Chapter 16 Sixteen, mind machine

From the arched door that hangs from mystic magic Innumerable rows lit by naphtha and pitch Dotted lights and dazzling beacon lights glowing... — John Milton "My child! My daughter! Where is she? What have you done! My Lyra—you might as well tear my heart—she was safe with me, safe , where is she now?" Mrs. Coulter's screams echoed through the small room at the top of the solid tower, and she was strapped to a chair, her hair disheveled and torn, her wild eyes, her monkey spirit in a pile of silver chains on the floor Roll and struggle. Lord Asriel sat aside, scribbling something on a piece of paper, and ignored it.An orderly stood beside him, watching the woman nervously, and when Lord Asriel handed him the paper, he saluted and hurried off, his hound-elf tail low and tight. follow.Lord Asriel turned to Mrs Coulter.

"Lila? Frankly, I don't care," he said, his voice calm and hoarse. "That damn kid should be where she should be, doing what she should be doing, and I can't afford to waste any more time or resources on her. If she refuses to help, then let her suffer." "That's not your intention, Asriel, otherwise you wouldn't—" "I'm telling you the truth, the confusion she caused was out of proportion to her virtue, an ordinary English girl, not very bright—" "She's smart!" said Mrs. Coulter. "Well, smart but without knowledge, impulsive, dishonest, greedy—"

"Brave, generous, caring." "An utterly ordinary kid, nothing remarkable about—" "Completely ordinary? Lyra? She's unique. Consider what she's done. If you don't like her, you don't like her, Asriel, but you can't pretend to be a benefactor in front of your daughter. She was safe and sound with me until—" "You're right," he said, rising to his feet. "She's unique in taming and softening you—that's no ordinary feat. She sucked your venom, Marisa, she plucked you. Your teeth, your fires are quenched in the drizzle of sentimentality and piety. Who would have thought of this? Ruthless agents of the church, fanatical persecutors of children, inventing terrible machines to cut them open, in their fear Look for evidence of evil in the little things of the world—here comes an ignorant little girl with a foul mouth and dirty nails, and you cluck like a hen and cover her with your feathers. Well, I confess: the child There must be some talent I've never seen myself, but if all it can do is turn you into a doting mother, then it's a pretty thin, flat, insignificant little talent. Now you better be Be quiet, I've called my key commanders for an emergency meeting, and if you can't control your voice, I'll have your mouth gagged."

Mrs. Coulter, who was more like her daughter than she knew, responded by spitting in Asriel's face, which he wiped calmly, saying: "Gagging will stop Such behaviour.''"Oh, punish me, Asriel. she said, "it was obviously a polite prince who tied the captive to the chair and showed it to his subordinates."Untie me, or I'll force you to gag me. " "Your wish will come true." As he said, he took out a silk scarf from the drawer, but before he could tie it around her mouth, she shook her head. "Don't, don't," she said, "Asriel, don't, I beg you, please don't humiliate me."

Tears of anger welled up in my eyes. "Very well, I will untie you, but he can be tied to the chain." He said, put the silk scarf back in the drawer, and then cut the rope that bound her with a jackknife. She wiped her wrists, stood up, stretched, and only then did she notice the way her clothes and hair looked haggard and pale, with the last of the Galliferspin venom still lingering in her body , causing pain in her joints, but she didn't want him to see it. "You can wash in there," said Lord Asriel, referring to a small room not much bigger than a cupboard. She picked up her chained elf and went in to tidy herself up, the elf's eyes staring fiercely at Lord Asriel over her shoulder.

The orderly came in to announce: "His Majesty King Oakonway and Lord Locke have arrived." In came the African General and Galliferspin: King Oakenway in a clean uniform, a wound on his temple freshly bandaged, and Lord Locke gliding swiftly to the table on his blue eagle. Lord Asriel greeted them warmly, and offered them a drink, and the blue eagle dismounted its rider, and flew to the shelf by the door.At this time the messenger announced the arrival of Lord Asriel's third senior commander, an angel named Zephania, who was much higher in rank than Baruch and Balthamos.With a flickering, unsettling flash of light coming from nowhere, she appeared.

At this time, Mrs. Coulter appeared, much neater, and all the commanders bowed to her.If she was surprised by their presence, she didn't show it, just nodded and sat down peacefully, holding the chained monkey in her arms. Lord Asriel wasted no time, and said, "Tell me what happened, King Oakonway." The strong African in a low voice said: "We killed seventeen Swiss soldiers, destroyed two Zeppelins, lost five men and one gyroplane, the girl and boy escaped, and we captured Mrs. Coulter, for all her valor, and for bringing her here, hope she doesn't find us insolent."

"I'm quite pleased with the way you've treated me, sir," she said, putting a very light emphasis on the word you. "Any damage to the other rotorcraft? Anyone injured?" asked Lord Asriel. "A little damage, and some wounded, but nothing serious." "Very well, thank you, King, your troops have done well, my Lord Locke, what have you heard?" Galliferspin said: "My spy was in another world with the boy and the girl, both children were safe and sound, although the girl was drugged for days. The boy didn't use his knife in the hole: By some accident it broke into pieces. But now it is whole again. Thanks to an animal from the north of your world, Lord Asriel, it was a huge bear, very skilled at blacksmithing. Once the knife was repaired, The boy cuts into the other world they're in now. My spies are with them of course, but there's one difficulty: as long as the boy has the knife, he can't be forced to do anything. But if they put the knife in his sleep He kills, and the knife will be of no use to us. Now, wherever they go, the knight Thales and the lady of Salmacia will follow, so that we can at least know where they are. They seem to be thinking Any plans, refuse to come here no matter what, and those two of mine will keep an eye on them."

"Are they safe in this other world they're in now?" said Lord Asriel. "They are on the beach by the edge of a fern forest. There is no sign of animal life nearby. As we speak, both boys and girls are sleeping. I just spoke to Knight Thales five minutes ago." "Thank you," said Lord Asriel. "Now your two agents are following the children. Of course, we no longer have eyes and ears in the church. We can only rely on the alethiometer, at least..." Then Mrs. Coulter surprised them by speaking. "I don't know about the other branches," she said, "but as far as the ecclesiastical courts are concerned, they rely on Fra Pavel Lasker to read the alethiometer, and he is proficient, but very slow, and they have to go through It will take hours to find out where Laila is."

Lord Asriel said, "Thank you, Marisa. Do you know what Lyra and the boy are going to do next?" "I don't know," she said, "not at all. I've spoken to the boy. He seems to be a stubborn boy, and has developed a habit of keeping secrets. I can't guess what he's going to do. As for Lyra, She's pretty elusive." "My lord," said King Oakonway, "can you tell us if this lady is now part of this command? If so, what is her function? If not, should she be taken elsewhere?" go." "She is our captive, my guest, and as a distinguished former agent of the Church, she may have some useful information."

"Will she say anything willingly? Perhaps she needs some punishment?" said Lord Locke, looking directly at her. Mrs. Coulter smiled. "I think Lord Asriel's commander should know that execution cannot tell the truth," she said.Lord Asriel could not help admiring her blatant defiance. "I will vouch for Mrs. Coulter's actions," he said. "She knows the consequences of betrayal, even though she won't have the chance. But if any of you have any doubts, please speak up now." "I have," said King Oakonway, "but I suspect you, not her." "Why?" said Lord Asriel. "If she charms you, you will not refuse. It is right to capture her, but it is wrong to invite her to this meeting. Give her courtesy and the utmost comfort, but put her somewhere else, not near her." "Well, I beg you," said Lord Asriel, "I must accept your accusation that I value your presence more than hers, King. I will have her taken away." He reached for the bell, but before he did, Mrs. Coulter spoke. "Listen to me for a few words first," she said eagerly. "I can help you. I'm closer to the heart of the church than anyone you can find. I know how they think. I can guess What are they going to do when they come out, do you want to know why you should believe me, what made me leave them? This one is simple: they are going to kill my daughter, they dare not let her live.As soon as I found out who she was—what she was—the witches prophesied about her—I knew I had to leave the church, I knew I was their enemy, they were my enemy, and I didn't know you What, and don't know what I am to you—that is a mystery, but I know that I must oppose the Church, everything they believe in, and, if necessary, the Authority himself.I……" She stopped.All commanders are listening intently.She looked directly into Lord Asriel's face now, as if speaking to him alone, her voice deep and passionate, her bright eyes shining brightly. "I was once the worst mother in the world, I had my only child taken from me when she was a tiny baby because I didn't care about her, I just cared about my own accomplishments. For years I I didn't think about her, and if I did, I just regret having her. "But then the Church became interested in dust and children, and something churns inside of me, and I remember that I'm a mother, and Laila is... my child. "Also because there was a threat from which I had to rescue her. So far, I have intervened three times and rescued her from distress. The first time was when the Ministry of Worship started: I went to the Jordan College, and I took her To live with me in London, where I can save her from the Ministry of Shrine... Maybe that's just my wish. But she escaped. "The second time was at Birvangar when I found her just in time for the knife-blade...my heart nearly stopped beating...that's what they-we-I used to do to other kids thing, but when the child was mine... oh, you can't imagine the horror of that moment, I hope you never suffer as I did... but I freed her, I brought her out, I saved her a second time. "But even when I do that, I still feel like I'm part of the church, a servant, a faithful, honest and godly servant, because I'm working for authority. "Then I heard the witch's prophecy that in some form, sometime soon, Lyra would be tempted, like Eve—that's what they said. What form this temptation would take, I No idea, but she's growing up after all, it's not hard to imagine, and now that the Church knows it, they're going to kill her. Would they be able to risk her life if it was all up to her?Would they dare take the chance that she would refuse the temptation, whatever it was? "No, they were destined to kill her. If they could, they would go back to Eden and kill Eve before she was tempted. Killing was easy for them. Calvin himself ordered the children to be killed. When they killed her There would be pomp and ceremony, prayers and mourning and hymns and hymns, but she would be killed anyway. If she fell into their hands, she was dead. "So when I heard what the witch said, I saved my daughter for the third time, and I took her to a place where I could keep her safe, and I was going to stay there." "You poisoned her," said King Oakonway, "and you put her in a stupor." "I had to," said Mrs. Coulter, "because she hated me." At this point, her otherwise emotionally controlled voice broke into a sob and continued tremblingly: " She's afraid of me and hates me. If I hadn't given her poison to make her forget everything, she would have left me like a bird from a cat. You know what that means to a mother? But it's what keeps her safe The only way to be safe! The whole time in the cave... sleepy, eyes closed, helpless, her daemon curled up at her throat... oh, I felt such a love, such a Tenderness, such a deep, deep... my own baby, being able to do these things for her for the first time, my little... I wash her, feed her, keep her safe, make her Warmth, making sure her body is nourished while she sleeps... I lie next to her at night, I hold her in my arms, I wet her hair with my tears, I kiss her sleepy eyes, my little ones... ..." She was not in the least embarrassed, speaking calmly, without raising her voice, and hiccupping vaguely as the sobs shook her, as if she were controlling her emotions for the sake of politeness, which made her brazen lies all the more effective.Lord Asriel thought disgustedly that every drop of her bone marrow was lying. Her words were mainly addressed to King Ogunway, as if she didn't care, Lord Asriel also saw this, the king was not only her important accuser, he was also a human being, unlike that angel or Lord Locke, She knows how to deal with him. In fact, however, it was the Gallifers flat who impressed her most.Lord Locke sensed in her a nature not unlike that of the scorpions he had seen, and he fully recognized the stinging power of her gentle voice.Better to put the scorpion where you can see it, he thought. So when Oakenway changed his mind and argued that she should stay, he backed his opinion, and Lord Asriel found it backfired: because now he wanted her somewhere else, but he had promised to press Commanders will do. Mrs. Coulter looked at him with a touch of genuine concern.He was sure no one else could see that sly triumph in the depths of her beautiful eyes. "Stay here, then," he said, "but you have said enough, now stay quietly. I would like to consider the proposal to have a garrison on the southern border, you have read the report: is it feasible?Ideal? Next, I want to take a look at the military factory, and then hear Zephania talk about the deployment of the angel team.First, the garrison, King Oakonway? " African leaders started.They talked for some time, and Mrs. Coulter was impressed by their knowledge of the church's defenses and their clear assessment of its leaders. But now that Thales and Sarmazia were with the children, Lord Asriel had no spies in the church, and the information they knew would be dangerously outdated very quickly.A thought flashed into Mrs. Coulter's mind. She and the monkey spirit exchanged a look that felt like a huge flash of spark, but she said nothing, just stroking his golden hair and obeying. The officers speak. Then Lord Asriel said: "Enough, we will solve this problem later, let's talk about the military factory now. I know they are preparing to experiment with the mind machine. Let's go and see." He took out a piece of silver key from his pocket, opened the chain that locked the golden monkey's hands and feet, and carefully avoided touching even the tip of the golden hair. Lord Locke mounted his eagle, and the others followed Lord Asriel down the tower ladder and out onto the battlements. There was a cold wind blowing so that their eyes could not be opened, and the dark blue eagles rushed into the sky with a huge wind, and circled and screamed in the wild air.King Oakonway wrapped himself in his greatcoat and rested his hand on the head of his cheetah spirit. Mrs. Coulter said humbly to the angel, "Excuse me, ma'am, is your name Zephania?" "Yes." said the angel. Her appearance gave Mrs. Coulter the same impression Ruta Skadi had made on her entourage when they spotted her in the air: she was not luminous, but illuminated, although there was no light source at all.She was tall, naked, and winged, and her wrinkled face made Mrs. Coulter feel like the oldest creature she had ever seen. "Are you one of the angels who rebelled long ago?" "Yes, I have wandered between many worlds since then. I have now sworn my allegiance to Lord Asriel, for I see in his great cause the best hope of finally destroying the Hegemony." "But what if you fail?" "Then we will be destroyed and the brutal regime will rule forever." While talking, they followed Lord Asriel's eager footsteps, along the wind-beaten protective wall to a huge staircase, which stretched so deep that even the light from the wall-mounted candelabra couldn't reach it. to the bottom of it.The blue eagle swooped past them, gliding little by little, into the gloom, every light he passed made his feathers flicker until he was a little spark, and then Completely disappear. The angel moved to Lord Asriel's side, and Mrs Coulter found herself walking beside the African King. "Excuse my ignorance, sir," she said, "but I had never seen or heard of such a man on a blue eagle until yesterday at the battle in the cave... Where did he come from? Can you tell What do I say about his people? I don't want to offend him by saying anything, but if I say something without knowing him, I may inadvertently be offensive." "That's a good question," said King Oakenway. "His people are very proud. Their world did not develop like ours, and there are two sentient beings there, humans and Galliferspins. Humans are mostly Servants of authority, who have been trying to destroy these little people since the beginning of the world, seeing them as cruel devils, so Galliferspin still can't fully trust people of our size, but they are fierce Wolves and proud warriors, deadly enemies and worthy spies." "Are all his people on your side, or are they divided like humans?" "Some are with the enemy, but most are with us." "What about angels? You know, I thought angels were a medieval invention, they were mere creations of fantasy... You would find yourself talking to an angel frighteningly disturbing... How many angels does Lord Asriel have?" "Mrs. Coulter," said the King, "those are the kinds of questions a spy wants to know." "I'm a good spy to ask you so bluntly," she replied. "I'm a captive, sir. I couldn't escape if I had a safe place to escape. From now on I won't hurt Anyone, you can trust me on that." "If you say so, I am glad to believe you," said the king. "Angels are harder to understand than any human being. First, they are not of one kind. Some are more powerful than others. There are complex alliances and alliances between them." An ancient enmity, about which we know so little, has suppressed the authorities since their inception." She stopped.She was indeed shocked.The African king paused beside her, thinking she was not well, and the light from the burning candlestick above her head did cast a pale shadow on her face. "You talk so lightly," she said, "as if I should know about it too, but...how could it be? The Authority created all the worlds, didn't he? He existed before everything, how could he What will happen?" "That's what the angels learned," said Oakenway, "and some of us were shocked when we learned that the Authority was not a Creator. Maybe there was a Creator, maybe there wasn't, we don't know. We just Know that at some point, the Authority took the responsibility. Since then, the Angel has rebelled, and humans have rebelled against him. This is the last rebellion, and there has never been a human and angel, and all the creatures of the world. A common cause, which brings together the greatest forces, but perhaps still not enough, we shall see." "But what is Lord Asriel's intention? What world is this? Why is he here?" "He brought us here because the world is empty, that is, without conscious life. We are not colonists, Mrs. Coulter, and we are not here to conquer but to build. " "Is he planning to attack the kingdom of heaven?" Oakonville looked at her levelly. "We won't invade the kingdom," he said, "but if the kingdom invades us, they'd better be ready for war, because we're ready. I'm a king, Mrs. Coulter, but with Asriel It is my proudest task to go with my lord to establish a world where there is no kingdom at all. There is no king, no bishop, no priests, the kingdom of heaven has been known by that name since the authority first set itself above other angels The world. We don't want it. The world is different and we intend to be free citizens of the Republic of Paradise." Mrs. Coulter was on the point of speaking, of asking a dozen questions that came to her lips, but the King was already on his way, unwilling to keep his commander waiting, and she had to follow. The stairs descended so far below that by the time they reached level ground the sky at the top of the stairs behind them was completely out of sight.She was out of breath before she was halfway there, but she didn't complain, and kept going down until the stairs opened into a vast hall, lit by glistening crystals on the pillars that supported the roof. The ladders, gantries, beams, and aisles above the head intersected in the dark, and small figures shuttled purposefully among them. Lord Asriel was talking to his commanders when Mrs Coulter arrived, and before she could rest he continued on through the hall, where from time to time shiny figures passed through the air or landed on the ground. Talk to him briefly on the ground.The air was dense and warm, and Mrs. Coulter noticed that it was probably out of respect for Lord Locke that each column had a hollow bracket at head height so that his hawk could rest there, allowing him this Galliferspin joins the discussion. But they were not long in the hall, when at the far end of the hall a page opened a heavy double door and let them pass through to a railway platform.There waited a small enclosed carriage pulled by a wind locomotive. The pilot bowed, and his brown monkey sprite ducked behind his legs as soon as it saw the golden monkey.Lord Asriel said something curtly to the man, and told the others to come into the carriage.The carriages, like the hall, were lighted with those glittering crystals, fixed on silver supports, against sandalwood boards with mirrors. As soon as Lord Asriel joined them, the trains began to move, gliding smoothly off the platform and into the tunnel, picking up speed with vigor, and only the sound of the wheels on the smooth rails gave any indication of how fast they were going. . "Where are we going?" said Mrs. Coulter. "Go to the military factory." Lord Asriel said briefly, and turned around to chat with the angel quietly. Mrs. Coulter said to Lord Locke: "My lord, do your spies always go out in pairs?" "Why do you ask that question?" "Just out of curiosity, my elves and I found ourselves at an impasse recently when encountering them in the cave, and I was curious to see how well they fought the battle." "Why are you curious? Didn't you think that people as young as us can be good fighters?" She looked at him coldly, aware of his aggressive arrogance. "Didn't think so," she said, "I thought we'd beat you easily, but you almost beat us, and I'm happy to admit I was wrong, but do you always fight in pairs?" "You are a couple, aren't you? You and your elf? Do you wish us to concede that advantage?" As he said, his haughty eyes were clear and bright even under the soft crystal light, and he looked at her provocatively, to see if she dared to ask any more questions. She looked down humbly and said nothing. Minutes passed, and Mrs. Coulter felt the train carry them down, all the way to the heart of the mountain. She couldn't guess how far they had traveled, but after at least fifteen minutes the train began to slow down.Before long, they docked on a platform.After the darkness of the tunnel, the wind lights on the platform were very bright. Lord Asriel opened the door and they stepped out of the train. The air was so hot and sulphurous that Mrs Coulter had to catch her breath.The air was filled with the clang of great hammers and the clang of iron on stone. An attendant opened the door of the lower platform, and the sound doubled immediately. The heat swept over their bodies like a huge wave, and a scorching light pierced them so that they covered their eyes. Only Zefania seemed unaffected by the sound, Effects of light and heat.After her senses got used to it, Mrs. Coulter looked around, full of curiosity. In her own world she had seen foundries, smithies, and manufactures: the largest of them seemed a country smithy compared with this one.A hammer the size of a house was lifted up to the very high ceiling at once, and then fell down to smash the iron lumps the size of a tree stump. In less than a second, the hammer flattened them flat, shaking the ground and shaking the mountains.From a vent in the rock wall flowed a river of sulfurous molten metal until severed by a solid gate, a torrent of bright, seething metal rushing through tunnels and fissures, spilling over barrages into row upon row of Molds, settling to cool in a cloud of unholy smoke, giant cutters and rollers cut, folded and leveled inch-thick slabs of iron like paper towels, and then those devilish hammers hammered them flat again, with enormous force Layer metal on top of each other, hammering many layers into a harder one. If Iorek had been able to see the munitions factory, he might have admitted that these people knew something about metal work.Mrs. Coulter could only watch and sigh. It was impossible to say something and be understood. No one did.Now Lord Asriel was signaling to the group to follow him up a suspended iron trellised passage leading to a larger vaulted room where miners were toiling with pickaxes and shovels from the mother rock. Hack and dig the shiny metal. They walked through the passage, down a long rocky corridor hung with strangely colored stalactites, and the knocking, grinding, and hammering faded away, and Mrs. Coulter could feel the cool breeze on the On her hot face, the illuminated crystals were not placed high in the candlesticks, nor surrounded by shining pillars, but scattered loosely on the floor.There were no burning torches to add to the heat, so gradually the party began to feel cold again, and presently, suddenly, they stepped out into the night air. Part of the hill where they were standing had been cut down to form an open space as wide and open as a parade ground, and farther away they could see huge iron gates dimly lit on the hillside, some open and some closed.Through one of the giant doors, a tarpaulin-covered object is being dragged out. "What's that?" Mrs. Coulter asked the African king, and he replied, "Mind machine." Mrs. Coulter had no idea what that meant, and she watched with great curiosity as they prepared to remove the tarpaulin. Standing close to King Oakenway as if seeking protection, she asked, "How does it work? What is it for? " "We'll see in a moment," said the king. It looked like some kind of complicated drill, or the cockpit of a gyroplane, or the cab of a big crane. There are at least a dozen control levers and handles across the front of a seat under a glass cover.It has six legs, each of which connects and shifts from the main body at different angles, so it looks both energetic and awkward.The physical structure itself is a mass of pipes, cylinders, pistons, coiled cables, switchgear, valves and gauges.It's hard to tell which is a structure and which isn't, since only the back is illuminated and most of it is hidden in the gloom. Lord Locke slid right up to it on his hawk and circled over it, watching it from every direction.Lord Asriel and the angel were having a lively discussion with the engineers. A man climbed out of the mind machine, one of them was holding a clipboard, and the other was holding a section of cable. Mrs. Coulter hungrily stared at the telekinesis, memorizing every part of it, working out its intricacies.As she watched, Lord Asriel leaped into his seat, fastened a leather belt around his waist and shoulders, and secured his helmet firmly on his head.His snow leopard sprite jumped up to keep up with him, and he turned around to debug something beside her.The engineer shouted, Lord Asriel obliged, and the men retreated into the doorway. The mind moved, though Mrs. Coulter was not sure how it moved, and almost seemed to tremble a bit, though it was still there, quite still, poised with a strange energy among the six similar insects. on the feet.As she watched, it suddenly moved again, and she saw what was happening in front of her eyes: its parts were spinning, turning and turning, scanning the dark sky above. Lord Asriel sat there fiddling with this lever, checking that dial, adjusting some control panel, and then suddenly the telekinetic machine disappeared. Somehow it leaped into the air and circled high above them at tree tops, turning slowly to the left, no engine sound at all, no guess how it defied gravity and stopped there, it Simply hang in the air. "Listen," said King Oakonway, "to the south." She turned her head and strained her ears to listen, the wind wailed at the edge of the hill, and she felt through her heels the deep hammering of hammers from the press, and the voices of people in the lighted doorway , but at a certain signal, the sound stopped and the lights went out.In the silence, Mrs. Coulter could hear the very faint click of a rotorcraft in the strong wind. "Who are they?" she said quietly. "A trap to lure the enemy," said the king, "My pilot is flying on a mission to lure the enemy to follow. Just watch. " She opened her eyes wide, trying to see something in the dark night sky with few stars.Above them, the mind machine hangs steadily in the air as if parked and fixed there. The wind has no effect on it, and there is no light from the cockpit, so it is very difficult to see. Lord Asriel's figure is completely gone. trace. Then she saw for the first time a flock of lights low in the sky, and at the same time, the sound of the engines grew loud enough to be heard continuously, six rotorcraft, flying very fast, one of them seemed to be in trouble, because the tail Already smoked and flew a little lower than the others.They were coming towards the side of the mountain, but they were going to fly over it and go elsewhere. 在它们身后，紧紧追击着一队五颜六色的飞行器，不容易辨别是什么东西，但是库尔特太太看到一架样子古怪的笨重的旋翼式飞机，两架直翼飞机，一只巨鸟载着两个全副武装的骑手毫不费力地飞速滑行，还有三四个天使。 “一支突袭队。”奥滚威国王说。 它们逼近了旋翼式飞机，然后一线光从一个直翼飞机上发出，紧接着两三秒钟之后传来一个声音，一个深沉的爆裂声。但是炮弹根本没有到达它的目标——那架摇摇晃晃的旋翼式飞机，因为在他们看到那道光的同时，在听到那个爆裂声之前，山上的观察者们看到意念机里闪出一道光来，一颗炸弹在半空中爆炸。 库尔特太太几乎没有时间去弄明白那光和声音几乎是同时出现的，仗就打起来了，而且也根本不容易明白，因为天空是这么黑，每一个飞行物速度那么快，但是一系列几乎是无声的闪光照亮了山坡，伴随着短暂的像蒸汽泄露似的咝咝声，每一道光不知何故全击中一个不同的突袭者：那架飞机起火或爆炸了，巨鸟发出一声尖叫，仿佛撕裂山一样高的幕布，垂直落在远远的山下的岩石上。至于天使们，每一个纯粹就像一股发光的空气一样消失，无数粒子闪闪烁烁，光线渐渐暗淡，直到像快熄灭的烟花一样火消烟灭。 然后是寂静，风带走了诱敌上钩的旋翼式飞机的声音，现在它们绕过山侧不见了。观看的人谁也没说什么，远远的山下的火焰明晃晃地照在意念机的底部。 意念机不知怎么还在空中盘旋，现在正慢慢转身好像要环顾四周，对突袭队的摧毁是如此彻底，以致见多不怪的库尔特太太都震惊了。当她抬头看意念机时，它好像在微微发着光或移动着，接着又稳稳地回到了地面。 奥滚威国王跟其他指挥官和工程师一起急忙赶上前去，工程师们打开了门，让光线飞泻在检验场上。库尔特太太待在原处，琢磨着意念机的运作原理。 “他为什么要让我们看这个？”她的精灵静静地说。 “他肯定没能看透我们的想法。”她用同样的语气说。 他们想到了在坚固的塔里那个如火花一炸的想法闪现在他俩之间的那一时刻，他们想给阿斯里尔勋爵提一个建议：提出前往教会法庭为他充当间谍。她知道每一个权利的控制杆，她全部可以操纵，开始时会很难让他们相信她的好意，但是她可以做到，现在加利弗斯平人间谍们跟威尔和莱拉走了，阿斯里尔勋爵不可能拒绝这样的提议。 但是现在他们看着那个奇怪的飞行机器，又一个念头更强烈地出现在他们的脑海中，她欢快地抱住金猴。 “阿斯里尔，”她天真地喊道，“我可以看看这个机器是怎么工作的吗？” 他低头望了一眼，一副心不在焉的不耐烦的表情，但是也充满兴奋和满足。 他为意念机感到高兴：她知道他会无法抵御炫耀它的冲动。 奥滚威国王站到一旁，阿斯里尔勋爵伸手把她拉进驾驶员座舱，他帮她坐进座位，看着她环顾着那些控制杆。 “它是怎么工作的？它靠的是什么动力？”她问道。 “靠的是你的意念，”他说道，“这就是它的名字的来历。如果你想要它往前，它就会往前。” “那不是回答，好啦，告诉我吧。它是什么类型的引擎？它是怎么飞的？我根本看不见任何空气动力的东西，但是这些控制杆……从里面看，它几乎像一架旋翼式飞机。” 他发觉很难不告诉她。既然她在他的掌握之中，他就告诉了她。他拿出一根缆绳，缆绳的顶端有一个皮把手，被他的精灵用牙齿紧紧咬住。 “你的精灵，”他解释说，“必须抓住这个把手——不管是用牙齿，还是手，都没关系。你必须戴上头盔，有一股电流在它们之间流动，有一个电容器把它放大——噢，它比那个更难，但是这家伙飞起来简单，我们安上像旋翼式飞机那样的控制杆以便比较熟悉，但是最终我们会根本不需要控制杆。当然，只有有精灵的人才能驾驶它。” “我明白了。”她说道。 她狠狠地将他一把推下机器。 同时，她戴上头盔，金猴一把抓住皮把手，她伸手抓住在旋翼式飞机里会倾斜机翼的那个控制杆，将调节杆往前一推，意念机立即跃入空中。 但是她还没有完全摸清，意念机定定地悬在那儿好一会儿，微微倾斜着，这才找到使它往前开的控制杆。在那几秒钟里，阿斯里尔勋爵做了三件事情。他跳起身来，抬手制止奥滚威国王指挥他的士兵对意念机开火，说道：“洛克勋爵，请跟上她好吗？” 加利弗斯平人马上催动他的蓝鹰冲上去，蓝鸟径直飞到仍然敞开着的驾驶员座舱。下面看着的人可以看见女人的头转过来转过去，金猴也是如此，他们两个都没注意到洛克勋爵小小的身影从鹰身上跳下来，跳进他们身后的机舱里。 一会儿后，意念机开始动了起来，鹰转身飞落在阿斯里尔勋爵的手腕上。不到两秒钟，飞机已经渐渐消失在潮湿的星空中。 阿斯里尔勋爵既痛苦又羡慕地望着。 “唔，国王，你当时是完全正确的。”他说道，“最开始我应该听你的，她是莱拉的母亲，我也许该想到会发生这种事。” “你不准备去追她吗？”奥滚威国王说。 “什么？去摧毁一架完美的好飞机吗？当然不。” “你认为她会去哪儿？找那个孩子吗？” “一开始不会，她不知道上哪儿去找她。我很清楚她将干什么：她会去教会法庭，把意念机交给他们以表忠心，然后她就会为我们充当间谍。她试过所有其他类型的欺诈行为：这一次会是一种新的体验，一旦找出女孩在哪儿，她就会去那儿，我们将跟去。” “洛克勋爵会在什么时候让她知道他和她在一起呢？” “噢，我想他会给她一个惊喜的，你们认为呢？” 他们大笑起来，回到车间里，在那儿，一架更新更高级的意念机正在等待着他们的检阅。