Riven guide- Alternate Endings
Once you have reached the point in the game where you have gone through the trap book, Ghen will follow you and become trapped himself. But you still have the linking book in your possesion, so if you place your hand on the page, you swap places with Ghen who now realises the book is a prison. He thanks you for your noble sacrifice that will go down in history as enabling him to "purify millions", then he closes the book on you forever, leaving you stuck in eternity in the trap.
If you switch places with Ghen anywhere on Riven before the right part of the game ( by touching the prison book), the game always reverts back to the lab. But if you swap places with Ghen whilest in the Rebel Age ( Tay ), he seems pleased that he finally gets the chace to meet with the rebels "face-to-face". Then he goes on about your noble sacrifice, place in history and lots of other historical pyscho-babble like he usually churns out when you see him. Fun, but ultimatley useless.
Trapped By the linking book: Version One
Once you're given the linking book back in the Rebel Age, you can try and go through yourself right away. If you do, you end up trapped there. The game ends as two of the rebels peer at the linking book ( which is apparently starting to crackle as they burn it) wondering how you could have been so stupid as to trap yourself in your own prison. Well?
Trapped By the Linking Book: Version Two
If you manage to leave the rebel age without trapping yourself in the linking book, Ghen gets hold of it. The next thing you see is Ghen's servent, being used as a guinea pig to take your place in the prison, then you find yourself trapped in the cage back in Ghen's workshop. He shoots you, then expresses amazement at your stupidity (once again!) as you slowly die from the wound.
Trapped By the linking Book: Version Three
If you've been to see Ghen before getting the linking book back from the rebels, he will ask you to go and get the book. When you return, he asks you to go through. Alternatively, if you see him with the linking book, he'll give you the long speech and then ask you to go through. If you see Ghen before the rebels and then trap yourself in the linking book somewhere in Riven before returning to give Ghen the book, you get a slightly modified version of the previous trapped ending. In this one Ghen still shoots you, but the speech is slightly different, reflecting on the fact that he has already asked you to bring the book, but that "circumstances have changed". Probabley due, once again to your stupidity.
Signalling Atrus too Early: Part One
If you ignore Catherine's warning and try and signal Atrus with the device by the starting place before freeing Catherine from the prison, the fissure opens up regardless, giving you a very nasty version of the standard ending. Atrus comes running out of the portal, asking you what is going on, then sees the empty linking book in your hand. By the time he realises what has happened Ghen arrives and shoots him. Then Ghen comes up to you and says " I don't know what you think you were doing but thank you. Now I'm finally free!", then his guard shoots you dead as well! An almost comic moment of extreme tragedy.
Signalling Atrus too early: Part Two
If you trap Ghen first, but fail to free Catherine before opening up the void and signalling Atrus, you're treated to and ending fairly similar to the normal sequence, only this time Atrus is much sadder since there is still a lot of work to be done. Catherine hasn't been saved or given the opportunity to save the villagers when Riven is destroyed. Still looking on the bright side, at least you do not get shot, sucked into the fissure or get called stupid in this one!
Signalling Atrus too early: Part Three
If you save the game near the beginning, and have a read of Catherines journal to discover the telescope code, its possible to go back to the original save posistion near the beginning and enter the sequence in the telescope before any other events are set into motion. In that case Atrus is not signalled and no one shows up to greet you before you are sucked into the void yourself. A rather stupid thing to do, if we are being honest, but possible none the less.
Killed by an Angry and Impatient Ghen
When you give the linking trap book to Ghen, he views it rather suspiciously and asks you to go through first, as he rightly guesses it is some kind of trap. If you refuse to go first, he tells you to come back when you've changed your mind. If you come back and refuse again, he just gets really impatient and shoots you! His annoyance is quite worth seeing: "You see? I HAVE changed There was a time when I would have let you live. I made that mistake once with Atrus...."
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