"Metro 2033" by Dmitry Glukhovsky (Part I) Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. When the readers were first introduced to the protagonist, 20 year-old Artyom, he was standing guard at his home metro station, VDNKh. While he stood guard the readers learned that both of Artyom's parents died when he was still a toddler. Though the details of his father's death was not elaborated upon, how did Artyom's mother die?

Answer: She was eaten by rats.

Artyom was born before the bombs destroyed the surface world, but he was still very young (three years old), when he was first taken down into the metro tunnels. The first station Artyom lived in was decimated when a massive swarm of hungry rats came out of the side tunnels and the walls.

The rats began to consume everything in their path. The station was doomed. Artyom's mother noticed a man named Sukhoi escaping the rats so she handed young Artyom to him. In the heat of the moment, Sukhoi did not think twice, as he grabbed young Artyom and ran onto the nearest train trolley and began his escape with only a handful of other men.

As the rats began to close in on them, they used their flamethrower, which allowed them the time to get away. Sukhoi later became the administrator of VDNKh, and also became Artyom's stepfather.

2. VDNKh, Artyom's home metro, was in danger. This was due to a gate to the surface that became jammed open. Because the gate could not be closed, radiation and other inhuman horrors could freely enter into the station. Artyom was one of the people revealed to be responsible for the gate being opened.

Answer: True

Artyom revealed, via a flashback sequence, that he and some friends were feeling adventurous one day in the metro. They took nothing but a small rifle with them as they planned to head outside and explore what was left of the surface world. They opened up the gate to the surface, and began to ascend the broken escalator topside.

They became more and more frightened the closer they got to the exit so they eventually decided not to go outside. Their meddling with the gate, however, horribly damaged the opening/closing mechanism, permanently leaving the gate open and endangering the station.

Other than the reader, the only person other than Artyom and his friends who knew about the event was a stalker named Hunter.

3. After Artyom's shift had ended, a man named Hunter arrived at VDNKh. Hunter knew Artyom's stepfather, Sukhoi, but turned his attention to Artyom when he noticed the hopelessness in Sukhoi's tone. Hunter gave Artyom a special task. Artyom was to go to a far away metro station called Polis and tell a man named Melnik that Hunter sent him. What item did Hunter give Artyom to show Melnik when he got there?

Answer: A twisted ammo cartridge

Hunter was a stalker, one of the few people who could handle the horrors of the metro tunnels and the irradiated surface world. He had known Sukhoi for a long time and remembered him as an optimistic adventurer. Because Sukhoi had changed his attitude so much over the years, he chose to speak to Artyom. To Hunter, there was something special about Artyom. Because of that, he gave Artyom an equally special task that gave Artyom the chance to finally leave VDNKh. Artyom accepted the task of meeting Melnik in Polis, and he used a routine metro expedition to get himself out of VDNKh.

4. After saying his goodbye to Sukhoi, Artyom left VDNKh with a convoy that was going to retrieve some electrical wires. Little did anyone know that Artyom would be deviating from them after their stop at Rizhskaya. At Rizhskaya, Artyom met Bourbon. Bourbon offered to pay Artyom if they went through the dreaded Sukharevskaya-Turgenevskaya tunnel together. He offered to pay Artyom the currency of the metro. What was used as currency in the metro system?

Answer: Ammo cartridges

Because Artyom had noticed something unexplainable on the way to Rizhskaya, and saved his fellow travellers, a man named Bourbon took notice and wanted Artyom's help. Bourbon wanted to to get through the next tunnel to Prospect Mir and then go further along through the dreaded Sukharevskaya-Turgenevskaya tunnels. Those tunnels were a death trap for anyone travelling alone on them so Bourbon decided that it would be best to take someone sensitive to the dangers of the metro, such as Artyom. Bourbon offered Kalashnikov AK cartridges to Artyom as compensation for their trip. That also happened to be the currency used in the metro to purchase everything from foods and drinks, to weapons and station admissions.

5. Venturing through the ominous tunnel leading to Sukharevskaya, Artyom and Bourbon both felt that something was very wrong. Sure enough, Artyom became distressed and Bourbon began to speak of uncharacteristic nonsense. After Bourbon finished talking, he collapsed and died. A man, named Khan, rescued Artyom and then told him that he could keep Bourbon's possessions. Both Khan and Artyom spoke about and kept particular possessions of the departed Bourbon. What were the notable possessions?

Answer: Khan kept Bourbon's map, and Artyom kept Bourbon's Kalashnikov assault rifle.

After Bourbon's sudden death by unseen forces, Artyom tried in vain to both resuscitate him and drag him to the nearest metro station for a proper burial. The older gentleman, Khan, helped Artyom out of the tunnel and informed him to leave the corpse, lest Artyom suffer the same fate as his departed friend. Artyom took Bourbon's goods and went with Khan to the nearest metro station.

There they went through Bourbon's possessions. Artyom liked Bourbon's gun and the fact that it seemed to be very well taken care of. Khan noticed a very special map in the bag and asked Artyom if he could keep it. Artyom allowed Khan to keep the map. Apparently, the map had a special power to show particularly gifted people the dangers in certain areas of the metro. Artyom could not see the gifts that the map offered, but Bourbon and Khan were clearly able to.

As Artyom slept, awaiting the next leg of his journey, Khan ventured back into the tunnel and buried Bourbon for Artyom.

6. Khan, Artyom and a whole convoy of other people were on their way to Kitai Gorod, through the dreaded Turgenevskaya tunnel. While walking with the group, Khan had a sudden realization that the caravan should enter a nearby side tunnel and get off the main track. Despite the caravan's protests, Khan grabbed Artyom and entered into the side tunnel. One of the caravan members, named Ace, believed Khan and followed him into the tunnel as well. Did the rest of the members of the caravan die?

Answer: Yes

Ace, Artyom, and Khan were safe for the moment moving along the side tunnel of Turgenevskaya. The fate of the remaining caravan members was sealed when a growl was heard in the distance, followed by an eerie silence. Though details were not given, Khan's experience in the tunnel led the readers, as well as Ace and Artyom to believe that all of the caravan members had been killed by an unknown force.

The danger had not yet passed because the three men still had to run from an evil energy hounding them all the way to Kitai Gorod. Luckily, all three of them survived the evils inside the tunnel.

7. When violence erupted at Kitai Gorod, Khan, Artyom, and Ace parted ways. As Artyom was fleeing, he met an old man named Mikhail Porfirevich and a disabled child named Vanechka. The three escaped to the station of the Nazi Fourth Reich. The Nazis allowed Artyom through, but refused to allow access to Mikhail and Vanechka. As the Nazis punched Mikhail, Vanechka attacked and was shot to death. What did Artyom do after seeing Vanechka's death?

Answer: Artyom shot and killed the guard who had murdered Vanechka.

At the gate to the Fourth Reich's station, all three people needed passports to get through. Artyom had one, as did Mikhail. Due to Vanechka's condition, he was not issued a passport and that was where the problem began. The guard did not care for Mikhail's explanations as to why Vanechka lacked a passport.

The fascist guard chose to punch the old man in the mouth. Vanechka jumped at the guard and bit him before being shot in the stomach. The guard then put a second bullet into Vanechka's head. Angered by the guard's display of murder, Artyom raised Bourbon's assault rifle and let loose a barrage of shots which eliminated the guard. Artyom was then captured and sentenced to death. During his incarceration period, it was also revealed that the Nazis had killed Mikhail, as well.

8. Before the Nazis could execute Artyom, Artyom was rescued by a group of independent Communists. After freeing him, they dropped him off at Tverskaya. That station was near Hansa territory. Artyom needed to pass through, but he had no passport. A man, named Mark, decided to make a wager with a high-ranking Hansa member. If Mark won the bet, he and Artyom would be given passports to get through Hansa territory. If they lost, they would be forced to clean the toilets in the Hansa station for one year. What kind of contest was Artyom's and Mark's freedom lost in?

Answer: A rat race

Tverskaya station was suffering from constant radiation exposure and unending swarms of monsters entering the station. It mirrored the situation at VDNKh, but was many times worse because the attacks and exposure had lasted a lot longer. Artyom needed to move on, so a man named Mark decided that his new rat would be able to beat the reigning champion's rat in a race. Because of that belief, he made a wager to the owner of the champion rat. Sure enough, Mark's rat lost the race. Both Mark and Artyom were forced to clean toilets for a full one-year period. Artyom was extremely disappointed at his situation and sought to find a way to get out.

9. Sickened by the unsanitary predicament he was in, Artyom thought of a plan for escape within a few days of his forced labor's beginning. What was Artyom's plan for escape?

Answer: Cover himself in human fecal matter and just walk out. No-one would want to touch him.

The moment that Artyom got to the Hansa's station, Artyom already began to think of ways to escape. The sheer number of guards and the amount of fortifications made an escape plan difficult to think of. One day while cleaning up fecal matter, Artyom tripped and got some of it on him. That's when the metaphorical light-bulb turned on above his head.

He rolled around in the human waste and simply walked out of the station because no-one wanted to touch him or be near him. As he was escaping through the tunnels he was met by a Jehovah's Witness who did not care about the smell, and instead chose to clean and feed Artyom. Artyom did not believe in the Jehovah's ideals so he left them and continued his adventure to Polis.

10. Finally at Polis, Artyom was apprehended and taken to the station's interrogation room. There, Artyom told the administrator that he was sent by Hunter to speak with Melnik. As the administrator spoke to Melnik on the phone, it was revealed that Melnik had a particular military rank attributed to him. What was the rank?

Answer: Colonel

After having an insightful conversation with some old men in an all-but-deserted metro station, Artyom arrived at Polis. He hid at the entrance for an hour because he heard the echo of gun fire. After it quieted down, Artyom went in and was apprehended.

He informed the administrator of his need to speak with Melnik. The administrator set up a meeting for the next morning. Artyom was released from captivity and free to roam the station until he could meet with Colonel Melnik.

Source: Author Bruce007

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor LadyCaitriona before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

"Metro 2033" tells the tale of a young man named Artyom, who grows up in Moscow's metro system after the world's nuclear annihilation. Evils beyond comprehension lie in wait inside the metro's tunnels. This is the first of two quizzes on the book. Enjoy!

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