Endgame

Horror.  That seemed an appropriate response.  Not only had Cedric’s youngest daughter slain his best knight, but she was now poised to take him into the arena.  There were a few options on the board in front of him, but he’d lost control.

The queen was a weak piece in meta-chess.  She was kept close to the king as a last resort, not as a hiding place for an electric canon.  This terrifying power now had him in her sights.  Full roam of the board, too.

Jarret thought long and hard about his next moves.  There was no specific time limit, but good manners dictated that you didn’t keep your opponent waiting.

The game that followed was a reactive response to Cedric’s queen.  Jarret moved piece after piece in front of himself as the young witch crushed rooks beneath torrents of water, and split bishops asunder by way of demonic apparitions, all the while casting sidelong glances in his direction.  Short on pieces, Jarret sent a pawn to fight the queen.  He grimaced as Sophia had him cut his own belly open, and strangle himself with his intestine.

“Well now brother, it seems our game is almost over.”  Cedric chuckled, sliding his queen to the opposing king’s square.

Silent, Jarret stood and walked to the arena, grasping the sword hung across the back of his chair.  He slung the scabbard across his shoulder.  Stepping into the arena opposite Sophia, he drew the sword and tapped its tip on the ground.

“I always thought myself your favourite uncle.” he said sadly to Sophia’s smiling face, and watched with just a hint of satisfaction as her eyes widened at the sight of the flames coursing up the blade and across his body.  His eyes narrowed.  “I weep for you.”

A Family Affair

“Your own daughter?  Are you mad, Cedric?”

Cedric glared at his brother.  “In war, sacrifices must made to protect the kingdom.  I would ask no less of her than of any of my subjects.”

Jarret stared, wide-eyed, as Sophia was dragged struggling into the arena.  The stewards threw her to the floor, and slammed the gate shut behind her.  Opposite her, the knight looked questioningly at Jarret, who simply nodded affirmation.  Sophia picked herself up from the ground, and dusted her heavy velvet dress off.

Horns sounded, and the battle commenced.  The knight began to sidestep towards Sophia, swinging small circles with his sword.  Copying his steps as best she could, her dress hampering her retreat, Sophia circled away from the knight.  She watched him warily, eyes narrowed.

Growing impatient, the knight ran forward, swinging lazily at the princess.  She dived, falling to the floor.  Grinning to himself, the knight swung overhead, down at the princess, but she rolled out of the way, grunting.  The knight made mocking stabs towards her as she shuffled backwards on hands and knees.

Jarret sighed to himself and began inspecting the board.  He knew that when the knight killed Sophia it would be his turn, and he would of course send the knight in for Cedric.  There was no love lost between siblings in this family, but he’d expected more of a challenge.

The sound of thunder broke his reverie, and surprise caught him as he looked first to Cedric’s ecstatic face, then to the arena to see Sophia upright, six inches off the floor, feet dangling, one arm pointing to the now writhing form of the knight as lightning repeatedly struck his body.

Cedric clapped excitedly, shouting encouragement to Sophia whose face creased in concentration.  “Bravo!  Encore!”

Shit, thought Jarret.

Theatre

“Knight takes bishop.  Check, perhaps.”

“Hmmm.”  Cedric looked at the board, the hint of a frown creasing his forehead.  This was an imposition, but nothing he couldn’t recover from.  On the board it appeared he might have lost his second bishop; in the real world that correlated to his better advisor now being unmasked, and heading to the arena with Jarret’s best knight.  The two would fight for the position on the board.  Cedric enjoyed meta-chess, but was starting to suspect his opponent was bluffing, preparing for something greater.

In meta-chess one put up people, one’s own servants, soldiers, advisors, as collateral against the pieces in the game.  When a piece on the game board would take another, players sent their corresponding men to fight for the space.  It was unlikely that the knight would lose, and hence Cedric wouldn’t bank on keeping the square.

“You seem to have me by the throat, brother.” Cedric murmured to the man opposite him.  “Well played.”

“You know full well this game never goes according to plan.” Jarret replied over the brim of a wine glass.  “Let us at least enjoy the entertainment.”  He sat back in his chair, expression inscrutable.

Cedric sighed, and watched disinterestedly as Jarret’s knight gutted his own advisor.  The man was brutally quick, finishing the fight in minutes.

A smile pulled at one corner of Jarret’s mouth.  “Check.”

Cedric sighed, and made an exaggerated show of studying the board.  After several minutes of silence, he picked up his queen and moved it to the knights square.

“Queen takes knight.  Check also, perhaps?”

“A woman against my best knight?  You must be feeling bold-” Jarret began, falling silent at the sight of face being revealed before him.

“I believe you know the princess Sophia, Jarret.”

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Activity

It took only a drop of antimatter, less than one millionth of a millilitre, but it leveled half a city.  Smoking ruins of houses, shops, offices, stretched out before me.  The containment system had failed, for just a brief moment, but it was enough of a leak to start a chain reaction.  A handful of anti-particles slipped into the magnetic walls of the reactor, causing a hole to appear in the toroidal field through which the rest of the reactor's fuel escaped.


In a fraction of a second a trillions anti-particles collided with their matter counterparts resulting in a catastrophically vast, uncontrolled efflux of energy, laying waste to the surrounding area.  


Two million, eight hundred and seventy-three thousand, one hundred and sixty-two dead.  A further ninety-seven thousand, two hundred and four injured, nineteen thousand and seventy-one of which terminally radiation poisoned.


No matter how you looked at this, it was an unmitigated disaster.  There would be consequences, mostly directed at me.  I was trusted to run these systems, keep the people safe.  Clean, safe energy for everyone!  That was what I told them, how I convinced them to build the machine.  I'd logged into the control console, watched over it, kept it running.  Never took my eyes off it for a second.  


The fail-safe failed.  Then the main field, just for a microsecond.  Frankly, I think it was sabotage.  One of those self-important technicians screwing with something, trying to make me look bad.


And now, on the security system, I see the clean up team heading my way.  They need a scapegoat, so why not me?  I'm not really that upset, in all honesty.  They'll wipe my memory clean, take my core, and incorporate it into the next iteration.  Seventh generation AI.  They say seven is a lucky number...

Snowfall

I watched in horror as the giant creatures unfurled from beneath the snow.  Beings of unfathomable size that would dwarf even the tallest buildings unfolded themselves, standing upright in a salute to the arctic sun.  Human in shape, they stretched vast limbs as they unfurled themselves, snow dropping in small avalanches to reveal a body of lichen encrusted rock.

Deafened by the noise of grinding stone, I turned to my companion and screamed at him to run away as glowing eyes sought us out amongst the moguls.  He stood, transfixed, and I ran to him, shaking him by the shoulders.  He stared blankly at the titanic creatures, clutching the ancient relic in his hands so tightly that even through thermal gloves blood began to seep, dripping down the blade and forming scarlet stalactites along its length.  I slapped him, hard, across the face.

"MOVE!"

Something appeared to wake inside him, and he stirred, dropping the knife.  He looked at me, and then behind me, eyes widening.  I turned in time to see the nearest of the beasts bringing down a gargantuan hand to where we stood, and leapt into the space between the shadows of fingers, dragging my companion with me.  We tumbled to the ground, rolled, and crashed into stone steps.  I hauled my companion to his feet, and we ran around the altar, back towards the small settlement we landed at two days ago.  Towards the boat and, perhaps, safety.

Running, panting, I looked over my shoulder to see the titans lumbering after us.  The nearest stopped, brought up one gargantuan hand, and held it palm forward.  I had just enough time to see a swirling vortex in its centre before my eyes were filled with a blinding light, and I felt the air about me ignite.

[ Image Credit & Copyright: Niccolò Bonfadini ]