Mortal Engines

Based on the descriptions and lifestyles of traction and static cities in Mortal Engines, which type of city do you think has a better chance of survival? Why that type, and what factors give it the greatest advantage? Support your answers with evidence from the text.

The Hunting Grounds of Mortal Engines are a wasteland, presumably due to predator cities exploiting resources. How could traction cities change their behavior to make their lifestyle sustainable and less destructive to the planet? Compare traction cities to the environmental crisis facing Earth today. What can we learn from the behavior of traction cities?

If the Guild of Historians were given more prominence, do you think Crome would still have used MEDUSA, or might history have taught him that such weapons are too destructive to exist? If Crome learned this lesson, how might Mortal Engines have ended? If not, what factors would have kept him from understanding history’s lessons? Support your answers with evidence from the text.