Nyckelpassagen identifierar varelsen som telepatisk.
Barclay shook his head. "I didn't care to listen much. You can if you want to. But I gathered that the blasted idiot had all the dreams McReady had, and a few more. He slept beside the thing when we stopped on the trail coming in from Secondary Magnetic, remember. He dreamt the thing was alive, and dreamt more details. And -- damn his soul -- knew it wasn't all dream, or had reason to. He knew it had telepathic powers that were stirring vaguely, and that it could not only read minds, but project thoughts. They weren't dreams, you see. They were stray thoughts that thing was broadcasting, the way Blair's broadcasting his thoughts now -- a sort of telepathic muttering in its sleep. That's why he knew so much about its powers. I guess you and I, Doc, weren't so sensitive -- if you want to believe in telepathy."
"I have to," Copper sighted. "Dr. Rhine of Duke University has shown that it exist, shown that some are much more sensitive than others."
Rhen var förresten en riktig forskare som påstod sig ha visat telepati i ett antal experiment.
Människorna tar hänsyn till sakens läsningsförmåga eftersom de planerar sätt att bekämpa det.
"Say, couldn't Norris or Van give Connant some kind of a test? If the thing is brighter than men, it might know more physics than Connant should, and they'd catch it out," Barclay suggested.
Copper shook his head wearily. "Not if it reads minds. You can't plan a trap for it. Van suggested that last night. He hoped it would answer some of the questions of physics he'd like to know answers to."