Edmond Kirsch, a billionaire philanthropist, computer scientist, futurist, and strident atheist, attends a meeting at the Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey in Catalonia (Spain) with Roman Catholic Bishop Antonio Valdespino,[4] Jewish Rabbi Yehuda Köves, and Muslim Imam Syed al-Fadl, members of the Parliament of the World's Religions. Kirsch informs them that he has made a revolutionary discovery that he plans to release to the public in a month. The book hints that Kirsch's discovery, if revealed, would severely undermine religious beliefs. Kirsch decided to inform them out of respect, despite his hatred of organized religion, which he blames for his mother's death. The three religious leaders learn that Kirsch will be making his discovery public in three days' time, prompting Valdespino to demand that he stop.
Kirsch hosts an event at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao in order to reveal his discovery. Among those in attendance are Kirsch's former teacher, Robert Langdon, and the Guggenheim's curator Ambra Vidal, the fiancée of the future King of Spain, Prince Julián. The large number of prominent guests receive each a headset through which they communicate with a voice named Winston. Winston is a highly sophisticated and all-knowing artificial intelligence developed by Kirsch himself. After giving Langdon a tour through the Guggenheim museum, Winston leads Langdon to a private meeting with Kirsch, who claims that his presentation will reveal humanity's origins and future, answering humanities' most mysterious questions: "Where do we come from?" and "Where are we going?". During the meeting Kirsch claims that he fears that he puts himself in danger because of the religious controversy of his discovery.
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