Dan Brown: ‘The human species has never created a technology that it hasn’t weaponized’

Dan Brown’s house in Exeter, New Hampshire, doesn’t resemble something out of a movie; it resembles something out of a Dan Brown novel. Bronze deer flank the door to a sprawling English garden, and bookcases conceal passageways. There are also copies of Leonardo da Vinci paintings, such as The Virgin of the Rocks, the original of which hangs in London’s National Gallery. Cheerful and fit — he windsurfs — the 61-year-old Brown has lived his entire life inside a radius of just 11.5 square miles. The private school he attended — where his father (now widowed and in love with a Sicilian woman, he says) taught math — and the church where his mother played the organ surround this home he built with his first wife, Blythe Newlon, whom he met while studying music at the academy she ran. Twelve years his senior, Newlon is an art historian. Brown thanked her for her help in the construction of The Da Vinci Code. Six years after his high-profile divorce, the writer has traded religion for science. His new book, The Secret of Secrets, was published on September 9, which took us to New Hampshire to visit the writer.

Is knowledge dangerous?

Without kindness, it’s dangerous. The human species has never created a technology that it hasn’t weaponized. The more technology we have, the more dangerous the world is. I also believe there’s more love than hate. You have to go to great lengths to find evil.

It monopolizes newspaper headlines…

It’s true. Evil combined with power is fearsome.

Nikola Tesla wrote that the day science begins to study non-physical phenomena, it will advance more than in previous centuries.

Science is addressing the spiritual. This challenges the dark side of some religions. In the time of Copernicus, and later Galileo, they believed that the Earth was the center of the solar system. They focused on what didn’t fit into that theory. That’s how it happens. You find a flaw in a theory and question it until you replace it with another. We’re now at that point with respect to human consciousness.

Your new novel investigates this.

We believe that our thoughts and dreams — what makes us us — are a product of our brains. But… near-death experiences point to a different path.

For example?

Derek Amato began playing the piano magnificently after nearly drowning in a swimming pool. It happened in 2006. Ten years later, a 16-year-old soccer player, Reuben Nsemoh, began speaking perfect Spanish after being knocked out by a ball. Neuroscience is investigating this. By understanding it, we will change as a species.

Religion monopolized the spiritual. Anyone delving into that field, from Paracelsus to Bacon, was considered suspect.

Galileo went to prison. Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake. Every time ideas that threaten the establishment appear, reprisals follow. Anyone who thinks differently is in danger.

Your character Siena, from Inferno, does evil in the name of love.

When you write, that’s the villain you want: someone obsessed with saving the world who, in reality, is ruining it.

You have written that the most dangerous beings are men of God.

Religion focuses on what we don’t understand scientifically. When we first understood solar cycles, the Greek gods became myths. Our religions will eventually become mythologies. When I grew up, miracles were the birth of Jesus Christ, his resurrection... Today, the iPhone operating system can erase the background of photographs. Technology is the new miracle.

What has changed?

The internet is a tool for transmitting knowledge and ignorance. If you were told as a child that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead, you believed it. Now a 10-year-old can check it out on the internet and realize that seven billion people think it’s ridiculous.

Are you religious?

I was raised Christian. You knew there were people with other beliefs, and you respected them. You didn’t need to be right. But you were part of a group. The problem is when that group dictates how you should live your life. That’s when you start to have doubts, right?

Is that why you became an agnostic?

My mother was the organist and directed the choir at the Episcopal church we attended. But when I was 13, I went to the Museum of Science in Boston. I discovered the concept of evolution and the Big Bang. Where were Adam and Eve? I asked my priest, and he said good children didn’t ask those questions. I went into crisis mode. My father was a teacher. I grew up surrounded by teachers who spent all day asking questions. When the priest didn’t allow me to ask, I knew that wasn’t my place. And I chose science.

What did your parents say?

My mother used to say that the Bible wasn’t a history book, but a book of stories to be learned from. Science and religion are two different languages trying to explain the same story. Science with questions, religion with answers.

The Vatican boycotted The Da Vinci Code.

I didn’t understand it. I defend dialogue. It’s what I learned at home. The novel didn’t appeal to those who don’t accept dialogue, doubt. And that goes back to what the priest told me.

They didn’t like your descendant of Mary Magdalene...

Jesus Christ was a young Jewish man. Statistically, it’s unlikely that he wasn’t married. It makes more sense that there was a bloodline and less sense that there wasn’t. And if the only argument for there being no descendants is that he was the son of God... That Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene were a couple is evident in several Gospels.

Apocrypha.

I wonder if they didn’t end up in the Bible to distance themselves from that version of Jesus. I’m not trying to dismantle anything. But when I stumble upon something I don’t understand, I investigate. I studied art history in Seville. And I saw The Last Supper, by Alonso Vázquez, in which Mary Magdalene sat next to Jesus. It was her, not John.

From Freemasonry to Catholicism or conscience... your books defend love.

It’s the only religion. The origin of religion is the desire to feel loved and protected. We need clarification. But some clarifications are absurd. When I was a child, a 12-year-old friend died of leukemia. The priest said it was part of God’s plan. What a crappy plan!

In Inferno you wrote that nothing changes us as much as pain.

We strive to avoid it because we’re guided by comfort. But religions constantly exploit it: the pain of loneliness, of grief, of living without purpose…

Has pain saved you?

It helps creativity. But observing human suffering also pains me. I wrote Inferno because in India I thought: what an amazing country, with five times more people than it can feed.

You wanted to be a musician and ended up writing.

I’m a musician. I’ve written symphonies, I play the piano... but we change jobs, get divorced, or reinvent ourselves. Our goals evolve.

Where did you get the idea of external consciousness for The Secret of Secrets?

I think it’s from losing my mother. From wondering what happens when you die. I hadn’t been with anyone at the moment of death. It’s too painful for me to think that when we die, our hopes and dreams evaporate. Religions thrive on that pain. There’s not one that doesn’t offer life after death.

You argue that consciousness can survive without the body.

I think there’s more evidence that consciousness can live outside the body — in out-of-body experiences — than there is that Jesus Christ was resurrected. And millions of people believe it.

You look for evidence in the unexplainable. Derek Amato, playing the piano like a virtuoso after nearly drowning…

We find it hard to believe because of resistance to the unknown. But it proves that consciousness comes from somewhere else. And we don’t understand that. When we come across evidence like this pianist, we think someone made him up to go on television to make money.

There are many frauds…

There are also people who use religion. That doesn’t mean religion is bad.

In Origin you created an AI character and named it after your dog, Winston.

They criticized me. Artificial intelligence will never generate a sense of humor. Seven years later, that AI uses humor. I know my new book is where we’re going: life expands into a greater journey. Arthur C. Clarke wrote that all advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. That’s why they think you’re crazy when you suggest something like what I did. They’ve thought I’m crazy all my life.

What do you attribute this to?

To fear. To think and see differently, you need ambition and humility. Robert Langdon [the book’s main character] is the humble reader. The one who asks, “I don’t understand exactly what you mean. Can you explain it again?” That’s why I can write about controversial subjects, because I contemplate doubt.

Is Langdon, usually played by Tom Hanks, your alter ego?

He’s the guy I’d like to be: braver and smarter than me. What takes me three days to research, he says in two seconds...

Do you swim like he does?

The ocean here is very cold and there are sharks. I swim in Costa Rica. We live there half the year.

Why Costa Rica?

I went for the weather. I stayed for the warmth of the people. I looked all over the world: southern Spain, southern France, and I always ran into the same kind of people: “I have more Maseratis than you.” I don’t have Maseratis, nor am I interested in those competitions. That doesn’t happen in Costa Rica.

What do you attribute this to?

To modesty.

Do people recognize you?

Let’s just say I’m obliged to behave in public.

Do you misbehave at other times?

No. I don’t drink much. I don’t do drugs. I’m pretty nice. And I’m happily engaged.

That’s news.

Anyone who’s been through a divorce knows how painful it is to have the most important person in your life become an adversary. Just as society evolves, so do individuals. Blythe and I got along wonderfully for many years, and then… we didn’t. It was painful.

She ran the school where you studied music. And she was 12 years older than you.

You love who you love. Age doesn’t matter to me.

How old is your fiancée?

41 years old.

Age doesn’t matter?

It didn’t matter that I was 12 years younger than her, and it doesn’t matter that my partner is now 20 years younger than me. She’s much more mature than me. She’s the Dutch equestrian champion.

Oh, is that the trainer your wife hired?

I wouldn’t want to go there. Look, the press called me a womanizer. And... that wasn’t the case.

In your novels, women are always powerful.

My mother was like that. And so are Blythe and Judith. They’re the kind of women I find attractive. Someone with a strong mind. The love I’m interested in is the love of two people remaining two, not becoming one.

You recommend writing about what you want to know.

A book is an opportunity to learn. That enthusiasm remains in the writing.

The Lost Symbol takes place in Washington. Did you owe your country a novel?

No, but the brotherhood of the Freemasons is so fascinating… They’ve found a common name for their differences. They call God “the great architect.” I think that’s why they’ve survived. Also because of the rituals.

Is it necessary to disguise yourself to access knowledge?

I understand your point of view. I went to a private school. We wore jackets and ties. You behave better when you’re better dressed.

Does wearing a uniform make you lose individuality?

One must learn that one is part of a community. Individuality can be found at a deeper level.

Do Freemasons represent William Blake’s idea that there is only one religion?

We’re all connected. Whether we understand it or not. Knowing yourself means understanding that you’re part of something bigger than your little world. Death and life go together. You see it in nature, which is cyclical. The answers you need are in nature. And that’s why that’s where God is.

Do you know yourself?

Better and better every year. I think writing novels allows you to get to know yourself. I’m alone for many hours. When I run into a question, I research it until I find what I think [is the answer]. Then I try to communicate it in the most understandable way possible. I’m not interested in convincing by imposing or making someone feel ignorant. I’m interested in convincing by offering arguments for and against.

Langdon does that.

The opinion contrary to the one you defend reinforces your own. You spend so many hours exploring the plumbing of your emotions that you end up knowing yourself. We all have insecurities and strengths. Regardless of what we have achieved. Immaturity is also measured by the need for paternal and external recognition.

Is your father alive?

He’s 89, and he plays tennis. He was a great role model. He won the Presidential Award as a math teacher. He went to the White House. He sold more textbooks than anyone else and has remained humble.

Is being happy being grateful?

Gratitude and compassion are the two emotions that could heal the world. Those who complicate truths do not believe in them. Religions often do this.

Did you learn to get to know yourself by going to therapy?

Yes. I went as a student and then because of my marriage.

So young?

The whole family went. We had… things to fix. We managed to improve. My brother, who directs a choir, and my sister, who’s a painter. We didn’t have a television at home. It was all books and music.

There is a lot of love and little sex in your books.

In my stories, they’re running around all day. In those circumstances, I don’t know if it would be very realistic for a character to say, “Why don’t you take off your clothes for a while?” As a writer, you learn what to leave to the imagination.

In Origin, the king of Spain has a homosexual relationship, apparently platonic, with a bishop.

I leave it to your imagination. My characters are fictional. But they live in the real world. I had a lot of problems with Opus Dei.

You anticipated the global virus and growing intolerance.

Not respecting someone because they think differently is the darkest facet of the human species.

Why did you choose to study in Seville?

I spent summers in Gijón learning Spanish and fell in love with Spain. After that, I didn’t want to go to a big city.

How good is your Spanish?

[Answers in Spanish] We can speak in Spanish if you want, but my answers will be childish.

Have you thought about setting a novel in Asia or Africa?

I’ve been researching India for a long time. My largest number of readers live there and in Malaysia. But for now, I don’t feel capable of writing about polytheistic religions.

In The Secret of Secrets you argue that at the end of life, we don’t just see it as a movie, we understand it.

I base this on thousands of statements from people who have been close to death. They often repeat that they have learned that we are one. Those who are saved radically change their lives. The greatest change is against materialism. The universe helps those who understand it.

How should it be understood?

Compassion is the key to happiness. I have been able to forgive in life by thinking something very simple: we all make mistakes.

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