“I dont need an aleter for t. No to  your journey art from tell me everything.”

    So siring Room, and  on to taking Roger, and ime er, and everyt had happened.

    It ale, and o kno t to kno, like I  to knoell me t, youve got to tell me ts Dust? And w?”

    rying to guess o say.  ; until noy trick. But o think she was ready.

    “Dust is er  mig  it?”

    “In one . t Dust for centuries, only t call it by t name.

    “But some years ago a Muscovite called Boris Mikcary particle. Youve rons, pons, neutrinos, and t? tary particles because you cant break t ticle ary all rig it  didnt react in any of t to understand o cluster tracted to us. And especially to adults. Coo, but not nearly so mucil taken a fixed form. During ty to attract Dust more strongly, and it settles on t settles on adults.

    “No, because trines of to be announced terium in Geneva. And trange t tor from torial Court of Discipline suspected Rusakov of diabolic possession. ory, errogated Rusakov under tion, but finally to accept t t Rusakov  lying or deceiving t really existed.

    “t left t it ure, terium decided t Dust  original sin is?”

    Sed   Jordan, being quizzed on sometaug of,” she said.

    “No, you dont. Go to the Bible.”

    Lyra did so, and o her.

    “You do remember tory of Adam and Eve?”

    “Course,” s supposed to eat t and t tempted her, and she did.”

    “And w hen?”

    “Umm...t. God t of the garden.”

    “God old t to eat t, because took on any form t t happened.”

    urned to Cer three of Genesis, and read:

    “And to t, e may eat of t of trees of the garden:

    “But of t of tree  eat of it, neitouc, lest ye die.

    “And t said unto t surely die:

    “For God dot in t true forms, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

    “And ree  it  to tree to be desired to reveal true form of ones daemon, sook of t t, and gave also unto .

    “And true form of them.

    “But  cil t moment it  t one ures of them:

    “And togeto cover their nakedness....”

    he book.

    “And t h.

    It came t their daemons became fixed.”

    “But...” Lyra struggled to find ted: “but it ent true, is it?

    Not true like cry or engineering, not t kind of true? t really an Adam and Eve? ton Scold me it  a kind of fairy tale.”

    “ton Scraditionally given to a freets ion to curally . But t of minus one: you can never see any concrete proof t it exists, but if you include it in your equations, you can calculate all manner of t couldnt be imagined  it.

    “Anys aug, at last t someto experience.

    “Incidentally, t as  first ticles, but soon someone pointed out a curious verse toer of Genesis, .”

    ed it out to Lyra. She read:

    “In t of t t bread, till turn unto t of it  taken: for dust t, and unto dust s turn....”

    Lord Asriel said, “Cranslation of t verse. Some say it s unto dust s turn but t be subject to dust, and ot, and it really means t Gods admitting ure to be partly sinful. No one agrees. No one can, because text is corrupt. But it oo good a o e, and ts .”

    “And  the Gobblers?” Lyra said.

    “tion Board...Your moto spot tting up  siced. It suits terium to allo agencies to flouris one anotend to ing it all along, and if it fails, tend it fit which had never been properly licensed.

    “You see, your motious for po first sried to get it in t t didnt o turn to turally s take te a man could aken—priest o be unorto set up . It o specialize in Dust. Everyone o do; and  an investigation, terium  th money and resources of all kinds.”

    “But tting—” Lyra couldnt bring o say it; t t t?”

    “t. Somet  tration means? It means removing t eristics of a man. A castrate keeps reble voice all : so useful in Crati became great singers, ists. Many just became fat spoiled s of tion. But t flinc ttle cut, you see. t. And t ics or sterile bandages or proper nursing care. It le by comparison.”

    “It isnt!” Lyra said fiercely. “It isnt!”

    “No. Of course not. ts  and reasonable? But because it ion, serium could deny if to, as well.”

    “But o do t cutting in t place?”

    “It   adolescence miged: t t Dust began to settle.

    Pered from t never be subject to Dust—to original sin. tion o separate daemon and body  killing t sraveled in many places, and seen all kinds of traveled in Africa, for instance.t s o  looks like a corpse....”

    “Its a person  their daemon!”

    “Exactly. So s t it o separate them.”

    “And...tony Costa told me about toms ts. I suppose t be thing.”

    “ts rigion Board gre of ideas like t, and out of th original sin.”

    Lord Asriels daemon tciful head.

    “t ,”  on.

    “And t see it. t links body and daemon is immensely po energy dissipates in a fraction of a second. t notice, because took it for s, or moral outrage, and trained to feel numb to. So t it could do, and t of ....”

    Lyra couldnt sit still. S up and o tared over too cruel. No matter ant it o find out about original sin, it oo cruel to do o tony Makarios and all tified t.

    “And ting?”

    “Im interested in somete different. I dont tion Board goes far enoug to go to t itself.”

    “t come from, then?”

    “From the Aurora.”

    Lyra turned around again.  love  trust  so admire ravagant luxury e eland, and tion.

    “ is t other universe?” she said.

    “One of uncountable billions of parallel c turies, but t to prove tence matically ed fifty or more years ago. s true; t.

    “But no one t it o cross from one universe to anot e fundamental la. ell, o see t can cross, so can o see it, Lyra, just as you learned to use ter.

    “No  as a result of possibility. take tossing a coin: it can come do kno lands o fall. If it comes do ty of its coming doails il t moment ties were equal.

    “But on anot does come doails. And  apart. Im using tossing a coin to make it clearer.

    In fact, ty collapses  tary particles, but t t several t moment only one  dont exist. Except t oto being, on whey did happen.

    “And Im going to t s iring room. You sa pouring into t city yourself. If lig can, if  city, t needs a p of energy. But I can do it.

    Some, all tructiveness in t see anyt ing to destroy it, Lyra. ts original sin. And Im going to destroy it. Deato die.”

    “Is t w you here?”

    “Yes. terrified. And h good reason.”

    ood up, and so did iful and deadly. Lyra sat still. S ark mad; but wo judge?

    “Go to bed,” o sleep.”

    urned to go.

    “Youve left ter,” she said.

    “A actually need t noo me  ter of Jordan  to you. Did ually ask you to bring it to me?”

    “ell, yes!” s t again, and realized t in fact ter never o do t; s all time, because o  kno—”

    “ell, I dont  it. Its yours, Lyra.”

    “But—”

    “Goodnight, child.”

    Speecoo beo voice any of t questions t pressed at  by tche room.