Code Orange

CHAPTERS 1-6

Reading Check

1. To “dig through the published research of others” and “grasp the background and history of things” (Chapter 1)

2. By renting the movie (Chapter 2)

3. “[V]ariola major,” also known as smallpox (Chapter 2)

4. Mitty writes in his paper that “[t]he word vaccination comes out of the whole thing with the cow […] and the Latin word for cow is vaccus.” (Chapter 4)

5. Bioterrorism, smallpox vaccine preparation, and future uses of smallpox (Chapter 5)

6. Transform it into a “doomsday weapon” (Chapter 6)

Short Answer

1. Mitty has to write about an infectious disease for his research paper in Mr. Lynch’s biology class. Unlike the students who are eager to research and explore various topics, Mitty is unprepared and not interested in starting; however, he wants to stay in the same class as his crush, Olivia. (Chapter 1)

2. In need of a book for his research, Mitty comes across an older book from a client of his mother. While flipping through the pages, he finds a sample in an envelope entitled “Scabs—VM epidemic, 1902, Boston,” which he makes contact with before putting it in his bag. (Chapter 2)

3. Mitty and Olivia go to Columbia University’s medical school to conduct more research for their papers. Mitty finds a source that talks about a smallpox epidemic in 1902 Boston, which he uses to complete his paper. (Chapter 3)

4. The more that Mitty researches smallpox, the more he begins to see it everywhere around him, as he imagines his loved ones and strangers with smallpox marks on their faces. In addition to this paranoia, he also begins to feel strange, as he has trouble sleeping and begins to have dry mouth. (Chapter 5)

5. Mitty visits Roosevelt Island because he hopes to visit the site of a former smallpox hospital. He travels to the small island and finds a site with no trespassing signs. As he realizes that visitors are still deterred from visiting the site after such a long time, he becomes even more concerned about his health and the seriousness of smallpox. (Chapter 6)

CHAPTERS 7-12

Reading Check

1. Penn Station (Chapter 7)

2. Insufflation is the practice of “grind[ing] dried smallpox scabs into a powder and breath[ing] it up into their noses through a straw” in order to become immune to smallpox. (Chapter 7)

3. UConn (i.e., University of Connecticut) (Chapter 8)

4. 12 to 14 (Chapter 8)

5. Suicide (Chapter 11)

6. Mitty and Olivia (Chapter 12)

Short Answer

1. Deep into his research regarding terrorism and infectious diseases, Derek hypothesizes that bioterrorists are essentially “investors” who do not necessarily care about the particular type of disease, as they are mainly interested in killing people. After this conversation, Mitty realizes that bioterrorism for smallpox would be effective: “Since people weren't immunized anymore, the whole population of the world was at risk.” (Chapter 7)

2. After another sleepless night, Mitty decides to write questions related to smallpox and his research on several internet forums. At the end of the school day, he finds that he has 27 new responses, many of which are from medical, research, and government institutions urging him to contact them regarding his case. (Chapters 8-9)

3. At this point, Mitty is consumed with the fear that he has smallpox. He cannot focus on the things he usually loves, such as watching college basketball with his parents; he can only focus on the possibility that he would be responsible for infecting the entire population of New York. He is also concerned that if he communicates with any government or research institution, he will be quarantined for the rest of his life. He decides to destroy the book along with the envelope of the scabs by soaking them in water and throwing them away in his building’s trash shoot. (Chapter 10)

4. Filled with anxiety of being a smallpox carrier, Mitty leaves home early and writes a letter on his laptop to his parents. He summarizes the content of his report and writes down his logic that he does not want to lose autonomy of his body or his future; therefore, the only decision is that he “die[s] before [he] get[s] sick. Then the virus dies with [him].” (Chapter 10)

5. Derek is called into the headmaster’s office to speak with FBI agents as well as an epidemiologist from the CDC. This group questions Derek about Mitty’s whereabouts, as they are concerned that he has scabs from smallpox. (Chapter 14)

6. The FBI agents reveal to Derek and Olivia the letter that Mitty wrote to his parents about dying. Both Olivia and Derek are defensive of their friend and skeptical about the real reason for the FBI and CDC’s involvement. Olivia argues that they are downplaying the gravity of the situation, particularly in comparison with how previous mass outbreaks were treated by the CDC. Derek realizes that the FBI is interested because they are concerned that Mitty’s posts on the internet would lead to terrorists finding him and starting a bioterrorism attack. (Chapter 12)

CHAPTERS 13-19

Reading Check

1. She is dressed in all brown with none of her skin showing. (Chapter 13)

2. That they are not American (Chapter 15)

3. He thinks of “the magnificent passengers on the flight over Pennsylvania on 9/11.” (Chapter 15)

4. He sleeps. (Chapter 16)

5. Because “Mitty wasn't a pacifist” (Chapter 18)

6. “Later, it was announced that the accidental deaths of four illegal aliens from carbon monoxide poisoning were due to a malfunctioning furnace.” (Chapter 19)

Short Answer

1. Mitty wakes up in a dark environment bound by duct tape. He feels a wave of emotions and sensations, such as nausea and fear, as he tries to recount the steps of how he got there. As people in ski masks surround him, he realizes he is not in a hospital and has been kidnapped. (Chapter 13)

2. After speaking with the CDC doctor and FBI agents, Derek and Olivia decide to leave school in order to find Mitty. Convinced that Mitty did not die by suicide, they go over to Mitty’s house, where they discuss the situation with his parents and search his room. (Chapter 14)

3. After eating his first meal of McDonald’s, Mitty reflects on various possibilities and outcomes of his kidnapping. He concludes, “1. The guys upstairs were not normal. 2. He was in big trouble.” However, he does note that since he ripped the cord from the ceiling, his possible contaminated airflow could be moving into their quarters. (Chapter 15)

4. As the days pass, Mitty spends most of his time sleeping. One day, when the guard comes down, he finds Mitty asleep. Mitty watches as the guard and his companion discuss Mitty in another language: “You will die [and] and then your people will die [...] [W]e will dance in the streets.” (Chapter 16)

5. The narrator reveals in Chapter 17 that Mitty feigned his symptoms in the previous chapter so he could make the terrorists think he was sick and lure them into the basement. He then locked them in, hoping to trap them and poison them with carbon monoxide. As they wait locked in, Mitty reflects on God, Olivia, and his parents. (Chapter 17)

6. In his weak state, Mitty manages to trap the four terrorists in the carbon monoxide-filled cellar and then calls 9-1-1. Although he does not have smallpox, he is severely injured and sick from his kidnapping. He stays in the hospital, where he is reunited with his parents, Derek, and Olivia. The novel ends with him pleased that he was able to protect his city. (Chapter 19)