The skull of Professor Tao

Author: Alexander Beliaev [Soviet Union]
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1997-12-01
Features: Synopsis
Famous medical professor Taurel suddenly falls ill and dies, but his head remains alive. This horrifying secret is discovered by Miss Lorraine when she becomes the assistant to Professor Kain. It turns out that Kain was originally Taurel's assistant, working with him to study how to bring dead human organs back to life. Just as the experiment achieves initial success, Kain kills Taurel but revives his head because the next phase of research requires the wisdom in Taurel's brain. Kain wants to take all the achievements under his own name. After Lorraine learns the truth, a battle between justice and evil begins.
Excerpt:
Every morning, Lorraine not only takes care of the head but also flips through a pile of new medical books and journals for it. When it comes to important chapters, the head's eyes signal, and Lorraine quickly makes notes with a pencil to indicate them. She works well with the head, though she doesn't understand why the head wants her to make notes. Once, on Kain's desk, Lorraine sees an open magazine with her notes. There's also a piece of paper with the content referenced by the notes, written in Kain's handwriting. She finds it strange and asks the head. Taurel's eyes, however, glance toward the faucet at the end of the tube connected to his throat—the head has signaled this to Lorraine several times in recent days.
"Ah, no, no! I can't turn on the faucet; you'll die," Lorraine says in horror. The head's muscles twitch, its eyelids lift three times, and its lips move silently, as if pleading with Miss Lorraine: "Please turn on the faucet." Watching the sorrowful look in the head's eyes, Lorraine decides to turn the faucet. She slowly twists it, her heart pounding. The faucet finally opens completely, and she hears a faint, hoarse sound from the throat—a weak, off-key voice like a misaligned record: "Thank you." Lorraine clearly hears it. It turns out the faucet releases compressed air from a glass bottle. Now the air flows through the throat, vibrating the vocal cords, restoring the head's ability to speak. Suddenly, footsteps are heard outside, and Lorraine quickly closes the faucet.