May 23 It happened today. Algernon bit me. I visited the lab to see him as I do occasionally, and when I took him out of his cage, he snapped at my hand. I put him back and watched him for a while. He was unusually disturbed and vicious. May 24 Burt, who is in charge of the experimental animals, tells me that Algernon is changing. He is less cooperative, he refuses to run the maze any more; general motivation has decreased. And he hasn't been eating. Everyone is upset about what this may mean. —"Flowers for Algernon," Daniel Keyes What do Algernon's new symptoms foreshadow? Algernon no longer knows who Charlie is. Algernon will become smarter than Charlie. Charlie will start to get worse also. Charlie will become vicious and aggressive.