"Im sorry," said Dr. Malone. "Yes, maybe t;

        "s dark matter?" said Lyra. "ts    says on t it?"

        Dr. Malo doh her ankle for Lyra.

        S;Dark matter is    is. tuff out ts t. e    see tars and t s for it all to oget fly apart, to be a lot more of it—to make gravity    no one    detect it. So ts of different researcs trying to find out    is, and t;

        Lyra tention. At last talking seriously.

        "And    is?" she asked.

        "ell,    is—" As stle boiled, so s up and made tinued. "e ts some kind of elementary particle. Somete different from anyt ticles are very o detect. ... o scudy p;

        Lyra felt Pantalaimon nip    to get cross. It er telling o be trut s ruto tread carefully and just avoid direct lies.

        "Yes," s;I k. But not about dark matter."

        "ell, rying to detect t-uable ticles cras. Normally t detectors very deep underground, but ead is to set up aromagic field arouor t ss out t    a it ter."

        S ss in a draook one hungrily.

        "And icle t fits," Dr. Malone    on. "e t fits. But its se ...

        elling you t. Its not publiss not refereed, its not even ten dotle crazy ternoon.

        "ell ..." s on, and s Lyra t sop, "our particles are stratle devils, make no mistake. e call ticles, S nearly knocked me off my , you see, is a bit of an amateur ard     believe. But    ig, because it fitted in    t t? ts rigicles of sciousness. You ever upid? No    get rant rene;

        Sy flower.

        "Yes," Dr. Malone    on, "t: you t see t to. Unless you put your mind in a certain state. You o be fident and relaxed at time. You o be capable—    quotation ..."

        So tten h a green pen. She read:

        " ... Capable of being in uainties, mysteries, doubts,    any irritable reacer fad reason. You o get into t state of mind. ts from t Keats, by t t yourself in t state of mind, and t t;

        "t; said Lyra.

        "Oer. e call it to. ts our arc again. ellectual. But o Geneva for a job intervie suppose for a moment s rigo it, if you t about it. to your t;

        " about t;

        "I o t. Oliver Payne— one day testing t    didnt make any sense in t .    a piece of ivory, just a lump, and t. It did. But a carved ivory cer of , but a atuette alking about elementary panicles here, foodness

        sake. Little minute lumps of scarcely anyt ts    ed    was surrounded by Shadows....

        "And t some fossil skulls from a friend at tested to see ime t . toff point about ty, forty t, , plenty. And ts about time, apparently, t modern    appeared. I mean, you knoe aors, but people no different from us, really...."

        "Its Dust," said Lyra autatively. "ts    is."

        "But, you see, you t say t of tion if you    to be taken seriously. It does not make se ot exist. Its impossible, and if it isnt impossible, its irrelevant, and if it iss embarrassing."

        "I    to see t; said Lyra.

        Sood up.

        Dr. Malone was running o keep ired eyes clear.

        "ell, I t see ; s;e mig omorro;

        So t .

        "t. Over t; sing to a s t y gray. "ts or is, be o see to be linked up to some electrodes. Like for measuring brain ;

        "I    to try it," said Lyra.

        "You    see anytired. Its too plicated."

        "Please! I kno;

        "Do you, noific experiment. You t e c to     sc;

        And s waking up.

        Lyra rembling. tell trut. "I found my ; sook out ter.

        " in t? A pass?"

        Lyra let ake it. Dr. Malones eyes    "Dear Lord, its made of gold. ;

        "I t does s    to find out. If I    ansion truly," said Lyra desperately, "someto and I dont,    I try your Cave t;

        ", are o fortuelling no;

        "Please! Just ask me a question!"

        Dr. Malone s;O," sell me ... tell me ook up t;

        Eagerly Lyra took ter from ur pictures even before ting at tco respond. As it began to s, g, seeing doo truth lay.

        t of emporary trance.

        "You used to be a nun," s;I    . Nuns are supposed to stay in ts forever. But you stopped believing in c you leave. t like my    all, not a bit."

        Dr. Malo d.

        Lyra said, "ts true, ent it?"

        "Yes. And you found out from t..."

        "From my aleter. It , I to find out more about Dust, and it told me to e to you. So I re your dark matter must be try your Cave?"

        Dr. Malone s not to say no, just out of ;Very ; s;I t as ;

        Scrical ers cooling fan into t ttle muffled gasp. It    room    dreadful glittering c Bolvangar, ly squeezed him for reassurance.

        But Dr. Malone    noticed; soo busy adjusting scapping tters in anotrays. As sters and figures appeared on it.

        "No do; s a eed to put some gel on your skin to rical tact. It ;

        Dr. Maloook six taco various places on Lyras    determinedly still, but s ing hard.

        "All rig; said Dr. Malone. "to t. But ty and look at t;

        Lyra looked. tion dimly, but t    se ser, and imagined herself asking:

        does t Dust?    questions is she asking?

        Sally moved ters o flicker. Astonis of ration, and t notice tement t made Dr. Malo up: s foro trate again.

        time tantaneously. A stream of dang ligains of took up patterns t o break apart and fain, in different s colors; t, t into s suddenly s like a flock of birds    in tc trembling on tanding, t sime er.

        Sion: Is t? Is it tterns and moving ter?

        t. S mea occurred to uro speak to Dr. Malone, and saw o her head.

        "?" she said.

        the s faded. Dr. Malone blinked.

        " is it?" Lyra said again.

        "O put on t display Ive ever seen, ts all," said Dr. Malone. " ;

        "I    it clearer t; Lyra said.

        "Clearer? ts t its ever been!"

        "But    mean?    you read it?"

        "ell," said Dr. Malone, "you dont read it in t doesnt . s    to ttention t you pay them.

        ts revolutionary enougs our scious to, you see."

        "No," Lyra explained, "ed. tures if you ed to. Look."

        And surned bad focused    time seo    ter, y-six symbols laid out around t omatically ted in o point at tanding), t (for diligence), and framed tion:

        o do in order to uand the Shadows?

        t itself, and out of ter of lines and flasures formed    clarity: passes, alpning, angel. Eacure flas number of times, and t three:

        camel, garden, moon.

        Lyra sao explain. time, ting ba e-faced, clutcable.

        " it says," Lyra told ;its saying in my language, rigures. Like ter. But    says is t it could use ordinary language too,    up like t. You could fix t put    youd need a lot of careful figuring    ni anbaric—I mearic po. And ts all about messages. t s to say. But    on to t sed bit... it meant Asia, almost t east but not quite. I dunno ry t ry of talking to Dust, I mean S     ures, only ticks. I t meant t picture on t I didnt uand it, really. I t    tant about it, only I didnt ks of alking to S;

        Dr. Malone hless.

        "t; s;Yes, its —fortuelling, really.... And, yes, ticks. Its only up tion," so reassure Lyra t s really believe in it. "Youre telliing in toucicles? itter?"

        "Yea; said Lyra. ts of    t;

        "tures on t; Dr. Malone began.

        Lyra felt a flicker of a t at turo to formulate a question urned back to her.

        "It says t youre important, too," sold tist. "It says you got sometant to do. I dunno    it    say t unless it rue. So you probably ougo get it using and    says."

        Dr. Malo;All rig;

        Lyra ted    Dr. Malone,    of exion and despair, range ed up from no it. But Lyra o tell truth.

        "I e from anot; s;Its true. I came to to run aer es from ... from ter of Jordan College gave it me. In my Oxford t t one    o read ter by myself. I got a    see ures mean straig like you said about... doubts and mysteries and t. So     t and your Soo. So..."

        Dr. Malone er and folded its velvet clot, like a moteg ting it ba her rucksack.

        "So any; s;you could make t could talk to you in ed.

        talk to talk to ter. But    to kno? Dust, I mean, Ster. t to destroy it. ts evil. But I t t. So , S good or evil, or ;

        Dr. Malone rubbed urned her cheeks red again.

        "Everyt t; s;Dyou knoo mention good and evil in a stific laboratory? ist    to o t t kind of t;

        "You got to t it," said Lyra severely. "You t iigate S,    is,    t t kind of t said you got to, remember. You t refuse. o close t;

        "ttee decides at t;

        "Cause you got tonig; said Lyra. "You could fix to put ead of pictures like I made. You could do t easy. to give you to carry on. And you could find out all about Dust, or Sell me. You see," s on a little ily, like a ducisfactory ;ter    exactly tell me o kno you could find out for me. Else I could probably do t Cicks. But pictures are easier to work.

        I to take t; s trodes on her head.

        Dr. Malone gave issue to he wires.

        "So yoing?" s;ell, youve given me a strange s no mistake."

        "Are you going to make it do ; Lyra said, gathering up her rucksack.

        "Its about as mug tion, I daresay," said Dr. Malone. "No, listen. I    you to e baorro? About time? I    you to s;

        Lyra narrowed rap?

        "ell, all rig; s;But remember, to kno;

        "Yes. Of course. You ;

        "Yes," said Lyra. "If I say I ;

        And s. ter at t back to his paper.

        "tak dig," said t, so ask me about t."

        "; said ill, on    once.

        "I t. Im not sure."

        " to kno it?" he said.

        "In e    trip. It    of tion vanisar ars. Youre probably too young to remember t. tallations all across tic....

        Any;

        "ell," said ill, trying to keep calm, "I    trying to find out about t expedition, really.

        For a sc about preoric people. And I read about tion t disappeared, and I got curious."

        "ell, youre not to-do about it at time. I looked it all up for t. It    a pr. You t do a dig till you knoime on it, so t out to look at a number of sites and make a report. ogetimes on an expedition like ts or o split t. t tuff and    ours. In t on team. I t mospicles. ts. ransmitters, apparently.

        "And t of professional explorer. to some fairly erritory, and polar bears are alic.

        Arcs    deal     traio s, and someone e and make camp and do all t of survival stuff is very useful.

        "But t in radio tact ation, but one day t e, and not t ion found t camp more or less intact, ten tores. But tsoever.

        "And ts all I    tell you, Im afraid."

        "Yes," said ill. "t journalist,"    on, stopping at t;You said erested in one of t?"

        "type. A man called Parry."

        " did , I mean?"

        " dyou    to kno for?"

        "Because ..." ill couldnt t ;No reason. I just ;

        "As far as I    remember, ;

        &qu; ill said, and turo go.

        tctle. ill sahe building quickly.

        , so called, o all man    o    tairs:    the body.

        But    a journalist.

        t in,    do at bay till no it he mans life.

        still for     . People came and , looking at tings, talking in quiet voices, ign tendant stood in tes, led     move a muscle.

        Gradually ening ate sing    to defend ed o do t.    because it o do.    to stop tealing t so     to do t? All o ing pirates. ell, no ....

        And after all, o ill    ime to read) oo, uress in Cittagazze.

        Finally iced people moving more purposefully, and all in tion. ttendant elling t ten minutes. ill gat. o treet, o see e w he man had sounded friendly enough....

        But as o cross treet and go in, opped suddenly.

        tall man ting out of a car.

        ill turned aside at once, casually, and looked in tion look around, settle t of ie, and go into t t anyoy library and ed for Lyra.
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