Editing Morlock (section)

==In ''The Time Machine''==
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The Morlocks are at first a mysterious presence in the book, in so far as the protagonist initially believes the [[Eloi]] are the sole descendants of [[human]]ity. Later, the Morlocks are made the story's antagonists. They [[Underground living|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 [[Tapetum lucidum|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 Traveller 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 Traveller and band together to attack him when he invades their dwelling. Their language is composed of strange, unpleasant sounds, which the Time Traveller 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 [[Social class|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.