1. Brad Gordon is visited by a beautiful woman who reminds him how helpful his uncle has always been to him. To pay him back, the woman instructs Brad to contaminate the Burnet cell line at BioGen. Brad agrees. What further insight does that give into Brad's character?

2. Explain why Mr. Weller's body can't be properly cremated and what that means for Marty Roberts.

3. Explain Henry Kendall's reaction to the news of a talking orangutan in Sumatra.

4. The book focuses on bio research, as is made clear in the prologue. What are some of the potential benefits of bio research?

5. Explain Roberts' sudden change of attitude at the cemetery and the results of it.

6. Describe Jack Watson's reaction to the news that RIck's car was stolen and what that indicates about Watson's character.

7. How does a previous incident with Brad come up in this section?

8. Describe Jack Watson's role in the prologue and what it could mean to the rest of the story.

9. What opinions does Robert Bellarmino express while giving his speech in this section and do you agree with him? Why or why not?

10. Do you agree with the hospital's reaction of destroying the remaining tissues in the Weller case when Emily Weller requests her own investigation?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the book, Brad is used as a sort of means to an end. His uncle, Jack, is a major investor in BioGen, and, as a result, Brad is the security guard. Soon after Rick's car is stolen from the lot, though. Brad becomes the target of a setup. Answer the following questions about Brad:

1. What is the relationship between Brad and his uncle like? Does it change throughout the book? If so, in what way.

2. Using examples from the story, explain whether or not you feel that Brad was a mere puppet in the story or that he made conscious decisions that led him to each problem he encountered.

3. Do you feel that the story would have been jsut as good if Brad didn't exist in it? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

A central topic of the book is animal experimentation. Answer the following questions comparing Gerard's case to Dave's:

1. Since breeding a chimpanzee with a man can be potentially dangerous, do you feel that Henry should not have experimented with an embryo to create Dave? Why or why not?

2. Since giving Gerard, a parrot, super intelligence does not seem outwardly dangerous, does that make his case more acceptable than Dave's? Use several examples from the story and real life to explain your opinion.

3. Do you feel that Gerard, Dave, neither or both should be considered property? Does heightened intelligence automatically indicate that they should be considered intelligent beings in charge of their own lives, or are they property, since they were the result of lab experiments?