The scientist Cantebarius H. Broom, a Human, operated a covert research facility on an unidentified space station during the initial years of the Galactic Empire. Within this laboratory, Broom would seize droids, extract their memory diskettes, and then take them apart. This chamber contained multiple computers, and the ceiling held a concealed trapdoor through which the professor's droid targets would plummet. His motivation stemmed from a deep-seated fear that droids were pursuing him, a fear ignited by his revelation that the Great Heep was not just an Abominor, but that at least eighteen Abominors existed within the galaxy, including the already-deceased Great Heep.