Other folks are doubting TEAPOT's machiavelism. Sure, Bob mentions a number of times over the books how TEAPOT's gone native, but how reliable is he? Is he himself doing some wishful thinking ("I hope to $DEITY that TEAPOT's on our side, because otherwise we're so fucked I may as well exit now"), or doing the unreliable narrator thing and (now that he's TEACUP) saying "TEAPOT is a good entity, you want to like and help the TEAPOT (and me)" for his own survival.
It's pretty established that TEACUP is a being of superhuman intellect. Why it chooses to play along with the humans is never fully established to my satisfaction. For one thing, something called Eater of Souls does awfully little actual soul-eating, at least on screen. Considering how ravenous smaller entities are, its level of restraint is... admirable. And considering its power and intellect (but unknown limitations) I'm still unsure how it could have failed to identify Basil, which is why I'm inclined to believe @111's theory. It has certainly done an excellent job guiding HOWARD in the right direction, but for what purposes?
I'd love to think TEAPOT has humanity's best interests in mind, but that doesn't gel with the theme. Also, while I evidently wish for humanity's future survival (and independance. Serving as cattle for the Sleeper in the Pyramid is not a nice ending, even if you consider chicken to be an evolutionary success), OGH doesn't have a history of happy outcomes for humanity in his stories.
On a side note, what exactly did Basil have in mind for MAGIC CIRCLE OF SAFETY? It's mentioned he was at the source of the project to renew it. Was it just to serve as dissemination for ward-traps for his use at leisure, or was there something deeper?
Another thing: at one point Bob complains about the OPERA CAPE and DRESDEN RICE codewords, saying how codewords that have a meaning relevant to their subject are a breach of security. While these are definitely more egregious, EQUOID, BLUE HADES, and CASE NIGHTMARE GREEN aren't too obscure either. Nevertheless, did his complaint hint to any other breach of procedure, or was it just a funny aside?
And finally, thanks Charlie for this tight, rollercoaster of a story. Admitting the vampires into the Laundry midway was unexpected to me, and immediately foreshadowed at musch worse things to come. Loved it!
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