Gamebooks (Choose Your Own Adventure Style)

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

La Isla de los Dodos Alternate Endings Part 25


In our final CHOICE #26 Let's Make a Deal game, I'll climb the stairs.


The staircase is covered in a red carpet.  Kay and I try to climb without making a noise.  A faint light coming from a higher floor prevents us from crashing into urns filled with ostrich feathers and flowerpots with ferns (macetas de helechos).  The walls are covered with "sinister hunting trophies".


We begin to hear "antiquated music" coming from the top floor.  There are passages to the left and right, but there's no CHOICE taking us to them yet.  Something makes a "CRACK!" sound, alerting the baroness.


CHOICE #27 is to confront "Madame Clotilde", or hide from her.  The former is a one page option, so I'll try it.


"Kay and you decide to confront the baroness.  You find her in an elegant sitting room, wearing an evening dress and holding a cup of brandy.  She almost chokes when she sees you.


'Where is the professor?', you demand to know.


Madame Clotilde quickly gets up and moves toward a desk, but Kay is faster and cuts her off, brandishing a bottle in front of her nose.


'Don't move, or I'll use this pepper spray against you!'


With eyes full of fury, the aristocrat surrenders and takes you to the basement where she imprisoned the professor and dodo.  Hours later, she's arrested for kidnapping.  Her days of delinquency are over. 


Kay confesses to you, laughing:  'It's not pepper spray, it's only lemon water!'


'Truly, Kay, it's good to have a woman like you on my side', you say.  END."


At least the professor hasn't teleported somewhere else in this ending.  But the dodo wasn't mentioned in the "right door" ending.  This book is a bit confusing.



Results So Far


7 Good Endings

9 Deaths

5 Bad Non-Death Endings

2 Neutral Endings

3 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

La Isla de los Dodos Alternate Endings Part 26


Let's hide from Baroness Clotilde in CHOICE #27.


"Very well.  Let's split up.', whispers Kay.  'I'll examine the rooms in the east wing, and you'll go to the west wing.  See you in 10 minutes.'  And she disappears into the darkness.  You decide to begin with the room in front of you, which turns out to be a magnificent library.  You are dazzled (encandilarse) by hundreds of volumes bound in leather, red, green, and black covers, and armchairs and antique wooden chairs.


'I'm happy that you like my house, Monsieur.'


You turn around.  Baroness Clotilde observes you with a delighted expression.  She wears an evening dress and holds a cup of brandy in her hand. 


'Tell me where the professor is', you demand.


'Calm down, young man.  The professor and I are old friends.  The truth is, I don't know where he is.  Now I have to ask you to leave this house or I will be obliged to call the police, as you can understand.  Don't worry.  Your friend awaits below.'


What else can you do but leave?  You talk about your conversation to Kay while you are both leaving the house.


'She lied to us.', says Kay furiously.  'How did she know what the professor told you?  She knew who we were from the start.'


You have to admit Kay's right.  You feel very stupid.  END."



I'd put this in the Neutral column because neither Kay nor I are worse off.  Nothing bad happens to either of us, but the professor's still tied to the basement, and the dodo may be trapped there too.  (Or not.  This book isn't the most consistent regarding characters' locations.)



Results So Far


7 Good Endings

9 Deaths

5 Bad Non-Death Endings

3 Neutral Endings

3 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

La Isla de los Dodos Alternate Endings Part 27


For this ending, I'll be a coward in CHOICE #25.


"Entering a crackpot's (chiflado) house that must surely have hired thugs everywhere.  Kay must be crazy!


'We'll both end up kidnapped, Kay.  Let's try to think of a better plan.'


One hour later, Kay arranges for someone to pick you both up in their car.  The contact is an antisocial man, the owner of a souvenir store.  He offers you both sandwiches (bocadillos) and a bottle of raa while you're accommodating yourselves in the back room (trastienda).  Immediately, you both have a dream, after which you wake in a place bathed by the waves.


Someone has transported you both during your dream to a small uninhabited island, without food or water.  The worst thing is that the island is made of sharp coral.  It's not possible to put even a foot on it. 


You discover too late that Madame Clotilde has many people on her payroll.  END".


This sounds at first like an Inconclusive Ending, but it's really a Death because the details confirm that you have no chance.


"Raa" seems to be a kind of palm wine that's popular in the Maldives.  The part about the dream in the ending is weirder in the original text, as it says "Immediately, a great dream invades you. . ."


Results So Far


7 Good Endings

10 Deaths

5 Bad Non-Death Endings

3 Neutral Endings

3 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

La Isla de los Dodos Alternate Endings Part 28


Back to Club Robinson in CHOICE #24, since that's Kay's advice.


We try to strike up conversations with wealthy ladies wearing jewelry (señoras enjoyadas), and gentlemen wearing jerseys. 


Kay makes some small talk with an old woman, asking about how delightful the baroness's party will be.  The old woman dislikes the amount of dead animals on the walls, but notes that she holds parties whenever a new animal is added to the collection.


However, the waiter seems to be following us.  The old woman might be a spy, as she says "What they want to do is take a walk" as we try to escape.


"They leave you both unconscious with their stun guns.  You wake up in a small plane, bound and gagged.  The journey lasts a whole day.  When it ends, your captors release you on a deserted beach.  They seem nervous and return to the air immediately, abandoning both of you to your fate.  Drums.  Shouts.  A spear lands within a meter of where you are.  The next one hits the mark (alcanzar de lleno)."


If I know my pulp adventure stories, the attackers are probably going to eat the player character or sacrifice him to a volcano god.


Results So Far


7 Good Endings

11 Deaths

5 Bad Non-Death Endings

3 Neutral Endings

3 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

La Isla de los Dodos Alternate Endings Part 29


Now it's time to look for the man who sold the dodo to Gordon on Muraka, courtesy of CHOICE #23.


This is not an easy task, because Sheila and Arthur don't know what the fisher looks like.  Muraka has "only an ugly group of poor houses where 2000 people are squeezed in (apretujar)".


In a small tavern, I eat fish cooked with curry and drink raa.  A group of men play cards giving me strange looks every once in a while.  A tall, blond young man raises his glass and begins to talk to me.


"My name is Ben, and I'm from Boston.  I travel the whole world with my yacht.  It doesn't look like you came to surf like the others.  Why are you here?"


I tell Ben about the dodo and Gordon, and don't bother to hide any information because the story's unbelievable.  Ben takes it seriously because the coelacanth was also found in the Indian Ocean.  He offers to help, and CHOICE #28 is to either go with him or go solo.


Going solo doesn't work as well as in an RPG.


"You thank Ben for his offer, but you believe you could sort it out alone.


'Good luck.  But be very careful.  The sea is treacherous and nature has been a bit crazy lately.  The animals of the past are coming back, and those of the present are sometimes where we don't expect.'


You smile at Ben without understanding what he wanted to say very well, and you return to your hotel.  On the Equator, day turns to night in a few minutes, and you find yourself walking on a dark beach next to a black sea.  Unfortunately, there are mounds of trash everywhere.  From one particularly high pile, you hear scratching and snorting.  A pair of bright points observe you.  A meow.  More snorting.


'Here, kitty kitty'.


Without enough time to go back, a hungry marine crocodile of 5 meters launches itself towards you.  You should have listened to Ben.  END."


Another 1 page death.





Results So Far


7 Good Endings

12 Deaths

5 Bad Non-Death Endings

3 Neutral Endings

3 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

La Isla de los Dodos Alternate Endings Part 30


Ben will join me after taking the alternate route in CHOICE #28.


Next morning, Ben and I walk around Muraka looking for the fisher.  One old man is repairing a net, but runs away shouting "Jinn!  Jinn!" after I draw a picture of the dodo for him.


After that, a tall man dressed in military clothing and sunglasses approaches us, and might arrest us for disturbing the peace.  CHOICE #29 is either to tell him about Gordon, or say that I haven't done anything wrong.


"You try to explain to the police officer that you're only looking for an old friend, but he doesn't want to listen.  The old man who ran away took you both for jinn, or evil genies.  Matters get worse when you show him the dodo picture.


'You've tried to give him the evil eye.  You must know that sorcery exists, and is a crime punishable by law.'


They bring you both to jail.  You wonder how you could convince the judge that you're innocent.  END."


Somehow, I don't think inhabitants of the Maldives would assume that a drawing of a flightless bird means witchcraft, even if it's one of the outer islands.  This is likely a long-term prison sentence, so it's a Bad Ending.


Results So Far


7 Good Endings

12 Deaths

6 Bad Non-Death Endings

3 Neutral Endings

3 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

La Isla de los Dodos Alternate Endings Part 31


Taking the alternate route in CHOICE #30 reveals the cop to be more reasonable than in the other ending.  His name is Salman, and he asks me to forgive the people of this island, because superstition is strong here.  Salman doesn't think we're supernatural, and he'll offer to help me find the old fisher.


He takes out a file, and says the person we're looking for might be Bandula, who came from Tiburón Atoll.


CHOICE #30 is to visit Bandula, or go to Tiburón Atoll directly.  We'll try the latter.


Ben is "the proud owner of the Malmö, an 80s Swedish Folkboat of 24 feet."  Maybe he's responsible for the mixed measuring systems throughout the book?


Salman tells us his grandfather used to tell stories about the "navel of the sea", a paradise on Earth filled with beautiful people and friendly animals.  Only the Hindu god Indra could bring a person there riding his white elephant.  (But the Maldives isn't a Hindu country. . .)


Tiburón Atoll is surrounded by coral reefs, and the waters are too dangerous to land.  The options for CHOICE #31 are to go blindly to the west, or to return to Malé and abandon the search.  We'll go with the former.


We head west because that's in the direction where the dodo island is supposed to be.  Night falls, and Ben and I have to take turns standing guard.  We're in a commercial route, so there's a risk of other boats crashing into us.


I'm on the first watch.  The narration says I'm tired, and could sleep for 20 minutes if I wanted to, or try to stay awake.  This is our CHOICE #32.


(I would not have this option in real life!  It takes a long time for me to fall asleep, and I always marvel at other people who can snooze quickly.)


Let's stay awake.


"You prepare a cup of coffee and remain vigilant.  But you're very sleepy.  Ben's snoring sounds like a lullaby, regular and deep.  How you envy him!  You continue sipping your coffee, but you realize you are nodding off.  You leave the coffee cup to the side and support your head with a hand, only for a minute, you propose.  You fight to keep your eyelids open.


After a moment, you're startled.  'What has happened?'  You fell asleep!  How long?  A minute?  20?  It doesn't matter.  Now you're too late to get out of the way of an oil tanker that's coming directly towards you.  It's useless to scream.  END."


The player character's incompetence probably causes the Exxon Valdez incident of the Indian Ocean.


Results So Far


7 Good Endings

13 Deaths

6 Bad Non-Death Endings

3 Neutral Endings

3 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

La Isla de los Dodos Alternate Endings Part 32


Today should be the final dodo day.


Anyway, let's snooze for 20 minutes in CHOICE #32.  The narration says it's "better not to play the hero" (hacerse el héroe).  Although it's not a comfortable nap, it's what a sailor should do.  Other boats are nearby, but don't crash into us this time.


Our plan is to zigzag to cover as much area as possible.  We sail 16 hours a day, but there's no trace of shipwrecks or any island.  I begin to feel claustrophobic because I'm so far from land.  At night, my character has nightmares about "malicious aquatic creatures" making holes in the Malmö, along with shark attacks. 


CHOICE #33 is to "return to terra firma" and give up, or continue the search.


Picking the latter option makes me draw the sea, Indra, and the white elephant.  Ben shouts that there's a wave coming and I should hold on to something.


A 12 meter wave crashes into the Malmö, throwing us into the water.  We're alive, but the Malmö's mast is floating in the water near us.  Ben's ship sinks, so we're forced to hold onto the mast and float.


Ben sees land first, and we manage to swim there.  This island has a shady forest and a fresh breeze that dries our clothes.  The island's inhabitants wear palm leaves.  "Their facial features seem Hindu, but their skin is black".

(Perhaps the author means "Indian" when she says "hindú" in the text?)


The tribe seems nice and its members offer us coconut water and large sweet fruits.  At first, I think I see ducks (pato), but they're actually dodos!


An old man directs us to Gordon, and the professor hugs me. 


"The island is a paradise.  The natives tell us with drawings that they arrived here a long time ago, from very far away.  Their ancestors were vegetarians, and they are too.  They realized that they could only survive on the island if they respected nature.  The dodos became their loyal pets.


Ben, the professor, and you decide to one day build a boat and return home, but you all make a pact:  you will never tell anybody about the island of the dodos.  END."



In this alternate universe, the dodos survived on a secret island this whole time along with a peaceful and friendly tribe.  Perhaps this book is a solipsistic universe:  "reality" revolves around the player character and changes based on what decisions he makes.  This would explain why the dodos live naturally on random islands in some routes, and are cloned by mad scientists in other paths.



Results So Far


8 Good Endings

13 Deaths

6 Bad Non-Death Endings

3 Neutral Endings

3 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

La Isla de los Dodos Alternate Endings Part 33


Let's call off the search in CHOICE #33.  Ben agrees and says the professor wouldn't want his loved ones (seres queridos) to risk their lives this much.


A storm is forming behind the Malmö.  Gray clouds occupy the whole horizon.  Cold rain pours down, and Ben puts on a raincoat (chubasquero.  The word I normally see for this is "gabardina").  Rain pours down like a curtain, and a thunderbolt breaks the mast in half. 


Dawn is "orange".  Could this be the "red sky at morning, sailor take warning"?  We sleep because we're too tired to even be hungry.  Something makes a "Bang!" sound on the hull, which turns out to be a dead blue whale.  Ben makes a mayday call, but receives no response.  Perhaps the radio is broken.


CHOICE #34 is to either wait for a few days, or to get on a lifeboat.


Picking the former leads to this ending.


"We have a lot of food, and all the water that we could want with the water-treatment equipment.  Let's wait for a few days, please', you beg Ben.


During the next few days, you continue sending "pan-pan" messages and look for boats with binoculars.  Meanwhile, the whale corpse has attracted many sharks, who turn around in the water trying to rip off pieces of meat.  Day and night, they strike the water and the Malmö's helm with their motions.  They unnerve you.


At last, the freighter Selena en route to the Seychelles rescues you both.  You're safe, but you've failed your mission.  END".


This is another Neutral Ending where we survive, but don't find the professor or the dodo.



Results So Far


8 Good Endings

13 Deaths

6 Bad Non-Death Endings

4 Neutral Endings

3 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

La Isla de los Dodos Alternate Endings Part 34


For CHOICE #34, I'll see what happens if we take the lifeboats.


"You both load the lifeboats with all the food you can, as well as the survival kit.  You abandon the boat rowing vigorously.  From far away, you can see that the water is teeming with sharks around the boat.  During the day, you cover yourselves up to protect yourselves from the sun, and at night, you use the anchor and set up the canvas in the form of a tepee.  Dawn of the 4th day is gray and cloudy.  A sharp warning from a megaphone startles you both:


'WARNING FOR THE CREW OF THE LIFEBOAT.  YOU HAVE ALL ILLEGALLY ENTERED BRITISH WATERS.  ALLOW US TO BOARD WITHOUT RESISTANCE!'


One minute later, a warship leaves the fog, and British soldiers order you to go with them to a spit of land that you didn't know existed.  They inform you that you are arrested until it's clear whether you are spies or not.  They lock you in the dungeon (calabozo).  On one of the old beds, none other than Professor Kirby is resting.  He greets you all effusively.


'My dear boy, how sorry I am to have put you in this mess!'  The professor blows his nose (sonarse la nariz) and puts on his glasses.  'This island doesn't appear on the map.  Not even satellites show images of it.  Dodos exist, boy, and I've seen them!'


You try to calm the professor and think about your situation.  You're not spies, so sooner or later you'll be free.  At least you've found the professor safe and sound.  END."


Although I wind up in prison, it's suggested the British authorities will let us go once it's clear we're not spies.  Yet another reality where apparently the dodos exist as a British military secret.  Not the best of the Good Endings, but hey, the professor is OK!


Results So Far


9 Good Endings

13 Deaths

6 Bad Non-Death Endings

4 Neutral Endings

3 Inconclusive Endings