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Quiz about The Time Ships by Stephen Baxter

"The Time Ships" by Stephen Baxter Quiz

Stephen Baxter is one of my favourite authors. I would recommend that you read the book before doing the quiz, however. I did try not to give the ending away but a lot is revealed.

A multiple-choice quiz by red_stone. Estimated time: 7 mins.

Author
red_stone

Time
7 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
272,601

Updated
Jul 23 22

# Qns
15

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
9 / 15

Plays
198

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 15

1. In the prologue, the Traveller explains how he built a time-machine and tested it. Traveller used it to travel to the future and back to his own time. What year does the Traveller call his time period? Hint

1991

1891

1851

1951

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Question 2 of 15

2. On the Traveller's first trip back to the future, how many days forward was the time-machine to go? Hint

292 495 940

123 456 789

347 165 321

468 902 564

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Question 3 of 15

3. What is the being that the Traveler injured/killed with a poker stick? Hint

Ancients

Quantrills

Morlocks

Human

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Question 4 of 15

4. The Traveller, during his first trip forward, was imprisoned in a cage. How is the cage described? Hint

A clear material that felt like warm leather.

A traditional jail cell.

A cave-like environment.

Arches of energy set to deliver electrical charges.

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Question 5 of 15

5. One of the captors, Nebogipfel, took the responsibility of the Traveller. Nebogipfel learns how to speak English and eventually allows the Traveller out of his cage. Where did Nebogipfel take him? Hint

Directly back to earth.

His first stop was his time-machine.

Into another confinement area, this time with solid walls.

Into the sphere, showing him where and how they lived.

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Question 6 of 15

6. The Traveller managed to re-claim the time-machine; using the time-machine he went back to his era (not the exact year). Who did the Traveller confront in this era? Hint

Himself at twenty-six

Himself at twenty-eight

Himself at twenty-four

Himself at thirty

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Question 7 of 15

7. The Traveller named the younger version of himself Moses, why did he call himself (the younger) that? Hint

For no particular reason other than the Traveller liked the name.

It was Traveller's father's name.

It is their shared first name, which neither of them used.

It has significant biblical meaning for Traveller..

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Question 8 of 15

8. While the three of them (Traveller, Nebogipfel, and Moses) were discussing the issues of time travel a group of people arrived to take the three of them into custody. Where and when did this group come from? Hint

This group was French from the year 2050.

A future version of the Traveller.

They were the Eloi, from the first time line.

The group of people were English from the year 1938.

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Question 9 of 15

9. Nebogipfel and the Traveller took a prototype of a time-machine to escape the war torn world. Since the time-machine was a prototype, and not tested, when did these two end up?
Hint

They stayed in 1938, the prototype machine did not work.

The Iron Age

Paleocene Era

One million years in the future.

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Question 10 of 15

10. British soldiers found the Traveller and Nebogipfel and had set up a boot camp; unfortunately the Germans found them also. The Germans dropped a bomb on the British settlement, destroying almost everything as well as killing three quarters on the soldiers. In the wake of this destruction, how do the Traveller and Nebogipfel manage to continue with time-travel? Hint

The Morlocks in the future built a time-machine to rescue Nebogipfel, and he insisted the the Traveller be rescued also.

Traveller and Nebogipfel put their efforts towards building a colony with the survivors since everyone had to live their lives out in the distant past.

Nebogipfel scavenged through the wreckage, gathering enough parts to build a new time-machine.

A small two man time-machine was hidden in the jungle.

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Question 11 of 15

11. In the time-machine seasons and civilizations pass in a blur; were the Traveller and Nebogipfel able to determine if the colony, New London, survived? Hint

It died out within a few generations probably due to the smallness of the gene pool.

The Traveller and Nebogipfel watched New London grow and thrive over millions of years. New London, by 1891, had already moved to the stars.

It survived to become a hunter-gatherer civilization losing all the technological advances it had.

There was no evidence of New London surviving beyond the departure of the Traveller and Nebogipfel.

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Question 12 of 15

12. When the time-machine halts in the world left by New-London, what is wrong with the Earth? Hint

Nebogipfel calls it a "White Earth" because it has entered a permanent ice age.

The earth is in perfect balance with no mammalian life forms.

The Traveller calls it a "Green Earth" one that is continuously exposed to filtered sunlight.

The earth is a dead rock.

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Question 13 of 15

13. What are the inhabitants of the new world called? Hint

Humans

A race of females able to reproduce without males.

Temporalists

Constructors

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Question 14 of 15

14. Where do the Traveller and Nebogipfel, in the new time-machine, travel to after the new world? Hint

The Traveller and Nebogipfel are aimless, there is no set destination.

The time-travel is complete so Traveller and Nebogipfel stay there.

The Traveller and Nebogipfel travel approximately one million years forward in time.

Back to the beginning of New London to try to make changes in the time-line.

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Question 15 of 15

15. What is the Traveller's name? Hint

Morgan Clark

Micheal O'Conner

We never learn it.

Dean Andrews

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

Answer: 1891

The prologue is reminiscent of H. G. Wells' book "The Time Machine". The Traveller has built a time-machine, used it to travel forward to 802 701 AD, and then returned to 1981. We learn this while the Traveller is planning the next trip to the future in the time-machine.

2. On the Traveller's first trip back to the future, how many days forward was the time-machine to go?

Answer: 292 495 940

On the Traveller's first trip he travelled 292 495 934 days into the future, so the Traveller wanted to return six days later. Traveller programed it for the day that he feels "lost Weena and much of my self esteem." Instead of travelling that far into the future he stopped the time-machine after travelling only 239 354 634 days.

3. What is the being that the Traveler injured/killed with a poker stick?

Answer: Morlocks

Traveller found them surrounding the time-machine so he attacked, hitting one before becoming incapacitated himself. Later the Traveller finds out that the Morlocks was only injured and that it was a child.

4. The Traveller, during his first trip forward, was imprisoned in a cage. How is the cage described?

Answer: A clear material that felt like warm leather.

In Traveller's cage he could see the darkness of space and the stars surrounding him. There was one spot of light and the rest was dark. In the light his captors placed a tray with food, water and a bucket for him to relieve himself. The Traveller's captors would replace the contents whenever he fell asleep. Traveller later discovers that he is no longer on earth but in a sphere.

5. One of the captors, Nebogipfel, took the responsibility of the Traveller. Nebogipfel learns how to speak English and eventually allows the Traveller out of his cage. Where did Nebogipfel take him?

Answer: Into the sphere, showing him where and how they lived.

Nebogipfel wanted the Traveller to explain how he time-machine worked. In return Nebogipfel agreed to show the Traveller the sphere and explain its history. Whenever the Traveller needed to rest, a small room would appear for him away from the other Morlocks.

6. The Traveller managed to re-claim the time-machine; using the time-machine he went back to his era (not the exact year). Who did the Traveller confront in this era?

Answer: Himself at twenty-six

When the Traveller accessed the time-machine, Nebogipfel, at the last moment, threw himself on the machine. The Traveller with Nebogipfel returned to the year 1873, instead of 1891 the year the Traveller started from.

7. The Traveller named the younger version of himself Moses, why did he call himself (the younger) that?

Answer: It is their shared first name, which neither of them used.

As an adult, neither use the name Moses. In both time lines the Traveller and the younger version were teased as children over it.

Answer: The group of people were English from the year 1938.

The tank time-machine was driven by English soldiers. The English soldiers had travelled back in time, to retrieve the Traveller in hopes that he would help them with their war. The English had been at war with Germany for several years. Traveller, Nebogipfel, and Moses were escorted by Captain Hilary Bond to the London Dome, in 1938, where all three were assigned quarters.

9. Nebogipfel and the Traveller took a prototype of a time-machine to escape the war torn world. Since the time-machine was a prototype, and not tested, when did these two end up?

Answer: Paleocene Era

While trying to leave 1938 in a unknown time-machine, Moses was killed. The time-machine built by the British was uncompleted so Nebogipfel and Traveller were unable to set a destination. The Machine went backwards in time, instead of forward, stopping only when it ran out of the energy that powered it.

When it stopped, it crashed, leaving the two of them temporarily stranded (we are only in the middle of the book). In a world of dinosaurs Nebogipfel almost became a meal for one.

Answer: Nebogipfel scavenged through the wreckage, gathering enough parts to build a new time-machine.

While assisting building a colony with the surviving soldiers, which the group named New London, Nebogipfel scavenged parts. With these parts Nebogipfel built a time-machine and with this machine the Traveller and Nebogipfel once again entered the "River of Time."

11. In the time-machine seasons and civilizations pass in a blur; were the Traveller and Nebogipfel able to determine if the colony, New London, survived?

Answer: The Traveller and Nebogipfel watched New London grow and thrive over millions of years. New London, by 1891, had already moved to the stars.

New London grew into cities. Eventually those cities were built on platforms in the Earth's atmosphere and eventually abandoned the Earth.

12. When the time-machine halts in the world left by New-London, what is wrong with the Earth?

Answer: Nebogipfel calls it a "White Earth" because it has entered a permanent ice age.

New-London made new cities in the Earth's atmosphere, and then moved on. The descendants of New London altered the moon and the stars. The Earth's ecosystems were depleted and damaged sending Earth into a final ice-age. Nebogipfel refers to it as a "White Earth" because it is covered in ice and snow and will remain that way.

13. What are the inhabitants of the new world called?

Answer: Constructors

The Traveller refers to them as, "the mechanical heirs of man." Constructors are the beings that live in the White World; the Constructors are very intelligent and immortal.

14. Where do the Traveller and Nebogipfel, in the new time-machine, travel to after the new world?

Answer: The Traveller and Nebogipfel travel approximately one million years forward in time.

The Constructors were building time-ships to go back to the beginning of time. Since the Traveller built the first time-machine and because the Traveller and Nebogipfel crash landed on the Constructors doorsteps, the Constructors invited them along. The Traveller and Nebogipfel had to travel forward in time to when the Constructors completed their fleet of time-ships, from there the Traveller and Nebogipfel plan to travel all the was back to the beginning of time.

15. What is the Traveller's name?

Answer: We never learn it.

Throughout the whole novel he is referred to as the Traveller, otherwise it is the Traveller narrating the story. Maybe Traveller is his name, but it is not confirmed in the novel.

Source: Author red_stone

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