pdfcoffee.com_return-to-the-cave-of-time-choose-your-own-adventure-50pdf-pdf-free

4t Continuing at a slower pace, you reflect on the price you must pay for living in a beautiful, un- spoiled world: to be constantly alert for danger. You must learn to live like an animal. Approaching the campsite, you call out, \"Azog, Larga, Mil\" No answer. The camp is empty, stripped. You run to the river. The raft is gone. The others have already set forth on their journey. You are alone, and, as far as you know, there is no other tibe in the region. Cold weather is coming. You don't have the stength or time to make a raft. Once the snow gets deep, you won't be able to cover much ground in search of game. The fact is, there is little chance of survivingthe winter. You siton a rock, gazingatthe river, trying to think staight. $ you decide to walk south in hopes ot' reoching a warmer climate, turn to page 59. lf you decide to try to make it through the winter at the present camp, turn to poge 27. It' you decide to try to get back to the Caue ot' Time and take your chances with the giant caue bear; turn to page 49.

42 You've hardly finished reading these words when you feelan abrupt deceleration followed by a slight jolt. The capsule has made an as- tonishingly smooth landing. Through the window you see an endless landscape of rocks and boul- ders-the sort you might find in a dried-up riverbed. So this is Earth! You can only hope it's not all like this. You quickly put on the oxygen- generating helmet and your radiation-resistant coat. Then you open the hatch and step out onto what, as far as you can tell, could be some desolate planet a million light-years away. But you're not going to gve in to despair. After all, your computer said there is food available. As you step outside and look around, your heart sinks. You might as well be in the middle of a desert. Everywhere you look, you see flat, barren, rust-colored dirt. There's no way of knowing which way to walk. Before you can decide what to do, a saucer- shaped craft zooms in and hovers over your space capsule. You watch with fascination as wire arms descend and enfold the capsule like a spider wrap- ping up a fly. lf you jump back into your space capsule, turn to page 70. $ you just watch what happens, turn to page 115.



M fu you awaken you feel that the world is moving back and forth under your feet. For a moment you can see nothing because all is dark. But you hear noises-people groaning, murmuring' They sound as if they are in pain, but you cannot see them. You take a couple of small steps and fall head- long onto a number of b you can tell where you a women are chained to explains the rocking motion you have been feel- ing. You realize this is no ordinary ship. It is a slave ship, probably heading for the American colonies. You ire saddlned by the sight of the faces around you. They look so broken, so tired. You have read lbout the slave tuade in Africa, the Caribbean is- lands, and the American colonies, but what you see now is beyond words. You see piled one on top of another-like produce in a carton-a peo- ple dehumanued, shipped of their pride and dig- nity. ll you trY to set the PeoPle free, turn to Page 55. lf you climb u-ptootnhedecacPkttoains,eteurifnytoouPcaagne talk 76'

45 In a few days the ship arrives in Boston. Now- in the year 7726-youare ready to start a new life. As you watch the crew leading the slaves off the ship, you see Captain Ward standing by. You thank him for allowing you free passage for the tip. \"You're welcome,\" he says, \"and I thank you. This is my last tip on a slave ship, you can be sure.\" In that moment, as you look into his eyes, you are content. You have not changed history but at least one man has faced the truth-the humanity of these people and their right to freedom-and can lie to himself no more. The End



47 You're lying in an open silk-lined box. Is it a coffin? No, you're hooked up to a tube and wires, as if you were in a hospital, but you don't feel sick. You feel quite well-very well, in fact, though you can't sit up. Something that you can't see is hold- ing you down. You hear soothing chords of music. The room is bathed in dim light, which constantly shifts in hue from sky-blue to yellow-green to red- orange to blue again. Moving your hand to your scalp, you feeltiny wires hooked into your head. They must be paralyzing your nerves so you can't move the muscles that could free you. Turn to page 52.

48 As the weeks wear on you tealize that you're fuozen reindeer meat! Joyously you run out to meet your old friends. \"lJi moogar wooam!\" they keep saying' You know this mLans that th@ are amazed you sur- vived the winter. The End

49 Determined to get back to the Cave of Time, you climb the mountain, winding around the boulders, stopping from time to time to rest and look around. Once you catch yourself sniffing the air as if you were an animal. You wish you did have a keen sense of smell, but you don't. At least your eyes and ears are as good as those of most ani- mals. You look around and listen; but you can't hear anything. Then you realize you're stalling; you're afraid to climb the mountain, afraid to face the cave bear. You start climbing again. The days are getting colder. Winter is setting in. Soon the country will be in the gnp of ice and snow. And now as you climb you feel a raw chill wind and then see the first flakes of snow tumbling down. Again you feelthe urge to turn back, and again you force yourself to keep climbing. At last the cave is before you. You approach it with extreme care, Bing not to make the slightest noise. Stepping inside, you duck around a rock pillar. You don't want to be silhouetted at the cave entrance. , thesteadyheav- is sleeping-right I ing that leads into the acr Cave of Time! The huge animal stirs, shaking its great arms. Then it lies stillagain. You're going to have to jump right over it! Turn to poge 36.

50 You leap high against the cave wall, grab a handhold, dig the toe of your right foot into a tiny niche, and begin to climb. The bear is close behind you-breathing and snorting. You're able to climb a couple of feet higher, but the wall becomes even steeper above you. You desperately feel'for a higher foothold. Suddenly your wrist is seized in a viselike grip, and you feel yourself rising, then being haUrled onto a ledge. Only then does the powerful grip release your wrist. Aching and sore, you look into the smiling eyes of laark-then back at the paws of the bear raking the lip of the ledge, still hying to get at you. 'ALtg,\" says Iaark. He starts crawling into a dark tunnel. You follow, hoping it will lead you out into the open. Instead, it leads you into an abyss, and you're falling, clutching Iaark's arms, tumbling through the Cave of Time. . . . Turn to page 93.



52 Where are you? How did you get here? Sud- denly you remember-you baveled through the Cave of Time, and you must surely be at some point in the future. Your situation is so weird that it must be /or in the future. You seem to be in a long, cylindricalroom, like the cabin of an enormous airplane, and there are coffins-you can't think of a better word for them-like yours, with wires and tubes, and other black tanklike shapes. The ceiling is invisible be- cause of what seems like a dense fog that begins only a few f.eetover your head. It's as if you were in the middle of a weird dream. Yet you don't feel scared. Though held prisoner, you feel pleasur- able sensations, as if you were eatin! chocolate ice cream-while smelling bread baking, while hear- ing great music, while seeing a beautiful sunset, while getting a good back rub! Whoever has cap- tured you must have hooked a wire into the plea- sure center of your brain. Suddenly the music changes key. A robotic arm inserts a clear plastic mask over your mouth. You start to gasp for breath, but then realize there's an oxygen mixture being fed into the mask. A mo- ment later your coffin tilts, sliding you into a tank of warm water that's moving rapidly, as if it wete a swiffly flowing steam. Turn to page 68.

53 You decide to wait in the hot stuffy cabin rather than risk swimming to shore. Even if you didn't athact sharks, currents might carry you out to sea. A crew member brings you food and water twice a day for several days. Then, to your great joy, you hearthe sounds of the men settingsail, the anchor being pulled up. A cheer rings out. The Bounty is underway! A key turns in the cabin door, and Fletcher Christian himself looks in. You shrink back from this wild-eyed man who took theBounty from her captain, but Christian smiles broadly. He's in a good mood. \"We're heading out to sea, and you're free to walk about the ship,\" he says. \"l've been a bit harsh locking you up. Now that there's no danger of your escaping, you can have the run of the ship. You're one of us now-the youngest, as it so hap- pens. One day you may be head of Pitcairn Is- land.\" \"That's where we're headed?\" \"Wth a fair wind and a little luck we'llbe there in a fortnight.\" Turn to page 61.

il \"l'll choose AlPha AlPha,\" You saY' \"Farewell then, and good luck'\" Even as Celeste galaxies-with a claritY t space. Drectly before You like a million sParklin of ok Taround your caPsule. no communication equipment, no food, not even ;;t* Your entire hight nat been programmed' Surely your destination can't be far away' or you would starve to death. Turn to Page 62.

55 You are angry, angry for the poor people around you and angry atthose who assigned them this fate. You try desperately to free them. The clanging chains are heard on the top deck. \"What are you people up to now?\" a man shouts into the dark crevices of the hold. \"Shut up and keep still, or you'll get no water tonight!\" Without thinking, you climb the ladder to the door above. \"Let these people go free!\" you demand. \"Who are ytou?\" Furious, you grab the man by his arm. \"Let these people go! Can't you see they're hurting? Let them go!\" But in the next moment the man gips your arm and presses a dagger against your throat. The blade cuts your skin. You feel yourself growing faint. The next thing you knour you are lying on the top deck with at least ten faces staring at yours. P.rlling you to your feet, the man you first encoun- tered shakes you. \"l don't know where you came from or why you aren't chained like the rest, but you won't be living long!\" \"Do you think you can start a rebellion on this ship without being punished?\" yells a red-faced man. \"Here's what we do with rebels,\" says another, tuggrng at your clothes. \"We make them walk the plank.\" Turn to poge 63.

56 Hoping that the bear won't follow you beyond the cave, you race outside. Before you are grasslands sloping steeply toward a river far below. The land is studded with large boulders; quickly you hide behind the nearest one. Peeking around the edge, you see the bear at the entrance of the cave. He stands sniffing the air. You just hope he won't catch your scent. Absolutely motionless, you wait. A few minutes later the bear turns around and goes back into the cave. Still tem- bling, you let out your breath. Then you think about the boy, Iaark, and wonder if he escaped. He looked as if he could take care of himself. Maybe youdn find his hibe. You humT down the slope, weaving among the great boulders. At last you reach the river. As you stop to consider your situation you feel the terror of total isolation. You are lost, not merely in the wilderness, but in a time in the distant past, where \"cMlization\"-if you ever find it-will be nothing more than a tribe of cave people. Go on to the nert Page.

57 You look around nervously. It seems like only a matter of time until a bear or a wolf or some other carnivore-maybe one that doesn't even exist in your own time-gets you. Even if you escape predators, you'll probably starve to death. You feel tears welling up in your eyes. Then, underneath the pines, you spy a large patch of mushrooms and suddenly realizeyou're very hun- gry. You can't be sure they're not poisonous, but you'll have to take some chances, you think. Oth- erwise you're likely to starve to death. lf you decide to risk eating some mushrooms, turn to page 107. It' you decide not to risk it, turn to poge 30.

58 When you tell Yamara of your decision to re- main in his time, he steps forward and gives you a hug. \"You will not regret it, my young friend. You shall have the benefits and duties that allvisitors to Earth are accorded and, because you are an Earthling yourself, you will be awarded your own cubicle in our underground city.\" \"What will I do with my time?\" you ask. \"You will be giqen a fleet of saucercraft to ma- neuver from your niaster control station. You will guide them in their rehabilitation tasks. When you have completed two hundred years of service, you will be awarded your own personal spacecraft, and you willbe fteeto settle anywhere on Earth or in any of the space colonies in the Solar System. Life in some of them, I can assure you, is like living in [s6vsn-\" you \"l'[ \"But two hundred years!\" interrupt. never live that long.\" \"You wouldn't have in your former lifetime,\" Yamara replied, \"but with our age-inhibiting treat- ment you should live . . . ah . . . I'd say about three million years.\" \"Well, then,\" you reply, \"you've got a deal.\" The End

59 You spend a few days preparing for your jour- ney. Mornings you gather nuts and edible roots. In the afternoons you sew animal hides, using a bone splinter for a needle and pig gut for thread. You tie together a triple layer of deerskins to serve as boots. You'll need layers of protection from the cold and rain because you can't be sure of finding shelter each night. Finally you're ready. The morning has dawned cold and clear. It snowed lighfly the night before, but you're in ex- cellent physical condition, and you're able to move at a good pace. Using the sun as your com- pass, you head south, cutting through stretches of pine forest and rocky highlands. Shortly after midday, when you are already thinking of finding a place to camp, you hear the howling of a wolf, and then another, and another. You quicken your step, hoping to find a shelter of some short-a niche in the rocks or a hee with branches low enough to climb-but you feel a deepening sense of despair. No natural shelter can save you for long, and there is no chance of finding a house, or a cabin, or a road, because there are none now-fifty thousand years in the past. Turn to page 73.



6L You rush up the ladder and marvel at the sails billowing before the following wind, and at the broad blue ocean, flecked with whitecaps. With a start you notice several Tahitian women sitting on the afterdeck. Fletcher Christian and some of the other mutineers found wives on Tahiti-women who would join them in starting new families. As the weeks pass you learn all the skills re- quired aboard a full-rigged ship. When at last the Ionely rockbound island looms ahead, you realize your new skills mean nothing, for the ship must be wrecked on the coral shoals and sunk lest it atbact attention. Soon you will have to learn to gather and gtow food-to be a primitive farmer on a primitive island, thousands of miles from the main- land. Pitcairn Island will be your home. The End

62 Your heart leaps as you begin to notice little flashes of light jumping from one partof the planet to another. One flash comes right at you. You blink, but it's harmless. Perhaps they have already sensed your presence by now. Being so advanced, the creatures on Alpha Alpha should have no hou- ble bringing your craft in for-a safe landing. But your course soon veers away. With a heavy heart you watch it slip to one side. Ahead there is nothing but a few distant stars. You ty to hold back your tears. Then you consider that the most od- uanced civilization must surely be based on love, not cruelty. You can't have reached it yet, but you won't give up hope! The End

63 The sailors set up the plank, primed and ready for you. You can see the captain on the afterdeck. Obviously he has decided to let the crew do with you what they will. Asthe men push you outonto the plankyou yell at them. \"Those people on the lower deck-they don't deserve this. They are human just like you. Please lgf-\" In the next second one of the men rams you in the gut with a broom handle. \"Enough of you!\" Forced beyond the end of the plank, you tumble backward into the cold gray sea. It's all over now, but you go knowing that you tied your best to do what you could for the captives. There was no way you could rewrite history; at least you were brave enough to demand justice. The End



65 The tibe spends the next day preparing for the journey. You help pack gear: fur skins for extra warmth during the cold months ahead; flint for starting fires; a few bags of extra food-nuts, dried fruit, and edible roots; spices and oils for making medicines; spears for bringing down game; and crude stone knives. Tents for shelter and litters for carryingmeatwillbe made up alongthe way when more animal skins are available. Next morning, after a breakfast of river crabs and onion roots, the little band of Neanderthals begins the long tek. By noon you reach a place where the swiftly running river is shallow enough to ford. Leading the way, the chief steps cautiously from rock to rock. The rest of the tibe follows single file. You are last in line. Winding carefully across the rocks, you concen- hate on your balance. If you fall, the strong current would sweep you downstream so fast you'd never be able to get back. As you approach the tuickiest section of the crossing you notice that Vor has dropped back in line and is now just ahead of you. He could easily jab you and knock you into the river. Why else would he want to get so close to you? Maybe you should turn around and try to join the people who stayed at the camp. It' you decide to keep mouing, turn to page 27. lf you decide to turn back, turn to page 40.

66 You feel as if your mind has become detached from your body, that you are in transport through time. Then reality returns. You are in a cave, close to the entance. Looking out, yoq can see that you are on a mountainside. A vast lar,tdscape of plains and lakes and patches of forests stetches beneath you. There is no sign of human habitation. You have the feeling that you may be living thousands of years in the past, perhaps even before the ap- pearance of human life. In the distance you notice dark moving specks-a herd of grazing animals perhaps. Where there's life, there's food-and hope for sur- vival-you think. Suddenly you sense a presence nearby. You whirl around, and your eyes meet other eyes. They belong to a boy who looks older than you, even though he is severalinches shorter. His wavy brown hair is shoulder length, and he is naked except for crudely fashioned shorts made of ani- mal skins. He is solidly built and shikingly mus- cular. His bushy eyebrows are set on bony ridges above his eyes, giving him a brutish look; yet there's something sweet and friendly in his expres- sion. Go on to the next page.

67 \"Hello,\" you say. \"laark,\" the boy replies. He steps close and looks curiously at you. At that moment you hear a deep-throated growl. In the dim light near the back of the cave, you can make out an animal of monstrous propor- tions-a gigantic cave bear, larger than any bear alive in your own time! Terrified, you stand watch- ing. The bear edges closer. The boy touches you. \"Norgo. \" He pulls at your arm, then starts climbing the sheer wall of the cave, gaining handholds on rough niches in the rock. You watch him with amazement as he pulls himself up by his arms alone. A moment later he slips into a cleft in the rock, safely out of reach of the bear. The bear follows the boy with his eyes, then turns toward you and lets out a roar that shakes your bones. You get the feeling that this is his cave, and you'd better do something fast! lf you try to follow laark up the wall of the caue, turn to page 50. lf you run out of the caue, h)rn to page 56.

68 Instinctively you start swimmi{rg against the cur- rent. At least with your oxygenlnask there's no problem breathing. You shoke and kick hard, glad to be exercising your muscles and relieving the tension of being held paralyzed. Your tubes and wires are stillfirmly in place, and yourbody is held by shaps under your shoulders and around your waist. You're in what amounts to a swimming treadmill! So this is how people keep their muscles from wasting away, you think. Ingenious, but horrible. Everything is decided for you. You go through the motions, but you have no choices. The people who rule this mad world must think they are providing the perfect life, but one could also think of it as a perfect prison! Turn to page 80.



70 You dive into the capsule ar,isnut the hatch- and just in time, because within seconds the saucercraft lifts off. The ground passes by aldiz4- ing speed as the craft tansports you across the desolate landscape, skimming over hills covered with stones and weeds. You cross a dried-up riverbed and then the ruins of a city: gutted sky- scrapers, rusting bridges, buildings toppled into shards of steel beams. You feel heartsick thinking of the horrible things that must have happened on Earth after you entered the Cave of Time. Then, as you pass over a barren hillside, a huge silvery dome appears before you. A panel slides open, and the saucercraft whisks you inside-into total darkness! In a moment you sense that the craft is genfly settling down. Turn to page 74.

7t From the crowded, bobbing longboat, you watch the Bounty sail rapidly away in the brisk west wind. In an hour it is just a speck on the horizon; then it is gone. Four men pull listlessly on the longboat's oars while the others slouch against the gunnel. Captain Bligh, grim-faced and mo- tionless, stares ahead, as if by some miracle land may appear on the horizon. You know as well as anyone else, for Captain Bligh has said it, that the nearest chartered island is five hundred miles away; without navigational in- stmments, a small boat could easily miss it. By midafternoon you feel like a burned potato, and you're thankful when the blazing sun is hid- den behind a cloud. You're terribly thirsty, but Captain Bligh will allow not a drop more water until \"sixbells,\" by which he means seven o'clock. \"Drink water during the day,\" he says, \"and you'll just sweat it off.\" You slump down on the seat and slip into a tuance; and you half sleep, half daydream, bying to make time pass. So it goes, day after day, through seas calm and rough, under the scorching sun and drenching rain. Turn to page 82.



73 The wolves sound much closer now. They must have your scent. You see one of them, then an- other, circling. Within moments they will rush in and tear you to pieces. Suddenly you hear a terrible roar. The wolves whirl and scamper into the woods. You turn and see that you have been saved from the wolves- by a saber-toothed tiger! The End

74 The hatch slides open. Lights come on. You are in an enormous hangar. Three smalltear-shaped cars careen around the corner and come abrupfly to a stop. A group of hominids dressed in drab gray uniforms emerge from the cars. One of them steps toward you. \"Welcome to Earth,\" he says. \"My name is Yamara, Consul of Solar Seven. We were notified you were coming, that you were born on Earth and traveled through a timewarp.\" \"Through the Cave of Time,\" you say. \"lt is the same thing,\" Yamara answers. \"You've heard about it?\" \"There is a legend.\" \"Where are we on Earth?\" you ask. \"ln Golor, on the continent of America,\" he says. One of the hominids sets up a small video screen and presses buttons on a hand-held key- board. A full-color map appears, It is a map of the Earth, but one that looks very diff.erent from the Earth you know Austualia has merged with Asia. Antarctica has drifted almost to Hawaii. North and South America have merged into one big glob. You realize that you must have been transported millions of years into the future! That means there's hardly any hope of finding the entrance of the Cave of Time, unless somehow a new opening has broken through the Earth's crust. Turn to page 84.

r.=

76 \"Let me out!\" you yell as you knock on the small door above. Before you can yellagain, an older man with a red bandanna around his neck throws open the door. \"Where did you come from? What are you doing in there? Tell me nowl\" he yells, practically in your face. Should you tell him the truth, that you are from the twentieth century and stumbled on this place through the Cave of Time? Bef.ore you can con- sider other possibilities, the man drags you up on deck into the dazzling sunlight. He pushes you toward a bunch of sailors who are sitting on deck playing cards. \"Look what we have here!A stowaway,\" he says with a chuckle. \"Must have slipped on board atthe last port in Africa.\" Laughing, his friends begin to push you from one to another. \"Please don't hurt me! I'm a lost orphan without family or home. I want to start a new life in the New World-America.\" \"Let me tell you what we do with stowaways,\" jeers the man you first encountered. \"Please!\" you scream. Turn to page 97.

77 You find yourself in a dimly lighted, smelly room amid a pile of thick ropes and chains. In one direc- tion the room is much narrower than in the other. The floor, ceiling, and walls are all made of wood planks, and the whole room is moving up and down and from side to side. An oillamp hung from the ceiling swings with the motion. You realize you are aboard a ship-a ship from another era. Leap- ing to your feet, you stare into the eyes of a man with a half-grown beard that only partly covers a long scar across his cheek. \"Oh-ho, a stowaway!\" he says with a grin, ex- posing a mouth of broken and missing teeth. \"You must be a clever one to stay hidden for so long. Well, come with me. We'llsee what Fletcher Chris- tian thinks of you.\" Turn to page 97.

78 You stretch, sit up, and look out the window. What a sight! On one side is a cluster of brighfly painted houses; on the other a beautiful park rimmed by giant ferns. In the center is a magnifi- cent fountain. You throw open the hatch and breathe the fresh, clean air. At the same time sev- erallarge tear-shaped cars silently approach your capsule. Smiling and waving as they hold out great bunches of flowers, the inhabitants of Sintra joyfully greet you. The End



Suddenly the current is flowing more swiffly. fu you speed up yourpace you feel new, pleasurable sensations. You swim faster and faster, until- even with almost pure oxygen flowing into your mask-you feel yourself reaching the limit of en- durance. Then gradually the water level falls, and you are left weightless, suspended in warm air- currents that blow and swirl all about your body, drying you in a few minutes. Genfle robotic arnis lift you back into your coffin, and life-if that's what you can call it-goes on as before. As you try to adjust to the reality that lies ahead, you are startled to hear a voice, which must be entering your head through one of the implanted wires: \"You haue been identit'ied as an alien intruder. Your bioanolysis shor.urs 87.377\" probability you understand English. Your brain-waue reaction to the preceding stote- ment shows 99.977\" probability that you un- derstand English. Relax. You will not be harmed. Stond by for transport.\" A moment later you pass out. Turn to page 708.

81 stronger than modern humans, they are very poor swimmers, and none of them could havs done what you did. The chief puts an uoof1Jm,\" he says. A the exact words, but ing. The chief and has chose son of the hibe not fear Vor any longer, and you don,t think you'll have much houble living up io the chiefs expecta- tions. After all, you're planning to invent the wheel. The End

I 82 Slighter than the others, you shrivel quickly. After three weeks you feel like a dried-up peach. You can only lie in the bottom of the boat, feverish and weak. One morning Captain Bligh cannot rouse you for your daily ration. The first mate ties but fails to find your pulse. A few minutes later the men bow their heads while Captain Bligh says some kind words and recites the Lord's Prayer. Then they genfly lower your body over the side. The End

I ,/,

\"You were born on Earth-you may stay here,\" says Yamara. \"Where will I live? What will I do?\" you ask, wondering how you could fit into a world com- plelely different from the one you knew. \"First of all, we are custodians of the Earth, charged by the Planetary Council to supervise its' recovery. During the past few hundred thousand years this planet's environment has improved ten- fold. We are very proud of the work of the Earth healers.\" Proud? You can't believe your ears. \"From what I've seen of Earth, there's not much to be proud of,\" you say. \"No grass or flowers; only a few sicklyJooking weeds, cities in 1sin5-\" But your host interrupts. \"Do not judge us, the living, for all the terrible things that have happened in Earth's history. We and our forebears have been working for hundreds of thousands of years. Our robotcraft spend twenty-four hours a day cleaning up debris and neutralizing radioactive sources. In some areas of the world hees and plants are grow- ing. Each century carbon monoxide and other tox- ins decrease, and oxygen increases. Now a person can sometimes take off his helmet and breathe the air for a few minutes. In a few million years the Earth will be filled with plant and animal life, and the oceans and rivers and lakes and air will be as clear and pure as they were before humans spread over the planet.\" Go on to the next Page.

85 Y- -aYmoarua are very moved by the noble goals of and fascinated by the state of life on Earth. \"This world-which for me is the world of the future-is very interesting, \" you say, \"but I want to return to my own time. Didn't you say there's a legend about the Cave of Time?\" \"Yes, there is a cave some fifteen hundred kilo- meters distant. We could take you there, but you should know this: Those who enter it never come out. There is a legend that creatures sometimes come out of the cave. Their bones lie scattered near the enfuance because, of course, they cannot survive on Earth.\" lf you decide to seek out the Caue ot' Time, turn to page 20. It' you decide to stay in the distant future, turn to page 58.

86 The risk of being hit by a car that you won't be able to see for five minutes seems too great. You just don't dare cross any sfreets; and if you can't cross any sheets, you're stuck at this school-five minutes ahead of your own time! You walk back aimlessly into the school building. You sit down outside the principal's office and bury your face in your hands, tuying to think of what to do. \"Say, is anything wrong?\" You look up and see the kindly face of Miss Palmer, who works in the school office. \"l don't know-l'm five minutes ahead of my own time,\" you say. \"Please look up and talk to me,\" Miss Palmer says. \"l want to help you.\" \"l am talking,\" you start to say, but then you realize that Miss Palmer won't hear you for five minutes more, and that she must think you're just sitting there silently. The only reason she can see you is that you've been sitting in the same position for more than five minutes. Turn to page 90.





89 To your relief the tribe takes you in. Though you despair oI ever mastering their stange language, you are able to learn to hunt and fish and gather food. You make friends with almost everyone in the tuibe. In fact, there is only one Neanderthal who makes you uneasy. Vor is a boy, about your age, who likes to come up andlab you with a stick and call you names you can't understand. The Neanderthals are generally peaceable and easy- going people, and the adults don't seem to know what to make of Vor. When he jabs or taunts you, they turn their eyes and look the other way. One day while you are picking cloudberries high on the cliffs that border the river, Vor jabs you so hard, you almost fall to your death. You turn on him, but he throws down his stick and stands, feet wide apart, ready to battle. The Neanderthals are much stronger than modern humans, and you know you haven't a chance in hand-to-hand com- bat. You just walk away and return to camp. Turn to page 96.

90 There's nothing you can do except explain ev- erything as well as you can and hope that some- one willbe around five minutes from now to hear it. Fortunately during the next few minutes Miss Palmer gets the school nurse and the principal and your teacher, Ms. Hawkins. They are allstanding there five minutes after you explained your situa- tion, so they can hear you while you're stillsitting there in front of them. They take you to the hospi- tal, where the doctors give you a sedative, and you fall sound asleep. Turn to page 702.