“Master,” said Lord Asriel. “Yes, Im back. Do bring in your guests; Ive got someteresting to show you.”

    “Lord Asriel,” said ter o scers eyes, and indeed, toable for a second, wokay had been.

    “Master,” said Lord Asriel. “I came too late to disturb your dinner, so I made myself at or. Glad to see you looking so well.

    Excuse my roug landed. Yes, Master, tokays gone. I tanding in it. ter knocked it off table, but it . est paper  interest.”

    ers face. It  tlessly from foot to foot. Lord Asriel ing to be courteous to ter in ters oerritory, it was clear whe power lay.

    ted tor and moved into tting around table, some in tion filled t trigued by tern. Sor, t; taugised tle presents, c trees in t even  like a family if s a family o feel t about ts. tant to do ttend to tions of a  among them by chance.

    ter lit t lamp under ttle silver ced some butter before cutting ossing them in.

    Poppy er a feast: it clarified timulated tongue, and made for ricion. It raditional for ter to cook it himself.

    Under tter and talk, Lyra sed around to find a more comfortable position for ook one of ts  on the wardrobe.

    “You scalaimon. “If you get too comfortable, youll go to sleep.”

    “If I do, its your job to wake me up,” she replied.

    S and listened to talk. Migalk it oo; almost all of it politics, and London politics at t, noting about tartars. ted pleasantly in t finally sable. t, and ter spoke.

    “Gentlemen,” s are rare but aland icular interest to sonigime of ical tension, as omorroing eam up ready to carry o London as soon as ime ions. Please keep to t. Lord Asriel, o begin?”

    “ter,” said Lord Asriel. “to start o sor, you can see best from er o take the wardrobe?”

    Lyra marveled at or  eous to make room for  t ter ting next to tter of a yard or so from tled in the armchair, Lyra heard him murmur:

    “t t.”

    to ask for funds. If e—”

    “If ,  just argue against, he eloquence we have.”

    tern began to  ly so t s we circle o glow.

    Lord Asriel called, “Could someone turn the lamp down?”

    One of t up to do t, and the room darkened.

    Lord Asriel began:

    “As some of you kno out for tic mission to t least, ts ended to be doing.

    In fact, my real aim o go furtill, rigo t, to try and discover ion. One of Grummans last messages to tain natural permined to investigate t as   Grumman. But t picture Im going to s directly about eithings.”

    And  t slide into t beogram in se appeared on t aken at nig s in tance, its  t surrounded it and lay t stood an array of pruments, o Yarnton: aerials, ors, all glittering in t and t. A man in furs, , stood in ting. to one side of ood a smaller figure. t bathe same pallid gleam.

    “t pogram aken andard silver nitrate emulsion,” Lord Asriel said. “Id like you to look at anotaken from t only a minute later, h a new specially prepared emulsion.”

    ed out t slide and dropped anoto t  ered out. till visible,  and its liganding out, but ty of truments oget, and a fountain of gloicles seemed to be streaming from his upraised hand.

    “t lig going up or coming down?”

    “Its coming do it isnt ligs Dust.”

    Somet made Lyra imagine dust al letter, as if t ordinary dust. tion of tive silence, folloy.

    “But how—”

    “Surely—”

    “It cant—”

    “Gentlemen!” came t Lord Asriel explain.”

    “Its Dust,” Lord Asriel repeated. “It registered as lige because particles of Dust affect tons affect silver nitrate emulsion. It ly to test it t my expedition  nort place. As you see, tly visible. Noo look at to .”

    ed the smaller figure.

    “I t t he Enquirer.

    “No.  time coiled around he form of a snake.

    t shape you can dimly see is a child.”

    “A severed copped s  s have been voiced.

    tense silence.

    tire cure of Dust, is precisely t, is it not?”

    No one spoke for several seconds. the Chaplain.

    “Ay man s doo let out treams of Dust...”

    “—Come from t looks like ligure as closely as you o you noo demonstrate t of to sure.”

    picture aken at nig time  moonlig sents in tlined against tidy  terest of ture lay in treams and veils of ligains, looped and festooned on invisible  sideream of some unimaginable wind.

    “ is t?” said tor.

    “Its a picture of the Aurora.”

    “Its a very fine pogram,” said t Ive seen.”

    “Forgive my ignorance,” said tor, “but if I ever kneten. Is it s?”

    “Yes. It s composed of storms of cicles and solar rays of intense and extraordinary strengt causing tion  mospime, I ed to s part, inge of crimson along t curtain-like formation. taken o look at a picture taken he special emulsion.”

    ook out ter say quietly, “If e, ry to invoke t been resident in ty  of t fifty-two.”

    “ the Librarian murmured in reply.

    Lord Asriel put a neern frame. It sures, many of tures visible by ordinary ligains of radiance in the sky.

    But in to to see more clearly, and soo. As sakable outline of a city:

    toreets, suspended in ton Sc looks like...a city.”

    “Exactly so,” said Lord Asriel.

    “A city in anot?” said tempt in his voice.

    Lord Asriel ignored ir of excitement among some of tten treatises on tence of t ever ed ured. “Is tokes business?” said the Palmerian Professor.

    “It is, isnt it?”

    “ts  to find out,” said Lord Asriel. ood to one side of ted screen. Lyra could see  tacles glinting; only ter and together.

    tion, Lord Asriel.

    as Dr. Grumman investigating too?”

    “I believe ion about it. But  be able to tell us  was, because hes dead.”

    “No!” said the Chaplain.

    “Im afraid so, and I he proof here.”

    A ripple of excited appreiring Room as, under Lord Asriels direction, to t of took out t slide but left tern on, and in tic glare of t  to lever open t of damp er stood up to look, blocking Lyras view. her uncle spoke again:

    “If you remember, Grummans expedition vaniseen mont o go as far nortic pole and make various celestial observations. It  journey t ly after t, s been assumed t  and t ime. In fact, t.”

    “  t a vacuum container?”