Salt Trivia Quiz

Answer: Kesaph

Salt had originally held the name Nebel 2, but it was only for identification back on Earth. Many people ended up calling it Salt because it was basically a big solid planet made of salt. Although Barlei suggested Kesaph (Hebrew for 'silver') because of the image of the planet in space, the idea wasn't too popular. Salt has no moons or rings, and its sun, Hadros, is Greek for 'unicorn' (although Barlei isn't too fond of that name either).

Answer: False

Barlei is both the president of Senaar and the narrator who speaks with a Senaarian point of view while Petja is the Alsist narrator. Senaarians find Alsists to be misguided people and regard them as barbarians when really, the Alsists are down-to-Earth (or down-to-Salt) people.

When the Senaarians perform 'The Raid', the Alsists are outraged because the Senaarians begin to take their children, but the Senaarians think that the Alsists needed to be 'freed' from their non-religious, barbaric ways and engaged in battle.

After this, they took the children away from their homes anyways and assumed that they were the heroes.

Answer: Convento

The northernmost sea is the Aradys Sea (also known as Perse), and on its banks, one can find Als, Smith, and Convento. Across the desert, you can find the largest sea, the Galilee Sea, and surrounding it are the southern lands of Senaar, New Florence, Yared, Eleupolis, Lantern, and Babulonis.

The final location, De Morgan, is located on an unnamed body of water to the east of Senaar. The Great Desert somewhat acts as a barrier. On the north side are the care-free Alsists, and to the south, the Senaarians rule supreme.

When Petja travels across the desert with Rhoda Titus after the raid, they encounter cruel dust storms, barren salt-scapes, and more than enough of the Devil's Whisper.

Answer: Tomatoes

Due to the endless salt beneath their feet, Alsists attempted to grow their own vegetables with newly-made soil. Unfortunately, this proved extremely difficult. Since soil requires certain nutrients to grow certain plants, the Alsists only managed to grow Boltweeds (which were used in a heavily-processed soup), and oddly enough, some mediocre tomatoes. The way that Alsists work may not be entirely efficient seeing as they come and go from their jobs whenever they please.

They use special 'work rotas' to allow people to do different jobs after a certain period of time.

For example, Petja once worked with plants, then road construction, then as a diplomat. This style of employment is much different from that of the Senaarians who delegate tasks or allow people to choose their own.

They then remain at that task until they quit, retire, or get fired.

Answer: Kim

Jean-Pierre Dreyfus is basically Barlei's right-hand man, and he likes to feel as if he's mentoring the boy. When Jean-Pierre asks Barlei to help him choose between two eligible ladies to marry, he finds it difficult. Kim was fair-haired, slim, and elegant.

She had a pretty laugh and she was an expert flautist. Coventry on the other hand was tall, lovely, and black-haired. Her skin was a delicate brown and she had a beautiful face. Unlike Kim, Coventry was a great pianist. When it came time for Barlei to make a decision for his pupil, he suggested that Jean-Pierre follow his heart.

A few weeks later, Kim and Jean-Pierre were married, but tragedy struck merely a few weeks later when Kim inhaled too much of the planet's noxious chlorine. Unlike many other Senaarians, Kim chose not to have a sinus filter in order to preserve her beautiful face.

Unfortunately, her vanity was her demise.

Answer: Rhoda Titus

Like most Senaarians, Rhoda Titus found Alsists to be brutish and barbaric. When the raid occurred and Senaarians decided to take Alsist children to Senaar (as a method of 'freeing them from their barbaric ways'), a battle began and Rhoda Titus hid in the diplomatic office.

At the time, Petja was managing this work rota and decided to leave Als for a brief time after the raid. He took Rhoda Titus with him across the Great Desert for many days and after a bit of an adventure, he dropped her off in Yared near Senaar. We don't hear from her again until the end of the story, but Barlei claims that she was tortured in Als and made a daring escape from the horrible country.

Answer: Needlegun

Along with the regular items that the settlers brought on their journey through space, they had also brought weapons. Throughout the novel, troops fighting in the war used these Needleguns (and occasionally Needle Rifles) to attack their enemies, and they would be continuously made by Fabricants (much like their food). According to Petja, these needles make a distinctive sucking sound when fired. If they fly past your vision, they are an instantaneous glowing streak. Petja and his troops used these guns across the Great Desert and hid them easily because they were lightweight, unlike the guns that Senaarians fabricated later in the war which were bulky and difficult to transport.

Answer: Yared

This railway is an easy, fast mode of transportation which Petja and his troops bomb during the war. After this, they made their way to Senaar and released bombs throughout the city and in the Barlei Dyke. This obviously caused damage and chaos, and in the end, he and his troops fled back towards Als across the Great Desert.

In the end, only seventeen of the original sixty (plus) troops survived although many suffered from wounds, rashes, and scars as well as cancer and radiation poisoning. In the end of the novel, Petja is hiding in the mountains to the north of Als along with a group of Alsists.

He now has many war wounds and radiation cancer, but he's regarded as an Alsist war hero.

Answer: Convento

Convento found that the Senaarians were imposing on their territory and that the Alsist were being treated wrong, so they fought in air battles over the Great Desert. They also stated that there had been a 'Northern Alliance' between the three northern colonies of Salt (although Barlei fought for the fact that none of this had been documented). Barlei felt that Convento had participated in a great war and although they had fought against each other, they weren't like the brutish guerrillas of Als who decided to take extreme measures by attacking Senaarians within their city.

After three weeks of fights, Convento and Senaar signed a peace document. Not only did Convento give permission for Senaar to build a military base in Als, but Senaar recognized the Convento border and were barred from crossing it.

After this, Jean-Pierre was called to the mountains to the north of Als, and Barlei never saw him again. Jean-Pierre was killed by an Alsist sniper.

Answer: Two

Devil's Whispers are large salt storms which will fiercely blow all around the planet of Salt. When this storm picks up, salt will literally tear at the skin and bury anything in its path. The Senaarians built the Barlei Dyke to defend the city from the horrible storm, but everyone still felt the power. During the war, Petja used the horrible storm to his advantage to fight Senaarian troops stationed at Als, and later on he used it to bury his troops in hiding spots in the Great Desert.

The Devil's Whisper occurs once in the Alsist morning and again in the Alsist evening.