No rush or worries. :)
To answer your question, Atus did not sense anything ghostly, spectral, or particularly spirit-heavy; while their might be some sort of connective mind at work here, it is primarily biologically based and not ghostly; at least, it is not ghostly enough that Atus could commune with it as a ghostheart.
Update coming Monday on what Tharr has done to Tolliver. :P
If anyone (other than Atus) wants to claim the helm for the next stage, speak now!