Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Instructions: The words that form the anagram are capitalized, and a definition of the word you are looking for is inside the question.
The Starship Margana was the first GET LED SHIP constructed by humans, and the fastest vessel in the Earthling fleet--able to travel at velocities even beyond that of the sun's rays. Such rates would take the Margana's crew deeper into space than any Earth resident had ever traveled. As Captain Wordwise declared upon receiving command of the mission, "We will boldly travel to places no human has gone before."
2. One of the first worlds Wordwise & crew visited was an exotic, golden globe covered with shimmering purple continents. It was orbited by two brightly shining stars. However, a patrol skiff orbiting the world hailed them with the words: "This is the MYSTERY BASIN hailing unidentified Starship. Why are you trespassing on our territory? Tell me at once before I open fire."
3. Captain Wordwise was quite taken aback by the alien life-form's hostility. "This is the Starship Margana, of the Solar System. We are explorers, on a peaceful mission to discover new life & new civilization. We --." Bang! "Captain, our starboard nacelle is being fired upon by the alien vessel." After a brief firefight, Wordwise directed the crew to fly to a nearby gas cloud, in the hopes of scrambling the alien vessel's sensors. "Can you get any readings from in there?" "No, sir; sensors are UNABLE to penetrate the gas."
4. The captain's ploy worked. The alien's sensors worked no better than Margana's own, and the firefight was ended. Margana and its crew were able to go on their way, leaving the beautiful alien system behind. After some repairs were made, engines were back online and the mission resumed. The next spatial phenomenon that the Margana met with only days later was potentially quite dangerous: an area of space permeated with deadly rocks--odds of successfully navigating it were approximately 3,720 to one. The captain decided TO IDLE on the FAR SIDE of this area for a while and take some sensor readings.
5. After avoiding that hazard, the Starship made it to a region vaguely similar to its own system of origin. The planets, though all uninhabited & unfit for human life, orbited around a relatively large, bright star--a familiar sight for the Margana's crew, making them all think of their own solar system. Earth was known FOR its WAY of DWELLing, in a heliocentric system.
6. After a few more weeks, the Margana made it to another, friendlier, inhabited world. While there, they were just in time to be treated to a awe-inspiring sight, a celestial phenomenon that occurs only once in every decade on the planet. As the sky began to darken, despite its being only midday, the alien host informed Captain Wordwise, "The CLEAR SLOPE IS eagerly anticipated every decade, and we hold special feasts on the day it occurs. I hope you and your crew will join us, Captain."
7. The Margana's crew enjoyed the ritual feast and the brief shore leave on the alien planet, but had to resume their mission shortly. At one point in their travels, the science officer informed the captain, "We are receiving odd sensor readings from up ahead. This region is filled with many CHALK LOBES emitting some exceptionally strong gravitational fields, and not even light can escape them. We need to keep our distance from this anomaly, before we reach the event horizon."
8. The Margana escaped that peril without problems. Their mission continued safely, until one day the crew heard deafening sounds of something crashing into the hull, reminiscent of a hail storm. "Raise shields, before WE ORE SMOTHERed under this storm!" ordered the Captain. The hull was being pounded by hundreds small rocks, that were fortunately prevented from doing much damage by the shields. The storm soon ended, and the ship was able to continue its mission of exploration.
9. Following a trail from their sensor scans, the Margana's crew traveled to a sector of space where they hoped to see another spectacular occurrence. "I saw something like this on Earth around the year 2211, when I was a kid," the Captain told the crew. "THE ALLY COMES to Earth only once about every 75 or 76 years--did any of you get to see it?" Several members of the bridge crew had, indeed, witnessed the frozen ball with its infamous tail crossing the sky.
10. It is now approaching the one-year mark since Margana & crew set out from Earth on their momentous mission. They are coming up on a system just in time to witness the brilliant explosion of a massive star upon its death. "We are a safe enough distance from the RAVEN SOUP to ensure that the ship will not be in danger, but be sure to protect your eyes with the special visors, everyone." Everyone was awed by the brilliance of the event, and reflected on all the new & unusual things they had seen since departing from Earth, and on how appreciative they were to have been chosen for this historic mission.
Source: Author
darthrevan89
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crisw before going online.
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