Inferno (2013) a Novel by Dan Brown: Summary

The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in time of moral crisis.  Dante Alighieri.

The decisions of our past are architects of our future. 

The ends justify the means. Machiavelli

Inferno is the underworld as described in Dante Alighieri’s epic poem The Divine Comedy, which depicts hell as an elaborately structured realm populated by entities known as ‘shades’ – bodiless souls trapped between life and death. 

This book was published in Great Britain in 2013 with 618 pages. Dan Brown, a well-known bestselling author for The Da Vinci Code novel. He is an American author of thriller fiction who was inspired by Dante’s works. Inferno is a thriller novel which is rich of facts, literature, science, and historical references. Seemingly Mr. Brown expressed his protest to WHO, as the gate keeper of the planet’s health – is investing in things like curing diabetes, filling blood banks, and battling cancer. 

Prof. Langdon, as the main character, pointed that as the hypocrite while the chart of World Population Growth Troughout History showed the dangerous statistic. It’s only take a thousand year human had been increasing into 9 billions (at the chart on page 145). This planet should just provide for 4 billions. If the population is cut into a half so the problems of this world will banish a half too. 

Inferno (2013), a Novel by Dan Brown: Summary 

Prologue.  He introduced his name as the Shade.  The shadows of the Uffizi (Italian Gallery) had pursued him … has sent him underground … forced him to live in purgatory. He had succeed reveal to aboveground but the voices echoed from below … warned him… ungrateful land!

As he climbed the visions came hard … the lustful bodies writhing in fiery rain, the gluttonous souls floating in excrement. He had climbed halfway to heaven, they rushed forward in disbelief, wanted to grab his feet. High above this burdened world, he made his prayer. Dearest God, I pray the world remembers my name not as a monstrous sinner, but as the glorious savior you know I truly am. I pray the Mankind will understand the gift I leave behind. My gift is future, my gift is salvation, and my gift is inferno. Amen. 

It was a whispered of a woman’s voice in his head when he woke up. Robert Langdon was founded with brain injure, a mild amnesia, in Florence, Italy.  He had no identification when he arrived in ICU. Harvard symbologist, Professor Robert Langdon, forced his aching mind to reel back – walking alone across the Harvard campus to Saturday – night lecture series. A woman aimed directly a handgun to Dr. Marconi’s chest, his white lab coat drenched in blood. 

Langdon kept hallucinating, the silver – haired woman and the iconic mask. Dr. Brooks only assured him that recurring visions were common with amnesia. Sienna brought him to her apartment and he studied that young doctor. Dr. Sienna Brook, an Italian surgery was in her early thirties. A newspaper article with a photo of Sienna at age seven proclaimed that girl as prodigy. Far coast of Italy in a luxury vessel, there was a man with his employee. Known to his employees only as ‘the provost’ he had built his reputation – and The Consortium itself – on two golden rules. Never make a promise you can’t keep and never lie to a client, ever. 

Vayentha reported him that Langdon had escaped. She had been the best person for that mission but had made mistake last night. Not far from him, in his ten years with the Consortium, Knowlton had performed all kind of stranger that knew feel somewhere between dishonest and illegal. Laurence Knowlton found an image slowly appeared in his computer and bore inscription: in this place, on this date, the world was changed forever. It was kind of a threat. Working in moral gray area was commonplace at Consortium – an organization whose lone ethical high ground what was they would do whatever to it took a promise to client. 

Besides, seeing a woman in gray hair in his vision, Langdon also had seen iconic mask, it’s called a plague mask (picture on page 60). The deadly plague swept Europe in 1300s, killing off a third population in some regions. Long-beaked mask was nearly synonymous as the Black Death. Back to hospital, Landon and Sienna found his jacket. The hand embroidered initials – R.L. that had been added to the label. Hidden in lining, were large neatly fashioned pocket and a biometrically sealed canister. All suspicious stuffs were strange to him. After shaking the tube, he found the Faraday pointer potrayed the masterpiece before him – La Mappa dell’ Inferno – that had been painted by one of true giants of Italian Renaissance, Sandro Botticelli. He had studied Botticelli’s map of hell and he thought was linked to Dante’ Inferno. 

He called American Consulate and told his story. Langdon was so shock because consul general’s chief administrator was familiar to him and even asked him about his possession. As the minutes ticked past the military man and a woman who killed Dr. Marconi seized him. Langdon and Sienna had been chased by two different teams. Vayentha from the Consortium and Italian military police team, with all dressed in black uniform. He assumed U.S government had sent military to catch him. An attractive older woman was wedged between two soldiers like a captive in military’s van. He thought he had seen a ghost, a woman in his vision. 

The silver – haired woman in the van was having trouble breathing. Suffering from severe asthma by six, she had been treated with a high dose of a promising new drug. Sadly the drug’s unanticipated side effects damaged her reproductive system in permanent. She had flown to New York from Geneva, where she was serving as the director of the World Health Organization. Elisabeth Sinskey had invited by a man and they had argued about the population. A scientist, philanthropist, brought her the data of world population growth throughout history. 

Dr. Zobrist, Dante’s fanatic explained scientist’s conclusions. According to any environmental biologist or statistician tell us that humankind’s best chance of long-term survival occurs with a global population of around four billion. In fact, we are seven now. Some of us will witness the population triple in our lifetime. The demand for dwindling natural resources is skyrocketing. Clean water is harder and harder to come by. And in face of this disaster the World Health Organization – the gate keeper of the planet’s health – is investing in things like curing diabetes, filling blood banks, battling cancer. 

Knowlton studied the video of his client and he found two clue words; Malthus and Dante. A quick Internet search led him information a bout mathematician and demographist Thomas Robert Malthus who had famously predicted an eventual global collapse due to overpopulation. Professor Langdon tried to find out who was the attacker wanted to kill him. 

The vision and the tube led him to Dante’s house in Florence. As an arts and culture administrator at Palazzo Vecchio, Marta Alvarez had climbed stairs countless times although she was eight months pregnant. Marta said Ignazio Busoni and Langdon were there last night. Langdon didn’t remember anything until he saw on surveillance camera. Ignazio Busoni was something of a celebrity in the Florence cultural world. The longtime director of Museo dell’Opera del Duomo. He also was an expert in Dante’s works. 

Dante Alighieri was an Italian poet most famous for writing The Divine Comedy, which described Dante’s imagine journey through hell after he read Bible. In his poem, Dante eventually escaped hell, continued journey through purgatory, and finally arrived in paradise. The Divine Comedy is divided into three parts – Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise. The reason the mask resided in the gallery had nothing to do with that poem. Dante lived in Florence and he loved the city, but there was a shift in political power, Dante supported the wrong side, so he was exiled – thrown outside the city walls and told him never come back. After his death, an artist made a mask as an appreciation to Dante in Florence. 

Martha explained the mask was owned by the Swiss billionaire Betrand Zobrist. He was famous biochemist. He basically invented the field of germline manipulation. He also was a prominent of the Population Apocalypse Equation. Sienna knew so much about Zobrist because she was well red in the field of medicine. But Martha found the mask was stolen by Professor Langdon and Ignazio. Italian military police and Vayentha found them in Gallery. Ignazio Busoni was killed. Langdon got caught by WHO man who admitted picked him up from Harvard University. But he sensed something vague familiar in his eyes. As if he had met Dr. Jonathan Ferris somewhere. Langdon asked his friend’s help in New York. He was taking private jet to Geneva because he guessed Dr. Zobrist stored the plague in cold area, Geneva. 

Elisabeth Sinskey and her team had tracked Langdon and they found him in Geneva. Langdon was caught. Elisabeth explained she hired Langdon to crack Zobrist’s the inscriptions that was related to Botticelli’s painting.  Dr. Zobrist had left it before he was suicide. Elisabeth thought Langdon betrayed his agreement to WHO. Zobrist had created a plague that could threat the mankind and he hid it somewhere. She found that Zobrist left two clues for his plague. It was the Bottecelli’s painting and Dante’s poem. Consortium was in the same team with WHO now. Provost admitted Zobrist was his client. 

He wanted to discover his client true intentions and what he had been created and if the threat was real. He also said Sienna was Zobrist’s former lover. Consortium and Sienna wanted to accomplish Zobrist’s mission but he never knew about the plague, a threat to human. Langdon was played by Sienna and provost’s team. Dr. Marconi‘s death, Vayentha, U.S consulate and the hospital were only pretend. Marconi is Dr. Ferris, one of the Consortium’s staff. Langdon was not losing of his memory but Consortium had injected him with benzodiazepines – a breed of pharmaceutical that deletes of short – term memory. 

The last clue was the tomb of Enrico Dandolo in Istanbul, Turkey. Langdon met Sienna there and she admitted all to him. But she said that Zobrist didn’t create a plague but far more dangerous. It was a sterility virus. The contagion has been out for week. The virus was now in airborne and one third of the world’s population would be sterile … and would continue to be sterile for all time. 

Betrand Zobrist has redesigned human species … in an attempt to save mankind … in transforming humankind into less fruitless population. Sienna was tired of being a fugitive. Langdon had explained Sienna’s confession about Zobrist’s work to Sinskey and assured her. It was no easy for Elisabeth to trust Sienna but after arguing a lot with her, she hired Sienna as a WHO scientist.

*****

May 8, 2015 

Tana Toraja & Makassar, Southern Celebes

Sekapur Sirih 

Tempat paling gelap di neraka telah diperuntukkan bagi mereka bersikap netral dalam krisis moral. Dante Alighieri. Keputusan masa lalu membangun masa depan. 

Pertama mengetahui nama penulis Dan Brown dari karyanya yang  terkenal the Da Vinci Code. Ketika itu banyak pihak yang mempertentangkan karena menghadirkan tokoh Jesus dalam geliat fiksi. Namun pemikir gereja dan pengikut Jesus berpandangan maju menganggap itu hanyalah sebuah karya sastra. Di lain pihak banyak bersukacita bukan  karena kehebatannya sebagai karya, namun karena kontennya telah menyudutkan Jesus sebagai Tuhan akan tetapi di sisi berbeda banyak peminat. Setelah menikmati  filmnya di layar lebar, betapa sebuah film menarik. Dari segi sastra adalah karya yang bagus dimana ada twist cerita atau teka-teki di sana. Hingga kini sama sekali belum pernah membaca novelnya tapi ada keyakinan kuat kalau novel itu pastilah karya luar biasa. 

Karya fiksi Inferno yang saya miliki saat ini adalah cetakan pertama produksi Bantam Press berbendera Britania Raya. Diinformasikan novel ini akan diangkat ke layar sinema di tahun 2016 mendatang. Kembali diperankan oleh aktor besar Tom Hanks, yang juga telah dua kali dipercaya melakonkan the Da Vinci Code dan Angels and Demons. 

Buku setebal 618 halaman ini, telah menemani perjalanan menikmati indahnya Tana Toraja dan kota Makassar. Karya ini sangat layak melewati dan menyita perhatian  hingga akhir Mei 2015. Disampaikan dengan bahasa yang berkualitas, plot yang kuat, dengan genre thriller, sains, fakta dan sejarah. Bagi pembaca umum atau mahasiswa yang berniat menikmati atau mengkaji sebuah karya berkualitas maka novel ini sangat layak dipertimbangkan. Sungguh sebuah bacaan yang sangat menarik. 

 

Terjemahan dalam Bahasa Indonesia, Inferno (Neraka) oleh Dan Brown: ringkasan 

Dr Robert Langdon, seorang professor simbologi dari Universitas Harvard Amerika tergeletak tidak sadar diri dan tidak tahu identitasnya di kota Florence negeri Italia. Seorang wanita muda di awal tiga puluhan merawat luka tembak pada kepalanya di sebuah ICU rumah sakit. Wanita asing berbaju kulit menodongkan senjata pada dokter lelaki bernama Dr. Marconi di hadapannya. Hanya beberapa saat dokter itu pun mati di tempat. 

Dr. Sienna Brooks membawa Professor Langdon ke apartemennya untuk menghindar dari upaya pembunuhan sembari mencari tahu jati dirinya. Akibat tertembak di kepala mengakibatkan amnesia ringan dan selalu berhalusinansi. Sebuah bisikan suara  wanita kerap di kepalanya, “cari dan temukan”. Kutipan sebuah ayat alkitab. Setelah menelepon kantor Konsulat Amerika, Langdon pun kaget kalau kepala administrasi konsulat Amerika menanyakan lukanya dan kesurupannya. Hanya beberapa menit dua tim bersenjata mengepung apartment Siena. Kini  keduanya menjadi kejaran agen militer Italia dan kelompok wanita pembunuh Dr. Marconi. 

Kembali ke rumah sakit Langdon menemukan jaketnya dan jam Mickey Mouse-nya. Hal aneh, dia mendapati pipa kaleng seperti tuba alat bom, sebuah peta puisi dari karya Dante Alieghieri  dan tulisan bordiran di jaketnya. Sebuah gambar topeng hitam pun ada di penglihatannya. Mempelajari lebih jauh, simpulan semakin terarah ke sebuah peristiwa mati massal akibat plague ( bibit penyakit ) di Eropa sehingga disebut topeng hitam kematian. Sienna dan Langdon pun sangat penasaran akan pengejar mereka. 

Keduanya pun mengunjungi Florence kota kelahiran Dante Alieghieri di mana  topeng kematian dipajang. Marta Alvarez, wanita hamil petugas museum tidak heran bertemu Langdon dan mengatakan tadi malam Langdon di sana. Langdon pun kaget malam itu dia ada dalam rekaman cctv. Dia pun semakin heran dan penyerang pun mendapati mereka di Florence dan membuat direktur museum Ignazio, sahabat Langdon terbunuh. Ignazio Bussini  merupakan ahli dalam karya-karya Dante Aligieri. 

Sebuah organisasi Consortium diketuai dan dimiliki oleh pria tegas dan selalu menjaga komitmen pada kliennya. Sebutan lelaki itu provost. Tidak banyak bertanya apa bisnis kliennya namun selalu memuaskan apa kehendak kliennya. Vayentha, gadis gesit yang sudah berpengalaman dan yang sangat ambisi dalam karirnya dipercaya provost menangani kasus professor ganteng itu, upaya pengejaran Langdon. Ahli dalam computer, Knowlton merupakan karyawan provost yang terpercaya dan handal, lelaki itu juga sudah sepuluh tahun bekerja pada perusahaan professional itu. Pria itu mendapati pesan kata-kata di sebuah flash disk (tongkat data) yang mengatakan besok waktunya dunia hancur. 

Langdon sangat terkaget melihat wanita tua berambut silver dan berkalung batu lapis lazuli di penglihatannya dalam sebuah mobil van pengejaran. Langdon seperti melihat hantu tapi wanita itu nyata. Dia pun semakin bingung dan semakin menggali siapa para pengejar. Lewat penjaga museum diapun tahu pemilik topeng kematian yang dipajang di museum itu adalah Dr. Betrand Zobrist. Seorang dokter ilmuwan penemu, philantropis, pemilik beberapa paten di masa mudanya, dan perekayasa genetika. Namun sayang dokter itu diberitakan telah bunuh diri dengan melompat jembatan seminggu yang lalu. Sienna telah beberapa kali mengikuti seminarnya dan mempelajari misi dokter yang sangat peduli dengan efek ledakan penduduk bumi. Bisa dibilang Sienna adalah penggemar berat Dr. Zobrist. 

Dr. Elisabeth Sinskey adalah ketua organisasi kesehatan dunia (WHO) sangat kaget dengan pertemuannya dengan Dr. Zobrist sebelum kematiannya. Di antara keduanya terjadi perdebatan masalah ledakan penduduk. Provost sangat heran dengan berita bunuh diri kliennya Dr. Zobrist dan lelaki bertubuh kecil itu  ingin melanjutkan keinginan kliennya. Setelah mempelajari kembali dokumen Zobrist, provost pun akhirnya memutuskan bekerja sama dengan WHO. Dia tidak pernah mengetahui bahwa misi dari ilmuwan Zobrist ingin menyebarkan sebuah plague (bibit penyakit) yang akan mengurangi setengah penduduk dunia. Baik WHO dengan bantuan agen militer polisi Italia sekarang menjadi satu tim dan mencari tahu dimana Langdon berada. 

Ketua WHO sebenarnya telah merekrut Langdon untuk memecahkan kode ayat-ayat karya Dante Alighieri, Divine Comedy, untuk mencari tahu di mana plague pemusnah ciptaan Zobrist berada. 

Dr. Zobrit menggunakan ayat-ayat dari puisi Inferno karya Dante. Gambaran poet Dante akan perjalanan rohaninya sesuai bacaannya di Bible. Manusia akan memasuki tahapan Inferno (neraka), Purgatory (penyucian), dan Paradise (surga). 

Dalam kata-kata inskripsi Dr. Zobrist semua menyerap puisi inferno sehingga semakin meyakinkan Robert Langdon ada rencana pemusnahan dari ilmuwan pintar itu. Ketika Dr. Langdon hampir memecahkan inskripsi itu dia pun berhasil ditangkap oleh tim militer bayaran WHO dan Consortium. 

Provost akhirnya menceritakan bahwa Dr. Ferris tak lain yang menyamar menjadi Dr. Marconi menjemputnya dari kampus ke Florence namun dia tidak pernah ditembak di kepala dan dokter tertembak di rumah sakit itu adalah rekayasa. Dia hanya disuntikkan cairan benzodiazepine, pembuat amnesia sementara waktu bertujuan menghapus ingatan jangka pendek. Semuanya bagian dari sandiwara yang direncanakan Sienna Brook dengan pihak provost. 

Sebelum meninggal Zobrist adalah kliennya atas rujukan Sienna dan mereka pun sepakat melanjutkan rencana ilmuwan Zobrist. Namun provost tidak mengetahui sebegitu kejam misi ciptaan Zobrist, ilmuwan yang didapati bunuh diri seminggu sebelumnya. Provost juga bercerita kalau Sienna adalah mantan kekasih Dr. Zobrist yang telah diabaikan. Professor itu sangat kecewa mendapati kenyataan dia telah dipermainkan oleh Sienna. Mereka pun membaca sebuah kode dalam pipa tuba dan provost mengatakan itu adalah kode Sienna. 

Pencarian wabah (plague) pun berakhir di kota Istanbul Turki. Sienna pun ditemukan di sana dan Langdon berhasil berbicara dengan gadis cantik itu. Gadis botak itu mengakui dan meminta maaf telah mempermainkan Langdon namun tujuannya adalah menemukan ciptaan plague (wabah, bibit penyakit) demi menyelamatkan dunia. 

Zobrist memang awalnya ingin menciptkan plague untuk memusnahkan setengah penduduk bumi. Kegelisahannya akan ledakan laju penduduk dunia yang diprediksi akan memusnahkan manusia. Kekurangan air bersih, kekeringan, dan kekurangan makanan karena menurut ahli biologi dan statistik bumi hanya mampu menyangga kehidupan empat milyar manusia sementara tahun 2050 akan sembilan milyar. Tidak salah ahli matematika Robert Malthus dengan ilmu deretnya memastikan penduduk akan berlipat-lipat. 

Sienna tumbuh sebagai gadis tidak seperti umumnya pada usianya, karena sejak dini telah mengetahui dirinya mengidap kanker. Dia pun bergabung dengan organisasi yang menolong orang miskin di Manila, Pilipina. Kanker yang diidapnya membuat  keputusan membotaki kepalanya dan keseharian dengan wig blonde. Namun dia di perkosa oleh tiga lelaki di jalanan yang membuatnya goncang dan trauma. 

Gadis prodigy itu memutuskan untuk kuliah kedokteran di Amerika. Keresahannya melihat penduduk bumi yang keras diwarnai kemiskinan, pembunuhan, keserakahan, serta ancaman kepunahan dia sangat sepaham dan tertarik dengan Dr. Zobrist. Namun cara itu dinilai sadis olehnya dan akhirnya dokter itu menciptakan virus yang membuat manusia tidak subur sehingga diprediksi sepertiga penduduk bumi tidak subur demi menekan laju ledakan penduduk. 

Wabah Virus itu telah disebarkan seminggu yang lalu dan sudah terlanjur. Faktanya tidak ada ada plague ciptaan Zobrist. Gadis kehilangan rambut itu kini menjadi teroris biologi, seorang buronan. Mengetahui semua pengakuan Sienna, Langdon pun menceritakannya pada Dr. Sinskey, namun ketua WHO itu sulit memercayai pengakuan Sienna. 

Akan tetapi selepas mempertemukannya dengan Sienna, doktor biologi itu pun memahami posisi Sienna dan menarik gadis cerdas itu bekerja pada WHO. Selain Sienna adalah dokter yang berpikiran tegas dan berani tidak seperti kebanyakan karyawan lab WHO yang berpikiran abu-abu, juga diperkuat pertimbangan agar mengetahui ide dari mendiang Zobrist. 

Provost dan anak buahnya ditangkap atas suruhan WHO. Sebelum Langdon kembali ke Italia, dia mengucapkan selamat tinggal secara pribadi kepada gadis itu walau sebenarnya ada benih ketertarikan di antara keduanya. Dr. Sinskey mengirimkan paket yang berisikan barang-barang Dr. Langdon termasuk jam tangan Mickey Mouse – kesayangannya. Professor mengembalikan topeng kematian pada tempatnya namun sayang dia tidak bertemu dengan Marta, guide  museum itu tengah cuti melahirkan.

*******

8 Mei 2015