Lyra and the Alethiometer

Lyra Belacqua is a very gifted girl. She is one of a very small set of people capable of reading an alethiometer, more commonly known as The Golden Compass. It has one specific use: to tell the truth. The name in fact, is derived from "Aletheia" meaning truth, and "-ometer", meaning "measuring device". The alethiometer had four needles, out of which the user would direct three of them to lie over