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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. What does the group discover at the center of the ship?

2. Kin and the others discover that a water pipe was destroyed by which of the following?

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

4. The man whom the characters meet in the desert wants to trade away what kind of an object?

5. What kind of structure do Kin and the others discover as they approach the center of the flat planet?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the group do with the winged demon?

2. What is the group being followed by, and how is it unusual?

3. What causes the brawl in the Great Hall?

4. What do the explorers come to believe about the machinery of the planet?

5. How does Kin escape after the man whom she and the others meet in the desert turns on them?

6. Why is Kin arrested?

7. Describe the creature put into the cell next to Kin. What does the group eventually learn and speculate about it?

8. What is unusual about the first island that Kin and the others come to after leaving the sailors' homeland? What danger does the group face there?

9. How is the dumbwaiter destroyed?

10. What is Marco's plan, and what do Kin and Silver think about it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Jago Jalo is an interesting character about whom little is known. Most of his story must be interpolated from a small amount of information in the novel.

Part 1) What was Jago like before he was sent out on the Terminus project? Think about what sort of qualities would qualify someone for a difficult task like this, and what would make a person volunteer for the duty.

Part 2) What were Jago's adventures on the planet like after he crashed? Why was he not accepted as Disc Master, and how was he able to get off the planet?

Part 3) What was Jago's plan upon returning to the planet?

Essay Topic 2

Throughout the novel, the author presents several persons, places, or things that are intended to be direct references to historic or mythical analogues. Many of these references are humorous, but some are intended to provide foreshadowing or other dramatic elements. Research a number of these references for this essay.

Part 1) Explain as many examples of these references as possible. Include a description of the historical or mythical analogue and explain why the person, place, or thing in the book is intentionally constructed to reference it.

Part 2) What purpose do most of these references serve in the novel? Use examples from the book of how these references effect the story.

Part 3) Critically assess whether the use of these references is effective or if it is unnecessary or distracting to the main story.

Essay Topic 3

The raven is a large unknown in the novel. Its nature is never fully explained. It is certainly not a normal raven, since it can burn through a metal cage, appear to be intelligent, and can keep up with Kin and the others as they fly across the flat planet. It could easily have been built by the creators of the flat planet, since it is not obviously more advanced than other robotic constructions that the explorers discover on the planet. However, it was given as a "gift" to Jago on the distant Kung, making its origins mysterious.

Part 1) What is known about the raven? How does it join the group, and what are its apparent motives? What are its known or probable capabilities?

Part 2) Explore the mission of the raven. At the end of the novel, was that mission a failure or a success?

Part 3) Speculate as to what group created the raven, and why.

Part 4) How is the raven connected to Kin and the others, and what will its creators do with it now?

(see the answer keys)

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