MEG: A Novel of Deep Terror PREP TESTS for State...

MEG: A Novel of Deep TerrorPREP TESTS for State Boards

The following has been developed for teachers utilizing MEG; A Novel of Deep Terroras part of their classroom curriculum.

Alten novels have a natural progression in reading levels MEG is suitable for grades 8-12. TheTRENCH (part 2 of Meg series) is the next step up and works well as extra credit after the unitto keep students’ interests burning. For more advanced readers and grades 11-12, I suggest usingDOMAIN or GOLIATH.

The purpose of these PREP TESTS:1. Help students improve reading comprehension using passages of a novel they are familiar

with and interested in.

2. Help students develop their writing skills.

3. Serve as a useful tool in prepping students to take State Assessment Tests, familiarizing themwith format.

Suggestions for Use:FIVE (edited) chapters from MEG have been included, organized in the order they appear in thestory. This allows teachers to sporadically test students while they are reading the novel. Thesechapters include:

The PROFESSOR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 6SAIPAN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 151ATTACK.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 185JAWS, MAUI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 203HELL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 341

Note: The page numbers and following chapters relate to the revised paperback version of MEGthat was released in 2005 and 2008.

Answer Keys:Because students also have access to this website, ANSWER KEYS will be provided ONLY toregistered Adopt-An-Author teachers. To receive your answer key, e-mail Steve Alten [email protected]

My goal is to continue to assist teachers while encouraging students to read. I invite andencourage your feedback and suggestions. I also encourage you to spread the word about theprogram and novels among your fellow teachers.

–Steve Alten, Ed. D.

mailto:[email protected]


THE PROFESSOR

November 8, 5:42 p.m.The Scripps Institute, Anderson AuditoriumLa Jolla, California

“IT WAS THE ANCIENT PREDECESSOR ofour modern-day great white shark, only it wasfifty to seventy-five feet in length, weighingclose to seventy thousand pounds. Can youvisualize that?”

Professor Jonas Taylor looked at hisaudience of just over six hundred and pausedfor effect. “I find it hard to imagine myselfsometimes, but we know for a fact thisincredible monster did exist. Its head alonewas probably as large as a Dodge Rampickup. Its jaws could have engulfed andswallowed a dozen grown men whole. And Ihaven’t even mentioned the teeth: razor-sharp,seven to eight inches long, each possessingthe serrated edges of a stainless-steel steakknife.”

The thirty-nine-year-old paleontologistknew he had his audience’s attention, despitethe fact that it had been years since his lastpublic speaking engagement. Lecturing infront of a nearly-sold-out crowd was notsomething Jonas had anticipated. He knew histheories were controversial, that there were asmany critics in the audience as there weresupporters. Still . . . just to be heard, to feelimportant again . . .

He loosened his collar and took a slow,deep breath, forcing himself to relax.

“Next slide, please? Ah, here we have anartist’s rendition of a six-foot diver ascompared with a sixteen-foot great white andour sixty-foot Megalodon. I think this givesyou a fairly good idea why scientists refer to

the species as the king of all predators.”Jonas reached for his bottle of water and

took a sip. “Fossilized Megalodon teeth foundaround the world tell us the species dominatedthe oceans for tens of millions of years, perhapseven longer. Who knows how old unfound Megteeth buried in the depths might be? The bigquestion is—why did the species die off at all?We know sharks survived the cataclysmicevents that occurred about sixty-five andforty-five million years ago, events that wipedout most land animals and prehistoric speciesof fish. We know Megalodon’s major foodsource—whales— were still quite abundant.In fact, we have Megalodon teeth that date backonly a hundred thousand years. From ageological perspective, that’s a tick of theclock, one that indicates our two species nodoubt shared the planet at the same time,Homo sapiens dominating the land,Megalodon the sea. So what happened?”

Jonas paused for effect, casually shufflinghis cheat sheets on the wooden podium.“There it is, people, one of the great mysteriesof the paleo-world. Of course, theoriesabound. Some so-called experts believe thestaple of Megalodon’s diet had once beenlarge, slow-moving fish and that the sharkscouldn’t adapt to the smaller, swifter speciesthat exist today. Another theory is that fallingocean temperatures contributed to thecreatures’ demise.”

An elderly man raised his hand emphaticallyfrom his seat in the first row, obviously wanting

In this chapter, we meet Professor Jonas Taylor, a former Navy deep-seasubmersible pilot.


to be heard. Jonas recognized him, a formercolleague at Scripps. A former critic.

“Professor Taylor, I think we’d like tohear your theory as to the disappearance ofCarcharodon megalodon.”

Murmurs of approval followed. Jonasloosened his collar a bit more. He rarely woresuits, and this eighteen-year-old wool itchedlike hell.

“Those of you who know me or follow mywork are aware of how my opinions oftendiffer from those of most paleobiologists.Many in my field spend a great deal of timetheorizing why a particular species no longerexists. I prefer to focus my energies on how aseemingly-extinct species might still exist.”

The elderly professor stood, readying hisverbal assault. “Sir, are you saying you thinkCarcharodon megalodon may still be roamingthe oceans?”

Jonas waited for quiet. “Not necessarily,Professor, I’m simply pointing out that, asscientists, we tend to take a rather short-sighted‘if we haven’t seen it, it doesn’t exist anymore’approach when it comes to declaring marineanimals extinct. For instance, it wasn’t long agothat scientists unanimously believed thecoelacanth, a species of lobe-finned fish thatthrived three hundred million years ago, hadgone extinct over the last seventy millionyears. That so-called fact held up until 1938,when a fisherman hauled a living coelacanthout of the deep ocean waters off South Africa.Now scientists routinely observe these ‘livingfossils’ in their natural habitat.”

The elderly professor stood up again amidmurmurs from the crowd. “Professor Taylor,we’re all familiar with the discovery of thecoelacanth, but there’s a big differencebetween a five-foot bottom feeder and a sixty-foot predator!”

Jonas checked his watch, realizing he wasrunning behind schedule. “Yes, I agree. My

point was simply that I prefer to investi-gate the possibilities of a species’ survivalrather than to add to the unproven conjectureregarding extinction among marine dwellers.Somehow, the scientific world has taken an ‘it’sdead until it shows itself’ approach, and thatsimply doesn’t work when it comes to fish.”

“Then again, sir, I ask for your opinionregarding Megalodon.”

More murmurs.Jonas wiped his brow; Maggie was going

to kill him. “Okay, here it is: First, I disagreeentirely with the theory regarding Megalodonbeing unable to catch quicker prey. We’velearned the conical tail fin of the great white,the modern-day cousin of the Megalodon, isthe most efficient design for propelling a bodythrough water. As I’ve already stated, we knowMegs existed as recently as a hundred thousandyears ago. Then, as now, the predator wouldhave had an abundant supply of slower-movingwhales to feed upon.

“I do, however, agree that diminishingocean temperatures would have affected thesecreatures, specifically their young, which wouldbe more vulnerable to colder water. May I havethe next slide, please? Sorry, one more.”

A slide showing a series of the changingplanet over a three-hundred-million-yearperiod appeared on the screen above his head.“As we can see, Earth’s continental masseshave shifted considerably over time.” Jonaspointed to the center diagram. “This is howour planet looked about forty million yearsago, during the Eocene. As we can see, thelandmass that would become Antarcticaseparated from South America at about thistime and drifted over the South Pole. Whenthe continents shifted, they disrupted thetransport of poleward oceanic heat, essentiallyreplacing the heat-retaining water with heat-losing land. As the cooling progressed, theland accumulated snow and ice, which further


lowered global temperatures and sea levels.As many of you know, the most importantfactor controlling the geographical distribu-tion of a marine species is ocean temperature.

“Now, as the water temperatures dropped,the warmer tropical currents became top-heavy with salt and began running muchdeeper. Unlike air, salinity determines whichcurrents run deeper, not temperature. In thisexample, the ocean temperatures were cooleralong the shallower surface waters, with atropical current, laden with salt, running muchdeeper.

“Based on the locations of fossilizedMegalodon teeth found in the rivers off SouthCarolina and other locations around the world,we know the sharks frequented shorelines, afact most likely due to pregnant whales’preference for birthing their young in shallowlagoons. That’s not to say the Megs didn’t huntin the open oceans. It simply means we have atendency to draw conclusions based upon themonsters’ behavior in the shallows.

“Now, about two million years ago, ourplanet’s inhabitants had to deal with theeffects of Earth’s last major ice age. As youcan see from this diagram, the deeper tropicalcurrents that had provided a refuge for manymarine species were suddenly cut off. As aresult, a host of prehistoric fish, includinggenerations of Megalodon young, died off ingreat numbers, unable to adapt to the extremedrops in oceanic temperatures.”

The elderly professor called out from hisseat. “So then, Taylor, you do believe thatMegalodon became extinct as a result ofclimatic changes.” The older man smiled,satisfied with himself.

“A decimated population doesn’tnecessarily equate to extinction. Remember, Isaid I prefer to theorize on how a speciesmight still exist. About fifteen years ago, Iwas part of a scientific team that first studied

deep-sea trenches. Deep-sea trenchesform the hadal zone, an area of the PacificOcean about which scientists know virtuallynothing. Deep-sea trenches form along theboundaries of two oceanic plates, where oneplate melts back or subducts into the earth.Prior to 1977, scientists believed the abysswas actually barren; after all, how could lifeexist without light or photosynthesis? Whenwe actually bothered to take a look, wediscovered hydrothermal vents—miniaturevolcanoes of life-giving chemicals-spewingmineral-rich waters at temperatures that oftenexceeded seven hundred degrees Fahrenheit.At some point, these minerals level off abouta half-mile or so above the sea floor, creatinga layer of insulation that keeps in the heat,forming what we now call a hydrothermalplume. In essence, you have an anomaly ofnature, a tropical current of water—an oasisof life, if you will—running along the verybottom of the ocean in complete darkness.And these hydrothermal vents don’t just spewhot water and minerals, they support lifeforms never before imagined . . . life formswhose food chain relies on chemosynthesis—chemicals in the water.”

A middle-aged woman stood and askedexcitedly, “Did you discover a Megalodondown there?”

Jonas forced a smiled while he waited forthe crowd’s laughter to subside. “No, ma’am.“But I’ll show you something that wasdiscovered in the abyss over one hundred yearsago which might be of interest.” Jonas pulledout a glass case, roughly twice the size of a shoebox, from a shelf beneath the podium. “This isa fossilized tooth of Carcharodon megalodon.Scuba divers and beach-combers have turned upfossilized teeth like this by the thousands. Someare tens of millions of years old. This particularspecimen is special because it’s not very old. Itwas recovered in 1873 by the world’s first true


oceanic exploration vessel, the British HMSChallenger. Can you see these manganesenodules?” Jonas pointed to the black encrust-ations on the tooth. “Recent analysis of thesemanganese layers indicated the tooth’s ownerhad been alive during the late Pleistocene orearly Holocene period. In other words, thistooth is a mere ten thousand years old, and itwas dredged from the deepest point on ourplanet, the Mariana Trench’s Challenger Deep.”

The crowd erupted.“Professor! Professor Taylor!” All eyes

turned to an Asian-American woman standingin the back of the auditorium. Jonas stared ather, caught off guard by her beauty. Somehowshe looked familiar.

“Yes, go ahead,” said Jonas, motioningfor the audience to be quiet.

“Professor, are you saying that Megalodonmay still exist in the depths of the MarianaTrench?” Silence took the room. It was thequestion the audience wanted answered.

“Theoretically, if members of theMegalodon species inhabited the waters of theMariana Trench two million years ago, watersthat maintain deep tropical plumes createdand nourished by hydrothermal vents, thenit’s not beyond the realm of possibility that abranch of the species might have survived.The existence of this ten-thousand-year-oldfossil certainly justifies the possibilities.”

“What nonsense!” Mike “the Turk”Turzman, a popular local radio talk show hostspecializing in crytozoology stood in the asile,shaking his head. “There are no hydrothermalvents in the Mariana Trench. None!”

Jonas shook his head. He had heardexcerpts of the Turk’s recent interview withRichard Ellis, a painter and self-proclaimedexpert on all things nautical who had lambastedTaylor’s research. “Just for the record, Mr.Turzman, in 2003, the Ocean Exploration Ring of Fire Expedition surveyed more than fifty

volcanoes along the Mariana Arc. Ten ofthese volcanoes had active hydrothermalsystems. A follow-up expedition a year laterfound these hydrothermal systems were quiredifferent from those found along the mid-Atlantic Ocean ridges, harboring all sorts ofexotic life forms. So maybe the next time oneof your guests decides to publicly critique myresearch over the airwaves, you’ll do somefact checking of your own!”

A smattering of applause escorted “theTurk” back to his seat.

“Professor!” A middle-aged man with ayoung son sitting next to him raised his hand.“If these monsters still exist today, whyhaven’t we seen them?”

“A good question,” Jonas said, pausing as abeautiful blond woman, tan and in her earlythirties, strutted down the center aisle. Herclassic topaz evening gown hugged a flawlessfigure, exposing long, athletic legs. Her maleescort trailed behind, also in his thirties, hislong dark hair slicked back into a tight ponytail,which contrasted with his tuxedo. The pair tookthe two empty seats reserved in the front row.

Jonas composed himself, waiting for hiswife and friend to be seated.

“Sorry. You asked why we haven’t actuallyseen a Megalodon, assuming members of thespecies still exist. First, sharks that inhabit themid-waters and deepest realms of the oceanhave no physical need to surface and flash us atelltale dorsal fin. Second, assuming a popula-tion of Megalodon did inhabit the waters ofthe Mariana Trench, it would have to be hardpressed to abandon that tropical bottom layerand its only known food source. TheChallenger Deep is seven miles down. Thewater temperature above the warm layer isnear freezing. The Meg might venture intothat cold layer, ascending a mile or so at themost, but at some point, it would head backdown to the warm layer again.


“Last, sharks are the one species that don’tcooperate when it comes to leaving behindevidence they existed, especially thoseinhabiting the abyss. Unlike mammals, sharksdo not float to the surface when they die, astheir bodies are inherently heavier thanseawater and contain no air sacs. Theirskeletons are composed entirely of cartilage,so unlike dinosaurs and many species of bonyfishes, there are no Megalodon bones to leavebehind, only their gruesome, fossilized teeth.”

Jonas caught Maggie’s eye, her expressionburning into his skull. “One . . . uh, otherthing about the Mariana Trench. Man has onlyventured down to the bottom twice, bothexpeditions occurring in 1960 and both timesin bathyscaphes, essentially steel balls, hardlyuseful for exploration. In other words, wesimply went straight down and back up again.The reality is, we’ve never come close toexploring the trench. In fact, we know moreabout distant galaxies than we do a 1,550-mile-long, 40-mile-wide isolated section ofthe Pacific Ocean, seven miles down.”

Jonas looked at Maggie and shrugged. Shestood, pointing to her watch.

“You’ll have to excuse me, ladies andgentlemen. This lecture has lasted a bit longerthan expected and I’m due—”

“Excuse me, Taylor, one importantquestion.” It was the Asian woman again. Sheseemed perturbed. “Before you beganstudying these Megalodons, your career wasfocused entirely on piloting deep-seasubmersibles. I’d like to know why, at thepeak of your career, you suddenly quit.”

Jonas was taken back by the directness ofthe question. “First I didn’t quit, I retired.Second, my reasons are my own. Nextquestion?” He searched the audience foranother raised hand.

“Pretty young to retire, weren’t you?” Shewas standing now, approaching from the

center aisle. “Or maybe it was somethingelse? You haven’t been in a submersible forwhat? Seven years? Did you lose your nerve,Professor? Inquiring minds want to know.”

The audience chuckled. No one wasleaving, this was getting good.

Jonas felt trickles of sweat drip from hisarmpits. “What’s your name, miss?”

“Tanaka. Terry Tanaka. I believe youknow my father, Masao, CEO of the TanakaOceanographic Institute.”

“Tanaka, of course. In fact, I think youand I met several years ago on a lecturecircuit.”

“That’s right.”“Well, Terry Tanaka, since your inquiring

mind insists on violating my privacy, let’s justsay, after a dozen years with the Navy, I felt itwas time to stop risking my life piloting deep-sea submersibles and join the academiccircuit, researching prehistoric species like theMegalodon.” Jonas collected his notes. “Now,if there are no other questions . . . ”

“Dr. Taylor!” A balding man in his fifties,with tiny wire-rim glasses stood in the thirdrow. He had bushy “Andy Rooney-like” elfineyebrows and a tight, nervous grin on his face.“Please, sir, one last question if I may. As youmentioned, the two manned expeditions to theMariana Trench occurred in 1960. But,Professor, isn’t it true that there have beenmore recent descents into the ChallengerDeep?”

Jonas stared at the man, red warning flagsfluttering in his head. “I’m sorry?”

“Come now, Professor, you made severaldives there yourself.”

Jonas was silent. The audience began tomurmur.

The man’s bushy eyebrows raised, liftinghis glasses. “Back in 1989, Professor. Whileyou were still doing work for the Navy?”

“I’m . . . not sure I understand.” Jonasglanced at his wife like a condemned man.


Maggie looked away. “You are ProfessorJonas Taylor, aren’t you?” The man smiledsmugly as the audience broke into lightlaughter.

“Look, pal, I think you have your factswrong, and I’m really running late. Drop mean e-mail or something. Oh . . . uh, thank youall for attending.”

A smattering of applause trickled out amidmurmurs from the crowd as Jonas Taylorstepped down from the podium. He wasquickly approached by students withquestions, scientists with theories of theirown, and old colleagues desperate to say hellobefore he left. Jonas shook as many hands ashe could, signed a few books, then apologizedagain for having to run.

The pony-tailed man in the tuxedosqueezed his head through the swarmingcrowd. “Hey, J.T., the car’s parked outside.Maggie says we need to leave now, bro.”

Jonas nodded, finished signing a book foran admiring student, then hurried to the exit atthe back of the auditorium where his wife wastapping her freshly pedicured toes, waitingimpatiently.

As he reached the door, Jonas caught aglimpse of Terry Tanaka, looking at him frombehind a sea of people. Her almond eyesseemed to burn into his as she mouthed thewords, “We need to talk.”

Jonas held up his watch and shrugged.He’d enough of the verbal assaults for onenight.

As if in response, his wife yelled throughthe exit door, “Jonas, let’s go! Now!”


1. Jonas’s point to his statement that “Iprefer to theorize why a seemingly extinctspeciesmight exist,” is meant as:A. An excuse to justify his outrageousB. His preference for investigating the

theories about Megalodon.possibilities of a species survival.

C. A retort to the older critic.D. Evidence regarding the mystery

behind Megalodon’s disappearance.

2. The following statements are true inreference to the “hadal” zone:A. It is a deep-sea area where trenchesB. The CHALLENGER DEEP is part of

form.the Hadal zone.

C. Hydrothermal vents are present in theD.All of the above.Hadal Zone.

3. Jonas theorizes Megalodon could stillexist, even though we’ve never seen them,for all BUT the following:A. If the sharks do inhabit the trench,

they B.Daylight cannot reach into the trench,

would be trapped below the coldlayers.

making it difficult to see.C. Unlike dinosaurs, sharks leave littleD. There’s always been an abundant

supply of evidence behind.whales for Megalodon to feed upon.

4. Jonas becomes jittery when:A. He sees his wife, Maggie.B. Terry Tanaka questions his “nerve.”C. The bushy eye-browed man questionsD. He has to sign books.

whether he’s been to the MarianaTrench.

5. Who insist upon speaking to Jonas as hehustles to leave?

A. MaggieB. The pony-tailed man in the tuxedo.C. The bushy eye-browed man.D. Terry Tanaka

6. Jonas Taylor’s theories about theexistence of Megalodon cause debate. Inyour opinion, why are his theories socontroversial, and why does he seem soconvinced he is right? Use informationfrom the passage and your own ideas.Write in the space below.

As you write, be sure to:! Describe theories why Megalodon is

extinct

Write nearly and clearly.! Include your own ideas

Use only the space provided.! Describe Jonas’s retort


7. Why is Jonas in Saipan?A. He wanted to get together with his oldB. He’s after evidence that the

Megalodon pal, Mac.has surfaced.

C. He’s searching for a fossilized MEGD. None of the above.

tooth.

8. Why does Jonas insist on Philippe rowingthem out?

A. He is concerned about the noiseB. He doesn’t want to disturb the sleeping

alerting the Meg.locals.

C. He doesn’t want to disturb the whaleD. All of the above.

carcass.

9. According to Philippe, what killed theOrca?

A. Something big...a monster.B. The Megalodon.C. The tiger shark.D. None of the above.

10. Jonas Taylor risks his life to prove thefemale Megalodon surfaced from theabyssal waters of the Mariana Trench. Ifyou were Jonas, would you venture outinto the waters off Saipan in a small boatin the middle of the night? How elsemight you go about proving theMegalodon has risen? Use informationfrom the passage and your own ideas.Write in the space below.

As you write, be sure to:! Summarize the dangers Jonas is

facing,

Write nearly and clearly.! Include your own ideas on how to find

the Meg.Use only the space provided.

MEG: A Novel of Deep Terror PREP TESTS for State...

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