Gamebooks (Choose Your Own Adventure Style)

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

La Isla de los Dodos Alternate Endings Part 15


Opting to swim towards the ship in CHOICE #16 gives us a chance to survive.  And also a strange CHOICE #17.


I reach the port of the Stella, but it's hard to climb the ladder to safety.  "Your legs feel like cotton".


"Somewhere, you've read that death by drowning is a sweet death.  Perhaps you should let the water take you wherever it wants.  You only want to rest, sleep. . ."


If my character wants to "surrender to exhaustion", he should turn to page 47.  If I "continue fighting", it's page 46.  Yet another explicit "Do you want to die?" branch.


"Now that you've taken the decision to die, you feel at peace.  You sink towards the deep abyss without coral that surrounds Sainte Laure while images of your life flash before your eyes.  The golden eyes of the dodo and the blue eyes of Sheila and Arthur mar (enturbiar) the serenity of your final moments.  END".


 
Results So Far


3 Good Endings

8 Deaths

3 Bad Non-Death Endings

2 Neutral/Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

La Isla de los Dodos Alternate Endings Part 16


CHOICE #17's other ending doesn't kill the player character, but isn't much less depressing.


I climb the ship's ladder and reach the deck.  Sheila and Arthur are fine because they curled up (acurrucar) in the cabin.  At dawn (alba), there is total calm, and we look for the dodo.


We shout in the dodo's direction, and all the insects, frogs, and birds in the jungle make a "pandemonium" of noise after a short period of silence.  Dude shouts "WAAAO, WAAAO!" as a lamentation.


"My dear dodo, we were very worried about you.' Sheila hugs its chubby (rechoncho) body.  Dude cries happily.  However, it wastes no time in freeing itself from Sheila's embrace.  It flaps its wings, directing us toward a large flamboyant tree.


A human skeleton rests behind the trunk of the beautiful tree.  In one of the shirt's pockets, you find documentation confirming that it belongs to Professor Kirby.  Who knows what happened to that unfortunate man.  Dude lets out some soft squawks.  You all cry.


You bury the professor.  You all abandon the island, determined to honor his memory.  You will find the island of the dodos.  END."


We survive, but fail the mission because Gordon croaked before we could find him.  This one is a Bad Non-Death Ending.


Results So Far


3 Good Endings

8 Deaths

4 Bad Non-Death Endings

2 Neutral/Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

La Isla de los Dodos Alternate Endings Part 17


Hiring a guide in CHOICE #12 will lead to some different paths.


I tell Sheila and Arthur that we can rest and look for help in the Seychelles's capital 40 miles away.  This doesn't reassure them.


I try to tell Sheila that Dude will be find because the dodo knows how to survive in the jungle better than a human.


When we reach the city of Victoria, we visit its botanical garden in the Saint Fleury district.  Sheila and Arthur have fun finding the giant turtles of Aldabra.  My character is more interested in the strange plants of the Seychelles.  (He's a veterinarian, not a botanist!  Keep your backstory straight, author!)


The incident with the Seychelles pirates makes me fear the worst concerning the professor.  CHOICE #18 asks me if I want to "tell my friends that I'm abandoning them", or continue on the adventure.  The options are phrased in a strange way.


Let's take the former option for this ending and suffer retribution for what should be a reasonable option in real life.


"You feel like dying of shame when you tell your friends that you can't help them anymore, and that you'll return to London as soon as possible.  You feel pathetic trying to convince them to come with you and leave the search for the professor in the hands of the authorities. 


Without looking you in the eye, Arthur says in a neutral voice:  "We thank you for helping us.  We understand this matter isn't as important for you as it is for us.  Don't worry.  We will sort it out.


Upset, but relieved, you go away from them and walk along one of the paths of the leafy garden.  You wander for a while under the trees while fleeting images of the dodo and the professor pass through your mind.


You stop under a tree that's called the coconut of the sea.  It's famous for producing the largest coconuts in the world, as much as 25 kilograms.  One of those falls on your head.


You wake up a few hours later in a hospital in Victoria.  You have a concussion (conmoción cerebral), and you will be sent back to England.  Although you want to help your friends, now it's not possible.  END."


The judgment for taking the coward's way out is coconut concussion.  Put this in the Bad Non-Death Ending column.


Results So Far


3 Good Endings

8 Deaths

5 Bad Non-Death Endings

2 Neutral/Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

La Isla de los Dodos Alternate Endings Part 18


For tonight's last ending, we will continue on our quest in CHOICE #18 instead of getting conked on the head by a coconut.


We call Mr. Goodwin, who offers to send someone to help.  A 30-year-old Seychelles woman wearing a t-shirt and shorts appears at our hotel.  Her name is Shaniqua, and she offers to go out to sea right now.


We reach the island where we left the dodo in about 2 hours.  Shaniqua, Arthur, and Sheila have a chat.  Shaniqua asks if the dodo is worth a lot of money, but the kids say they won't sell it for any amount.  Shaniqua then suggests either sending it to a museum or dissecting it, but this is a joke.  "But the same commissioner who sent Shaniqua to you warned you about unscrupulous people, though it would be illogical not to trust this woman".


Let's distrust her in CHOICE #19.


We supervise her directly, and I make sure to block the helm.


When I return to the deck to see if the ship is on course, I see Shaniqua talking on her cell phone.  She's startled when she sees me and hangs up immediately.  The conversation was in Seychellois Creole, so I have no clue what she said during that conversation.  I ask her if she's fine.  She gives me a nervous smile.


"You regret having asked.  Now you don't know what consequences could happen by putting her on notice (poner sobre aviso).  You force yourself to say that everything is fine and you decide to return to the cabin.  But something pushes you and you fall into the sea.


When you rise to the surface, you see the boat rapidly moving away.  It's impossible for you to reach it by swimming.  Now you must do everything possible to resist drowning until someone comes to rescue you.  If not, you'll sink into an abyss 3000 meters deep.  END".



So was it right not to trust Shaniqua?  Find out in the other CHOICE #19 route tomorrow night!  This is the first ending I would call Inconclusive.  There's a small chance the player character could survive, because the penultimate sentence hints that someone might rescue you.  From now on, I'll separate Neutral endings from Inconclusive ones.


Results So Far


3 Good Endings

8 Deaths

5 Bad Non-Death Endings

2 Neutral Endings

1 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

La Isla de los Dodos Alternate Endings Part 19


In this route, I'll trust Shaniqua in CHOICE #19.  Maybe she wasn't the one who pushed me into Shrödinger's Cat Ocean.


Shaniqua teaches us better packing methods, and easily finds the best paths on Sainte Laure.  She attempts to call the dodo with a strange sound.  After an hour of walking, Shaniqua smells smoke that the rest of us can't.


Going to a nearby clearing reveals why.  Some suspicious men are smoking something around a fire.  Shaniqua says that we must leave immediately, because these men grow opium and will kill if they see us.  (Without even trying to sell the characters opium first?)


One of the men is seen holding Dude.  The opium farmers are probably going to eat the dodo if we don't act quickly.  I order Shaniqua to take the kids back to the boat, while I distract the men. 


But Arthur messes up these plans when he runs away from us and starts singing a popular song.  The bandits look at each other and swarm towards Arthur, who's running through the trees.


CHOICE #20 is to either go for the dodo, or help Arthur.  Arthur will probably be fine on his own, right?


Surprisingly, this doesn't immediately result in a bad ending.


After we crouch (agazapar) behind some dense fronds, we see the men shouting and waving sticks and knives.  We find the dodo unharmed (ileso).  Dude leads us to a cabin where Gordon is tied up and gagged (amordazar).


Gordon begs us to save ourselves and leave him behind, but I say we're all leaving together.  He doesn't move quickly because he has a head wound.


To buy time, we have 2 options in CHOICE #21.  I can either light the opium fields on fire, or pick up a Browning semi-automatic rifle and attack the bandits.  Chances are my character's never fired a gun in his life, so let's try the latter!


For an option that sounds like a bad idea, this generates a 2 page ending as opposed to the usual single page.


I enter the shack and grab the rifle.  The first shot is a warning fired into the sky.  The opium farmers surround the shack, and there's a risk that they can all shoot holes in the flimsy building.


Inside the shack, there's an old mattress, empty sacks of rice, and small cans (bidón) of gas.  If the men get a lucky shot, they could make the shack explode.


So I give another warning shot and run into the dense jungle.  I lose the rifle, and slide down wet leaves and mud.  "It's like going downhill in a toboggan".  I roll downhill hundreds of meters down a hill and fall into deep water.


"When you reach the surface, you see you're in the middle of a large grotto that leads to the sea.  You must have opened a hole in the weak roof that's many meters above you.  The waters are calm, and sunlight penetrates into the cave indirectly, giving the water a turquoise color. 


You swim toward the entrance of the grotto when you see a light, iridescent gleam (resplandor) 2 meters deep.  They're thousands of small white medusas that ascend slowly to the surface.  You recognize the species immediately:  the box jellyfish (cubomedusa)!  One of the most venomous animals on Earth!  If only one of its tentacles were to sting you, your heart rate will accelerate so much, that you would die in a few minutes.


As much as you can, you stay on a rock that sticks out of the water.  It's so small that your feet hardly fit on it.  You stay there, for an indefinite time, hoping that the box jellyfish go away.  END."


Our 2nd Inconclusive Ending has me under siege from box jellyfish.  Whether the player character outlasts them, or whether he dies of hunger or thirst first, is left up to the reader.



Results So Far


3 Good Endings

8 Deaths

5 Bad Non-Death Endings

2 Neutral Endings

2 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

La Isla de los Dodos Alternate Endings Part 20


The ending we get for setting the opium fields on fire in CHOICE #21 is better than you might expect from the dreaded "1 page trap".


"You order Shaniqua to get everyone out of there.  You stay behind, dousing (rociar) the field with gasoline from a small can that the bandits were going to use to cook Dude.  You light several fires with your matches and flee in the direction of the beach.  You run as fast as you can, trying not to trip.  Leaves and branches hit you in the face, but you don't care.  Don't look back, only run and run.


At last, you see the beach!  Now you look back.  On the mountain peak, a cloud of smoke floats aboce the trees.  You hope those evildoers (malhechores) are entertained. 


You return to the Stella with the lifeboat.  Arthur is already there.  He reached it by swimming.


'If it weren't for you, they would have gotten me'.


You move away at full speed in the direction of Saint Laure.  You've all left unscathed (indemne), and recovered the professor and the dodo.  Well done!  END.


A good ending achieved by stopping a narcotics operation.  I wonder what the timeline is like for this book, since Gordon winds up on different islands in different routes.  One of them is an island full of dodos, one has an illegal opium farm, and one is a mad scientist's lair.  La Isla de los Dodos doesn't seem quite as consistent as La Prisión.




Results So Far


4 Good Endings

8 Deaths

5 Bad Non-Death Endings

2 Neutral Endings

2 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

La Isla de los Dodos Alternate Endings Part 21


In this scenario, I'll go back to CHOICE #20 and help Arthur instead of sneaking towards the dodo and Gordon.


I also start singing and running, but in a different direction.  At least some of the opium farmers try to head in my direction, but they can't find me.  A large root makes me fall to the ground, and possibly prevents me from falling off a 100 meter cliff (despeñarse).  Vines and roots grow around the rocks.  I discover small caves in the vertical wall and suspect they'll make good hiding places.  But there's another hiding place that may be available by climbing a tree.


CHOICE #22 is to slide down the cliff, or climb a tree.  Let's go with the former this time.


"You take off a shoe and leave it at the foot of the precipice.  Trying not to look down, you start to descend on a root.  The wind whistles strongly in your ears.  At 4 meters from the edge, you reach a hole that's quite deep.  You press yourself against the wall, trying to avoid making your body stand out.


Above, the evildoers stop above the precipice and have a discussion.  Without a doubt, they belive you've fallen, and the voices move away after a short time.  You wait for a while before climbing.  You're dirty, scratched, and tired, but you feel happier and more alive than ever.


At night, you reach the white sand beach where you all anchored the boat.  You don't see the Stella, and you deduce that your friends followed your instructions and left to look for help.  You suffer from hunger and thirst, but after 2 days, the proud Dauntless appears on the horizon.  You're saved, and you're a hero.  END."


Looks like there are multiple ways to save Gordon and friends from the opium farm bandits.




Results So Far


5 Good Endings

8 Deaths

5 Bad Non-Death Endings

2 Neutral Endings

2 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

La Isla de los Dodos Alternate Endings Part 22


Our last ending for tonight will be the alternate path of CHOICE #22:  Climbing the tree.



"You leave a small sports shoe on the cliff and return to the thicket (espesura) in search of a robust tree to climb.  You find an old mahogany (caoba) tree, tall and full of knots and holes.  You climb it and reach safety among its 10 meter tall branches.  The evildoers have found your shoe.  You hear their furious voices going away little by litte, and you breathe a sigh of relief.  Like what happens to cats, going down the tree is more difficult than climbing it.


By chance, there are large holes you can grab.  In one of them, something shines with a golden glint (reflejo).  With caution, you put your hand in the hole and take out a large golden coin.  Later, another, and another.  It's treasure!


You've found the equivalent of 10 million pounds in Portuguese reales of the 17th century.  You'll be one of the richest men of Great Britian.  When you manage to leave this island, of course.  END."


Another Inconclusive Ending meant to mess with the readers, but a more positive one than being at risk of drowning or jellyfish stings.  This time, I find vintage Portuguese coins in a tree, but it's unknown whether I'm marooned on this island forever.


Results So Far


5 Good Endings

8 Deaths

5 Bad Non-Death Endings

2 Neutral Endings

3 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

La Isla de los Dodos Alternate Endings Part 23



All paths branching from Mauritius have already been taken.  Time to go all the way back to CHOICE #1 and go to the Maldives instead.


I'm not sure I believe the dodo story, and the first priority is to find Gordon.  So I fly to the capital city Malé without Sheila and Arthur, and arrive 2 days later.  It's an overcast day, and almost all the streets, beaches, and highways have been razed by the 2004 tsunami.


In the hotel, I review the available facts.  Gordon acquired the dodo on the island of Muraka.  To go there, I need to take a hydroplane and look for the person who sold the dodo. 


Arthur calls me, and I answer on the hotel phone.  "We're lucky.  A journalist friend of our uncle is in the Maldives investigating a wave of crocodile attacks.  You could meet with him".  My character has some doubts as to whether this journalist exists even though Arthur gave me his phone number.


CHOICE #23 is to either meet the journalist, or look for the fisher who sold the dodo.  I'll see this journalist that my character is so skeptical about.


Our journalist is not male like Arthur suggested in the phone call.  Perhaps he didn't know her at all?  She's an Anglo-Indian freelancer (por cuenta propia) named Kay Fernandes.  We meet in the Sultan Park to get away from the traffic in Malé.  Kay suspects Baroness Clotilde kidnapped Gordon, and wants to stuff the dodo to add to her taxidermy collection.


I ask her how Baroness Clotilde is going to get an animal that might not exist.  Kay shows me a few photos as definitive proof the dodo is real. 


But soon there are suspicious people around us, likely Baroness Clotilde's spies.  Kay suggests going to Club Robinson where our antagonist hangs out in order to investigate.



CHOICE #24 is to try to throw the spies off my trail, or head to Club Robinson.  In the text, the former option

says "escape to page 67", and the verb is the somewhat rare "escabullirse".


Kay takes me out of a restaurant and into another one, which probably threw the mysterious man and woman off our trail.  Here we run into some more typos.  Kay suggests that we go to Baroness Clotilde's house to look for Gordon, but she's constantly referred to by the male pronoun "él" on this page. 


Here's an example from Kay's dialogue:  "Listen, if Baroness Clotilde is on high alert, we have to be more astute than him".


CHOICE #25 is to either be a coward and hide, or enter the baroness's house.  Let's try the latter.


At nightfall (caer de noche), we go to the collector's house.  Behind some bushes, we observe the old colonial mansion surrounded by a leafy garden.  An elegant black car appears at the end of the street and heads toward the front door.  The windows are "dyed" (tintado)?


Kay says there's no time to lose.  We enter the garden just before the automatic gate (verja automática) closes.  The book describes our motion as "running comically".  We land in a small pond, and frogs and
"other bugs" flee when we scare them.


On the "last floor" (último piso, attic?), a light turns on.  Kay and I try not to make any noise while we creep into the entrance.


The entrance is dark and smells of mold.  There's a total silence that gives me the creeps.  A large staircase ascends to the next floor, but there are also doors on each side of the stairs.


Yes, CHOICE #26 is going to be the dreaded "pick a path blind and hope not to die" decision!  Door #1 leads to page 70.  Door #2 leads to page 69.  Climbing the stairs leads to page 71.  How much do you want to bet that both doors kill you?  Let's try the left one (#1) and see what happens!


"With the help of Kay's lantern, you both descend the narrow stairs that lead to a dusty room full of piles of junk (trasto).


'Kay, turn off the light.  I see something'.


In a corner of the estate, there is an infrared lamp illuminating an enormous and strange plant with flowers that look black under the red light.  Instead of branches, it has what seem to be tubes.


'Don't touch it!', shouts Kay.


You've hardly brushed the plant, but this makes its tubes extend and coil up around your bodies.  You both panic and fight to free yourselves.  Every time you exhale, the tubes press more, as if it were a constrictor snake.  Cla-cla-cla-cla.  Some strange sounds like tap dancing seem to be everywhere.


Tens of giant crabs, of a species you've never seen before, come out of the darkness to stalk you both.  They will wait patiently until you both die from asphyxiation so they can begin to eat you.


Baroness Clotilde is, without a doubt, the creator of this abominable symbiosis.  END".


Dr. Pook isn't the only one tampering in God's domain in this book!  Maybe Baroness Clotilde and he would be an interesting couple.


Results So Far


5 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 24


In this episode of Let's Make a Deal, we'll check behind Door #2 in CHOICE #26.  It's harder than you think, because a typographical error means that there is no Page 69.  This book does have 2 Page 70s, however.    


"Behind the door to the right, you both descend some stairs with the help of Kay's lantern.  They lead to a kind of tunnel with rough walls excavated from rock.  The silence is such that you can hear your own blood pulsing in your ears.  Your nose itches because of the dust you are both disturbing with your steps.


'Achoo!'-you couldn't avoid sneezing.  Moments later, you hear a weak voice.


'Help!  Please help!'


A few meters from both of you, you find Professor Kirby tied by his hands to the floor.  He's lost his glasses and is about to die of cold.  You both free him from his bonds and help him stand up.  You both hug him in an emotional embrace.


'There's light at the end fo the tunnel.  It has to be an exit!', the professor urges (apremiar).


As soon as (en cuanto) your eyes become used to the darkness, you see a glimmer.  It's a direct exit to the beach that the baroness undoubtedly uses for her illegal deeds.  Not much later, the police arrest her for the kidnapping of Gordon Kirby.


When the professor recovers and you recover from fright, you both can begin looking for the island of the dodos.  END".


There are no clues in the text to indicate that the right door is the solution to this puzzle.  Yet another case of La Isla de los Dodos making you feel cheated, even if you find a good ending.




Results So Far


6 Good Endings

9 Deaths

5 Bad Non-Death Endings

2 Neutral Endings

3 Inconclusive Endings