It is mentioned in some of the DGP material that use of a Neural
Activity Sensor would give a clear reading about the level of
Sophonence. Unfortunately, the NAS is a TL15 device, with examples
produced at TL-14, so only for the past few hundred years. Before the
Psionic Suppressions, it's very possible that PSI talented people with
Telepathy would be able to read the minds of the creatures in question
and make that determination.

On Sat, Jan 31, 2026 at 12:48 PM David Johnson - piperfan at
zarthani.net (via tml list) <xxxxxx@simplelists.com> wrote:
>
> For example, given that there's no indication of anything like a Trek-esque "Prime Directive" in the Imperium, I would guess that it is routine for the Scouts to capture a few locals in remote areas and subject them to all sorts of rather invasive physiological, psychological and psionic examinations intended to confirm / disconfirm sapience. Then, with a little "mind-scrubbing," they can be returned to the same location no worse for the wear other than an unsettling temporary loss of memory.
>
>
> I should add that the Scouts have a specialized, disc-shaped contragravity craft which is used for these abductions. 😉
>
> The truth is out there.
>
> David
> --
> "Unsolved mysteries are just as good as explanations, as long as they're mysterious within a normal framework." - Verkan Vall (H. Beam Piper), Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen
>
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Thomas Jones-Low
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