"My Post-Imago" by Vladimir Torin, summary

"My Post-Imago" is a dark detective novel set in 2024. This book is a detective story set in the fog-shrouded steampunk city of Gaben, where mysticism, science, and criminal conspiracies intertwine. The city here is a living, breathing mechanism, full of dangers and the hidden motives of its inhabitants. Gloomy streets, steam-powered carriages, and cruel laws create a unique atmosphere of hopelessness.

The work won the prestigious 2024 Mir Fantastiki magazine award in the "Mysticism and Horror of the Year" category. It was also nominated for "Best Domestic Book."

This work is part of the "Mysterious Stories from Gabin" series and is the first installment in the series. Other well-known books in the series include "Lemony, or the Secrets of the Old Pharmacy," "Of Noses and Locks," "The Mystery of 12 Rue Florette," and "The Dead Man from the Rue des Bleus."

The Riddle on the Durburd Train

The morning in the carpetbagger district of Gaben dawns gloomy and oppressive. Misanthropic Dr. Nathaniel Doe prepares for the approaching storm. He grabs his suitcase and leaves the house with a fog umbrella. He is soon joined by his restless nephew Jasper. A chance encounter brings them to the train station. A dead passenger is discovered in a carriage of the arriving Durburd train. The victim’s face is disfigured beyond recognition. The victim turns out to be Professor Reginald Ruffus. The scientist was a member of the Gaben Scientific Society of the Dusty Sea (GSDS).

Local constables Banks and Hopper demonstrate extreme incompetence. They rush to close the case, attributing the tragedy to an accidental attack or the passenger’s carelessness. Dr. Doe has a different opinion. The experienced physician applies rigorous medical deduction. He discovers a long cut on the seat, strange black dust, and a rash on the deceased’s neck. The doctor takes a saliva sample from the wound for laboratory analysis. Meanwhile, Jasper discovers a hidden clue. The boy finds half a phonograph cylinder hidden under the lining of the professor’s jacket. The uncle and nephew begin their own unofficial investigation, distrusting the police.

In search of answers

The trail naturally leads to a scientific community. Dr. Dow and Jasper visit Mr. Kelpie. He serves as deputy to the recently deceased head of the Lepidopterology Department, Professor Gibling. Kelpie explains that Rufus has returned from a secret expedition. The scientist traveled into the wild jungles of Keikuta. He was searching for the Black Moth, known among the natives as the Kupu-kupu. This legendary carnivorous insect foretells death and possesses frightening properties.

The detectives thoroughly examine the apartment of the late Rufus. Unknown persons have already searched the rooms. The thieves overturned luggage and stole field diaries. The doctor detects the subtle scent of prunes in the room. This aroma becomes the calling card of stealthy enemies. Soon, the heroes find Wamba. The native guide participated in the professor’s expedition. Wamba is frightened and confused. He mentions the cruel hunter Sir Hamilton. A hired gunman constantly threatened Professor Rufus in the swamps of Keikuta. Suddenly, armed men in black appear. A shootout ensues, and the attackers kidnap the native. The enemies smell distinctly of prunes.

Events are gathering momentum, filling the gray streets of Gaben with fear. It turns out the Black Moth escaped at the train station during the chaos. The giant insect is attacking workers at the pneumatic mail station. The deadly monster is brutally killing people. The Black Moth uses enormous transport tubes to travel around the city. Dr. Doe and Jasper decide to capture it themselves. They use a crimson lantern trap. The ambush almost works. Due to the brutal intervention of police officers Banks and Hopper, the plan is thwarted. The constables open fire indiscriminately, frightening the moth. The insect flies away unharmed into the thick fog.

The true face of the expedition

Dr. Dawe methodically assembles disparate clues into a coherent picture. He realizes that the expedition was generously financed by Sir Kramarow. The gullible aristocrat sought to prove the Black Moth’s existence to the scientific world. He wanted to win a bet with the cynical Sir Walter Fennyworth. Dr. Dawe listens to the reconstructed phonograph cylinder recording. Professor Ruffus claims on the wax recording that Sir Hamilton was deceiving them. The true, experienced hunter, Hamilton, was found dead in his Gaben apartment long ago.

Dr. Dawe exposes the fake Hamilton. It turns out to be Mr. Pimms. This humble bank clerk was assigned to oversee Sir Kramarrow’s finances. Pimms coldly confesses to the fraud he committed. He conspired with the elusive criminal consultant Mr. Bloch. Pimms was trying to confuse the detectives. He intentionally sprayed perfume with prune essence to frame the ailing Sir Walter Fenniworth. The clerk’s real goal was to obtain the healing tears of the Black Moth. He planned to sell them as a panacea for all ills for exorbitant prices. The constables triumphantly arrest the greedy criminal. The case seems successfully solved.

Metamorphosis and culinary madness

Mr. Kelpie’s health is rapidly deteriorating. The harmless butterfly caterpillar is suffering from a strange swamp fever. Dr. Doe conducts a thorough medical examination. The doctor is horrified to see an abnormal, frightening movement beneath the patient’s skin. Kelpie tearfully reveals her deepest secret. Kelpie bitterly recounts the story of her miraculous escape from the jungle. The caterpillar, the butterfly, has undergone a transformation, forming a humanoid body with its own mind and feelings.

He’s not human at all. He’s a living chrysalis, a post-imago. A second Black Moth is maturing within him. Professor Gibling secretly brought him twenty years ago. A special medicine slowed the metamorphosis. The bitter mixture allowed Kelpie to live a full human life, skillfully disguising himself as an ordinary citizen of Gaben.

Dr. Dawe resolves to keep his devoted friend’s secret. But fate has other plans. Jasper discovers a sinister recipe for a moth dish, safely hidden in the bee litter of a tame bee. Soon, Mr. Kelpie is brutally kidnapped. The mastermind behind the kidnapping is Sir Kramarow himself. This seemingly good-natured gentleman turns out to be the true mastermind behind the series of crimes. Kramarow hired Mr. Bloch to remove the moth from the body of the butterfly keeper. Pimms was merely a distraction in their cruel game. Sir Kramarow’s goal is shocking in its inhumanity. He wasn’t searching for a miracle cure. He passionately desired to eat the Black Moth, according to Cullinarius Trennier’s forbidden culinary recipe.

Sir Kramarow securely locks Mr. Kelpie in a cold basement. He mercilessly deprives the Black Moth of its life-saving medicine. The agonizing metamorphosis enters its final, fatal stage. Mr. Kelpie’s skin cracks, revealing a terrifying creature — a male Black Moth. The human shell is forever lost. Sir Kramarow’s personal chef immediately kills the newborn insect in cold blood with knives. An exotic stew will be prepared from the rare meat. Mr. Bloch silently takes the moth’s pheromone glands. This is his agreed-upon payment for his dirty work.

The puppeteer takes off his mask

Dr. Dow and Jasper know nothing of Mr. Kelpie’s gruesome fate. They naively believe the butterfly-keeper has departed on another long expedition. In the morning, the doctor and his nephew arrive at the bustling train station. They are seeing off the native Wamba. The guide is taking away the tranquilized female Black Moth. He is determined to return her to the wild jungles of Keikuta. The heroes hope that the chain of terrible deaths has ended forever.

Wamba boards the mail car. The heavy doors of the train close. The train pulls away with a blare of its whistle. However, Wamba quietly exits from the opposite side of the car. The supposed native secretly returns to the foggy city. He purposefully goes to an abandoned toy shop. There, the mysterious man removes his mask, his stiff wig, and washes off his dark makeup. The reader sees the stunning truth. Behind the timid Wamba, Mr. Bloch himself was hiding. The brilliant criminal, the puppeteer Goodwin, skillfully manipulated absolutely all events.

Mr. Bloch methodically turns on the old phonograph. He listens to the connected wax cylinder until the very end. Professor Rufus has time to discern from the recording that Wamba has radically changed. The scientist has realized that the false guide is deliberately leading the expedition into a deadly trap. Bloch listens to his dying words with frightening indifference. In his gloomy refuge lives a giant carnivorous flea, Karina. The criminal receives a sealed letter via secret underwater pneumatic tube. The message is sent from distant, hostile Vorburg. The note speaks of the imminent arrival of a certain Inkwell. Mr. Bloch calmly prepares for new sophisticated crimes. The ruined lives of others left behind disturb him completely.