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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 Dirk describe the smell of a working port as he arrives for his departure on the Martha Ann?

2. What is Dirk's psychological assessment of sailors in relation to the intention of the staging of the Lillie Marlene?

3. What is the correct phrasing to ask someone to repeat their message or to indicate you are repeating your message?

4. What unique feature of the Martha Ann's navigational equipment makes her totally crew-independent?

5. How does LCDR Boland mark the position of the submarine in case they are forced to abandon the site?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is the Starbuck's last reported position Top Secret information?

2. What is the Fullerton Fracture Zone? Does it actually exist?

3. Dirk does not appreciate ADM Hunter's highhanded move to take control of his [Dirk's] life by having him detailed to his [ADM Hunter's] command. How is he "persuaded" into it?

4. Why is Dirk's helicopter a necessary component of the crew on the Martha Ann?

5. What is the significance of the Lillie Marlene?

6. Cussler gives a good description of rip tides after Dirk has swum out beyond the breakers at Kaena Point. Describe them, why they are dangerous and explain how best to swim through them if caught in one.

7. Why is ADM Hunter taking the step of having Dirk detailed officially to the 101st Salvage Fleet?

8. Dirk sees no need to show up on time to his "date" with ADM Hunter (to report for duty). How is this reflective of both Dirk's personality and his attitude towards ADM Hunter?

9. Why is the Martha Ann disguised to look like a rust-bucket merchant ship?

10. What are the different mysteries or questions that ADM Hunter enumerates as he reads the log?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Singularly absent from the entire book is any elaboration on these "men from the sea." The closest explanation of any aspect of them is Dirk's comments: "Even your hired help wander around like robots" and "your entire organization is built on blind obedience to you [Delphi]." There is no comment on where they came from, who they were, or what kind of man might have volunteered to abandon his above-sea life to have a gill surgically attached to his chest and become a mass murderer. Analyze the concept of this underwater army and who they are, or might have been.

Essay Topic 2

ADM Sandecker tells Dirk, "an enemy agent wouldn't have to use muscle [on you]. They'd simply send their most seductive Mata Hari to the nearest bar and let you pick her up." What does this statement mean and what is the inference being made about Dirk's character? Analyze this statement in the context of all you know about the character of Dirk Pitt. Does it seem to be a fair or consistent statement? Provide evidence from the book to support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the character of Captain Orl Cinana. Captain Cinana's reaction to Dirk when he arrives in ADM Hunter's office for the first time is somewhat markedly different from the attitudes of the others yet changes that same evening at the bar. Identify other inconsistencies in Cinana's character and identify how they fit with the revelation of Cinana's actual role in the plot.

(see the answer keys)

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