"In His Daughter's Darkling Womb"

by Tina L. Jens
originally published Singers of Strange Songs, Chaosium, 1997

Dr. Katherine Collum, head of an expedition financed by Arkham Industries, has captured a gigantic (50+ feet) ocotpoid critter.  Held in a tank on an enormous tanker, she and her team study the beastie, which they humorously name Cthylla.

Dr. Collum isn't particularly well-liked, mainly cause she's a humorless, workaholic, unfriendly bitch (to be fair, she's a widow and has had a bunch of miscarriages).  But she is friendly with fellow researcher Helen.  And tolerates David Gaughan, representative of a marine animal rights organization, authorized by Arkham Industries to ensure no one mistreats Cthylla.  He's also prone to reading the Cthaat Aquadingen (dah-dah-dah-DAH!!).  

Cthylla turns out to have some surprising abilities - she's seemingly very intelligent, has variable number of tentacles at any given time, and is voraciously hungry - 100 pounds of fish and crustaceans a day - but the bitch still up and eats the ship's cat!  She also tends to shriek during the night.

The teams concocts a bizarre way to impregnate her, involving a giant squid-monster robot, and soon, she's makin' eggs.  Meanwhile, Katherine is getting weirder and more depressed.  She even ends up banging David.  And soon, she's got a bun in the oven, too!  For bad news, Cthylla up and eats Helen!

Kat isn't too worked up about this, being as she's never been able to carry a child to term before.  Cthylla hatches one surviving egg.  They name the offspring Cthyni.  It too seems way too intelligent.  Kat starts having weird dreams about giving birth to a half-squid-half-human infant. 

Something weird happens to Cthyni and something weird happens to Katherine.  She's taken off the ship and confined to bedrest.  She gives birth.  During the process she hallucinates giving birth to a squid-thing.  But later, she is presented with a normal, healthy child.

This is a well-written and professional tale, but ... hang on ... what exactly is going on here?  It's clear that Cthylla is no ordinary cephalopod, and that there's some link to Cthulhu-ism, that David may, in fact, be some kind of cultist, and that there's some parallel between Cthylla's pregnancy and Katherine's - but what?  Did she, in fact, give birth to a squid-thing?  And if so, to what end?  Was it then squirelled away and a normal kid substituted?  From where? And again, why?  Maybe I'm dumb but I don't get it!