Chapter 2 2. The concept of the north

"Lord Asriel," said the Abbot with difficulty, coming forward and taking his hand.Lyra looked into the Dean's eyes from her hiding place.Indeed, his eyes flicked slightly to the table where the Tokay had been placed. "Master," said Lord Asriel, "I was too late to disturb your dinner, so I went into the drawing-room myself. Good day, Vice-Master, glad to see you looking so well." .Excuse my rude attire today, as I have just arrived. Yes, Dean, the Tokay was all spilled, I think you could smell it. The porter knocked it off the table, but this I am to blame. Hello, Father. I have read your latest article, and I am very interested."

He walked past the priest, and Lyra saw the dean's face clearly.There was no expression on that face, but the elf on his shoulder was ruffling its feathers, its feet shifting restlessly from side to side.Lord Asriel had become the center of attention in the drawing room; and though he was careful to be courteous to him on the Dean's one-third acre of land, it was clear exactly where the prestige lay. The academicians all greeted the guests.Entering the lounge, some sat around the table, and some sat on the master chair.Before long, the air was filled with the hum of talking.Lyra saw that the wooden box, the screen, and the projector light piqued their interest.She is very familiar with these academicians: there are librarians, vice presidents, investigators, and so on.She was brought up under their care, they taught her, they punished her, they comforted her, they gave her little presents, and they drove her away from the fruit trees in the garden; they were her home.If she knew what home felt like, they could be a family.However, even if she knows what home is, she is more likely to feel more like family with the servants of the Academy.The Academicians had better things to do than love a little girl who was half wild, half civilized, let alone a girl who had just happened to be abandoned to them.

The Abbot lit a spirit lamp under a small silver saucepan, heated a few sticks of butter, then cut six poppy capsules in half and threw them into the saucepan.Poppy is always the end of every dinner party: it clears the mind, sharpens the tongue, and enriches the conversation.It is their tradition to burn poppy capsules by the dean himself. Covered by the sizzling of butter and the hum of people talking, Lyra dangled to find a more comfortable position for herself.With the utmost care she took a long, large fur robe from its hanger and spread it on the floor of the wardrobe. "You should get an old one with an uneven surface," Pantalaimon whispered. "If it's too comfortable, you'll fall asleep."

"If I fall asleep, you should wake me up," she shot back. She sat there and listened to their conversation.Their talk was still extremely dull; it was almost all about politics, and all about London politics at that, with no mention of the exciting Tartars.The pleasant smell of fried poppies and tobacco wafted in through the cupboard door, and more than once Lyra found herself dozing off.But at last, she heard someone knock on the table, everyone fell silent, and the dean spoke. "Gentlemen," said he, "I think I may do well to welcome Lord Asriel on behalf of all of us. His visits, though not many, are always of great importance. As far as I understand , tonight he has something very interesting to show us all. We all know that the political situation is very tense; We will be driving him to London as soon as the talk is over; therefore, we must make good use of our time. After he has finished speaking to us, I think there will be some questions. Please ask them well. Short and to the point. Lord Asriel, please begin?"

"Thank you, Dean," said Lord Asriel. "First, I'd like to show you a few slides. Vice-President, I think you can see best from here; Dean, perhaps you can sit That chair by the closet?" Laila was very surprised by her uncle's ingenious arrangement.The aging vice-principal had dim eyesight, so it was polite to have him closer to the screen, and his sitting forward meant that the dean had to sit next to the librarian, so that the dean and Lyra in the closet The crouched area is nothing more than about one yard and one yard is equal to 0.9144 meters.distance.When the dean sat down on the grand teacher's chair, Laila heard him mutter in a low voice:

"The devil! He knows the tricks in wine, I'm sure he does." The librarian replied in a low voice: "He is asking for money, if he forces a vote—" "If he does this, then we must oppose it and argue with our three-inch tongue." Lord Asriel pumped up the lamp so hard that the gas lamp began to hiss.Lyra moved slightly so she could see the screen.A bright white circle began to appear on the screen.Lord Asriel said loudly, "Would someone please lower the light in the house?" An academician stood up and went to adjust the lights, and the room dimmed.

Lord Asriel said: "As some of you know, twelve months ago I set out on a diplomatic mission north to meet the King of Lapland - at least that was my ostensible mission. In fact, my real purpose was to continue north, Go straight to the northern ice sheets to feel and find out what happened to the Grumman expedition. One of Grumman's last messages to the Berlin academics speaks of a certain natural phenomenon that can only be seen in the northern regions .I decided I was going to investigate this and also see what I could find out about Grumman. But the first image I'm going to show you has nothing to do with either of those things directly."

He put the first slide into the picture frame, pushed it behind the camera, and a circular black shadow appeared on the screen, with a very obvious contrast between black and white.The photo was taken at night under the full moon, the part between the foreground and the background of the medium shot.Part of it was a simple log cabin, the walls were black to set off the white snow around it, and the snow was thick on the roof.Next to the wooden house, there is a row of natural science equipment, including antennas, wires and insulating porcelain, all of which are shining in the moonlight and covered with thick frost.To Lyra they looked like something from the electrical park on the road to Alton.A man in fur stands in the foreground, his face is almost completely hidden by the long hood of his coat; he raises his right hand as if in greeting; beside him is a smaller figure.Everything shone with the same pale light in the moonlight.

"This picture was taken with standard silver nitrate emulsion," said Lord Asriel, "and I would like to invite you to see another picture taken at the same location just a minute later, this time using the It is a new type of special photosensitive emulsion." He took out the first slide and put the other in the picture rack.The light in this picture is even dimmer, and the moonlight just now seems to have been filtered out.The horizon was still visible, and the black silhouettes of the cabins and the light snow-covered roofs stood out, but the complex equipment was hidden in the darkness.However, that man has completely changed: his whole body is bathed in bright light, small particles are flying out of his raised hands, shining brightly.

"Is that light going up or down?" asked the priest. "Down," said Lord Asriel, "but it's not light, it's dust." The way he said the word made Lyra think that the initial letter of the word was capitalized, and it didn't seem to be dust in the ordinary sense.The reaction of the Academicians confirmed what she felt, for Lord Asriel's words silenced them all, followed by gasps of suspicion. "But how—" "certainly--" "impossible--" "Gentlemen!" said the priest's voice, "listen to Lord Asriel's explanation."

"That's dust," repeated Lord Asriel, "and the reason they look like lights on the negative is that the dust particles act on this new special sensitizer in the same way that photons act on silver nitrate." The effect of the sensitizer is the same. One of the reasons why I did this was to demonstrate that, first of all, I went to the north on this expedition. As you can see, the outline of the man is clearly recognizable. Below I I want you to look at that silhouette on his left." He pointed to the smaller blurry silhouette. "I think it's the man's spirit," the investigator said. "No. At that time, his daemon was a serpent coiled around his neck. The outline that all saw vaguely was a child." "It was cut in this book. The word "cut" refers to the separation of humans and elves. The children of the dead—" someone said, but then closed his mouth immediately, which shows that he knew that such words should not be said. of. It was very quiet in the house. At this time, Lord Asriel said calmly: "This is a complete child, which means that his elf is still one with himself, and has not been cut. It is due to the characteristics of dust that this situation occurs, is it no?" For a few seconds, no one spoke.Then the priest's voice sounded. "Ah," he said—like a thirsty man, putting down his glass after a swig, and took a breath that was held up by the water he had just drank, "that dust..." "—from the sky, he is shrouded in these dusts that seem to be bright lights. When I leave here, I will leave this picture here, and you can study it as carefully as you can. I will show you this picture now , I want to demonstrate the effect of this new type of photosensitive agent. Next, I will show you another photo." He put on another slide, this one also taken at night, but this time without moonlight.In the foreground is a small group of tents, their outlines indistinct against the low horizon.Beside the tent, some wooden boxes and a sled were piled in disorder.But the most striking thing about this photo is in the air: curtains of light hung like curtains in the sky, twisted and knotted on invisible hooks hundreds of miles high, and seemed to be imprisoned. The imaginary wind is blowing, and the sides are stretching out. "What's this?" the voice of the vice-principal asked. "This picture shows the aurora." "Forgive my ignorance," said the choirmaster in a trembling voice, "even if I knew what an aurora was before, I had forgotten it. Is that what is commonly called the aurora borealis?" "Yes, it has several names. It is made up of storms of charged particles and violent, extremely powerful rays of the sun—invisible to man alone, but when interacting with the atmosphere, That's the bright light. I would have had this slide colored if I had time so you can see the colors; mostly pale green and rose like the part of the curtain The bottom is deep red. This one was taken with ordinary photosensitive agent. Now please see a photo taken with special photosensitive agent." He took out the slide.Lyra heard the Dean whisper, "If he forces a vote, we can invoke the residency clause. He hasn't lived at the Academy for thirty of the past fifty-two weeks." "He has taken the priest to his side..." whispered the librarian. Lord Asriel put a new slide into the picture shelf, showing the same scene as the previous one.As with the previous pair of photos, many scenes that would have been obvious in ordinary light appear much darker in this one, as does the shimmering curtain-like thing in the sky. Yet in the middle of the aurora, high above the dim horizon, Lyra spotted something solid.She pressed her face against the crack of the door to get a better view.She saw those academicians who were close to the screen also leaned forward.As she watched, she felt amazed in her heart, because the outline of a city could be clearly seen in the sky: towers, domes, walls...buildings, streets, all suspended in the air!Lyra's shock was no small matter. A person who is an academician of Cassington said: "This looks... like a city." "It is absolutely true," said Lord Asriel. "Needless to say, is that a city in another world?" said the dean, with a hint of contempt in his tone. Lord Asriel ignored him.Some academicians became excited, as if they had never seen unicorns, but they wrote monographs on their existence, and now someone put a unicorn that was just captured alive in front of them. "Is this Barnard-Stokes guessing from the context, it should refer to the American astronomer Edward Barnard (1857-1923) and the British physicist and mathematician George Stokes (1819-1903) Two people. The former was the first to use astrophotography to take pictures of the Milky Way, discover Jupiter's fifth moon and some comets; the latter is famous for its research on hydrodynamics. Those things studied?" as Professor Palmer An academician in the post asked, "Isn't it?" "That's the question I'm trying to find an answer to," Lord Asriel said. He stood to one side of the bright screen.Lyra saw his dark eyes darting over the academicians staring at the slides of the aurora, his elf eyes glowing green beside him.All the dignified heads were stretched forward, and their eyes shone brightly.Only the dean and the librarian leaned back in their chairs, their heads close together. The priest said, "Lord Asriel, just now you said that you were looking for information about Grumman's expedition. So, did Dr. Grumman also study this phenomenon?" "I believe he was researching, and I also think he has a great deal of material on the phenomenon. However, he can no longer tell us what's going on because he's dead." "No!" cried the priest. "I'm afraid it is, and I have evidence here." Two or three young Academicians, under Lord Asriel's command, carried the wooden box to the front of the room, and a panic rolled through the common room.Lord Asriel took out the last slide, but the projection lamp remained on.Under the illumination of the circular glare, he bent down to pry the box.Lyra heard the screech of nails being pulled out of the wet wood.The Dean stood up to look, blocking Lyra's view.At this moment, her uncle spoke again: "I don't know if you still remember that Grumman's expedition suddenly disappeared eighteen weeks ago. The German Academy of Sciences sent him northward, all the way to the magnetic poles of the earth, to conduct celestial observations. It was during that expedition that He observed the strange phenomenon we just saw. But shortly after this, he suddenly disappeared. It is speculated that he was in an accident and his body was left in the crevasse of the glacier. But in fact , nothing happened." "What's that?" asked the provost. "A vacuum vessel?" Lord Asriel did not answer his question.Lyra heard the smack of metal, the hiss of air rushing into the container, and then a moment of silence.But the silence didn't last long, and after a while, Laila heard people start to speak incoherently: screams, loud protests, their voices raised with anger and fear. "but what--" "—unlike a human—" "--That is--" "—what's wrong with this thing?" At this time, the dean overwhelmed everyone's voices. "Lord Asriel, for God's sake, what the hell is this you got?" "This is the head of Stanislaus Grumman," answered Lord Asriel's voice. Lyra heard someone stumbling up and rushing out amidst the confusion, incoherent in pain.She really wanted to see what they had seen. Lord Asriel said: "I am in Svalbard, Norway, which is rich in mineral resources. In this book, this area is inhabited by armored bears. His body was found in the snow and ice nearby. His head was smashed by the killer. You can see that the scalping method is very characteristic. I think you may be familiar with it, Vice-President." The old gentleman said in a calm voice: "I have seen the Tatars do this. The natives of Siberia and Tungusk in Siberia know this method. Of course, later this technology was passed from there to the ugly people of Skrelin. Most researchers in this book think that it refers to the native people of North America, who were called "ugly people" at that time. The "new Denmark" in the next sentence is actually an allusion to the North American continent at that time. But I know that the new Denmark has banned this. Lord Asriel, may I take a closer look?" After a moment of silence, the vice president said: "I can't see very well and the ice is dirty, but I feel like there's a hole in my skull, am I right?" "right." "Drilled out?" "It's absolutely true." There was an excited murmur among the people.The Dean moved away from Laila's eyes so that Laila could see the room again.In the circular light of the projection lamp, the elderly vice-principal was holding a large ice cube close to his eyes, so that Lyra could see what was inside the ice cube: a blood-red mass, almost Unrecognizable as a human head.Pantalaimon flew restlessly around Lyra, his nervousness affecting Lyla as well. "Be quiet," she whispered. "Listen." "Dr. Grumman was once a Fellow of this Academy," said the provost vehemently. "Fall into the hands of the Tartars—" "But so far north?" "They've definitely gone further than anyone imagined!" "I heard you say it was found near Svalbard, didn't you?" asked the provost. "yes." "Can we think that this has something to do with the armored bear?" Lyra didn't understand the meaning of the word, but it was clear that the Academicians did. "Impossible," said the Cassington Fellow, "they never do that." "Then you don't know Iofur Laknisson," said the man who held the position of Professor Palmer, who himself had made several expeditions to the Arctic, "if I were told that he had I wouldn't be surprised at all if you skinned people in the same way." Lyra looked again at her uncle.He was looking at the academicians sarcastically, feeling amused, but said nothing. "Who is Eofur Laknesson?" someone asked. "The King of Svalbard," said the Fellow who was Professor Palmer, "yes, that's right, an armored bear too. He usurped the throne--that's basically it; he gradually became king by intrigue , or so I thought; but he was very powerful, and not at all stupid—despite ridiculous hobbies, such as having a palace built of imported marble, and what he called a university— —” "For whom? For bears?" said another.Everyone laughed. Professor Palmer continued: "Nevertheless, I want to tell you that Iofur Laknisson has the ability to treat Grumman in this way. At the same time, if necessary, others can flatter him and make him take a complete different approach." "Then you know how to flatter him, don't you, Trelawney?" said the Dean sneeringly. "I do. Do you know what he wants most? Even more than an honorary degree? He wants an elf! If you can manage to get him an elf, he'll do anything for you." The academicians burst out laughing. Lyra listened to this, puzzled.What Professor Palmer said makes no sense.Plus, she kind of can't wait to hear more about flaying, northern lights, and mysterious dust.She was disappointed, however, because Lord Asriel had finished showing the remains and showing photographs; the conversation soon turned to an internal debate within the College as to whether he should be given more funds for another expedition, arguing It was such a joy.But Laila found her eyes were too sleepy to keep open, and soon she fell asleep.Pantalaimon turned into a young ferret and wrapped it around her neck—his favorite way to sleep. Later, someone shook her shoulders, and she was awakened. "Don't talk," said her uncle.The closet door was open, and he squatted there with his back to the light. "They're all gone, but there are a few servants around. Now go to your own bedroom, and be careful, and don't tell anything about it here." "Did they vote you money?" she asked sleepily. "Give it." "What is dust?" she asked.After being restrained for so long, she struggled to her feet. "It's none of your business." "It doesn't matter," she said. "If you want me to spy for you in the closet, you should tell me what it is that I'm listening to. Can I see that person's head?" The ermine on Pantalaimon stood on end, and Lyra felt her neck itch.Lord Asriel laughed, but stopped shortly afterwards. "Don't make a fuss," he said, and began to pack the slides and specimen boxes. "Have you paid attention to the dean?" "Attention, the first thing he did was to find the bottle of wine." "Okay. But this time I let his plan fail. Listen to me and go to bed." "Then where are you going?" "Go back north. I'm leaving in ten minutes." "Can I go?" He stopped what he was doing and looked at her as if he was seeing her for the first time.His elf turned his large hazel eyes on her too.Lyra blushed under their gaze, but kept her eyes on them. "Here is your place," said her uncle at last. "But why? Why do I have to stay here? Why can't I go north with you? I want to see the northern lights, armored bears, icebergs, I want to see everything. I want to know what the dust is. The city in the sky, is that another world?" "You can't go, boy. Don't think about it any more, it's very dangerous to go at this time. Listen to me and go to bed. If you're a good boy, I'll bring you a walrus with tusks that lives in the Arctic Ocean. A large marine mammal. Come back with an Eskimo carving on it. Stop talking or I'll be mad." There was a low, ferocious growl of his daemon in his throat, and Lyra was jolted awake to what it would be like if her teeth touched her own throat. She pursed her lips tightly and frowned vigorously at her uncle.He was pumping the air out of the vacuum bottle and didn't notice her, he seemed to have forgotten her existence.The little girl didn't say a word, but bit her lips tightly, and squinted her eyes, and walked away with her elf, and went to sleep. The dean and the librarian were old friends, and allies at that.They always used to drink a glass of brandy to comfort each other after a difficult time.Therefore, seeing Lord Asriel go, they wandered to the Abbot's lodgings, sat down in his study, drew the curtains, and rekindled the fire in the hearth, while their elves were acquainted with each other. where it was - knees and shoulders - stayed.They should think carefully about what just happened. "You really think he knows a thing or two about wine?" asked the librarian. "Of course he knew. I don't know how he knew, but he knew, and he knocked over the bottle himself. Of course he knew." "Forgive me for saying this, Dean, but I can't help but feel relieved. I've never liked . . . " "Poison him?" "Yes, don't like murder." "Charles, almost everyone wouldn't like the idea. The question is, is doing that worse than not doing it. Well, he was lucky we didn't make it. I'm sorry I let you know this Something that makes you feel burdened." "No, no," argued the librarian, "but I wish you had let me know better." The dean was silent for a while, and then said: "Yes, maybe I should have let you know more. One of the words created by the author of the alethiometer is a mysterious instrument that can tell people the truth and predict the future ...is warning us that if Lord Asriel conducts his research, it will have very dire consequences. At the very least, that child will be implicated, and I will do my best to keep her safe." "Is Lord Asriel's business related to the initiative to establish the Bishop's Punishment Tribunal? Is that what they call the Priest Committee?" "Lord Asriel—no, no, on the contrary, it has nothing to do with it at all; the priest committee is not exactly equivalent to the bishop's teaching court, but a semi-private initiative; the person who made this suggestion is a little I don't like Lord Asriel either. Between the two, Charles, I shudder." This time it was the librarian's turn to be silent.Ever since Pope John Calvin moved the Holy See to Geneva and established the Bishops' Tribunal, the Church has had absolute power over every aspect of people's lives.After Calvin's death, the Pope was abolished and replaced by a series of courts, groups, and committees, collectively known as the Church Authority.These institutions are not always united, and there are sometimes brutal confrontations among them.For most of the last century the most powerful was the Episcopal Conference; but in recent years the Episcopal Tribunal has supplanted it as the most active and most feared institution of Church authority. But there was always the possibility that some independent institutions could grow up under the protection of other institutions, such as episcopal authorities.The priestly committee mentioned by the librarian is one such institution.He didn't know much about it, but he was disgusted and terrified by what he heard, so he fully understood the Dean's anxiety. "Professor Palmer mentioned a name," he said, after a silence of about a minute. "Barnard and Stokes? What's the matter with them?" "Oh, that's not our field, Charles. As far as I know, the Church tells people that there are two worlds, one made up of everything we can see, hear, and touch, and the other One is the spiritual world of heaven and hell. Barnard and Stokes are two—how should I put it—two rebellious theologians who assert that there are countless other The world we see now is neither heaven nor hell, but a material and sinful world. These worlds really exist and are very close to us, but we cannot see them and cannot go to them. Naturally, the Church Against this odious heresy, Barnard and Stokes were compelled to silence. "However, unfortunately for the church authorities, there seems to be sound mathematical arguments for this 'other world theory'. I have never followed these things, and Fellow Cassington has told me that the arguments stand up to scrutiny .” "Now, Lord Asriel has taken a picture of one of these alternative worlds," said the librarian, "and we're giving him the funds to go find another world. I see." "Keep your voice down. From the point of view of the priestly council and its powerful protectors, Jordan College has become a hotbed of heresy. And, Charles, I have to maintain a balance between the bishop's disciplinary court and the priestly council." At the same time, that child is growing up, and they will not forget her. She would have been involved in this matter sooner or later, but she will be involved now—whether I want to protect her or not. " "But, for God's sake, how did you know? The alethiometer again?" "Yes. Lyra will be involved throughout the process, and the main character. Ironically, she has to do it all without knowing it, but we can still help her. If my If the Tokayi plan is successful, then she will be safe and sound for a little longer. I really hope that I can not let her go to the north, and most importantly, I also regret not explaining to her..." "She won't listen," said the librarian. "I know her way all too well. You tell her serious things, and she'll listen half-heartedly for five minutes, and then begin to sit still." Yes. The next time you ask her, she'll forget all about it." "What if I tell her about the dust? Do you think she won't listen to it?" The librarian snorted, indicating that he thought this was impossible. "Why does she have to listen?" he said. "Why should a healthy, innocent child be interested in a remote theological mystery?" "Because she had to go through it all, and one of those experiences meant a big betrayal..." "Who is going to betray her?" "No, it's not like that. The saddest thing is: she herself was the one who betrayed, and that experience was terrible. Of course, she must not let her know this, but it is okay not to let her know about the problem of dust. Any reason. And Charles, you may be wrong: if explained in a simple way, she may be very interested in dust, which may help her in the future. Of course, it also makes me less concern for her." "It is the duty of the old to worry about the young," said the librarian, "and it is the duty of the young to scoff at such worries." They sat for a while longer, and then parted, as it was getting late.Both of them belonged to the elderly and were in a very worried mood.