1680,

before that, with his paper on the variations in the
magnetic pole," said the Yoruba. "But he came out of nowhere. I mean, no one had known him as
a student or seen any of his previous work...." They talked on for a while, contributing
reminiscences and offering suggestions as to what might have become of Grumman, though most
of them thought he was probably dead. While the Pole went to brew some more coffee, Lee's hare
daemon, Hester, said to him quietly: "Check out the Skraeling, Lee."
The Skraeling had spoken very little. Lee had thought he was naturally taciturn, but prompted by
Hester, he casually glanced across during the next break in the conversation to see the man's
daemon, a snowy owl, glaring at him with bright orange eyes. Well, that was what owls looked
like, and they did stare; but Hester was right, and there was a hostility and suspicion in the
daemon that the man's face showed nothing of.
And then Lee saw something else: the Skraeling was wearing a ring with the Church's symbol
engraved on it. Suddenly he realized the reason for the man's silence. Every philosophical research
establishment, so he'd heard, had to include on its staff a representative of the Magisterium, to
act as a censor and suppress the news of any heretical discoveries.
So, realizing this, and remembering something he'd heard Lyra say, Lee asked: 'Tell me, gentlemen
��do you happen to know if Grumman ever looked into the question of Dust?"
And instantly a silence fell in the stuffy little room, and everyone's attention focused on the
Skraeling, though no one looked at him directly. Lee knew that Hester would remain inscrutable,
with her eyes half-closed and her ears flat along her back, and he put on a cheerful innocence as
he looked from face to face.
Finally he settled on the Skraeling, and said, "I beg your pardon. Have I asked about something it's
forbidden to know?"
The Skraeling said, "Where did you hear mention of this subject, Mr. Scoresby?"
"From a passenger I flew across the sea a while b