Richard thinks about this, finding it a bit too far-fetched to be true. And then he remembers where he is and who he's with, and decides that this would be a whole lot easier if he took Jim's word for it.

"So...telepathy?" he asks. "But artificial."

He leans over to read the instructions, getting a vague feeling that whatever language it's actually written in, it's not English (despite its appearance). There is also a sentient bar downstairs with which people have conversations, so again, he just accepts this.

And this time, he does go for the obvious question. "Does it hurt?"