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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. The Martha Ann has 20 feet of freeboard, making attack from the surface difficult according to LCDR Boland. What is freeboard?

2. What argument does Summer use to convince Delphi not to shoot Al and Dirk inside the seamount?

3. What is the first visible evidence of the real nature of "Them?"

4. What does Boland want Dirk to do before the invasion of the Martha Ann begins?

5. Who is LT Robert Buckmaster?

Short Essay Questions

1. In both Chapters 9 and 10, Dirk endeavors to get his way by assuring the Naval men that he "will take full responsibility." Why does this seem to be the easiest way for Dirk to gain their compliance?

2. What changes ADM Hunter's mind about obeying the destroy orders from the joint Chiefs in Washington D.C.?

3. What is unexpected and distinctly suspicious about the fog that suddenly overwhelms the Martha Ann? What kinds of conditions are required to create fog?

4. How do Summer's divided loyalties express themselves in their final moments in the doomed seamount as the missiles hit and the mountain begins to crumble?

5. How does LCDR Crowhaven's attitude change from his frame of mind on the plane, once he is within sight of the submarine and Dirk lets him know that this is where he [Dirk] gets off?

6. What does LT Robert Buckmaster discover at the old Army installation, which supposedly belongs to Delphi that partially explains the entirely unexpected fierce resistance to Marine's invasion? How might this situation have come to be?

7. What does Dirk fear lays in store for the Martha Ann? What information is he now armed with that may help? What does he still not know that could be fatal?

8. What does Delphi say is his main objective? What does Dirk say is Delphi's main objective?

9. When Dirk discovers LCDR Boland has been stabbed with a spear, he decides the spear must come out. What is standard first aid procedure for puncture/impalement wounds and why and how does Dirk deviate from it?

10. How does Dirk reinforce his disregard for authority upon return from the Pacific Vortex with the crew of the Martha Ann?

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

Quote from CDR Burdette Denver: "Piracy on the high seas went out with the manufacture of cutlasses." Is this actually a true statement? Is piracy a possible or probable explanation for the Pacific Vortex? Provide evidence both from the book and from independent research to support your claims.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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