NCERT Solutions - Virtually True

TEXTBOOK QUESTIONS (SOLVED)

Answer the following questions briefly.

1.

(a) According to the newspaper, what had happened to Sebastian Shultz?

Ans: Sebastian Shultz, a fourteen-year-old boy, had been badly injured in a motorway accident and had fallen into a coma. He was taking a long time to regain consciousness.

(b) 'Dad's nutty about computers.' What evidence is there to support this statement?

Ans: The narrator's father was obsessed with computers; he bought many items at the Computer Fair, including a Pentium processor, RAM, a 1.2 GB hard disk, a 16-speed CD-ROM, speakers, a printer, a modem and a scanner. This large purchase of accessories shows how keen he was on the latest computer technology.

(c) In what way did the second game seem very real?

Ans: The second game, DRAGON QUEST, felt unusually real because Michael experienced the events as if he were actually inside the dragon's castle. He felt the urgency of the chase and even imagined the dragon's hot breath on his face, which made the game seem like a real encounter rather than an ordinary screen game.

(d) What was Michael's theory about how Sebastian had entered the games?

Ans: Michael believed that when Sebastian banged his head in the accident, his mind or memory had somehow been picked up and stored by a computer. He suspected that the games Sebastian appeared in had been taken from the hospital and later sold, and that Michael had bought those same games at the Computer Fair.

(e) Why did the news of the 'miracle recovery' shock Michael?

Ans: Michael was shocked to read that Sebastian had awakened from a coma that doctors had feared might last forever and to see Sebastian's photograph in the paper. If Sebastian had been in a coma the whole time, then he could not have been meeting Michael inside the computer games, so the newspaper report contradicted Michael's experience.

(f) Michael's meeting with Sebastian had been a chance meeting. Where had it taken place and how?

Ans: The meeting occurred while Michael was playing the game Wild West. He was acting as a sheriff and, after an argument with Black-Eyed Jed, went out of the saloon where he noticed another sheriff who looked different from the usual computer characters. That unexpected encounter turned out to be Sebastian.

(g) What kind of computers fascinated Michael and his dad? Why

Ans: Both Michael and his father were fascinated by the latest computers with all the accessories. They liked new gadgets and interactive games-especially the newest psycho-drive style games-which offered immersive, high-end features and sounds.

(h) Describe the first place where Michael was virtually transported?

Ans: While playing Wild West, Michael felt transported from the powerbase to a dusty main street in the middle of town. He wore a sheriff's badge, entered a saloon where patrons glared at him, had a fizzy drink and was confronted by Black-Eyed Jed, the fastest gun in town. The scene felt vivid and immediate, as if he were actually there.

(i) What help did Sebastian Shultz ask Michael for? How did he convey the message?

Ans: Sebastian sent a plea for help through the printer. The printed message said he was stuck and asked Michael to try to retrieve him by using the game DRAGON QUEST.

(j) Why did Michael fail in rescuing Sebastian Shultz for the first time?

Ans: In the first attempt they ended up in a horseback chase after leaving the saloon. Sebastian told Michael to keep his head down, but Sebastian himself was hit by a bullet and slumped back beside Michael. Before Michael could do anything to help, the game ended, so the rescue failed.

 (k) The second attempt to rescue Sebastian Shultz too was disastrous. Why?

Ans: The second attempt took place in DRAGON QUEST, where both Michael and Sebastian were knights trying to save a princess. They escaped through secret passages and dungeons but were chased by the dragon. The dragon attacked Sebastian, and although Michael struck out with his sword, Sebastian became the target of the dragon's fury. The game ended before Michael could rescue him.

(l) Narrate the incident that injured Sebastian.

Ans: The injury happened in WARZONE, where the city was under attack with machine-gun fire and explosions. Michael and Sebastian tried to escape in a jeep; Michael managed to get into a helicopter, but Sebastian could not get out of the jeep. The jeep collided with a tank and Sebastian was thrown to the ground and badly injured.

(m) How was Sebastian Shultz's memory stored on Michael's disk? How did Michael discover it?

Ans: Michael's view was that when Sebastian suffered the accident, the computer recorded or absorbed Sebastian's memory. Later Michael discovered that the game disks had been stolen from the hospital and that he had bought those very games at the Computer Fair, which explained why Sebastian's memory appeared on Michael's disk.