Average Among the Hidden Quiz | 10 Questions | Literature

Answer: They were "shadow" children.

According to the population law, each family was entitled to no more than two kids. If a woman got pregnant with her third child, she was expected to terminate that pregnancy. This law was put into effect after the country was hit by famines. It was intended that by curtailing the population, there'd be adequate food for all.

Accordingly, the government tasked a special group called the "population police" with the responsibility of ridding the nation of "illegal kids". In order to survive, these children, referred to as "shadow" children, were forced to live their lives in hiding. Luke, Jennifer, Sean and Jason were among the hidden.

Answer: Both of these

The Garners' boys from oldest to youngest were Matthew, Mark and Luke. The Garners were poor farmers. Mrs. Garner had hoped that the population law, which was relatively new at the time of her third pregnancy, would be gotten rid of before her baby was born. The law prevailed and Luke became an illegal offspring.

The wealthy Mrs. Talbot, on the other hand, already had two boys but wanted a girl. She paid a handsome price to become part of a gender selection experiment. Jennifer Rose Talbot was a product of this experiment. Luke discovered Jennifer and they became good friends.

Answer: The Garners were required to stop raising hogs because the new neighbors won't be able to tolerate the smell.

Rearing hogs was a primary source of income for the Garners (whose nearest neighbor, at that time, lived three miles away). The Garners' backyard was surrounded by a heavily wooded area initially; hence, Luke, their 'shadow' child, was permitted to play outdoors and do a few chores. The government later bought the woods from the Garners to build houses.

On account of the new houses, the Garners' property tax was tripled and they were told to stop raising hogs. Luke, of course, had to stop playing outdoors.

Answer: Totalitarian

Before the famines, there was a democratic government in power. After that government was overthrown, General Sherwood occupied office and promised food for all. Not only was the population law put into effect. but the government also became involved in every aspect of the daily lives of its citizens.

A good example of this was seen when Mr. Garner tried to grow plants indoors due to dire financial constraints. He bought the necessary equipment to implement his plan. Based on the items purchased, the government suspected his intentions and wrote a letter advising him to abandon the project.

Answer: Barons

Barons were incredibly rich people. They lived in mansions, wore expensive clothing, drove impressive cars, and had privileges that poor people didn't have. They got to eat potato chips and drink soda when these were forbidden by the government. The only law they were obliged to keep was the population law.
Poor Mr. Garner, a hard-working farmer, could not manage to say the word "Baron" without adding a few curse words.

Answer: Jennifer (Jen)

Although Jen, being a 'baron', happened to be more privileged than many shadow kids, she grew tired of hiding. She wanted equal rights as a citizen. To this end, she organized a rally where approximately 1000 illegal kids were to meet the president and express their views on the treatment of shadow kids in general. These kids weren't responsible for their own existence, yet, because nobody knew they existed, some of them didn't have enough food, and were unable to attend school or visit the doctor. It was as though they were grounded for life.

Jen expected Luke to be a part of this rally, but Luke thought it was too dangerous, and told her he couldn't go. In spite of her pleadings, Luke maintained his position on the issue. He said "I can't go, and neither should you. It's too dangerous." Jen in turn got furious and ordered him to leave her home. This made Luke very angry ... for a little while, and then anger was replaced by deep worry over Jen's plans.

Answer: In front of the president's house.

Jen Talbot was brave and full of spunk. She formed a chat room and met with many shadow kids on a regular basis. Their password was F-R-E-E. Jen planned a rally, during which approximately one thousand kids would meet the president and explain the plight of the shadow kids. Poor naïve Jen thought that any reasonable president would understand their point of view and grant them freedom.

Jen was wrong on two counts. Firstly, only forty kids showed up for the rally and secondly, they were all shot to death. Luke Garner was fortunate that he didn't attend.

Answer: "Stop Jen? That's like trying to stop the sun."

Jen was the mastermind behind the rally. Although she was scared, it was her idea, and she had to see it come to fruition. Luke had, in fact, asked Jen not to go. He told her it was too dangerous. Jen told Luke he could be a coward and hope that someone else would change the world for him.

The two friends had a falling out over Luke's decision not to go to the rally, but on the night of the rally Jen snuck over to Luke's house and smoothed things over. Luke still didn't take the risk, but they parted as friends again. Jen was shot dead that night.

Answer: No

The shadow children met on a regular basis in a chat room created by Jen Talbot. After the fatal rally, where Jen and others lost their lives, the Population Police discovered and began monitoring the chat room, hoping to discover more illegals. Oblivious to this operation, Luke broke into the Talbots' home and turned on their computer in a desperate attempt to find Jen. Entering the chat room triggered a buzzer in Population Police Headquarters.

In about 30 minutes they were at the Talbots' home, exercising their rights to search and seizure.

However, Luke wasn't hearing the command for the first time. His brother Mark has been playing the population prank on Luke for years prior to this incident. He'd come home from school, pound on the door and say "Population police! Open up!"

Answer: His initials

Luke's fake ID bore the name Lee Grant. The real Lee Grant died in a skiing accident, and his parents donated his ID to Luke through a secret group which helps shadow children.

Luke was sent to a boarding school as a 'baron'. It was under the pretext that he was being punished for bad behavior.