Here we go for round 2! Thanks for the reviews (both of them...lol). Enjoy!
Chapter 3: Jay
On the surface, one might say I led an interesting life. But I don't. When I tell people I play poker, I usually get a lot of questions."Wow! Do you bluff a lot?" "What's the most you've ever won?" "Can I see your poker face?".stuff like that.
That would be "No," "$6,600," and "You don't need one."
I usually humor them to keep the mystery alive.but in all truth, usually I'm bored out of my mind. Playing poker is fun. Playing poker correctly is a real exercise in endurance. This is a job like any other. Go to the office and put the hours in. Except a bad day at work means you lose money.
Just wait for the good cards to start, more good cards after that, then bet all the way. If not, fold. I've had to sit there for hours to look at nothing but garbage like 7-2, 9-3, J-2, 10-5.where's the two face cards or the big pair I'm waiting for?
In the other guy's hands.
Nowadays, one still might say again I lead an interesting life. This time I agree. I spend my days doing one of four things: eating, sleeping, playing poker, and participating in world domination conspiracies. Yeah, you read that right.
Think about it. As I said before, Yeerks are really mere slugs. They're helpless by themselves. They've got no eyes. They can't see anything. All they have is the ability to take. Take someone's body, take someone's senses, and take their lives.
Calm down, Jay. Let's not go down that road.
Sigh.Anyway, when a Yeerk infests a host, the host doesn't look any different. He doesn't act strangely. You'd never know that this nice guy is being controlled by an alien slug, unless you're being controlled yourself.
I.and by "I" I mean Forsil and me.am a member of an organization called the Sharing. On the surface, it's something this country needs: a place where people can get together and not try to tear each other apart. It's nice, friendly, and homely. My advice is to find a way to get out before you become a "full" member though. If you do, they'll drag you down to the pool, stick your head in there, and you're a suit, like me. Who knows, we may share a cage at the next feeding. Don't say I didn't warn you. You'd find out what Hell really is.
I said, calm down. I really don't want to cancel this trip, so don't make me do it.
All right, enough of the rambling. We're here.
We do a quick inventory check. Bankroll: we grab $2,000 out of the safe in the trunk. Check. Image: We put on my old State college cap and some shades. Check.
As we finally set foot in the casino, I feel a creepy sensation all over. It's as if my skeleton had been instantly removed, and my skin would fall into a neatly folded pile on the floor. I nearly fall over, as it takes a few seconds for me to regain my balance.
How do I put this...okay. Humans are mostly water. Water is nice and movable. But when your body is being run by someone else, that water seems to turn into iron. You can't move a single muscle. I'm stiff as a statue if I try to move without Forsil's permission. But when I get control again, it's as if the iron became water instantaneously. Hence my loss of balance.
That was profound.
Forsil letting me be me again. See, we've got a deal set up. When you gamble for a living, you run the risk of ruin. I'm well practiced at that, but both Forsil and I fear a potential screw-up if she's in control. So whenever we enter a casino, card club, or some other place where there's a poker game, I run the show. Barring a real emergency, I'm my own man.
I make my way through the lost souls (slot machine players) to the poker room. I head over to the board, where people sign up to get a seat. There isn't anyone waiting for the game I came to play.
"Hey Cynthia, how's your night so far?" I said.
Hey, I said that. Cool.
Cynthia, the clerk for the board, is in charge of getting everyone into a poker game quickly.
"It's going great, Jay. I got no board (meaning no one waiting) for 20-40. Want in?"
"Please. Can't disappoint these tourists, now can I?"
"Go easy on 'em...they pay your bills. It's at table 21," Cynthia says, with a smile. I flag down a chip runner, buy $500 in chips from my $2,000 gangster roll, and head on over.
Chapter 4: Forsil
If there's one time I can truly relax, it's when Jay's playing this gambling game, called "poker". I really enjoy the time where I can be just an observer, not a controller.
This casino is full of humans absorbing their vices, in this case, gambling. Some play "slots", which are just machines that have their lights flash and wheels spin when money is inserted. It rarely returns any money, let alone enough to make the human a winner. Some humans play these machines exclusively, believing that their miracle jackpot is only a few spins away. Jay thinks the odds of that happening are somewhere around one in 500,000. When it hits, the machine only pays out around $100,000.
These people are willing to spend $500,000 to get $100,000 back. Jay calls them "lost souls"...a term I find ironically accurate.
There are many other "games" in this place, and almost all of them are just elaborate schemes to relieve humans of their money. It seems that the only people in this place with any intelligence are the proprietors and smart gamblers like Jay...a very small percentage.
I am reminded of the small-time Gedd-Controllers who attempted to further their own ends by running gambling games on the homeworld. I think there were about 3 of them. The first two were arrested and executed, the third realized that not only that he would eventually be caught, but that no self- respecting Yeerk has a gambling vice.
Each of my first two human hosts had such simple minds. My first, May, was simply a young child who was weak and clueless. I really was assigned her because a Hork-Bajir combat host (which was why I was transferred to Earth in the first place) was unavailable at the time. I only resided in May for a few days.
After that, I was assigned another female host, named Ginger. My Sub-Visser seemed to believe I wanted a female host, which matches my gender, but it seemed to be clear that I was better off with a male after infesting Ginger. She spent almost all of her time crying in her mind. I had put up with hosts like her for ages. Although it was easily within my capabilities, I just didn't want to have to go to war with my host anymore every second of every day. I've done enough for the Empire, I deserve some peace and quiet...
Quick! What are my odds? I got 5 outs twice.
Twenty percent. 4 to 1.
Thanks.
That was Jay. He needed me to do a little math problem for him. In poker, one must be able to calculate the odds of receiving the best hand, and comparing it to the "pot odds" to see if it is justifiable to chase those cards.
Perhaps I am getting ahead of myself. Let me explain.
The form of poker Jay is playing is called "Texas Hold 'Em". (I have no clue how it got that name.) Each player receives two private cards; the 5 cards are spread in the center of the table for everyone to use. One must combine his private cards with the center cards to make one of a list of combinations...ranging from "no pair" to "Royal Flush" (One of each of the 5 highest ranking cards, and all of the same suit).
At first, only 3 cards are spread. They are a King, Queen and Four of different suits. Jay's private cards are an Ace and a Queen. Combining the hands, Jay has a pair of Queens with an Ace, King and a Four. But since there is a King on the board, Jay believes that the hand he must beat is a pair of Kings. He needs one of the three remaining Aces for two pairs, or one of the two remaining Queens for three of a kind. That's 5 cards, or "Outs". There are two cards to come, and the odds of one of them being an Ace or Queen is one in five, or 4 to 1. (Lose 4 times, Win once.)
Remember the slot machine? Its odds are 500,000 to 1, but you only win 100,000 times what you bet if you hit it. This is a losing proposition. Jay's odds are 4 to 1...so if he will win more than 4 times what he must pay to continue, he theoretically "wins"...meaning in the long run, Jay will make money. The pot is very large, about 20 times the size of what Jay must pay.
He's getting 20-1 on a 4-1 shot. This is a huge winning proposition. So he sees the next cards.
The next card is an Eight. No help, and Jay pays again.
The last card is a Queen. Someone bets, Jay raises, and gets called. The other human's private cards are a King and a Ten, for a pair of Kings. Jay shows his three Queens and wins.
Poker is an interesting game. Jay calls it "civilized assault and robbery". One needs courage, tactical prowess, and the desire to take everything one's opponent has.
I'd like to play this game sometime.
A few hands later, the cellular phone rings. Jay continues to play, as I answer it. I have to stop watching the game, but I can't refuse phone calls. Jay probably won't pay attention to what the phone conversation is anyway.
"Hello?"
"Forsil, drop what you're doing and get to meeting place Beta. We need you for an attack."
Trying to play it off as innocent to the other humans, I respond cluelessly:
"Now?"
"Yes. Now."
My commander on the other side hung up, but I still said. "OK, sure. Bye" before replacing the phone in my pocket.
Time to go, Jay. Fold your cards and let's leave.
You must be joking. I aint folding this!
This is an emergency, we're leaving. We agreed to this.
I got the nuts for crying out loud! Gimme a minute!
The "nuts" means the best possible hand. I return my attention to the game, and sure enough, Jay's unbeatable. With two Jacks on the table, combined with his two more Jacks as private cards, he's got four of a kind. There's no straight flush possible, so he can't lose. It's the "nuts". Now, I normally wouldn't tolerate this from my host, but two things made me let him finish...one: the nuts is so rare, it'd be a shame to fold it and leave. Two: Jay is extracting as much money as possible from the other humans, taking as much as he can.
I sometimes see a little of myself in him. Perhaps that's why I let him have some freedom every now and then.
All right, finish it and go.
Jay squeezed another $200 from them, showed his four Jacks, then left. After cashing out our plastic score markers for real money, we left the casino. As we actually left the front door, I took control again. After a jog to a car, we left immediately.
An attack...what we were about to attack, I don't know. I guess we'll find out soon enough.
I started the car and left for the meeting place.
Chapter 3: Jay
On the surface, one might say I led an interesting life. But I don't. When I tell people I play poker, I usually get a lot of questions."Wow! Do you bluff a lot?" "What's the most you've ever won?" "Can I see your poker face?".stuff like that.
That would be "No," "$6,600," and "You don't need one."
I usually humor them to keep the mystery alive.but in all truth, usually I'm bored out of my mind. Playing poker is fun. Playing poker correctly is a real exercise in endurance. This is a job like any other. Go to the office and put the hours in. Except a bad day at work means you lose money.
Just wait for the good cards to start, more good cards after that, then bet all the way. If not, fold. I've had to sit there for hours to look at nothing but garbage like 7-2, 9-3, J-2, 10-5.where's the two face cards or the big pair I'm waiting for?
In the other guy's hands.
Nowadays, one still might say again I lead an interesting life. This time I agree. I spend my days doing one of four things: eating, sleeping, playing poker, and participating in world domination conspiracies. Yeah, you read that right.
Think about it. As I said before, Yeerks are really mere slugs. They're helpless by themselves. They've got no eyes. They can't see anything. All they have is the ability to take. Take someone's body, take someone's senses, and take their lives.
Calm down, Jay. Let's not go down that road.
Sigh.Anyway, when a Yeerk infests a host, the host doesn't look any different. He doesn't act strangely. You'd never know that this nice guy is being controlled by an alien slug, unless you're being controlled yourself.
I.and by "I" I mean Forsil and me.am a member of an organization called the Sharing. On the surface, it's something this country needs: a place where people can get together and not try to tear each other apart. It's nice, friendly, and homely. My advice is to find a way to get out before you become a "full" member though. If you do, they'll drag you down to the pool, stick your head in there, and you're a suit, like me. Who knows, we may share a cage at the next feeding. Don't say I didn't warn you. You'd find out what Hell really is.
I said, calm down. I really don't want to cancel this trip, so don't make me do it.
All right, enough of the rambling. We're here.
We do a quick inventory check. Bankroll: we grab $2,000 out of the safe in the trunk. Check. Image: We put on my old State college cap and some shades. Check.
As we finally set foot in the casino, I feel a creepy sensation all over. It's as if my skeleton had been instantly removed, and my skin would fall into a neatly folded pile on the floor. I nearly fall over, as it takes a few seconds for me to regain my balance.
How do I put this...okay. Humans are mostly water. Water is nice and movable. But when your body is being run by someone else, that water seems to turn into iron. You can't move a single muscle. I'm stiff as a statue if I try to move without Forsil's permission. But when I get control again, it's as if the iron became water instantaneously. Hence my loss of balance.
That was profound.
Forsil letting me be me again. See, we've got a deal set up. When you gamble for a living, you run the risk of ruin. I'm well practiced at that, but both Forsil and I fear a potential screw-up if she's in control. So whenever we enter a casino, card club, or some other place where there's a poker game, I run the show. Barring a real emergency, I'm my own man.
I make my way through the lost souls (slot machine players) to the poker room. I head over to the board, where people sign up to get a seat. There isn't anyone waiting for the game I came to play.
"Hey Cynthia, how's your night so far?" I said.
Hey, I said that. Cool.
Cynthia, the clerk for the board, is in charge of getting everyone into a poker game quickly.
"It's going great, Jay. I got no board (meaning no one waiting) for 20-40. Want in?"
"Please. Can't disappoint these tourists, now can I?"
"Go easy on 'em...they pay your bills. It's at table 21," Cynthia says, with a smile. I flag down a chip runner, buy $500 in chips from my $2,000 gangster roll, and head on over.
Chapter 4: Forsil
If there's one time I can truly relax, it's when Jay's playing this gambling game, called "poker". I really enjoy the time where I can be just an observer, not a controller.
This casino is full of humans absorbing their vices, in this case, gambling. Some play "slots", which are just machines that have their lights flash and wheels spin when money is inserted. It rarely returns any money, let alone enough to make the human a winner. Some humans play these machines exclusively, believing that their miracle jackpot is only a few spins away. Jay thinks the odds of that happening are somewhere around one in 500,000. When it hits, the machine only pays out around $100,000.
These people are willing to spend $500,000 to get $100,000 back. Jay calls them "lost souls"...a term I find ironically accurate.
There are many other "games" in this place, and almost all of them are just elaborate schemes to relieve humans of their money. It seems that the only people in this place with any intelligence are the proprietors and smart gamblers like Jay...a very small percentage.
I am reminded of the small-time Gedd-Controllers who attempted to further their own ends by running gambling games on the homeworld. I think there were about 3 of them. The first two were arrested and executed, the third realized that not only that he would eventually be caught, but that no self- respecting Yeerk has a gambling vice.
Each of my first two human hosts had such simple minds. My first, May, was simply a young child who was weak and clueless. I really was assigned her because a Hork-Bajir combat host (which was why I was transferred to Earth in the first place) was unavailable at the time. I only resided in May for a few days.
After that, I was assigned another female host, named Ginger. My Sub-Visser seemed to believe I wanted a female host, which matches my gender, but it seemed to be clear that I was better off with a male after infesting Ginger. She spent almost all of her time crying in her mind. I had put up with hosts like her for ages. Although it was easily within my capabilities, I just didn't want to have to go to war with my host anymore every second of every day. I've done enough for the Empire, I deserve some peace and quiet...
Quick! What are my odds? I got 5 outs twice.
Twenty percent. 4 to 1.
Thanks.
That was Jay. He needed me to do a little math problem for him. In poker, one must be able to calculate the odds of receiving the best hand, and comparing it to the "pot odds" to see if it is justifiable to chase those cards.
Perhaps I am getting ahead of myself. Let me explain.
The form of poker Jay is playing is called "Texas Hold 'Em". (I have no clue how it got that name.) Each player receives two private cards; the 5 cards are spread in the center of the table for everyone to use. One must combine his private cards with the center cards to make one of a list of combinations...ranging from "no pair" to "Royal Flush" (One of each of the 5 highest ranking cards, and all of the same suit).
At first, only 3 cards are spread. They are a King, Queen and Four of different suits. Jay's private cards are an Ace and a Queen. Combining the hands, Jay has a pair of Queens with an Ace, King and a Four. But since there is a King on the board, Jay believes that the hand he must beat is a pair of Kings. He needs one of the three remaining Aces for two pairs, or one of the two remaining Queens for three of a kind. That's 5 cards, or "Outs". There are two cards to come, and the odds of one of them being an Ace or Queen is one in five, or 4 to 1. (Lose 4 times, Win once.)
Remember the slot machine? Its odds are 500,000 to 1, but you only win 100,000 times what you bet if you hit it. This is a losing proposition. Jay's odds are 4 to 1...so if he will win more than 4 times what he must pay to continue, he theoretically "wins"...meaning in the long run, Jay will make money. The pot is very large, about 20 times the size of what Jay must pay.
He's getting 20-1 on a 4-1 shot. This is a huge winning proposition. So he sees the next cards.
The next card is an Eight. No help, and Jay pays again.
The last card is a Queen. Someone bets, Jay raises, and gets called. The other human's private cards are a King and a Ten, for a pair of Kings. Jay shows his three Queens and wins.
Poker is an interesting game. Jay calls it "civilized assault and robbery". One needs courage, tactical prowess, and the desire to take everything one's opponent has.
I'd like to play this game sometime.
A few hands later, the cellular phone rings. Jay continues to play, as I answer it. I have to stop watching the game, but I can't refuse phone calls. Jay probably won't pay attention to what the phone conversation is anyway.
"Hello?"
"Forsil, drop what you're doing and get to meeting place Beta. We need you for an attack."
Trying to play it off as innocent to the other humans, I respond cluelessly:
"Now?"
"Yes. Now."
My commander on the other side hung up, but I still said. "OK, sure. Bye" before replacing the phone in my pocket.
Time to go, Jay. Fold your cards and let's leave.
You must be joking. I aint folding this!
This is an emergency, we're leaving. We agreed to this.
I got the nuts for crying out loud! Gimme a minute!
The "nuts" means the best possible hand. I return my attention to the game, and sure enough, Jay's unbeatable. With two Jacks on the table, combined with his two more Jacks as private cards, he's got four of a kind. There's no straight flush possible, so he can't lose. It's the "nuts". Now, I normally wouldn't tolerate this from my host, but two things made me let him finish...one: the nuts is so rare, it'd be a shame to fold it and leave. Two: Jay is extracting as much money as possible from the other humans, taking as much as he can.
I sometimes see a little of myself in him. Perhaps that's why I let him have some freedom every now and then.
All right, finish it and go.
Jay squeezed another $200 from them, showed his four Jacks, then left. After cashing out our plastic score markers for real money, we left the casino. As we actually left the front door, I took control again. After a jog to a car, we left immediately.
An attack...what we were about to attack, I don't know. I guess we'll find out soon enough.
I started the car and left for the meeting place.
