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The Story:

He wasn’t nervous. Anger, apprehension, and confusion were all there—but not nervousness. He considered breaking the rules, putting a stop to this game they were playing, but nervousness wasn’t the reason.

He strolled into the lone street lamp, waiting on his opponent. This is where they always played. No one would ever find them here. Even if they did, they wouldn’t know what was really going on.

A small breeze lifted the top of his hair. It was not what he had designed for his hair to do. It was to remain in place as it had been instructed. It was to remain controlled. He licked his fingers and plastered it back into submission.

Out of the shadows came his opponent, strolling up to him with the utmost confidence. Under his right arm, a square box waited for its reveal as the only common thread they shared. He stopped at the inner edge of the circle of light produced by the street lamp and grinned.

“Ready to play?”
“Always.”

Stepping to the circle’s center, he set the square box on the ground and began placing pieces from its drawers onto a checkered board on its top. Most people knew the game as “chess.” But they had a different name.

“Are you ready?”
“Yes, let’s get this over with.”

They rolled up their sleeves and waved their wrists over the board. The box made an audible acknowledgment of their scans and assigned different colors to their players. It was automatic, and it was too easy.

His opponent thought for a brief moment and moved his first piece into a sacrificial position. It was a move devoid of compassion. The man always played as if there was nothing beyond these pieces on this board—there was.

“Why did you do that?”
“Because I know how much it bothers you,” he taunted.

He was beginning to perspire from the anger. As he was about to take the piece, he noticed his hand was beginning to shake. Maybe he was nervous. And maybe that was a good thing.

He took the piece, wondering how many men died taking that position as he did it. With each move, his army fought his opponent’s army. How many perished with that move?

 

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