A. E. van Vogt’s Slan: Intimations of Superior Theory of Mind

Abstract

This chapter draws attention to the way that in his novel Slan A. E. van Vogt develops the human/non-human opposition by creating two kinds of alien: first-order slans who have tendrils and extraordinary telepathic ability and can, through recourse to ‘mind shields,’ prevent their minds from being read by others, and second-order ‘tendrilless slans’ whose capacities are much more limited. Although sympathetic toward critiques of this novel that draw parallels between slans and Jews during the time of the Third Reich, it is claimed that such readings are much more speculative than his own which points to the ubiquity of mind-reading. Careful consideration of passages describing the intimacy between two first-order slans, however, reveals that theory of mind once again operates at the expense of genuine empathy.