r encountered. As astutely observed by another character, the creature is so horrifying, not just because of its existence but what it does to the stable homeostasis of identity and relationships that existed before the group of characters came into contact with the Thing. The scientist Childs says: "how do we know who's human? [anymore] If I was an imitation, a perfect imitation, how would you know it was really me?" The answer is that they cannot-and this begs
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