Meanwhile, Fred's back in the office, saying, "I hate this!" And this hates you right back, Fred. Gunn stares out at the lobby, freaking himself out: "That creepy crawly was seriously messed up. With those little feelers, or whatever they were, sticking out of its face. Slithering around like a worm with its slimy --" Fred explains that she meant the research. Because she hates research? Since when? She whines, "Everything on Thaumogenesis is so cryptic, and full of words I've never heard of like 'emoliatives,' and I have to keep cross-referencing Chauldon with Acathian Magics." Gunn tunes her out, and so do I. Because I think they're trying to build up how indispensable Wesley is, and you know what? He's dispensable. Extremely dispensable. He's probably recyclable as well. Fred whines some more, and comes close to mentioning Wesley when Gunn finally glares at her. Has it occurred to Fred that she might make more progress if she actually looked at the books for two minutes and shut her damn mouth? But no, Fred needs a pep talk from Gunn because she's afraid she'll fail. It's hard to believe, but one of my co-workers here in the majestic TWoP Tower offices has only now noticed how very annoying Fred is. Which suggests that impressive SAT scores don't necessarily indicate keen powers of observation. Although they may indicate an eccentric sense of style, if Jessica is to be believed. What? The show? Oh yeah. Gunn steps over to reassure Fred, which is why he doesn't notice when more crawdads start materializing out in the lobby. Gunn assures Fred that even if she can't find out anything in the books, "we can handle one little slug from hell." Two more crawdads creep across the floor. I think that the pentagram is a direct connection to the irony of fate. I wonder how long it will take the characters to notice. If one of them would just stand near it and say, "We'll never figure out what's going on," their troubles would be over.

At Wolfram & Hart, a box pops up on Lilah's computer demanding a password so that she can access "confidential email." Ooo. Lilah presses a button under her desk, which opens a secret panel in her bookcase, out of which she pulls a metal strongbox. She enters a code to unlock it, and then opens it to reveal a wooden box with enigmatic carvings, inside of which is -- eek! A tarantula! That spider got a pretty complicated entrance, didn't it? They have some very specialized office supplies. She sets the spider down on the number pad, and it walks along, supposedly entering the password. Insert your own joke about the worldwide web here. The email pops up. As far as I can make out, it indicates that the "Paranormal Disturbances Division" has noticed a "bio-plasmic infection" at the hotel. It adds that "preliminary psychic readings suggest the disturbance to be a result of thaumogenesis," and then mentions that the MoG have sealed the building while they try to take care of the problem.