the officers walked up and down the corridors , staring blankly at stalactites , then at the various metallic contraptions , then at the glass flasks , the tubes , the extraction vessels ; they walked through the experimentation rooms , observing the mice in their many phases of treatment : mice who cowered from other mice , mice who cowered from their own reflections , mice who suddenly fell listless for a few brief moments before slaying and cannibalizing their companions in the cages ; the officers then moved on to inspect the breeding areas and nurseries where emmanuel spent most of his timeone officer , upon passing through , inadvertently stepped on the assortment of rocks that rat man miyazaki used as a bed , twisted his ankle and cursed loudly as he kicked at the infernal impediments ; the officers soon arrived at narcisss roller desk , where they paged uninterestedly through the extensive notes , lab protocols and journals that narciss had meticulously kept over the years .