Gamebooks (Choose Your Own Adventure Style)

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure Journey Under the Sea Alternate Endings Part 10


If I have the nerve to dive again after the giant squid attack in CHOICE #18, the plot advances to CHOICE #19.  Can't let Dr. Marcello steal the glory, if they even exist in this new timeline.  Near the canyon, there's a mostly intact shipwreck of an ancient Greek boat.  This suggests that Atlantis will be closer to the original Plato story.  One line that was probably added in the revision was "You take pictures and make notes on your waterproof tablet".  That said, the revision has a copyright date of 2006, so "widespread use of tablet computers" still counts as a technological prediction, if a mild one.  


CHOICE #19 is whether to examine the Greek boat on Page 47, or return to the surface to report the shipwreck on Page 48.  Visiting the ship changes the story from "20,000 Leagues Under the Seas" to a different Jules Verne novel.  I see amphorae in an illustration because it just isn't ancient Greece without them.  Inside a golden box is a map that has nothing to do with Atlantis.  "It shows that the ship was searching for an access point that leads to the center of the Earth!"  So was Orpheus trying to rescue Eurydice?  From the ancient Greek point of view, they'd be going to the house of Hades. . .


Thousands of years after the shipwreck, the map is somehow still accurate.  At the designated spot is a 100 foot wide shaft, and sonar says it's bottomless.  CHOICE #20 is to descend on Page 63 or to go back to the surface on Page 66.  The boring option leads to the Dr. Marcello ending.


The laws of physics are repealed on the following page.  "You burst through a thick elastic membrane and enter an area of giant atoms.  Electrons whirl around you at high speed, but there is plenty of room to maneuver between these fast-moving particles.  he electrons are revolving around a small mass you know is called the nucleus".  So the illustration taught to schoolchildren as a simplification of physics is actually true.


CHOICE #21 is, you guessed it, to advance on Page 87 or retreat on Page 88.  Let's get the dull ending out of the way first.


"No, you will not dive down toward the center of the earth.  Once through the thin outer layer of the earth, you know that the regions beneath change from solid to molten and then to a hard core.  At least that is the theory given by the geologists.  You couldn't possibly survive such a journey.  Anyway, you think that your sonar gear is probably not working correctly.  The hole is deep, but you don't believe that it really goes all the way to the center of the earth.  Caution is your approach.  You go back to the surface to consult with the scientists aboard the Maray.


The scientists tell you that their instruments have been damaged, perhaps by an approaching storm, and they too are cautious.  They decide to move the Maray from the site of the mysterious hole.  The expedition retreats and you know your chance to discover Atlantis has slipped away.  THE END".


Or you're looking in the wrong place because the stories say Atlantis is an sunken civilization rather than Pellucidar?

At least my character should have taken pictures or video of the giant atoms.  That ought to be a psychadelic physics documentary.


EDIT:  The other decision in CHOICE #21 will either excite my readers or make them want to order the book just so they could throw it at the editor's face.  You'll have to wait in suspense for a bit.


Results So Far


5 Good Endings

1 Deaths

3 Bad Non-Death Endings

3 Neutral Endings

0 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure Journey Under the Sea Alternate Endings Part 11


On the next page of Journey to the Center of the Earth Under the Sea, I enter a region "where your instruments indicate there is no time".  All of my instruments are stopped, and alarmingly my heart is too.  I'm okay, since "every sense in your body seems more alive than ever before".


Three Atlanteans seem to be communicating with me telepathically.  I try to enter their minds too, but I haven't "journeyed far enough" to do so.  A drawing of what looks like a nervous system is above CHOICE #22:  abandon the "strange world" on Page 94, or explore "thought-time-space" on Page 95.  Turning back now leads to perhaps the most depressing ending .


"This is too much for you.  It's like a nightmare and you decide to turn back.  But going back is much harder than you expected.  The electrons whirl closer and closer to you as though they were guards keeping you from leaving.  It is difficult to guide the Seeker in this maze of atoms.  The figures of the Atlanteans disappear.  Suddenly, you are caught in the elastic membrane that almost stopped you before.  It sticks to the Seeker, holding you back.  You want to be free and return to the world you have known all your life.


You lose consciousness and wake up several hours later in your dive suit floating above the hole in the ocean floor.  The Seeker is gone.  You're dazed.  Did you dream the whole thing?  Slowly you return to the surface, but the Maray has disappeared.  You can't decide how much time has elapsed.  You realize that your crew must think you are lost forever and you know you they are right.  The waves rock your unresisting body back and forth as you float alone in the vast sea.  You feel your strength slowly draining away.  THE END".


There was a similar ending in La Isla de los Dodos which was one of the inspirations to create the Inconclusive Endings category since there was a small hope of rescue.  Journey Under the Sea denies even that possibility here.



Results So Far


5 Good Endings

2 Deaths

3 Bad Non-Death Endings

3 Neutral Endings

0 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure Journey Under the Sea Alternate Endings Part 12


My character compares being a "thought traveler" to daydreaming in the narration after CHOICE #22.  The Atlanteans prove Parmenides was right, and "all things are the same-past, present, future".  My character sees the day they were born, and their original deep-sea dive.  But since I'm a Choose Your Own Adventure protagonist, trying to see the future results in a "blank wall".  The Atlanteans only respond  "Be patient.  All in good time".  Time doesn't exist until it does, I guess.  I "whirl through time" to a distant place in the universe where I can feel light and I don't have a shadow.  It's peaceful here.


CHOICE #23 is to either return to Earth on Page 110, or continue thought travel on Page 111.  But I can never go back to my old life. . .


"One thousand years of thought travel later, you are called into the main thinking room.  'Well done, human.  Now you can return to your world-if you wish'.


With great relief, you do return.  What surprises greet you.  The great cities of the world-New York, London, Paris, and Hong Kong-are overgrown with vegetation.  The roads leading into the cities are barely visible.  But you see signs of new settlements.  There are clusters of buildings spread out in the countryside.  You don't see any smokestacks.  There are few roads and no cars.  The people live a simple life providing themselves with food, shelter, and clothing.  You wish to join them.  THE END".


R.A. Montgomery envisions a deindustrial future.  A certain Druid would be proud.  Global warming must not have been too bad if the ruined cities aren't flooded 1000 years later.  This seems like a Good Ending from the character's perspective, as Inconclusive Endings require immediate unresolved danger.


Results So Far


6 Good Endings

2 Deaths

3 Bad Non-Death Endings

3 Neutral Endings

0 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure Journey Under the Sea Alternate Endings Part 13


The other ending where I continue to "thought travel" is shorter than the other CHOICE #23 conclusion, but less ambiguously positive.  Neither have illustrations.


"One day your friends tell you that you can return to earth if you wish.  You consider carefully and decide that because of your thought traveling ability, the life you now lead is what you want.  You decide to stay where you are forever.  THE END".


Results So Far


7 Good Endings

2 Deaths

3 Bad Non-Death Endings

3 Neutral Endings

0 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure Journey Under the Sea Alternate Endings Part 14


The crew doesn't react at all to my discovery of the Greek ship in CHOICE #19, or at least no response is mentioned.  The Maray has to endure a storm for a night, but the second dive begins on Page 50.  The Seeker is revealed to have a "titanium and ceramic shell".  Is it the kind of unusually strong "ceramics" that exist in Phantasy Star games?  The text bounces to Page 8 for no reason, unless R.A. Montgomery is secretly giving us hints through numerology.


I go to the grotto and immediately forget about the Greek ship.  The grotto entrance seems to have "docks and piers" by the walls, but the Seeker's searchlight isn't good enough to glimpse any more details.  Another option is the "laser light", which has the battery life of a dying smartphone:  "Unfortunately, the laser light can only be used twice for very short periods before it must be recharged aboard the Maray, now more than 2000 feet above you on the surface".


The illustration on Page 8 is as mismatched with the text as any illustration in a Papelucho* novel.  Instead of a grotto with docks and a pier, the Seeker is pointing at a shipwreck from the Age of Sail and a submarine.  CHOICE #24 is between moving closer with the Seeker on Page 13, or shining the laser light on Page 18.


*For those who don't read Chilean children's books to practice Spanish, Papelucho is a series about a boy who writes his misadventures in a diary.  In one story, Papelucho meets gorillas, but the illustration in my Kindle copy shows monkeys with tails.


Perhaps the illustrator was giving a spoiler with the laser light option, since Page 18 has my character find a submarine that disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle 2000 miles from here.  It's covered in algae, except for the hatch.  CHOICE #25 is to either enter the submarine on Page 28, or ignore it on Page 30.


It isn't a submarine from land.  A voice tells me of a secret passage and gives this message:  "Thousands of years ago, the leaders of Atlantis realized that their continent was slipping into the sea.  They discovered a large underground cavern and built new forms of living quarters for their people.  Later when Atlantis was deep beneath the ocean, some of our scientists discovered and perfected an operation enabling us to breathe under water".


The voice also tells me there are two factions in Atlantis, one considered to be good and the other evil.  Wouldn't it be a cheap twist if the Atlantean idea of "good" is sacrificing the player character to their sea god, and the "evil" side wants to abolish the practice?  Or at least have their notions of "good and evil" be based on etiquette irrelevant to any other culture?  I see another submarine, which in the illustration looks like a manta ray with a glass cockpit in front.  The people in the other submarine smile at me, but there's no option to speak to them.  CHOICE #26 is to try to sneak into the passage on Page 44, or retreat to the Seeker on Page 45.


The Atlanteans in the other submarine don't see me on Page 44.  The new Atlantis is probably inside an extinct volcano.  A substance on the ground may be alive, but my character isn't certain.  Some friendly Atlanteans wearing ancient Greek clothes greet me and tell me that the leader of Atlantis is a "greedy, selfish, and dangerous" man who has enslaved most of the population.  Only the lieutenants think favorably of him.  CHOICE #27 is to look for the king on Page 59, or help the peaceful Atlanteans escape on Page 60.  The text hints that the latter is the correct option, but this is an Alternate Endings post anyway.


The king has spartan tastes, or else resources are too limited underwater for extravagance:  "He is in a small simple room with a strobe light glowing from the rounded ceiling".  Perhaps the Atlanteans had lied about their monarch, as even the narration suggests:  "So, you have found your way here after all.  Put your mind at rest.  I won't hurt you".  I talk to the king for hours and find him to be intelligent and amiable.  The king offers me a position as an advisor, but the next lines in the narration are foreboding.  He says most people are "lazy and selfish" and need to be "ruled with power and command".  He's reigned for a millennium since "he is not afraid to be tough".  CHOICE #28 is whether to accept the advisor position on Page 80 or reject it on Page 82.


Becoming the king's advisor does NOT make the player character into a villain!  It seems the rebels were the true "evil" faction in this ending.


"An advisor to a king!  What a chance.  Maybe the king has ruled so long that he is out of touch with the people.  Perhaps as his advisor you can help the people get what they want.  You don't believe that people are lazy and selfish.  The king just needs a new point of view.  You are appointed the king's special advisor on problems of research on food and shelter.  You immediately call general meetings of all the people to discuss the food program and the work schedules. 


The king is so glad to have someone else take over the problems that he leaves it in your hands entirely.  He gives you land and a large salary.  You set up new programs and schedule the people in the planning work.  You listen to their complaints and their ideas.  Life under the sea is rich and full.  The people are hard-working and good.  It was a wise decision to remain.  THE END".


Enlightened despotism works if the ruler has 1000 years of experience.  The illustration shows a bearded king relaxing on a throne while holding a staff and wearing a seahorse-shaped hat.  Don't know if he has fins instead of feet, or just wears flippers.


Results So Far


8 Good Endings

2 Deaths

3 Bad Non-Death Endings

3 Neutral Endings

0 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure Journey Under the Sea Alternate Endings Part 15


"Advisor to a mean king?  Not a chance!"  Thus says the beginning of Page 82 after refusing the job offer.  I yell at the king, but he takes it well and says I can go back to the people without any trouble.  He says they are "complainers" instead of workers.  Just as we're about to start the rebellion, there's a leak in the wall of the extinct volcano.  No time for politics when Atlantis is about to be flooded.  CHOICE #29 is whether to save Atlantis from the leak on Page 112, or to use the chaos to flee on Page 114.


In other books of this type, such as La Isla de los Dodos, picking the wrong answer to a Morality Test CHOICE would result in a Bad Non-Death Ending at minimum, such as getting sick after ignoring the Fehurihi's distress call.  In Journey Under the Sea?  You get a Neutral Ending with a 2 page spread picture of the Maray.  Maybe it's because this book was written so early the cliches hadn't been invented yet?


"With everyone worried about the sea crashing in, no one will notice you if you try to escape.  You run down a long, little-used corridor that leads to the sea.  You push with all your might, and finally it swings open into an airlock to the open water.  You push the emergency release button and shoot out into the water.  The Seeker is where you left it, and once inside, you head for the surface where the Maray waits for you.  THE END".


Results So Far


8 Good Endings

2 Deaths

3 Bad Non-Death Endings

4 Neutral Endings

0 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure Journey Under the Sea Alternate Endings Part 16


Helping the Atlanteans in CHOICE #29 results in an abrupt ending, with no resolution to the potential civil war, or contact with the Maray.


"Years ago the Atlanteans had worked out emergency procedures, but most people had forgotten them.  One old person remembers where the emergency instructions and equipment were kept.  You and the Atlanteans work without stop for 72 hours pumping out the flooding waters and building a special retaining wall around the volcanic crack.  Finally the last pump is shut off.  You are all exhausted, but you've won in your battle against the sea.  THE END".


The illustration here shows a 2 page spread of water rising toward a wall that looks like it has a carving of eyelids with whirlpool carvings inside instead of an iris.


Results So Far


9 Good Endings

2 Deaths

3 Bad Non-Death Endings

4 Neutral Endings

0 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure Journey Under the Sea Alternate Endings Part 17


My character must have watched Hamlet too many times, since they take inspiration from The Murder of Gonzago for the other side of CHOICE #27.  A previous rebellion had failed, and the conspirators are still imprisoned.  The plan is to stage a play during a festival.  But we're not merely trying to expose a guilty conscience.  This Murder of Gonzago performance is going to arm all the "actors" with real weapons and capture the king.  Everyone thinks it's a good idea and now they want to appoint me their leader.


CHOICE #30 gives two options:  become the rebel leader on Page 81, or escape after the coup on Page 84.  Escape isn't an option after all, but not with a fatal twist.


"It is their world, but you are willing to help them with the planning for the overthrow of the king.  You want no real part in the revolt.  The planning requires choosing new leaders and setting goals for the people.  You almost decide to join them in the actual revolt but you really want to get back to your own world.  Once the revolt is underway, you hope to slip away and return to the Seeker for a quick escape to the surface of the ocean.


The day of the revolt, you can't resist the excitement of the Atlanteans' bold enterprise, and you decide to stay with them and help in any way that you can.  The endless planning and training pays off.  The carefully selected band of men and women easily captures the king and his guards.  The revolt has succeeded without shedding a drop of blood and the people celebrate for days.  The Atlanteans treat you as if you are one of them, and, for the first time, you feel that you are.  THE END".


Until most of the revolutionaries and the player character are guillotined by the Committee of Public Safety for not being radical enough.  Just kidding, the reward is a 2 page spread showing the rebels raising open hands and fists in victory, with the king and guards tied up in the middle.  It's a simplistic revolution with no long-repressed political resentments revealing themselves.


Results So Far


10 Good Endings

2 Deaths

3 Bad Non-Death Endings

4 Neutral Endings

0 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure Journey Under the Sea Alternate Endings Part 18


The king behaves like a Victorian novel character when I lead the revolution in CHOICE #30:  "A messenger from the king runs into the theater announcing that the king has had a serious attack of brain fever".  The narration suspects he's feigning illness.  As we're about to stage the fake play, the king's army rushes to the stage.  CHOICE #31 is whether to let the soldiers capture me on Page 116, or run away on Page 117.  I knew I should have let the Atlanteans lead the revolt!


"It is useless to try to escape the soldiers.  You are surrounded.  They take you to the king, and he sadly tells you that you are just like all the rest.  He can't trust anyone.  He will have to decide what to do with you and in the meantime he throws you into the dungeon.  THE END".


Sorry to disappoint you, but there's no illustration.  I was hoping to see hands holding onto prison cell bars.  I'll rule this as a Bad Non-Death Ending for now, although it was tempting to make this Inconclusive.


Results So Far


10 Good Endings

2 Deaths

4 Bad Non-Death Endings

4 Neutral Endings

0 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure Journey Under the Sea Alternate Endings Part 19


Trying to flee during the play is actually the correct option in CHOICE #31, unlike the usual "fortune favors the bold" theme of the book.  No illustration for this ending either.


"How can you escape?  The soldiers are coming after you.  You scream as loud as you can:  'Help me!!!'  Everyone in the theater surrounds you, forming a barrier to the soldiers.  The soldiers stare at the people, hesitate, and quickly leave.  They know that the odds are too great to win such a fight.


The people cry for the revolt to go on.  The crowd leaves the theater and heads to the king's quarters.  All along the route people join you and even the king's soldiers begin to join the crowd.  You and the people are free; the king is put in prison.  The revolt is a success.  THE END".


Results So Far


11 Good Endings

2 Deaths

4 Bad Non-Death Endings

4 Neutral Endings

0 Inconclusive Endings