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"I propose to send a man to find her and kill her before she can be tempted"
"Father President," said Father Gomez at once, "I have done preemptive penance every day of my adult life I have studied, I have trained - "
The President held up his hand Preemptive penance and absolution were doctrines researched and developed by the Consistorial Court, but not known to the wider Church They involved doing penance for a sin not yet co and flagellation, so as to build up, as it were, a store of credit When the penance had reached the appropriate level for a particular sin, the penitent was granted absolution in advance, though he ht never be called on to commit the sin It was sometimes necessary to kill people, for exa for the assassin if he could do so in a state of grace
"I had you in reement of the Court? Yes When Father Go, he will be on his own, unable to be reached or recalled Whatever happens to anyone else, he will ht to the child, and strike her down He will be invisible; he will coel that blasted the Assyrians; he will be silent How much better for us all if there had been a Father Gomez in the Garden of Eden! We would never have left paradise"
The young priest was nearly weeping with pride The Court gave its blessing
And in the darkest corner of the ceiling, hidden aer than a hand span His heels were armed with spurs, and he heard every word they said
In the cellars the ar, dressed only in a dirty white shirt and loose trousers with no belt, stood under the bare light bulb clutching the trousers with one hand and his rabbit daemon with the other In front of him, in the only chair, sat Father MacPhail
"Dr Cooper," the President began, "do sit down" There was no furniture except the chair, the wooden bunk, and a bucket The President’s voice echoed unpleasantly off, the white tiles that lined the wall and ceiling
Dr Cooper sat on the bunk He could not take his eyes off the gaunt and gray-haired President He licked his dry lips and waited to see what new disco
"So you nearly succeeded in severing the child from her daemon?" said Father MacPhail
Dr Cooper said shakily, "We considered that it would serve no purpose to wait, since the experiment was due to take place anyway, and we put the child in the experimental chamber, but then Mrs Coulter herself intervened and took the child to her own quarters"
The rabbit daeazed fearfully at the President, and then shut theain and hid her face
"That ," said Father MacPhail
"The whole prograree
"I am surprised you did not seek the aid of the Consistorial Court, where we have strong nerves"
"We - I - we understood that the program was licensed by It was an Oblation Board matter, but ere told it had the approval of the Consistorial Court of Discipline We would never have taken part otherwise Never!"
"No, of course not And now for anotherto the real subject of his visit to the cellars, "of the subject of Lord Asriel’s researches? Of what ed to release on Svalbard?"
Dr Cooper sed In the intense silence a drop of sweat fell from his chin to the concrete floor, and both an, "there was one of our team who observed that in the process of severance there was a release of energy Controlling it would involve enormous forces, but just as an atomic explosion is detonated by conventional explosives, this could be done by focusing a powerful anbaric current However, he wasn’t taken seriously I paid no attention to his ideas," he added earnestly, "knowing that without authority they ht well be heretical"
"Very wise And that colleague now? Where is he?"
"He was one of those who died in the attack"
The President smiled It was so kindly an expression that Dr Cooper’s daeainst his breast
"Courage, Dr Cooper," said Father MacPhail "We need you to be strong and brave! There is great work to be done, a great battle to be fought Youfully with us, by holding nothing back, not even wild speculation, not even gossip Noant you to devote all your attention to what you re Did he make any experiments? Did he leave any notes? Did he take anyone else into his confidence? What equip, Dr Cooper You’ll have pen and paper and all the time you need
"And this room is not very comfortable We’ll have youyou need in the way of furnishing, for example? Do you prefer to write at a table or a desk? Would you like a typewriting rapher?
"Let the guards know, and you shall have everything you need But every ue and his theory Your great task is to recall, and if necessary to rediscover, what he knew Once you knohat instrureat task, Dr Cooper! You are blessed to be entrusted with it! Give thanks to the Authority"
"I do, Father President! I do!"
Grasping the loose waistband of his trousers, the philosopher stood up and bowed alain, as the President of the Consistorial Court of Discipline left his cell
That evening the Chevalier Tialys, the Gallivespian spy, h the lanes and alleys of Geneva to erous journey for both of theed them, too, but certainly full of peril for the s cat had met its death at their spurs, but only the week before, the Chevalier had nearly lost an ar; only the Lady’s swift action had saved him
Theythe roots of a plane tree in a shabby little square, and exchanged their news The Lady Salmakia’s contact in the Society had told her that earlier that evening they had received a friendly invitation from the President of the Consistorial Court to come and discuss matters of mutual interest
"Quick work," said the Chevalier "A hundred to one he doesn’t tell theh"
He told her about the plan to kill Lyra She was not surprised
"It’s the logical thing to do," she said "Very logical people Tialys, do you think we shall ever see this child?"
"I don’t know, but I should like to Go well, Salmakia Tomorrow at the fountain"
Unsaid behind that brief exchange was the one thing they never spoke of: the shortness of their lives compared with those of humans Gallivespians lived to nine years or ten, rarely hth year They didn’t fear old age - their people died in the full strength and vigor of their prime, suddenly, and their childhoods were very brief - but compared with their lives, the life of a child like Lyra would extend as far into the future as the lives of the witches extended past Lyra’s own
The Chevalier returned to the College of St Jeroe he would send to Lord Roke on the lodestone resonator
But while Tialys was at the rendezvous talking to Salmakia, the President sent for Father Goether for an hour, and then Father MacPhail granted the young priest the preemptive absolution that would make his ured; the certainty that ran through his veins seemed to make his very eyes incandescent
They discussed practical arrangements, money, and so forth; and then the President said, "Once you leave here, Father Gomez, you will be coive You can never come back; you will never hear from us I can’t offer you any better advice than this: don’t look for the child That would give you away Instead, look for the tempter Follow the tempter, and she will lead you to the child"
"She?" said Father Gomez, shocked
"Yes, she," said Father MacPhail "We have learned that much from the alethioe one You will see s that will shock and startle you, Father Gomez Don’t let yourself be distracted by their oddness from the sacred task you have to do I have faith," he added kindly, "in the power of your faith This wouided by the powers of evil, to a place where she may, eventually, meet the child in time to te the girl from her present location That reuarantee that if that falls through, the infernal poill still not prevail"
Father Goreen-backed beetle, clicked her wing cases
The President opened a drawer and handed the young priest a folded packet of papers
"Here is all we know about the woman," he said, "and the world she comes from, and the place she was last seen Read it well, "
He had never used the priest’s given name before Father Gomez felt tears of joy prick his eyes as he kissed the President farewell you’re Lyra"
Then she realized what that reat burden settle on her shoulders And to er’s face was receding into shadow
"Well, I I knowThere’s all kinds of people on our side, like Dr Malone You know there’s another Oxford, Roger, just like ours Well, she I found her inShe’d help But there’s only one person really who"
It was alhts were spreading out and wandering away like sheep in a field
"But we can trust hier, I swear," she said with a final effort, "because he’s Will"