One of the most evident signs that the crew's routines falter when confronted with the Universe's endless diversity is the language scientists use to describe Regis III. Terms such as "cloud," "flies," "bushes," and "city" obscure the alien nature of phenomena with no equivalent in the known universe. The so-called city, which truly does not resemble any earthly structures, is actually a scrapyard of massive machines—casualties of the planet's evolutionary battles. The "bushes" are clusters of metallic symbionts intertwined with tiny Y-shaped crystals, and the "flies" appear and behave in ways entirely unfamiliar to the crew. The most misleading term is the Black Cloud, whose coordinated actions suggest a unified "mind." When the Cloud overpowers the Cyclops, the ship's most formidable combat machine, the crew of the Invincible interprets it as a sign of hostility. Succumbing to an anthropomorphic view of the Cloud as an adversary, they attribute to it complex intentions, such as beliefs, desires, and objectives, leading them to respond as if it were a rational entity.

Such behavior is psychologically understandable and may even be unavoidable. Using familiar concepts to grapple with the Unknown is the initial step in comprehending what lies beyond our conceptual boundaries. As Lem notes in Science Fiction and Futurology (1970), "one cannot assimilate the Unnamable." However, naming and labeling imply that the alien planet can be described using concepts and values borrowed from elsewhere, a notion that ultimately proves self-deceptive. The advice to seek underlying principles beyond superficial appearances is quite commonplace. Yet, it emphasizes that conceptual inertia is a prevalent issue, almost inseparable from human experience. The initial resemblance of Regis III to Earth spawns numerous hypotheses attempting to fit the mystery of the Black Cloud into a rigid framework of familiar ideas. Nonetheless, these initial theories must eventually be abandoned in favor of the one that aligns with the facts.