Hard to believe that it's four years since I played Through the Wire, one of Simon Farrell and Jon Sutherland's Real Life Gamebooks, as a sort of tribute to those who gave their lives in the First World War. Back then I mentioned that I'd like to play the book again at some point, as it was an enjoyable read, and I gained the impression that there's more than one way to win. The centenary of the end of the war seems an appropriate occasion to have a second go.
As I'm hoping for a significantly different adventure second time round, I'm not going to be able to learn all that much from my first experience of the book, so character creation will involve some guesswork as to which skills to prioritise. Still, I think it unlikely that there's any way of avoiding the Luck roll which determines whether or not I survive the loss of my plane, so I'd better make sure I have a decent score for that. Persuasion and Language are also likely to be important on the path I'm contemplating. I won't bother with such a high Piloting score, as I'm not sure it actually played much of a part even in the aerial battle sequence at the start of the adventure, and if I'm careful and lucky, I should be able to avoid combat later on, so I think I can risk a low Firearm score.
So, here's what Flight Officer Alistair Thompson looks like in this version of reality.
Pilot: 5
Agility: 7
Luck: 9
Persuasion: 9
Firearm: 4
Language: 9
Driving: 7
Not the most plausible combination for a real RAF fighter pilot, but I'm hoping that that'll give me a decent chance of succeeding again.
Things commence with my squadron flying to intercept over a hundred enemy planes. I target the bombers, and it turns out that there is a Piloting roll here after all. I fail it (and would have needed a double-figure Piloting skill to succeed), and my plane takes damage. Bailing out in the midst of a firefight strikes me as unwise, so I'll hope that my Spitfire is still flightworthy. Yes, the plane still handles satisfactorily, and the Germans are breaking off their attack. I decide to try and encourage them on their way, and when a fresh flight of Messerschmidts joins the fray, one of them targets me. Another failed Piloting roll, and this time my plane has definitely had it, and I need to make a speedy exit.
Putting a couple of extra points into Luck turned out to be the right decision, as I narrowly make the roll, and parachute to, if not safety, at least not-deadness. I inflate my raft and get picked up by a German ship, and as taking suicidal risks is unlikely to make for a good adventure, things are likely to follow the same pattern as on my first go at the book until I get as far as the POW camp.
That's fractionally less true than I thought, as I forgot what I did before when falsely accused of firing on a pilot who'd bailed out, and fell back on name, rank and serial number. Still, the threat of being handed over to the Gestapo for interrogation promptly railroaded me back into giving an honest account of what transpired in the sky. Jon Sutherland strikes again. And being reminded of his tendency to not so subtly push the reader in his preferred direction at times causes me to raise an eyebrow at the line, 'You curse yourself for the mistake which has brought you here.' As far as I can tell, the only thing I could have done differently that would not have led me to this section would have been to crash and burn, or to leave the book on the shelf, which leads to the conclusion that my 'mistake' must consist of either being alive or reading Through the Wire. Not the most positive message to give the readers, whichever it may be.
As before, I don't join in with the doomed escape bid made by some of the other downed airmen with whom I am transported to Stalag Luft 14 (and again I am confronted with the puzzle of how the death of three out of eight POWs can leave six survivors). Once I've been issued with the essentials for life in the prison camp (blankets, washing equipment, fork, mess-tin and tobacco) and allocated a bunk in one of the huts, I take a brief look around before getting some rest.
The following morning I am introduced to what little routine there is in the camp, and over breakfast I learn more about the security. When asked by a fellow prisoner if I intend to escape, I evade the question by asking if there have been many successful escapes. Only about half a dozen, it seems, though the French prisoners are apparently attempting it all the time. Another false choice follows: I either ask about an Escape Committee or decide to try it alone, but asking gets me nowhere and sends me to the same section as opting to attempt a break-out single-handed.
Making as detailed a study of the perimeter as is permitted, I notice what could be a blind spot in the surveillance set-up. I could try sneaking out after dark to test my theory, but is it really likely that on my first day I could spot a weakness that prisoners and guards alike have consistently missed? In all probability I'm the one failing to spot something, and any investigation will only get me slung into the cooler and given closer scrutiny by the guards.
My wanderings bring me to a building outside which several French prisoners are loitering in a suspicious manner. I wander across to test my Language skills. One of the group tells me they're keeping an eye on the Goons and introduces himself as Eugene, the chief Goon-baiter, so I tell him that I'm currently chief Nothing, which amuses him. Catching sight of an Abwehr man approaching, I discreetly warn Eugene, who almost as discreetly signals to whoever is inside the hut. The activity taking place within is hurriedly concealed, and Eugene offers to introduce me to the Escape Committee in return for my assistance.
The Committee explain about the three basic means of escaping: Under (the ground by tunnel), Over (the wire) or Through (the main gate by trickery). My high Persuasion, Language and Luck make Through the most promising-looking approach, so I meet with John, the man in charge of organising distractions and bluffs. He's currently got one scheme brewing for an escape in the weekly rubbish van, and another that involves a fake uniform. I think I'll try disguising myself.
My first job is to obtain the badge from a guard's cap for John's team to copy. I arrange for a group of us to have an exercise session, in the course of which I need to 'accidentally' collide with a guard and knock his cap off. This requires an Agility roll, which I narrowly fail, hitting the guard in the face and earning myself a week's solitary confinement. My blunder doesn't seem to have wrecked the plan, though, and after I regain my liberty, I find that an attempt at sending two fake guards out is imminent. A successful Persuasion roll enables me to get selected as one of them, and I am fitted with a convincing-looking disguise by the group's tailor and forger.
A Dutch prisoner is to be my companion, and as my Language skill is better than his, I take the initiative at the gate. The guards on the gate are taken in by our fake uniforms and passes, and we get out without incident. Concealing the uniforms in a nearby forest, my fellow escapee and I split up, and I start heading for the Swiss border.
This takes me deeper into the forest, and after a while I find a clearing that contains a wooden cabin. Investigating seems unwise: the occupant must be aware of how close the POW camp is, so any stranger is liable to be regarded with suspicion. Passing by, I continue until a main road crosses my path. I'm more likely to be spotted on the road than off it, so I cross over and move away from the road.
It's starting to get light, and I can see a farm up ahead, so while the farmer is busy milking his cows, I sneak into a hayloft and hide there until the day is over, snatching what sleep I can. By now a search will be under way for the Dutchman and me, and farmland isn't going to provide much in the way of cover, so it might be better to return to the road, on which I can probably make quicker progress.
As I approach the road, thankful for the concealment provided by the trees, I see a lot of military traffic heading west. Noting that the trucks carry no personnel other than their drivers, I speculate that they may be heading for a depot, and risk jumping into one as it passes, concealing myself behind the ammunition boxes it carries.
The truck eventually stops, and the driver wanders off without checking his cargo. Emerging with caution, I find that I am in the goods yard of Ludwigshafen railway station. From here I could stow away on trains bound for France or Switzerland, and while France is closer, I went that way when I played the book before, so I need to go for the longer journey if I want to explore different possible outcomes.
I break into a boxcar on a Swiss-bound train, and doze off once the train is on its way. When I wake, the train is motionless, and I can hear Germans searching it. Time I was elsewhere. Alas, I am spotted leaving the train, and I don't think there's any point in trying to run for it, so surrender is the only option. Well, if nothing else, I've cost the enemy some time and manpower searching for me.
Transported back to the camp, I am informed that the decision has been made to relocate me to a new prison camp designed to hold disruptive types like me: Oflag IV C, better known as Colditz. And as that is outside the scope of the book, my adventure ends here.
Not the kind of outcome I'd hoped for, but a reminder that many of those who were captured during the war did not manage to get away. And then there were all those who didn't even survive, and whose deaths, many of them futile and unnecessary, are remembered today. As gamebook failures go, this has to be my most appropriate one.
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