The two cats tiptoed their way to the biology lab building. This was where the biology department did experiments and dissections. At this point in time, mechanical engineering was already quite well developed, but the field of biology still lacked some modern research norms, and places like laboratories were also very different from what Shiller had seen before.
"I didn't call Peter over here, otherwise he'd definitely blow up in Thunder." Bat Cat said, "Granted, there are limits of the era, but this guy is way over the line."
With that, Bat Cat jumped in through the crack of the window. Shiller was a bit surprised that the biology lab didn't close its windows. Looks like what's missing here isn't just a bit of regulation. Of course, it was also possible Bat Cat had pried them open—after all, he was still carrying that mechanical gear.
After walking in, Shiller's eyes were really opened. In those jars and bottles soaked in formalin, there were all kinds of animals. All sorts of mammals, not just cats, dogs, and rabbits, but even koalas, wombats, Lions, and tigers. That could still be chalked up as one thing, but Shiller also saw a Human race baby embryo—and not the kind that wasn't fully developed; at a glance it had to be eight or nine months along.
Obviously, even in this era these things were illegal. This Professor Reck actually dared to display so many things openly in the lab for students to view; he was truly arrogant beyond measure.
This only further strengthened Shiller's resolve not to let Reck go. A person with no bottom line like that might be more adventurous, even harbor a kind of religious fervor toward exploring the unknown. That kind of conviction could inspire people in harsh environments. If the South Pole were just an ordinary South Pole, letting him go wouldn't be a big deal—at worst he'd wreak havoc on a few penguins.
The problem is, the South Pole of the Cthulhu Mythos Universe is clearly not an ordinary South Pole. A place that even an Avatar of Nyarlathotep can't enter, and you're going in waving a dissecting scalpel. If it were really all dead things, that would be one thing. But if you happened to run into a few that were still alive, not completely dead yet, and you split open their bellies—when the pain wakes them up, wouldn't they tear you apart?
After wandering through the biology department's labs, Shiller didn't go looking for Dr. Henry, but instead headed to the geology office. Professor Dale, who had just returned from the field expedition, wasn't resting either; he was holding an after-action review with the students, going over all aspects of the Newfoundland trip.
Shiller listened from the side for a while and realized that this Professor Dale truly deserved his reputation as a Legendary Investigator who had escaped multiple horrific disasters unscathed and even lived into his nineties to die a natural death. You could practically call him meticulous to the extreme.
Obviously, before departure he had written out a very long list of precautions and made all the students memorize it. Then in the review meeting, he went down the list one by one, checking which items had been triggered, whether the solutions had worked, and even drilled down to the students' mental state when problems arose, taking into account every possible mishap, including panic and operational errors. Put plainly, even if Batman showed up, this would be about his level.
Professor Dale also noticed the cat that had climbed in through the window, but he simply glanced at it and continued his work. Only after the review meeting concluded did he walk to the window and gently stroke the cat's head. Shiller let out a low meow.
Unlike Dr. Henry, who would scoop him up and rub him all over, Professor Dale seemed much more restrained. Still, it was clear he quite liked small animals; it's just that he himself was a very reserved man—whatever he did was understated, with a kind of elegant scholar's temperament.
"Is there something you need from me, little fellow?"
Shiller jumped down from the windowsill, walked all the way to the door, and looked back at Professor Dale. Professor Dale understood in an instant, or rather, he hadn't treated Shiller as a cat at all, but as an Exotic Beast that shared their Wisdom. So Shiller didn't need to do much; he would proactively infer Shiller's intent—and infer it quite accurately.
Shiller led Professor Dale all the way to the biology department's lab building. He certainly couldn't drag this elderly man into climbing through windows, so he had gone ahead and opened the door from the inside. When they reached the doorway, he jumped up and touched the doorknob, and Professor Dale once again read his meaning, pushing the door open and walking in.
Obviously, Professor Dale had never been here before. As a geologist, he spent most of his time on field expeditions, perhaps only two or three months a year at the university, and most of that was spent buried in data compilation, not overly concerned with other disciplines.
The scene here undoubtedly shocked him. His previously expressionless face twisted with fury. And when he saw that baby embryo, his anger was completely ignited.
"This is blasphemy! He is blaspheming God!" This was already the harshest accusation a Christian could make. Professor Dale was shaking with rage. "He is inhuman! An Angel Envoy of Satan! How can he possibly…"
People of this era still had very strong religious beliefs. Even most scientists were believers. It could even be said that some religious ideas played a positive role in scientific research, because in the absence of academic ethics constraints, everything came down to the scientist's conscience, and a conservative religious atmosphere could rein in some heartless scientists a little.
Just like now, Professor Dale cursed Reck and then said, "I will absolutely never allow him into my team. I'll make his actions public; we can't let him corrupt the students!"
Professor Dale stormed off in anger. Shiller flicked his tail. Next, it would depend on whether Professor Dexter could seize this valuable opportunity. After all, there were quite a few professors in the biology department, and competition was rather fierce, but as long as it wasn't Reck, it wouldn't be the worst outcome.
He had already done enough for the day. After returning to the tower, Shiller aggressively sharpened his claws on Dr. Henry's single armchair, then circled several times on the soft cushion, kneading out a perfect nest for himself, and curled up by the fireplace to sleep.
He was sleeping very deeply, but vaguely he still heard that Dr. Henry had come back, and soon someone came looking for him, pounding on the door in a hurry. Dr. Henry opened the door and got into a quarrel with the visitor; the argument was pretty heated, and the two of them left together. Not long after, Dr. Henry came back again, seemingly sighing all the time. Immediately after, Shiller was scooped up by a pair of big hands.
"I don't think I've seen William that angry in decades. He tore into Reck, cursed him out thoroughly, and told me to expel him from the university. But that's not something a mere acting vice dean like me can decide; it still depends on what the trustees say."
"What Reck did is definitely wrong. Even if that mother gave birth to a stillborn, you can't just display it openly and brazenly, otherwise it might be seen as a kind of encouragement, and it could lead to mothers being harmed because of it. I advocate putting him under an internal university review, and until the review is over, he mustn't take part in any projects."
"The NDP Foundation's generosity is already famous, and competition inside the biology department is fierce. We want to pick one person between Professor Dexter and Professor Pachuli. I'm more inclined toward Dexter; he has very good character and there's basically nothing to criticize. In that kind of extreme environment, character matters more than knowledge. What do you think?"
Shiller didn't state an opinion. He didn't want to show too obvious a tendency to manipulate things, so he just acted like an ordinary cat, letting out a few dissatisfied whimpers because his sleep had been disturbed, then curled up into a ball in Henry's arms and went back to sleep.
After that nothing else happened, and Shiller slept straight through to dawn. It was raining again at daybreak. Looking out through the little round window of the tower, the whole world was a grimy dark orange, dampness constantly seeping in, though thankfully the fireplace was still warm.
Dr. Henry already had his tie on. As he was straightening his collar in front of the mirror he said, "Today I have to meet with the Foundation and all the professors who are interested in joining the expedition team. If you're coming, remember to wipe your mouth clean. I don't want to be halfway through the meeting and suddenly smell sausages."
Shiller rolled his eyes. After eating sausages for several days in a row, he was sick of them. Today he was planning to steal bacon, and if Mrs. Ed was also going to the meeting, then he could even grab it the moment it came out of the pan, and while he was at it snag a slice of bread and some lettuce leaves, then assemble a sandwich in his stomach.
Apparently, the other cats were thinking the same thing. They met each other in the dining room, and so the "meeting time" got moved up to this morning. After stealing food in the dining room, they routinely ran up to the attic to enjoy it. Tearing into a strip of bacon, Shiller asked Bat Cat, "Have you figured out all the precautions for the South Pole expedition?"
"I've never been to the South Pole," Bat Cat said, "but I compiled every book about South Pole expeditions I could find in the database and printed them out with the device's built-in micro printer. You can find a way to slip them into the library."
"There's no way we can bluff that." Shiller shook his head. "As unbelievable as it sounds, Dr. Henry remembers every single book in the library. If one suddenly appears out of nowhere, he'll definitely notice something's off. Better to just give them to him directly."
"Also, this time we're all going." Shiller went on, "Every cat has to go. If you each prepare on your own, you're bound to miss something, so Bat Cat should handle the coordination. Anyone have objections?"
Little Superman was busy fighting Peter for bacon; they had started from opposite ends of the same strip, and when they met in the middle neither was willing to yield. Constantine was drinking black tea; no one knew where he'd gotten the cup and tea bags. Clearly, none of them had any objections to this arrangement. When Batman is in the team, who in their right mind would still want to be the one taking the lead?
"Then it's settled." Shiller looked at Bat Cat and said, "From what I can tell, the Human race side is in quite a rush. We might even be able to depart within this month, so we need to speed up our preparations too."
"No problem," Bat Cat said. "First off, I already prepared mechanical auxiliary devices and Shield Force Fields for each of you. Even just Nya's Strength is enough to make us far stronger than the Human race. The South Pole's harsh natural conditions don't mean much to us. What worries me more are the matters of mysticism."
Shiller turned to look at Constantine again. Constantine was now very adept at using the cat-style drinking method to drink tea. Lifting his head from the cup, he thought for a moment and said, "With Nya's Strength as protection, ordinary mystical existences can't really harm us. Instead, it's the entities derived from Mystical powers—things like Monsters with long tentacles—that might pose a threat. My suggestion is to bring more Flash Bombs and Molotov cocktails, that sort of thing. Light and heat are always the best solution."
"I'll find a way to handle that," Shiller said. "As for the mechanical auxiliary devices, can we mount a flamethrower on them?"
"We don't have that kind of module at the moment. The Human race doesn't have fur as thick as cats', so of course they don't understand how afraid of fire cats are." Bat Cat shook his head. "If a flamethrower is used improperly, we could end up setting ourselves on fire, and it would be very hard to put out. It's really a bit too dangerous. But since we need it, I can modify something."
"I'll go to the biology department and read up," Peter said. "Even though I keep feeling that standard biological knowledge might not be of much use, it's better to be prepared than not."
"Then what should I do?" Little Superman asked.
"I'll take you to meet Tibbers later. You need to get along with him. When the fighting starts, you and the dogs will be protecting the Human race."
"Don't worry, protecting the Human race is what I'm best at." Little Superman said, full of confidence.