and her daemon, Pantalaimon, discover that it is good and necessary for survival. Lord Asriel observes that Dust only gathers on adults and not children, leading Lyra to uncover the true meaning of Dust. In her world, the Church has identified Dust as what it calls "original sin"; Dust originated when Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. In Pullman's universe, Dust is "consciousness and knowledge and wisdom" – something children do not yet possess, and a positive force for everyone except those in the Magisterium. Functions Dust is attracted to objects that have been formed by consciousness, and can be viewed by special photographic emulsions. It is particularly attracted to consciousnesses that have matured; in the case of humans in Lyra's world, this happens when their Dæmon is fixed in shape. For the mulefa, this happens when adolescents start using wheels. Dust is also what connects humans to their dæmons. If the bond between a child and their dæmon is severed (as through Intercision), both the child and the dæmon will eventually die. If the separation occurs after Dust has settled on the person (that is, after adolescence), the person becomes a lifeless shell. In The Amber Spyglass, Will and Lyra learn that, "Without Dust, people will not be able to survive." Communication Dust is able to communicate with humans via several methods shown throughout His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust, including by use of alethiometers. Mary Malone is able to construct a computer program that, when paired with a detector, can communicate with Dust by typed questions. Later, Mary uses I Ching divination, which Lyra confirms to be a method of communicating with Dust. Alethiometers An alethiometer is a truth telling device which can answer any question. The word is derived from the Greek words aletheia (truth) and meter (measure). In Lyra's world, six alethiometers were constructed. Also known as symbol readers, alethiometers have a ring of 36 standard symbols, but are all different; some, for example have more elaborate decoration. Over the course of the books, several alethiometers are shown being read, including by Lyra Belacqua, Hannah Relf, and Fra Pavel. Each symbol on the rim of an alethiometer has several levels of meaning; for example, the anchor can mean steadfastness, hope, the sea, or other interpretations. To phrase a question, three adjustable levers are pointed