constant across all religions” (408). Solomon’s references to religion allow her to describe her theory in terms that Langdon will understand; however, they also suggest that her theory is intuitive for religious people of all types.
Ultimately, Langdon begins to believe that he is being irrational by not accepting evidence of nonlocal consciousness and related phenomena, like precognition, near-death-experiences, and remote viewing, despite the evidence outlined by Solomon. In the novel’s opening chapters, Solomon argues that “today’s accepted model of human consciousness now finds itself challenged by a rising tide of phenomena that it simply cannot explain” (29). Faced with that evidence, Langdon realizes that “at some point…skepticism itself becomes irrational” (542, ellipses in original). The fact that Langdon ultimately accepts the nonlocal consciousness model also suggests that the novel itself supports this theory.
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