Chapter 14
Portable cell-jamming technology
Cell phones are essentially two way radios that enable communication by receiving
and transmitting electromagnetic signals — signals that can be interrupted. Portable devices
that are used to disrupt the signals are called cell or phone jammers. As Langdon suggests in Origin, portable cell-jammers do indeed exist and can be easily purchased, online, if not in physical electronic stores.
For more technical details on phone jammers, click here.
For an online store that sells a wide variety of cell phone jammers, click here.
“a place where it is not possible to receive a mobile-phone or radio signal” – Oxford Dictionaries
Ambra Vidal
This is the name of the “elegant” director of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. The first name ‘Ambra‘ is an Italian name and means ‘jewel’ or ‘gemstone’. ‘Ambra’ has the same linguistic derivation as the English word ‘Amber‘, which refers to a honey-yellowish, hard, transparent substance, formed in ancient times from resin, that is used in jewelry.
‘Vidal‘ is a Catalan (Spanish) surname. ‘Vidal’ means ‘life’ in Latin, English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French
On a relevant note, Gore Vidal “was an American writer and public intellectual known for his patrician manner, epigrammatic wit, and polished style of writing.” Could Ambra’s surname have been influenced by that of Gore Vidal, particularly since Gore Vidal was renowned for his ‘patrician’ manner and Ambra is about the become the Queen of Spain?
CEST
CEST stands for Central European Summer Time. CEST is a Daylight Saving Time time zone used in Europe and Antarctica. CEST is 2 hours ahead of UTC/GMT. Kirsch’s program in Origin begins at 2000 hours CEST, which, in the Eastern Time Zone, would translate to 1300 hours (1 pm). So, people on the East Coast would have been streaming in to the program during lunch hour.
Guardia Real (The Royal Guard)
As Wikipedia suggests, Guardia Real (The Royal Guard, in English), “is an independent unit of the Spanish Armed Forces that is dedicated to the protection of the King of Spain and members of the Spanish Royal Family.
While the guard does participate in parades and other ceremonial events, it is a fully functional combat unit. Its members are recruited from the ranks of all three branches of the Spanish Armed Forces and receive the same combat training as regular soldiers. ”
http://www.guardiareal.org/
Literally translating to “The Catholic Monarchs,” los reyes catolicos can be used in a general sense to refer to the Catholic monarchs of Spain. However, the origin of the term dates back to the 15th century where Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand II were bestowed this title (in English: “Catholic King and Queen”) for their service in the defense of the Catholic faith.
Refers to the period of Spanish literature dating from the early 1500s to late 1600s, considered widely to be the apex of Spain’s artistic literary history. This period began with the partial political unification of Spain in about 1500. Its literature is characterized by patriotic and religious fervor, among other themes
Julian
“The name ‘Julian’ is derived from the Roman name ‘Lulianus’, which was derived from ‘Julius’, the family clan name of several powerful Roman emperors.”
Shakespeare reference (Julius Caesar)
by Musab