"May I ask why DEPRAC hasn’t included Lockwood and Co. in the whole Chelsea operation? If this outbreak’s so dreadful, surely you could do with our assistance?”
This series of questions is directed to Inspector Barnes, who just so happens to be the head of Department of Psychic Research and Control or, as it is familiarly known, DEPRAC. These two queries basically situate the plot of the novel. Lockwood and Co. is one of the agencies that conduct the psychic research and control. And that outbreak in Chelsea to which he refers is a sudden explosion of unwanted ghostly activity. This is the fuel of the engine driving the narrative. Barnes' reply is not just negative, but insulting, as he insinuates that England would have to be facing nationwide outbreak of such spectral activity for him to be desperate enough to include them in the response. This intentionally humiliating overlook also opens up space for another important element to enter the story.
"This is a time for introductions! Holly, this is Lucy Carlyle, the perfect agent, whom you’ve heard so much about. And Lucy...let me introduce you to Holly Munro. Our new assistant.”
Lucy is one-third of the Lockwood team of psychic researchers. And the third one is male. Which means Lucy has gotten used to be the only girl. Which is the word she uses when describing the stranger who is at this time sitting in her chair. Everybody feels the tension, even Lockwood as he smiles while voicing this quote and carefully chooses words designed not to inflame Lucy. Before Lucy entered the room—the action which stimulates the introduction—everything was very light. In less than a minute, all the oxygen seems to be sucked out of the room and fueling Lucy's unhappiness at this turn of events. Lucy is very unhappy to return to the office after an absence of just three days to discover that nothing much has changed with the exception of only everything. This tension between Lucy and Holly will prove to just as important to the storyline as all those ghosts in Chelsea. Maybe even more important.
"The skull in the jar was still the exceptional case, the Type Three ghost with which full communication was possible. But I was coming to believe that there were other ways of bridging the gap between ordinary Visitors and the living."
This quote provides important information about the business of psychic research. There are levels of ghosts, for one thing. They are not just a monolithic group. Most cannot communicate with the living, but skull in the jar is solid evidence it is possible. Lucy's belief is up for interpretation. Just because she thinks that intercommunication is not really as limited as it seems, that does not make it so. But it is really that part about the skull in the jar that is of significance. The skull communicates quite easily with her. And that fact turns communicating with ghosts into one of those "just because you can doesn't mean you should" things. That skull turns out to be, arguably, the most fascinating character in the entire series. The problem is that he is also, less arguably, the most perverse character.
