Uber

Uber, the global ride-hailing company, is unexpectedly thrust into the center of the novel's central conspiracy when Admiral Luis Ávila, the assassin of Edmond Kirsch, uses an Uber car as his getaway vehicle. The choice of an Uber, rather than a pre-arranged private car, initially seems either brilliant or shortsighted, but it immediately becomes a critical piece of evidence. Robert Langdon, guided by the synthetic intelligence Winston, identifies the vehicle from a rooftop security camera by its Uber windshield sticker, which is partially overlapped by a papal cross sticker. This discovery allows Langdon to deduce that the car was hired, and Winston quickly obtains Uber's emergency contact number. The plan to track the assassin via Uber's GPS system is set in motion, but it is thwarted when Ávila, after entering the vehicle, draws his pistol and forces the driver to throw his smartphone out the window, severing the car's connection to Uber's headquarters. This act of coercion makes the driver a terrified hostage, and Ávila, having memorized the driver's home address and family names from his wallet, threatens to kill them if he does not comply. The Uber driver is then forced to drive Ávila first toward Madrid and then, after a new order from the Regent, to redirect to Barcelona. The car's windshield, bearing both the Uber logo and the papal cross, becomes a symbol of the ironic and dangerous intersection of modern commerce and religious extremism that defines Ávila's mission. The failure of the Uber tracking attempt underscores the resourcefulness of the assassin and the limitations of technology when faced with human desperation and violence.