A Discovery in Wtuoo

                     “In that case,” said the Dodo solemnly, rising to its feet, “I move 
                that the meeting adjourn, for the immediate adoption of more energetic 
                remedies—”
                      “Speak English!” said the Eaglet. “I don’t know the meaning of half 
                those long words, and, what’s more, I don’t believe you do either!” 
                And the Eaglet bent down its head to hide a smile: some of the other 
                birds tittered audibly.
                                          ——Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll

When the veins of iron ore disappear from our rocks and our trees stand too thin, we look across the calm waters for more resources. We have a community to build on this island, and word has it that an airport sits to the south, offering passage to islands with unspoiled riches up for grabs—for a small fee of 2000 bells.

I gather my tools: a shovel, net, fishing rod, ax, wet suit. The flight outpost hugs the coast, and I walk across a carpet of grass and weave between identical cherry trees. I reach the beach in mere moments, my feet a blur of pitter-patters.

The airport stands out against a picture-perfect blue sky, and I enter it to find the most intriguing specimen. A plump and cheery dodo clad in a pilot’s shirt stands behind the counter, his face yellow and his plumage blue. His name is Orville, and he greets me: “Hey hey hey! Welcome to your one and only gateway to the skies, the Wtuoo airport.”

I merely stand and gawk, clicking my A button rapidly to speed through his loquacious interaction. I have entered Nintendo Switch’s Animal Crossing: New Horizons, a life simulation game where players build a thriving island village, but I did not expect to come across this animal. I have never seen a dodo like this before. Aren’t dodos meant to be stupid? I hate to think it, but I do. Orville efficiently passes me along to another dodo, Wilbur, who takes me where no dodo has gone before—into the air.

We land on an uncharted island. Wilbur looks at me through his aviator sunglasses and shares a warning, I fear maybe even a threat: “Think that’s everything. Go explore. If you get into trouble, ask yourself, ‘What would dodos do?’”

“I don’t know,” I nearly blurt aloud to these cheery pixels. The dodo has survived as an icon of extinction for the past 300 years, living in popular culture references galore. Unlike the dodos of Animal Crossing, though, they are often a creature of little intelligence and survivability. I look at this fake dodo and realize I know nothing of its real ancestors—not even the tale of its doom.

The dodo’s story is often briefly remembered and greatly misunderstood. There’s decent reason too: For the longest time, there was so little of the dodo left to learn from. But recent advancements in science have allowed researchers to glean deeper insights with these little fragments. And these studies are helping to reshape and rewrite how this creature can live in human imaginations—and what warnings or lessons it can impart.