Access to Healthcare as an Ethical Issue Research Paper

Access to Healthcare as an Ethical Issue - Research Paper Example These health conditions are proved to be very expensive to manage. Likewise, other chronic health conditions such as heart ailments are very costly to treat. Due to the elevated costs of maintaining these health conditions, the cost of health care has also plummeted. Consequently, some of the societal and collective courses of action aimed at improving and making healthcare accessible to everyone such as Medicare have been adversely affected by this costly management. This is the reason why a substantial percentage of Americans do not have health insurance. One of the issues of ethical or moral concern in the U.S. facing leaders in healthcare today is improving access to health. The issue of inability to access healthcare has remained an issue of concern in the field of healthcare over the recent past. According to Trotochaud (2006), â€Å"In 2002, almost 85% of the US population reported having healthcare insurance coverage from employer-based insurance (55%), Medicaid, other means-tested programs (17%), or Medicare (13%). The remaining 15% of the population had no health insurance coverage of any type.† (166). Many critics of the US health care system have been arguing that the US government does not deal with or tackle the ever increasing expenditure on healthcare. Americans on the other hand believe that issues of accessibility and expenditure incurred on health care are issues of great worry. According to Trotochaud (2006), the issue o f access to healthcare is concerned with issues of fairness and impartiality. Citizens of a democratic nation have the right to fair and impartial allocation of national assets. To effectively comprehend on the issue of access to healthcare as an ethical issue, it is important to categorize fairness and impartiality to healthcare into access and allocation. Access to healthcare means that individuals possessing the right to access healthcare are able to obtain it. Allocation on the other hand includes the procedures that are incorporated in deciding the percent of national income and assets will be dispersed to cater for healthcare services in the community. The issue of access to healthcare in the US is a political and policy problem. What makes it unethical or immoral is uneven and lopsided access. As a leader, it would be important to implement plans of action that would level the ground and ensure access to healthcare is even. In fact methodical studies conducted in the past hav e elucidated the fact that three quarters of Americans believe that the social order and the world in general is ought to guarantee universal and equal access to healthcare for all individuals. More than half of Americans believe that the issue of access to healthcare is more of a moral issue as compared to being a political and economic predicament. There are certain moral or ethical issues in access to healthcare including equal opportunity for all, fairness, as well as consideration and sympathy. Leaders have been involved in trying to make the American dream a reality. I believe one of the components of the American Dream is equal opportunities for all Americans in all aspects of the society. Therefore, individual well being is a significant component geared to attainment of equal opportunities for all. When some communities in the US fail to have an equal opportunity in accessing healthcare, then this becomes amoral issue. This is contrary to

I want to do the topic on service learning and how it can increase Assignment

I want to do the topic on service learning and how it can increase admission retention - Assignment Example Sincerely, [Student signature] Student typed name Student title Encl, Contents Recommendation Report: Service Learning at Angelo State University 5 Discussion of Problem 6 Partnerships 9 Outreach 10 Curricular Engagement 11 Recommended Solution 12 Table of Figures Figure 1: Kellogg Logic Model (2004) 9 Figure 2: Google search results for keywords service learning and outreach 10 Figure 3: Service Learning and associated skills 12 Executive Summary Hook the reader with a clear explanation of what you want to do Briefly summarize each of the major segments of the report University description Problem Your solution Why now? Recommendation Report: Service Learning at Angelo State University It is no secret that many colleges and universities across the country are struggling to stay afloat. Earlier this year, Moody's Investors Service put out a negative outlook for the industry as a whole and predictions are bleak. According to the New York Times, only about 500 out of more than 4,000 Am erican colleges and universities are considered to have stable enough finances to survive (Selingo, 2013). In order to stay viable, many colleges and universities are putting strong effort into retaining freshmen students whose tuitions contribute a significant proportion of overall revenue (Pullaro, 2010). Retaining these students not only contributes to an educated, productive citizenry, but increases the likelihood of retaining them throughout the remainder of their degree plan. Unfortunately, freshmen students face a wide variety of issues that can affect their ability to maintain pursuit of a college degree, only some of which can be addressed by the university. Tinto (1993) provides some common barriers that affect a student's ability to stay in school. While factors such as intention and commitment are inherent to each individual, the university can provide programs that facilitate positive outcomes. Types of services that could assist in these areas would include programs su ch as Angelo State University's (ASU) First-Year Experience program to help with the challenges of adjustment, changes in educational expectations, unfamiliarity with the new culture/environment/lived experience, and, very commonly, feelings of isolation. External barriers to staying in school include students' obligations to family and community and students' ability to finance their college attendance, including tuition, fees, books, and living expenses. Helping students address these needs would also theoretically help increase student retention. While the university cannot reduce tuition rates and still remain viable, it is possible for ASU to address some of these internal and external barriers by incorporating a service learning approach throughout the campus community. The concept of integrating instruction with meaningful community service as a means of engaging students has been around for a long time, but it wasn't until 2001 that the first International Conference on Serv ice Learning took place (Historical Timeline, 2013). As it is now defined, service learning refers to programs in which students are encouraged to use what they are learning about in the classroom and apply it to real-world issues that ultimately benefit their communities. Through the service learning process, the students benefit in a variety of ways. They become invested in the community and connect with other students or

Moral Hazard Adverse Selection And Asymmetric Information Finance Essay

Moral Hazard Adverse Selection And Asymmetric Information Finance Essay There are many people who have an extra money and want to credit this money to make gains by investing this money, at the other side, there are many people need money to use it in many aspects of life e.g. students need money to pay for their education, home buyer need money, business financial investors also need money and so on, for all of these needed financial intermediary to play an important rule to link between investors and borrowers. There are many risk may happens if there is no intermediate between lender and borrower, information asymmetry one of these risk and in this case information between seller and buyer are different, so it leads to two issues adverse selection and moral hazard. Adverse selection is happened when the one of parties know information more than the other parties, or if the one of parties know information that the other parties not have. Moral hazard is the situation which if the two parties make an agreement about something and one of these parties no t obligate with the agreement terms. All these issues help to explain why banking institutions and other financial intermediaries exist. So, lets go to talk about financial intermediaries and how it can help individuals to deposits and loans by using the easiest way without high level of risk. Also, in we will talk in the following about the terms Information asymmetry, Adverse Selection and Moral Hazard. Financial Intermediaries: Financial intermediary is institutions that take money from investor and depositors and give this money to the borrowers as loans, the main aim from these institutions to link between the depositors whom are seeking for credit and borrowers whom are seeking loans from financial institutions. There are many forms of financial institutions like investing banks, life insurance companies, saving loans associations, building and loan associations, commercial banks, credit unions and investment companies. (Investor Directory) Using financial intermediaries in investing give the investors many advantages, let us to talk about the two main advantages, first, making investing through financial intermediaries could reduce the risk of these investments, because directly the investor not have a large base to give his loans, so in this case there is bad diversify, therefore the investor will face a high risk, but by using financial institutions as middleman to invest money we find that the diversify is good, because these institutions have a big base from lenders and borrowers and it invest in a different business which dont have a relation between it. In this case we have a good diversify, so the risk will decreased more than if we investing directly. Second, also financial intermediaries help to give savers the liquidity, liquidity is the ability to convert assets into money (cash) quickly. For example if an individual saver lent someone (borrower) money to but house or asset, and in an argent case he needs hi s money, in this case there is a house now not money, so it is very difficult to convert this asset to cash quickly, it takes a lot of time to do that. But with financial intermediaries could help the saver by giving him the money that he need by provide him the liquidity very quickly than individual, if the financial intermediary doesnt have liquidity at that moment, it can obtain help from the government or another financial institution. (Ingrimayne) The economic business is depend on that all individuals whom owned an economic relationships have a perfect knowledge, also may have similar predictions about the future prospects. But in real, the both parties of each relationship suffer from incomplete information, sometimes they suffer from information asymmetry situation which means the probability of happening the future actions is randomly. the situation that have a different information between the both parties leads to conflict in interests of both parties who have the relationship, therefore this leads to uncertainty which represents in moral hazard and adverse selection. (M. A. Al-Garny) Asymmetric Information Information asymmetry means the situation where there is information which knows to some parties but not to all parties. Asymmetric information can lead to different in the cost between internal and external finance, e.g. seller is know an information on the subject of the quality of assets will be disinclined to agree the conditions offered by buyer who has less information about that asset, this may cause market break down, or may be also cause buying the asset in low price, but if all buyers and sellers have complete information, the situation here will be different. (WSU) Also information asymmetry makes market turn into inefficient, because information is not available to the entire market participant, thus they cant make a good decisions for their businesses. (Investor Words) There are two issues that caused by Information asymmetry, adverse selection and moral hazard. We will talk about these two Issues at the following: First: Adverse Selection Adverse Selection, negative selection or anti-selection is a term which simply means a situation where the buyer and seller have different information about the some aspects of product quality. (Wikipedia) For example in the firms managers and other insides may know more information (about the current position of the firm and the future prospects of the firm) than the outsider investors, in this case the outer information may differ than the inside information, therefore the solution for this problem in this situation is by issuing financial reports to insure the information transferred perfectly from inside firm to the outside investors to help them to make good decisions. (Money Instructor) George Akerlofs in his paper The Market for Lemons located two answers for adverse selection problem, signaling and screening. Michael Spence proposed the suggestion of signaling to solve the information asymmetry problem. In this situation, it is potential for people to indicate their style, therefore credibly transferring information to the other party. Joseph E. Stieglitz the first one who put the screening theory. In this way the under informed party can make the other party to know their information. Sometimes the sellers may know information better than the buyers, like peoples who sale used car, life insurance transactions, real estate agents, realtors, mortgage brokers and loan originators, and stockbrokers. And sometimes the buyers may know information better than the sellers, like the man who sale old art pieces with no previous expert evaluation or health insurance customers of a range of risk levels. (Wikipedia) Second: Moral Hazard The concept of moral hazard comes from insurance industry. Moral hazard is an idea saying that the person will take risk if he has an incentive to do that, therefore the person will ignore some morality aspects of his selection. Instead, he will do what will increase his profits. Anyone knows the tradeoff between return and risk, if he takes risk there may be consequences. The indifference comes when the risk comes without consequences. Also we can define moral hazard as if someone or party that has insurance cover may be further ready to take risks than the other who does not, e.g. if there is a person who has a car and his car is insured against stealing may be more not careful about dropping the probability of stealing than other would has been without such insurance. This point exactly tells us why insurance companies need to overtake (the amount of an appeal driven by the insurer person) majority claims, and decrease premiums rapidly as overtaking growing. It is also why insurer is extremely cautious about the assessment of what he insures and why he is not lawfully necessary to give more than the actual cost of what he cover. Moral hazard also is able to occur at the outer of insurance. Banks and financial institutions over and over again include embedded state guarantees (not official or lawfully obligatory guarantees, other than a common prospect which they are too significant to be unsuccessful). This creates a motivation used for the administration to take larger risks as they will profit from gambles that work, other than the state will give for individuals so as to do not. (Money Terms) Conclusion: I conclude that the financial intermediaries are able to change the risk of assets for cause that they know how to locate an answer for a market breakdown and defeat an information asymmetry problem that come up in credit markets for the reason that borrowers be acquainted with superior concerning their plan than lenders do. Also the financial intermediaries exist to help in solving many issues as we said in this paper. It plays the middleman rule in linked between the borrower who need to finance in his business and lender who want to investing and gain profits taking into account the important rule of this institutions by save the lender from asymmetric information, adverse selection and moral hazard. Because the main issue from its foundation is to collect information about borrowers and this job not easy. This issue is very costly for individuals (small lenders) but when there is financial intermediaries can help the lender to insure where he can invest his money without risks if he gives his money to wrong person, by providing him full information about good borrowers, at the same time this job here doesnt cost a lot because the big size of consumers that they connected with market. On the other hand, there are also still some risks when we deal with financial intermediaries. But with some regulation and other instruction it will be decreased to minimum limit.

In Book Two of Homer’s The Odyssey Telemakhos gains a significant amount :: Classics

In Book Two of Homer’s The Odyssey Telemakhos gains a significant amount of confidence and decides to call an assembly. At the assembly The Odyssey In Book Two of Homer’s The Odyssey Telemakhos gains a significant amount of confidence and decides to call an assembly. At the assembly a wise man Aigyptios presents the listeners with a rare introduction. He states that an assembly has not occurred for about twenty years and commends the individual that had the audacity to call one. At this assembly Telemakhos protests fervently that his mother’s suitors be expelled since they have no respect and appreciation for their generosity â€Å"these men spend their days around our house killing our beeves and sheep and fatted goats , carousing , soaking up our good dark wine, not caring what they do†. At the end of Telemakhos’s first battle to persuade the minds of the Akhaians against the suitors, a fellow leader named Antinoos decides to defend his fellow suitors. Antinoos counteracts Telemakhous claims informing everyone that the suitors should not be criticized since Penelope is the one to blame â€Å"you should know the suitors are not to blame but it is your own dear –incomparably cunning mother â€Å".He further adds that she has been deceiving them with her clever ability to avoid any decisions about marriage and gives the example of her unwoven loom. The suitors then commands that Telemakhos takes immediate action and either evict Miss Penelope from the house or compel her to marry the man her father suggests. Telemakhos makes a firm stance against the suitor’s suggestions and insists that he will never turn his mother out. During Telemakhos’s plead to save his mother; a pair of eagles appears in the sky. Another heated debate then rises between Halitherses and Eurymakhos in which Halitherses argues that the sighting of eagles foretells that Odysseus arrival is near and that the suitors will face grave danger if they don’t leave, while Eurymachus protests that the sighting of the birds are insignificant â€Å"Bird life aplenty is found in the sunny air, not all of it is significant†. Telemakhos concludes that he is finished with appeals and will let the Gods do the justice. All he desires is to locate a fast ship and a crew of men to carry out a voyage and arrive at a conclusion about his father whereabouts â€Å"If he’s alive and beating his way home you might hold out for another weary year;†¦..then I can come back to my own dear country and raise a mound for him†¦.†. After the assembly Telemakhos feels a sense of defeat and decides to

My Fashion, My Self, My Life Essay

Walking down the street wearing my favorite faded Levi’s and vintage Jimi Hendrix t-shirt with the classic black and white Converse Chuck Taylors distinguishes me from the Abercrombie & Fitch crowd, especially when I wear my Ray-Ban sunglasses and tie-dyed bandana.   My style choices fit in and complement my alternative and earth-conscious lifestyle because fashion is an important indicator of what a person’s unique values and interests are. Living in such a saturated consumer culture means that it is impossible to avoid being branded.   That being the case, I feel it is important to consciously choose what type of image to adopt.   I disagree with people who claim that image is everything; however your image does mark you as an individual within a certain subculture. In my case I identify with rock and alternative music that is socially conscious therefore I choose to wear clothes that reflect those interests.   In marking myself this way I can make myself visible to the outside culture in a way that will hopefully draw the attention and acceptance of like-minded individuals, or at least it will hopefully lead to an interesting discussion with people who may not agree with my fashion sense. I know this because it happens all the time, although many times it will be me going up to someone with an Abercrombie shirt on and asking them what they like about paying seventy-five dollars for pre-torn jeans when they could come with me to the thrift shop and get a pair of torn jeans for five dollars.   They will most often tell me that they do not like the idea of wearing clothes that other people have already worn, or that they just like the way brand new jeans feel, or that they had a gift card to the store, or that their girlfriend likes that them in that brand, or that all the cool models wear that brand, or that all of their friends shop there, or etc†¦ On the other hand, there are people like myself who love to shop second-hand and for as many reasons as people like to shop at the mall.   Personally, I like digging through old clothes trying to find the random gem, like my Jimi concert t-shirt from Woodstock that I got for three dollars and seventy-five cents.   I also like the idea of second-hand shopping because it is a form of recycling that eliminates some of the demand for the creation of new clothes. The fact that in sweatshops around the third world people (and sometimes children) are working away their lives for meager pay just so that the first world can dress themselves in brand new clothes and be at the cutting edge of fashion is appalling.   I would much rather wear the rags of a generation ago than to support that practice. Of course not all brands and companies that produce new clothes are earth-sucking evil-doers, but some are, including many that I see our consumer culture wearing all the time in the commercials, in the malls, and on the streets.   And of course I have purchased new clothes, we all have, but as I have grown older and learned more about the global supply chain, my consumer habits have become much more eco-conscious.   With this in mind, when I do buy new stuff I buy from companies that support environmentally safe production methods and from companies that support progressive labor rights issues.   My fashion, my self, my life.

Angels Demons Chapter 80-81

80 When Langdon had left the Vatican Secret Archives only two hours ago, he had never imagined he would see them again. Now, winded from having jogged the entire way with his Swiss Guard escort, Langdon found himself back at the archives once again. His escort, the guard with the scar, now led Langdon through the rows of translucent cubicles. The silence of the archives felt somehow more forbidding now, and Langdon was thankful when the guard broke it. â€Å"Over here, I think,† he said, escorting Langdon to the back of the chamber where a series of smaller vaults lined the wall. The guard scanned the titles on the vaults and motioned to one of them. â€Å"Yes, here it is. Right where the commander said it would be.† Langdon read the title. Attivi Vaticani. Vatican assets? He scanned the list of contents. Real estate†¦ currency†¦ Vatican Bank†¦ antiquities†¦ The list went on. â€Å"Paperwork of all Vatican assets,† the guard said. Langdon looked at the cubicle. Jesus. Even in the dark, he could tell it was packed. â€Å"My commander said that whatever Bernini created while under Vatican patronage would be listed here as an asset.† Langdon nodded, realizing the commander's instincts just might pay off. In Bernini's day, everything an artist created while under the patronage of the Pope became, by law, property of the Vatican. It was more like feudalism than patronage, but top artists lived well and seldom complained. â€Å"Including works placed in churches outside Vatican City?† The soldier gave him an odd look. â€Å"Of course. All Catholic churches in Rome are property of the Vatican.† Langdon looked at the list in his hand. It contained the names of the twenty or so churches that were located on a direct line with West Ponente's breath. The third altar of science was one of them, and Langdon hoped he had time to figure out which it was. Under other circumstances, he would gladly have explored each church in person. Today, however, he had about twenty minutes to find what he was looking for – the one church containing a Bernini tribute to fire. Langdon walked to the vault's electronic revolving door. The guard did not follow. Langdon sensed an uncertain hesitation. He smiled. â€Å"The air's fine. Thin, but breathable.† â€Å"My orders are to escort you here and then return immediately to the security center.† â€Å"You're leaving?† â€Å"Yes. The Swiss Guard are not allowed inside the archives. I am breaching protocol by escorting you this far. The commander reminded me of that.† â€Å"Breaching protocol?† Do you have any idea what is going on here tonight? â€Å"Whose side is your damn commander on!† All friendliness disappeared from the guard's face. The scar under his eye twitched. The guard stared, looking suddenly a lot like Olivetti himself. â€Å"I apologize,† Langdon said, regretting the comment. â€Å"It's just†¦ I could use some help.† The guard did not blink. â€Å"I am trained to follow orders. Not debate them. When you find what you are looking for, contact the commander immediately.† Langdon was flustered. â€Å"But where will he be?† The guard removed his walkie-talkie and set it on a nearby table. â€Å"Channel one.† Then he disappeared into the dark. 81 The television in the Office of the Pope was an oversized Hitachi hidden in a recessed cabinet opposite his desk. The doors to the cabinet were now open, and everyone gathered around. Vittoria moved in close. As the screen warmed up, a young female reporter came into view. She was a doe-eyed brunette. â€Å"For MSNBC news,† she announced, â€Å"this is Kelly Horan-Jones, live from Vatican City.† The image behind her was a night shot of St. Peter's Basilica with all its lights blazing. â€Å"You're not live,† Rocher snapped. â€Å"That's stock footage! The lights in the basilica are out.† Olivetti silenced him with a hiss. The reporter continued, sounding tense. â€Å"Shocking developments in the Vatican elections this evening. We have reports that two members of the College of Cardinals have been brutally murdered in Rome.† Olivetti swore under his breath. As the reporter continued, a guard appeared at the door, breathless. â€Å"Commander, the central switchboard reports every line lit. They're requesting our official position on – â€Å" â€Å"Disconnect it,† Olivetti said, never taking his eyes from the TV. The guard looked uncertain. â€Å"But, commander – â€Å" â€Å"Go!† The guard ran off. Vittoria sensed the camerlegno had wanted to say something but had stopped himself. Instead, the man stared long and hard at Olivetti before turning back to the television. MSNBC was now running tape. The Swiss Guards carried the body of Cardinal Ebner down the stairs outside Santa Maria del Popolo and lifted him into an Alpha Romeo. The tape froze and zoomed in as the cardinal's naked body became visible just before they deposited him in the trunk of the car. â€Å"Who the hell shot this footage?† Olivetti demanded. The MSNBC reporter kept talking. â€Å"This is believed to be the body of Cardinal Ebner of Frankfurt, Germany. The men removing his body from the church are believed to be Vatican Swiss Guard.† The reporter looked like she was making every effort to appear appropriately moved. They closed in on her face, and she became even more somber. â€Å"At this time, MSNBC would like to issue our viewers a discretionary warning. The images we are about to show are exceptionally vivid and may not be suitable for all audiences.† Vittoria grunted at the station's feigned concern for viewer sensibility, recognizing the warning as exactly what it was – the ultimate media â€Å"teaser line.† Nobody ever changed channels after a promise like that. The reporter drove it home. â€Å"Again, this footage may be shocking to some viewers.† â€Å"What footage?† Olivetti demanded. â€Å"You just showed – â€Å" The shot that filled the screen was of a couple in St. Peter's Square, moving through the crowd. Vittoria instantly recognized the two people as Robert and herself. In the corner of the screen was a text overlay: Courtesy of the BBC. A bell was tolling. â€Å"Oh, no,† Vittoria said aloud. â€Å"Oh†¦ no.† The camerlegno looked confused. He turned to Olivetti. â€Å"I thought you said you confiscated this tape!† Suddenly, on television, a child was screaming. The image panned to find a little girl pointing at what appeared to be a bloody homeless man. Robert Langdon entered abruptly into the frame, trying to help the little girl. The shot tightened. Everyone in the Pope's office stared in horrified silence as the drama unfolded before them. The cardinal's body fell face first onto the pavement. Vittoria appeared and called orders. There was blood. A brand. A ghastly, failed attempt to administer CPR. â€Å"This astonishing footage,† the reporter was saying, â€Å"was shot only minutes ago outside the Vatican. Our sources tell us this is the body of Cardinal Lamasse from France. How he came to be dressed this way and why he was not in conclave remain a mystery. So far, the Vatican has refused to comment.† The tape began to roll again. â€Å"Refused comment?† Rocher said. â€Å"Give us a damn minute!† The reporter was still talking, her eyebrows furrowing with intensity. â€Å"Although MSNBC has yet to confirm a motive for the attack, our sources tell us that responsibility for the murders has been claimed by a group calling themselves the Illuminati.† Olivetti exploded. â€Å"What!† â€Å"†¦ find out more about the Illuminati by visiting our website at – â€Å" â€Å"Non e posibile!† Olivetti declared. He switched channels. This station had a Hispanic male reporter. † – a satanic cult known as the Illuminati, who some historians believe – â€Å" Olivetti began pressing the remote wildly. Every channel was in the middle of a live update. Most were in English. † – Swiss Guards removing a body from a church earlier this evening. The body is believed to be that of Cardinal – â€Å" † – lights in the basilica and museums are extinguished leaving speculation – â€Å" † – will be speaking with conspiracy theorist Tyler Tingley, about this shocking resurgence – â€Å" † – rumors of two more assassinations planned for later this evening – â€Å" † – questioning now whether papal hopeful Cardinal Baggia is among the missing – â€Å" Vittoria turned away. Everything was happening so fast. Outside the window, in the settling dark, the raw magnetism of human tragedy seemed to be sucking people toward Vatican City. The crowd in the square thickened almost by the instant. Pedestrians streamed toward them while a new batch of media personnel unloaded vans and staked their claim in St. Peter's Square. Olivetti set down the remote control and turned to the camerlegno. â€Å"Signore, I cannot imagine how this could happen. We took the tape that was in that camera!† The camerlegno looked momentarily too stunned to speak. Nobody said a word. The Swiss Guards stood rigid at attention. â€Å"It appears,† the camerlegno said finally, sounding too devastated to be angry, â€Å"that we have not contained this crisis as well as I was led to believe.† He looked out the window at the gathering masses. â€Å"I need to make an address.† Olivetti shook his head. â€Å"No, signore. That is exactly what the Illuminati want you to do – confirm them, empower them. We must remain silent.† â€Å"And these people?† The camerlegno pointed out the window. â€Å"There will be tens of thousands shortly. Then hundreds of thousands. Continuing this charade only puts them in danger. I need to warn them. Then we need to evacuate our College of Cardinals.† â€Å"There is still time. Let Captain Rocher find the antimatter.† The camerlegno turned. â€Å"Are you attempting to give me an order?† â€Å"No, I am giving you advice. If you are concerned about the people outside, we can announce a gas leak and clear the area, but admitting we are hostage is dangerous.† â€Å"Commander, I will only say this once. I will not use this office as a pulpit to lie to the world. If I announce anything at all, it will be the truth.† â€Å"The truth? That Vatican City is threatened to be destroyed by satanic terrorists? It only weakens our position.† The camerlegno glared. â€Å"How much weaker could our position be?† Rocher shouted suddenly, grabbing the remote and increasing the volume on the television. Everyone turned. On air, the woman from MSNBC now looked genuinely unnerved. Superimposed beside her was a photo of the late Pope. â€Å"†¦ breaking information. This just in from the BBC†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She glanced off camera as if to confirm she was really supposed to make this announcement. Apparently getting confirmation, she turned and grimly faced the viewers. â€Å"The Illuminati have just claimed responsibility for†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She hesitated. â€Å"They have claimed responsibility for the death of the Pope fifteen days ago.† The camerlegno's jaw fell. Rocher dropped the remote control. Vittoria could barely process the information. â€Å"By Vatican law,† the woman continued, â€Å"no formal autopsy is ever performed on a Pope, so the Illuminati claim of murder cannot be confirmed. Nonetheless, the Illuminati hold that the cause of the late Pope's death was not a stroke as the Vatican reported, but poisoning.† The room went totally silent again. Olivetti erupted. â€Å"Madness! A bold-faced lie!† Rocher began flipping channels again. The bulletin seemed to spread like a plague from station to station. Everyone had the same story. Headlines competed for optimal sensationalism. Murder at the Vatican Pope Poisoned Satan Touches House of God The camerlegno looked away. â€Å"God help us.† As Rocher flipped, he passed a BBC station. † – tipped me off about the killing at Santa Maria de Popolo – â€Å" â€Å"Wait!† the camerlegno said. â€Å"Back.† Rocher went back. On screen, a prim-looking man sat at a BBC news desk. Superimposed over his shoulder was a still snapshot of an odd-looking man with a red beard. Underneath his photo, it said: Gunther Glick – Live in Vatican City Reporter Glick was apparently reporting by phone, the connection scratchy. â€Å"†¦ my videographer got the footage of the cardinal being removed from the Chigi Chapel.† â€Å"Let me reiterate for our viewers,† the anchorman in London was saying, â€Å"BBC reporter Gunther Glick is the man who first broke this story. He has been in phone contact twice now with the alleged Illuminati assassin. Gunther, you say the assassin phoned only moments ago to pass along a message from the Illuminati?† â€Å"He did.† â€Å"And their message was that the Illuminati were somehow responsible for the Pope's death?† The anchorman sounded incredulous. â€Å"Correct. The caller told me that the Pope's death was not a stroke, as the Vatican had thought, but rather that the Pope had been poisoned by the Illuminati.† Everyone in the Pope's office froze. â€Å"Poisoned?† the anchorman demanded. â€Å"But†¦ but how!† â€Å"They gave no specifics,† Glick replied, â€Å"except to say that they killed him with a drug known as†¦Ã¢â‚¬  – there was a rustling of papers on the line – â€Å"something known as Heparin.† The camerlegno, Olivetti, and Rocher all exchanged confused looks. â€Å"Heparin?† Rocher demanded, looking unnerved. â€Å"But isn't that†¦?† The camerlegno blanched. â€Å"The Pope's medication.† Vittoria was stunned. â€Å"The Pope was on Heparin?† â€Å"He had thrombophlebitis,† the camerlegno said. â€Å"He took an injection once a day.† Rocher looked flabbergasted. â€Å"But Heparin isn't a poison. Why would the Illuminati claim – â€Å" â€Å"Heparin is lethal in the wrong dosages,† Vittoria offered. â€Å"It's a powerful anticoagulant. An overdose would cause massive internal bleeding and brain hemorrhages.† Olivetti eyed her suspiciously. â€Å"How would you know that?† â€Å"Marine biologists use it on sea mammals in captivity to prevent blood clotting from decreased activity. Animals have died from improper administration of the drug.† She paused. â€Å"A Heparin overdose in a human would cause symptoms easily mistaken for a stroke†¦ especially in the absence of a proper autopsy.† The camerlegno now looked deeply troubled. â€Å"Signore,† Olivetti said, â€Å"this is obviously an Illuminati ploy for publicity. Someone overdosing the Pope would be impossible. Nobody had access. And even if we take the bait and try to refute their claim, how could we? Papal law prohibits autopsy. Even with an autopsy, we would learn nothing. We would find traces of Heparin in his body from his daily injections.† â€Å"True.† The camerlegno's voice sharpened. â€Å"And yet something else troubles me. No one on the outside knew His Holiness was taking this medication.† There was a silence. â€Å"If he overdosed with Heparin,† Vittoria said, â€Å"his body would show signs.† Olivetti spun toward her. â€Å"Ms. Vetra, in case you didn't hear me, papal autopsies are prohibited by Vatican Law. We are not about to defile His Holiness's body by cutting him open just because an enemy makes a taunting claim!† Vittoria felt shamed. â€Å"I was not implying†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She had not meant to seem disrespectful. â€Å"I certainly was not suggesting you exhume the Pope†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She hesitated, though. Something Robert told her in the Chigi passed like a ghost through her mind. He had mentioned that papal sarcophagi were above ground and never cemented shut, a throwback to the days of the pharaohs when sealing and burying a casket was believed to trap the deceased's soul inside. Gravity had become the mortar of choice, with coffin lids often weighing hundreds of pounds. Technically, she realized, it would be possible to – â€Å"What sort of signs?† the camerlegno said suddenly. Vittoria felt her heart flutter with fear. â€Å"Overdoses can cause bleeding of the oral mucosa.† â€Å"Oral what?† â€Å"The victim's gums would bleed. Post mortem, the blood congeals and turns the inside of the mouth black.† Vittoria had once seen a photo taken at an aquarium in London where a pair of killer whales had been mistakenly overdosed by their trainer. The whales floated lifeless in the tank, their mouths hanging open and their tongues black as soot. The camerlegno made no reply. He turned and stared out the window. Rocher's voice had lost its optimism. â€Å"Signore, if this claim about poisoning is true†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"It's not true,† Olivetti declared. â€Å"Access to the Pope by an outsider is utterly impossible.† â€Å"If this claim is true,† Rocher repeated, â€Å"and our Holy Father was poisoned, then that has profound implications for our antimatter search. The alleged assassination implies a much deeper infiltration of Vatican City than we had imagined. Searching the white zones may be inadequate. If we are compromised to such a deep extent, we may not find the canister in time.† Olivetti leveled his captain with a cold stare. â€Å"Captain, I will tell you what is going to happen.† â€Å"No,† the camerlegno said, turning suddenly. â€Å"I will tell you what is going to happen.† He looked directly at Olivetti. â€Å"This has gone far enough. In twenty minutes I will be making a decision whether or not to cancel conclave and evacuate Vatican City. My decision will be final. Is that clear?† Olivetti did not blink. Nor did he respond. The camerlegno spoke forcefully now, as though tapping a hidden reserve of power. â€Å"Captain Rocher, you will complete your search of the white zones and report directly to me when you are finished.† Rocher nodded, throwing Olivetti an uneasy glance. The camerlegno then singled out two guards. â€Å"I want the BBC reporter, Mr. Glick, in this office immediately. If the Illuminati have been communicating with him, he may be able to help us. Go.† The two soldiers disappeared. Now the camerlegno turned and addressed the remaining guards. â€Å"Gentlemen, I will not permit any more loss of life this evening. By ten o'clock you will locate the remaining two cardinals and capture the monster responsible for these murders. Do I make myself understood?† â€Å"But, signore,† Olivetti argued, â€Å"we have no idea where – â€Å" â€Å"Mr. Langdon is working on that. He seems capable. I have faith.† With that, the camerlegno strode for the door, a new determination in his step. On his way out, he pointed to three guards. â€Å"You three, come with me. Now.† The guards followed. In the doorway, the camerlegno stopped. He turned to Vittoria. â€Å"Ms. Vetra. You too. Please come with me.† Vittoria hesitated. â€Å"Where are we going?† He headed out the door. â€Å"To see an old friend.†