Do not lie to the Scholar. — Philip Pullman

I hold the subtle knife on behalf of the Guild.

Who is this man who's got the knife?

Both the Oblation Board and the Specters of Indifference are bewitched by this truth about human beings: that innocence is different from experience. The Oblation Board fears and hates Dust, and the Specters feast on it, but it's Dust both of them are obsessed by.