The Expanse 6.5: Strange Dogs Trivia Quiz

Answer: 10 years old

Cara was ten-and-a-half Earth years old. She had been born in a spaceship just before her parents landed on Laconia. But she had only experienced three summers because Laconia's year was different from Earth's. Her younger brother Xan was born on Laconia.

Answer: They arrived before Winston Duarte

Cara's parents were both scientists who had arrived on Laconia in the first wave. It was a shock to them when Winston Duarte showed up with his fleet and cut off Laconia from the network. Cara's parents were not military people and had no particular love for the new empire, but there was nothing they could do, so they continued their lives under his rule. To maintain certain appearances, Cara's family started going to church regularly.

Their shelter had been built to last five years, after which they had planned to go back to Earth. During "Strange Dogs," Cara's family had been living in the house for eight years.

Answer: The orbital construction platforms had been brought online

Laconia had dormant alien space stations orbiting it when the ring network first opened. It was partially for this reason that Duarte chose Laconia to be the isolated seed of his new empire. His plan was to reactivate the platforms, learn what he could from the aliens, and build advanced weapons and ships for his eventual return to the rest of humanity. Just bringing the platforms back online was a major step towards that goal. Cara called the space stations "stick moons."

Answer: Cara fed it some bread

The tree of life on Laconia was completely separate from Earth's tree, so a lot of the more complex organic compounds could not be used by both. Cara had seen a picture of an old woman feeding pigeons in Paris, and emulated her by sharing some of her bread with the Laconian sunbird.

The sunbird snapped the bread out of the air, but could not process the bread's molecules, which killed it in a matter of minutes.

Answer: The drone had come from Earth

The sampling drone could be controlled via a hand terminal and could use many different attachments. It was useful, but also delicate, and had come from Earth. Because Winston Duarte had sealed the Laconian system off from the rest of the network, if anything happened to the drone, they would not be able to repair or replace it.

Cara was starting to feel like regular rules no longer applied in her world. Even though her mother said not to take the drone, she did anyway (once everyone else was out of the house). Cara's mother was right to worry. Cara had managed to get three of the five baby sunbirds back into their nest before she accidentally stepped on the drone.

Answer: Yes

The strange dogs (later known as "repair drones") could restore functionality, but their repairs were not seamless. The sunbird would continue to care for its children and follow other basal patterns, but it would no longer need sustenance or age.

Because the sampling drone was already a non-living object, its changes were much less profound. The dogs were able to restore perfect functionality and Cara was able to sync the drone to her hand terminal and fly it.

Answer: Xan was hit by a drunk driver

Xan was playing soccer with his friend, Santiago Singh, who would be a viewpoint in the next novel, "Persepolis Rising". When the ball was kicked into the road, Xan ran out to get it and he was hit by a military truck. The driver had had a beer or two, which had slowed his reaction time. Since humans had started living on Laconia eight years prior, Xan was the first child to die on the planet.

The driver was executed.

Answer: Black

The revived sunbird and Xan had a few common characteristics. Their skin took on a grey tinge and their eyes turned completely black. They would also keep very still and then move with quick, jerking movements. Cara imagined they had to consciously think about each movement before making it. Xan also had an information dump, but lacked the ability to process it.

When he first woke up, he asked Cara, "What does it mean to be in a substrate?"

Answer: They attacked Xan

Cara had run off with Xan's body and had stayed away until he was fixed. Cara's absence after Xan's death had severely strained her parents' nerves. At first they were relieved to see Cara, but it soon turned to horror when they saw their modified, zombie-like son also asking for a hug. Cara's mother held Cara back while her father attacked Xan with a knife and held him in the pantry.

They then called the Laconian military liaison.

Answer: Cara used a recording of herself as a distraction

Cara was angry at her parents' hostile response to Xan's resurrection. She made a recording of herself on her hand terminal, then turned up the volume to play it back, and hurled it into the brush. When her parents left the house, Cara let Xan out of the pantry and they escaped into the forest. Cara knew that she wouldn't be able to survive without human food, but she wasn't concerned; she knew the strange dogs would take care her. Cara, once fixed like her brother, would forever be a ten-year-old.