I think it's very obvious that I don't play chess. Sorry.
Kingdom of the Mad
Finished 01 August 2005
Alex spent the first six months losing to Ressius at chess. The Guild defector played ruthlessly for a man who seemed so genial; any piece that wasn't part of his strategy was considered expendable, could be sacrificed for distraction. He'd set them up as if they were important, and then work through whatever holes there were in Alex's defense while he was busy trying to eliminate useless pieces.
Alex couldn't understand how Ressius knew so well how to bait him. He made Ressius explain after they were done, and most of the time it would turn out that Ressius never actually had to change his strategy.
"You are too predictable," Ressius would tell him, kindly, "and too honest."
Trying to beat Ressius became an obsession. Alex spent three hours every night staring at the tiled walls of his quarters planning chess games, and then lost spectacularly the next evening. But as he tried to be less predictable, less honest, the margin grew closer and closer.
When he finally won, half a year after Ressius first boarded the Silvana, it gave him no pleasure.
"Ressius."
"Yes?"
Alex stared at the chessboard, frowning. "Tell me. Is it impossible to win without becoming like your enemy?"
He didn't want to be Delphine. The only way he could justify his own actions was by telling himself that no matter what he did, at least he was better than Delphine. Somebody had to get rid of her or die trying; he was doing the world a favour. Wasn't he?
"Delphine does not play chess," Ressius said. "Sane people play chess."
Alex glanced up. Ressius continued to talk, quietly. "Delphine doesn't need to play chess because she has power over the board and the players. She doesn't need to win because she has already won. That's the way the Guild thinks. For anybody else, this would be fatal. For the Guild, it is accurate."
Alex opened his mouth, closed it again. He couldn't even begin to imagine exactly how much power that meant – for a mad queen and a crumbling society to still be completely unassailable. "Then they're all mad. It can't be true."
"It is, unfortunately. Madness is eating away at the Guild, yes. But it will still take centuries to fall, if it falls at all. It doesn't matter how devious your strategy is. It doesn't matter what your strategy is. She has too much power."
Alex fought for calm. Power was the key; he needed more power than the Guild had.
It was impossible.
"How can I fight her?" He couldn't keep the desperation out of his voice. There had to be something. He couldn't get his mind round the idea that there was no weakness at all he could exploit. There had to be something.
Ressius smiled at him, bleakly. "I'm sorry, Alex. I don't know." He sighed, began to clear the chessboard. "Remember that I ran away."
