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.