Sea Monsters and Other Delicacies by David Sinden

picked up the circular saw.
    Ulf stared. At the front of the saw was a large circular blade with jagged metal teeth. “Won’t that hurt it?” he asked.
    â€œIt has no feeling in its shell,” Dr. Fielding said. She turned the saw on and the metal blade started spinning. “It’s no different than you filing your claws.”
    Ulf watched as Dr. Fielding pressed the saw into the sea monster’s shell. Bright sparks flew from the blade and it made a loud screaming sound as it cut through the coral and barnacles. She ran the saw in a wide circle around the crack.
    Ulf could see a large circular slab of shell coming loose.
    Dr. Fielding switched the saw off. “Right, now we need to lift it out.” She placed the saw down. With both hands she pulled at the slab of coral. “Help me with this, Ulf,” she asked.
    Ulf gripped the coral with his fingers and heaved. Slowly he and Dr. Fielding lifted out the large circular slab from the sea monster’s shell. It came away with a sucking sound. It was as heavy as concrete.
    They laid it to one side, and then Ulf peered into the large hole where it had been. Inside he could see a bulging mass of spongy white flesh crisscrossed with veins.
    â€œThat’s the sea monster’s brain,” Dr. Fielding said.
    The sea monster’s brain was sitting in a pool of blood.

Chapter 14
    DR. FIELDING TURNED ON THE SUCTION PUMP, A metal canister with a rubber hose. “Can you get the blood out, please, Ulf?” she asked, passing him the hose. “Make sure you suck it all up.”
    Ulf poked the hose into the pool of blood around the sea monster’s brain. The suction pump gurgled as blood bubbled up the hose and into the canister.
    Dr. Fielding put her headlamp on and peered into the hole. “We need to find the source of the bleeding,” she said. She shone her lamplight on the bulging spongy brain.
    â€œIt’s big,” Ulf said.
    â€œIt needs to be. A sea monster’s brain is highly specialized,” Dr. Fielding told him.
    She pulled on a pair of surgical gloves and pointed to two large bulges covered in a slimy membrane. “These are the brain’s cerebral lobes, Ulf. The left lobe controls the sea monster’s interactive functioning: perception, recognition and communication. The right lobe controls its deep sea functioning: orientation, navigation and body temperature. I can’t see any signs of damage.”
    Dr. Fielding felt a large bulge at the front of the brain. “This is the visceral lobe. It controls all the internal organs.”
    Ulf moved the suction hose so Dr. Fielding could look for the cause of the bleeding. Then he watched as she reached down to a smaller bulge. “This here is the occipital lobe, Ulf. It controls the sea monster’s vision.” She slid her fingers down, gently lifting the fleshy tissue to reveal a thick pulsating tube. “That’sthe optic nerve. It connects to the sea monster’s eyes. Sea monsters can see infrared, which means they can hunt in the dark.”
    Dr. Fielding waited while Ulf sucked up the remaining blood surrounding the brain. He turned off the suction pump and placed it carefully to one side.
    â€œWell done, Ulf. Now have a look at this.” Dr. Fielding reached deep down the front of the brain to a small black bulge. “This is the neco lobe. It picks up vibrations in the water.”
    The neco lobe was nestled in a thick bundle of nerves. Dr. Fielding parted them with her fingers and shone her lamplight into a cavity that ran down inside the shell.
    Ulf leaned in and looked down. The bundle of nerves twisted from the brain, wrapping around one another to form a single tube that was covered in scales. It ran down to a ledge behind the sea monster’s eyes. “That’s its stinger!” he said. The stingerwas coiled on the ledge like a snake, resting after its devenoming.
    â€œAnd it’s harmless now,