Chapter 14 14. Know what it is

Labor without joy is cheap labor without sorrow is cheap Sadness without labor is cheap Happiness without labor is cheap ——John Ruskin [John Ruskin (18191900), British writer and art critic] Will and Lyra slept through the night, waking up when the sun hit their eyelids.In fact, they woke up only a few seconds before and after, and they had the same thought in their heads: but when they looked around, the knight Thales was standing quietly beside him. "The troops of the ecclesiastical court are in retreat," he told them, "and Mrs. Coulter is in the hands of King Oakonway, and is on her way to Lord Asriel."

"How do you know?" Will said, sitting up stiffly. "Did you go back through the window again?" "No, we talked through the lodestone resonator, and I took our conversation," Thales turned to Lyra, "to my commander, Lord Locke, who agreed that we should go with you to find the bear and have seen him. Then you come with us, so we are allies and we will do our best to help you." "Very well," Will said, "then let's eat together, do you eat our food?" "Thank you, let's eat," said Mrs. Will took out the last of his dried peaches and slices of rotten rye bread and shared them, though of course the spies didn't eat much.

"As for water, there doesn't seem to be any around," Will said, "We won't have water until we get back." "Then we'd better start at once." said Leila. First, though, she took out the alethiometer.Unlike the night before, she could see clearly, but after sleeping so long, her fingers were slow and hard, and she asked if there was still danger in the valley, no, and replied that all the soldiers had been Gone, the villagers have gone home.So they are ready to leave. The window, odd looking in the dizzying heat of the desert, opened into the shaded undergrowth, a cube of lush greenery hanging in the air like a painting.Galliferspins wanted to have a look at it, and they were surprised to find that it was invisible from behind, but when you turned from the side, it suddenly appeared in front of you.

"I'm going to close it up as soon as we're over," Will said. Lyra tried to pinch the edges of the window together, but her fingers couldn't find it, and neither could the spies, despite their small hands.Only Will can touch it accurately, and he does it cleanly and neatly. "How many worlds can you enter with that knife?" Thales asked. "As much as it takes," Will said. "No one has time to figure it out." He picked up his rucksack and led the way up the forest path.The dragonflies enjoy the fresh and humid air, and shuttle through the rays of sunshine like needles.The trees overhead were less swaying, and the air was cool and still, so it was all the more shocking to see: the twisted wreckage of a gyroplane dangling from the branches, trapped in the seat belts The body of the African pilot half-hanging outside the hatch; a little further on, the charred wreckage of the Zeppelin—soot-black strips, blackened struts and pipes, shattered glass; and then It was corpses: three charred bodies, their limbs twisted and deformed, held upward as if still threatening to fight.

These were just the scenes around the trail; there were more bodies and wreckage on the cliffs above and in the woods below.The two children were stunned and walked across the bloody battlefield without saying a word, while the spies who were used to the battlefield sat on the dragonfly and looked around calmly, paying attention to how the battle was fought, who lost the most, and the trees gradually thinned out At the top of the valley where the rainbow waterfall appeared, they stopped to drink enough ice-cold water. "Hope that girl is all right," Will said. "If she hadn't woken you up, there's no way we'd have taken you away. She went to a saint to get that powder."

"She's fine," Lyra said, "because I asked the alethiometer last night. But she thinks we're ghosts, she's afraid of us, she probably wishes she wasn't involved, but she's safe, that's right .” They climbed up by the waterfall, filled Will's lunch box, and walked across the plateau toward the ridge where the alethiometer had told Lyra Iorek to go. What followed was a long, hard day's trek: no problem for Will, but torture for Laila, as the long sleep had left her limbs limp and limp.But she'd rather bite her tongue than admit how much she's suffering: she's limping, her lips are tight, her whole body trembling; she's following Will, saying nothing.She allowed herself a sob only when they sat down at noon, and that was when Will stepped aside to relieve himself.

Madame Salmachia said: "Rest, fatigue is nothing to be ashamed of." "But I don't want to disappoint Will! I don't want him to think I'm weak and in the way." "He definitely wouldn't think so." "You don't know," Lyra said roughly, "you don't know me, and you don't know him." "I can still hear the words of impatience," Madam said calmly. "Now do as I say, rest and keep your energy for walking." Lyra wanted to fight back, but the lady's boots spurs were shining so clearly in the sunlight that she said nothing.

Her fellow knight was opening the box of the lodestone resonator, and Lyra's curiosity overcame her disgust to see what he was doing.The instrument looked like a short pencil, made of dull black-gray stone, and rested on a wooden stand.The knight sweeps a small bow lightly across the tail like a violinist, while fingers press various points on the surface.The dots weren't marked, so he seemed to be pressing them at random, but from his focused expression and the fluidity of his movements, Laila knew that the whole process was as skillful and demanding as her reading of the alethiometer.

A few minutes later, the spy put the bow aside, picked up a pair of headphones, earbuds no bigger than Lyra's tiny fingernails, wrapped one end of the cable lightly around the hook at the end of the stone, and pulled the other end over the other and by manipulating both hooks, and the taut string between them, he could apparently hear the reply to his own message. "How does that work?" she asked after he finished. Thales gave her a look, as if to determine if she was genuinely interested, and said, "Your scientists, what do you call them, experimental theologians, they'll know something called quantum aggregates, which means that two molecules with the same properties can coexist, so that what happens to one object also happens to the other, no matter how far apart they are. Well, there is a way in our world, to take a common Lodestone, gathers all the particles together, and then splits it into two. So that the two parts can resonate together, and the one corresponding to this one is in the hands of our commander, Lord Locke.

When I play it with my bow, the other side makes the exact same sound, so we can communicate. " He put everything aside and said something to Mrs.She walked aside with him, and their conversation was so soft that Lyra could hear nothing, though Pantalaimon turned into an owl and held his great ears toward them. Soon, Will returned, and they continued on the road.As the day wore on, they walked more slowly, the trail became steeper and the snow field drew closer.At the top of a rocky valley they stopped to rest again, because even Will could tell that Lyra was dying: she was limping badly and her face was pale.

"Let me see your feet," he said to her, "because if you get blisters, I'll put some ointment on you." The feet were indeed blistered, and she asked him to apply the blood moss ointment, closed her eyes, and gritted her teeth. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers were in a hurry.After a few minutes he put the lodestone aside and said: "I have told Lord Locke where we are, and they will send the rotorcraft to take you away as soon as you have finished speaking with your friend." Will nodded, but Lyra didn't notice.Soon, she sat up tiredly, pulled up her socks and shoes, and everyone set off again. Another hour later, the valley was mostly in shadow, and Will wondered if he should seek shelter before dark, but at that moment Lyra let out a cry of lighthearted joy. "Iorek! Iorek!" She saw him before Will.The Bear King was still far away, his white fur not very clear in the snow, but when Lyra's voice echoed, he turned his head, looked up, sniffed, and jumped down the hill toward them. He ignored Will, letting Lyra wrap her arms around his neck and bury her face in his fur.His deep snarl made Will feel his feet shake, but Lyra felt so happy that for a moment she forgot her blisters and fatigue. "Oh, Iorek, darling, it's such a pleasure to see you! I never thought I'd see you again—after that time on Svalbard—so much has happened—Sko Is Sby all right? How is your kingdom?are you here alone " The little spies were gone; anyway, there seemed to be only three of them on the darkening hillside: the boy, the girl, and Pyrenees.As if she never wanted to be anywhere else, when Iorek asked her to get on her back, she climbed up and rode proudly and happily, letting her dear friend carry her the last leg of the journey to in his hole. Will was preoccupied with not listening to Lyra's conversation with Iorek, but at some point he heard her let out a cry of despair and heard her say, "Scoresby—oh, no. ! Oh, how cruel! Is it really dead? Are you sure?" "The witch told me that he was looking for that man named Grumman." Bear King said. Will was listening carefully now, for Baruch and Balthamus had told him something about it. "What happened? Who killed him?" Lyra said, her voice shaking. "He was killed in battle. He kept a company of Muscovites at bay, and the man fled. I found his body. He died bravely. I will avenge him." Lyra burst into tears, and Will didn't know what to say, because it was his father that this stranger had sacrificed his life to save, and Lyla and the Bear King knew and loved Lee Scoresby, and he But no. Soon Iorek turned aside and walked toward the opening of a cave, which was black against the white snow. Will didn't know where the spies were, but he was sure they were nearby, and he wanted to speak quietly to Lyra, but not until he had seen Galliferspin and found out if he was going to be overheard. He put the rucksack in the hole and sat down wearily.Behind him, King Bear was lighting a fire.Despite her sadness, Lyra couldn't help but watch curiously.Iorek held a small rock in the shape of iron ore in his left front paw, and hit the same rock on the ground three or four times, sparks splashed out every time, and flew to the place Iorek designated. Orientation: a pile of twigs and dry grass.Soon the fire was blazing, and Iorek calmly placed log after log until the fire was very strong. The children were very happy, for the air was very cold now, and then something even better came: what seemed to be the hind leg of a goat.Iorek ate it raw, of course, but he put the hind leg on a sharp stick and roasted it over a fire for them both to eat. "Is it easy to hunt in these mountains, Iorek?" she said. "It's not easy, my people can't survive here. I was wrong before, but I was lucky because I found you. Now what are your plans?" Will looked around the cave.They sat close to the fire, which cast warm yellows and oranges on the bear king's fur, and Will couldn't see the spy, but there was no other way, he had to ask. "King Iorek," he began, "my knife is broken—" Then he looked behind the Bear King and said, "If you're listening," he continued, louder, "then Come out and listen upright, don't spy on us." Lyra and Iorek looked back to see who he was talking to, and the little spies emerged from the shadows and stood silently in the firelight on a rock higher than the children's heads.Iorek growled. "You entered the cave without Iorek's permission," Will said. "He is a king, and you are only spies. You should show more respect." Lyra liked to hear that.She looked at Will happily, seeing his aggressive, dismissive expression. But the expression on the knight's face when he looked at Will was very unhappy. "We have been honest with you," he said, "and it is disgraceful that you have deceived us." Will stood up, and Lyra, expecting his elf to take the shape of a tigress, flinched back, imagining the wrath the gigantic animal would display. "If we cheated you, it would be a last resort," he said. "If you knew the knife was broken, would you agree to come here? Of course not. You would use your venom to make us unconscious, and then call for help to remove the knife. We kidnapped it and gave it to Lord Asriel, so we had to design to deceive you, Thales, you can only accept this fact." Iorek Bernison asked: "Who are they?" "Spy," Will said, "from Lord Asriel. They helped us escape yesterday, but if they were on our side, they shouldn't be hiding and eavesdropping on us. If they did, then they It’s the person who shouldn’t talk about the brilliance.” The spies looked fierce and looked ready to pounce on Iorek at any moment, not to mention the unarmed Will, but Thales knew he was at fault, so he could only bow and apologize. "Your Majesty," he said to Iorek, who immediately growled. The knight glared at Will with hatred, looked at Lila provocatively and warningly, and looked at Iorek with cold and cautious respect.His clear features made all these expressions vivid and bright, as if a light shone upon him.Beside him, Madame Salmachia emerged from the shadows, ignoring the children, and curtseyed to the Bear King. "Forgive us," she said to Iorek, "the habit of hiding is hard to break. My companion Thales the Knight and I, the Lady of Sarmacia, have been among the enemies for so long that, purely because It is customary for us to neglect to show you due respect. We are accompanying these two children to ensure their safe arrival at Lord Asriel's care, and we have no other purpose, to you Iorek? King Bernison has absolutely no malice." If Iorek was thinking about what harm these little things could do to him, he didn't show it; not only was his expression unreadable, but he was also very polite, and the lady was reasonable enough. "Come to the fire," said he, "for there is plenty of food here, if you are hungry. Will, you were talking about knives. " "Yes," Will said, "I thought it was never going to happen, but it broke. The alethiometer told Lyra that you could fix it. I was going to be more polite, but here it is: you Can it be fixed, Iorek?" "show me." Will shook all the pieces out of the scabbard and set them on the rocky floor, moving carefully until they were all in the right place and all the pieces could be seen to be there.Lila held up a burning branch. Under the light of the fire, Iorek leaned down and looked at each piece carefully, touching it gently with his huge claws, picking it up and looking left and right, checking the broken place, threatening Er marveled at the dexterity of those giant black claws. Then Iorek sat up again, his head thrown high into the shadows. "Yes." He said, he just answered Will's specific question without saying anything. Lyra knew what he meant and said, "Ah, but will you fix it, Iorek? You won't believe how important it is—if we don't fix it, we're in big trouble, and not only we— " "I don't like that knife," said Iorek. "I'm afraid of what it can do. I've never known such a dangerous thing. Compared to it, the deadliest fighting machines are toys. There's no limit to the amount of damage it can do. It would be far better if it never existed." "But use it—" Will said. Iorek didn't let him finish, and continued, "With it you can do strange things. What you don't know is what the knife does. Your will may be good, and the knife has will." "How is that possible?" Will said. "A tool is intended to be a function. A hammer is intended to strike. A vise is intended to clamp. A lever is intended to lift. These are what they are made for. But sometimes a tool may have a purpose that you don't Knowing other uses, sometimes in doing what you wish, you are also doing what the knife intends to do, and don't know it. Can you see the sharpest edge of this knife?" "No," Will said, because it was true: the blade gradually became so thin that it was invisible to the naked eye. "Then how do you know everything it does?" "I can't, but I still have to use it and do what I can to help good things happen. If I do nothing, I will be worse than useless, I will feel guilty. " Lila had been listening carefully, and seeing that Iorek was still unwilling, she said, "Iorek, you know how evil those Belvangar are. If we can't win, then they can take that Things go on forever. Besides, if we don't have a knife, maybe they'll get it for themselves. We didn't even know there was such a knife when we first met you, Iorek, nobody knew, But now we know that we have to use it ourselves - we can't not. That would be weak and it would be wrong, and it would be like handing it to them and saying, go ahead, use it, we won't stop you. Yeah , we don’t know what it’s going to do, but I can ask the alethiometer, can’t I? Then we’ll know, and we can think properly and not just guess and be afraid.” Will didn't want to mention his own most pressing reason: if the knife wasn't fixed, he'd never get home, never see his mother again, she'd never know what happened, she'd think he abandoned her like his father .The knife was directly responsible for their abandonment, and he must use it to return to her, or he would never forgive himself. Iorek.Bernison didn't say a word for a long time. He turned his head and looked out of the dark cave, then stood up slowly, walked heavily to the entrance of the cave, and looked up at the stars in the sky: some were the stars he knew in the north, some were is foreign to him. Behind him, Lyra set the meat on the fire, Will watched his wound to see how it was healing, and Thales and Salmachia sat silently on the rock. Then Iorek turned around. "Very well, on one condition," he said, "although I feel it is a mistake. My people have no gods, no souls, no spirits, we live and die, that's all, human affairs All we bring is sorrow and trouble, but we have words, we wage wars, we use tools, and maybe we should choose sides, but it's better to know than to know. Read your alethiometer, Lyra, and figure out what you want Ask what, and then if you still want to do it by then, I'll fix the knife." Lyra immediately took out the alethiometer and moved closer to the fire to see the surface, the flickering light made it difficult for her to see, maybe the smoke got into her eyes, reading took longer than usual, when she Blinking her eyes and recovering with a sigh, her face was troubled and confused. "I never knew it was such a mess," she said. "It says a lot of things, and I think I've figured it out, I think so. It talks about balance first, and it says that a knife can do good or evil, But it's a very small, very delicate balance, so even the faintest thought or wish can tip it one way or the other... It's about you, Will, it's about your desire or Ideas, except that it doesn't say what is a good idea and what is a bad idea. "Then...it said yes." She glanced at the spies and said, "It said yes, go ahead, fix the knife." Iorek stared at her fixedly, then nodded. Thales and Salmachia climbed down to get a better look, and Lyra said, "Do you need any more fuel, Iorek? Will and I can go get some, I'm sure." Will knew what she meant: leave the spy for a word. "There's a resinous bush under the first spur on the trail, take as much as you can," said Iorek. She jumped up immediately, and Will went out with her. The moon was bright, there was a line of scattered footprints on the trail in the snow, and the air was bitterly bitter. Both felt refreshed, full of hope and vitality, and they waited until they were some distance from the cave before they began to talk. "What else did it say?" Will asked. "It said something I didn't understand then, and I still don't understand. It said the knife would cause the dust to die, but then it said it was the only way for the dust to live, which I don't understand. Will, But then it says it's dangerous, and it keeps saying it, and it says if we—you know—the one I was thinking—" "If we go to the world of the dead—" "Yes—if we do that—it says we might never come back, Will. We might not survive." He said nothing, and now they walked on more calmly, looking for the bush that Iorek had mentioned, thinking of what they might do, in silence. "But we have to, right?" he said. "I have no idea." "I mean now we know. You've got to talk to Roger, I've got to talk to my father, and now we have to." "I'm afraid," she said. He knew she would never admit it to anyone. "Did it say what would happen if we didn't go?" he asked. "There's just a void, there's just a void, I don't really understand, Will. But I guess it means that even though it's so dangerous, we should still try to save Roger. But not like I've got him from Bervan Same as when I was rescued. At the time, I didn't know what I was doing, really, I just went off, and I got lucky. I mean had all kinds of friends to help, like gypsies and witches. And We won't get any help in this place we have to go, I can see... in my dreams I have seen... that place... worse than Bolvangar, that's what I'm afraid of reason." After a while, Will didn't look at her at all, and said, "What I'm afraid of is being stuck somewhere and never seeing my mother again." He inexplicably recalled a memory: he was very young, it was before her troubles started, he was sick. It seemed like all night his mother sat with him in the dark on his bed, singing him songs and telling stories, and as long as her soulful voice was there, he knew he was safe.Now he couldn't abandon her, no!If she needs him, he will serve her for the rest of her life. As if knowing what he'd been thinking, Lyra said enthusiastically, "Yeah, it's true, you know, I've had such a good time with my mother... I never realized—I Growing up alone, really, I don't remember anyone holding or cuddling me, it's just me and Pantalaimon for as long as I can remember... I don't remember Mrs Langdale treating me like that, she's a jordan college The housekeeper, she only cares if I'm clean, that's all she thinks about, oh, and manners... But in the cave, Will, I really feel- oh weird, I know she's doing horrible things thing, but I really feel that she loves me and takes care of me... She must have thought I was going to die, sleeping for so long - I figured I must be sick - but she kept taking care of me, I I remember waking up once or twice and she was holding me in her arms...I really remember that, I'm sure...I would do the same in her shoes, if I had kids." So, she didn't know why she slept for so long.Even if it was fake, should he tell her the truth and sell that memory?No, of course not. "Is that the bush?" Lyra said. The moonlight was bright enough to illuminate every leaf, and Will snapped off a branch, the scent of pine resin lingering heavily on his fingers. "We don't say anything to those little spies," she added. They collected a bunch of bushes and carried them back to the cave.