Origin

Origin, by mystery/thriller author Dan Brown, is the fifth novel in the Robert Langdon series. Published in 2017, the novel extends the style, content, and subject matter established in prior books in the series. Origin deals heavily with the conflict between science and religion, as well as conservatism and liberalism in modern Spain. The novel also explores the role of technology in the evolution of humanity and what technology lends to the future. Brown is a successful writer of commercial fiction, specializing in thrillers with religious elements. His novels have sold over 200 million copies and have been adapted to the silver screen.

This guide refers to the Anchor Books 2017 edition.

Content Warning: The source material features depictions of terrorism, murder, and death. Suicide and self-harm, as well as alcohol and drug addiction, are present in the text.

Plot Summary

Harvard professor of symbology Robert Langdon arrives at the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain, eager to hear what scientific finding his former student, the now famous futurist Edmond Kirsch, will reveal. Through an AI named Winston, which was designed by Kirsch using a supercomputer, Langdon is directed to a private gallery where he meets with a visibly distraught and exhausted Kirsch. The futurist explains that what he will announce could shift the human paradigm, and as a result, he is fearful. He reveals that three days prior, he met with the Parliament of World Religions, informing them of his discovery. He is afraid their leader, Bishop Valdespino, may act against him in hopes of stopping the release of his discovery. Langdon reassures his friend, and they part following Winston’s instructions to the auditorium for the announcement.

After a lengthy pre-recorded preamble about the importance of science over religion, Kirsch steps onto stage. Before he can deliver his announcement, however, he is shot and killed by Admiral Ávila, a conservative former Spanish naval officer who was emotionally malleable after the death of his family in a cathedral bombing. Ávila is a member of the Palmarian Church, radicalized by a man known as the Regent, from whom he gets his instructions.

Langdon rushes to his deceased friend’s side and meets Ambra Vidal, the museum’s curator and a friend of Kirsch’s. She is also fiancée to Spanish Prince Julián, and thus the future queen of Spain. Vidal confesses to Langdon that her fiancé may be involved in Kirsch’s murder. Langdon and Vidal then devise a plan to escape from the royal guards, taking Kirsch’s futuristic phone with them.

With Winston’s help through the phone, they escape via Kirsch’s private jet to Barcelona, where they search Kirsch’s home for a 47-character password to unlock his presentation and broadcast it to the world. Langdon and Vidal believe that only by sharing the presentation can they fulfill Kirsch’s last wish. In his apartment, they discover that he was dying of cancer.

Langdon figures out that the password lies in a William Blake book on loan to a nearby cathedral called La Sagrada Família. They believe Bishop Valdespino is behind the attack on Kirsch, and on themselves, and that he orchestrates everything from his seat of power at the royal palace. They learn that the two other religious leaders in the Parliament of World Religions have been killed.

In order to get Vidal back to the royal palace, the head of public relations, Mónica Martín, announces that she has been kidnapped by Langdon. Police locate the duo at Kirsch’s Barcelona home and descend on the location, weapons firing. Meanwhile, two royal guards arrive via helicopter and rescue Langdon and Vidal from the roof. However, Kirsch’s phone containing Winston and the presentation are destroyed. While en route to the palace, Vidal convinces the guards to obey her wish to visit the cathedral, where they hope to uncover Kirsch’s password and end the killings.

At La Sagrada Família, they meet Father Beña, an open-minded priest who helps them find the Blake book, which reveals the password. However, Admiral Ávila, instructed by the Regent, locates them at the church and attacks. He kills two royal guards before attacking Langdon’s group. In a hand-to-hand confrontation, Langdon is successful, and Ávila is killed.

They have the password, but without the phone they cannot access Winston to launch the presentation. Vidal convinces the pilot to take them to a location Langdon claims houses the server containing Winston. Langdon figured out the location of the server after puzzling over a self-portrait by Winston, which he realized was a map. They indeed find Kirsch’s lab and servers, and with Winston’s help, they launch the presentation.

The presentation reveals that Kirsch sought to answer two fundamental questions: Where did we come from, and where are we going? To do this, he built a supercomputer capable of running complex models designed to complete a project called the Miller-Uray Experiment, which hoped to spark life using chemistry. The model reveals that life can indeed be sparked without a creator. Kirsch concludes from this data that there is no God, and that the cosmos was designed to dispel energy. Further, Kirsch’s model runs forward in time, answering the question of where humanity is headed. He explains that humans will become fused with another species, a non-living technological species, creating a hybrid future of human and machine intertwined into one, which he sees as optimistic and beautiful.

After the presentation, Vidal returns to Prince Julián, whose father has died, leaving him as the king of Spain. Bishop Valdespino dies by suicide after the death of his secret lover, the king. Langdon gets much-needed rest.

In the morning, Langdon realizes that the Regent is Winston, the AI machine created by Kirsch. He confronts Winston, who confirms his suspicions. Horrified, Langdon smashes his phone.