Time is Running Out Trivia Quiz

Answer: Earth and Mars

In "War of the Worlds", invaders from Mars began attacking the Earth and its inhabitants. They killed people and destroyed towns and cities with their superior weapons and technology. Their heat rays and chemical weapons proved no match against the military on Earth.

The story is told from the perspective of an unnamed narrator who lived in the south of England near where a group of the aliens had landed.

Answer: BlyssPluss

Crake was a whiz at bioengineering. While working at the RejoovenEsense compound, he created a whole new race of people known as the Crakers. He also created a deadly illness contained within a wonder-drug called BlyssPluss. Across the world, people hungrily consumed the drug, only realising that it was contaminated when it was too late.

The only survivors were a man called Snowman (who was immune), people locked in air-tight facilities, and the new race of Crakers.

Answer: Solar flares

In "The Maze Runner", solar flares devastated a large proportion of the Earth. The areas affected became uninhabitable. The flares led to violent weather phenomena and rising sea levels. Orphaned children were being used - without their knowledge - in an experiment to raise a generation who were prepared for the new conditions on Earth.

Answer: A species of plant

There were two catastrophes that occurred in "The Day of the Triffids". First, huge numbers of people were rendered blind following a strange meteor shower. It appeared that Bill Masen, the main protagonist, had not been affected because his eyes were bandaged up.

He was a biologist who worked with a plants known as triffids. Triffids were a dangerous, venomous species that had probably been engineered in a laboratory. They produced a harmful acid, had a deadly sting, and could move around. With almost the whole world blind, triffids - which were normally cultivated in controlled situations - escaped into the wild.

Answer: E. M. Forster

E. M. Forster's short story was first published in 1909. In the story, most humans lived underground and were supported by the 'machine'. People believed that the machine was omnipotent, but Kuno believed otherwise. The machine was failing and the knowledge about how to fix it had been lost.

When the machine later collapsed, Kuno's last thoughts were about the survivors he had seen living on the Earth's surface and the responsibility they have to rebuild the human race.

Answer: They were making room for a hyper-spatial express route.

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" started as a radio series by Douglas Adams which he later adapted into a series of books. Near the start of the story, the Vogons arrived to demolish the Earth to make way for a new hyper-spatial express route. Luckily, Arthur Dent's friend, Ford Prefect, was actually an alien.

He managed to get both of them off of the planet before it was destroyed.

Answer: The Time Machine

In "The Time Machine", an inventor known as the 'Time Traveller' created a machine that allowed him to move through time. He travelled forward to 802,701 and found two distinct races there: the Eloi and the Morlocks. The scientist theorised that the upper classes evolved into the Eloi and the working classes became the Morlocks.

Answer: A family of adopted children with superpowers

Around the world, women who had previously shown no signs of pregnancy suddenly gave birth at the same moment. Sir Reginald Hargreeves adopted seven of the children and raised them as a team of superheroes. One of the children - Vanya - appeared to show no signs of a special ability.

It wasn't until she was much older that she discovered she was incredibly powerful: she had the ability to bring about the end of the world.

Answer: The Illustrated Man

"The Illustrated Man" was a series of unrelated stories that played out in the tattoos of a man. In "The Highway", a man named Hernando lived on a farm near a highway into the USA. One day, thousands of cars travelled through, desperately heading north to escape the "atom war, the end of the world". Hernando didn't follow them, though. He didn't understand what they meant by "the world".

Answer: They were telepathic.

The community in "The Chrysalids" were terrified of mutations. Any plant, animal, or human that differed in any way to the 'norm' was considered a blasphemy. David and his friends had to keep their telepathic abilities secret, otherwise they might be killed or banished to live in the wild.

Although it's not explicitly stated, it is implied that there was a nuclear holocaust that brought an end to civilisation as it was known.