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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to the "22 May 1905" dream, how does time flow in the world described?

2. How old is the young woman, in the "15 June 190" dream, when she finally stops her travel into the future?

3. Where does Besso invite Einstein to come to at the close of the second Interlude?

4. In the "17 June 1905" dream, why does the young man tell his lover that he cannot see her again?

5. How long ago, in the "17 June 1905" dream, did the lovers meet?

Short Essay Questions

1. In the 22 May 1905 dream, what happens for those who have seen a glimpse of their future?

2. Why have some inhabitants of the 29 May 1905 world become frustrated and despondent?

3. How did the notion of the speed effect come to be known?

4. How does the narrator describe time in the 17 June 1905 dream?

5. Describe the two different views people of the 15 June 1905 world can have.

6. According to the 3 June 1905 dream, describe how a person born in December exists.

7. Describe the life of a "Now."

8. What has the young woman at no. 27 Viktoriastrasse missed in her life because of the sudden thrust into the future?

9. In the second Interlude, to what does Besso compare Einstein's present health?

10. Describe the cafe that stands on the corner of Kramgasse and Theaterplatz.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Reread the 3 June 1905 dream. What "problems" do you find exist in this dream? What realities could actually exist in this world and what "realities" could not? What are the forces that work against each other in this dream? Cite specific examples from the text to support your responses.

Essay Topic 2

Given that this novel is written by someone other than Einstein, do you believe that the author was working out a theory of his own and used Einstein as a muse? What would support your standing? Cite specific examples from the text to support your responses.

Essay Topic 3

On the back of the novel, James Gleick is quoted for the novel saying, "No novelist, physicist, or philosopher has offered such a wonderful vision of what time has been or might be." What implication does this set up for the understanding of Einstein himself? What problems may this quote have for the author's intent of writing the novel? Why might Gleick's statement be misunderstood as negative towards Einstein and, therefore, the author himself? Cite specific examples from the text to support your responses.

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