That Hideous Strength

[system3]

The scientists have become devil-worshippers, being in thrall to a disembodied head. It's quite obvious where this head comes from: 12th Century Oxford, where scholars such as Roger Bacon and Robert Grosseteste were moving away from scholasticism towards scientific investigation. This didn't go down well with their contemporaries who claimed they were in league with the devil, communicating via a disembodied brazen head. (Where do you think Brasenose College got its name from?)