Chapter 9 – The Beauty of Oddworld

The farmhouse was wonderful inside. Various paintings of the Oddworldian landscape covered the walls, and a fire roared away in the grate. A thick, wooly carpet covered the floor, and the chairs were made of what appeared to be slogskin. The tea was strong and black. I prefer mine milky, personally, but a drink was a drink, and I was in no position to pass up something to quench my thirst.

"So, Alan. What brings you to this side of Mudos, eh?" asked Fope, before drinking a mouthful of tea. I paused for a moment, wondering how on Earth there was tea on Oddworld. But when she said, "Alan?" inquisitively, I snapped out of it.

"Well," I began, trying to put my thoughts into words. Instead, all that came out was a slur of words, jumbled and incomprehensible, "Vykkabekillsligmeoddworldsavemudogabbits."

"What now?" Fope replied.

"Vykkers Labs, I killed, Abe save, Mudokons and Gabbits." I said once again.

"OK, try saying it to me more slowly." Fope said, clearly becoming rather impatient. I slumped back in my chair and thought about what I was doing exactly. I mean, what would I even do when "I got to Vykkers Labs 25?"

Fope spat tea across the room and got to her feet. "Vykkers Labs 25? Oh, no, that's a no-go for sure." A no-go? But why? It looked as if I was about to face complications.

As Fope went to make more tea, I pondered. Why was Vykkers Labs 25 such a bad idea? What were they keeping there, and who were they keeping it from? It was a dilemma to be sure. It looked as if I'd need help getting there. As I thought about this, Fope came back into the room with a fresh pot of tea.

"Now listen, stranger," she began, "I don't know what you're thinking of going to Vykkers Labs 25 for, but I'm telling you, it probably ain't worth it.

"Why not?" I asked, because by this point I was extremely intrigued by the mystery of this flying laboratory.

"Well, let's just say this." Said Fope, leaning in really close to my ear, "The less you know, the better." I stood up and looked at Fope, straight in the eyes.

"Now listen to me, Fope! The entire fate of Eastern Mudos rests in my hands. I need to go somewhere for the help I need, and I'm going there!"

"No, you ain't! You go to those labs, you won't be coming back!"

"That's a risk I'm willing to take!"

"It's more than a risk, it's a FACT. YOU GO THERE, YOU DIE!"

"AS LONG AS ABE COMES BACK, I DON'T CARE ABOUT MYSELF!" I roared at the top of my voice. Fope stepped back and cowered in fear in the corner of the room, as I continued to yell violently. The room fell silent, and I took a deep breath before leaving the room.

No sooner than I'd reached the gates to the farm, Fope called after me, "Alan, wait! If you're going to Vykkers Labs 25, I wanna help you." I headed back to her, and she took me to the barn. She brought back out her pack of trusty slegs and then turned to me.

"Oh, right. You're more of a slog person, right? I'll get you a couple." We headed down to the pen with the slogs in, and Fope called on the two slogs that lay there asleep.

"Hey, guys. WAKE UP!" The slogs squealed and got to their feet. "Now, we're going for a walk." The slogs obeyed their master, and seemed quite friendly towards me. That was probably because sligs were the true owners of slogs, after all. One of the slogs even came to me for a scratch on the back. It was rare moments like these that made me think. Since my arrival on Oddworld, I have realised that everything is beautiful if you look at it the right way. Even the slog at my feet, which to others may have seemed repulsive and vicious, was a loving pet sometimes.

In fact, there were many things on Oddworld I'd come to appreciate, maybe even love. A part of my mind never wanted to leave, despite the chaos that I endured on a daily basis. However, another part of me longed to go home, and although I felt as though this place was truly amazing, I couldn't stay. I just couldn't. When I got home… if I got home, I'd miss this place.

And with that thought fresh in my mind, we set off down across the enormous desert, on a journey across the sand dunes. Ten minutes on, I looked back at the farmhouse, now fading out of view in the distance. "Now that," I thought to myself, "is the beauty of Oddworld."