Towards the end of the novel, after Rick's rough journey has ended and he has achieved his Merceristic enlightenment, he encounters a toad. Toads are long thought to be extinct in the book's world, and this appearance of a living one urges Rick into action; he grabs it in order to preserve it. Unfortunately, the toad ends up being electric. However, Rick is glad to keep it and points out that electric things do have lives as well. This represents Rick's development into a new person, who utilizes empathy. Rick comes to a point where he does not mind whether something is electric or not, and this moment, the was in which he is okay with the toad being electric illustrates his change. If this is looked at through the main question, "What does it mean to be truly human?", it emphasizes clearly that Rick is now a true human. He has evolved and developed his empathy to the max, and he deserves to be called a human.