Pule’s Descent

Pule’s ambition and grievance harden into violence, and each failure drives him further from reason and human connection.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Self-Proclaimed Genius

An Intellect Without Restraint A private sense of superiority Willis Pule imagines himself to be a misunderstood scholar whose intelligence sets him above ordinary people. His interest in the Homunculus is mixed with greed and a desire to possess power others have squandered. Other people as instruments Pule pursues Dorothy and treats Narbondo, Drake, and their secrets as tools. His belief in his own exceptional nature leaves little room for affection, humility, or responsibility.

Repeated Humiliations

Schemes Turn Against Him Failed ventures Pule participates in the exhumation of Joanna Southcote and the theft of a carp, only to find that his labor benefits Narbondo. Later he fails to obtain Sebastian’s manuscript and escapes pursuit in Harrogate. A stolen opportunity On the train, Pule kills a passenger and takes another box. He sees the theft as vindication, but he does not know what the box contains and cannot stop his decisions from tightening the trap around him.

Violence Without a Prize

Ruinous Rage The bomb fails Pule brings a bomb to Narbondo’s laboratory, but Kraken and Hasbro spoil the attack, and Narbondo escapes across the rooftops. Pule’s plans now produce destruction without giving him control. Madness takes over At the Heath, Pule turns on Deener and later smashes the Homunculus’s box. His final act frees the being but leaves him emptied of his former purpose, a defeated man rather than a master of the future.

Early in the London plot

From the failed laboratory break-in to the train escape

The final hours on Hampstead Heath