The Island of Doctor Moreau: The Mark of the Beast (part 2 of 2)

Summary

Fictional Podcast Episode: The Island of Doctor Moreau: The Mark of the Beast (Part 2 of 2) Hosts: Jason Weiser & Carissa Weiser Release Date: June 11, 2025

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Overview

In the second part of their adaptation of H.G. Wells' The Island of Doctor Moreau, hosts Jason and Carissa Weiser delve deeper into the harrowing experiences of Pendrick as he grapples with the ethical and existential horrors orchestrated by Dr. Moreau. This episode masterfully blends classic literature themes with a modern narrative tone, bringing new life to the timeless story.

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Key Discussions and Plot Progression

Unveiling the Beastfolk's Struggles

The episode opens with Pendrick reflecting on his growing understanding of the island's inhabitants. He and Montgomery discuss the deteriorating condition of the beastfolk, who are gradually reverting to their primal forms despite Dr. Moreau's efforts to maintain their humanity.

• Montgomery: "He is all powerful. The man's a genius. And the beast folk are. Not that. Not yet." (00:46)

Montgomery's Descent

Montgomery's attempts to instill discipline among the beastfolk through rituals and controlled consumption of blood highlight his struggle to balance authority and compassion.

• Pendrick: "Montgomery tore into the rabbit. That wasn't an accident." (00:46)

Emerging Tensions and Rebellion

As the beastfolk begin to lose their humanity, tensions escalate. Pendrick notices a fox woman watching him, reminiscent of someone from his past in London, symbolizing his lingering connections to his former life.

• Pendrick: "He reminded him of someone he knew back in London." (03:27)

The Confrontation with the Leopard Man

A pivotal moment occurs when a Leopard man attacks Dr. Moreau, challenging his god-like authority over the beastfolk. This confrontation leads to a dramatic shootout where Moreau is injured but survives, revealing cracks in his divine facade.

• Montgomery: "His is the hand that wounds. His is the hand that heals." (12:15)
• Pendrick: "He never asked for this." (08:43)

The Collapse of Order

Following Moreau's attack, chaos ensues. The beastfolk witness their god bleeding, which shatters their reverence and instills fear. Moreau's attempt to maintain control by capturing the Leopard man fails, leading Pendrick to make a moral choice that further complicates the island's dynamics.

• Moreau: "What are you doing? Get the leopard man." (15:10)
• Pendrick: "Pendrick stood alongside Montgomery and M' Ling." (16:20)

Descent into Madness and Final Struggles

The narrative delves into the psychological toll on Pendrick and Montgomery as they witness the relentless decline of both the beastfolk and their own humanity. The breaking point is reached when Pendrick is forced to confront the inevitable collapse of their fragile society.

• Montgomery: "We have to find a way off this island." (30:40)
• Pendrick: "The difference between the monsters who had become men and the men who are now acting like monsters?" (19:47)

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Montgomery on Moreau's Power: "He is all powerful. The man's a genius." (00:46)

• Pendrick on the Beastfolk's Humanity: "The humanity in their faces, no matter how strong, couldn't hide the mark of the beast." (04:15)

• Montgomery Reflecting on Life: "I'm almost 40, you know. That's my life." (27:33)

• Pendrick on Solitude and Humanity: "But here on Earth and in his body, he would only be able to hear the harsh, guttural barks of the animal." (41:00)

• Final Reflection on Human Nature: "What was the difference between the monsters who had become men and the men who are now acting like monsters?" (19:47)

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Themes Explored

1. Scientific Ethics: The moral implications of Dr. Moreau's experiments serve as a critique of unchecked scientific ambition.
2. Humanity vs. Primal Instincts: The struggle of the beastfolk to retain their humanity amidst reverting to their animalistic roots highlights the thin veneer that separates civilization from savagery.
3. Power and Control: Moreau's god-like control over the beastfolk and the subsequent rebellion questions the ethics of power dynamics.
4. Isolation and Mental Decline: Pendrick and Montgomery's descent into despair and madness underscores the psychological effects of prolonged isolation and moral compromise.

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Character Arcs

• Pendrick: His journey from a passive observer to someone who makes harrowing moral choices illustrates the impact of extreme circumstances on one's sense of self.
• Montgomery: Initially a figure of authority and control, his gradual unraveling reflects the fragility of human resolve under pressure.
• Dr. Moreau: Transitioning from a revered "god" to a vulnerable figure exposes the inherent instability of power built on fear and manipulation.

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Conclusion and Reflections

As the episode concludes, Pendrick faces the collapse of the island's societal structure and contemplates escape, only to find himself haunted by the remnants of his traumatic experiences. The hosts emphasize the enduring relevance of Wells' themes, encouraging listeners to reflect on the ethical boundaries of scientific exploration and the essence of humanity.

• Pendrick: "They had to find a way off this island. If the ocean brought death, it would be a slow and solitary one." (35:05)

• Montgomery on Acceptance: "I'm damned. I've been damned my whole life, and now I see it." (27:33)

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Final Thoughts

Jason and Carissa Weiser adeptly navigate the complex narrative of The Island of Doctor Moreau, offering insightful commentary and vivid storytelling that bring depth to the classic tale. Their ability to intertwine character development with thematic exploration makes this episode a compelling listen for both fans of the original work and newcomers alike.

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Further Engagement

Listeners are encouraged to join the Fictional Discord community to discuss episode insights, share interpretations, and connect with fellow enthusiasts. A link to the Discord can be found in the show notes.

Stay Tuned: The next episode will feature a story from sci-fi legend Philip K. Dick, exploring the demands of our modern world and the search for alternative paths.

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This summary was crafted based on the transcript provided and aims to encapsulate the essence of the podcast episode while omitting non-content sections such as advertisements and intros.

Transcript

[Pendrick]

Now that everything was out in the open, Pendrick could start piecing things together. Montgomery was freer in his talk with Pendrick, and talk he did. The leopard man was the one that went after Pendrick that one night. He was a problem. Like Moreau had said, some of the beast folk were slipping. The reason they didn't slip all the way was, well, Moreau. He is a God to them, and for all intents and purposes. Montgomery took another swig of brandy.

[Montgomery]

He is.

[Pendrick]

He made them. He is all powerful. The man's a genius. And the beast folk are. Not that. Not yet. We have high hopes for the puma, though, and M' Ling here. M' Ling brought in a slightly overcooked rabbit and some potatoes. That religious awe you saw on the beast folk Montgomery tore into the rabbit. That wasn't an accident. Montgomery came up with those chants. If they could keep the beastfolk from crawling on all fours and chasing stuff. And blood. Oh, man, the blood. They'd get one taste of it. Pendrick asked about the weird little volleyball things, the small monstrosities with the tiny teeth. Montgomery nodded. Yeah, those were kind of practices. Also, the beast folk could have children, though they didn't usually tend to live too long. When Montgomery could snag one, Moreau would shape the child into something resembling a human. For some reason, the beastfolk hid their young, though who knows why. Moling was the most docile and human looking the closest to a success. Over the next several days, anytime Pendrick ventured out of the enclosure, he couldn't help but study the the people, if they could be called that. The humanity in their faces, no matter how strong, couldn't hide the mark of the beast. Some, though it was uncanny. A fox woman watched Pendrick from the forest. She reminded him of someone he knew back in London. Pendrick started carrying a whip, too, and taking walks with Montgomery and Ling. They saw something in the path ahead, and Montgomery told Mling to go back, wait by a tree. Ling was curious, but Montgomery raised a whip. The beastman winced. Pendrick grimaced. That response had to come from somewhere, and he had witnessed Pendrick get more and more violent the emptier his flask got. Montgomery walked up and squatted. Pendrick saw the hair smeared and matted with blood. Another rabbit, Pendrick explained. Yeah. He asked Montgomery if he remembered that night about a week ago, when Pendrick came back rattled after running from something in the forest. He saw a rabbit with its head twisted off. It was messed up. He saw a creature drinking from a stream, like face down, sucking Montgomery replied that Pendrick didn't say any of this on that night. Pendrick replied that he led with the part about being chased back to the enclosure and knocking someone out. Montgomery said he thought that was just Pendrick being weird. But the rabbits, the taste of blood. It did something to the beast folk. They shouldn't taste blood. They shouldn't drink from the river like that, ever. And they shouldn't chase. They needed to get back to the enclosure. Someone had broken the law. From Jason and Carissa Weiser, the creators of myths and legends. This is fictional. They stood in a kind of natural amphitheater. The ground sloped down, making it something of a bowl with rocks all around. Moreau blew the horn. Pendrick felt the handle of his revolver for comfort as the beast folk found their way in. Moreau took the whole situation even more seriously than Montgomery. They thought it was the Leopard man and asked Pendrick if he could ID his attacker. Pendrick thought he might be able to, but as the beastfolk began to trickle in, a couple satyrs at first, which was weird, Moreau must have been in a mythology kick when he made those. A rhino man, a horse person, two swinewomen, two wolf women, and in the growing throng, the wolf bear witch, as Montgomery and Moreau referred to her. That literal vixen that watched Pendrick from the forest's edge. Start the service, Moreau whispered to Montgomery. Montgomery nodded. His is the hand that wounds. His is the hand that heals. His is the hand that makes. Moreau stepped over to Pendrick. There. The Leopard man crested the top of the amphitheater. The law has been broken. Moreau announced, and cracked his whip. Everyone shuddered. Everyone but the Leopard Man. There was a mumbling all around. The law. The House of Pain. Who is he? Who is he? Those who break the law, Moreau called out. Go back to the House of Pain. The group called out in disparate, awe filled whispers. There was one. One who was faster than any of them thought possible. While Moreau was working the crowd, confident in his position as a God amongst the beings he created, he didn't realize how narrow his pedestal was or how little it would take to topple him. The look of shock as Dr. Moreau tumbled forward, the muzzle flash, the gunshot. The sensations hit the crowd all at once. When it was over, Dr. Moreau was struggling to his feet, spitting blood from a busted lip. The Leopard man had tackled him, but Moreau missed his shot. Pendrick stood alongside Montgomery and M' Ling. Everyone wondered, did that just happen? Then Montgomery, M' Ling, Moreau and Pendrick were all too aware of the circle around them, of the beastfolk, of the people who just saw their God bleed. What are you doing? Get the leopard man. Moreau screamed. Montgomery and M' Ling ran off after the leopard man, running on all fours in the distance, and the hyena swaying close behind. Hendrick walked behind the limpy Moreau, his own revolver drawn. Montgomery's whip cracked, encouraging the hyena, swine and any of the other more zealous beast folk to back off. Pendrick could hear Montgomery barking at M' Ling. His orders didn't make any sense. He was spiraling. Moreau was holding it together as best he could. He might have a broken rib, but they needed to find the leopard man. Moreau had commanded, make an example out of him. It was the only way to regain control. So they fanned out. The leopard man was in a wide grassy field. Montgomery had seen him disappear, duck down into it. And the only thing after that was the sway of the grass and the wind. The leopard man was out there, and they had to find him. That's how Pendrick's foot found the leopard man. Too firm to be dirt, too soft to be rock. The leopard man. Pendrick drew his revolver, then relaxed. Pendrick, do you see him? Montgomery called out. Pendrick wasn't in any danger. Not from this man. Not from him. The leopard man looked back on Pendrick, coiled and stooped into a ball, hugging himself. His green eyes. They had tears in them. Pendrick understood this creature. He never asked for this.

[Montgomery]

He was like a child.

[Pendrick]

He acted in fear. He hurt Moreau. But Moreau was the closest thing he had to a father. And he ran. He ran into the forest. Pendrick could see the beast people were a concoction of urges. They were human and animal. They tried, but the beast side emerged. It always emerged. And the God that had created them and left them to figure out the world into which they had been thrust, returned only for punishment. Pendrick, do you see him? The leopard man sobbed, big sobs that rocked his body. It's okay, Pendrick said. But it wasn't. The leopard man would return to the House of Pain. Everything he was, everything he knew about himself, would be cut open and rearranged. Pendrick didn't know what Moreau had planned for his attacker, but he knew the House of Pain would live up to its name. He found it. Pendrick found it. Montgomery called out to Moreau. Pendrick, back up and wait. It's not safe. Their footsteps got closer in the grass Pendrick could see the beast folk watching from the edges, whispering, chanting the law. They barely understood the words House of Pain. House of pain over and over again. Pendrick shook his head. The leopard man didn't deserve this. He looked into the leopard man's eyes, one of them still bruised from when he had chased Pendrick. The leopard man was an imperfect human, but then again, aren't we all? The leopard man looked down and then met Pendrick's eyes and nodded in return. Pendrick pulled back the hammer on his revolver, put the muzzle against the leopard man's forehead, and the shot rang out across the grass. Pendrick stepped back with the smoking gun as Montgomery and M' Ling ran up. What had he done? The beastfolk, no longer chanting, gathered around the body, but the hyena swine pushed his way through, tearing into the neck of the leopard man's corpse among the anger of Moreau and Montgomery, the terror and confusion of the beastfolk and the hyena swine tearing into the leopard man with his claws. Pendrick turned around and wandered listlessly into the forest. Six weeks. Six weeks was all it took for Pendrick to go from not loving but pitying the beast people to loathing them. It wasn't their fault, though. It was Moreau. Moreau who had played God, Moreau who kept up the work on the puma in the lab. The poor animal had been on the table for two months, agonizing. Its cries were full on weeping now. Pendrick barely heard them anymore, he was so used to the cruelty. He hadn't left the compound in six weeks, so he was right next to the lab the whole time. He full on avoided Moreau even when the doctor took smoke breaks. You couldn't carry on a conversation with Montgomery if you wanted to. The man started drinking as soon as his duties in the lab were finished and didn't stop until he passed out. It had been a long six weeks. They didn't even lock the door to the lab anymore. Which was how, at six one morning while Pendrick was up eating the breakfast Molling had prepared, he heard a crash and a scream inside the lab. This one wasn't the puma, though. It was Moreau. Pendrick rose and that's how he broke his forearm when the puma thundered out of the lab, bloody bandages and restraints dragging behind her. She didn't go around Pendrick but through him, throwing him to the ground. He felt the bones snap and the pain radiated through him as mat eyed Moreau emerged from the lab, his hair streaked with blood Revolver in his hand, asking where was she? Did she get out of the enclosure? Good doctor that he was, he left Pendrick with a broken arm and took off to kill his greatest creation. Pendrick, Montgomery and M' Ling found them that evening after the shot rang out on the far side of the island. Moreau had killed the puma. As the puma tore at Moreau, they were both dead. Pendrick, Montgomery and M' Ling had to remember to breathe. Moreau was dead. We have to move the body, pendrick said.

[Montgomery]

Hide it.

[Pendrick]

If the Beastfolk. But just then there was a wary parting of the leaves behind them. The Beastfolk had been following them the whole day as they searched. Of course, when you were on the island, you had to get used to the idea of the Beastfolk following you. The Beastfolk only watched in curiosity and the occasional awe. That's why the trio didn't realize how close the Beastfolk actually were. The Monkey man was the first to emerge, his eyes locked onto Moreau's, wide open, staring but not seeing the eyes of a dead God. The Monkey man froze. He. He was dead. Is there a law now? They turned to the gray haired speaker of the law, the one who had led the chanting back at the village. He only stood processing what he was seeing. Children of the Law. Pendrick stepped forward. He is not dead. Montgomery turned and looked at Pendrick. What was he doing? He has only changed his shape. He has changed his body from for a time. You will not see him. He is there. Pendrick pointed toward the sky, where he can watch you better. There. You cannot see him. But he can see you fear the law. Some of you have broken the law. They will die. As if on cue, as if Moreau was truly in the sky, one of the little monsters that Moreau had made, one of the things that crawled on the earth and existed only to die, rolled through a clearing on its own flesh, letting out a shriek that was little more than a whine. Behind it, one of the Beast folk hunted. Pendrick never knew what type of beastman it was, because Montgomery, in his half inebriated panic, obliterated the thing's face with his revolver. Pendrick had to hide his shaking hand, but mustered words he didn't know he had, marveling at how easy it was to become one of them like Montgomery or Moreau, and take control of these. These things. See? Is the law not alive. This is what comes of breaking the law. Hependrick gestured to Moreau's lifeless corpse and then to the sky. He sends the fire that kills While the beast folk were falling into chants, bowing and singing, Pendrick told Montgomery and m' Ling to get him up. They had to get him back to the enclosure. They had to get him out of here or else they were all dead. We'll see what happens to the island with Moreau gone. But that will be right after this.

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[Montgomery]

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[Pendrick]

As Moro's body turned to smoke, truly rising into heaven, Pendrick and Montgomery put an end to the lab. If there were unaltered animals, they took the cages to the periphery and let them run. Any animals with the fingerprint of Moreau, though, the Puma was the main project. But at any given time, while the Puma needed rest and healing, Moreau had dozens of side projects going on, each at varying stages of completion, each at their own painful stop on the road to consciousness. They couldn't waste bullets. They had no idea when the next.

[Montgomery]

Ship would be by.

[Pendrick]

They had to do most of them by hand. And as the twisting first furry creatures writhed and snapped in the grip of the men, Pendrick wondered what was the difference between what they were doing now and the beast who just lost a face hunting down a similar creature? What was the difference between the monsters who had become men and the men who are now acting like monsters? They took the wheelbarrows out to the fire on the edge of the enclosure, and Moreau burned with his creations. That night. Montgomery sat staring. Forty years, pendrick said. What? Look, they had to develop a plan here. That speech in the forest wouldn't hold. I'm almost 40, you know. Montgomery's hand shook now, but that was only because he was almost sober. 16 years. I was bullied by my schoolmasters and then doctors. I ground out a life in medicine in London. Terrible food, threadbare in debt to everyone. Then the incident. Then 10 years here. He met Pendrick's eyes. That's my life. 31 years. Nothing. Nothing at all. We are bubbles blown by a child. We exist for a moment and then, pendrick said, pitying himself wouldn't help. They had to find a way off this island. Montgomery uncorked some rum, took a long swig, and then sighed with a smile. He'll change, you know that, montgomery said. Pendrick said he couldn't worry about that. Oh, they'll change. Montgomery took another long drink, closed his eyes, and breathed. Already they're starting to turn back. But they won't turn back all at once now Some will go faster than others. The brutes will revert quicker than the most genteel ones. What happens to them? What happens to them? A massacre is what happens if they abandoned this island. They were leaving the soft ones, the gentle ones, the kind ones to be torn, eaten, and eventually killed by the beasts that would be on their heads. Not my head, pendrick said, and then realized what he had said. What did you say to me? Pendrick averted his eyes, though he could feel Montgomery's boring into him. M' Ling here. M' Ling scurried over. Drink. M' Ling took the bottle. Montgomery, come on, pendrick said. Drink, montgomery commanded. M' Ling took kind of a big first drink of liquor, spat it out, and then tried a second. That one was a sip and it went down easier. You know what? You're right, Pendrick. Montgomery grinned. I'm damned. I've been damned my whole life, and now I see it. I accept it. If I even have a soul. Maybe I'm like them. He rose to leave, and Pendrick stood to block him. He couldn't go out there, the beast, but he found himself looking down Montgomery's gun. I won't be told what to do ever again, montgomery said, and then gestured for Pendrick to get out of his way and said he would not ask twice. Pendrick obeyed. There was singing that night, singing that Pendrick heard barely muffled through the door. Pendrick laid back, trying to sleep. Tomorrow was a big day. He would pile provisions in one of the dinghies down on the beach and take his chances again with the open ocean. If the ocean brought death, it would be a slow and solitary one. Pendrick didn't know what horrors he would witness if he stayed on the island. As he blinked to go to sleep, his eye caught something he registered at first as a flicker of his lantern, but it hadn't come from his lantern. It was coming from outside. Pendrick stood and stumbled over the side table, sending things sprawling into the floor, and he rushed to the door. Pendrick fumbled with the lock when he heard the glass shattering off on the beach. He threw open the door to see the flash of the muzzle of Montgomery's gun kissing the night sky. Pendrick felt for his own revolver and ran toward the beach. He found Mling first. He was barely breathing, his neck torn open. He simply stared up at the sky, waiting as the ground, warm and soaked with his own blood, cradled him. Two of the beast folk huddled over Montgomery, or what remained of him. Wink was able to scare them off. Pendrick saw the footsteps in the sand, dancing, drinking. Montgomery's voice rasped. He laid a ragged pile of crimson. His red teeth glinted. Sorry. The last. The last of the silly universe. What a mess. Montgomery closed his eyes for the last time. Pendrick fired a shot into the air. He knew he was being watched. He wanted them to know that he was ready. He surveyed the scene, trying to figure out how to get the bodies back to the enclosure. He looked all around for something to carry them on. He saw the wolf man, half burning in the fire. The recipient of Montgomery's final shot. And the fire. Wait. Where did Montgomery get the firewood? Penrick looked past the wolfman, his lower half burning now too, to see the planks, the fringes of the sailcloth still clinging to ash. The boats. In his last act, celebrating his damnation, he had cursed Pendrick to follow him. Montgomery had burned the boats. But that wasn't the only thing that was burning. A larger fire bloomed in the night. Pendrick didn't want to turn, didn't want his eyes to confirm what his mind already knew to be true. When he tripped over his bedside table, his lantern had been on that table. The thought, the possibility, was frightened away like a bird taking flight when Pendrick saw the muzzle flash. Now, though, Pendrick knew the enclosure, the House of Pain, the one place of safety on an island of monsters, was burning.

[Montgomery]

Pendrick washed his face, flattening the wiry beard hairs. He stroked the Dogman between his ears and went to the beach. Pendrick's arm had healed wrong. He had to set the bone himself, with only the knowledge that that was something people sometimes did when they broke a bone. It was a miracle or a curse that he didn't sever an artery and die in minutes.

[Pendrick]

That was, of course, after he got.

[Montgomery]

Away from the beach. Their gods were dead, the beastfolk. But that didn't mean their faith was that same chain Moreau used to keep them under control. The House of Pain. The Master always watching over them. They. But it still bound them. At least it kept them away from his hut. It stayed their hands, hands that were changing. Pendrick had found one of their abandoned huts in their village. He walked to the village, then the Dogman walked beside him, as he did every day. The Dogman was an oddity. The mark of the beast was still obvious on him. And while most of the beast folk.

[Pendrick]

Were happy to throw off the yoke.

[Montgomery]

Of the humans, respecting Pendrick but not necessarily obeying him, the Dogman was something more than a servant, but something less than a friend. He slept on the floor next to Pendrick's heap of leaves. He was a constant companion. Pendrick didn't find his conversation all that engaging, but it was comforting. In the morning, the dogman was there with a smile. In the evening, he would lay down in the doorway. He seemed comfortable with the human. To everyone else, the human was something of a curiosity. Pendrick didn't try to rule over them. He had four bullets remaining in the revolver that never left his side, so Pendrick lived among them. At night they would sit around the fire and talk while they could. The village had been large when pendrick joined roughly 10 months later. Only about a quarter of the beast folk remained. The hyena swine, the last of the great predators, hadn't gotten all of them. Most simply wandered off. Pendrick noticed it after the first few weeks, and as the months passed and the conversations degraded until they became guttural barks, the last human knew it to be true. The beast folk were reverting, just like Montgomery said they would. The awe of humans that seemed to be carved into their very being meant they would let Pendrick share in their food. That meant he could spend all day doing the only thing that mattered, trying to get off the island. In the cool morning, he worked on the raft, though there were still problems he couldn't address. No way to store enough water for days on the ocean. Even if his raft was seaworthy, he didn't have a sail. He would just float. In the afternoon he would climb to the tallest point on the island. A cliff overlooking the sea. Lay out a half burned blanket he recovered from the enclosure and watch. Watch the horizon for anything. The island wasn't on any maps, but Montgomery and Moreau had been there for 10 years, signaling sailors passing by.

[Pendrick]

Ships did pass.

[Montgomery]

It was only a matter of time. So that was how Pendrick spent 10 months. There was the ever present anxiety that the hyena swine was watching from the forest. He almost certainly was. But Pendrick thought about the hyena swine in the abstract. Like death. It would get him one day. He would fight it, but it would come. That afternoon. Pendrick heard a groan from behind him. He turned and the dogman was limping. Pendrick rushed back.

[Pendrick]

Was he hurt?

[Montgomery]

Dogman pointed down. His back was warped and crooked. The bone in his leg was popping out the wrong way. Pain.

[Pendrick]

Foot.

[Montgomery]

Can't. Up. Pendrick looked away to hide the tears. It had begun. Slowly. The dogman had trouble finding the right words. He would describe things creatively now, though he could only speak in monosyllapic words, and most of them were unintelligible. He was reverting, too, just like the rest of them. Pendrick took a deep breath. I think it's time for you to walk on all fours. The dogman looked up at Pendrick, his words both unable to encapsulate and communicate his confusion. But law. Pendrick could have told him that the law didn't matter. It was something Moreau made up to control them and Pendrick clung to in order to survive. But he wouldn't destroy his only friend's whole concept of the world, not when he was evidently so close to the end of conscious thought. I'll talk to him. It'll only be for a bit. Just until you feel better, pendrick said. The dogman smiled a thank you, and whether he believed his master or whether he was relieved to not be in agony anymore, he dropped to all fours and he was immediately running over. The next several weeks, Pendrick watched his friend try to stand up, but every time he stooped lower and lower, his words became fewer and fewer. When they stopped altogether, Pendrick would spend long minutes just looking at him, wondering if his friend was still in there somewhere. One day, while Pendrick sat on the rocks looking out at the sea, he spotted a boat, a sail on the water. Pendrick lit the signal fire, the dry logs under the green leaves. The smoke rose high in the air and the boat turned toward them and kept turning. It was a few hours until the sailboat finally made it to one of the beaches. Pendrick whistled for Dogman, but he was off running around somewhere as he reverted. He did that more and more. Pendrick shouldered his pack and started the trek. The island was something of a safari now. Nearly all the animals had reverted, but nearly all of them were wrong. There were oxen with fox traits, cat, cow, sloth, dogs. In a few years, after everything was either hunted or died, the island would once again be deserted. Well, except for the rabbits that arrived with Pendrick. Pendrick found the boat, and it was.

[Pendrick]

Exactly as he feared.

[Montgomery]

It wasn't quite the worst possible outcome.

[Pendrick]

He still had a boat, but the.

[Montgomery]

Greasy skeleton with a fire red beard and an empty keg told him that no one was coming for him. The boat that he had been hoping for, the one that had rescued him the first time, had sunk. The captain that cast him off to.

[Pendrick]

Go live with the beasts was the.

[Montgomery]

Corpse that rocked back and forth in the empty boat. Pendrick looked at the keg the captain died clutching. It would do. He dragged the body off the boat and gave it the burial it deserved. And as it rolled around in the surf, went to go fill up the.

[Pendrick]

Keg with fresh water.

[Montgomery]

The beastfolk hid from him. Now fires no longer glowed on the island. They had lost their need for it and regained their fear of it. Pendrick wasn't taking any chances. He would fill up the keg, find Dogman and leave immediately.

[Pendrick]

He had his way out.

[Montgomery]

He wouldn't squander his last best hope. As he walked, he called out to Dogman. It was unlike him to be gone so long. Right as he made it to the spring, he heard Dogman bark and then whimper and then a gruesome snap. Pendrick dropped the barrel and ran. When he pushed through to the clearing, he found the Dogman.

[Pendrick]

He was dead.

[Montgomery]

His neck snapped with a bite from the hyena swine. The hyena swine, tall, still standing on two feet with razor teeth and two long tusk like canines protruding from the bottom, looked Pendrick over with a smile, studying him with eyes that were curiously still human. It was a challenge. Who would be the final apex predator of the island? Pendrick answered that challenge with a bullet to what could generously be called the hyena swine's forehead.

[Pendrick]

Yeah.

[Montgomery]

Turns out that the months since the total collapse of the island society and the partial dissolution of his mental faculties, the hyena swine kind of forgot how guns worked. His body dropped back into the forest. Pendrick's heart sank when he held his friend. Dogman had been a Saint Bernard, and he was on his way back there. They had given each other comfort in these chaotic times, but he was glad that his friend could finally rest. Pendrick burned the bodies, filled up his keg at the freshwater spring and made.

[Pendrick]

His way to the boat.

[Montgomery]

When he returned, the captain's body was missing, no doubt dragged into the forest.

[Pendrick]

By the devolved beast folk. Pendrick boarded the boat, spread the sails.

[Montgomery]

And made for the reef. The island teemed with life behind him, and the smoke of Dogman and the hyena swine's funeral pyre snaked up into the blue. Pendrick was back with the beast folk.

[Pendrick]

At least that was how he felt.

[Montgomery]

He didn't know who he was anymore. But as he looked on, London crawling with life, with at times the stench that reminded him of the Hutts, and he felt a panic growing in his chest and snaking its way up the back of his neck. His heart pumped. He rushed back inside his flat, locked his door and huddled in the corner like the leopard man in the field.

[Pendrick]

He had to be careful.

[Montgomery]

Upon return. He had been found after only three days, and the people barely believed that.

[Pendrick]

He was the survivor of the Lady.

[Montgomery]

Vanessa, that ship that wrecked a year ago with no survivors. They had asked one survivor, he corrected, not meeting their eyes. He decided not to tell anyone of Moreau and the beast folk. No one would have believed him anyway. He was on an island with beasts. He told the authorities. That was true, after all. He. He didn't mention that the most beastly of them all were the humans. After the papers, the interviews, after everything, he found himself alone. They expected him to be the same, to go back to life. But how could he be the same after what he had experienced, after what he could never tell anybody? He did do some searching, though. He found an old colleague of Moreau's, probably the closest thing a man like Moreau could have to a friend. And he told the man how Moreau had ended and in turn got some sort of connection, a feeling that what had happened had happened. The man offered no consolation. He was a stranger, after all. But just being able to speak it aloud, it made Pendrick feel just a little lighter, like he didn't have to hide in the dark corners of the world. All this searching, though, was spent at night, after the talk with Moreau's old colleague. Pendrick could almost laugh about it, traveling around in the safety of the night, unseen, yet constantly aware, like an animal. He did this because the people were all different.

[Pendrick]

They stooped, they yelled, they shoved at.

[Montgomery]

Each other, snapped and stole. He couldn't see them the same way, the people that is in all of them. He saw the mark of the beast. They were enslaved by their desires. They scrambled from pain and discomfort. They tore into meat.

[Pendrick]

Their eyes watched each other like they.

[Montgomery]

Were waiting for prey. He wondered how long. How long until they reverted? How long until he was alone again? Pendrick realized that he could leave the island, but the island would never leave him.

[Pendrick]

It was actually in solitude that Pendrick found some sort of solace. The city and the people reminded him too much of the island and the huts and the cave. But he found that a house in the country with a dog that reminded him of the good parts of the island of the Dogman, and with books where he could interact not with the physical and the flesh, but with thoughts and ideas that he found rest there, far from any neighbors. He read, studied, and could pull his mind away from the corporeal, from the flesh. And he could cling to that thing that made him human. That makes all of us human, and in that find peace, Peace and hope, hope that there was some meaning to it all. After a day spent reading, he could go out and look up at the universe of stars and prayed that there was a cosmic harmony that made it all worth it, a music of the spheres, even though here on Earth and in his body, he would only be able to hear the harsh, guttural barks of the animal. Today's story was adapted from The island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. wells. I posted a link to the original.

[Montgomery]

Work if you'd like to read it.

[Pendrick]

There is a lot going on in this text, such as themes of scientific ethics, religion, trauma, and what it means.

[Montgomery]

To be human, and I think I.

[Pendrick]

Would probably be doing it a disservice to try to discuss it when the work does such a good job of exploring those themes on its own. Fictional is part of the myths and.

[Montgomery]

Legends Discord now, so if you'd like.

[Pendrick]

To discuss the show and connect with other listeners, I put a link to that in the show notes. Fictional is by Jason and Carissa Weiser, and our theme song is still by the amazing Breakmaster Cylinder. Fictional will release every other week, so we'll be back in two weeks with a story from sci fi legend Philip K. Dick about how much our world demands from us and if there could be another way. As always, thank you so much for listening and we'll see you next time.

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