Pop!

Geisteskrank sprinkled shredded grass into the aquarium. "Have you never heard of hybrid vigor? Everyone knows that you can revive a flagging bloodline by introducing new stock."

"I think that's usually with something a little closer," said Bartlett. "Remind me again how this is better than the gerbil-cobras?"

"Gerbils, while sufficiently adorable, were a sub-optimal base. High-strung. These," Geisteskrank gestured, "are inherently useful. Fugu, of course, is eminently popular in Japan, and beef has long been a staple meat."

"And therefore?"

Geisteskrank clapped sharply, and water sloshed onto the floor as black-and-white flesh pressed taut against the glass. "Puffer Holsteins."