CaptainCaveman posted:

Explore elsewhere I guess.

Page 8 posted:

You grope along the wall of the cavern-like chamber, seeking a door or a passageway to another part of the ship. What do the U-TY masters want of you? Why did they have to pick you-out of four billion people in the world?

YOU SHALL NOT LEAVE THE CHAMBER OF THE EARTH PEOPLE.

Once again, the voice you hear is not a voice at all, but a thought directly entering your brain.

'Press against the wall on your left.' This time another voice is speaking-a real voice! You cautiously touch the wall. Instantly, it dissolves. There, hovering in the air, is a blue-gray form, shaped like a human, but fuzzy and indistinct-like a patch of very thick fog.

'You can help us.' The creature speaks from somewhere within its vaporous, mouthless head. 'My name is Incu, captive from Alara.'

'How do you know my language?' you ask.

'Think how much you can learn in 800 Earth years...That's how long I've been a prisoner on this ship.'

'How could I help?' you ask. 'I have no power.'

Go on to page 10.

Page 9 posted:

Page 10 posted:

Incu holds out a tiny statue. 'It has taken me hundreds of years to make this. It is an idol that the U-TY masters-the rulers of this ship-believe will lead them to Ultima, the planet of paradise. They will follow the orders of whomever holds it, if that person is a human being. I am not, but you are-so take it. But you must promise me this: if you get control of this ship, you will take me to my home planet!'

You think a moment and say, 'Before I decide to promise you anything, tell me, would I be able to reach Ultima?'

'You can not reach it by choosing what to do,' says Incu.

Before you can ask him what he means, you hear the voice inside your brain...

FOLLOW THE AMBER LIGHTS BACK TO THE CHAMBER OF THE EARTH PEOPLE. DO NOT TAKE ANYTHING WITH YOU.

'GO, and take this-but only if you will keep your promise.' Incu presses the idol toward you.

If you take the idol, turn to page 15.
If you leave the idol with Incu, turn to page 18.

Page 15 posted:

You take the idol and start down the passageway, following the moving amber lights. The object in your hand seems to be a statue of a human head - a strangely distored head.

Suddenly the lights grow brighter. You can see the idol more clearly. It looks like one of the mysterious stone statues erected in ancient times by the inhabitants of Easter Island, in the South Pacific. But you have no chance to think further. The voice of the U-TY sounds in your brain.

LIE DOWN AND SLEEP NOW.

You want to resist, but you feel drowsy, very drowsy. You lie down and doze off, wondering - what good is this idol? What powers does it have? How will it get you home?

Turn to page 54.

Page 54 posted:

You awaken to find yourself in another room. Floating in mid-air are three glowing, pulsating spheres. Your skin tingles, your hair stands on end.

YOU HAVE DISOBEYED THE U-TY. YOU WILL BE SENT TO SOMO TO SLEEP FOR A BILLION YEARS.

So it is these highly charged forms that have been transmitting thoughts into your brain. The U-TY masters!

You hold up the idol and thrust it toward the glowing forms. Instantly they glide toward the floor. Their light dims. The chamber is filled with a low whistling sound.

YOU ARE THE KEY. YOU CAN LEAD US TO ULTIMA. COMMAND, AND WE SHALL FOLLOW.

As these words ring inside your brain, you realize the idol does have power. The U-TY think that you can lead them to Ultima, the planet of paradise. You want to ask them to take you to Earth, but you remember that you promised Incu to return him to his home planet.

Go on to page 56.

Page 55 posted:

Page 56 posted:

'How long with it take us to reach Alara?' you ask.

SIXTEEN YEARS.

You feel a sinking feeling. Sixteen years, and sixteen more to return to Earth - thirty-two years on this spaceship! This will be your fate if you keep your promise to Incu.

If you keep your promise to Incu, and order the U-TY to take the space craft to Alara, turn to page 27.
If you decide not to worry about Incu, and order the U-TY to take you directly to Earth, turn to page 28.

Page 27 posted:

You check with the computer. The ship has steadied on course for Alara. You can hardly believe it. First you were a helpless prisoner. Now you are in control of a galactic spaceship!

During the long voyage to Alara, you learn about the strange and wonderful alien life forms on board. The U-TY have made millions of video recordings of life on Earth. You learn how to retrieve them from the computer, and spend much of your time watching them on three dimensional playback. You see movies and plays, witness all the battles, the adventures, and great events of human history, and learn far more about Earth life than you would in any school in the world.

You worry about losing so many years of your life. But you know that the U-TY have many power. So you order them to keep you from growing any older. From then on you feel better knowing that, though you will have to spend thirty-two more years in space, you will return to Earth with your whole life ahead of you - with knowledge of the universe possessed by no human being who ever lived.

The End.

Tally Sheet posted:

Endings
Amnesia...but at least we got the Title Drop?
Let's run this poo poo into the ground!
A many-eyed, many legged spidery purple people eater
I SWEAR, ALIENS TOOK ME ON THEIR SHIP!
Taken to the lab, probe-ably not a good thing
Our own cuddly alien friend
Fake (out) news
Foiled by rednecks or something similarly lame
The most boring abduction ever
Taking a decade or three to become incredibly learned. Netflix and

achtungnight posted:

Sorry Incu, back to earth

Page 28 posted:

Holding the idol in your outstretched hand, you command the U-TY, 'Take this ship to the planet Earth!'

IT SHALL BE DONE. TIME TO EARTH ORBIT - THIRTEEN DAYS.

You return to Incu. 'I'm sorry I can't take you to your home planet, but I'm sure you would be welcomed on Earth.'

'Perhaps,' says Incu, 'but my body would not hold together in the strong winds that blow on your planet.'

'Are you sure there is no way we can get to Ultima, the planet of paradise?' you ask.

'Not by any choice you could make,' says Incu.

'Then, as soon as the U-TY let me off on Earth, I will direct them to take you to Alara. That won't be too difficult for them to do, will it?'

'I'm afraid it will be,' Incu replies. 'Once you leave this ship, the U-TY will imprison me and take me to the zoo on the imperial planet Ra.'

'I'm sorry...' You turn toward the great window and stare out at the star-studded blackness of space.

Turn to page 112.

Page 29 posted:

Page 112 posted:

During the first few days of your voyage home, you learn how to activate the display screens. With the ship's powerful radio telescope, you pick up transmissions from other civilizations. The U-TY instruments bring you in touch with all the wonders of the universe.

But all is not well. Incu seems to be growing smaller. 'What is happening, Incu?' you ask.

'I am losing molecules,' he replies in a thin, weak voice. 'That is what happens to our people when we lose our will to live.'

You realize that Incu will die unless you change course to his home planet. Should you order the U-TY to turn back to Alara to save Incu, or should you just try to forget about him?

If you order the U-TY to head for Alara, turn to page 42.
If you allow the ship to continue on to Earth, turn to page 43.

Page 42 posted:

You give the U-TY the order to reverse course and head for Alara. The main computer begins to vibrate as the ship slowly arcs on to a new course. As you stand before the controls, you are overcome by gloom - you have sentenced yourself to thirty-two years in this prison. The thought of it is like a heavy weight in your chest.

Why should you sacrifice yourself just so Incu can get home? Why not reverse course yet again, and head for Earth?

Still, you are concerned about what the U-TY would think of you if you kept changing your mind.

On the other hand, you don't want to stay in space for years and years - you want to go home!

If you decide it's best to continue on toward Alara, turn to page 27.

If you order the U-TY to reverse course again and head for Earth, turn to page 99.

Page 99 posted:

Soon after you order the U-TY to reverse course once again and head to Earth, warning lights show that some of the circuits are over-heating.

A voice speaks out: 'You-have-made-an-error. You-are-the-master. The-master-cannot-be-in-error. Paradox...paradox...'



The computer begins to vibrate. From somewhere in the star drive, a grinding, whining noise, ascending in pitch, assaults your ear.

'Cancel my last order,' you shout. 'Proceed to Alara.'

'Paradox,' drones the computer. 'Double paradox!'

A shower of sparks floods the room. You throw up your arms to shield your eyes, but you and all the others on board exist only for a moment more - as a brilliant flash of white light.

The End

Tally Sheet posted:

Endings
Amnesia...but at least we got the Title Drop?
Let's run this poo poo into the ground!
A many-eyed, many legged spidery purple people eater
I SWEAR, ALIENS TOOK ME ON THEIR SHIP!
Taken to the lab, probe-ably not a good thing
Our own cuddly alien friend
Fake (out) news
Foiled by rednecks or something similarly lame
The most boring abduction ever
Taking a decade or three to become incredibly learned. Netflix and
Double paradox!

Page 43 posted:

Each day you enjoy watching the Earth grow larger on the vision screen, but you feel bad about Incu; he is growing thinner and thinner, like a patch of fog in the morning sun.

One day, as you are watching the Earth, marveling at its coat of swirling white clouds, the deceleration lights start flashing. 'Take re-entry stations,' the computer calls out. 'Prepare to enter Earth atmosphere in eight minutes.'

You must tell the U-TY where they should land on Earth! Holding the power-giving idol in one hand, you call out, 'Land in the United States. Obtain landing instructions from the U.S. Air Force.'

But the computer quickly answers, 'Your last transmission is in error. You wish to land on the Island of the Gods..'

What has happened? Why doesn't the computer obey orders? Should you insist on landing in the United States and risk trouble with the computer? On the other hand, the 'Island of the Gods' is somewhere on Earth, and you could figure out how to get home from wherever it is.

If you let the computer land the ship on the 'Island of the Gods,' turn to page 44.
If you insist on landing in the United States, turn to page 46.

FoolyCharged posted:

island of the gods

As a good old American boy they are the same place after all

Page 44 posted:

'Proceed to the Island of the Gods.'

The computer responds, and for the next half-hour you watch Earth passing below you as the ship glides smoothly and silently toward the surface.

The moment the ship lands, you step out of the deceleration chamber and direct the computer to open the ports. A panel slides open. You step through a hatchway and jump down to the rocky soil of Earth. Squinting in the brilliant sunlight, you find yourself looking at a weird yet familiar scene. You are on Easter Island, in the South Pacific.

Turning your back on the blustery wind, you contemplate the melancholy landscape. The barren hillside before you is strewn with massive stone statues, fifteen to twenty feet high. They are shaped like the tiny statue you still hold in your hand. Why have the U-TY landed you here? Is this what they meant by the Island of the Gods? What do they expect to find here?

As you ponder these questions, the voice of the U-TY speaks.

IT IS WRITTEN IN THE ANCIENT LAWS THAT WHEN A HUMAN SHOWS THE IDOL OF THE GODS TO THE U-TY, THE U-TY SHALL FIND THE PATH TO ULTIMA, THE PLANET OF PARADISE.

Turn to page 71.

Page 45 posted:

Page 71 posted:

You can hardly believe the words you hear. Are you dreaming? Yet those cows on the hillside are certainly real, and so is that jeep coming up the road, and the large brown-and-white dog barking loudly as it runs toward you.

You watch as the jeep stops, wheels around, and accelerates in the opposite direction, leaving behind a cloud of dust in the wind.

WHAT IS YOUR COMMAND?

The dog is running down the road, tail between its legs. A farmer is kneeling, his hands uplifted in prayer. He must have been terrified by the great space ship that has landed on his island.

You step away from the spacecraft and shout, 'Return to your home planet. Only there will you find the path to Ultima!'

Almost instantly, the great white cylinder rises into the air. You stand, watching in awe, as it disappears into the clouds.

You are grateful to be back on Earth, and excited by your experience on board a UFO. Your only regret is that you did not keep your promise to Incu.

Walking slowly down the road that will lead you back to civilization, you feel much older than you are.

The End

Tally Sheet posted:

Endings
Amnesia...but at least we got the Title Drop?
Let's run this poo poo into the ground!
A many-eyed, many legged spidery purple people eater
I SWEAR, ALIENS TOOK ME ON THEIR SHIP!
Taken to the lab, probe-ably not a good thing
Our own cuddly alien friend
Fake (out) news
Foiled by rednecks or something similarly lame
The most boring abduction ever
Taking a decade or three to become incredibly learned. Netflix and
Double paradox!
Sent the aliens packing and hung out with some stone heads

Page 46 posted:

You tell the U-TY they must land in the United States. The ship breaks out of orbit and descends with frightening speed. Pressed against the contoured wall of the acceleration chamber, you feel as if you weight a thousand pounds! Something is very wrong! Why aren't the alarms sounding?

'What's happening?' you ask the computer.

'PROGRAMMING PARADOX. INCONSISTENT TRUTHS.'

Through the viewer you can see the Earth rushing up to meet you. The ship can hardly be more than ten miles above the surface!

'Stop!' Flattened by extreme gravity forces, you are hardly able to pen your mouth as you cry out, 'Return to orbit...set course for Island of Gods...'

Now, even as the computer is attempting to reverse course, violent forces are crushing your body. You are traveling at sixteen miles per second. There isn't time...

Go on to the next page.

Page 47 posted:

Forty minute later, an aide reports to the President of the United States - 'We have reports of the impact of a large meteorite in western Nebraska. It made a crater a hundred yards wide. The explosion shattered windows twenty miles away. Fortunately, no one was injured, as far as we know.'

The End

Tally Sheet posted:

Endings
Amnesia...but at least we got the Title Drop?
Let's run this poo poo into the ground!
A many-eyed, many legged spidery purple people eater
I SWEAR, ALIENS TOOK ME ON THEIR SHIP!
Taken to the lab, probe-ably not a good thing
Our own cuddly alien friend
Fake (out) news
Foiled by rednecks or something similarly lame
The most boring abduction ever
Taking a decade or three to become incredibly learned. Netflix and
Double paradox!
Sent the aliens packing and hung out with some stone heads
A football field sized crater

achtungnight posted:

Nice, our death aura took out some aliens! And us.

Let's see what happens if we leave the idol with Incu.

Page 18 posted:

You leave Incu and his idol and follow the small amber lights that float ahead, guiding you along the long, curving passageway. Purple tinted white walls arch around you like the interior of an enormous sea shell. The passageway spirals upward and broadens into a circular room. There, hovering in air, is another alien, the size of a small bear. Its oval head looks like an enormous egg standing on end, and its body seems to be nothing more than the joining point for four tentacle-arms and four spiny legs. It has huge green eyes, almost no nose, and a long expressive mouth that extends almost from the top to the bottom of its hard, shiny face.

As you shrink back, the creature laughs. 'You're on of us!' it says. 'My name is Qally.' The creature holds out a tentacle. Cautiously, you allow it to take your hand in its warm, rubbery grip.

'What planet were you collected from, Qally?'

'The planet Karim of the star Akbar - thirty eight light-years from your planet Earth.'

Go on to the next page.

Page 19 posted:

'Do you know what they plan to do with us?'

Speaking in a low voice, as if afraid of being overhead, Qally says, 'The rulers of this ship - the U-TY - have been investigating Earth for hundreds of years, for they believe that Earth was the key to reaching the sublime planet of Ultima. Now they have decided to look elsewhere. In only a few days the Rakma wil leave this solar system, and you and I and all the other captives will be placed in the zoo on the imperial planet of Ra.'

'Then is there any way I can escape to Earth?' you ask.

Qally is silent for a moment. Then he says, 'I can not promise anything, but I can show you the way to the forbidden chamber. I don't know what's there, but it has something to do with time. I would not dare go there, but it could be your only chance.'

If you decide to go to the forbidden chamber, turn to page 34.
If you try to find some other way to escape, turn to page 36.