17. Quantum Entanglement
Lyra and Pantalaimon were sat in the furthest corner of Lyra's bed at the top of staircase 12. The rest of the bed as occupied with thick books and various scraps of paper with symbol meanings on them. The girl and her dæmon were bending over the alithiometer, watching the slender needle flick around the dial.
'I think the needle is moving slower than it used to.' said Lyra, looking at pan. 'Do you think these things only work for a certain amount of time?'
'How d'you make that out?' replied the dæmon.
'Well it used to go much faster. Remember when we used to be able to read it? We could've finished this in thirty seconds.' She gestured to the hundreds of papers cluttering the room.
'Maybe it goes slower for us. Because we can't read it properly or something.'
Lyra didn't reply because she heard footsteps approaching the door. There was a knock.
'Come in,' she called. Katie peered round the door and smiled.
'How?' she said looking around.
'Just push everything out the way. I dunno what half of it means anyway.'
Katie and Coreopsis gingerly made their way over to an island that was Lyra's dressing table and sat on the spindly chair.
'You doing the homework?' she said
'No.' replied Pantalaimon sarcastically, 'we're trying to redecorate the room with notes before the day is out'
'Very funny. Look- Julie's finished hers, she lent me her alethiometer,'
Katie pulled a pouch of black velvet out her pocket and held out another symbol reader.
'Wow, it's different to mine.' said Lyra taking it from her.
Indeed she was right, where Lyra's was made of gold and crystal, this one was made mostly of glass. It was vaguely round, but had an ergonomic feel to it where the glass had been moulded on human fingers. It was slightly larger, and instead of the three winding wheels set even round the edge, one was on the left, and two were on the right, in easy reach on the holder. The symbols were engraved on a glass plate embedded in the main body of the alethiometer.
'Nice isn't it? She said it was actually made by her great-great-great grandfather.'
'Really? Wow.' Lyra handed back the alethiometer and scooped some books to one side, allowing Katie to sit on the bed. During their last class, they had been set homework to work out the first ten meanings of the hourglass symbol- without looking them up. This was simple, but difficult, as they needed the ask the alethiometer questions that they already knew and see if the right symbol was used in it's answer.
The many papers lying around the room had meanings that hadn't worked written on them, with questions that were asked and patterns the instrument had reported.
'How many have you got already?' said Katie getting out a notebook with her own readings in.
'Five. But I knew the first four already. This is going to take ages.'
'Well it's not all that bad, I've got the first 3, but I've got the tenth and seventh meaning too. That's seven altogether.'
'Mmm, you're right. Let's get to work then I was going for the sixth. I think it might be anxiety, 'cos a lack of time makes people worry.'
'Yeah, have you thought of a question?' She had, but she was wondering weather to tell Katie or not.
'Yeah. ages ago when we were in Lapland, we got caught by the gobblers, we knew we would probably be able to escape, cos the gyptians were coming, but Mrs. Coulter was going to visit the compound we were at. We were going to ask if that was making us worried, cos we didn't have much time.'
'Well I tell you that your questions are more interesting than mine. Got an answer yet?'
'Nope.' Said Lyra. 'It said, "Yes" and that was it. So of course it didn't help us much.'
'Looks like you'll have to re-phrase the question.'
'Yeah, but when I do that, I can't read the answer, because it's too complex.'
They spent the rest of the afternoon asking questions and trying to decipher the answers. While they were packing up, Lyra gave Katie a hard look.
'What?' she said, stopping. 'I dunno. You seem happy.'
'Is that a bad thing?'
'No- it's just, you seem so timid sometimes, and now you're like the happiest girl alive.'
'I dunno myself. I just go through phases. Sometimes I'm fine. Like now, we're just two girls doing homework together. But then other times, you're getting kidnapped and shot at, and I'm just a stranger in that world.'
Lyra felt flattered by the idea of Katie's heroine image of her, but took what she said to be true. Even though she didn't understand. After all, she thought, she'd never really been in danger.
Next morning Lyra and her dæmon were walking to college. They had not spoken in conversation that day at all. They didn't need to.
Then Pantalaimon broke the silence.
'How d'you think we knew that Will and Kirjava needed us?' he said.
'Well, we didn't go JUST 'cos we had a bad feeling did we?' she replied. Pan dropped behind her, then jumps up and clung to her shoulder.
'Yes we did. And you thought we might see him again.'
'We wont see him again.' Said Lyra, with more force than was necessary.
'But you still hugged him that day. And we saw his world again.'
'Oh I don't know Pan! I really don't! I had just got over the thought of never seeing them again and now we're moving back and forth between his world and ours. It's almost better knowing for certain that we won't see them rather than being teased like this.'
'But maybe we are linked to him?' persisted the dæmon,
'How could that be?' said Lyra incredulously,
'Well, remember before we came home, when Will touched me and you touched Kirjava? Well maybe it was then that a sort-of, link. started? Like twins being able to sense each others feelings?'
Lyra was unconvinced, but couldn't offer a better answer.
Meanwhile, an unusual character occupied The Bench in the botanic garden. Unusual because she usually was only seen in the northern regions of Lapland.
Serafina sat first on the left. Then on the right. Then in the middle. Then she got up and walked round the back.
'I do not think there's anything special about this bench.' Said Kaisa, sitting peaceably in front of the seat, watching Serafina inspect the wood.
'Yes,' she said without taking her eyes off the weathered surface, 'but the fact remains that Lyra somehow managed to move to Will's world without any aid what so ever.'
'So you do think she went to Will's word?'
'I can't think why or where else she could've gone.'
'You can't assume things in a situation like this.'
'No I can't. But there hardly a lot of other evidence.'
'Maybe we could-' Kaisa was cut short as they heard other voices approaching. Two people came round the corner, but saw no one. Serafina was gone completely. Magic trick. The two people walked on by without a word, and Serafina stepped out from behind a tree as thick as a lamppost.
'You know I think the air is still thin here.'
'Like last time?' replied her dæmon, fluttering down from the branches,
'Yes. I wonder if there is something special about this particular area.'
'Or maybe it has been made special by the girl and the boy.'
'That seems more likely. We must continue watching and protect them from any harm'
But if Lyra needed any protecting, it was from her on thoughts. She couldn't forget the incident in the garden and was desperate to try again. They were going over their homework in class, their teacher telling them the answers, challenging them to say why each meaning was suited.
'Remember what Xaphania said?' thought Lyra to Pantalaimon, 'we could waste our lives trying to reach Will again.'
'But we've already done it,' argued Pan stubbornly, 'we saw his world again, he must've gone to ours, maybe we can go through first and stop him.'
'Well.' Lyra was torn still. She wanted to be with him after all though, and it wasn't as if they were running out of life.
'Let's go there again. Put this link theory of yours to the test.'
'Lyra- you coming?' Katie's voice cut into her thoughts, everyone was leaving. 'Wha- What?' 'Break. Food? Drink?'
'Oh yeah, was think about something else.' Katie wanted to ask more, but her experience with Lyra was teaching her when and when not to ask about things.
'Hey,' she said, 'Are you doing anything later? Me, Sarah and Julie are going out in Julie's dad's boat.'
Lyra considered, 'No, I'm busy I'm afraid.'
Lyra and Pantalaimon were sat in the furthest corner of Lyra's bed at the top of staircase 12. The rest of the bed as occupied with thick books and various scraps of paper with symbol meanings on them. The girl and her dæmon were bending over the alithiometer, watching the slender needle flick around the dial.
'I think the needle is moving slower than it used to.' said Lyra, looking at pan. 'Do you think these things only work for a certain amount of time?'
'How d'you make that out?' replied the dæmon.
'Well it used to go much faster. Remember when we used to be able to read it? We could've finished this in thirty seconds.' She gestured to the hundreds of papers cluttering the room.
'Maybe it goes slower for us. Because we can't read it properly or something.'
Lyra didn't reply because she heard footsteps approaching the door. There was a knock.
'Come in,' she called. Katie peered round the door and smiled.
'How?' she said looking around.
'Just push everything out the way. I dunno what half of it means anyway.'
Katie and Coreopsis gingerly made their way over to an island that was Lyra's dressing table and sat on the spindly chair.
'You doing the homework?' she said
'No.' replied Pantalaimon sarcastically, 'we're trying to redecorate the room with notes before the day is out'
'Very funny. Look- Julie's finished hers, she lent me her alethiometer,'
Katie pulled a pouch of black velvet out her pocket and held out another symbol reader.
'Wow, it's different to mine.' said Lyra taking it from her.
Indeed she was right, where Lyra's was made of gold and crystal, this one was made mostly of glass. It was vaguely round, but had an ergonomic feel to it where the glass had been moulded on human fingers. It was slightly larger, and instead of the three winding wheels set even round the edge, one was on the left, and two were on the right, in easy reach on the holder. The symbols were engraved on a glass plate embedded in the main body of the alethiometer.
'Nice isn't it? She said it was actually made by her great-great-great grandfather.'
'Really? Wow.' Lyra handed back the alethiometer and scooped some books to one side, allowing Katie to sit on the bed. During their last class, they had been set homework to work out the first ten meanings of the hourglass symbol- without looking them up. This was simple, but difficult, as they needed the ask the alethiometer questions that they already knew and see if the right symbol was used in it's answer.
The many papers lying around the room had meanings that hadn't worked written on them, with questions that were asked and patterns the instrument had reported.
'How many have you got already?' said Katie getting out a notebook with her own readings in.
'Five. But I knew the first four already. This is going to take ages.'
'Well it's not all that bad, I've got the first 3, but I've got the tenth and seventh meaning too. That's seven altogether.'
'Mmm, you're right. Let's get to work then I was going for the sixth. I think it might be anxiety, 'cos a lack of time makes people worry.'
'Yeah, have you thought of a question?' She had, but she was wondering weather to tell Katie or not.
'Yeah. ages ago when we were in Lapland, we got caught by the gobblers, we knew we would probably be able to escape, cos the gyptians were coming, but Mrs. Coulter was going to visit the compound we were at. We were going to ask if that was making us worried, cos we didn't have much time.'
'Well I tell you that your questions are more interesting than mine. Got an answer yet?'
'Nope.' Said Lyra. 'It said, "Yes" and that was it. So of course it didn't help us much.'
'Looks like you'll have to re-phrase the question.'
'Yeah, but when I do that, I can't read the answer, because it's too complex.'
They spent the rest of the afternoon asking questions and trying to decipher the answers. While they were packing up, Lyra gave Katie a hard look.
'What?' she said, stopping. 'I dunno. You seem happy.'
'Is that a bad thing?'
'No- it's just, you seem so timid sometimes, and now you're like the happiest girl alive.'
'I dunno myself. I just go through phases. Sometimes I'm fine. Like now, we're just two girls doing homework together. But then other times, you're getting kidnapped and shot at, and I'm just a stranger in that world.'
Lyra felt flattered by the idea of Katie's heroine image of her, but took what she said to be true. Even though she didn't understand. After all, she thought, she'd never really been in danger.
Next morning Lyra and her dæmon were walking to college. They had not spoken in conversation that day at all. They didn't need to.
Then Pantalaimon broke the silence.
'How d'you think we knew that Will and Kirjava needed us?' he said.
'Well, we didn't go JUST 'cos we had a bad feeling did we?' she replied. Pan dropped behind her, then jumps up and clung to her shoulder.
'Yes we did. And you thought we might see him again.'
'We wont see him again.' Said Lyra, with more force than was necessary.
'But you still hugged him that day. And we saw his world again.'
'Oh I don't know Pan! I really don't! I had just got over the thought of never seeing them again and now we're moving back and forth between his world and ours. It's almost better knowing for certain that we won't see them rather than being teased like this.'
'But maybe we are linked to him?' persisted the dæmon,
'How could that be?' said Lyra incredulously,
'Well, remember before we came home, when Will touched me and you touched Kirjava? Well maybe it was then that a sort-of, link. started? Like twins being able to sense each others feelings?'
Lyra was unconvinced, but couldn't offer a better answer.
Meanwhile, an unusual character occupied The Bench in the botanic garden. Unusual because she usually was only seen in the northern regions of Lapland.
Serafina sat first on the left. Then on the right. Then in the middle. Then she got up and walked round the back.
'I do not think there's anything special about this bench.' Said Kaisa, sitting peaceably in front of the seat, watching Serafina inspect the wood.
'Yes,' she said without taking her eyes off the weathered surface, 'but the fact remains that Lyra somehow managed to move to Will's world without any aid what so ever.'
'So you do think she went to Will's word?'
'I can't think why or where else she could've gone.'
'You can't assume things in a situation like this.'
'No I can't. But there hardly a lot of other evidence.'
'Maybe we could-' Kaisa was cut short as they heard other voices approaching. Two people came round the corner, but saw no one. Serafina was gone completely. Magic trick. The two people walked on by without a word, and Serafina stepped out from behind a tree as thick as a lamppost.
'You know I think the air is still thin here.'
'Like last time?' replied her dæmon, fluttering down from the branches,
'Yes. I wonder if there is something special about this particular area.'
'Or maybe it has been made special by the girl and the boy.'
'That seems more likely. We must continue watching and protect them from any harm'
But if Lyra needed any protecting, it was from her on thoughts. She couldn't forget the incident in the garden and was desperate to try again. They were going over their homework in class, their teacher telling them the answers, challenging them to say why each meaning was suited.
'Remember what Xaphania said?' thought Lyra to Pantalaimon, 'we could waste our lives trying to reach Will again.'
'But we've already done it,' argued Pan stubbornly, 'we saw his world again, he must've gone to ours, maybe we can go through first and stop him.'
'Well.' Lyra was torn still. She wanted to be with him after all though, and it wasn't as if they were running out of life.
'Let's go there again. Put this link theory of yours to the test.'
'Lyra- you coming?' Katie's voice cut into her thoughts, everyone was leaving. 'Wha- What?' 'Break. Food? Drink?'
'Oh yeah, was think about something else.' Katie wanted to ask more, but her experience with Lyra was teaching her when and when not to ask about things.
'Hey,' she said, 'Are you doing anything later? Me, Sarah and Julie are going out in Julie's dad's boat.'
Lyra considered, 'No, I'm busy I'm afraid.'
