Synopsis
Dr. Lawler has mysteriously disappeared from his laboratory, but the body of an ape is found still there.
History
First publication: Weird Tales, November 1927
Review
Told in the form of newspaper clippings and journal extracts. A pretty standard mad scientist-meddling-with-things-we-should-not-meddle-with. It is written okay for a short story. The basic idea was not original. Maybe the idea of evolutionary regression was a new twist - I’m not sure. But that was much better done in Altered States. Still, if you accept that this was Wellman’s second story and that it is a short story in a pulp magazine, it is enjoyable. I would only recommend it to those who want a deep dive into either Wellman’s work or early Weird Tales.
