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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. How does Derek modify the physical appearance of his digients in Chapter 5 of "The Lifecycle of Software Objects"?

2. As Fuwaad’s prepares to begin his story, "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate," how does he describe his tale?

3. According to the narrator of "Exhalation," how long will it take before their species died out?

4. According to Derek in Chapter 9 of "The Lifecycle of Software Objects," Derek opposes Ana undergoing what?

5. What is the name of the first story Bashaarat tells Fuwaad?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Fuwaad travel through the Gate of Years? What does he discover?

2. According to the narrator of "What's Expected of Us," on page 59, what happens after a person gets a Predictor?

3. What experiment does the narrator of "Exhalation" undertake in order to understand the irregularity? How does he prepare for the experiment?

4. What is the public's reaction to the narrator's discovery in "Exhalation"? How does the narrator react?

5. Who are Jeremy Brauer and Frank Pearson? What does Ana learn from them in Chapter 9 of "The Lifecycle of Software Objects"?

6. In the story "What's Expected of Us," what is a Predictor?

7. What companies announce a merger in Chapter 6 of "The Lifecycle of Software Objects"? How will the merger affect the digients?

8. What does the reader learn about the beings as the story "Exhalation" opens on pages 37 and 38?

9. What does the narrator of "Exhalation" come to understand as a result of his experiment?

10. What are digients? What company is producing them, and who is hired to train them?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Regret is a major theme of the collection. Choose three characters (from three different stories) who illustrate this theme. Explain why each character experiences regret, how this regret is (or is not) resolved, and evaluate what the author is trying to say about this subject.

Essay Topic 2

How is the prism found in “Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom” symbolic of the themes presented throughout the entire collection? Choose three other stories and explain.

Essay Topic 3

“The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate” is a frame narrative: it is a story within a story. Explain how this story fits the definition of a frame narrative, and explain why this technique is particularly effective for this story.

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