In Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust trilogies, Dust or Rusakov particles are elementary particles associated with consciousness that are integral to the plot. Dust features in the multiverse written about in these trilogies and companion books. In these universes, Dust is attracted to consciousness, especially after puberty; the Church within the series associates it with original sin and seeks its end. Pullman described Dust in a 2017 interview as "an analogy of consciousness, and consciousness is this extraordinary property we have as human beings".
