something confuses me while I was reading a sci fi novel?

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mmm2

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these are extractions from the famous novel by Poul Anderson, "Call Me Joe".
1. "Cornelius followed him through the lab into another room. This was less cluttered, it had a more finished appearance; the experimenter's haywire rig had yielded to the assured precision of an engineer."
"the experimenter's haywire rig and yielded to the assured precision of an engineer". what does it mean in simple english?

2."Cornelius followed, wallowing awkwardly.", what does "wallowing awkwardly" mean here, did the character fell awkwardly?

3."Anglesey ate as he talked, gracelessly, letting the chair's tentacles wipe up after him. ".
what does "letting the chair's tentacles wipe up after him" mean in simple english? is chair's tentacles like chair cushions? and "wipe up after him" means Anglesey wipes his mouth with the chair's tentacles?

4."It was not truly a night, of course. In twelve hours the tiny moon was hurled clear around Jupiter, from darkness back to darkness, and there might well be a pallid little sun over its crags when the clocks said witches were abroad in Greenwich. But most of the personnel were asleep at this hour."
what does "witches were abroad in Greenwich"? please explain it.

thank you!
 
1. Vaguely, that things are more organized here. I suspect this line needs more context to be understood.
2. Wallowing does not mean fall. It means something like moving lazily or clumsily.
3. This is sci-fi. Perhaps the tentacles are exactly as described, literal tentacles? (Perhaps mechanical tentacles?)
4. I'm presuming it means it's the witching hour according to Greenwich mean time.
 
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