Gamebooks (Choose Your Own Adventure Style)

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure:  Survival at Sea Alternate Endings Part 20


This will probably be the last OTHER ending, as going "northeast, east, or southeast" leads to future CHOICEs.  Following the North Star is a bad idea if you're a Survival at Sea character.  "There are reefs all over the place!  Bring 'er around!'  Since there's no Surtsey II to tempt him, Maiko is on our side and warns us about the waves:  "Breakers ahead!"


It's too late in spite of my and Maiko's efforts to turn the wheel and "loosen the jib".  A wave hits the stern and sends the Allegro into a coral reef with a "terrible crunching sound".  A two page picture shows the carnage at the moment the Allegro hits the reef.


"You look into the cabin.  Water is gushing up from the bilge.  'Get the life raft!' Eric yells.  Maiko and Pete go for the raft.  You hurry to get water and food, but Eric's cry stops you.  'Abandon ship!'  You help launch the raft, and the five of you pile in.  You and your crewmates paddle toward smoother water.  Looking back, you watch wave after wave smash into the Allegro, slowly breaking it up against the sharp coral reef.


Soon the life raft is clear of the dangerous reefs.  No one has much to say, as you drift helplessly on the ocean swells.  You keep thinking about how you set the course straight for the reefs.  If only you'd taken more time to look at the chart.  Next time you'll know better-if there is a next time.  THE END"


The doubt in the last line makes it an Inconclusive Ending.  A depressing one too, since the narration rubs it in about your failure to read Page 13 properly.


ONLY PETE AND YOU SURVIVE TSUNAMI


Good Endings:  1

Deaths:  2

Neutral Endings:  1

Inconclusive Endings:  1  


MAIKO BETRAYS ALLEGRO CREW


Good Endings:  3

Deaths:  4

Neutral Endings:  4

Inconclusive Endings:  2



OTHER

Good Endings:  1

Deaths:  1


Inconclusive Endings:  1

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure:  Survival at Sea Alternate Endings Part 21


"Eric still has a bad headache.  Maiko keeps babbling about how rich he will be when he gets to the new island.  Dr. Vivaldi seems a little depressed.  'I've begun to doubt that we'll ever find the Arkasaur,' she says."


So says the narration after going "north, east, or southeast" in CHOICE #8.  Maiko's still a villain in this timeline, but he doesn't get the opportunity to betray the party.  It may not be a red sky in the morning, but the "oily gray clouds" and the "sickly yellow light" of the sun should make me take warning.  Dr. Vivaldi pilots the ship after my shift, and the next shift is Maiko's.


There's no chance for Maiko to hijack the ship on the next page, since Eric warns me that we're close to a typhoon on our eastward course.  He tells me that in CHOICE #19 to stay on the left side of the typhoon, since "the right side of the storm is the dangerous side".  The options are North on Page 40, and West or South on Page 43.  But typhoons rotate!  North would at least make us perpendicular to the storm, while West would try and fail to outrun it on its path.  Right?


After going north, the typhoon is here.  Maiko shouts "It's your turn to take the wheel!"  The illustration is not a good omen:  the sky is black and dark gray, and the sails are tattered beyond repair.  Dr. Vivaldi is afraid in a calm manner:  "I've never sailed in weather this bad."  Maiko is less willing to hide his emotions:  "This storm will kill us!  We've got to do something."


CHOICE #20 is what to do to steady the Allegro.  Page 58 makes him put up the "small heavy-weather sail", Page 59 is to tell him the heavy-weather sail might make us sink, and Page 64 is to use "heavy ropes" on the stern to slow the Allegro.  No hint is given.


"Set the storm trysail!' you shout, trying to be overheard over the shrieking wind.  You can tell that Maiko is scared.  Otherwise, he would never work so hard.  Still, it takes ten minutes for him to raise the heavy canvas sail.  Every minute or so he stops and clings to the boom as huge waves break over the boat.  Once the sail is set, the Allegro comes to life and surges through the water.  Now the sloop has the power it needs to work through the monstrous waves.


Hour after hour, you steer the boat blindly through the gale, until you feel drained of every ounce of strength.  But you stay with it.  The worst part of the storm is over.  Then Eric is at your side.  'I'm feeling better!' he shouts over the wind, 'and you. . .you saved us.  You are a real sailor.'  He takes hold of the wheel.  You go below deck and collapse, exhausted, in your bunk.  Already, the wind and waves seem to be easing.  You feel a rare sense of happiness.  You have battled the raging seas-and won.  THE END"


Does personal triumph over a natural disaster count as a Good Ending?  I'd treat it as more of a Neutral Ending, since the Allegro's journey only ends in survival rather than finding the Arkasaur, gaining riches, or going to a paradise island.  This and the next few conclusions will fit in the TYPHOON route.


I guess the "do nothing" option leads to Death.


ONLY PETE AND YOU SURVIVE TSUNAMI


Good Endings:  1

Deaths:  2

Neutral Endings:  1

Inconclusive Endings:  1  


MAIKO BETRAYS ALLEGRO CREW


Good Endings:  3

Deaths:  4

Neutral Endings:  4

Inconclusive Endings:  2


TYPHOON

Neutral Endings:  1


OTHER

Good Endings:  1

Deaths:  1

Inconclusive Endings:  1

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure:  Survival at Sea Alternate Endings Part 22


The prognostication made in the previous post is. . .completely wrong!  The option that looks like "doing nothing" is another Neutral Ending.  I have to hold on to the ship's wheel tight to "keep the boat from going broadside".  Neither Eric nor Maiko are available to relieve me, and a "freak wave" throws me under the Allegro.  "Your lungs are about to burst." 


A picture on Pages 60-61 shows my character in the ocean, with their hands reaching upward.  Most of the mast has snapped off.  Waves crash into the ship, and ropes are hanging everywhere.  This is accurate to the text:  "You are safe for the moment.  But the Allegro is a wreck.  The deck is littered with line and ropes, split wood and bent metal."


Dr. Vivaldi asks if I'm fine and says the boat is waterlogged except for the cabin.  Eric compliments me:  "What a boat!  We flipped over and we're still afloat.  What a sailor you are!"


"The wind and waves diminish.  The fury of the storm has passed.  The Allegro drifts helplessly in the water.  At last, the sun breaks through the clouds.  The wind becomes a gentle breeze.  Early the next morning you are rescued by a passing freighter.  You never did find the Arkasaur, but you sailed through one of the worst typhoons of the year, and you survived.  THE END"


A lesser Neutral Ending than the previous one as the Allegro is totaled.


Endings So Far


ONLY PETE AND YOU SURVIVE TSUNAMI


Good Endings:  1

Deaths:  2

Neutral Endings:  1

Inconclusive Endings:  1  


MAIKO BETRAYS ALLEGRO CREW


Good Endings:  3

Deaths:  4

Neutral Endings:  4

Inconclusive Endings:  2


TYPHOON

Neutral Endings:  2


OTHER

Good Endings:  1

Deaths:  1

Inconclusive Endings:  1

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure:  Survival at Sea Alternate Endings Part 23


Sometimes doing nothing is better than acting.  Following the I Ching's advice "Halting means trouble, danger ahead.  To be able to stop on seeing danger is knowledge." in CHOICE #20 at least gets you a better result than playing with ropes on the stern.  Water can symbolize "danger" in that book, so it's appropriate enough for Survival at Sea.


"You've heard that towing warps-heavy ropes-will help slow a boat and stabilize it in violent seas.  You ask Maiko to take the wheel, and you get a coil of heavy line out of the stern locker.  Then you inch your way along the heaving, slippery deck, dragging one end of the rope with you to the stern.  You are hitching it to the after cleat when you hear Maiko scream.  'WATCH OUT!'


A freak wave, coming from the port quarter, hits you like a flying waterfall.  It sweeps you straightaway into the sea.  'Help!' you cry, but you know that help won't come.  There's no way the Allegro can turn around in a sea like this.  You see the boat one more time, as Maiko waves helplessly at you, before the next wave carries you under.  THE END".


The picture shows the playing character flying sidways off the boat while still holding onto the towing warp.  Maiko holds on to the wheel while looking down at them.



ONLY PETE AND YOU SURVIVE TSUNAMI


Good Endings:  1

Deaths:  2

Neutral Endings:  1

Inconclusive Endings:  1  


MAIKO BETRAYS ALLEGRO CREW


Good Endings:  3

Deaths:  4

Neutral Endings:  4

Inconclusive Endings:  2


TYPHOON

Deaths:  1

Neutral Endings:  2


OTHER

Good Endings:  1

Deaths:  1

Inconclusive Endings:  1

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure:  Survival at Sea Alternate Endings Part 24


Only two more endings left.  Going "west or south" in CHOICE #20 makes you clarify which direction you want to take in CHOICE #21.  West on Page 112, or South on Page 63.  Let's go South first.


"You set the Allegro on a course to the south.  Then you and Pete troll for fish while Dr. Vivaldi steers the boat.  The Allegro sails briskly along in the breeze.  Before turning in for the night, you sit on the foredeck and look out at the waves shimmering in the moonlight.  You sleep soundly and are awakened by a loud cry.  'Land ho!'  You eagerly climb up on deck and join the others gazing out at the familiar sight up ahead.


Dr. Vivaldi looks at you, shaking her head.  'Your course took us back to Bariba Island!  Did you think we'd find the Arkasaur here?'  Only then do you realize that if you had studied the chart more closely, you wouldn't have set a course to the south.  'Well, that's OK,' says Eric.  'We need a week's rest and fresh supplies.'  'Yes,' says Dr. Vivaldi.  'I think next time our luck will change and we'll find the Arkasaur.'


'Here's to our next trip!' says Pete.  You cheer along with the others, though you feel a little sad.  School starts in a couple of weeks, and you won't be on the next trip.  THE END"


If you're so smart, Dr. Vivaldi, why do you trust schoolchildren to navigate the Pacific Ocean?  Pete's hinted to be about the protagonist's age, so is he homeschooled or something?  Why would he be on the next trip and not my character?


Still, I like this ending a bit because you get insulted by Edward Packard's favorite character.  Dr. Vivaldi's lament about being trapped in Choose Your Own Adventure books is in Hyperspace, however.


I know I forget to put in the Endings So Far sometimes, but editing Realms Beyond posts makes the site add extra spaces between lines for some reason.


Endings So Far


ONLY PETE AND YOU SURVIVE TSUNAMI


Good Endings:  1

Deaths:  2

Neutral Endings:  1

Inconclusive Endings:  1  


MAIKO BETRAYS ALLEGRO CREW


Good Endings:  3

Deaths:  4

Neutral Endings:  4

Inconclusive Endings:  2


TYPHOON

Deaths:  1

Neutral Endings:  3


OTHER

Good Endings:  1

Deaths:  1

Inconclusive Endings:  1

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure:  Survival at Sea FINALE


"Once you have set the Allegro on its new course you go below for some sleep.  You've never been so tired in your life, and you sleep a deep, dreamless sleep.  Hours later you're awakened by excited voices on deck.  The storm has passed, and the sun is already shining into the cabin.  You hurry up the ladder and find the others looking at a ring of cone-shaped peaks rising from the sea.  'What a beautiful island,' you say.


'Yes,' Eric agrees.  'It's Carina Island, the loveliest sight in all the Pacific.  I've heard that sometimes sailors fall in love with this paradise and cannot bring themselves to leave it.'  'Let's stay here a few days and rest,' says Dr. Vivaldi.  Everyone agrees, and Eric sets the course.  As the island draws closer, you find yourself hypnotized by the white sand beaches, the waving palms, and the scent of jasmine drifting to you from the shore.


'I have a feeling we aren't going to find the Arkasaur,' says Eric.  'We may have found something equally wonderful,' Dr. Vivaldi replies.  'An enchanted island.'  THE END"


Dr. Vivaldi gets the last word.  Carina Island returns, except there's no picture this time of a character pointing at it from the Allegro.  The cast will never leave Carina Island since this is the FINALE.  Survival At Sea is one of the better CYOAs in the official series, if not on par with other books like La Prisión or Heart of Ice. 


Would have preferred fewer endings in exchange for more detailed navigation or survival scenarios, but overall it's worth buying if you can find it cheap on a used book site, especially for Paul Granger's illustrations.  I have to admit the "kill off 3/5 of the crew and still continue" route is something not many gamebooks do, especially for a series where you're expected to protect your companions.  (As opposed to watching them die no matter what in Island of the Lizard King.)


Final Results



ONLY PETE AND YOU SURVIVE TSUNAMI


Good Endings:  1

Deaths:  2

Neutral Endings:  1

Inconclusive Endings:  1  


MAIKO BETRAYS ALLEGRO CREW


Good Endings:  3

Deaths:  4

Neutral Endings:  4

Inconclusive Endings:  2


TYPHOON

Good Endings:  1

Deaths:  1

Neutral Endings:  3


OTHER

Good Endings:  1

Deaths:  1

Inconclusive Endings:  1

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure:  Survival at Sea CHOICE Map
 

CHOICE #1, Page 6
START
-Don’t go to danger zone, Page 18-19, 17:  Go to CHOICE #2 (CLEAR)
-Go into danger zone, Page 19, 17:  Go to CHOICE #2 (CLEAR)
 

CHOICE #2, Page 17
TSUNAMI
-Straight down tsunami, Page 21:  DEATH (CLEAR, Allegro sinks)
-45 degree angle to tsunami, Page 11-13, 27:  Go to CHOICE #8 (CLEAR)
-Parallel to tsunami, Page 14, 28:  Go to CHOICE #3 (CLEAR)
 

CHOICE #3, Page 28
PETE AND YOU ON LIFE RAFT
-Drink sea water, Page 54:  DEATH (CLEAR, perish from dehydration, though Pete may survive)
-Don’t drink sea water, Page 33-36, 44:  Go to CHOICE #4 (CLEAR)
 

CHOICE #4, Page 44
PETE AND YOU ON LIFE RAFT
-Fish now and risk barracuda attack, Page 45-48:  Go to CHOICE #6 (CLEAR)
-Wait until later and risk starvation, Page 49:  Go to CHOICE #5 (CLEAR)
 

CHOICE #5, Page 49
PETE AND YOU ON LIFE RAFT
-Set Serena on fire to get freighter’s attention, Page 109, 111:  NEUTRAL ENDING (CLEAR, you and Pete are picked up by Valencia freighter, but other crew members are dead)
-Don’t set Serena on fire, Page 106:  INCONCLUSIVE ENDING (CLEAR, dream that Coast Guard finds you and Pete’s skeletons, believe that dream will come true)
 

CHOICE #6, Page 48
PETE AND YOU ON LIFE RAFT
-Stay on Serena, Page 53:  GOOD ENDING (CLEAR, Coast Guard ship saves you and Pete, rest of crew is dead, find valuable seashell)
-Look for help on raft, Page 80:  Go to CHOICE #7 (CLEAR)
 

CHOICE #7, Page 80
PETE AND YOU ON LIFE RAFT
-North, Page 96:  DEATH (CLEAR, no boats seen after you miss fishing boat)
-Northeast, Page 118:  NEUTRAL ENDING (CLEAR, probably rescued by fishing boat)
 

CHOICE #8, Page 27
EVERYONE SURVIVES TSUNAMI
-North, Page 7:  INCONCLUSIVE ENDING (CLEAR, Allegro sinks after smashing into coral reef, everyone in life raft but survival is uncertain)
-Northwest, Page 25-26, 30:  Go to CHOICE #9 (CLEAR)
-Northeast, East, or Southeast, Page 20, 32:  Go to CHOICE #19 (CLEAR)
-South, Southwest, or West, Page 22:  GOOD ENDING (CLEAR, go to the paradise of Carina Island)
 

CHOICE #9, Page 30
MAIKO BETRAYS CREW
-Go with Maiko, Page 37:  Go to CHOICE #10 (CLEAR)
-Stay on Allegro, Page 39, 71:  Go to CHOICE #17 (CLEAR)
 

CHOICE #10, Page 37
MAIKO BETRAYS CREW
-Order Maiko to take you back with spear gun, Page 50-52:  Go to CHOICE #13 (CLEAR)
-Bide your time, Page 55-57:  Go to CHOICE #11 (CLEAR)
 

CHOICE #11, Page 68
MAIKO BETRAYS CREW
-Sail to Etuk 200 miles west, Page 74:  Go to CHOICE #12 (CLEAR)
-Stay close to volcano island, Page 77:  NEUTRAL ENDING (CLEAR, you are rescued by American aircraft carrier with rest of crew, island will be owned by United Nations)
-Look for a way to land on new island, Page 78:  INCONCLUSIVE ENDING?  (CLEAR, you have food, water, and shelter on the island, probably will be rescued and have island named after you)
 

CHOICE #12, Page 74
MAIKO BETRAYS CREW
-North, Page 87, 97:  INCONCLUSIVE ENDING (CLEAR, about to be rescued by helicopter on volcano island, but volcano has small chance of erupting)
-West, Page 91:  DEATH (CLEAR, line squall)
 

CHOICE #13, Page 52
MAIKO BETRAYS CREW
-Hide under overhang rock, Page 67:  DEATH (CLEAR, slowed down by sand, killed by volcano)
-Push skiff off beach and cover head with arms, Page 75, 72:  Go to CHOICE #14 (CLEAR)
 

CHOICE #14, Page 72
MAIKO BETRAYS CREW
-Sign Jason Lucus paper, Page 82:  GOOD ENDING (CLEAR, paid $10,000)
-Reject Jason Lucus paper, Page 84-86:  Go to CHOICE #15 (CLEAR)
 

CHOICE #15, Page 86
MAIKO BETRAYS CREW
-Rocket flare, Page 95:  Go to CHOICE #16 (CLEAR)
-Wait until you see ship, Page 116:  DEATH (CLEAR, eaten by great white shark)
 

CHOICE #16, Page 95
MAIKO BETRAYS CREW
-Go to “star” one mile away, Page 105, 101-104:  GOOD ENDING (CLEAR, Maiko is dead, yet you find Arkasaur.  Dr. Vivaldi says to leave Arkasaur alone to protect it.)
-“Save your strength”, Page 107-108, 94:  NEUTRAL ENDING (CLEAR, rescued by Ranger aircraft carrier and hope to find Arkasaur on another trip)
 

CHOICE #17, Page 71
MAIKO BETRAYS CREW
-Give up hope, Page 79:  DEATH (CLEAR, suicide by giving up on hope of rescue)
-Hope, Page 113-115:  Go to CHOICE #18 (CLEAR)
 

CHOICE #18, Page 115
MAIKO BETRAYS CREW
-Tie raft to Arkasaur, Page 89-90, 99-100:  GOOD ENDING (CLEAR, Arkasaur takes you to Bori Rama, Dr. Vivaldi wants to find it on another trip)
-Don’t ride Arkasaur, Page 92-93:  NEUTRAL ENDING (CLEAR, freighter picks you up, nobody including yourself believes story about Arkasaur)
 

CHOICE #19, Page 32
TYPHOON
North, Page 40-42:  Go to CHOICE #20 (CLEAR)
South or West, Page 43:  Go to CHOICE #21 (CLEAR)
 

CHOICE #20, Page 42
TYPHOON
-Heavy weather sail, Page 58:  NEUTRAL ENDING (CLEAR, survive storm, Eric praises you for being a real sailor)
-Don’t use heavy weather sail, Page 59-62, 66:  NEUTRAL ENDING (CLEAR, Allegro waterlogged and mast broken off, but everyone is rescued by freighter)
-Use heavy ropes on stern, Page 64:  DEATH (CLEAR, knocked into sea by freak wave far from Allegro)
 

CHOICE #21, Page 43
TYPHOON
-West, Page 112:  GOOD ENDING (CLEAR, reach paradise Carina Island without a picture)
-South, Page 63:  NEUTRAL ENDING (CLEAR, sail back to Bariba by mistake, have to go back to school before another trip can begin)

[sunrise089]

So out of dozens of endings the character finds the dinosaur thing in three of them, and the CREW collectively finds the dinosaur in zero? And the best outcome is ‘your friends are dead but you found a nice shell??’ This is one of the more depressing entries to me…

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

So out of dozens of endings the character finds the dinosaur thing in three of them, and the CREW collectively finds the dinosaur in zero? And the best outcome is ‘your friends are dead but you found a nice shell??’ This is one of the more depressing entries to me…

Survival at Sea is so depressing that I had to make special route categories to prevent most of the conclusions from being Bad Non-Death Endings!  "Good" Endings have to come with finger quotes in this book.


Then again, considering my recent non-CYOA reading such as Black Company novels and World War I history books, Survival at Sea appears almost optimistic. 


Dr. Vivaldi will have another chance at glory in the next CYOA, The Third Planet from Altair.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure: The Third Planet From Altair Part 1


sunrise089 thought the last Dr. Vivaldi CYOA, Survival At Sea, was one of the most depressing in the series.  Wonder what their reaction to The Worst Day Of Your Life would be.  This gamebook is Dr. Vivaldi's first appearance if I'm not mistaken.  The Third Planet From Altair is so old that my copy was a Christmas present for someone named Don in 1980.  Forty-three years later, and some jerk is now going to type about all of its endings on an obscure strategy game forum.  Don probably didn't expect that!


The story begins with an alien signal detected at the Mauna Kea observatory that's repeated every few minutes.  It's represented in an illustration with many white squares, black squares, black triangles, dots, and something that looks like @.  Their source is the Altair system.  Since we're in Hawaii, our spaceship is called Aloha.  How will we get past "Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn and on into interstellar space?" in a few weeks.  "Time-contraction technology", of course!  NASA thought Ultimecia's "Time Kompression" was a good idea, and didn't have a pesky Squall to stop them.  Also, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto don't count in spite of increasing AU gaps between the orbits of the outer planets.


My character looks a lot like the Survival At Sea hero:  a blonde who could be either a boy or a short-haired girl.  Are they supposed to be the same person, or did Paul Granger just decide to draw what he knew for each book?  Captain Bud Stanton has a long jaw, a stern expression, and wears what looks like a bad imitation of a Roman centurion helmet.  Henry Pickens the cosmologist looks exactly like Einstein, so I'm going to call him that from now on.  Dr. Vivaldi has shorter hair this time and wears a headband that looks a bit like a belt.  She's officially an "anthropologist specializing in interspecies communication".  All of us wear a striped uniform with an uncomfortable stiff collar.


"Suddenly space around the ship is filled with flickering light."  Captain Stanton is "rigid, as if he were frozen", and my body is starting to tingle as if it had fallen asleep.  Einstein is shaking with his arms crossed in the picture, and says "We must be passing through an antimatter storm.  Fortunately, a mild one."  Eh. . .wouldn't even a small amount of antimatter detonate our ship?  CHOICE #1 has me as the tie-breaker, and my options are to keep going to Altair on Page 6, or go somewhere else on Page 8.


Well, I didn't buy a book called "The Third Planet From Altair" to avoid visiting the Eagle Star!  Our ship's "hyperspeed evasion" gets us out of the antimatter storm.  The radio signals aren't coming any more.  Einstein thinks we'll deal with another antimatter storm later.  Eventually we reach the "sun-star Altair" system.  Its third planet looks like Earth except for the "strangely symmetrical bands of white clouds".  It has three moons, and one of them has a surface of 100% liquid water.


CHOICE #2 is whether to check out the water moon on Page 9, study the symmetrical clouds on Page 10, or land on Altair III on Page 13.  I have a suspicion that landing on the planet will kill me somehow if the "clouds" are some kind of weapon.


Captain Stanton believes the clouds were created "to protect space stations from ultraviolet radiation".  We see a deserted crystal city with parks within the clouds and wonder if the signals came from this place.  CHOICE #3 determines whether I explore the cloud city while the others check out Altair III's surface, or to refuse on Page 19.


The cloud city has no signs of decay or neglect.  Its gravity is so low that I can almost fly, and the furniture must have been built for Lilliputians.  A different building is more promising with its "hundreds of spires" and electronics.  I find a chart of the galaxy, which really looks more like a chart of a specific star system in the picture.  CHOICE #4 is whether to continue exploring the cloud city on Page 28, or send a radio signal to the Aloha to tell them the news on Page 32.


I still think there's more to find in the abandoned city.  In its square is a computer with "a multitude of lights, control knobs, and display screens" with a keyboard, microphone, and speakers.  The computer talks to me, probably in an Altair III language, so I reply "I come from the planet Earth".


"The computer makes more sounds, as if in reply.  You talk to it some more.  It answers-this time repeating some English words you used.  You realize that the computer is learning your language!  Within half an hour it is communicating in broken English.  It tells you that within its memory banks is all knowledge ever attained by the inhabitants of the Third Planet.


Soon afterwards the Aloha returns.  The captain, Pickens, and Dr. Vivaldi are excited by your discovery.  But they report that antibiotics brought from Earth are proving very ineffective against dangerous microorganisms in the atmosphere of the Third Planet.  The ship must leave immediately or you will all become fatally ill.  Although the computer is too bulky to load aboard the Aloha.  Pickens is able to detach some of its memory banks and bring them along.


'We have not completed our mission,' the captain says.  'But with the knowledge of the Third Planet's people stored in these memory banks, we may be able to do much for the peoples of the Earth.  THE END"


Edward Packard must have remembered War of the Worlds when coming up with this consolation Good Ending.  We didn't have the best possible result, but bringing back alien archives will be useful.


Wonder if Dr. Vivaldi and Einstein know that antibiotics would be useless against, say, a protist disease such as malaria.  Does the Altair III infection exist in other timelines, or is this an inconsistent CYOA where the entire world depends on your choices?  We now know the Altair III aliens didn't invest in microcomputer technology.  (The most advanced video game Kang and Kodos had was Pong, so maybe primitive computers are a common problem for extraterrestrials. . .)