Questions
1. What disturbs Isidore about the cat he has just picked up?

2. Why doesn’t Isidore realize that the animal is real?

3. Why is Isidore’s boss, Mr. Sloat, upset when he realizes the animal is real?

4. What does Isidore think about Buster Friendly and Wilbur Mercer?

5. Why does the prominence of both characters in society seem contradictory to Isidore?

Answers
1. Isidore is disturbed by the mechanized animal because it is sick and its responses are identical to those made by a real animal.

2. Although Isidore isn’t able to find the electrical components that exist on an ersatz pet, he still believes the cat is mechanical because the owners called the Van Ness Hospital, which only deals with mechanical animals.

3. Mr. Sloat is angry because of the waste involved in the death of a real animal.

4. Isidore thinks that both Friendly and Mercer are in competition for the minds of humans still living on Earth.

5. Both Friendly and Mercer are prominent figures in society, but Friendly denounces Mercer regularly on his show. Isidore is confused about why Friendly would be allowed to make such comments if officials who control the television programming are the same people who promote the movement of Mercerism.