| Morlocks | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
First Appearance |
The New Review, vol. 12, no. 68 (Jan. 1895) |
|
Original Publisher |
William Heinemann |
|
Created by |
H. G. Wells |
Origin[]
Morlocks dwell underground beneath the English countryside of AD 802,701, maintaining ancient machines that they may or may not remember how to build. Their only access to the surface world is through a series of well-like structures that dot the countryside of future England.
After thousands of generations of living without sunlight, the Morlocks have come to resemble troglofauna. They are described as apelike, with dull grey-to-white skin, chinless faces, large greyish-red eyes with a capacity for reflecting light, and flaxen hair on the head and back. They are stronger than the Eloi, but smaller and weaker than the average human (the Time Traveler hurt or killed some barehanded with relative ease), but a large swarm of them could be a serious threat to a lone man, especially unarmed and/or without a light source.
Unlike the Eloi, the Morlocks retain some of their human curiosity, initiative, and aggression: they are intrigued by the Time Traveler and band together to attack him when he invades their dwelling. Their language is composed of strange, unpleasant sounds, which the Time Traveler never deciphers. Their sensitivity to light usually prevents them from attacking during the day.
The relationship between the Morlocks and the Eloi is symbiotic: the Eloi are clothed, fed and possibly bred by the Morlocks, and the Morlocks consume the Eloi as a food source. Seeing this, the Time Traveller speculates that the relationship developed from a class distinction present in his own time: the Morlocks are descendants of the working class who were relegated to working and living underground so that the rich upper class could live in luxury on the surface. With time, the roles altered – the surface people grew apathetic and helpless to the point that they were no longer masters of their subterranean counterparts. However, the Morlocks must have continued to tend to the Eloi (the protagonist guesses this may at first have been out of tradition or intrinsic habit) and at some point began using them as livestock.
Public Domain Appearances[]
- The Time Machine (1895)
- When the Sleeper Wakes (1899)
Notes[]
- In the Marvel Comics universe, a number of mutants whose mutations are visually obvious dwell underground, calling themselves Morlocks.