DUBLIN – Fans of “His Dark Materials” and the “Book of Dust,” Philip Pullman’s series of fantasy novels set in Oxford, U.K. and more remote corners of the earth, are familiar with alethiometers. In the hands of a highly select number of characters, these complex, compass-like devices can interrogate a mysterious substance called “dust” – an elementary particle associated with consciousness – and provide trusted answers to the most crucial questions.