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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. Why does Kin think that the Company would never build a planet like the flat Earth?

2. The group discovers a monument of some kind which is somewhat like which real world monument?

3. What does Kin take with her from her hiding place?

4. What is done with Kin after her captors change their minds?

5. What do the explorers steal as they flee after the man whom they meet in the desert turns on them?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the man on the flying carpet's real motivations?

2. How is Kin rescued, and what do the characters think about the manner or her rescue?

3. Whom do Kin and the others meet in the desert? What is the result of this meeting?

4. What does the group discover at the ship's crash-site?

5. What happens to Silver as she and the others near the hub?

6. What is unusual about the stars seen from the flat planet?

7. What do the locals intend to do with Kin, and how is this prevented?

8. How is the dumbwaiter destroyed?

9. How are the explorers greeted when they reach the sailors' homeland?

10. Where does the Djinnee come from, and what does he do?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Company is an organization of enormous power. It literally has power over life and death, and wields enormous influence in human culture. Kin's loyalty to the Company affects significant parts of the story.

Part 1) Describe the Company, it's history, and its goals.

Part 2) How well has the Company succeeded in its goals? Have its aims changed at all from the time of its founding?

Part 3) Why is the Company so large and influential? How is the Company's power seen in the story?

Part 4) Explain some of the consequences, both positive and negative, of the Company's enormous influence. Has it changed human society for the better, or for worse?

Essay Topic 2

There are many examples of characters attempting and succeeding in taking revenge in this novel. It is a major theme that causes important changes within characters and drives the plot forward at important points.

Part 1) Which characters attempt or succeed in taking revenge in the novel? What are their motivations? Are they justified in their intentions?

Part 2) How do these actions affect and change these characters? Do they come to regret their actions?

Part 3) What can be said about the overall impact of the desire for revenge in the novel? In general, is it helpful or destructive? If one or more cases are exceptions to this general rule, explain their nature and importance.

Essay Topic 3

The strata machine, invented by either the Spindle Kings, the Wheelers before them, or possibly some earlier race, is capable of creating new planets. This is the primary occupation of the Company, and it has given them immense power as well as ensuring the survival of the human race. There is not much detail given about the process of creating a new planet. This essay addresses that subject in a creative fashion.

Part 1) How does the process of building a planet begin? What factors have to be determined during the planning stage? What personnel and resources are required for the operation?

Part 2) What is the first step in the actual construction of the planet? How does construction proceed from these first stages through to the completion of the project?

Part 3) What are some special considerations that have to be taken into account in the final touches of planet creation?

Part 4) How are colonists selected and placed on the planet, and how is the planet maintained and monitored?

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This section contains 995 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample