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KIDS CAN’T STOP READING THE DETERMINE YOUR OWN DEVIATION™ STORIES! “It begins as a detective novel, dips before long into screwball comedy, and at its close – when the dead speak – becomes a tale of possession.” --Cary Romanos, age 12 “Makes you think thoroughly before making decisions. Deviations is dope!” --Hassan Stevenson, age 11 “Enormously pleasurable, both in its unfolding plots, and its depiction of the narrator’s world.” --Alan Cheese, Chigago Tribune, age 9 “The House of Amontillado is weird, wonderful, highly original, on occasion laugh-out-loud funny, yet always underpinned by an air of desperation.” --Nick Johnstone, Uncut Magazine, age 11 And the teachers like this series, too: “This book contains all the topics required for the ‘common core’ of the Certificate of Junior High Education in The Humanities. Each of the topics has been dealt with in a simple, yet concise fashion.” DETERMINE YOUR OWN DEVIATION™--AND MAKE READING MORE FUN!

Determine Your Own Deviation • 202

THE HOUSE OF AMONTILLADO BY M. I. BRACKENSTRAW

Illustrated by Doris Doobyweiser

2031 Pulitzer Prize Winner

FERNMIND UNILECTIC BOOKS (NICE PROSE, interMedia The Martian Communist Party) TORONTO • NEW YORK • LONDON • SPRINGVALE

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1 About one month ago, Professor Amelia Amontillado moved next door. Since she took up residence, you have not seen her enter or leave. Apparently, she was a lecturer at a University in Europe somewhere, but is now engaged in private research. Weird animal noises have been coming from her house, keeping you and your family up all night. It’s driving your dad completely nuts, and has got you very curious … So, one afternoon, you resolve to discretely investigate exactly what is going on at the Amontillado house. You plan to surreptitiously snoop around. You bring a Frisbee with you, so that, if anyone discovers you, you can excuse yourself as searching for it. The Professor’s house is on a big spooky old property. The gardens are overgrown and the grass is up to your waist. The house itself seems to be in danger of crumbling to dust. Windows are broken and there are holes in the roof. Until Amontillado moved in, the house was unoccupied for well over twenty years. No has wanted to live there because a movie actress was murdered horribly, and people say that her ghost still wanders the ground. Evidently the Professor has been too busy to attend to gardening or renovations …

Turn to page 2.

2 As you approach the building, you hear a horrible, blood-curdling cry, something like a cross between a pig grunting, a goat bleating, and a woman screaming. This gets the hairs on the back of your neck standing on their ends. You double your resolve and continue on. You think: The sound emerged from that window, high above the stack of pine logs. You climb up to look through. You see the Professor, dressed completely in black, like an old-fashioned widow - her back toward you. With surgical equipment around her, she seems to be cutting up … something! Something alive. It lets out another hideous cry. The cry is so loud that you are startled off the stack of logs, which come, inevitably, tumbling down upon you! The noise must have alerted the Professor – you are sure she will come out to investigate. You are quite scared by what you have seen, and really want to run to your house. On the other hand, your fear is probably just a gut-reaction. You have the Frisbee as an excuse, and part of you wants to know exactly what the Professor is up to – the best way to find out is to ask her.

If you choose to run to your house, turn to page 3. If you choose to talk to the Professor, using the Frisbee as an excuse, turn to page 6.

3 You are scared. Really scared, more scared than any time you can remember. This whole scene is making you feel like you are dreaming someone else’s nightmare. You run as fast as you can through the overgrown grass, away from the house. Uh oh. You hear dogs barking. Two vicious looking rottweilers are chasing you. This property is quite large – about a quarter of an acre – and is very sparse, apart from a few shrubs and the interminable yards of long grass. No trees to climb up and hide, you curse. The dogs are catching up. You grimace. They don’t look like they want to be my friends, thinks you. You look behind: the dogs are at your heels, their vicious drool glistening in the sunset light. Your heart feels like leaping out of your body. Then the strangest sensation comes upon you: as though time has slowed down. You consider your options at this moment. There are no trees to climb, and you are not sure if you will make it to the fence and into your property before the dogs have at you.

There is a well up ahead. You could jump into it and hide from your pursuers in the water. Turn to page 10 for this. Alternatively, you could make for the fence. Turn to page 4 to run as fast as you can, and try to jump over …

4 You run at top speed toward the weatherboard fence. You scramble over it, leaving the hounds growling menacingly on the other side …You make it! Back in the comfort of your bedroom, you review what little you have learnt from your little excursion.

Turn to page 14.

5 The creature, which you call “Brains,” tells you that many more of its friends are in the same predicament. You scour the place, releasing all the animals from captivity. With the Professor vanquished, you take up residence in the old house, to protect your newly acquainted neighbors from outside interference. Many happy days are spent caring for them. They look on you as their custodian.

The End.

6 You summon up the courage to talk to the Professor, the excuse Frisbee in hand. The elderly Amontillado rounds the corner, with two vicious looking dogs. The dogs, mercifully on leash, snarl sloppily at you. The Professor looks almost as fierce as the dogs, her face bright scarlet! “What in consternation are you doing on my private property?” she bawls. Her expression changes quickly upon looking you up and down. “Oh, you’re just a child. Well then … what do you want?” she asks, a little more kindly. “I … I was just looking for my Frisbee,” you offer, trying to look innocent, holding up the Frisbee. “Romulus! Remus! Calm!” she orders her dogs, who instantly obey, becoming suddenly docile. “Child, you must be more careful with your toys,” she smiles. “I’m sorry if I startled you. I so rarely receive visitors since I moved in. Please, let me offer you my hospitality – perhaps some milk and cookies?” she purrs. She seems like a nice old lady, although looks can be deceiving. You accept her invitation, with the hope of learning more. Amontillado leads you into the house, which is surprisingly modern inside. She takes you into a study, with wall-to-wall bookshelves, containing books with titles like “Annals of Genetic Engineering” and “Advances in Biotechnology”.

Turn to page 118.

7 You don’t accept the lizard. Suddenly, you find yourself on a large stage. You are immersed in a sea of Las Vegas show-girls, dancing about to the tune of “There is nothing like a dame”. You look at the clothes you are wearing, and realize you are dressed in a sailor’s uniform. And then you are inside a jail cell. You instinctively know that you are below the house of the Professor – perhaps in her cellar. You test the bars of the cage, shaking them violently, to no avail. You realize that you are not in a jail cell at all, but inside a giant birdcage. You feel indignant: I am not some kind of overgrown budgie! you humph. You are startled by what you see next. There is a bald old man, dressed like a pantomime clown standing outside the entrance to your cage. He holds a pair of oversized keys up to your sight. He hisses a deflated, dry kind of laugh. He closes his eyes, and smiles, with lips that are a little too young, almost like a baby’s lips. “Morta … ” he mouths. You think to yourself, surely an old man shouldn’t have lips that are so much like a baby? Then something really weird happens. The old man’s face mutates into something else … a black octopus! It speaks to you in a language you can’t understand.

Turn to page 46.

8 Expecting the Professor back shortly, you refrain from inspecting her papers. Your intuition prompts you to lay low. You stand around waiting for her, and begin whistling a tune. On return, the Professor brings more cookies. She asks, “What tune is that?” and offers them to you. “Mary had a little lamb,” you say, “I’m surprised you haven’t heard of it.” She laughs dismissingly, and says, “You seem intelligent and trustworthy, reminds me of when I was a young scientist. Interested in a job?” she asks, “How about as my laboratory assistant?”

Turn to page 20.

9 There’s nothing wrong with taking a quick peek through the logbook. It’s not as if the book is top secret or anything, you tell yourself. You open the book half way through. The script is in a tiny neat hand – the Professor’s, you presume. You read. June 12th. Success! Humankind stands now on the brink of a giant step in evolution. Let it be recorded for all of history to tell: Amelia Amontillado has wrought forth the Next Man, as to us as we were to the Neanderthal. I have successfully doubled the capacity for thought, through the commingling of the DNA of an elephant with a human. The creature that has resulted has a brain twice the relative neural density of that of a normal human. However, compressed neuron fibers of the elephant stand as an augmentation to Homo sapiens.

This is pretty scary stuff the professor is into. From the sounds of it, she is conducting genetic experimentation on people! You shiver at the thought of it. She could be put in jail for this kind of work. You must alert the authorities. Uh oh. The Professor is returning from her phone call. Do you think you should outright ask the Professor about what she is doing with human experimentation? If so, turn to page 26. Or, maybe you should play “dumb” about knowledge of the log and try to befriend Amelia to learn more. Then you might have more solid evidence against her and her work. If you want to do this, turn to page 29. If you want to immediately alert authorities, make your excuses and turn to page 35.

10 You awake at the bottom of a … dark pit. You try to reach out into the damp air. There is an unbelievable pain in your shoulder. You can’t move your arm. You’ve broken it. You remember jumping into the well. It was dry. It had no water in it! You must have fallen a great distance. Like Alice after the rabbit, you scowl to yourself. You groan at your foolishness in jumping down the well without looking. At least you’re alive, you concede. A fall like that should have, by any odds, spelt the end … You feel groggy and realize that you are incredibly thirsty. The air is very thin down here, and you feel a great tiredness descend upon you. At first, you struggle against it. Then decide that it’s probably best for you to conserve as much energy as possible. A power nap is definitely in order, you tell yourself, as you drift off. You begin to dream …

Turn to page 13.

11 Your mother is entertaining a visitor. He has been waiting for your return. As if glad to see you, he shakes your hand earnestly, “Name is Agent Dexter,” and flashes his FBI batch. Your mother leaves the room after Agent Dexter gives her a reassuring smile. He gets straight to business. “The woman next door is the suspect of investigation. She is a leading scientist in the field of genetic engineering. She and others have been unaccounted for. Missing, you could say. Except we've finally tracked her to this location. We have reason to believe that she is engaged in freelance experimentation outside strict monitoring procedures that might be hazardous to the community. The government cannot allow this. I need your help to put her behind bars. Your task is to seek out incriminating evidence of these activities. You don’t have to decide immediately.” The Agent butts out his cigarette. “But, if you choose not to accept the mission, you must cut all ties with Amontillado,” he warns.

If you choose to inform the Professor, go to page 60. If you decide to talk this over with your best friend, Manfred, turn to page 104. If you accept this mission, turn to page 24.

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13 You observe the sunlight, sifting through the fall orange leaves of maple trees, as your train speeds on through the countryside. You leap out of your seat. “What a pretty scene!” you exclaim, perhaps a little too loudly. You are suddenly, inexplicably, wearing a blue sailor-suit outfit, like a little French child from the 19th century. You clear your throat, embarrassed. You tug up your trousers and casually sit back down upon your seat, licking your giant candy stick. You notice the other passengers in the carriage, for the first time. A hook-nosed businessman, with an eagle in a cage beside him, coughs into a handkerchief. A giant guinea pig wearing a bowler hat and prinz-nez on tip of nose, reads The Financial Review. And, directly in front of you, sits Amelia Amontillado. She looks decidedly younger though – inexplicably dressed in the style of the 1920’s. Her face is painted white, like a harlequin, and her lips colored with a deep red lipstick. She opens her mouth, as if to speak, then closes it, indicating, with forefinger pointed to sky, that she has a much better idea. She mimes coughing something into her hand, and then frowns to herself.

Turn to page 121.

14 The whole situation is extremely suspicious. You ponder what hideous abuse of flesh lay beyond that window. You never got to see. You are sure that Amontillado was operating on some kind of animal. And why? Up to no good. You shiver, imagining a display of vicious looking surgery equipment and the horrible cries of a creature in torment. You consider calling the authorities …but what is there to tell? You have some friends in the police force: occupying pride of place above your bed is the framed photo of you shaking hands with the police chief, in official recognition of your capturing the bicycle thieves at your school. Although you know the authorities would like to help, you understand that they require concrete proof before a conviction. Police are powerless to help right now: even though you saw something, you still know nothing, and can say even less with certainty.

Turn to page 23.

15 Amy seems to have her heart in the right place, developing improved crops for the starving. Maybe she’s really trying to benefit humanity with her research. You begin to feel a bit bad about misjudging her. Of course, this doesn’t explain the weird noises from the house. That scream was disturbing. The phone call seems to take forever, and you notice a folder in one of the shelves, with “Experimental Log” written on the spine. You don’t want to snoop anymore, given that the Professor has been so nice to you. On the other hand, you are interested in learning more about Amy’s experiments – she wouldn’t mind if you browse a little … would she?

If you want to quickly inspect the log, turn to page 9. If you want wait for the Professor to return, turn to page 8.

16 “Some things are not to be spoken,” you reply, cryptically. “You know, you can be a really strange person some days,” she almost huffs. This remark puzzles you somewhat. She stands up, leans down to place her, now empty, glass of milk, on the coffee table. She smiles at you, and then yawns into her now gloved hand. You help her into her woolen back-sack, and she leaves. The last image you have of her is this small girl in gray, hopping onto hover-scooter, riding fast far away into your past. You sigh to yourself. “Time enough later for the fraternizing,” as your family is wont to agree. Close the door. It is approaching midnight. The neighborhood will soon be sleeping, and the time has come to investigate!

Turn to page 51.

17 With the influence of the nano particles, you learn they are in fact alien life forms, as ancient as the earth itself. They have been guiding the evolution of humankind. They have been waiting for you. You are the chosen one – the next in line. The future belongs to you and is in your making.

The End.

18 The moment you accept the reptile, you find yourself no longer riding on the train, but … lying in a warm and steamy bath? The water of the bath feels strange and thick. You feel sick, as it suddenly strikes you that this bath is full of blood … your blood! You look more closely, realizing that it is not blood at all, but a kind of smelly, red, oozy mud. There is someone else in the bathroom, sitting upon a stool, staring at you! You instinctively cover your privates with a bar of soap. “There is really no need: the red mud is completely opaque,” intones the figure, in a weird, droll voice. You try to focus on the speaker, unable to discern a face or form. All you can see is a kind of tall, stooping shadow, veiled in steam. “I am known to you as The Investigator,” the shadow sounds like this is a satisfactory explanation. It is not. You feel very upset, although you are not sure why. You notice that there is a very loud humming in the room. This makes you more nervous.

Turn to page 32.

19 You head for the Dining cart. It is extremely smoky. There are all manner of animals in here, smoking of foul smelling cigars and pipes. There is a waiter hippopotamus at the cart bar, serving wine, ale and spirits to other hippos, dressed in gray suits. You sit down with your foccacio next to a leering hyena. All insincere politeness, it leans closer to you and whispers, I don’t much fancy your chances. To make it here, you might have to grow up. But you don’t, see, and you might not. A passing sassy salamander hisses: This kind of jerk coolio? You think him some kind of master, jerk? Not making sense as Determine Your Own Deviation™, bla?! Look, buddy, I am telling you, the supposed reader. BE CAREFUL, BLA! Be wary of the dark knights at the gates of a fallen queen … He then shrugs his shoulders, as if to indicate that he doesn’t quite understand the situation himself. Ah ha ha ha! The waiter hippo laughs laudly. This place is a mind trip – you got to get out, escape. You remember the well. Everything is beginning to speed up … the smoke and noise are getting so strong and loud that you just can’t think straight.

Turn to page 112.

20 You accept readily. Your holidays to date have been very uneventful -- boring, to say the least. You also could use the extra pocket money: mind wanders to that golden multiplexer guitar in the music shop window … The Professor explains the science of cultivating vegetables. She leads you to a greenhouse, which looks extravagantly large. The glass structure sprawls wide and towers high. For a moment, inside the greenhouse, you think you are standing in the land of giants. You see familiar cabbages, mushrooms, tomatoes and figs. But the enormity of their size is unlike any vegetable or fruit you’ve ever seen. You begin work immediately. You are increasingly impressed with the Professor’s devotion to humanity. For this reason, you work harder. The Professor often calls you “My newest convert.” Your work varies from taste-testing new plant hybrids to cross-pollinating vegetables, like a bee.

Turn to page 131.

21

22 You tell Kitty about bringing the frisbee, the sound of some hideous thing, the log-fall, the chase, and the eventual escape. “The Professor must have something to hide, something at least that requires vicious dogs to stand guard.” Kitty considers. You refill her glass with milk. “Well, what are you going to do?” she asks. “Mr. Pocose is head of police-studies at Big-High. Maybe you should talk to him first.” You are a little annoyed at the suggestion. “I don’t think that would be the best thing to do at the moment. No proof,” you offer as an excuse for your curt reply. “I’m sorry but we must investigate quickly. Are you with me or not?” “I want to help,” Kitty states firmly. Three hours later, the both of you hover-scooter toward the house of Amontillado.

Turn to page 39.

23 You rub your chin, ruminating. In the case of the bicycle thieves, you helped to convict those metal work students because you secretly videoed them on the digital RW-DVD camera your parents gave you for Christmas. Perhaps you could try something similar on Amontillado. If you sneak back to the house with your camera, you could catch the Professor operating again on disc! There’s your solid proof. Your mind wanders to thoughts of another congratulations from the police chief. Maybe this time they’ll give you an honorary badge. You resolve to do the filming tonight. You begin to pack your kit for the operation, laying out your gear on your doona: black SAS jumpsuit, rope with batman hook, hover-scooter, and digital video camera. You remember the rottweilers. A few steaks from your mother’s fridge seasoned with crushed sleeping tablets from the bathroom cabinet should solve that problem, grinning to yourself. Just as you are about to go to the fridge to collect the steaks, your mobile phone rings. It is your classmate, Kitty Chow. You forgot completely about the arrangements tonight: the both of you are to check the convective properties of your parent’s lounge room, as part of a physics project. You silently curse to yourself – this couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Turn to page 123.

24 You recognize the serious nature of this investigation, and begin telling Agent Dexter about your part in the Professor’s horticultural studies. You describe the new breed of giant chickens that lay green eggs. Agent Dexter is suitably impressed with your candor. “This information will help us build a case against Amontillado. I know you won’t let us down.” Passing over a small device, he says, “It’s a digital camera. Use it to document your findings. I want you to uncover more facts about the experiments.” He shows you how to operate the camera and instructs you to report to him daily. While escorting Agent Dexter to the door, you can’t help feeling a little burdened by the responsibility assigned to you, yet of course you are eager to make a start.

Turn to page 25.

25 The next day, you are busy working at the house of Amontillado. She assigns you some simple filing tasks. Conveniently, the Professor has begun the construction of a wine cellar. Or so she claims: actually, it seems out of character for her to be interested in wine. You are unsupervised all morning, and use the opportunity to rummage through her cabinets, finding some files marked TOP SECRET. They contain a lot of indecipherable symbols. You take photos of these, as they may be useful for Agent Dexter. Some time later, the Professor surfaces from the cellar to prepare lunch for the two of you. You’re not convinced about the cellar story. It needs investigating. So, with the excuse of going to the bathroom, you sneak over to have a peek. The door swings creaking into a dark space. Nervously turning on the light, you see … an empty room. There is absolutely no sign of activity. The room has no furniture, no windows. Nothing … except for a round, red iron bell on the wall. Well, as the hero of this, I suppose I don’t have any choice other then to ring it, you shrug to yourself ironically. You walk down. Reaching up and rapping on the bell, it resounds softly. The room begins to shake, rumble and then unexpectedly phase in and out in a vision of blinding stars. You open your eyes after a minute. Unwittingly, you have activated a hidden door. Open. Enterable. Waiting to be explored.

Turn to page 28.

26 You slowly become conscious. You remember talking to the Professor about her logbook. Then blacking out. Your temples throb painfully. You try to stand, but can’t. The roof is lower than your height. You cannot straighten up. On closer inspection, you find yourself surrounded by thick bars. You realize you are kept in a cage, like an animal. Instinctively, you rummage through your pockets. There is no way you are going to spend another minute trapped here. You must act fast. The most useful item in your pocket is a stylish pen with a metallic clip. You have the ingenious idea to snap the clip off and pick the lock with it. Miraculously, the lock clinks open and you scramble free. The whole affair is spooking you out. Luckily, nobody is around at this moment, although you feel someone owes you an explanation. To your right, you notice a window view of treetops. The door ahead could lead anywhere. You need to act quickly, before the Professor returns.

If you decide to climb through the window, turn to page 65. If you decide to exit through the door, turn to page 66.

27

28 You step through, blindly feeling your way along a narrow passage. Somewhere not far ahead the light gets brighter. Nearing it, you hear noises like the slow shaking of maracas. You call out, “Hello, is anyone there?” There is a woman with her back to you, sawing wood. You ask, “Who are you?” She does not seem to hear you, so you walk closer and tap her gently on the shoulder. Only then is she aware of you, and turns around. You let out a startled cry. It is the Professor … or maybe not. Afraid, the woman backs away, unable to speak. “Professor?” you inquire, not completely sure. She shakes her head and points to her mouth. Something is wrong. Something’s shockingly unnatural. She has no mouth. No lips, only unbroken flesh from the nose to the chin. With the tip of her bare feet she spells, in the sawdust on the floor, the letters “SOS”.

If you are the kind of person to rescue a woman who looks like the Professor, turn to page 64. If you think this woman can show you more evidence, turn to page 63.

29 You decide to do a little more spy work, before you turn the scientist over to the appropriate authorities. You shove the log back into the shelf. A moment later, Amelia re-enters the room. “Now, where were we?” she beams a smile at you. “Your work,” you smile back. “Uh – may I?” You indicate the cookie jar. “Feel free.” She sits down upon a very regal looking antique Asian chair, with her legs tucked under her bottom. You help yourself to another cookie from the cookie jar. “As I was saying, genetics isn’t really about changing humans – it’s about providing another tool for humankind to step forward,” the Professor argues. “The other stuff the media harps on about is just hype and science fiction to sell stories.”

Turn to page 38.

30

31 Minutes later, the three of you are both flying toward the house of Amontillado. Upon Kitty’s prompting, and with Manfred’s cajoling and jeering, you have agreed to use the higher-scooters to sneak into the house. Your friends convince you that you must find out what Agent Dexter does not want you to know. “From the roof of house, bla. Professor not expecting us the upper story deed-doers!” he sucks his teeth. You land upon the roof of the house. “That’s pretty weird,” observes Kitty. “Girl what you mean?” asks Manfred. “A spooky old house like this, having a pool on the roof.” Kitty indicates the round circle of water in the center of the rooftop. “A bit small for a pool,” you ponder. “Maybe it’s a bird bath,” Manfred speculates, slowly. His glasses slip off his nose, and he fiddles them back onto his face. “Quick, hide!” Kitty scuttles over behind a bunch of barrels, and you both quickly follow her. The Professor, clearly in some kind of hurry, emerges from the floor’s hatch to the rooftop.

Turn to page 125.

32 “Investigating what?” you try to sound brave. The shadow does not reply, only claps its hands, twice. You look down at your body in the bath, and, for the first time, notice that you have somehow grown reptile-like scales. You frantically try to wash the scales off, to no avail. You gasp, and look at the shadow, for help. It is silent. You scream, no longer able to contain your fear. And then … you look about yourself. You are on board an airplane, in the first-class section, watching an in-flight movie. You check your arms and feel your face – you breath a sigh of relief: you no longer have scales. Your nearby passengers are sleeping, and the plane is darkened. You were watching a movie! On the seat’s LCD screen, you see yourself – or an actor that looks like you -- screaming in the red mud, as the film credits start to run:

The Lizard and the Shadow Starred You, as Yourself Newt Jean as Shadow Amelia Morta as Actress You switch off the LCD screen.

Turn to page 52.

33 You find a back entrance to the house, and Kitty applies the morph-key to the lock. The metal of the key re-moulds itself into a perfect fit. You have read about morphing technology, and seen some examples on learning center excursions but have never actually used it. “My Dad’s a Morphic Engineer,” Kitty whispers. “I ‘borrowed’ this morph-key from his lab – never know when it might come in handy.” You try to get your bearings with what little moonlight shines through the clouds. You must be standing in a kitchen. “Nothing interesting here – just unwashed dishes,” you state. “Let’s try the next room.” You both carefully tiptoe through a series of corridors and vacant, dusty, cobwebbed rooms. The only way up to the next level of the house is by a stairway, broken in the middle. At the top of the staircase, on the wall, hangs a family portrait. The family looks familiar, and yet you don’t quite recognize them. All of a sudden, the image dissolves, and you find yourself standing at a closed door. “Well, what are you waiting for?” Kitty rolls her eyes at you. “Open it, dummy!”

Turn to page 42.

34

35 You take the logbook, smuggling it inside your coat. This is the evidence you need to put the evil Professor behind bars, for a long time. Quick! The Professor is coming back. You settle back into your couch, trying to regain a guise of nonchalance. The Professor enters shortly after. “I’m sorry, but I must go,” you excuse yourself. “So soon?” her mouth seems to dry up. She licks her lips. Unnatural, penetrating eyes look deep into your soul. “Well, I’ll see you again, I’m sure, as we are … neighbors.” “Yes, that’s true,” you want to run away – this whole house is starting to reaaallly freak you out. “Well, I’ll see myself out … ” Amelia does not reply. She just sits there and stares at you, a faint smile upon her lips.

Turn to page 41.

36 “Eel-head pig-monster men. Green forest frogmonkeys. High-breed rover retrievers and alligator monster-fish. The possibilities are limitless, child,” the Professor cackles. She’s clearly mad. You are now really scared, and search the room for exits. The monsters are all screaming in pain, weird mixtures of the sounds made by different animals: a sparrow’s tweet mixed with the roar of the lion, a growl of a dog mixed with the scream of the monkey. “This song of the future,” she stares unnervingly at you, the stare of the wolf. “This is your song, too. Child.”

The End.

37 Wow. You swear silently to yourself, as it dawns on you that you are still lying on the grass behind the house, having just fallen off the logs after hearing … someone … operating on some miserable animal.

You realize that the fall must have affected your ability to think and sent you into some kind of dream. You have no idea what the dream meant: there’ll be time enough to think about it later. The Professor is approaching with – what sounds like –rather angry dogs. It is too late to run. Best to talk to her on page 6.

38 “Well, I’m sure you’re correct about many things, Amelia,” you acknowledge, innocently. “Although … well, members of the public, such as myself … unlike scientist folk such as you, we only have the media to go by, to shape our view of the world. If the scientists let the public inside your laboratories and universities more often, then perhaps you wouldn’t have this kind of … hysterical public reaction …” Thankfully, your best subject at Junior High was Rhetoric and Diplomacy. The Professor, quite struck by your argument, offers you a guided tour of her house. The house, she tells you, serves as a laboratory for her plant-growth experiments. “This country is much less hostile than some … such as that from which I came, …” she mutters. “Which country is that?” you inquire. Her accent is quite hard to place, although it is clearly foreign. Perhaps an enemy of your country?

Turn to page 50.

39 You find the house completely dark. All the lights are turned off. Huddled together in the bushes, you both wait and listen for a while. Disappointingly, there are no noises at all coming from the house. “Well, not surprisingly, considering it’s way past bedtime,” Kitty C. hisses at you, “The best thing to do is to sneak in, snoop around, and try and find some evidence for the authorities.” She anticipates your question about how to break into the house, taking out a morph-key from her pocket. You are surprised at Ms. Chow’s pluck. Bringing her along was an even better idea than you had imagined. “Let’s rock,” you reply, grinning. She smiles back, her teeth shining in the moonlight against the black of the camouflage make-up you both wear.

Turn to page 33.

40

41 That sure was creepy how she didn’t offer any goodbye to you. You walk a speedy step away from the study, away from the house, out of the fence, safe, onto your parent’s lawn. The air smells dewy and bright. Back there, in the house, after reading the logbook and deciding to take it, time passed like you had spent eons waiting for the Professor to return, before you could make your apologies and leave. Like the day had passed into the night. But you realize that it’s still early afternoon here. Your detective’s mind doesn’t long desert you: you remember the logbook. Back in the secrecy of your bedroom, you open the dusty thick tome. Call up your best friend Manfred on your intercom set. “Yo, Manfred. I think you better check on this one, gee.” Manfred arrives shortly after. “Freak-a-zoid bla,” sucks his teeth, take out silver nano-glasses. “Check dad, o bla? Dem nano-glass o bla?” you exclaim at the glasses, replying in current street slag. “Surely. Me dad gave em us for Christmas, bla.”

Turn to page 126.

42 You try to open the door as silently as possible, for fear of what might lie behind it. It creaks open loudly. Two snarling rottweilers meet your gaze, unwelcomingly, and your heart goes into overdrive. Trying to stay calm, you quickly remove the spiked meat from your rucksack and dispatch it to the hounds. They guzzle down the steaks, instantly keeling over. “You okay?” you ask Kitty. “Yeah,” she replies, a little shakily. “They’re fast asleep. We had better make haste, before those mutts wake up.” You nod. “Let’s do this, Kitty.”

Turn to page 68.

43

44

45 It’s very hard to describe what happens next. It is like you can feel the following images: You see yourself and two friends in a forest, then a flash, then a dark shadow sitting on a stool in a red, smoky room. You feel life through the eyes of a small animal, and then see before you a woman, without a mouth, indicating that you should approach. You then realize that everything has an appropriate layer in the inter-dimensional maze of meanings that are given to us in this particular existence. And the meaning of it all can be – amazingly – summed up in five words contained within one: Fantastic Adventure In Trusting Him (FAITH).

The End.

46 There is a bright flash of light. You are lying on top of a giant bail of hay. Your friends dance about at the bottom of the haystack. The 7-year-old voice of you cries I’m the king of the castle, And you’re the dirty rascal! Then it strikes you. You are dreaming. You try to wake yourself up. You fail. You hate it when you can’t wake up from a dream. You remember reading somewhere that, if a person wants to wake up from a nightmare, they must shout their way out. You suck back the cold air and utter a shout, one to really wake yourself from this dream -- and the entire neighborhood at that, no doubt.

Turn to page 54

47

48 She smiles broadly at you, her teeth red from the fluid. Her eyes are sunken, and have dark rings around them, like she has not slept for days. She speaks, in exactly the same tone as the shadow: “I teach many arts. Have you been to the other side? Well, I teach that too, child.” You look away, trying to ignore her. She taps your shoulder again. “Look at your hands,” she hisses. You unfold your palm. The lizard is still in your grasp. The shadow leans forward and whispers, “Kill it. Be free of the nightmare.” It does not sound very trustworthy, even less than before, its voice now an electronic lilt. Amelia raises her voice loudly and shrilly, “Eat it and I will be with you forever!” The other passengers take no notice, continuing their slumber. You feel the pressure to decide either way.

If you wish to eat the lizard, turn to page 70. If you decide to kill the lizard, turn to page 72.

49 “You’re not real. You’re not real”, you repeat to the little man, who continues to laugh a harsh, muted giggle. “You owe the sum,” is all the man states, dryly. You begin to get angry. You kick his shin, and he suddenly ceases laughing, and howls out in pain instead. He then … explodes, into a cloud of black bats, or, at least, what might most easily be expressed as black bats. You are suddenly standing in the museum again. You are looking at a poster of human evolution and movement across the earth. Beside the poster is a display of model brains. You recognize them from your Biology classes: one skull for the modern human, one for Austrolopithicus man, one for Neanderthal, one for homo erectus, one each for the other primate ancestors and relatives. Each brain is displayed in a separate box. It dawns upon you that there is an empty space at the end of the display. What comes after man? You wonder … You close your eyes. Things begin to get hazy again.

You must still be dreaming. To REALLY wake up, turn to page 112.

50 “It is not important,” she dodges the point several times in the conversation, as you climb flight after flight of stairs. You must be well over half a kilometer below the surface now! You are very surprised that such a complex set of tunnels and caverns could have been below your neighborhood’s gardens all this time … Finally, you reach what Amelia refers to as “The Ground”. You audibly gasp as she leads you into the vast cavern. The picture is too horrible to describe. Weird, not quite recognizable figures are chained across the breadth of the cavern, each shackled to the wall, and to each other. You cannot think of another word to describe the poor suffering creatures except as monsters. You shudder as the reality of the scene dawns on you. The monsters are built from the body parts of different animals, evidently as an application of the Professor’s evil science.

Turn to page 36.

51 Wearing the SAS jumpsuit, with accessories (camera, knife, robe and hook, etc) in place, you stealthily leave your house. The whole neighborhood is asleep. You do a terrific hover-jump over the fence. If only your friends were here to see it. As you glide quickly through Amontillado’s property, the cold night air rushing through your hair feels good. Everything looks weird in the moonlight. The plants almost look like they are of a different time, or perhaps some other dimension enitrely. They look a little menacing, too … nocturnal, frosty, flowery giants reaching out to you. You reach out to touch a tree, drawn to it by its unusual shape. You are too shocked to react at what happens next. The tree’s branches reach out and grab your neck! You suddenly find it difficult to breath.

Turn to page 45.

52

You look about yourself. You are between two passengers. You focus on the passenger sleeping to your right. You cannot make out his or her face. It is the shadow from the movie! He/her awakes, and turns to you. The shadow whispers: “This is not a dream. Do not be alarmed. You will soon be asked to make a choice. It will not be an ordinary choice. It will be a transaction – your decision will lead to your being tainted but free, or unsullied, but captive to illusion. The director will soon speak to you.” The shadow lies back against the seat, and rests, contented at what he/she has said to you.

Turn to the next page.

53 The passenger to your left taps your shoulder. It is Amelia. She unscrews something invisible before her. Is she crazy? Now … she holds the invisible object to her parted lips, as if drinking water from a bottle. She is miming drinking water. You helpfully reach for a bottle of mineral water from your rucksack, and offer it to her. She drinks heartily from your flask, dripping water down her cheeks, onto her white blouse. Only … she is drinking a kind of bloody fluid. Her smiling face suddenly transforms into a paroxysm of pain. This time, you are too scared to scream.

Turn to page 48.

54 “Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaakkkkkkkkkkkkkeeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeeeeeee uuuuuuuuuuuppppppppppppppppppp!” you shout. And you do wake up, dripping from sweat, safe, in your parents’ house, your room, your bed. You stand up and put on your bathrobe. Walk downstairs to fridge, to get cold cup of milk. What a weird dream, you shudder to yourself. Your heart is still pounding. You gotta getta grip! You pour yourself a tumbler of milk. Slam it down. Pour another. Slam. You begin to walk back up to your bed. Try to fall asleep again. Then, to your horror, you realize that you can’t move. The hairs on the back of your neck raise on their ends as you realize that there, before you, stands a menacing little blue skinned man. He almost looks like an alien from a science fiction vidshow. Not quite an alien, though. He has human eyes and lips, yet has a weirdly shaped angular scull. He shouldn’t be in my house, you begin to hyperventilate, now really frightened. The little man laughs at you, which doesn’t help relax you at all.

Turn to page 49.

55 But it’s hard to forget. It’s like what you saw has grown into a black infection of your soul. You do not sleep well. Dreams of that night at the house of Amontillado torment you. Many nights, you awake and think you can see the harlequin Amelia standing at the end of your bed, vacuous white eyes staring fear into your soul, slight smile on blood-red lips. Her image is gone when you switch on the lights. You immerse yourself in study, continuing your majors in Junior Rhetoric and Tele-prehistory at the learning center. Then, one day, you bump into Kitty at the local library. She apologizes for not phoning all this time. She explains that she has actually desperately wanted to talk to you about the house. She has suffered almost exactly the same dreams and visions as you. “I need to you to tell me that you saw what I saw. Was it a dream, or was it real?” she asks, almost imploringly. You invite Kitty to discuss what you have just seen over a cup of cocoa at the local diner. “It must have been the ghost who was making the noises,” you observe. “At least we discovered that much.” “Not much else. Everything we know about physics of the universe tells me not to believe. And yet …”

Turn to page 132.

56 The next day, when you turn up for work as usual, you find the entire place vacated, everything belonging to her … all gone. Standing alone in the empty kitchen, you reply, aloud, “You’re okay too, Amy.” Several weeks pass without much fanfare. Then one afternoon, you receive a picture postcard. You wonder if this means you will see her again.

The End.

57

58

59 You emerge into a musky smelling darkness. “Where in blazes are we?” asks Manfred. The three of you step forward. As your eyes quickly become accustomed to the dark, you discover yourself to be standing in a kind of mist. There is no moon in the sky, yet there is still a nocturnal glow. It comes, not from the stars, but from the soil: a dark, red kind of light. “This isn’t Kansas anymore,” whispers Kitty slowly, both trepidation and awe in her voice. “The Professor’s pool must be some kind of doorway to another world,” she attempts – rather patronizingly, you feel – to explain to you both. “Great!” Manfred exclaims, sarcastically. “Let’s hope that this doorway swings both ways, bla.” “I knew she was working in genetics … Her work must extend to physics as well,” you think aloud. “Constructing something like the pool must have cost stacks of money. She’s got to be working for an enemy state.” “Or the government,” chips in Manfred, unhelpfully. “Or she might not really be a scientist: maybe she’s just a good old-fashioned witch, and the pool is a kind of magic,” Kitty ponders. You don’t have time to answer. The air is suddenly disturbed with a kind of laugh. It comes, distantly, from behind you. It is unmistakable: the laugh of the Professor.

Turn to page 107

60 You feel obliged to tell the Professor about the FBI agent. After all, you enjoy working with her. She has even inspired you on a career in horticulture. On the following day, you ask the Professor to join you in the garden for morning tea. You clue her in, gently. “Let me just say Professor, that I hope we can continue to collaborate on our horticultural studies, because this is the kind of research I feel capable of contributing to in a meaningful way. That’s why I feel you should know that …” “I’ll be glad,” replies the Professor, “having you come with me on expeditions.” She sure makes you feel good. You begin to picture yourself inventing brilliant theories to benefit mankind, attracting packed lecture halls, perhaps a television series, devoted followers … then you remember Agent Dexter. You blurt out, “The FBI are on to you.” She gazes up at the sky, as if looking ahead into the future. She breathes out a deep sigh. She says, “You’re okay kiddo.” You continue about your tasks for the day, and then bid her goodnight.

Turn to page 55.

61 Can you imagine having something this large growing on you? It’s unreal and freakish, a thing stranger than fiction. You keel over a bit, still woozy from the blackout. The guinea pig squeaks, “Please help me. I’m here, please.” Pulling yourself together, you move closer to it. You think, Whoa. Doctor Doolittle territory here. Whoever heard of a conversational critter? You say aloud, “You can’t possibly talk can you?”

Turn to page 79.

62 Lifting the creature out of the cage, you carefully tuck it under your sweater, intending to give it proper burial at home. While in your garden, digging a hole, someone murmurs, “I'm not dead yet.” Startled, you look around. It's the creature scampering underfoot. You so are glad to see it is alive!

Turn to page 5.

63 The woman looks terribly distressed and signals that she wants to leave, but you are compelled to seek more answers. You ask, “Are there any more people like you?” She hesitates at first, and then motions you to follow. You side step pass wooden panels propped against clunky machinery. At the back of the room, she reveals a manhole under a floor mat. Shifting aside the cover, you climb down a ladder for what seems like a great depth. The descent finally bottoms into a cavern, its walls carved out from the hard subterrain. On seeing the monsters chained to the wall you almost retreat from utter fright. They are truly offensive to the senses. Some of them have translucent skin, so that you can see their insides working. Their grotesque bodies are formed from various animal parts that do not seem to gel. You see a dog’s torso with spluttering fish gills gasping for air, while its feely antennae probe the dankness, and its fangs extend like elephant tusks.

Turn to page 92.

64 You realize the woman is a cloned version of the Professor, somewhat imperfect. Looking at you ruefully, she seems to plead for help. You lead her along the passage and through the sliding door into the empty cellar. Climbing the stairs into the open, she hurriedly follows you out of the house.

Turn to page 77.

65 You push open the window and reach for the drainpipe alongside the house. Using the pipe like a firefighter’s pole, you slide from the height of the upper floor to the ground. You run away from the front of the house, up the driveway, hoping that no one sees you. You breathlessly reach your home. Running in, you count your blessings for a timely escape. Safely back in your room, you slump on to the bed, trying to catch your breath. You feel extremely dozy. Well, a lot has happened recently … you have earned forty winks. You close your eyes, and drift off to sleep.

Turn to page 84.

66 You step on to the landing of a stairway. Making your way down, and still hearing intermittent cries, you open the doors into a laboratory. Scores of test tubes filled with liquid cover the workbenches. Everything’s in disarray with many cabinets and drawers left ajar. Loose sheets of paper litter the floor. Stained rags, Bunsen burners and steely tools make their impressions. A glance here, a check there, then all of a sudden you catch the transfixed eyes of a creature, staring right back at you. It blinks. You scream, simply because it looks like a guinea pig with a melon sized hump on its neck.

Turn to page 61.

67

68 Stealthily, the two of you move into the darkness of the room. Its walls are draped from roof to floor in thick crimson velvet. “Don’t care much for the décor,” Kitty manages to joke. Her expression quickly changes to horror. She is pointing at something behind you … It is the Professor, darkly grinning at you both. Her face is painted white, like a harlequin, and her lips are crudely smudged with blood-red lipstick. She opens her mouth, as if to speak, then closes it, indicating, with forefinger pointed down to the ground. “I think she’s trying to tell us something about the ground,” you whisper. You look at the floor. It is unvarnished wood: and one of the floorboards is loose. You look at the Professor. She utters a scream; the same kind of scream that has emanated from the house these last few weeks. She indicates that you should lift the loose floorboard. Her form suddenly flickers and … disappears!

Turn to page 128.

69

70 You open your mouth and put the lizard in. You feel it scampering around inside. You close your eyes in abject disgust, and swallow. You feel the bump-bump of the train. You open your eyes, back in the carriage. You feel the intense stare of the passenger opposite you. It makes you uncomfortable. Something inside tells you to avoid direct eye contact with them. You look to the right, instead. The giant guinea-pig with the prinz-nez continues to read his paper. You stare out the window, to your left. You gasp. There is no scenery – only a brick wall. The train is not moving – the sound of it traveling must be a recording! You now cannot help looking into the eyes of the passenger immediately in front of you. A shiver runs up your spine, as you realize that you are looking at yourself! The other you is silently giggling, pointing a mocking finger at you. This version of you is dressed as you are, but wearing a red-ruby encrusted dog collar. The other you suddenly and violently smacks its head against the wall of the train carriage. Its head is bleeding. It continues to laugh maniacally at you. Then you wake up.

Turn to page 112.

71 “Yamon, believe this to be bad invention,” he indicates his latest creation. A souped-up hoverscooter. “Naw, not souped-up, gee. Higher plain stuff,” he grins toothily. “What Manfred is trying to say,” sighs Kitty, “is that this hover-scooter is able to fly much higher than it previously was designed to. We call the result a higher-scooter.” “Cool,” you reply listlessly. “What be the matter, k-nine?” Manfred asks, sensing your tone. “Yeah, you look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Kitty comments, concerned. You explain the meeting with the Professor and the subsequent request of Agent Dexter. Manfred says it was ‘more like a demand’, more like Agent Dexter is not revealing his full hand, so to speak. He has read several books about government conspiracies and the FBI. “They do not always act in the public’s interest. I wonder what they don’t want you to know.” You think this is absolute bosh, and tell Manfred so. Although you know that he is currently obsessed with conspiracy theories, you are still a little annoyed at his bringing up his silly fad at a time like this. “Hey guys,” Kitty calls, hands on hips. She indicates three higher-scooters, each placed against the wall of Manfred’s barn. Kitty raises an eyebrow in slight disapproval – but also, you think, with a touch of amusement. “While you were arguing, I finished one and built two more.”

Turn to page 31.

72 You crush the lizard in the palm of your hand. Its blood drips down your arms. Everyone on board gasps at you, as if you are some kind of … murderer. You try to explain to them that it was the shadow who tricked you. But he has disappeared, along with the Professor. Then you wake up.

Turn to page 112.

73 Gripped by fear, you make for the ladder, fleeing like a maniac from the hellish pit. The Professor gives chase, never letting up. Yet - somehow you always manage to give her the slip as you race up the stairway and out of the house. You leap onto your hover-scooter and whoosh off to Agent Dexter. Agent Dexter tries to calm you down with a mug of warm milk. You drink it down while recalling horrid visions of the partially deformed scientists. As you leave a trail of mangled thoughts behind, Agent Dexter is on his feet, snapping fingers at his men and drawing their immediate attention. He plans on arresting Amelia and wants you to draw a picture of the house. Using this drawing, Agent Dexter improvises an angle of attack. He commands his troopers to burst into the side entrance – then have his men spread out in all directions. He believes this strategy will succeed without fail, but he could not have anticipated the disappearance of the entire house. There is no sign of excavation, nor life of any form.

The End.

74 Kitty and Manfred dash out and surprise the men and the Professor by suddenly bursting into rhyme: Green knowall can’t be on to me Cool breath swingin’ on the three … The group looks stunned as Manfred shakes his booty. Kitty takes advantage of this and hurls a rock at the gun, knocking it over. “You little brat!” Enraged, Amelia pursues Kitty and Manfred into the forest. The men chase after them. When the coast is clear, you emerge stealthily. You untie the agent, who breathes a sigh of relief. “Agent Dexter, are you okay?” you inquire. He nods. “Am I glad to see you, kid.” His face hardens. “Newt Jean has got to be stopped.” He takes a rifle from a table nearby and strides into the forest. “Who’s Newt Jean?” you ask, running alongside. “That grey-haired guy,” he replies, locking and loading the rifle. “Take this.” He passes you a pistol. Then … suddenly, everything freezes.

Turn to page 82.

75 Too late! The laser-rays set off by Amontillado shrinks Agent Dexter down to a baby. It starts crying and wailing like a newly born. Kitty flips. “This is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen,” she declares. “Rates, second bla. We no doubt got here weirder!” says Manfred. You hasten to add, “Unless we take the gear and ditch it somewhere, we’re as good as zapped like him,” pointing to Dexter. “Nobody wants starting over like a baby,” says Manfred. “But what you have in way of strike-plans, man?” he asks, quite out of ideas himself.

Turn to page 91.

76

77 After calling Agent Dexter on the mobile phone, you both make haste on foot, being intercepted by him along the way. Speeding away in his car with you and the woman in the back seat, he glances in the rear vision mirror, inspecting her. You see a discernable rise of the eyebrow as he notices the absence of a mouth. “This will put the real Professor behind bars for a long time”, he says gravely. And congratulates you.

The End.

78 “Amontilado will answer to the law now. It is most likely she will never be allowed to practice science again,” he says. He thanks you on your excellent detective work. “I have one nagging question though. Why did Amelia turn herself in?” You humor him, “Maybe she feels remorse.” Giving away no more of the truth, you guard the secret close to you. It is a secret you are still undecided about keeping. You have immense power to transform almost anything. With your mind, you can rearrange molecules through time and space. Yet with this kind of power comes immense responsibility. Are you willingly to accept it and all that it demands of you?

If you decide to embrace a new beginning, turn to page 17. If you decide to forego the power and the responsibility, turn to page 97.

79 “Please believe me, I’m a brain trapped in some rodent’s body,” says it, “And I’m going out of my mind. All I do is groom myself, day-in-day-out.” “How did you get in there?” you blurt, still a little unnerved by it all. It shrugs. “I look hideous,” and splutters, “Do you think I want this?” You figure the Professor has been conducting some horrid experiments. "I'm sorry about what's happened to you. We should notify the authorities. Is the Professor responsible for this?" “Speak of the devil," it squeals, pricking up its ears, “she’s coming. Quick hide.” You do not have time to hide. Just then, the Professor comes charging in. She is advancing on you with a prong. It looks dangerous. And it's crackling with electricity. There's no escaping -- only a freestanding rack between you and the Professor. Your gut reaction is to defend yourself.

If you decide to obstruct the Professor by pushing the rack over, turn to page 102. If you decide to defend yourself with the monkey wrench from the rack, turn to page 95.

80 You run out of the laboratory as fast as you can. Pausing for your breath, you hear the creature calling out to you amid sudden showering noise. You realize that smoke detectors triggered the water sprinklers in the ceiling of the laboratory. You run back. The place is gushing wet but the smoke is completely subdued. The mutant is lying on its side. Poking your fingers through the cage, you check its pulse. There isn't any. It is dead, and you feel awful for letting it happen. You take the cage with you, vowing never to set foot in this house again.

Turn to page 62.

81 You understand how scared Kitty must feel, but you have to do what you have to do. “Don’t worry, you’re safe with me,” you reassure her, holding her small hand in yours. She clasps back tightly. You are both crouching before the floorboard. You lift it. Through the crack, you see the dim outline of a room … a bathroom. You shine your torch through. Kitty takes a tentative look over your shoulder, gives a whimper and faints to the floor. You almost feel like joining her. Yet, you must try to stay calm, and take a second look at what lies beneath. It is a bathroom, with a bathtub – full of blood. Even from where you are, you can smell the stench. A person lies in the bath: she is clearly dead; dead for a long time.

Turn to page 87.

82 You hear a hiss close to your ear, like the ocean from the inside of a conch shell. Images of your family, your neighborhood, your friends, your country, the world, humanity … they flicker past your mind. In the most abstract sense imaginable, you feel someone contacting your mind from … the outside. A black shadow of you, crouched in mindrevelation, fern like. It assumes a menacing and untrustworthy, interrogatory tone: Do you choose the straight or the divide? Answer carefully, y’hear!

If you choose to follow the shadow into the divided world, turn to page 90. If you want to continue on the linear passage, turn to page 110.

83 “Enough!” Amelia pulls you away from the beam of dust. “You know too much already. You’re too young to master the power of gods.” Curious remark. Could Amelia be jealous of you? After all she has revealed her greatest discovery and already you seem to grasp the knowledge better than she could ever dream of. “We must leave,” she says, grabbing your arm roughly. She leads you out of the cavern. Don’t worry about her – she knows nothing, you hear a voice say. It comes, not from outside, but from inside your mind. You are full (to your mind’s edges) with nano particles, and they can talk to you! You understand everything: nature is infinite repetition with re-emergent circuits of existence dissolving and reforming again and again. With this knowledge, you can do much good in the world. But you must put the Professor behind bars before deciding what to do next. Immediately after thinking this, you find yourself to be standing with Amelia in Agent Dexter’s office. Agent Dexter happens to be seated at his desk. He lifts his head up from the newspaper, and raises his eyebrow in mute surprise. Amelia stands before him, with her arms outstretched, as if begging to be handcuffed. “Please, you must save me from that,” she is referring to you, real terror in her voice. Agent Dexter signals some of his men to take Amy away for processing.

Turn to page 78.

84 When you awake, the place is dark. You are in bed, trembling like a leaf. Only a moment ago, you were in a cage. The vision sends shivers down your spine. Suddenly, you feel terribly uncomfortable. Your back feels cold and stiff against a hard mattress. You try reaching for where the lamp should be. After many attempts, it is hopeless. You are blind as a bat.

The End.

85

86 You risk suffocation, yet brave the smoke; you pluck away the creature. It whimpers, “Thanks,” clearly grateful to you for rescuing its life.

Turn to page 5.

87 You try your best not to vomit. You look around: the Professor has disappeared. You carry Kitty in your arms and leave the house through the front door. Once back behind the bush, where you stored your hover-scooters, you drop Kitty down – a little more roughly than you intend, upon the dewy grass. “Ow!” she reacts, revived. “We have to get out now,” you state in as composed a manner as you can. You both hover-scoot away from the house as fast as you can. The next day, Kitty comes by your house. Your father shows her in. “Your young girlfriend is here to see you,” he jokes, smiling. He has no idea what you two have so recently witnessed. Last night, you both agreed not to tell any grown-ups about what you saw, at least until you have made sense of it all. “I’ve just been to the local museum,” she says, taking off her back-sack. You take it, hanging it in the cupboard. “Take a look at this.” She hands you a folder of news clippings. “They’re from thirty years ago.”

Turn to page 129.

88 You run out of the house. You both leap onto your respective hover-scooters, and ride out of the grounds as quickly as you can. You are both too shaken to talk anymore. You escort Kitty to her house, and then hover-scoot back to your own bed. The next day, you do not hear from Kitty. You feel like you should do something about what you saw that night. What, though? You can’t talk to the police: they’re not going to believe some kid with a crazy story about a haunted house. Lots of the local kids believe the story that the dead movie actress is supposed to walk the halls as a ghost. You had never believed it, priding yourself on your scientific skepticism. Now you have no option but to believe. At least there are no longer screams coming from the house. Maybe you somehow fixed things by making contact with the ghost. A few weeks pass. Then months. Summer gives way to autumn and autumn moves into winter. On several occasions, you call Kitty on the NET-fone. The conversations are invariably strained, and it is clear that she doesn’t want to talk. You understand. You don’t feel much like remembering either. It’s best if you each try to get on with your individual lives.

Turn to page 55.

89 “Uh … maybe we shouldn’t … Who knows what that pool is.” Manfred is quick to concur: “Yeah, it probably be a vat of acid!” Kitty frowns at you both. “Well, I’m not scared.” Just as she leaps into the pool, the water quickly dissipates from sight, as if draining through a plughole. Thinking she had braved it, crouched low, Kitty opens her tightly shut eyes, expectantly. You can’t help but crack up laughing at the sight of her. Manfred too, thinking it just came out funny. “Serious bla, eezy come dem say, eezy go,” he says. “Sometimes I just don’t get you guys,” Kitty huffs and takes off, leaving you and Manfred on the rooftop. Perhaps she’s right to be annoyed. By not chancing on whatever may appear on the other side, you let Amontillado slip away … perhaps forever. But you are glad you did not get your friends into danger. You shout up to her, “Wait for us Kitty.”

Turn to page 93.

90 You wake up from a wet dream, and your groins feel sore. You wiggle your toes and yawn. Your wife stirs. She says wearily, “What time is it?” “Just before 7, same as always.” You get out of bed and make your way to the bathroom. In the shower, you wash the cum off your body. On returning to the bedroom, you see Kitty reclining languidly on the bed, legs spread. Smiling, you comment, “You’re over-lubricating again.” She smiles back, moans as you enter her. Three hours later, you arrive at your office. “Any mail, Dexter?” you ask the mail boy. “No, Dr. Jean,” he replies. You walk through the corridor to the operating theatre to give your weekly biology lecture. As you boot up your laptop, a strange feeling of déjà vu enters your mind. Shrugging it off, you begin to address the class. “As you know, the evolution of man is a kid’s story, a fiction of the last century. Apply the second law of thermodynamics: all things deteriorate, run down … Entropy permeates all of God’s creation. The very fundamentals of Physics outlaw any such concept.” “Professor?” interrupts a pimply looking youth. “Yes – uh…” you try to remember the student’s name. “Manfred,” he helps, smiling. This is going to be a wonderful summer. The End.

91 Just then, Amontillado gives an order and the rest of them split up, leaving the laser contraption unguarded and baby Dexter screaming at the top of his lungs. Kitty proposes a plan. “Let’s check it out first. Maybe it can reverse things.” All three of you nod in agreement and sprint to the machine. It stands like a tall ‘daddy-long-legs’, with a spot on its head, one eye, and a trigger under its belly. You presume the laser comes out of its eye and the trigger activates it, whereas, the purpose of the spot or button is unclear. “Maybe this button can bring him back,” says Kitty and presses on it. She pulls the trigger, the machine still aimed at Dexter.

Turn to page 100.

92 The woman gestures to them and points to herself, as if saying they are all part of her scientific undertakings. Amy created a copy of herself, but it (the copy) doesn’t realize it. A weird spider made of two humans with their backs glued together summons up courage to venture closer to you. It raises a hand, offering it to shake. Eew. You try to keep a fair distance away from its creepy-crawly legs. It croaks, “Please help. What becomes of us? We were her colleagues. The genetic design pattern we discovered should never be applied to humans. You must put a stop …” The real Professor steps out of the shadows shrieking, “Pathetic fool! Be glad you’re still worthy of serving a greater cause.” She draws menacingly near, “Already you have seen too much.” Then she flickers a smile. “Well, perhaps you like it. Do you … like it?” She licks her lips before continuing. “This technology has potential beyond all that have preceded; technology beyond knowledge of the mind or world, beyond knowledge itself. This could be yours too, my child. Join me in this destiny. “But if you choose not … Well, if you choose not: then you choose an entirely different state of being. Or nonbeing as it might be. “Decide your fate now.” If you freak out and run away from the Professor, turn to page 73. If you stand strong and talk it through with her in a civilized manner, turn to page 101.

93 As soon as all of you are airborne, the earth rumbles and quakes violently. The three of you land in the grass and stare in amazement as the house of Amontillado breaks away in chunks, and sinks down into the ground! “What the hell?” you call out. “Way freak out,” adds Manfred. After a while, Kitty announces, “She’s gone for good.” “We’ll see. Somehow … I think we haven’t seen the last of her,” you say.

The End.

94 You have doubts, but eat it anyhow. It tastes bland and stringy. You gloss over the truth, “Er, quite distinctive …” While trying to stomach it, you realize the Professor is acting rather blasé about the undesirable effects of genetic manipulation. “Shouldn't you test the chickens more rigorously?” you ask. “Oh, I have no time for that. There is more groundbreaking work to be done in selective breeding. Do you know cactus can retain a lot of water? All those hard prickly needles don’t make for good eating. What if we genetically eliminate spikes and cross the cactus with apricot for flavor and the gene of fish for protein? Think of the potential in that.” You have even greater misgivings. The kind of selective breeding the Professor is talking about would never occur in nature. “If it's world hunger we're fighting, shouldn't we deal with the problem of poverty, first?” “One step at a time, child,” she says. Wishing not to offend, you drop the issue, call it a day, and walk home. A black Lexus is parked outside your parents’ home. Who’s visiting?

Turn to page 11.

95 You take the monkey wrench and weld it like a sword at the Professor. She strikes your arm with the prong, drawing blood. You counter with a swing to her head. The impact is absorbed with an unexpected squelch. Her head swells horrifically, as though something is trying to burst out from inside. The flesh of her arms and legs seem to turn inside out. In fact, she seems to be rapidly sprouting more arms and legs. Then her head explodes like a water-balloon, covering you in black ink. She has transformed into a gigantic octopus. The ink seems to have paralyzed you. The Profess-opus swamps its slimy tentacles over your entire body.

Turn to page 116.

96 Oooh, you feel a sudden, intoxicating rush. The dust feels cool and refreshing as it swirls gently against your skin. You breathe deeply. The particles surge through you, as if your entire body were an ocean rippling from the drop of a pebble. Becoming unsteady on your feet, Amelia helps you to the ground and invites you to talk, “Are you keeping a secret?” Who should answer this question? Is she asking you? What who is “you”? It seems a strange question to ask yourself, for there are voices inside your head, communicating with you through your body. Surprisingly, you feel brave, as you know that the dust means no harm. At that moment, you realize the secret keeps close to you. Somehow, you need to work hard to overcome it. For now, all you can do is ride out the sensation of ripples coursing through your body. You hear yourself remark cryptically, “With this we can breathe life into shadow puppets.” “Good my child, good. And?” “To save the world, we must save it from chaos and disorder.” Unsure, you ask, “Can we keep it together, keep it from falling apart?”

Turn to page 99.

97 You do not feel ready to accept the challenge, even though you have seen what you can achieve. The colony of nano-particles feel saddened by this choice, a choice only you can make.

Turn to page 103.

98

99 She does not answer, just stares at you intently. Could she be seeking a sign of affirmation? You hear yourself saying, “We can use this to communicate with the machine. Without this, the human species is incapable of evolving to something more than it has become.” “What do you call this?” Amelia asks. “This? Well, it’s the creator of life itself,” you say it. And feel it. And know it to be so. You get to your feet and immerse your face into the trail of particles, inhaling more and more, as much as you can take, greedily. “With this I know who I am.”

Turn to page 83.

100 The machine gives off a bright flash of light, hitting its target and rapidly restoring Agent Dexter to his former grown-up self. You breathe a sigh of relief. Agent Dexter stumbles to his feet, still disoriented. Just then, Manfred alerts you that the men are heading back this way. You get a brilliant idea: set the machine in reverse to revert your pursuers to babies! You fire at each of them. They promptly diminish into wailing young versions of themselves. “She’s getting away!” screams Manfred. Kitty Chow runs after the Professor, Agent Dexter following closely behind. You have to turn the Professor into a baby. It’s the only way she’ll be easily caught! You carefully raise the weapon; take aim at Amontillado, and fire. A ray of – what seems to be – translucent blue smoke seeps from the gun. As it oozes out into the air, your get the strangest feeling …

Turn to page 115.

101 Undaunted by the prospect of confronting the Professor, you praise her on her marvelous work, even going to the extent of saluting her. She looks suspiciously at you at first, but then smiles. You sense at that moment that something is about to happen.

Turn to page 108.

102 You have just enough time to shove the rack over, sending all its contents crashing to the floor and catching the Professor under its weight. Her prong lands in a pool of spilled chemicals, causing currents of electricity to surge through her. She shrieks with pain. Aghast, you watch her body smolder into dust. The room quickly fills up with choking, sulfurous smoke from the chemical reactions.

If you decide to save yourself before the smoke overcomes you, turn to page 80. If you decide to save the creature first, turn to page 86.

103 Some time in the future, you publish a thesis detailing the next course of evolution for humanity. The scientific community does not take kindly to what they call, “delinquent speculation.” Your teachers think you are a bit of a showoff. It is not until a hundred and fifty years later, your thesis entitled “From created to creator” becomes a bestseller.

The End.

104 You opt to think about things first. You had no idea that the Professor was a threat to the nation. You feel your face going pale, and your stomach tensing up, as it does when you are about to tell a whooping great lie. “I … I don’t think I should … I had no idea she was dangerous … I mean, let me think about it, okay?” Agent Dexter nods. “Hey listen, kid. I understand – best to stay clear of the danger. No hard feelings.” He smiles and shakes your hand. Your mother sees him to the door. You try to make your way through dinner, but you don’t have the appetite. The significance of the day’s events plays heavily upon your mind. You decide to see your best friend Manfred, to ask for his advice at his pad. You get on your hoverscooter and speed off. You find him at the stables behind his house. He is building something, as usual, upon his workbench. On arrival, you are surprised to meet Kitty Chow, a classmate of you both, standing next to Manfred. She is feeding scraps of rye bread to a duck, quacking and shitting on the workbench. “Manfred old man, this place stinks like a barnyard!” you slap him on the back. “That’s cause it is a barnyard,” he high-fives you. You assume a more serious face, bowing to Kitty as she bows in return.

Turn to page 71.

105

106

107 You move through the mist, in the direction of the laughter, careful not to be seen or heard. With utmost stealth, you make your way through the densely packed forest until you come across the entrance to a small hut. Someone is emerging! You all hide behind a large bush. A pair of men, dressed in black suits, exits the hut. Their faces are disguised: they wear plastic masks of former presidents. Another pair of similarly attired men emerges from the hut. They are holding a blindfolded prisoner, who seems badly beaten, and quite disoriented. You are shocked, as you realize that they have Agent Dexter captive! Professor Amelia Amontillado emerges after the men. She is clad in a skin-tight leather catsuit, smoking a cigar. An immaculately dressed man escorts her. In his late 50s, with white blow-waved hair, he has a rather artificial tan, like he probably got it from a salon. The Professor’s foreign ally, perhaps.

Turn to page 111.

108 “My child, I am about to show you something beyond science – something that will stretch your imagination, something quite in the league of science fiction.” “What’s that, Amy,” you inquire, stalling for time. “Why, inside the birth-rock, of course. That’s where the voices reside. My microphones have picked them up. They’ve manifested themselves to me in various ways of course. Like the giant vegetables and the green yoked eggs,” her eyes are wide and she spits with hysterical excitement. “They are trying to communicate. Some kind of entity … Let’s see what you make of them.” In an instant, quicker than the blink of an eye, you find yourself somewhere else, inside a nook of solid rock, pressed against a trail of blue shimmering particles. She scoops a handful in her palms and holds it to your lips. Suddenly, you feel the air weighing thick and her face bearing down on you. She seems to offer little choice, “Inhale the dust.”

Turn to page 109 if you refuse to breathe in the dust. Turn to page 96 if you are prepared to risk it.

109 . You hate being cornered, so you thrust your teeth into her arm, as hard as you possibly can. She does not even flinch. She helps you draw your last breath from the limpness of your lungs, and the last thing you make out is her voice saying, “I trusted you.”

The End.

110 You stand, shoulder-to-shoulder, with Agent Dexter, guns aimed at the enemy. The mask-wearing men drop their weapons. Amelia Amontillado and the tanned man, the one Dexter calls Newt Jean, wave to you both. There is a loud explosion and they disappear in two deep red puffs of smoke. You cough, covering your mouth. They are nowhere to be found. You want to go and look for Kitty and Manfred, but the Agent argues that it is getting too dark to do anything. “Maybe they will locate us by the light of the campfire. Otherwise, we will do better looking for them tomorrow,” he states pragmatically. You grudgingly agree. He and you set up camp for the night, your prisoners firmly bound and gagged. You agree to take turns as lookout.

Turn to page 114.

111 “Vell, Agent Dexter,” says the tanned man, with a chilling amicability. “You zee now, the tables have turned, as zey zay in ze movies.” Agent Dexter grimaces ruefully. “Just get it over with, you ____!” he swears. “My dear agent, I am not zuch a bad host as not to offer a little tête-à-tête before … ze end.” The tanned man gestures to the Professor, who removes one of her large, circular plastic earrings. She blows on it, and it unfolds into a kind of camera – or gun – about the same size as you yourself. It stands on a tripod – or rather, a tripod with eight legs. It looks like it is modeled after a spider. She presses several buttons on the gun, which begins to hum with an increasingly bass-heavy reverberation, like it is warming up. The Professor aims the gun at the agent. He looks genuinely scared, and swears at his captors. Manfred sucks his teeth, quietly. “Dem not hurt the man, eh? Dey not like this, eh?” Kitty purses her lips. “We have to do something. Manfred and I will create a distraction. It might give you enough time to free him. We can’t just do nothing.” Your companions look at you. Turn to page 74 if you let Kitty and Manfred create a distraction while you rescue Agent Dexter. Turn to page 75 if you tell them to wait a little: maybe the Professor and her men are not actually going to hurt Dexter …

112 You awake from your weird dream, still in this damn well. You curse to yourself. Light is shining directly down the well’s length – it must be noon. Noon the next day! Your parents must be worried sick. You look around. Then you slap your forehead. You notice, for the first time, a rope ladder, leading all the way to the top of the well. How could you have not noticed that before! You must have still been dazed by the fall. You feel your shoulder. It still hurts – definitely broken. You have studied first aid. You know that attempting to climb up the well would inflict permanent damage on your shoulder. Surely your parents and the police must be searching for you now. Maybe it is best to just rest here, and wait for a search-party to recover you.

Turn to page 113 if you risk climbing the well. Turn to page 37 if you feel it best to wait until someone finds and rescues you.

113 You unsteadily get up and begin to ascend the well. You make it up with unexpected ease. Thankfully, the dogs are nowhere to be seen. You run as fast as you can, back to your house. It turns out that you were only gone from your parents’ yard for under an hour. You must have been down the well for a very short time. Funny, the dream seemed to last forever. Your mother, who is a nurse, checks your shoulder. It is just a bruise. No harm done at all! Maybe your judgment was impaired by the excitement of the chase. You retreat to your bedroom to regroup your thoughts. The dream is still fresh in your mind. You have no idea what it was all about. Anyway, you have more important things to think about.

Turn to page 14.

114 You take the first shift. It lasts forever. The forest is eerily quiet. You begin to imagine terrible things out there in the dark. You feel extremely unsettled. Suddenly, you hear a crack of twigs behind your tent. It is Newt Jean. You try to scream for help, but, when he puts his finger to his lips to signal silence, you cannot help obeying. He is dressed differently than before, all in white, in formal tuxedo, with a white bowler hat. He nods at you, and you notice that he has very red eyes. He whispers so low that he is almost miming: Have you ever been to the other side? Well, I teach that too, child. You strike at him, but your fist passes straight through his chest and he vanishes into thin air! He reappears behind you. Spinning round, you attempt a karate kick at his shin. Again he disappears. Then you hear a voice on your left, calling your name. It is Kitty! You turn, trying to make out her shape in the darkness. She emerges. The girl is about the same height and figure as Kitty. She has the same face … although … there is something wrong. No, it can’t be! You are looking out through her body at yourself. Suddenly, you feel the thud of a plank of wood against your head and you slip into unconsciousness.

Turn to page 115.

115 You awake, resting in your bedroom back at home. “He’s OK!” the first image you see is of Kitty, clapping her hands in delight. “We’ve just turned you back from a baby,” smiles Agent Dexter. Your mother remarks that raising you once was quite enough, thank you, and everyone laughs. “You know, the president would like to personally thank you. You’re a hero! You’ve done your country a great service,” says Dexter. “They’ll be time enough for meeting the president. First get some more shut eye,” your mother demands. Everyone bids you farewell and leaves the room, except for Manfred and Kitty. “What happened after I lost consciousness?” you ask. “My god man. You really want to know?” asks Manfred, in mock horror. “Oh, come on, tell ...” “Well … Quite frankly, I’m not so sure myself,” shrugs Manfred, apologetically. “No one does. No one on earth remembers what happened. For the last six months.” Kitty adds: “It’s kinda like a joke now. The vidcomics make fun of it.” The End.

116 Your last thoughts stray back to the Professor, the time she offered you cookies and milk, just a few moments ago. You feel asphyxiated and increasingly frozen stiff all over.

The End.

117

118 “Professor Amontillado, I am curious, what is it that you exactly do?” you ask, dipping your cookie into your milk. “I am trained as a genetic engineer,” she replies. “And please, call me Amy.” You have heard of her profession. “So, you manipulate the DNA of animals to change how they are? Like crossing a pig with a human. But … isn’t that like playing god?” you ask. “You are a very smart child,” she laughs. “Genetics isn’t really about crossing animals with humans: that’s just science fiction. Actually, I am interested in improving the growth of food crops.” The Professor’s eyes twinkle. “I am on the brink of discovering a means to end world hunger!” “Please tell me more,” you inquire, interested. Just then, the phone rings, and the Professor hurries out of the room to answer.

Turn to page 15.

119

120 Back in the kitchen, Amy prepares French toast. You have only now overcome your initial shock. You say, "You’re planning to boost the world's food production with giant livestock, like the crops we're growing!" “Yes! This and so much more, clever child.” She explains, “The chickens are genetically enhanced. I alter their DNA to strengthen bone density, so they can support their own weight.” She is getting more and more excited. “I inject growth hormones to increase their size. It is just the beginning. Possibilities are boundless." Now her voice is at top volume, “We will create new, improved life forms, patent them and control the global food supply. Here,” passing you a plate of lightly scrambled eggs on toast, “Not quite authentic. Tasty all the same.” You notice its peculiar color; “The green is from the basil, right?” “I don't know why the eggs have green yolks. I'm sure it's harmless, though.”

Turn to page 94.

121 She opens her hand, offering its contents to you a silver and gold lizard.

Turn to page 18 if you choose to take the lizard from Amelia. Turn to page 7 if you choose not to take the lizard. Perhaps you are so freaked out by this that you must try to get some air outside the carriage. If so, head to the Dining carriage on page 19.

122

123 You look out the window. It’s only just past sunset. You have enough time to collate your results with Kitty before sneaking back to film Amontillado’s nocturnal activities. Probably best to wait for complete darkness, anyhow -- it is at midnight that the screams from the house are loudest. You tell Kitty it’s okay for her to come over. She arrives 10 minutes later, riding, surprisingly for a girl, a hover-scooter. You take her inside and then set to work, measuring the convective properties of the heater in the lounge-room. After you finish, your mother brings in milk and cookies. Kitty sips her milk, and, looking deep into your eyes with that disarming manner she has, asks: “So, what’s the up with you?” You smile to yourself. If Kitty only knew what adventure you had today! “Why, what makes you think there is something up with me?” you ask, as nonchalantly as you can muster, dunking a cookie into your milk. “Oh, it’s obvious. You’re really not yourself tonight. I can tell.” Her gaze does not deviate from yours. “You even failed to count the parallax error in the thermometer readings, more than once. That’s not like you. So, what’s up?”

Turn to page 124.

124 Kitty is the sort of straight-laced girl who would not understand your reasons for spying on Amontillado. You probably shouldn’t tell her. On the other hand, you could use some help on this – to keep a lookout for you, for instance. And the police could probably use a reputable witness, when you turn in your evidence. Maybe you should tell Kitty about your plan, tonight. She’s definitely got the brains for it, and is well respected in class.

Turn to page 16 if you decide to lie to Kitty about what is biting you. Turn to page 22 if you think she is cool, and decide to tell her about your plans.

125 Amontillado carries a heavy assortment of suitcases and books. She approaches the pool. Inexplicably, she throws the books and suitcases into it. Even more inexplicably, they disappear in a light-swirl of colors you were only ever vaguely aware of. Then, almost as an afterthought, the Professor herself jumps into the pool, dissipating into a mist of fire. You all shield your eyes. “What the hell just happened?” asks Manfred. “It seems she’s disappeared.” You can’t disagree with that. The shallow pool is empty of people, or of books. “I think we better get out of here,” says Manfred. “This be craaazy, dude.” “You want to?” asks Kitty, looking deeply into your eyes, biting her lip. By Manfred’s expression, you can tell he is more scared than he has ever been before. “I’m easy either way,” she continues, blinking her long eyelashes. “I don’t mind jumping into it.”

Turn to page 59 if you jump into the pool. Turn to page 89 if you decide that it’s best if you all leave the house of Amontillado for good.

126 They – the glasses -- are programmed to give the user insight into the actual presumptions that belie the truths that we construct. Not the truths themselves, because they are not the truth. It’s for college students, so you are not yet permitted one, and haven’t seen one except outside of vidschool. “Wow bla.” Manfred (his nickname in the gang is the Brain) glues the nanos onto his forehead. “This all gives de proofery dad Professor were criminal dude. There surely be a reward for us in this, o bla! Police investigation will charge her but for the goodly contents of dis here log book.” You read: A perusal of the findings reveal that it will indeed be possible to clone a human with a pig. As horrible as it might seem, this is indeed the future of transplant surgery. She was turning pigs to humans. You choose to call the cops. “And collect dem gees of da pigs, bla!” says Manfred. The police promise to come when they have some time free. Later that night, the logbook transmutes into a living beast, and annihilates you. The End.

127

128 A strange calmness takes hold, as if you have been so scared that you cannot be scared any more. You begin to lift the loose floorboard. “Don’t!” gasps Kitty. “I … I think this place is haunted! Please … please take me home,” she implores.

If you choose to lift the floorboard, turn to 81. If you decide to run out of the house with Kitty, turn to page 88

129 You take the a clipping from the folder, and read: AMELIA MORTA DIES OF SUICIDE. Yesterday morning, the body of film actress and rapper Amelia Morta was found dead in the bathtub of her house. Coroners have declared that the cause of death was of blood loss from an apparent suicide. The artist had recently finished filming The Lizard and the Shadow alongside actor Newt Jean. Mr. Jean, upon hearing the news of Miss Morta’s suicide … Then you see the photograph of Amelia Morta at the bottom of the page. “My god, it’s her.” “Yes: Amelia Amontillado is the ghost of the movie actress who died all those years back,” Kitty nods, solemnly. “We met a real ghost last night. What do we do now?” she asks, looking deeply into your eyes. You have never believed in ghosts, but … well, what other possible explanation could there? “Let sleeping ghosts lie. We do nothing, Kitty. Nothing.” The End.

130

131 Today, the Professor appears in high spirits. She says excitedly, “Come with me. I want to show you ‘eggs-treme’ eggs.” As soon as you see the enormous barn, you are expecting something quite out of the ordinary. To your surprise, you are standing among a flock of massive chickens, all clumsily pecking around your feet. You panic for a moment and want to run. Their sharp beaks can easily do some damage if you get any closer. The Professor lugs an egg in her arms and says, “I’ll make you French toast with it.”

Turn to page 120.

132 “And yet,” you continue, “you want to believe.” She looks frightened now, and you know that it’s probably your responsibility to comfort her. “That’s … the nature of reality, Kitty. I’ve learnt it to be so,” you try to explain. Although you feel yourself speaking these words, and even half believe them, you know that this is just a dream of a person who cannot fully speak their mind. You actually feel unsure about your actual being. For the sake of Kitty, you put on a brave face. “Come on, I’ll walk you home. Can I carry your books?” you doff your cap comically. Kitty laughs at this, a laugh like little bells tinkling. You feel like life might be okay after all. “Here.” She gives you her books. She is reading a book entitled The lives and times of the Morta sisters. “What’s this?” you ask. “I’m auditioning for a part,” she replies. “I see – background research, eh? Kitty, you’re a girl of many talents.” Kitty smiles and turns up the collar of her pink jumpsuit, and stuffs her hands in her pockets. As you both walk home into the winter early night, you put your arm around her, and she cuddles up closer to you. You look at her. She says to you, “My name’s not Kitty.” “Oh, what is it then,” you reply in as serious a voice as you can manage. “It’s Morta. Amelia Morta.” The End.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR M. I. BRACKENSTRAW is a postgraduate of Monash University. She extended the unique storytelling approach of Edward Packard, to develop the Determine Your Own Deviation series of adventure novels. She is a regular participant in the Unilectic Awareness Foundation (UAF) and is in fact two people!

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR DORIS DOOBYWEISER is a contributing artist to The Age. She lives in Carlton, Missouri, with her daughter, three dogs and a Macintosh IMAC computer. She enjoys renaissance recorder music, walking her sausage dog Shopenhauer, browsing the discount book stand outside the cinema, eating wood-fire oven pizzas, and eagerly awaits the annual Moomba birdman competition.