The Professor

Background
This is what the Professor looks like:"He is solidly built, though lean. And older man with a greying-black bushy mess of hair like a thorn bush atop his head with a matching mustache above his lip.""He is dressed in a well worn tight fitting, brown corduroy trousers with knee pads, and a pair of broken glasses tied to a chain around his neck. A bright baby blue bow tie adorns his neck. His pockets jingle with vials and charms, while the faint scent of incense lingers in the air around him."He surrounds himself with cats, at least four of them, including Mittens and Karen.

The Professor owes Pashmina a favor because she got him released from prison after a few hours and took the blame for the fire that caused her exile from Crescent Hill.

There is only a "small gravel covered space between Vee’s Rail Care cars, and the train car the professor has made his residence. The paint on the exterior, once a bright red, now more faded and peeling with age."Inside, with tables on both sides, it's a very tight space; there is not a lot of logic to it; there is lots of wires, but there is also tons of animal teeth and bones: it looks like a strange mix of a science lab and an apothecary. It is not dirty, but it's unorganized; there is lots of stuff everywhere; there is stuff hanging from the ceiling that he can pull down. He doesn't have enough shelf space so he's nailed things to all over. There is a couch.

The Professor uses purple smoke as a means of communication. To create it, he lights the fire on the burner, puts a pot on, dumps a whole bunch of vinegar, and then drops a rock—purple rock— in there; it's a pretty bad smell and, in addition to the purple plume that goes up the chimney, smoke also fills the room.

The Professor and Sault
The Professor and Sault go way back, and still he never told Vee about this old friend of his:"I did exclude him from those stories ... We traveled together for ten years; in those ten years I learned everything ... And then we both died, and everything was fine, and now here we are."There is even more to it:"The priest—the one who is with the Keepers—now that he is involved, everything is a bit more serious. The priest ... was ... the love of my life, and I think we have to kill him; it's the only way to make sure you're all safe."To be clear:"If Sault is here, it's not for a good reason; and if he sees me again, he's going to try to kill me; and if you're with me, he's going to try to kill you ; and he's got the entire power of the Church behind him."

The Professor and Pepper
When Pretty Baby asks him whether Pepper is reliable, the Professor answers with only two words:"Trustworthy. Complicated."Pepper, in turn, has this to say about the Professor:"Oh, God! You'd make a terrible statue."and"You have a sordid history that you should write as a novel or something. I'm sure someone would find it interesting—I hear smut sells."

The Professor and Captain Establishment
The Professor is, unsurprisingly, not a fan of Captain Establishment—the handsome, well-built man with blond hair and blue eyes wearing a striking costume in the colors of the government, who as Government Propaganda Idol, speaks for the government with authority, in a pleasing, comforting voice. When he sees the Captain Establishment poster someone has just stuck on the side of his train car, the Professor "rips it off, shreds it and throws it in the cat litter box; and he just kind of grumbles to himself."