Page 21 posted:

'I can't promise that you will be treated well,' you say to Mopo. 'Some Earth people might want to harm you.'

You interrupt yourself to catch a rope thrown from the ship as Mopo calls, 'I am your friend.' You turn to answer, but only in time to see him dive beneath the waves.

Two fishermen pull you aboard. Others lean over the rail, looking for the alien.

'What was that?' 'Was it a sea lion?' 'That was the weirdest thing I ever saw!' They are all talking at once. When you tell them that the creature was an alien life form, most of them shake their heads in disbelief.

A few days later, when you reach home, your family and friends are relieved to see you alive and well. They are eager to hear of your adventure. But when you tell them everything that happened, not one of them believes your story.

In the years ahead you hear about fishermen who claim to have seen a strange creature with rows of eyes and mouths. Some of them say it's a monster which has survived from prehistoric times. Others say it's as friendly as a dolphin. You are glad to know that Mopo is alive. You hope that somehow, someday, you'll see him again.

The End

Page 20 posted:

You tell Mopo not to worry - that he can trust human beings. 'Let's get out of the water,' he shouts. The fishermen throw you a rope and pull you aboard. Then Mopo leaps out of the water and lands on the deck.

The grizzle-faced captain steps forward, his eyes fixed on the alien. 'I've seen a lot of strange creatures in the sea, but nothing like you - and you even talk! You may be the devil for all I know, but I don't see you mean any harm, so you'll be as well treated on this ship as any shipwrecked sailor. Follow me.'

The captain shows you into the deck house. Mopo follows, scuttling like a crab crawling along the beach .The fishermen watch in amazement.

The captain pours you a cup of hot chocolate, but his eyes hardly leave the alien creature beside you. 'Would you like something to eat?' he asks Mopo.

'No,' Mopo says, 'I ate a few months ago.'

The captain smiles, shakes his head, and turns toward you. 'We're bound for Seattle, with a cargo of tuna. We'll be there in forty-eight hours. Do you think I should notify the Coast Guard about this? They'll never believe me.'

If you ask the captain to notify the Coast Guard at once, turn to page 57.
If you suggest keeping the news quiet until you reach Seattle, turn to page 58.

Page 58 posted:

The captain agrees to keep radio silence.

Two days later, the ship steams into Seattle's harbor. You and the captain confer with Mopo.

'While I was held captive by the U-TY, I learned a great deal about your country,' says Mopo. 'I should speak to the President of the United States as soon as possible. One of your distinguished scientists, Dr. Hubert Shomsky, is an expert on extra-terrestrial life forms. I'm sure I could convince him that I am not a hoax; then he can arrange for me to meet with the president.'

Go on to the next page.

Page 59 posted:

The captain is able to reach Dr. Shomsky by phone, and he agrees to speak with the president. Within a few hours, you, Mopo, and the captain are all travelling in a heavily guarded motorcade - headed for McChord Air Force Base, where a special plane is waiting to take you to Washington, D.C. Five hours later you and Mopo are being introduced to the president. Dr. Shomsky and other scientists are waiting to meet you. Later, in a special nationwide TV program carried on all networks, the president tells the people about UFO 54-40 - and how you and Mopo escaped. He speaks warmly of Mopo, and of how much he has learned from the first alien known to have visited Earth.

Mopo becomes an adviser to the nation's leaders, and, in the years following, it is his work and wisdom more than anything else that help bring lasting peace to Earth.

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
(De)waisted

Left in a field by a lonely immortal
Eternity nap
Badass Mopo on the run
World Peace!

achtungnight posted:

Notify the Coast Guard

Decoy Badger posted:

We should stop, this is already the best ending.

Page 57 posted:

The captain radios the Coast Guard. As he predicted, they laugh at his story about picking up an alien creature.

'No matter,' he says to you and Mopo, 'we'll be in port in two days - then they can see for themselves!'

The next morning you, Mopo, and the captain are standing on the bridge. Resting his arms on the rail, the captain scans the horizon with his binoculars. 'If the weather would lift a bit, we could see Mount Rainier from here,' he says.

Suddenly a sailor calls from the afterdeck, 'There's a submarine surfacing off the port quarter...It has...a hammer-and-sickle flag!'

'Russians!' the captains cries.

'They intercepted your message to the Coast Guard,' says Mopo.

'I think you're right!' The captain points to the port rail. 'They're pulling alongside. They're going to board us!'

'Don't let them capture Mopo!' you cry.

Turn to page 91.

Page 91 posted:

'Don't worry,' says Mopo. 'I know what to do. I will go with the Russians.'

'Don't go with the Russians,' you say.

'I thought you said I can trust human beings,' says Mopo.

'But the Russians might try to use you against America,' the captain says.

'And, if I am in America, the Russians may think that the Americans will use me against them!'

'But we would only ask you to help in the cause of peace,' you say.

'That's what they will say, too,' says Mopo. 'But tell me, do you think I will be for peace?'

'I do,' you say. The captain nods his agreement.



Go on to page 92.

Page 92 posted:

'If the Russians are more for war,' Mopo says, 'and the Americans more for peace, and I am for peace, then it is better for peace that I go with the Russians, because, if I am with you, it will make them very anxious - so anxious that they might start a war. But, if I am with the Russians, I can guide them towards peace.'

By now, the Russian sub is alongside the trawler. Neither you nor the captain can change Mopo's decision to go with them. Soon afterward, the sub submerges with Mopo aboard, leaving you standing by the rail, staring out at the sea.

You're puzzled at Mopo's decision. It almost seems as if he turned against you. On the other hand, you reflect, Mopo may understand Earth people better than you do.

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
(De)waisted

Left in a field by a lonely immortal
Eternity nap
Badass Mopo on the run
World Peace!
:rock IV gif:

Page 97 posted:

'Is there something we can do with these computers?' you ask Angus. 'The U-TY seem to have lost control.'

But even as you speak, the computers flash and pulsate. Within their electronic brains inconsistent programs must be battling for supremacy. One computer rumbles a moment, then seems to shut down, except for a single flashing red light.

'What's happening?' you ask.

'I don't know,' Angus replies. 'I don't know what...'

But his words are lost in the roar of escaping air, as the whole ship splits open, hurling you, Angus, all the other captives, and the U-TY masters themselves out into the cold black emptiness of space.

The End

Page 80 posted:

'Yes. If NASA can see us maybe they can send up a shuttlecraft to bring us down.'

Kim Lee leads you to a luminescent panel faced with a complex pattern of shapes and colors. Pointing to a three-dimensional display screen, she says. 'Here you can see all the man-made satellites and space craft that are above the Earth's atmosphere.'

'Earth scientists can see us, too?' you ask.

'Yes. You can imagine they are trying to figure out where this unknown spacecraft came from.'

'Do you think we'll be rescued?'

'Either rescued or shot down.'

Now there is nothing to do but wait. Fortunately, the computers continue to operate flawlessly, even though the U-TY masters no longer exist. You gaze out at the brilliant moon, then watch Kim Lee experimenting with the controls. She switches on radio traffic from Earth, some in English, some in other languages.

Then, from one of the speakers, a voice calls out, 'We have detected you. We will assume you are an enemy, unless you identify yourself.'

Kim Lee quickly speaks into her microphone. 'We are Earth people on a UFO. We have captured it, but cannot control it.'

A moment passes. Then the Earth voice again: 'Your reply is unacceptable. Reply truthfully or you will be destroyed by laser beams.'

You take the microphone from Kim Lee, wondering what you can possibly say to convince them you're telling the truth.

Page 81 posted:

If you say, 'I'm the person missing from the Concorde. Save us!' turn to page 98.
If you say, 'Try to attack us and your whole country will be instantly destroyed,' turn to page 90.

Page 90 posted:

You deliver your threat.

Nothing happens. Kim Lee puts her hand on your arm. 'I don't think you should have said what you...'

You start to reply, but instantly your eyes are blinded by a blazing yellow light - the last thing that happens to you, and to every other creature on board the UFO 54-40.

The End

Page 98 posted:

'I am the person missing from the Concorde,' you say into the mike.

There is a long pause. You stare at your watch. Minutes seem like hours as you wonder - is it time for your life to end?

Three minutes have gone by. Nothing has happened.

Then, 'This is Nasa; do you read us?'

'Yes!'

'We have obtained computer verification of your identity. We know you were the passenger missing from the Concorde. Your space vessel was designated UFO 54-40. We will launch a shuttle to you within seventy-two hours. Don't try to work the controls. The top scientists in the United States are being summoned now. We're going to bring UFO 54-40 down to Earth.'

Kim Lee is jumping up and down. Grinning she asks, 'Will you visit me in China?'

'I sure will!'

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
(De)waisted

Left in a field by a lonely immortal
Eternity nap
Badass Mopo on the run
World Peace!
:rock IV gif:
Hard vacuum
Destroyed by laser beams for lying
Field trip to China

Page 36 posted:

'Qally,' you say, 'are you sure there's no other way to escape?'

'If only Earth People could control their thoughts...then you'd have a chance.'

'How do you mean?'

'Before leaving your planet,' says Qally, 'the U-TY plan to take treasures from one of the greatest museums of your world - The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The police will come, but the U-TY only need a few minutes to collect what they need.'

'What would happen if the police shot at the U-TY?'

'They have evolved so that matter gets out of their way. If you lit a fire under one of the U-TY, its form would be transposed, so that instead of being burned by the fire, it would gather energy from it! Although they are in no danger, they might want to use you as a decoy - to distract the guards. If you volunteer to help, they might ask you to go with them. Once you're on Earth, you'll have a chance to escape. But I don't see how you could succeed, because if, while talking to them, you think even once of how you want to escape, they will read your mind and send you to Somo - the chamber where they put you to sleep for a billion years.'

If you take a chance on being able to control your thoughts while offering to help the U-TY, turn to page 52.
If you decide to look for another way to escape, turn to page 65.

Page 52 posted:

'I'll take the chance,' you say. 'I'll try to control my thoughts.'

'Then I wish you good luck. Follow me.'

Qally shows you the way through a maze of passageways. Finally you reach an area so dark that you can barely see. You feel Qally's tentacles on your shoulder.

'You must continue alone,' he says.

You thank Qally for his help and bid him farewell. Then you grope your way along a passageway which presently opens into a round chamber filled with soft, violet-hued light.

Your eyes fasten on the three round objects suspended in the air, glowing with pale violet light like three moons floating in space. As you stand there, almost hypnotized by this vision, you hear their voices sounding inside your brain.

TOMORROW WE LEAVE EARTH ORBIT FOREVER. FIRST, WE SHALL TAKE TREASURES FROM THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART. IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO ESCAPE AND WANT TO HELP US REACH ULTIMA, YOU SHALL HAVE AN HONORED PLACE AMONG US.

You take a deep breath before replying - 'I will help you. I do not wish to escape.'

VERY GOOD. WHEN IT IS NEXT MIDNIGHT IN NEW YORK, WE SHALL LAND BEHIND THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART. WE SHALL OPEN AN ENTRANCE. OUR ROBOTS WILL TAKE

Page 53 posted:

ART TREASURES. THE GUARDS WON'T BELIEVE WHAT THEY SEE, BECAUSE THEY WILL THINK THAT WHAT THEY SEE IS IMPOSSIBLE. YOU ARE POSSIBLE, BECAUSE YOU ARE AN EARTH PERSON, SO THEY WILL BELIEVE THAT THEY SEE YOU. OUR ROBOTS WILL RESCUE YOU WHEN WE ARE READY TO LEAVE.



The U-TY rise a few feet in the air and drift toward you. For a moment you tighten up with fear. Then you realize that they only want to touch you. You hold out your hands and feel a tingling sensation as the glowing forms brush against your skin.

A moment later they pass through the walls of the chamber.

Turn to page 82.

Page 82 posted:

The U-TY have just told you of their plan to take treasures from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. You pretended you would help them; but remember, they were able to read your mind! While you were with them, were you able to keep from thinking, even once, about your plan to escape?

If you couldn't keep from thinking about escaping, turn to page 87.
If you were able to keep from thinking about escaping, turn page 85.

achtungnight posted:

We can pick? Bad ending first, obviously. We couldn't keep from thinking about escaping. Then maybe we actually could.

Page 87 posted:

You realize that you could not keep yourself from thinking about your escape plan. The U-TY may have read your thoughts. They have left you in darkness. Now you stand alone, waiting, wondering what your fate will be.

Soon you feel yourself being slowly pulled as if by some magnetic force. The, in the dim amber light, you see that you are in a vast chamber that is filled as far as the eye can see with all kinds of creatures, human and inhuman. They are all floating in space, seemingly deep in sleep.

YOU ARE ENTERING SOMO.

The U-TY really did read your mind. They knew that you wanted to escape. And so, this is your fate.

The voice speaks again, so softly that you barely hear the words...'you will sleep now...'

And a billion years begin to pass.

The End

Page 85 posted:

You did it! You were able to keep from thinking about your escape plans!

Son you are summoned again by the U-TY. They guide you into an automated shuttlecraft, which carries you down through the Earth's atmosphere with incredible speed and smoothness. At 11:50 P.M. you step out onto the Great Lawn near the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Robots float out of the craft and hover near the wall of the museum. They direct their antennae at the building. A section of the rear wall dissolves. The robots lead you through the hole in the wall. You watch in amazement as they dart about the building, grabbing paintings and statues like bees gathering nectar from flowers.

The alarm sounds. Two guards are running toward you, guns drawn. One of them yells, 'Halt, or I'll shoot!'

A U-TY robot swoops towards you, but you don't want to be taken back to the ship! You dive onto the floor between the two guards.

The air is split by the sound of a siren.

Go on to page 86.

Page 86 posted:

'Help! Save me!' you yell at the guards.

They step back. One of them has you covered with his revolver, and you stand, shaking, hands in the air. Other guards rush toward you. The U-TY robots are gone. A guard handcuffs you and leads you to the front entrance, while the others run around shouting at each other. Squad cars have already blocked off the Avenue. Half a dozen policemen are running up the broad steps leading up from the sidewalk. Others are headed around the sides of the building.

Turn to page 73.

Page 72 posted:

Page 73 posted:

A half-hour later you are at police headquarters. You are seated at a small wooden table in a dingy room lit by a single bulb overhead. Two officers stand over you. One is a big, swarthy fellow with curly black hair. The other officer is a short, red-faced man. Their badges show that the big one is Lieutenant Fitch; the other, Captain Mackin.

'Well. What's your story?' says Fitch.

'This is going to be hard for you to believe,' you say, 'but I wasn't in on this. I was captured by aliens, in a UFO. They're the ones who took the art...'

'Let's not waste time being cute,' Mackin interrupts. 'You couldn't have part of a team that stole thirty million dollar worth of art in ten minutes unless you knew exactly what you were doing!'

Fitch lays a heavy hand on your shoulder. 'Look, kid, we don't want to send you to jail, but we have get that art. Come clean and you'll get out of this, but, if you want to make up fairy tales, things will go very hard for you.'

'Very hard,' Mackin adds.

Go on to page 74.

Page 74 posted:

The door flies open. Fitch and Mackin jump to their feet. You can tell that the grim, leather-faced man standing there must be a high-ranking police inspector.

He takes a long look at you and then turns to the others and says, 'We've just verified that this was the kid reported missing from Air France Flight 2 - the Concorde jet from New York to Paris - and presumed dead!'

'Doesn't look dead to me,' Mackin says.

Fitch laughs. 'The report just might be wrong.'

The Inspector points a cigar at the two officers. 'Not according to the CIA and the man I just talked to on the phone - chief of staff to the president. The report is right, but it's being kept secret. We've been ordered to let this kid go with no further questions.'

'But...what about the art robbery?' asks Mackin.

'It will never be solved,' the inspector says. 'It's enough for you to known that it's a military secret - at least for now.'

The two policemen start to speak. But the Inspector silences them with a wave of his hand. 'Your family is on the way to pick you up. I don't think you'll find many people who believe your story about being captured by aliens from outer space. There will only be a few, like me, who will ever know for sure that you really were inside a UFO.'

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
(De)waisted

Left in a field by a lonely immortal
Eternity nap
Badass Mopo on the run
World Peace!
:rock IV gif:
Hard vacuum
Destroyed by laser beams for lying
Field trip to China
zzzzzzz....
Saved by the CIA and POTUS chief of staff