Phi-oo

Name: Phi-oo

AKA: Selenite, Man-Insect, Mooney

Location: Moon caverns

Novel: The First Men in the Moon

Author: H.G. Wells





Natural History:
Phi-oo was a Selenite sent by the Grand Lunar to establish whatever mental communications that were possible with the man from Earth, Cavor.

The Selenites were a race of insectoid beings that lived below the moon's surface in large and extravagant caverns. Each Selenite, it seemed, presented an incredible exaggeration of some particular feature - one had a vast right forelimb, an enormous antennal arm, as it were; one seemed all leg, poised, as it were, on stilts; another protruded an enormous nose-like organ beside a sharply speculative eye that made him startlingly human until one saw his expressionless mouth. Some had horns or strange features like whiskers, microscopic heads, distended brain-cases, blobby bodies; some seemed like flimsy things that existed just to hold large white-rimmed eyes. Their eyes were calculating or looked like black bottomless pits, both large and small. Some even carried umbrellas in their tentacular hands! A Selenite was born into their place and all of their training, education, and surgery he undergoes is to fit that place so he has so purpose beyond it.

Phi-oo was a Selenite with a large brain case. He was about five feet high with small, slender legs. One could see his pulsating heart through his small body. Pulsating brain movements could be seen behind the thin membrane that stretched from his small head over the large, globe-like bladder. From behind he looked like Atlas holding the world. Phi-oo was a Selenite of the top class, an adminstrator, Selenites of considerable initiative and versatility.

Phi-oo was sent to communicate with Cavor. He did so by imitating every sound Cavor made, beginning with a cough. Phi-oo would point and imitate Cavor until he felt he had mastered the word. The first word he learned was "man" and "mooney," which is what Cavor called them instead of Selenite.

Phi-oo caught on to one or two phrases, especially "If I may say," "Do you understand," and "M'm-M'm," and adorns all his speech with them.

"M'm - the Grand Lunar - wished to say - wishes to say - he gathers you are - m'm - men - that you are a man from the planet earth. He wishes to say that he welcomes you - welcomes you - and wishes to learn - learn, if I may use the word - the state of you world, and the reason why you came to this." -Phi-oo