Chapter 8 8. Frustrated

Laila had to adjust to her new life, but that was impossible in one day.It was not difficult to regard Lord Asriel as her father, but it was not at all easy to accept the fact that Mrs. Coulter was her mother.Of course, she would have been very happy if it had been a few months ago, and she knew that, but it was messing her up. But she was Lyra after all, so it didn't bother her long, for there was a swamp town to explore, and a lot of gypsy children, and she could surprise them.Before three days had passed she was an expert at punting (at least in her own opinion) and she gathered a bunch of wild kids and told them about her very powerful dad and how he is now being caught for no reason stand up.

"Then, one night, the Turkish ambassador was a guest at Jordan College for a dinner. The Sultan himself gave him orders to kill my father, and yes, he wore a ring on his finger with a hollow jewel in it. It was all poison. Then when the wine was served, he put out his hand and pretended to go over my father's glass, and sprinkled the poison in it. He did it so fast that no one saw it, but—" "What poison is it?" asked a girl with a thin, small face. "It's a poison made from a poisonous snake unique to Turkey," Laila made up casually. "When they catch this poisonous snake, they first play the flute to lure it out, and then throw a sponge full of honey over it. Once the snake bites, its fangs can't let go. Then they grab it and squeeze the venom out. Anyway, my father saw what the Turk did, and said, Gentlemen, I propose, for Jordan A toast to the friendship between the Academy and Izmir Academy - The Turkish Ambassador belongs to the Izmir Academy. He said that to show our willingness to be friends, let's exchange glasses and drink each other's wine.

"Now, the ambassador has a hard time. He can't refuse, because it would be a great insult to others; he can't drink it, because he knows it's poisonous. He turned pale all of a sudden, and fainted at the dinner table. .and when he came to, they were all sitting there waiting for him, staring at him. Then he had to either drink the poison or tell the truth." "Then how did he do it?" "He drank it. It took five minutes for him to die. The whole time, he was in excruciating pain." "Have you seen it all with your own eyes?" "No, because girls aren't allowed at the head table. But then when they buried his body, I saw it. His skin was all dried up like an old apple, and his eyes were staring out. In fact, they had to Put them back in your eye sockets..."

Etc., etc. Meanwhile, around the swamp, the police were knocking on doors, searching attics and outhouses, checking newspapers, questioning anyone who claimed to have seen the little blond girl.In Oxford, such searches were even stricter.As for Jordan College, everything from the storage room full of old dust to the basement where you can't see your fingers, everything has been searched, and the same is true for Gabriel College and St. Michael's College.In the end, the presidents of the various colleges united in protest, demanding the preservation of their ancient rights.To Lyra, the only evidence that they were searching for her was the constant hum of the gas engines of the airships weaving through the air.These airships were invisible because of the low cloud cover, and by regulation they had to be at a certain height above the swamp, but who knew what ingenious reconnaissance tools they would have?So whenever she heard them roaring, Lyra had to hide, or put on an oilskin waterproof cap over her distinctive shiny hair.

Lila also asked Ma Costa every detail about her birth, and kept it firmly in her mind, even clearer and more detailed than the stories she made up, and imagined again and again what happened in the little house. Fights, hiding in closets, snapping challenges and clashes of swords— "Sword? God, are you dreaming, boy?" said Ma Costa. "Mr. Coulter had a gun and Lord Asriel knocked it out of his hand and knocked him down again. , and then two shots went off. It's strange that you don't remember, you should remember, though you were very young. The first shot was fired by Edward Coulter, who grabbed his own gun and One shot was fired; the second was by Lord Asriel--he wrested it from him again, and returned it. The shot caught him right between the eyes, and his brains squirted Then he said very calmly: 'Come out, Mrs. Costa, and take the baby with you.' At that time, you and your elf were both crying, so he picked you up and played with you Boy, let you sit on his shoulders and make a fool of yourself walking up and down, with the dead man underfoot. He ordered a glass of wine, and then let me mop the floor."

After the story had been told four times, Lyra was so convinced that she did remember the experience that she even volunteered to share the details of the coats, cloaks, and fur coats Mr. Coulter had hanging in his closet.Ma Costa laughed out loud. Whenever she was alone, Laila would take out the alethiometer and stare at it the way people in love look at pictures of their loved ones.That said, each picture has several layers of meaning, right?Then why can't she figure it out?Isn't she Lord Asriel's daughter? Remembering Farder Colum's words, she tried to concentrate on the three symbols she chose at random, and then let the pointer tick to point to the three pictures.She found that if she just held the alethiometer in the palm of her hand and stared at it with extreme laziness, while she was thinking about it, the movement of the long hand seemed more purposeful and no longer along the dial. Walk around erratically, but swing smoothly from one picture to another.Sometimes it paused at three pictures, sometimes two, sometimes five or more, and though Lyra hadn't figured out what that meant, it took a deep, peaceful feeling out of it. Happy, it was different from anything she had ever experienced before.Pantalaimon would crouch over the dial, sometimes a cat, sometimes a mouse, bobbing his head around the pointer; and once or twice they both caught a glimpse of something as if a ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds , illuminating the majestic outline of the great hills in the distance - so far away, she had never imagined.Then Lyra felt a shudder all over her body--the same violent shudder she had felt before when she heard the word north.

Three days passed like this, with such a large number of ships and such a large conference hall, many things came and went.Finally came the night for the second tandem.If the hall can accommodate more people, it is much more crowded than the last time.Laila and the Costa family arrived on time and sat up front.Under the flickering lights, just as the venue was full, John Fa'a and Fader Colum came out, came to the stage, and took their seats behind the table.John Faa didn't need to make any gestures to ask people to be quiet. He just put his two big hands on the table and looked at the crowd below, and the noisy venue suddenly fell silent.

"Gentlemen," said he, "you have all done as I said, and it has been better than I expected. I now invite the heads of the six great families to come to the stage, to donate their gold, and to detail their promises. .Nicholas Rokeby, you come first." A fat man with a black beard came up to the podium and put a heavy leather bag on the table. "Here is our gold," said he, "and we will give thirty-eight more." "Thanks, Nicholas," said John Faa.Farder Colum is in charge of the registration.When the first man took his place behind the podium, John Faah called the next one, and the next one.Each person steps up to the podium, places a bag on the table, and announces the number of people he can muster.The Costa family belonged to the Stefanski family, and Tony was naturally among the first batch of people who took the initiative to sign up.Lila saw that when the Stefanski family donated money and pledged twenty-three people in front of John Faa, Tony's eagle elves kept flipping their feet and spreading their wings.

After all the patriarchs of the six major families came to power, Fader Colum handed over his record paper to John Faa.John Faa stood up and spoke again to his audience. "Friends, we have gathered a total of one hundred and seventy men, and I thank you all with great pride. As for the gold, I have no doubt that you all did your best by weight, and for that I also express my deepest gratitude. gratitude. "What we're going to do next is: charter a boat, sail north, find those kids, get them out. We understand that there will be battles to be fought. It won't be the first time and it won't be the last For once, we don't have to fight those kidnappers, we have to show great wisdom. But if we don't save the children, we won't come back. Oh, Dirk Fries, you What's the matter?"

A man stood up and asked, "King Fa'a, do you know why they took these children?" "We've heard it has something to do with theology. They're doing some kind of experiment, but what kind of experiment, we don't know. To tell you the truth, we don't even know if the kids were harmed. But anyway , for better or for worse, those people have no right to take people's darlings away from their families in the middle of the night. Raymond Van Gritt, what's the matter with you?" The man who spoke at the first meeting stood up and said, "King Fa'a, that's the little girl, she's sitting in the front row now. It's all turned upside down. I hear that just today, because of her, there's going to be a motion in Parliament to abolish our ancient privileges—yes, my friends," he said to the astonished murmurs Said, "They're going to pass a law that will take away our right to go freely in and out of the swamp. Now, King Fa'a, what we want to know is: who is this child who might put us through this ordeal? She's not a gypsy I heard she wasn't. How can a bum's child put us all in danger?"

Lyra looked up at John Fa'a's massive body and her heart was beating so hard that she barely heard the first few words of John Fa'a's answer. "Let's be blunt, Raymond, don't be shy," he said, "you want us to hand this child over to the men who are after her, don't you?" The man stood stubbornly, frowning, but said nothing. "Well, maybe you want to, and maybe you don't," John Faah went on, "but think about it, what would it be like if men and women, whoever they were, had to have a reason to do good? The little The girl is Lord Asriel's daughter, it is true. To those who have forgotten the past, I say: It was Lord Asriel who interceded before the Turks and saved Sam Brockman's life; It was Lord Asriel who allowed the gypsy ships to pass freely in his canals; it was Lord Asriel who defeated the Waterways Bill in Parliament, to our great permanent good; lord wrestled with the flood day and night in '53, jumped into the water twice without hesitation, and rescued young rudd and neely koopman. have you forgotten all this? shame on you, you should Feel ashamed, ashamed. "Now, it is Lord Asriel who is imprisoned in the remotest, coldest, and darkest savage region, in the fortress on Svalbard. Do I need to tell you that he is being held by What kind of beast? This is his little girl in our care, and Raymond van Gritt is going to hand her over to the authorities for a little peace and quiet. Raymond, yes Isn't that so? You stand up and answer." However, Raymond Van Gritt had already sat down in his seat, and he couldn't get him to stand up no matter what.There was a muffled booing in the hall in disapproval of his opinion.Lyra felt very ashamed of the man, but also deeply proud of her brave father. John Faa turned and looked at the others on the podium. "Nicholas Rokeby, I want you to be in charge of finding a ship to command when it sets sail. Adam Stefanski, I want you to be in charge of arms and ammunition, and command of the battle. Roger van Popper, you In charge of food, winter clothing, and all other reserves. Simon Hartmann, you will be in charge of the finances, and report to us all how the gold is properly distributed. Benjamin de Root, you will be in charge of the investigation - there are many cases We don't know yet, I want you to be in charge of this work, and you report your investigation results to Fader Colum. Michael Cazona, you are responsible for coordinating the work of the first four chiefs, and you report to me; You are my deputy, and if I die, you will take my place. "I have already deployed it according to the usual practice. Now, whether it is a man or a woman, if anyone disagrees, they are free to raise it." After a while, a woman stood up. "King Fa'a, are you not taking women with you on this expedition? When you find the children, women can take care of them." "No, Nell, because the truth is there's not much room on board. The boys will be much better off in our hands when they're free." "But suppose you find out that to save them you have to have women dressed as guards, babysitters, or whatever?" "Oh, that didn't occur to me," admitted John Faah. "We'll think about it very carefully when we get to the negotiating room, I assure you." The woman sat down and another man stood up. "King Fa'a, I hear you, Lord Asriel is now in prison. Is it part of your plan to rescue him? Because if it is, and if, as you say, he is now in the hands of the armored bear , then one hundred and seventy people are not enough. Although Lord Asriel is our good friend, I don't think we have to take such a big risk yet." "Adrian Blakes, you're right. I think what we're going to do is keep our eyes open and our ears pricked up and see what we can get hold of once we get to the north. Maybe there's something we can do to help him , maybe not, but you can believe that I will definitely use what you donate-whether it is people or gold-for the purpose we have clearly stated, which is to find our children and bring them home-no be used for any other purpose." Another woman stood up. "King Fa'a, we don't know what they did to our children, but we all heard terrible rumors and stories. We heard that some children were beheaded, and others were cut in half , sewn together, and circumstances too horrific to speak of. I'm really sorry if I've caused anyone pain by saying this. But we've all heard about these things, and I think Let the words be clear here. King Fa'a, if in case you see one of these terrible endings, I hope you will be determined to avenge them. I hope that your kindness and gentleness will not prevent your hand from beating , hit them hard, and gave these villains a fatal blow. I believe that I speak on behalf of all the mothers whose children have been abducted by Tao Tie.” She sat down after she finished speaking.People whispered to each other and it was very noisy.Everyone in the hall nodded. When the people were quiet, John Faa said: "Margaret, nothing can stop my actions except my own judgment. If I stop in the north, it can only be to attack more swiftly in the south. A day in advance to follow hundreds of miles away Hands are as bad as your hands. Indeed, there is a fiery passion in your words; but, my friends, if you give in to this passion, you are doing again what I have always warned you against: Put your own senses above the task you have to accomplish. This time, our mission is first to save and then to punish, not to seek satisfaction for our upset mood, because our feelings are not important. If we Rescue the children, but we can't punish the gluttons, which means we have completed our main task. However, if our primary purpose is to punish the gluttons, it will make us lose the chance to rescue the children, we will Failed. "But Margaret, you can rest assured. When the time comes for punishment, we'll hit them hard and we'll make them feel guilty and terrified and we'll beat them to pieces. In the end, we'll break them down and finish them off and tear them apart. , torn them to shreds, blown away without a trace. You don't have to worry about John Faa being too merciful to make a move when the time comes. Whether the time comes is my judgment, not passion. "Anyone else want to talk? If you want to, please do so." No one spoke anymore.After a while, John Faah reached for the closing bell, rapped it hard, and swung it high so that it would blare as loud as it could.The sound of the bell filled the hall, echoing from the beams. John Faa and several others left the podium and went to the negotiating room.Lyra was a little disappointed. Didn't they want her to go too?Tony laughed out loud. "They're going to make a plan," he said. "You've done your job, Laila. It's John Faa and the committee now." "But I haven't done anything yet!" Lyra said unconvinced.She reluctantly followed the crowd out of the hall and walked on the cobblestone road leading to the pier, "I just ran away from Mrs. Coulter! This is just the beginning, I'm going north!" "I'm telling you," Tony said, "I'll bring you walrus ivory, I promise." Lyra scowled.Pantalaimon was grimacing playfully at Tony's elf, who closed her tawny eyes with disdain.Lila walked aimlessly to the pier, wandered around with her new partner, and then above the dark water, dangling the lantern on a rope to attract puffy-eyed fish, and using a sharp wooden stick To stab, but missed. While doing all this, Laila's mind was on John Fa'a and the negotiating room.After a while, she slipped away and returned to the cobbled road leading to the conference hall.A light flickered on the window of the negotiating room.The windows were too high to see in, but she could hear muffled voices inside. So she went up, came to the door, and knocked firmly on the door five times.The talking inside stopped, a chair shifted across the floor, and then the door swung open, and the warm naphtha light poured down the damp steps. "What's the matter?" asked the person who opened the door. Behind him, Lyra saw several other people sitting around the table, bags of gold neatly stacked, along with papers, pencils, glasses, and a jug of Jennifer. "I'm going north," Lyra said aloud so they could all hear, "and I'm going too, to help save the children. That's what I'm escaping from Mrs. Coulter. Even here Before, I was also going to rescue my friend Roger, an apprentice in the kitchen of Jordan Academy, who was also snatched away. I wanted to go and help. I could navigate, I would explain the electromagnetics of the aurora, and I Knowing which parts of a bear you can eat, and many useful things. When you get there and find that you need me, but you don't bring me, you will regret it. Like the woman said just now, you may need women What role to play—well... you may need children. You don't know now. So you should take me. King Fa'a, I'm sorry I interrupted you." She was inside the house, and all the people and their elves were watching her, some amused, some angry, but Lyra's eyes were only on John Faa.Pantalaimon sat up straight in her arms, his wild cat eyes glowing green. John Faa said, "There's no way we're going to put you in danger, Laila, so stop kidding yourself. Stay here and help Ma Costa and be safe. That's all you have to do." "But I'm still learning how to read the alethiometer, and I'm getting a little bit of it every day! You're going to need this—sure!" "No," said John Faa, "I know your mind is set on going north, but I'm sure not even Mrs. Coulter will take you. If you want to look north, You'll have to wait until all this trouble is over. Now, you go." Pantalaimon hissed softly, but John Faa's daemon flew up from the back of his chair, flapping its black wings, and flew towards them - not a threat, but a reminder Be polite.Lyra turned and fled, and the crow flew over her head, then circled, and flew back to John Faah.Behind Lyra, the door closed with a decisive click. "We're going," Lyra said to Pantalaimon. "They won't let us go, let them try. We're going."