The argument that McReady has a suspiciously knowledgeable understanding of the monster and its effects upon the individual/s in inhabits is based on the manner in which he expresses his ideas. When concocting the experiment to prove the humanity of those present he states that if one had been infected “you’d know” (22). This firm belief in the manner of one who has been taken over by the alien lends credence to the argument; however, this is also not a far-fetched assumption on the whole coming from scientific minds hypothesizing on the nature of an unknown grounded in what they have experienced to date as well as how it may affect them through their understanding of the natural world to date.
I found that the debate over whether or not the alien could sufficiently deceive and understand them after its revival to be equally unclear. While the minutia of human societal interaction is unfathomable to pick up and perfect by one not accustomed to it, the abilities and understanding of the alien are likewise misrepresented for a being adapted enough to survive that length of time frozen and control Earthly life-forms the way it has should have high enough brain function to adapt enough to deceive those around it. In Chapter 6, Blair states that the alien must have understood the “deepest secrets” of biology therefore the understanding of our nature and interaction should not have been too far out of its depth.