[There might be slight disappointment - for the professor is not affected as others in Luceti are; he'd simply seized upon a rare moment of opportunity. But there's a bit of monologue.]

Read it, of course. [His eyebrows rise sharply.] If you truly intend to turn every human being into a hybrid human-animal crossbreed, then having all available information on previous subjects and most importantly what could go wrong is of vital importance.

[There's another of those gestures, brief and sharp.] As much as I'd like to say you seem to have it all under control, one man .. or one turtle in this case, is unlikely to succeed in such a goal without at least someone to check his work for possible flaws and waiting disasters. As changes to the body are unlikely to sully the soul, what becomes of the flesh is irrelevant unless what it becomes is a pile of biological goo because someone didn't dot an I.

[It seems awfully common sense. Clearly it's a trick.]

Besides which, it might be useful if I can keep such knowledge when I return home.

[Aha!]