The major theme of peer pressure is paralleled in the actions of both Matt on Earth and Jool in the spaceship. Both characters, since they want inclusion into the group, allow themselves to be led into actions they really do not want to do. Matt allows his friends to tease him into sticking his finger in the dead cat's mouth and teasing elderly Mr. Chalmers's dog. When not around Chunk and Fraser, he plays with his younger brother Tyson and with Libby, a neighborhood girl whom he has known almost his entire life, but if Matt is with his friends, he either ignores them or calls them names.

When Chunk dares him to skateboard down dangerous Devil's Hill, Matt accepts the challenge. The only thing that keeps him from killing himself is Lord Rah's mind web suggestion that he slide. Chunk, in a desperate...