Knife Book
Two questions about the Specters in the book The Subtle Knife.?
in about chapter 13-15…
What is the difference between the Specters and the Oblation Board in regard to Dust?
How does Mrs. Coulter control the Specters?
and
What does the author mean when he talks about “many tiny chances that conspired” to get Lyra and Will to where they are?
The Specters feed on the daemons of adults, who attract Dust (that’s why they only attack adults – Dust doesn’t come to children in as large a quantity). The Oblation Board wants to prevent adults from ever attracting Dust in the first place – that’s why they tried the experiments with intercision.
Mrs. Coulter somehow convinces the Spectres that if they join her side, they will have plenty of people to feed on during the war. From what I recall, she also has a kind of “zombie” army that isn’t affected by Spectres. I’m kind of fuzzy on this one so you’d better check your book.
For your final question, one of the themes of the series is “purpose.” Sometimes humans think that we are the only ones with goals, sentience, etc. Pullman’s world is one in which EVERYTHING is striving toward something – even tiny molecules have some kind of consciousness. In the first book, one of the characters makes the comment that “the universe is full of intentions” and that everything happens for a reason. This “conscious universe” is, I think, Pullman’s explanation for fate. Many tiny chances – a few circumstances and a million intent particles – can get you exactly where you need to be.
The Knife of Never Letting Go a book trailer