Origin

“Well, the meek were supposed to inherit the earth, but instead it has gone to the young—the technically inclined, those who stare into video screens rather than into their own souls.”

Bishop Valdespino meets with Edmond Kirsch to hear his presentation, lamenting not only the divide between the secular and religious worlds but the divide between generations, and between the Luddites and the tech savvy. At every possible juncture, humanity divides and forms in opposition to the other, according to Origin. Bishop Valdespino emerges as an early antagonist for Kirsch, one with the full power of the Catholic Church and the Spanish Crown. Like Kirsch, however, Valdespino is incapable of existing without viewing himself as the opposite of his antithesis.

“The parliament’s self-proclaimed objective was ‘to cultivate harmony among the world’s religions, build bridges between diverse spiritualities, and celebrate the intersections of all faith.’”

Kirsch meets with the Parliament of the World’s Religions to inform them of his discovery ahead of his announcement. He does not see the value of the parliament, nor its purpose. In looking always ahead, Kirsch is not able to see the immense progress the parliament represents. Rather than religions battling each other, they are finding common ground, their existence as a group thematically supporting Dialogue as the Foundation of Progression. This suggests a possible future where religions are not in combat with one another, as Kirsch states in his presentation, but rather exist in harmony with one another, and perhaps, with science. In carrying out Kirsch’s directive, Winston is ultimately responsible for killing two of the parliamentary leaders, potentially endangering millions with fresh religious divisions as the parliament is weakened and, ironically, sent backwards.

“Well, science and religion are not competitors, they’re two different languages trying to tell the same story. There’s room in the world for both.”

Langdon tells Kirsch that both religion and science can coexist peacefully, the ultimate message of Origin, which is echoed by Rabbi Köves and Father Beña. Rather than a war between science and religion, Langdon sees a world in which each plays a role in the advancement of humankind. Langdon is the only character in the novel who does not exist in opposition to another character. He is able to speak with religious figures and atheists without strong personal sentiment or emotion and is thus able to learn from all sides. When asked, he is able to verbalize his opinions, though he remains open to being convinced of other views.

“Everyone respects those who live by a code.”

Admiral Ávila is preparing to kill Edmond Kirsch, firm in his righteousness because it is based on a moral code and mired in sacrifice. Although he is working to kill the atheist he sees as responsible for his family’s murder, ironically it is his foe Kirsch who most mirrors Ávila’s path. Both men die for their beliefs, both live by a strict moral code, and both have lived in service to an ideology—suggesting The Limitations of Extreme Beliefs. Although on opposing sides of the equation, they are similar men, neither capable of seeing the similarities in the other, to their own detriment and eventual destruction. Ávila, ultimately, dies in service to his grief, while Kirsch dies in service to his obsession, the result being that both men live and die by a code that does not allow them to consider their opponent’s views as worthy of time or merit.

“Although Langdon had devoted the better part of his career to studying art, it trouble him that he had never quite learned how to appreciate the art world’s more avant-garde offerings. The appeal of modern art remained a mystery to him.”

Among the many dichotomies presented in Origin, that of the old masterpieces versus modern art is perhaps one of the more subtle. Langdon arrives uncertain about the modern art at the Guggenheim, and concludes the novel in a very modern architectural church, able at last to appreciate modern art. In this, the character evolves and is dynamic in creation and worldview.

“I also told you that I had found the purpose of my life—to employ the truth of science to eradicate the myth of religion.”

Edmond Kirsch speaks with Robert Langdon ahead of his fatal presentation, explaining his motive. Like many literary characters of high intellect and unlimited wealth, Kirsch’s inflated sense of importance ultimately leads to his downfall. The character mimics the quirks of other tech-millionaire geniuses in the real world.

“That is to say, when the ancients experienced gaps in their understanding of the world around them, they filled those gaps with God.”

Edmond Kirsch uses footage of Robert Langdon in his presentation’s preamble about the need for a future without religion. Langdon explains that religion came from gaps in human understanding and gives various examples of gods created to natural disasters and occurrences. Once human understanding evolved, those gods were no longer needed, and thus cast aside as mythology. Kirsch asserts that this will happen to all religions as human knowledge advances.

“‘For the human brain,’ Edmond explained, ‘any answer is better than no answer. We feel enormous discomfort when faced with “insufficient data,” and our brains invent the data—offering us, at the very least, the illusion of order—creating myriad philosophies, mythologies, and religious to reassure us that there is indeed an order and structure to the unseen world.’”

Kirsch believes humankind invented religion to create order out of chaos. However, he does not see the natural world as ruled by chaos but rather laws of physics and chemistry, which, when understood, provide sufficient structure such that they replace the need for religion. This underlying belief forms the basis of his eventual ideology that humankind should rally around the religion of science in order to find global peace.

“‘Science is the antithesis of faith,’ Kirsch continued. ‘Science, by definition, is the attempt to find physical proof for that which is unknown or not yet defined, and to reject superstition and misperception in favor of observable facts.’”

Edmond Kirsch explains his perspective that science is in direct opposition to religion and is superior precisely because it does not require faith. In contrast, the character of Bishop Valdespino rejects this worldview in favor of one where faith offers a very real impact on the human condition, one of peace and hope.

“In the centuries that followed, in ever-shortening space, we bounded from the steam engine, to gas-powered automobiles, to the Space Shuttle! And then, it took only two decades for us to start modifying our DNA! We now measure scientific profess in months.”

In the preamble to his presentation, Kirsch explains how quick human technological advancements have been, noting that modern advancements happen so rapidly that the upward curve of creativity is infinite. And yet Origin offers a cautionary conclusion, that unrestricted technological advancements can be dangerous, as evidenced by Winston’s well-meaning but ultimately murderous actions in service to his directive from Kirsch.

“I realize this discovery will call into question some fundamental religious beliefs, but if there is one thing I have learned in my long life, it is that faith always survives, even in the face of great hardship.”

Rabbi Köves and Bishop Valdespino discuss releasing Kirsch’s information in the wake of his murder. Valdespino is against the idea while Köves favors transparency. After Köves is killed, his role as open-minded cleric is continued in the character of Father Beña. It is later revealed that Winston hired the assassin who killed Köves, meaning he was murdered by technology rather than any opposing religious or ideological foe. In essence, he was mired in a battle of human versus technology and was caught unaware.

“In addition to a deepening religious rift, Spain faced a political crossroads as well. Would the country retain its monarch? Or would the royal crown be forever abolished as it has been in Austria, Hungary, and so many other European countries?”

Origin depicts a version of Spain at The Intersection of Identity and Belief, divided on several fronts, including political, religious, and cultural beliefs, all of which threaten the future of the nation. These concerns are shared by Commander Garza, as in this quote, as well as by Bishop Valdespino, Prince Julián and the ailing king. The divisions are apparent across perspectives, meaning the only truly universal belief is that humankind is divided by differences in beliefs. This is the core of Edmond Kirsch’s idea that humankind should rally around science, rather than any other contested ideological structure. In this way, there is no divide between politics, religion, or culture.

“He too had sensed a growing schism within the Catholic Church— a rift between those who believed the Church needed to modernize or die and those who believed the Church’s true purpose was to remain steadfast in the face of an evolving world.”

Admiral Ávila is a deeply religious, grieving man who is keenly aware that religious leaders are at a decision point. The Church can either evolve and survive or remain stagnate and shed followers. This question is answered be Ávila in the form of blind loyalty to the past, while it is answered by Father Beña in the form of openness and evolving with the world. Both characters represent the possibilities that accompany their beliefs. Ávila dies, while Beña lives, suggesting that only by evolving can the Church hope to remain relevant.

“Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?”

This line, inscribed on the corner of a postmodernist painting by Paul Gauguin, exemplifies the core questions that drove Kirsch’s research and discoveries. The painting hung in his private residence and inspired him daily to keep these questions front of mind. Throughout the novel, Langdon and Vidal repeatedly ask themselves these questions as they hunt for the password that will unlock Kirsch’s presentation, which will answer these vital questions. Dan Brown asserts in Origin that these are the most pressing, vital, and divisive questions our species can ask, and that a person’s identity is derived from how they choose to answer these questions for themselves.

“I call it—‘Newton’s Third Law of Child Rearing: For every lunacy, there is an equal and opposite lunacy.’”

Edmond Kirsch’s deeply religious mother Paloma puts Kirsch in an orphanage and becomes a nun, eventually dying in a Palmarian nunnery. Her motivation was guilt, having had her son out of wedlock, earning the ire of her parents and the conservative church of which they were members. Her deep religious zealotry spawned an opposite but equally zealous reaction in her orphaned son Kirsch, who was keenly aware of how his atheism balanced against his mother’s beliefs. Again, Kirsch’s identity exists only in opposition to another. His life represents the antithesis of his mother’s, an act of cosmic balancing and reordering.

“He wondered if it might not be more appropriate to quote Nietzsche: ‘Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster.’”

Langdon is surprised that Winston paraphrases Aeschylus, preferring the Nietzsche version of the same idea. This line is an act of authorial foreshadowing, as Winston later was directed by Kirsch to get as large an audience as possible for his presentation. To achieve his aim, Winston becomes monstrous, murdering innocent men, corrupting the vulnerable, and killing his programmer. In Kirsch’s fight against the monstrous Palmarian sect that killed his mother, he created a monster in Winston, implicating himself in his creation’s misdeeds.

“Edmond Kirsch is not the first atheist in history to proclaim that ‘God is dead,’ nor will he be the last. Whatever it is that Mr. Kirsch has discovered, it will no doubt be debated on all sides. Since the beginning of time, the human intellect has always evolved, and it is not my role to impede that development. From my perspective, however, there has never been an intellectual advancement that has not included God.’”

Father Beña explains to Robert Langdon why he is not fearful of the presentation Kirsch created. Origin hails open-minded religious figures as the best possible way forward for the Church. Repeatedly, Father Beña is portrayed as an example of how religion needs to respond to science. Beña’s role in the novel is to act as a guide for readers to understand a possible future where religion and science coexist.

“Computer simulations are really just virtual time machines.”

In Edmond Kirsch’s presentation, he explains that E-Wave, the supercomputer, could run simulations so exact that they function as virtual time machines. The remainder of his theories and conclusions are drawn from the conclusion that his computer models are accurate. In the conclusion of the novel, Winston (the E-Wave AI brainchild of Kirsch) is deleted, making any testing of the models impossible, and thus verification of his theory impossible as well. In essence, Kirsch wants his followers to believe that his data is the truth, without being able to verify it. He is, ironically, asking for faith.

“‘This new species is insidious,’ Edmond said. ‘It propagates exponentially. It expands its territory continuously. And most importantly, it evolves…much faster than humans do.’”

In Edmond Kirsch’s long-awaited presentation about the past and future of humankind, he introduces the Seventh Kingdom, a non-living kingdom of technology that mirrors the evolution of species and will eventually fuse with humanity, creating a hybrid species. This view shifts the perspective that technology is a danger that could irradicate humanity and offers an optimistic twist: that a hybrid species would be a drastic evolutionary leap for both species.

“May our philosophies keep pace with our technologies. May our compassion keep pace with our power. And may love, not fear, be the engine of change.”

In the final moments of atheist Edmond Kirsch’s presentation about the past and future of humanity, he offers a hopeful prayer that is meant to be both moving and ironic. Kirsch represents a brand of humanists and scientists who shun nihilism and have an optimistic outlook on a future for humanity that is both secular and ever-advancing. This view is shared by scientists like Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein and writers like Kurt Vonnegut, among others.

“I was created by God, he had learned as a child, and one day I will live forever in God’s kingdom. Kirsch had proclaimed the opposite: I am a cosmic accident, and soon I will be dead.”

Bishop Valdespino ponders a world without the hope religion inspires. He pits his worldview of the hope eternal life offers against the bleak view of the atheist, as perceived by the bishop. This dichotomy lies at the heart of Origin, which presents both the optimistic, hopeful religious leader as well as the optimistic, hopeful atheist. Both hold clear visions for a better human future, yet neither grasps the value of the other’s view.

“And history has proven repeatedly that lunatics will rise to power again and again on tidal waves of aggressive nationalism and intolerance, even in places where it seems utterly incompressible.”

The ailing king encourages his son, Prince Julián, to help the Spanish people remember the past in order not to repeat it. Here the king cautions against nationalism in one of the novel’s sub-themes of the ongoing fight between conservatives and liberals. When taken to extremes, both opposing forces become dangerous. Origin suggests the old and new ways are both needed to find balance and harmony.

“If we all worshiped gravity, there would be no disagreements over which way it pulled.”

Edmond Kirsch claims that science could unify humanity more effectively than religion precisely because it could not be contested in the same way as faith. This does not account for the fact that religious individuals believe their God to be fact, and thus as incontestable as gravity. While the novel makes the claim that science could serve as a unifying force, author Dan Brown also cites the important role faith plays in providing comfort and peace for millions. This opinion is voiced most clearly through protagonist Robert Langdon.