But what do I do about the crystal ball?
Viewing post in Aric's Expansion Rebred
The Crystal Ball isn't fully implemented yet and was mostly put in as a teaser, however the research options should be (with a fully upgraded ball): Pregnancy Speed, Immortality (the Reenable Death, which has a bugged name), and Sacrifice (for the Dark path). More options are coming, but that's an update or two away.
Do you have the option to discuss pregnancy speeds with your Headgirl or a slave over 4 Magical Affinity? It sound like you've got the immortality option unlocked, so that may be the end of that path for now (Sacrifice is currently buggy)