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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 long is the dump of a hundred million gallons of water expected to take?

2. What does Margo do with the charred notebook?

3. Who is Pamela Wisher's boyfriend?

4. What does Miller do when caught in the crowd of moles?

5. What does Donovan do to "fix up" Snow?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do you think the creatures abduct the group determined to destroy them instead of killing them like they have everyone else?

2. Do you think Waxie was too hasty in naming Jeffery as the serial killer? What reason might Waxie have for such a hasty conclusion?

3. What purpose does the scene with the Navy SEALs have?

4. Pendergast seems uninterested in the "patterns" revealed by the data comparisons done by computer. There is one that interests him, however. What is that pattern and how might it prove useful to the investigation?

5. Why might the huge amount of firepower carried by D'Agosta, Pendergast, and Mephisto be ineffective against the creatures?

6. What does Pendergast find in the Crystal Pavilion that causes him alarm? Why do you think these things scare him?

7. What purpose might hallucinogenic mushrooms serve in the ceremony that Kawakita established?

8. What is the true reason Kawakita was synthesizing Vitamin D? Do you believe he saw his own end coming and knew what he must do, or do you think it was simply an instinctive move?

9. How does Pendergast use his shocking albinism to "blend in" with the outcasts of society in the tunnels? What other methods does he employ, and how is he successful?

10. What is Margo's theory about what happened to Whittlesey? Examining her scientific approach outlined in the book, do you see any flaws in her theory? Is there another reasonable explanation?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Review the symbolism involved in the hut of skulls. What does this represent to the Wrinklers? What does it represent to outsiders? What does it represent to the shaman? How does the hut play into the Wrinklers' ceremony? Cite examples from the text to support your explanation.

Essay Topic 2

The flooding of the tunnels to destroy the creatures is an extreme step, especially given the number of innocent people who could be in danger from the flooding. What purpose do you think this moral ambiguity will serve? Do you see it in any other situations in the book? Do you think it serves the same purpose in that instance?

Essay Topic 3

Review Margo's theory of infection and how the reovirus affects its host once ingested. What seems plausible about her theory, as it applies to Mbwun and the characters like it? What seems implausible? Can you think of an alternate theory?

(see the answer keys)

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