H.G. Wells' "The First Men In The Moon" (1901)

Three years after The War of the Worlds, H.G. Wells published another "space alien-oriented" science fiction novel titled The First Men In the Moon (initially published as a serial in The Strand from December 1900 to August 1901). The First Men In the Moon has several very interesting aspects which differentiate it from Wells' previous science fiction explorations. For one thing, the narrator, Mr. Bedford, is a somewhat unprincipled entrepreneur, whose primary drive for financial gain makes for an interesting contrast with Mr. Cavor's interest in pure scientific advancement. Although The Invisible Man also featured an anti-hero as its main protagonist, that novel was not told from a first person perspective. The aliens which Bedford and Cavor encounter have a fascinating insectoid nature, which was fairly novel at that time. He also suggests the concept of living (organic) computer brains when describing the specially-bred Selenites who function as cultural encyclopedias.

From a practical standpoint, Wells book cleverly describes how an anti-gravity element could be used to navigate through space (through the use of shutters which allow gravity to re-exert its hold in certain desired directions). Various other well thought-out considerations for space travel and for a "first contact" scenario are also explored.

Many of Wells' novels (such as The Time Machine) contain a sociopolitical subtext, and this novel is no exception. The latter half of the novel clearly takes an anti-war/anti-imperialism stance, and criticizes mankind's tendency towards racial conquest.

From a literary viewpoint, it both looks backwards and points the way forwards. Because most of the action takes place miles below the lunar surface, it can be see as a fusion of three separate Jules Verne books: Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), From the Earth to the Moon (1865), and Around the Moon (1870) (Wells even mentions Verne's work in the novel itself). The Selenites are bred from birth for specific societal functions, a concept which would be further explored in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (1932). The decidedly un-romantic idea of leveraging travel to the moon for monetary gain would later see one of it's most thorough treatments in Robert A. Heinlein's The Man Who Sold the Moon, half a century later.

Synopsis

1. Mr. Bedford Meets Mr. Cavor at Lympne: The narrator, Mr. Bedford, moves to the small village of Lympne in order to work on a play with which he hopes to sell and satisfy some outstanding debts. By accident, he runs into a strangely-attired inventor named Cavor, who has been working on a substance (“Cavorite”) which will negate the effects of gravity. When Cavorite is properly treated, its “opacity” to gravitational waves will allow it to become weightless. Bedford convinces Cavor that they must go into business together to market this scientific breakthrough.
2. The First Making of Cavorite: One day, a “cyclone” erupts over Cavor’s house, causing damage for miles around. It turns out that, due to a boiler accident, Cavor had successfully created a Cavorite shield, which had then forced all of the air above the surface of the shield to funnel out into space. This event could have theoretically drained the entire atmosphere of Earth if allowed to continue indefinitely, but fortunately the shield had also been sucked up in the chaos.
3. The Building of the Sphere: Cavor comes up with the idea of covering a sphere in Cavorite panels so that they can use it to journey into space and visit the moon. By opening “window blinds” of Cavorite panels, they can use the restored gravitational pull of bodies in space to pull the sphere where they want to go. Bedford is at first skeptical, but then the idea of an interplanetary travel franchise restores his enthusiasm.
4. 
   Inside the Sphere: After grabbing some last-minute reading material for the journey, Bedford and Cavor seal themselves in the sphere. The Cavorite is “activated” in a final heating stage and the sphere takes off into space. A sense of weightlessness affects everything inside the capsule.
5. The Journey to the Moon: During the journey, Cavor discusses the possibility of insectoid life on the moon. After a while they fall asleep.
6. The Landing on the Moon: Cavor uses the shutters to slow the capsule’s descent (using the attraction of the sun), and the sphere eventually lands in the shadow of a crater wall. Inside the sphere, Bedford and Cavor wait for the sun to rise so that it will be warm enough to go outside.
7. Sunrise on the Moon: As sunlight spreads over the landscape, the material on which the capsule sits (frozen air) begins to evaporate, which sends the sphere tumbling once more. Fortunately, the travelers are only slightly injured due to the lower gravity of the moon.
8. A Lunar Morning: As the sun continues to rise, Bedford and Cavor marvel as the lunar landscape come to life: seed beds burst and grow at amazing speed, instantly producing a colorful flower bed.
9. Prospecting Begins: The two men carefully test the atmosphere outside the sphere and discover that breathable air exists on the moon. After a period of leaping amongst the vegetation (with the aid of the low gravity), they realize they have lost sight of the sphere.
10. Lost Men in the Moon: While searching for the sphere, the men hear a rhythmic booming sound coming from below. They decide to hide from whatever may emerge from below the surface. They soon hear the “bellowing of great beasts”.
11. 
    The Mooncalf Pastures: Gigantic “mooncalfs” (pale, flabby cattle-like creatures) come into view, herded by armored, insectoid “Selenites”. Terrified, Bedford and Cavor desperately search for the sphere. Eventually succumbing to hunger, they begin eating some lunar mushrooms, which causes them to become intoxicated. Emboldened by the food’s effects, Cavor charges the Selenites but falls unconscious. The two men are captured and brought below.
12. The Selenite’s Face: The two men awake bound in a chamber and realize that they are a mile underground. Bedford gets a close look at a Selenite.
13. Mr. Cavor Makes Some Suggestions: The two men begin blaming each other for their situation. The Selenites eventually give them some slices of mooncalf, which they greedily eat.
14. 
    Experiments in Intercourse: The two men are led out of their small chamber into a much larger cavern which is dominated by a gargantuan engine of some sort. In order to demonstrate to the Selenites that the two men are not brainless cattle, Cavor tries to communicate interest in the engine. The Selenites prick the two outraged men with a goad rod.
15. The Giddy Bridge: When the men are motioned to cross over a plank bridge into a dark abyss, they resist due to its flimsy, dangerous nature. When one of the Selenites pricks Bedford with its goad again, Bedford explodes in pent up anger and smashes a few of the fragile Selenites. The two men escape into a tunnel which leads towards a glowing light.
16. Points of View: Taking a rest in a phosphorescent cavity, the two men debate their next course of action. Cavor believes that the Selenites they have met so far are probably of a “rustic” nature, and that the more advanced members are deeper down inside the moon and may be more sympathetic to communication. Bedford however, has noticed the existence of gold on the moon, and can only think of escaping back to Earth and returning with an armed party in order to plunder it. When sounds of Selenites approach, they ascend further.
17. The Fight in the Cave of the Moon Butchers: The men emerge into a cavern where groups of Selenites use axes to harvest meat off of dead moon calves for processing. Soon more Selenites begin to emerge from behind the men, armed with crossbow-like weapons. Meanwhile, the moon butchers begin throwing their hatchets at them. Surrounded, Bedford finds an iron bar and goes on a maddened, murderous rampage. Due to the low gravity, Bedford’s strength is enhanced and he drives off the Selenites.
18. In the Sunlight: After Bedford and Cavor finally reach the surface, the two men continue to argue about how this discovery will affect both the moon and Earth. Cavor fears that his scientific breakthrough will result in a great war between men and the Selenites. Nonetheless, the men split up in order to more efficiently search for the sphere.
19. Mr. Bedford Alone: Bedford eventually finds the sphere, but when he goes back to inform Cavor, he finds a bloody note, indicating that Cavor has been recaptured by some of the more “civilized” Selenites. With the lunar night coming (and the Selenite cavern entrance now sealed), Bedford barely makes it back to the sphere before he freezes to death.
20. Mr. Bedford in Infinite Space: During the ensuing weeks-long journey through space, Bedford begins to lose his sense of self-identity, and struggles to maintain his sanity.
21. Mr. Bedford at Littlestone: Bedford lands in the sea near the English shore town of Littlestone. When he finally drifts onto the beach, he goes inside a hotel and orders some food. When news gets around that Bedford has two bars of gold with him (stolen from the Selenites), a curious boy named Tommy Simmons sneaks into the sphere and takes off with it into the sky, never to be heard from again. With his plans of riches (and attempted rescue of Cavor) now shattered, Bedford changes his name to Blake and publishes an account of his travels.
22. The Astonishing Communication of Mr. Julius Wendigee: Two years later, an astronomer searching for signals from space begins receiving transmissions from the moon, apparently from Cavor, who has managed to survive amongst the Selenites. Bedford works with Wendigee to decipher and organize the transmissions.
23. An Abstract of the Six Messages First Received from Mr. Cavor: To Bedford’s chagrin, Cavor first describes his former traveling partner as being a hot-headed fool. He then continues to describe the interior of the moon as being a kind of hollowed-out sponge, with a great sea at its core. The Selenites breed mooncalves on the surface and harvest bizarre lunar fish from the central sea. They travel back and forth between the surface and the sea (a distance of 200 miles) by balloon.
24. The Natural History of the Selenites: Cavor describes Selenite culture: Each member of Selenite society is bred to handle a specific task (such as farming, carrying, thinking, remembering, etc.), and when workers are not needed, they are drugged into complacency. The Selenites have no books, since individual Selenites are bred with gigantic brains which function as living storage devices (organic computers). Selenite young are borne by queens who then distribute the newly-born to celibate nursemaids.
25. 
    The Grand Lunar: Cavor is brought before the leader of the Selenites, the Grand Lunar, who is essentially a gigantic brain with eyes supported by a small torso. Cavor is asked to describe how Earth society works, as well as the wars that are fought upon the surface of the planet. The Selenites generally find the ways of man to be inefficient or insanely dangerous. At this point a jamming signal begins to “censor” Cavor’s messages to Earth.
26. The Last Message Cavor Sent to the Earth: Cavor reveals to the Selenites that he is the only Earthman who has the secret of Cavorite (and thus, space travel). The Selenites apparently begin actively limiting his transmissions. In his last recorded message, he expresses regret for being so forthcoming to the Selenites and tries to pass on the secret of Cavorite, but this last message is cut off.

---

H.G. Wells' "The Invisible Man" (1897)

The Invisible Man was H.G. Wells' fifth novel. Initially serialized in Pearson's Weekly magazine, it was published as a novel by Pearson in 1897. Wells' first novel, The Time Machine, was essentially a fantasy adventure with a sociopolitical subtext. His second, The Wonderful Visit, was a satire, while his third, The Island of Doctor Moreau was a survival-horror tale. After the lighter-toned bicycle adventure The Wheels of Chance, Wells' wrote The Invisible Man as a mystery-farce, although it has some thriller elements in its final act. Wells followed up his portrait of the morally-starved Mr. Griffin with the grim alien invasion epic War of the Worlds, probably his most famous creation.

One of the most enjoyable things about this novel (apart from the invisibility itself) is that the main character, the "Invisible Man", is essentially a power-hungry madman, and all other characters in the book act as supporting characters to this true "anti-hero".

Synopsis

1. 
   THE STRANGE MAN’S ARRIVAL: One winter, a man with his head completely bandaged up and wearing large goggles arrives at the Coach and Horses inn in Iping. This strange “experimental researcher” gives off a brusque manner, and the innkeeper, Mrs. Hall, becomes slightly offended by his reticence.
2. MR. TEDDY HENFREY’S FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Mrs. Hall asks Henfrey, a clock repairman, to look at the clock in the stranger’s room. When Henley is abruptly dismissed by the stranger, he complains to Mr. Hall, who begins to suspect his guest of being trouble.
3. THE THOUSAND AND ONE BOTTLES: The next day, the stranger’s luggage arrives, which is comprised of six trunks filled with bottles, tubing and other glassware. While unloading his belongings, a dog bites him. When he goes upstairs to address his torn glove, Mr. Hall later catches a glimpse of a floating glove, but dismisses the strange vision as an illusion.
4. MR. CUSS INTERVIEWS THE STRANGER: A curious doctor named Cuss visits the stranger, trying to pry out of him his true nature. During this visit, the stranger is suddenly forced to grab at a piece of scrap paper caught in a breeze. When Cuss declares that the man’s cuff has no hand within it, the stranger approaches him and an unseen force pinches Cuss’ nose. Cuss flees in a panic as the man laughs.
5. THE BURGLARY AT THE VICARAGE: In the hours just before dawn one night, Iping’s vicar, Mr. Bunting, and his wife are woken by sounds of a burglar in their study. An unseen (but audibly sneezing) force escapes with their gold savings.
6. THE FURNITURE THAT WENT MAD: That same morning, when Mr. and Mrs. Hall snoop around their lodger’s empty room, they find the stranger’s clothes and bandages on the bed. Suddenly the stranger’s hat flies into Mrs. Hall’s face and the furniture rises into the air and drives them out of the room. When the Halls ask Wadgers the blacksmith to come over and help investigate this “witchcraft”, the bandaged stranger emerges and points out a nearby bottle of sarsaparilla.
7. 
   THE UNVEILING OF THE STRANGER: Mrs. Hall finally confronts the stranger for non-payment of the rent. The man becomes angry and unwraps the bandages around his head, revealing an empty space underneath. A panic ensues as everyone in the house flees. The Halls then ask Jaffers, the constable, to investigate the man. They enter and accuse the headless figure of robbing Bunting’s vicarage. The Invisible Man takes off all of his clothes and invisibly fights his way out to the street and escapes. Constable Jaffers is knocked unconscious in the scuffle.
8. IN TRANSIT: Down the street, a neighbor hears sneezing and cursing from an invisible figure as it passes by his house.
9. MR. THOMAS MARVEL: Outside Iping, a slightly confused tramp with a battered top hat named Mr. Marvel is accosted by the Invisible Man. After he finally convinces Marvel of his existence, the Invisible Man forces Marvel to help him get some clothes and retrieve his belongings from Mrs. Hall’s Coach and Horses inn.
10. MR. MARVEL’S VISIT TO IPING: In Iping, a man named Huxter sees Mr. Marvel arrive in town and act strangely “undecided” in front of the Mrs. Hall’s Coach and Horses inn. Eventually he goes inside and then emerges with a sack of clothing and some books. Huxter tries to pursue this apparent thief, but is tripped by an unseen force.
11. IN THE “COACH AND HORSES”: When Mr. Marvel enters the “Coach and Horses”, he helps the Invisible Man re-enter his old room. There he finds Cuss and Bunting (the doctor and vicar) peeking at his encrypted diary. He attacks them and threatens them into submission.
12. THE INVISIBLE MAN LOSES HIS TEMPER: The Invisible Man forces Cuss and Bunting to give him their clothes as well as his diary. He hands off the goods to Marvel who leaves the inn and escapes down the street, while the Invisible Man attacks their pursuers. Eventually, the Invisible Man becomes angered from one of his chasers’ lucky blow and goes on a rampage about the entire town, before finally departing.
13. 
    MR. MARVEL DISCUSSES HIS RESIGNATION: Marvel and the Invisible Man head towards Bramblehurst. Along the way, Marvel tries to convince the Invisible Man that he is not fit for the Man’s needs. The Invisible Man threatens him with violence if he tries to escape.
14. AT PORT STOWE: In Port Stowe, while Marvel sits in front of an inn, the Invisible Man robs the nearby stores and puts the money into Marvel’s pocket for safekeeping until they make their departure. A mariner engages Marvel in conversation about news of the Invisible Man from Iping. Marvel starts to confide something, but then suddenly acts strangely and jerkily walks away.
15. THE MAN WHO WAS RUNNING: In Burdock, a scientist named Kemp sees Marvel running down his street in a strange, leaden manner and dismisses him as a fool. Later, the street erupts into a panic as a warning goes out: ““The Invisible Man is coming!”.
16. IN THE “JOLLY CRICKETERS”: Marvel enters a bar (the “Jolly Cricketers”) and locks the door. He asks a policeman, a cab man and the bartender to protect him from the Invisible Man. Despite their best precautions, the Invisible Man manages to break in and attacks Marvel. The three men somehow manage to land a few blows on the Invisible Man and drive him outside. Five shots ring out.
17. DR. KEMP’S VISITOR: Later, Kemp is surprised to find the Invisible Man in his house. The Man tells Kemp that he is Griffin, an albino friend from their old school days of a dozen years ago. Griffin is evasive about his wrist wound (from the gun shot) and about how he has obtained money, but asks Kemp for help.
18. THE INVISIBLE MAN SLEEPS: Kemp allows Griffin to sleep in his room, although Griffin threatens him with harm if he is betrayed. While Griffin sleeps, Kemp catches up on the news and learns of Griffin’s recent exploits in Iping, Bramblehurst, Port Stowe and at the “Jolly Cricketers”.
19. CERTAIN FIRST PRINCIPLES: The next day Griffin explains that he had become invisible through a secret method of turning his body transparent through irradiated pigments. Griffin admits that he had soon run out of funds for his research in London and had to steal from his father, after which his father had then shot himself.
20. 
    AT THE HOUSE IN GREAT PORTLAND STREET: Griffin describes how he first used his methodology to turn a cat invisible while lodging in a rented house. Drawn by the cat’s meowing, his landlady had then become suspicious of illegal vivisection occurring in her abode. Griffin had then quickly undergone the (painful) invisibility procedure himself and then escaped the house (after setting it on fire).
21. IN OXFORD STREET: Griffin’s brief exultation at becoming invisible had then soon turned into dismay as he began colliding with various people and vehicles on the street. It had been January and his naked foray onto the street had also given him a cold. With his naked feet trailing mud and cut by road detritus, two boys had then tried to follow his ghostly tracks down the street until he had managed to clean the soles of his feet.
22. IN THE EMPORIUM: Griffin finds refuge for the night in the Emporium (a department store) and finds some clothing. However, the next morning he is discovered by employees who chase him around the store until he again doffs his clothing. After things die down, he escapes the Emporium.
23. IN DRURY LANE: After breaking into a costume shop and knocking out its hunchbacked owner, Griffin had then completed his traveling disguise and then gone off to Iping to work on a cure for himself. He expresses to Kemp his exasperation at all of the morons who have gotten in his way and tells Kemp that his crimes were unavoidable.
24. THE PLAN THAT FAILED: Griffin decides that he plans to instigate a “Reign of Terror” over Kemp’s little town of Burdock, killing anyone who dares question his authority. Kemp keeps him talking while Constable Adye (whom Kemp had written a message to earlier) and his men arrive and try to organize a trap. Griffin hears the noises of the new arrivals and batters Kemp aside in another escape.
25. 
    THE HUNTING OF THE INVISIBLE MAN: Kemp tells Adye that they must capture Griffin and recommends all of the village doors to be locked and dogs to be used to hunt him down. He also suggests putting powdered glass on the roads to injure/expose him.
26. THE WICKSTEED MURDER: Later that day, a man named Wisksteed sees an iron rod floating in the air. He chases the floating rod into a briar patch, after which Griffin beats his head in from anger and frustration (his first murder).
27. THE SIEGE OF KEMP’S HOUSE: Griffin sends Kemp a note indicating that he will now start his Terror and begin it by killing Kemp himself for his betrayal. In the afternoon, Griffin arrives and begins smashing in Kemp’s windows. Adye arrives and they decide that Adye should go send for dogs. When Adye goes back outside Griffin manages to disarm him and shoots him. Some more policemen arrive and they manage to drive Griffin back outside. Kemp escapes the house with the housemaid during the struggle.
28. THE HUNTER HUNTED: Kemp tries to find refuge in his neighbor Mr. Heelas’ house, but Heelas sees the signs of an invisible creature coming after Kemp and turns him away. Kemp eventually makes it down to the tram station where he attracts the attention of nearby workers. Griffin attacks Kemp, but a crowd of concerned citizens piles on top of the two and Griffin is eventually pummeled to death by the mob. Upon his death, color returns to his body, revealing an albino, white-haired corpse.
    

• Epilogue: Mr. Marvel uses the stolen money he had obtained for Griffin in Port Stowe to open an inn named “The Invisible Man”. At night he studies Griffin’s diary and dreams of learning the secrets of invisibility for himself.

 

H.G. Wells' "The Island of Doctor Moreau" (1896)

H.G. Wells' first novel was The Time Machine, published in 1895. That book was immediately followed by the more directly satirical The Wonderful Visit, in which an angel out of "art history" (that is, not from the Bible) accidentally lands in late 19th century England and is eventually driven off by skeptical townspeople who accuse the angel of promoting "socialism".

Wells' third novel (published in 1896) was The Island of Doctor Moreau, in which a shipwreck survivor named Prendick finds himself stuck on an island ruled over by a scientist who has surgically and chemically altered animals so that they somewhat look and act like humans. One part of this book originated from Wells' article in the Saturday Review (January 1895) titled "The Limits of Individual Plasticity" (https://archive.org/details/saturdayreview7918unse/page/88/mode/2up), in which he argues Doctor Moreau's point in more editorial terms.

In 1924, Wells wrote some introductory notes to the book's inclusion in a 28-volume collection of his entire bibliography:

"The Island of Doctor Moreau was written in 1895, and it was begun while The Wonderful Visit was still in hand. It is a theological grotesque, and the influence of Swift is very apparent in it. There was a scandalous trial about that time, the graceless and pitiful downfall of a man of genius, and this story was the response of an imaginative mind to the reminder that humanity is but animal rough-hewn to a reasonable shape and in perpetual internal conflict between instinct and injunction. This Story embodies this ideal, but apart from this embodiment it has no allegorical quality. It is written just to give the utmost possible vividness to that conception of men as hewn and confused and tormented beasts. When the reader comes to read the writings upon history in this collection, he will find the same idea of man as a reshaped animal no longer in flaming caricature, but as a weighed and settled conviction." (The Works of H.G. Wells, 1924)

Synopsis

• Introduction: The narrator’s nephew attests that his uncle did indeed go missing at sea for 11 months, but a subsequent investigation of Noble’s Isle found no traces of habitation.

1. IN THE DINGEY OF THE “LADY VAIN.”: When the ship the Lady Vain collides with a derelict, three men escape in a dingy. Two of them fall overboard while fighting. The last man, Edward Prendick, is finally picked up by a mysterious schooner (the Ipecacuanha).
2. THE MAN WHO WAS GOING NOWHERE.: Prendick hears growling noises outside his cabin. A hard-drinking man named Montgomery tells him that the ship is heading for an unnamed island (his home), after which it will make for Hawaii.
3. THE STRANGE FACE.: On the upper deck (strewn with animal cages), Prendick sees a brutish, black-faced man, who is abused by the Ipecacuanha’s captain and crew. Montgomery warns the captain to stop abusing his friend and a fight almost breaks out.
4. AT THE SCHOONER’S RAIL.: Prendick learns that Montgomery had once studied medicine in London, but due to some kind of unfortunate indiscretion 11 years ago had ruined his chances at pursuing such a life.
5. THE MAN WHO HAD NOWHERE TO GO.: When the Ipecacuanha reaches Montgomery’s island, he, his strange attendant (later named as M’ling) and their animal cargo are unloaded. The captain also wants Prendick off his ship, but Prendick is not permitted on the island by the white-haired man (Doctor Moreau) who has come to pick up the cargo. The captain abandons Prendick to float aimlessly on his half-flooded dingy in the open sea.
6. THE EVIL-LOOKING BOATMEN.: Eventually a decision is made on the part of the islanders to allow Prendick to stay on the island and he is towed back to shore with them. On the way, Prendick notices that some of the men from the island are swathed in white cloth from head to toe, and move about in a strange, inhuman gait. Others wear a blue uniform. Moreau is intrigued to learn that Prendick has a background in biology.
7. THE LOCKED DOOR.: Prendick is given a small room but warned not to leave it. He then hears someone name his benefactor “Moreau”, and recalls an incident from 11 years ago: a scientist named Moreau had been engaged in vivisection-based research, and when his exploits had been discovered and exposed by the press, he had been forced into exile.
   
8. THE CRYING OF THE PUMA.: In the afternoon a drunken Montgomery visits. Prendick remarks on  M’ling’s hairy, pointy ears, but Montgomery feigns disinterest. At the same time, the cries of a nearby puma being vivisected cause Prendick a great deal of stress.
9. THE THING IN THE FOREST.: Seeking relief from the puma’s cries of pain by taking a walk deeper into the inland jungle, Prendick catches a glimpse of three “hog-like” savages performing a strange ritual. He is then stalked through the forest by a mysterious leopard-man creature. He eventually knocks it unconscious with a rock and escapes back to the compound in a panic.
10. THE CRYING OF THE MAN.: Back at his room, he finds Montgomery and tells him of the creature stalking him. Montgomery dismisses it as a “bogle” (phantom). The next day Prendick hears the sounds of a human being moaning in pain. He bursts into the inner chamber and sees Moreau working over a bound and bloody figure. Moreau angrily throws him out.
11. THE HUNTING OF THE MAN.: Prendick believes that Moreau is turning human captives into “beast men” through blood transfusion and vivisection. He flees the compound and hides on the beach from a pursuing dog pack. Eventually, he meets an Ape-man (of very limited verbal ability) who takes him to a rocky hideout in a ravine.
12. THE SAYERS OF THE LAW.: Prendick is forced to participate in a bizarre chant with a small assemblage of grotesque Beast Folk. A “Law” chant (led by a silver-haired “Sayer of the Law”) forbids them to walk on all fours, attack men, and other natural animal instincts. It also declares fear and awe before Moreau. When Moreau and Montgomery enter the ravine in search of him, Prendick makes a desperate escape and eventually finds himself near a boiling hot spring.
13. A PARLEY.: When Prendick is cornered near the sea, he tries to convince the Beast Folk to turn on Moreau and Montgomery. Moreau and Montgomery offer him their guns as a peace gesture to make him calm down. Moreau claims that he is not vivisecting men into animals, but rather the other way around. Prendick cautiously follows them back to Moreau’s compound.
14. DOCTOR MOREAU EXPLAINS.: Moreau explains that he has been surgically, hypnotically and chemically altering animals so that they might have the characteristics of human beings. However, the newly-created men inevitably begin to revert back to their bestial natures, even when they at first seem very rational. These “failed” Beast Men are then released, after which they congregate in their ravine huts and live strange half-human lives. Montgomery has befriended a few of the Beast Folk and made them into servants (such as the bear-man M’ling).
15. CONCERNING THE BEAST FOLK.: Prendick notes that there are about 60 Beast Folk on the island and that in the following days he becomes used to their strange appearance. He begins to feel that he might even recognize in them the same kind of features found in the colorful citizens of London. The Beast Folk can even procreate, although their offspring amount to little more than irrational rabbit-like creatures.
16. HOW THE BEAST FOLK TASTE BLOOD.: In the forest, Montgomery and Prendick discover that one of the Beast Folk has killed and eaten a live animal, thus breaking one of the Laws under which they must exist in order to retain their “humanity”. Moreau is angry and summonses the Beast Folk to an audience with a loud horn. When Prendick indicates that it was probably the Leopard-man who had done this crime, the Leopard-man panics and flees. As Moreau and his menagerie close in on the pathetic creature, Prendick kills it, intending to spare it from more visits to Moreau’s “House of Pain”.
    
17. A CATASTROPHE.: One day the puma which Moreau had been operating on since Prendick’s arrival manages to escape into the forest, with Moreau in hasty pursuit. Prendick’s arm is broken in the scuffle. Montgomery and M’ling chase after Moreau and discover the Beast-Folk’s ravine sanctuary to be deserted. They are then attacked by two Swine-men with blood on their lips. The creatures are shot, but Montgomery is perturbed – this kind of rebellion has never happened before.
18. THE FINDING OF MOREAU.: Prendick, Montgomery and M’ling head back into the jungle and encounter some Beast Folk who report that Moreau and the puma-creature are dead. With Moreau dead, the Beast Folk begin to question the validity of the Law. Prendick quickly declares that Moreau is not dead, but only temporarily watching them from the heavens. When one of the beast men attack Montgomery, Prendick shoots it with his pistol in order to restore order. They soon find Moreau’s torn up body and bring it back to the compound. All of the Beast Folk (including M’ling) depart, leaving Montgomery and Prendick alone in the compound. They begin to destroy still living specimens in Moreau’s lab.
19. MONTGOMERY’S “BANK HOLIDAY.”: Afterwards, Montgomery becomes drunkenly hostile towards Prendick. He decides to seek out M’ling to have a drinking party with his old friend. Prendick then decides to fit out one of the boats with supplies and then sail off in the morning. When shots ring out on the beach, he runs out to see that Montgomery and M’ling have been killed by some of the hostile Beast Folk. Worse yet, Montgomery has destroyed Moreau’s boats in a bonfire. Even worse, Prendick sees that, in the chaos of rushing to Montgomery’s aid, he had accidentally tipped a lantern, thus setting fire to Moreau’s compound.
20. ALONE WITH THE BEAST FOLK.: Prendick uses his whip to reestablish control over a Dog-man and two other Beast Folk, and has them dump the dead bodies into the sea. The most hostile of the Beast-Folk, a Hyena-swine, begins to question Prendick’s authority, but is scared off with a gunshot. With no other options for survival, he then travels to the Beast Folk’s ravine huts and asks them for food. Pointed towards a hut, he enters it and barricades himself inside.
21. THE REVERSION OF THE BEAST FOLK.: After convincing the remaining Beast Folk of his continuing Mastery over them (with the aid of the faithful Dog-man), in the next few months Prendick tries (and fails) to build a raft to escape the island. The Beast Folk gradually revert back into bestiality, losing their ability to walk on twos, speak English, or live with any sense of civilization. One day, Prendick’s faithful Dog-man is slain by the Hyena-swine. Prendick kills it with a pistol shot when it then attacks him. Sometime later, a small boat holding two corpses drifts onto the beach. With the beasts becoming more and more hostile, Prendick prepares the boat for his escape.
22. THE MAN ALONE.: After three days on the open sea in his little boat, Prendick is rescued by a passing ship, although his story is not believed by his rescuers. When he returns to London, he manically sees himself surrounded by humans who seem liable to revert into beast-people. He eventually begins to develop a total aversion to any kind of human (or beast) company and decides to live a secluded life studying chemistry and astronomy, hoping to find peace in the heavens.