Page 114 of The Secret of Secrets

“So I started researching further,” Katherine said, “and learned that Tibetan monks also exhibit exceptionally high levels of GABA during meditation. The meditative trance apparently causes a surge of the inhibitory neurotransmitter, which shuts down nearly all neuronal firing, essentially preventing most of the outside world from entering their brains during deep-state meditation.”

The elusive empty mind, Langdon thought, familiar with the goal of meditation but never having known the chemical process by which it was achieved. Literally blocking out the world…reverting to the purity of the newborn mind.

“I suppose the results were not that shocking,” Katherine said, “but they gave me an idea—the concept of human consciousness being a signal…flowing into the brain through a series of gates.”

“Gates that decide how much of the world to let in.”

“Exactly, and it was about eighteen months ago, during my further research into GABA, that I stumbled across a neuroscience paper…written by Brigita Gessner.”

Ah yes, Langdon thought, which sparked Katherine’s invitation to speak in Prague.

“Gessner’s paper,” Katherine revealed, “was about an epilepsy chip she had invented that could thwart an oncoming seizure by triggering the brain’s natural GABA response, literally ‘calming’ the nerves. It made sense. As it turns out, epilepsy is a condition often related to dangerously low levels of GABA, which is the brain’s braking mechanism. With too little of it, your brain goes into overdrive, has runaway neuronal firing, and ultimately—”

“A seizure.”

“Yes,” she said, taking a quick sip of her Kofola. “The chaotic electrical storm of an epileptic seizure is the exact opposite of the focused blank mind of a monk in meditation; seizures are associated with a deficit of GABA…and meditation with an excess. I was familiar with all this previously, but her paper reminded me that epileptic seizures are often followed by a pleasurable refractory period known as postictal bliss—a peaceful, expanded state of consciousness, accompanied by bursts of connectedness, creativity, spiritual enlightenment, and out-of-body experiences.”

Langdon recalled his experience earlier with Sasha, as well as the descriptions offered by history’s innumerable visionary epileptics.

“And I suddenly found myself wondering,” Katherine said, “how an epileptic brain could so quickly transition from the storm of a seizure…to the peace of postictal bliss.”

Langdon shrugged. “I’m guessing a natural spike in GABA levels…quiets the storm?”

“Great guess—it was mine too—it’s called rebound inhibition, and it does indeed occur, but not immediately. As it turns out, something else happens first. The brain reboots. The whole system shuts down. And when it comes back online, it does so gradually…buying time for the brain to restore its GABA levels, reengage its filters, and shield the waking brain from too much input.”

“Sounds like how we wake up in the morning…opening our eyes slowly to give our pupils time to constrict and filter out some of the morning light.”

“Exactly! Except in this scenario, we never see the true morning light, because as we wake up, someone is simultaneously pulling thick curtains across our windows so we can’t see what’s really outside.”

“And that someone, I’m guessing, is GABA?”

“Precisely. GABA usually closes the curtains in time, before our eyes are open. But if the timing is off, and the curtains don’t close quickly enough—”

“We catch a glimpse of the outside world.”

“Yes,” she said with a smile. “And apparently it’s beautiful. Unfiltered reality. Postictal bliss. Pure consciousness.”

Remarkable, he mused, wondering if some of history’s celebrated “flashes of genius” might be attributable to a timing glitch…a brief moment when the doorway to reality was mistakenly left ajar.

“The more I thought about GABA,” Katherine said, “the more I realized that GABA was the key I’d been looking for…”

“The key to…?”

“The key to understanding consciousness!” she exclaimed. “Human beings have extraordinarily powerful minds, but we also have extraordinarily efficient filters to prevent an overload of input. GABA is the protective veil that prevents our brains from experiencing what we can’t handle. It limits how expansive your consciousness can be. This single chemical may be the reason why humans are not able to perceive reality as it truly is.”

Langdon sat back on the plush limousine seat, absorbing the provocative idea. “You’re suggesting there’s a reality around us…that we can’t perceive?”

“That’s exactly what I’m suggesting, Robert.” Her eyes flashed with excitement. “But that’s not even the half of it.”

In the Old Jewish Cemetery, the sounds of the nearby bustling streets had faded from The Golěm’s perception…his mind now bathed in a welcome silence. On his knees, he absorbed the power of this hallowed ground…listening for the voice of his predecessor.

With no true birthplace of his own, The Golěm called this place home, visiting from time to time when he needed strength.

The first golem went mad…but I am stronger than that.

His visits to this site always centered and replenished him, but today, he felt especially fortified. As he opened his eyes and stood to face the task before him, a light breeze whispered through the cemetery. The Golěm heard the voice of the original golem…a single word rustling in the bare branches overhead.

Truth…