Bank Vault Retrieval

The retrieval of Jacques Saunière's safe-deposit box from the Depository Bank of Zurich is the pivotal moment when Sophie Neveu and Robert Langdon physically obtain the Priory keystone, transforming their flight from the Louvre into a Grail quest. The event resolves the numeric code left on the parquet floor, confirms Saunière's membership in the Priory of Sion, and places the encrypted map to the Holy Grail in their hands, setting the course for the remainder of the novel.

Deciphering the Account Number

Standing in the bank's private viewing room, Sophie and Langdon confront the electronic podium that requires a ten-digit account number to accompany the gold key. Sophie initially types the scrambled Fibonacci sequence from the floor—13-3-2-21-1-1-8-5—but hesitates, realizing that a truly random number could not be rearranged into the famous progression. She instead enters the Fibonacci sequence itself, 1-1-2-3-5-8-13-21, melded into a single ten-digit number: 1123581321. This number, easy for Saunière to remember yet seemingly random, is the correct code. The computer accepts it, and beneath them a robotic claw activates, retrieving the box from the vault.

The Rosewood Box and the Cryptex

The conveyor belt delivers a heavy, molded plastic crate, inside which sits a polished rosewood box with an inlaid five-petal rose—the Priory symbol for the Holy Grail. Sophie lifts the box, noting its unexpected weight and the gurgle of liquid within. When she opens the lid, she finds not a chalice but a marble cylinder composed of six lettered disks, each carved with the alphabet, mounted in a brass framework. Langdon recognizes it as a cryptex, a device designed by Leonardo da Vinci to protect secret information: the dials must be aligned to spell a five-letter password, or the glass vial of vinegar inside will break and dissolve the papyrus scroll within.

The Poem and the Password

Langdon discovers that the inlaid rose on the box lid can be removed, revealing an engraved poem in mirrored text. Sophie reads it: "An ancient word of wisdom frees this scroll... and helps us keep her scatter'd family whole... a headstone praised by templars is the key... and atbash will reveal the truth to thee." The poem points to a headstone praised by Templars—Baphomet—and the Atbash Cipher, a Hebrew substitution code. Applying Atbash to the Hebrew spelling of Baphomet yields the five-letter word "S-O-F-I-A," the ancient Greek word for wisdom. Sophie aligns the dials to spell SOFIA and pulls the cryptex apart, revealing a second, smaller black onyx cryptex nested inside, along with a new poem directing them to a knight's tomb in London.

Consequences and Significance

The retrieval of the keystone transforms Sophie and Langdon from fugitives into active Grail seekers, giving them a tangible goal and a series of puzzles to solve. It confirms Saunière's role as Grand Master of the Priory of Sion and his trust in Sophie, while also alerting the Teacher—via the bank's watchman—to their location, leading to the pursuit that culminates at Château Villette. The cryptex becomes the central object of the quest, its locked state driving the narrative forward through the Temple Church, Westminster Abbey, and ultimately to Rosslyn Chapel.