Chapter 23 23. The Bridge to the Stars

As soon as Iorek Bernison disappeared from view, Lyra felt a great sense of powerlessness over her.She turned back in a daze, reaching for Pantalaimon. "Oh, Pam, dear, I can't go any more! I'm so scared--tired--all the way, I'm scared to death! I wish it wasn't me but someone else. Said To be honest, I really think so." Her elf, transformed into a cat, nuzzles her neck gently, warming and comforting. "I just don't know what we're going to do," Lyra cried. "Pan, this is too hard for us. There's no way we'll..." She leaned tightly against Pantalaimon, her body trembling, and she cried loudly on the empty snow field without any scruples.

"And even if—if Mrs. Coulter gets Roger first, he's doomed, because she'll take him back to Baelvangar, or worse, they'll kill me for revenge. And...Pan, why are they doing this to children? Do they all hate children, so they want to tear them apart from the elves? Why on earth are they doing this?" But Pantalaimon didn't know the answer either, all he could do was hold her tightly.Little by little, Lyra returned to normalcy as the great sense of dread faded away.She was Laila after all, cold and frightened, but still Laila. "I hope . . . " she said, but stopped immediately.Nothing can be done by hope alone.Lyra took a final shuddering breath and decided to move on.

At this time, the moon has set.The southern sky was still dark, with billions of stars studded like diamonds on velvet, but the aurora was a hundred times brighter than them.Laila had never seen the aurora so brilliant, so vivid; with every flick, every flutter, the whole sky was filled with dancing, breathtaking lights.Behind the ever-changing veil of light, another world, another sunny city, becomes visible and spectacular. The higher they climbed, the more the desolate land behind them was revealed.To the north is the frozen sea, which is full of ice ridges raised by the pressing of two ice floes--if it were not for this, the frozen sea would appear flat, white, and endless--reaching to the North Pole, And beyond the North Pole, stretching out into the distance, there is no scenery, no life, everything is pale and dreary, and Lyra has never imagined that there is such a place.To the east and west were more mountains, great jagged peaks piercing sharply into the sky, their steep slopes piled high with snow, the wind raking their edges like razor blades.The south is the road they walked when they came.Lyra watched the road with great longing, wondering if she could see her dear friend Iorek Bernison and his army of armored bears; No, she wasn't even sure she could see the wreckage of the burnt Zeppelin, or the blood-stained crimson snow around the bodies of the war dead.

Pantalaimon turned into an owl and flew into the air, then flew back quickly and landed on Lyra's wrist. "They're just over the hill!" said he. "Lord Asriel has all the instruments ready, and Roger can't run away—" Just as he was speaking, the aurora flickered for a while, then dimmed, like an electric light that had reached the end of its life, and then went out completely.In the darkness, Lyra felt the presence of dust, for the air seemed to be filled with dark intentions, like unformed thoughts of people. In the growing darkness, she heard a cry: "Lyla! Lyla!"

"I'm coming!" She promised loudly, staggered up, climbed, crawled, struggled with all her strength, crossed the snow that was shining like a ghost, and moved forward desperately, and then forward. "Laila! Lyla!" "It's almost there," she gasped, "soon, Roger!" Pantalaimon was constantly changing forms with agitation: lion, ermine, eagle, wild cat, hare, salamander, owl, panther—all his forms changed, as forms under dust, as Kaleidoscope-"Leila!" Finally, Laila climbed to the top of the mountain and saw everything in front of her.

Fifty yards from them, under the starlight, Lord Asriel was twisting together two wires leading to his upside-down sled, on which stood a bank of batteries, jars, and several instruments, frozen There is a layer of crystal-like frost on it.He was clad in heavy leather, and his face was lit by a naphtha lamp.His elf crouched beside him like a sphinx, its mottled fur smooth and powerful, its tail flicking lazily across the snow. She had Roger's Genie in her mouth. The little thing is struggling hard, flapping and wrestling.A bird, a dog, a cat, a mouse, and a bird again, calling Roger.Roger was a few yards away, struggling to break free from the chains of pain, crying out in pain and terror.He was calling his elf's name, and Lyra too; he threw himself on Lord Asriel, and tugged at his arm, but Lord Asriel swung him aside.He rushed forward again, shouting, begging, and crying, but Lord Asriel paid no heed to him, and just knocked him down with a single blow.

They were now on the edge of a cliff with nothing behind them but the endless sky, and below them the frozen sea a thousand feet or so away. All this was seen by Lyra through starlight.At this moment, Lord Asriel connected the wires together, and the aurora suddenly burst into dazzling light.Like covering the light with a long finger between two points, and then suddenly removing the finger, except that the light source is a thousand miles high and ten thousand miles long: disappearing, appearing, undulating, flickering , pouring light like a waterfall. He's controlling it... maybe he's absorbing energy from the Aurora, because there's a bundle of wires on the sled, and a wire pulls out of it, straight up into the air.At this time, a crow flew down from the dark sky, and Lyra knew it was the spirit of a witch—that is, a witch was helping Lord Asriel. The wires were carried aloft.

At this time, the aurora once again shined brightly. He's almost ready for everything. He turned to Roger and beckoned him to come over, and Roger came helplessly, shaking his head, begging, crying, but walked over involuntarily. "No! Run!" Lyra yelled, rushing down the hill toward him. Pantalaimon swooped down on the snow leopard and snatched Roger's daemon from her mouth.But soon, the snow leopard pounced on him, and Pantalaimon let go of Roger's elf, so the two young elves kept changing their appearance briskly, fighting the huge spotted leopard. The snow leopard's sharp claws flapped left and right, and the roar even drowned out Laila's cries.Both children wrestled with her too, or with certain forms in the chaotic air, with the intentions of the darkness that swarmed with the pouring dust—the aurora swayed in the air, constantly Shining light, now a building, now a lake, now a row of palm trees, so close that you feel like you can walk from this world to another.

Lyra leaped forward and grabbed Roger's hand. She tugged at him desperately, and at last they broke free from Lord Asriel, and they ran, hand in hand.But suddenly, Roger uttered a cry and twisted, as his daemon was caught again, the snow leopard's jaws were firmly on her, and Lord Asriel, holding a wire, stretched out towards her.Lila knew the heart-piercing pain when people and elves were separated, and wanted to stop it—but they couldn't stop it. The cliff beneath their feet was slowly sliding away. A mass of snow, sliding relentlessly below—a frozen ocean, a thousand feet below—"Lyla!"

Her heart, like Roger's, was beating painfully—the two held hands tightly—and his body suddenly collapsed in her arms.At this time, the most spectacular scene appeared in the sky. At the very moment when Roger fell, a spear pierced through the deep, star-studded sky. There was a burst of light, and a blast of pure energy, like an arrow from a great bow, shot into the air from where Lord Asriel had connected the wire to Roger's daemon.The colorful curtains that made up the aurora were torn apart immediately, and the huge ripping sound echoed between the two universes; a large piece of land appeared in the sky—it was sunlight!

The sun was shining on a golden monkey... The snow that had fallen had stopped now, perhaps blocked by invisible rocks.Lyra saw, on the snowy ground on the trampled peak, the golden monkey jump out of the air and come to the snow leopard's side. She saw the two elves bristling their hair and looking at each other warily, looking invincible.The tail of the monkey stood upright, and the tail of the snow leopard swept back and forth vigorously.Then the monkey tentatively extended a paw, the snow leopard bowed its head in a graceful response, and they touched each other—Lyra looked away from them and looked up to see Mrs. Coulter standing There, held tightly in the arms of Lord Asriel.All around them was a flash of light, like a spark, or like a bright electric light.Lyra felt so helpless that she could only imagine what was going on: Mrs. Coulter must have somehow managed to cross the fault line and come after her... Her own parents, now together ! They embraced so passionately—something that had never been dreamed of. Her eyes widened.Roger lay in her arms, still and motionless, never to wake up.She heard her parents talking. Her mother said, "They'll never allow—" Her father said, "Allow? We're past the age of giving orders, not children anymore. I can let anyone into that world—if they want to." "They'll ban it! They'll lock it up, and they'll excommunicate anyone who tries!" "There are too many people who want to do this, and they can't stop them all. Marisa, this means the end of the church, the end of the church authorities, and the end of hundreds of years of darkness! Look at the light above: that It's the sunshine of another world! Come, feel the warmth of it shining on your skin!" "But, Asriel, they are stronger than anyone else! You don't know—" "I don't know? Me? In this world, no one knows how powerful the Church is! But, in this matter, they are not that powerful. Anyway, the dust will change everything. Now, no power can stop It's gone." "Is this what you want? To strangle us with evil and darkness?" "Marisa, what I want is to be free! I've done it. Look at the swaying palm trees on the shore! Can you feel the wind? It's a wind from another world! Feel it blowing you hair, the feel of it brushing against your cheek..." Lord Asriel pushed back Mrs Coulter's hood, turned her head towards the sky, and ran his hands through her hair.Lyra watched all this, feeling suffocated and afraid to move. The woman hugged Lord Asriel tightly, as if intoxicated.She shook her head, looking very distressed. "No—no—they're coming, Asriel—they know where I'm going—" "Then come with me and stay away from this world!" "I can not--" "You? Don't dare? Your child will come. Your child will do anything, and her mother should be ashamed." "Then you take her away, I will be very happy. Asriel, she is more like you than me." "Not really. You brought her into this thing, you tried to educate her your way, and you wanted her to be involved then." "She was so rude and stubborn. I gave up too late... Where is she now? I followed in her footsteps..." "You still want her, don't you? Twice you tried to keep her, but she ran away twice. If I were her, I would run away, as far away as possible, and never give you a third time." Chance." Still holding her head in his hands, he suddenly pulled her towards him forcefully and kissed her passionately. Lyra thought the kiss looked less like love than cruelty.She looked at the elves of the two of them, and found a strange scene: the snow leopard curled up with tense muscles, and its claws dug into the golden monkey's flesh; while the monkey was completely relaxed, happily intoxicated on the snow. Mrs. Coulter broke free from his kiss and said, "No, Asriel—my place is in this world, not that—" "Come with me!" he said eagerly and forcefully, "Come with me, and work with me!" "Me and you—the two of us can't work together." "Can't? Marisa, you and I can divide the universe into fragments and put them back together into one whole! We can find the source of the dust and seal it forever! Besides, you yourself are willing to participate in this great cause, this you Just don't hide it. You can lie about anything else, like the priestly council, your lover—yes, I know about you and Borrell, I don't care about any of it—you can lie about the Church, You can even lie about your children, but you don't lie about your true intentions..." Their mouths pressed together greedily.Their elves were wildly laughing, the snow leopards were rolling in the snow, and the monkeys were scratching their heads.Mrs. Coulter gave a little cry of pleasure. "If I don't go, you'll destroy me," said Mrs. Coulter, breaking free. "Why should I destroy you?" he said, laughing out loud, the lights of another world flickering around his head, "If you follow me and cooperate with me, whether you live or die, I will take care of you." You. If you stay here, you'll lose my interest in you in no time. Don't fool yourself into thinking I'll give you another chance. Now either stay and keep doing your tricks or come with me .” Mrs. Coulter hesitated.She closed her eyes as if she was about to faint, and her body seemed to be shaking, but she stood upright and opened her eyes—the eyes were full of endless, beautiful sadness. "No," she said, "I'm not going." The spirits of the two of them separated again.Lord Asriel stretched out his hand, curling his strong fingers in the fur of the snow leopard. Then, he turned around and walked away without saying a word.The golden monkey jumped into Mrs. Coulter's arms, screamed in pain, and stretched out its paws to the snow leopard that was getting away. Mrs. Coulter's face was full of tears.Lyra saw them gleaming—real tears. Then her mother turned, trembling, weeping softly, and walked down the hill, out of Lyra's sight. Laila looked at her coldly, then raised her head to the sky. It was a spectacle she had never seen before. The city in the sky is empty and silent, like a new city, waiting for people to live in it; perhaps asleep, waiting to be awakened.The sun of that world came to this world, dyed Lyra's hands gold, melted the snow and ice from Roger's wolfskin hood, made his pale cheeks transparent, and gleamed in his glassy eyes. Laila was in pain, and of course there was anger in it.If she could have ripped her father's heart out, she might have killed him, here and now, to avenge Roger and herself—for he had lied to her: how dare he? She was still holding Roger's body.Pantalaimon said something, but Lyra, too full of anger to hear, didn't notice until Pantalaimon pinched the back of her hand hard with his wild cat's paw.She blinked. "what? What?" "Dust!" he said. "What incitement?" "Dust. He's going to find the source of the dust and destroy it, isn't he?" "That's what he said." "The priests, the church, Birvangar, Mrs. Coulter and others, they all want to destroy it, don't they?" "Yeah...or let's not let it affect people anymore...what's the matter?" "Because if they think dust is bad, then it must be good!" Laila said nothing, a surge of excitement welling up in her chest. Pantalaimon went on: "We've heard these people talk about dust, and they're terrified of dust, you know? Before, though what we saw them do was bad and wrong, we believed it. Their words... we also think that dust must be a bad thing, because they're grown-ups, that's what they say. But what if it's not? What if it's—" Lyra said, "Yeah! What if the dust is actually good..." She was a little breathless with excitement. She looked at him and saw his wild cat green eyes sparkle, as excited as she was.She felt a little dizzy, as if the whole world was spinning beneath her feet. If dust is a good thing...if it's worth pursuing, worth welcoming, worth cherishing... "We can go find it too, Pan!" said Lyra. That's all he wanted to hear. "We can find Dust before he does," he went on, "and..." Considering the enormity of the task, none of them spoke.Lyra looked up at the brilliant sky. She knew how little she and her spirits were compared with the vastness of the universe, and how little their knowledge was compared with the mysteries of the heavens. "We can do it," insisted Pantalaimon, "we've come this far, haven't we? We can do it. " "But, Pan, we were wrong. We were totally wrong about Roger. We thought we were helping him..." She couldn't go on, and kissed Roger stiffly several times. face, "We got it wrong," she said. "So next time we take everything into account and ask ourselves every question we can think of first. We'll do better next time." "But we're all alone, and Iorek Bernison can't follow us and help us. Fader Coram, Serafina Pekkala, Lee Scoresby, etc., None of them can help us." "Then it's just us, it's okay. Anyway, we're not alone, unlike..." Lyra knew what he meant to say was not like Tony Macorios; not like those poor lost elves in Birvangar; we were still one; we were both whole. "And we've got the alethiometer," she said. "Yes, Pam, I think we should. Let's go up there in the world and find the dust, and when we find it, we'll know what to do." Roger lay motionless in her arms.She put him down gently. "We're going to find the dust," she said. She turned away.Behind them pain, death and fear, before them doubt, danger and endless mystery, but they are not alone. So Lyra and her daemon turned away from the world of their birth, looked up at the sun, and stepped into another world in the sky.