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David, who is Fitch’s father and Dorrie’s ex-husband, grows human organs inside of pigs to help provide organ transplants to those afflicted by the virus. He’s called to the laboratory by his graduate assistant, Patrice, when one of the pigs starts to talk. Dubbed “Snortorious P.I.G.,” it repeats the word “Dahktar,” and MRI tests later show that his brain is advancing. David swears them all to secrecy and brings in Patrice’s sister, Ammie, to help the pig learn speech.
Snortorious learns rapidly but can’t be shielded from the dark exterior world, seeing commercials for the City of Laughter and funerary businesses. When Snortorious expresses loneliness one night, David stays with him and tells him about Fitch. The next morning, he discovers that someone has released a video of Snortorious but is unable to find the culprit. When the associate dean announces an impromptu visit to the lab, David sedates the pig to keep him quiet and tries to distract the man with reports of the lab’s successes. Snortorious awakes before the dean leaves. Other experts are brought in, and David does what he can to protect the pig from painful tests. They learn that Snortorious’s brain is continuing to expand, implying that he’ll die of the growth. David once again thinks about Fitch.
He calls Dorrie, and they talk about Fitch. Snortorious proves capable of telepathy and continues to showcase rapid language learning. Ammie convinces David to tell Snortorious the truth about his existence and where he came from. He tells Snortorious about the lab and growing human organs in pig hosts. When Snortorious asks to go home, David enlists Patrice and Ammie to kidnap him from the lab and take him to his apartment for the night. They watch movies, drink, and eat cake. David receives an email from the dean that Snortorious is to be removed from his lab and taken to a federal facility for study.
Through telepathy, Snortorious infers that he’s dying. He asks to have his organs harvested so that he can help people. David, Ammie, and Snortorious watch the sunset before taking the pig inside for his operation. As Snortorious falls unconscious, David tells him the story of The Lord of the Rings.
David’s story is one of coping and letting go. Chapter 2, “The City of Laughter,” depicts David as a scientifically oriented man who was so focused on trying to heal his son that he didn’t grasp the reality of the situation. David has experienced a great tragedy, turning that tragedy into progress as he works to protect others who have become infected. He has developed a temporary solution to the problem that ended his son’s life but continues to be haunted by Fitch, as evident in his many rituals surrounding his dead child.
Snortorious becomes David’s second chance. The pig’s rapid accumulation of language and childlike wonder make him like a surrogate son, and he’s often referred to as the “pig son” given his humanlike behaviors, curiosity, and interests. Snortorious mirrors Fitch in that he’s similarly pronounced terminally ill because his brain is uncontrollably expanding. The inevitability of his death, paired with David’s best efforts to make his life as long and pleasant as possible, mimics Fitch’s experience with illness. However, boy and pig diverge when David is with Snortorious in his last moments. He speaks with the pig honestly, laying out his options and ultimately carrying out his final wishes. David can say goodbye to his surrogate son in a way that he couldn’t say goodbye to his real son, giving him closure for both deaths.
Chapter 4, “Pig Son,” grounds the story in both the scientific advancement and desperation of the time. David is at the forefront of engineering organs for those in need, providing the chance of survival for those suffering from the plague. The author exacerbates existing issues with organ transplant availability within the context of the story’s plague, continuing to establish real-world parallels. He thus gradually moves the story through time, showing clear lines between the real now and the fictitious future. This is the first portion of the novel that is so explicit about its science fiction elements, setting up later technologies that it expands on in the rest of the novel.
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