1. Tick sees a film of his Alterant being destroyed in another Reality. Can you imagine seeing yourself going through something like that? How would that make you feel?
2. Mistress Jane changes a lot throughout the book. Was there any point you started to feel sorry for her or even like her? Do you feel like she’s pure evil? Why do you think Frazier stays faithful to her?
3. Tick’s parents let him go off on another Realitant adventure, despite the obvious danger. What do you think about their decision? Could you believe in your child enough to let them go off to the unknown like that?
4. Tick knows something is wrong when he sees Mr. Chu near the forest at the beginning of the story. If you met an Alterant of someone very close to you, do you think you’d be able to tell the difference? Even if they looked exactly the same?
5. Sato is sent on an incredibly dangerous mission to obtain a blood sample from a world inhabited by crazy people. Tick, Paul, and Sofia are also asked to do very difficult things. Think honestly about yourself: Would you have enough courage to do difficult tasks? Do you think you could solve Chu’s riddles?
6. What was your favorite part of the book? What would you change if you were the author? Who is your favorite character? Your least favorite?
7. How do you think it feels for Tick to know he has some kind of incredible power over science within him, yet no control over it? To know that if he loses control, he could hurt a lot of people? How would you deal with that kind of pressure?
8. If you had to guess, what would you predict for the plot of Book 3? What do you hope happens? What do you hope doesn’t happen?
~
A Glossary of People, Places, and All Things Important
Atticus Higginbottom—A Realitant from the state of Washington in Reality Prime.
Alterant—Different versions of the same person existing in different Realities. It is extremely dangerous for Alterants to meet one another.
Annika—A spy for the Realitants who was killed by a pack of fangen.
Barf Scarf—The red-and-black scarf that Tick wears to hide the ugly birthmark on his neck.
Barrier Wand—The device used to wink people and things between Realities and between heavily concentrated places of Chi’karda within the same Reality. Works very easily with inanimate objects, and can place them almost anywhere. Humans must be in a place with concentrated Chi’karda (like a cemetery) and have a nanolocator that transmits their location to the Wand in order to be transported. Useless without a Chi’karda Drive, which channels and magnifies the mysterious power.
Benson—A servant of Reginald Chu in the Fourth Reality.
Bermuda Triangle—The most concentrated area of Chi’karda in each Reality. Still unknown as to why.
Billy “The Goat” Cooper—Tick’s biggest nemesis at Jackson Middle School.
Chi’karda—The mysterious force that controls quantum physics. The scientific embodiment of conviction and choice, which in reality rules the universe. Responsible for creating the different Realities.
Chi’karda Drive—The invention that revolutionized the universe, the drive is able to harness, magnify, and control Chi’karda. It has long been believed that travel between Realities is impossible without it.
Chu Industries—The company that practically rules the world of the Fourth Reality. Known for countless inventions and technologies, including many that are malicious in nature.
Command Center—Master George’s headquarters in the Bermuda Triangle, where Chi’karda levels are monitored and to where his many nanolocators report various types of information. Heavily damaged by the forces of Mistress Jane and currently under repair.
Darkin Project (Dark Infinity)—A menacing, giant device created by Reginald Chu of the Fourth Reality. May be the source of a plague of insanity sweeping the Realities.
Earwig Transponder—An insect-like device inserted into the ear which can scramble listening devices and help track its host.
Edgar Higginbottom—Tick’s father.
Entropy—The law of nature that states all things move toward destruction. Related to fragmentation.
Fangen—The sickening abomination of a creature created by Mistress Jane, utilizing the mutated version of Chi’karda found in the Thirteenth Reality. Formed from a variety of no less than twelve different animals, the short and stocky fangen are bred to kill and ask questions later. They can also fly.
Fragmentation—What happens to a Reality when it begins losing Chi’karda levels on a vast scale due to entropy. Can no longer maintain itself as a major alternate version of the world, and will eventually disintegrate into nothing.
Frazier Gunn—A loyal servant of Mistress Jane.
Frupey—Nickname for Fruppenschneiger, Sofia’s butler.
Gnat Rat—A malicious invention of Chu Industries in the Fourth Reality. Releases dozens of mechanical hornets that are programmed to attack a certain individual based on a nanolocator, DNA, or blood type.