How does Tilloo manage to find his way to the 'forbidden passage'?
Tilloo managed to get hold of his father’s security card and succeeded in evading his watchful mother’s eye and made way to the forbidden passage.
What did Tilloo hope to see once he emerged from his underground home?
On emerging from his underground home, Tilloo wished to see the sun if it was day or the stars if it was night. Till now he had only heard about the sun and the stars.
Why did Tilloo's father advise him not to try to reach the surface of the planet?
Tilloo's father advised him so because the air on the planet was too thin to breathe and the temperature was low enough to freeze a person to death. These conditions made it difficult for an ordinary person to survive.
What changes had occurred, which forced people to live in underground homes?
The sun which had once provided sustenance turned hostile. Its minimal change was sufficient enough to upset the nature’s equilibrium on the planet. The birds, animals and fish couldn't bear this hostility and became extinct. These changes forced the people to live in underground homes.
Why was everyone in the Control Room greatly excited?
The big TV screen of the Control Room indicates that something was heading towards the place, this led to a lot of excitement among people.
Was the spacecraft manned or unmanned? How do you know it?
The spacecraft was unmanned. It is stated in the passage that in early times there were manned and unmanned space programmes but in the current phase of energy shortage and underground life, there were no space programmes.
What did Number One and Number Two suggest should be done about the alien spacecraft?
Number One suggested rendering the spacecraft ineffective anytime while Number Two suggested non-interference and passive observation so as to conceal their existence.
What do you think the mechanical hand was trying to do?
The mechanical hand which emerged from the spacecraft was approaching the surface to touch the soil, possibly to collect the soil for examination.
Tilloo pressed the red button and "the damage was done". What was the damage?
When Tilloo presses the red button for the first time, the mechanical hand from the spacecraft stopped working.
Where had the spacecraft come from?
The spacecraft came from the Earth. It can be inferred as the latter part of the passage talks about NASA and its mission.
On which planet do Tilloo and his parents live?
Tilloo and his parents lived on Mars.
If you had to live in a home like Tilloo’s what parts of life would you find most difficult? What compensations might there be?
If I had to live in a home like Tilloo’s, I would miss the cool morning breeze, the chirping of birds, the glistening sunshine, playing out in the open, the trees and the ponds. I would not go to any school and would have a lot of games to play. However, these compensations, if true, would be too small to make up for the loss of nature.
What, if anything might drive mankind to make their homes underground?
With increasing use of technology and ignorance of the environmental conditions, we are moving towards a phase in which the mankind will be forced to live underground. Extreme weather conditions, pollution, destruction of flora and extinction of fauna are some of the factors that might lead to such a situation.
Do you think there is life one other planets? Can you guess what kind of people there may be on them? In what ways are they likely to be different from us.
Yes, there is a possibility of life on other planets. Scientists are constantly working towards finding that out. The people on other planets might or might not be like us. Their lifestyle, food, clothing, language might be very different from ours. It is likely that they are even structurally different from us.