The race to understand consciousness

By Ande Jacobson

The latest Dan Brown book, The Secret of Secrets, is a wild ride. This sixth Robert Langdon book was released in September 2025 and is a little longer than typical Dan Brown fare. Like the others in the series, this one too stands on its own. The only connection to the series is that Brown’s protagonist, Robert Langdon, finds himself in yet another mishap not of his own making but with much at stake. Brown starts with a note to readers that all of the science, symbols, artwork, organizations, and documents referenced are real, fantastic as they will seem. The premise of the book is that noetic research is reaching a critical point in proving that human consciousness is nonlocal, i.e., doesn’t emanate from within our own minds but is instead something that exists outside of individuals. In essence, although it takes some time to get to this point in the story, nonlocal consciousness implies that human minds are merely receivers much like radios. The consciousness is out there to be experienced, we just have to learn to tune our filters to let it in. Imagine the power that implies. As such, there’s an international race to both understand and harness that power, not necessarily all for good.How Langdon becomes involved in this is because of his current girlfriend, a noetic scientist who is about to publish a book discussing her research. Forces are at work to prevent that book’s release, and so begins the adventure. Langdon and Dr. Kathryn Solomon are in Prague for Dr. Solomon to present her findings at a conference, invited by fellow neuroscientist, Dr. Brigita Gessner. Dr. Gessner is a known skeptic where noetic science is concerned, at least ostensibly, and has extended the invitation to Dr. Solomon for unknown reasons. Dr. Gessner is what’s called a materialist, i.e., a neuroscientist who shuns the idea of nonlocal consciousness, and the two branches have been at odds for decades, each with their own studies and “proof” of their convictions. There are other entities involved that are slowly revealed as the story progresses including the CIA, the American Embassy and Ambassador, the local military and police, and of course back in New York, Dr. Solomon’s editor who is eager to begin his examination of the book.

There are also some mystical aspects to the story, drawing on Prague’s history. A Golem plays a central role. While the traditional role and appearance of a Golem is known in some aspects of Jewish folklore, the depiction in this story strays from that a bit. Another central character is a young woman who is not quite what she seems when she’s first introduced. Sasha Vesna is Dr. Gessner’s lab assistant. She’s an epileptic who Dr. Gessner has helped, but that’s not all.

All of these elements combine to create a race against time to solve the mystery of who clearly doesn’t want Dr. Solomon’s book to see the light of day, and why? Danger abounds, and Drs. Langdon and Solomon find themselves in peril.

All that said, the idea of consciousness being nonlocal isn’t entirely new. After all, out of body experiences by those who have been to the brink of death and then lived to tell their stories have abounded through time. There’s a certain commonality to them all, and there are some aspects that cannot be explained by the science we currently understand. What if our brains were merely receivers and consciousness was out there to be harnessed? Even without reaching the brink of death, we’ve all had some insight into this in our dreams when certain filters are lowered, and our brains can roam more freely. Science fiction has explored various aspects of the idea of reality being more fungible than we might like to think, and Brown takes this idea in a more focused direction in this story. If proven, imagine how governments might try to harness this power to gain an international advantage.
Consider how different neural wiring might predispose some individuals to more easily put themselves into the altered state that is experienced by those facing the brink of death. Is it just a chemical reaction in the brain, or is there something more? Brown explores this idea in an interesting way. And yes, having an epileptic character is part of that exploration.

Brown also pushes the boundary on human experimentation in the story, but there’s a long history of that kind of thing being done under governmental auspices in the name of national security. How far is too far? Historically, we’ve exceeded that boundary on multiple occasions. It’s driven many of our regulations concerning informed consent, and yet, how much has that really curbed things?

While there are organizations studying the various theses Brown raises in the story, they are not all generally accepted by the scientific community. In the story, Brown’s key skeptic is Langdon himself. Langdon’s background in symbology and understanding of various mystical traditions gives him some basis for his skepticism. His other talents such as his eidetic memory also come into play as does his swimming expertise in the winter in Prague. Chilling to be sure.

While more than a little disturbing in places, the story moves quickly and ultimately comes to a satisfying, if unexpected resolution. Spoiler, Robert Langdon and Kathryn Solomon survive their ordeal, so a book seven in the Langdon series is not out of the question. That’s good news for readers.

Reference:
The Secret of Secrets, by Dan Brown