Lywerav-Ontoul-Yrbon:
I lowered my shredder, and chuckled. Cheegan-Estrif-Valad didn't find anything amusing about the situation. ((The human tried to kill me, and you find it amusing?))
((You were in no real danger)) I pointed out.
((It almost pulled a weapon on me, twice)) Cheegan protested.
((Good. You're out of practice. You needed some… refining… and by a human, no less. It doesn't even have a tail for balance, and still it made you fall down)) I scoffed.
((It's stronger than it looks)) Cheegan answered ruefully.
((Indeed… and we now have an interesting puzzle)) I said cheerfully, keying the access panel back to the bridge. Behind me, Cheegan dragged the unconscious human towards a containment cell. I dropped the hologram on the Chazaar, revealing her as a deep space Andalite reconnaissance craft. Within minutes, we were on course for the research facility. I had been bored almost to death in the past months. Although this was a prestigious posting, it had not really tested my skills… but this human might dispel some of the monotony. I love puzzles.
Esplin 1894:
((That went well)) Jacob commented dryly.
((Indeed. We are now prisoners))
((How did you know?)) Jacob asked, curious.
((I'm… not sure. Obviously they used a holographic sheathe to disguise the vessel, but… I think it was the Hork-bajir))
((In what way?)) Jacob asked.
((We have so few Hork-bajir, only the best of our warriors are given them. They all have… an edge to them, a coldness. This Hork-bajir did not. Also, he did not seem comfortable with the Dracon beam in his hand)) I suggested hesitantly.
((They will most likely use a biometric scanner on you, so whatever you say, keep it truthful))
((Can I use truths, from a certain point of view?)) Jacob asked, referencing another of his fictional movies.
((You can… but try to avoid doing so)) I advised.
Conversation subsided after that.
Lywerav-Ontoul-Yrbon:
After a thorough scan detected no additional transmitters or weapons on the human, I landed the Chazaar in the main landing cradle, and transferred the sedated human to a more secure holding cell. I examined the human's effects carefully, but they held no real clues for me. I caught movement in the cell behind me, and turned.
((You are awake, yeerk. Good)) I said coldly, watching the human. The human laughed at me.
"I can see why she hated you Andalites. You really are arrogant bastards."
Some of the human's words did not correctly translate, implying that they were expletive in nature.
The important parts translated correctly though. The human, obviously male, had referred to an unknown female, in past tense, and her hatred of Andalites. I could easily deduce the obvious implications, but I continued, as if I were dim-witted.
((I wish to know how much you have learned, yeerk, and if you have told anyone)) I walked to the containment field threateningly. The human stood, and stared at me,
"I've survived six years of hell in my own head. There's nothing you can do to me, worse than that," the human snarled. Good. Anger clouds rational thought.
((How did you find us?)) I barked.
The human laughed at me again, "She never found you, Andalite. It was just a quick sweep of the system, then we were supposed to go somewhere else. It was routine."
I was beginning to suspect that one of my theories was true, but it was still too soon.
((Who is this female you keep referring to?)) I questioned.
The human touched his ear, "The yeerk bitch that used to live in my head."
The amount of hatred and… loathing… in his voice was genuine.
((You told us that it was your third day, human)) I reminded him.
"You looked like yeerks. How else was I supposed to get close?" the human asked.
((You claim your yeerk died of Kandrona starvation?)) I clarified. So far, nothing the human said had been a lie… and this was too pointed a question to be talked around.
"I am free," the human answered.
That was not a lie. But it was an evasion.
((Did the yeerk die?)) I demanded.
The human looked at me, "Yes and no."
((Explain))
"The yeerk is dead… but I still have some memories from it, things that are not mine, jumbled in my head. Bits of personality."
Ah… I had heard reports of such things, from captives whose' yeerks had starved.
This was also, apparently, true.
I considered the human. ((What was your plan, exactly? Why activate a distress beacon?))
He shrugged, "It's not exactly easy to survive in the wild out there. Not without a Dracon beam. Besides, I didn't want to die, marooned here. I want to make the yeerks hurt, just like they made me hurt. I can't do that here. If I called a ship though… and then slaughtered every single yeerk bastard onboard…" the human trailed off suggestively.
((A bold, but foolish plan)) I criticized.
The human shrugged, "We all die, the only questions that matter are when, why, and how."
I liked this human.
But I did not trust him.
((()))
((Uncle, can I see the prisoner?)) Sonili asked me. I chuckled, ((No, you cannot. It is classified)) I told her seriously.
((But, there's nothing to do here. Mother never leaves the laboratory, and you are always in the security station. There's no one else I can play with)) my niece complained.
((What about Bellai?)) I suggested.
((Bellai?! She's three years younger than me! She's a child!)) Sonili protested. I shook my head fondly at my twelve year old niece. The travesties of youth.
((My goodness, three years? I'm sorry for suggesting such a thing. It is unthinkable that you two should ever speak, or even interact. What was I thinking?)) I apologized.
((You're making fun of me, Uncle)) Sonili said sullenly.
((Yes I am)) I admitted, and tickled her.
She screamed and darted away across the field, her knobby legs pounding. She would be just as breathtaking as her mother in another three years, but until then, she would be awkward and skinny. Most of the awkwardness was merely in her head.
Esplin 1894:
((I spy… something starting with… T)) Jacob said.
((Toenails))
((Nope)) Jacob said smugly, shielding the thought from me.
((Trousers))
((Cold))
((Toes))
((Colder))
((Thigh?))
((Warmer))
((Testicles)) I suggested.
((Oh come on, you can't even see those!)) Jacob complained, ((play the game right!))
I laughed to myself. Baiting Jacob was almost as amusing as playing his insipid "Car-ride" games from his childhood.
((Tiny testicles?)) I ventured innocently.
((Shut up, Esplin)) Jacob fumed.
Jacob refused to speak to me. That lasted almost five minutes.
((Thumb))
((Excuse me?)) I asked, startled.
((The word was "thumb")) Jacob grumbled.
((Are we still playing?)) I asked.
((Yes))
((Thumb)) I promptly replied.
((This is a new round)) Jacob protested.
((You never said when I had to tell you what the word was)) I pointed out.
Jacob glowered at me. He wasn't going to get into a battle of technicalities with me, he'd learned better than that. So he conceded the point to me, with poor grace.
It was my turn now.
((I'm thinking of a word that starts with… Andalite?)) I stuttered.
((Esplin it has to be a letter to— oh)) Jacob noticed the small andalite watching us from the door to the security room.
((What's going on?)) Jacob asked.
((I have no idea)) I admitted.
((Let's just play it cool)) Jacob decided.
((How else could we "play it?")) I inquired.
The andalite had pale violet hair that marked her as female. She had something in her hands, but it was forgotten, as she stared at us.
((Should I say something?)) Jacob wondered.
((No. You look competent, until you open your mouth)) I counseled, ((Try ignoring her))
Reluctantly, Jacob went back to looking at his hands, examining the cuts and nicks he had acquired. One of them was a weird shade of purple.
((I think I have tetanus)) Jacob decided.
((You don't have tetanus)) I said tiredly.
((How do you know? Are you a doctor? Dr. Yeerk?))
((Technically, by your understanding, yes, I do have a "doctorate.")) I replied.
((What's she doing?)) Jacob whispered. Unnecessary in our own head. As if someone might overhear?
We both watched the andalite girl out of the corner of our eyes, as she manipulated the hand device.
((Are you a yeerk spy?)) a new voice joined in. It was starting to feel a little crowded in Jacob's head.
"Maybe," Jacob said, "maybe not."
The andalite peered at the instrument for a moment, as if consulting it.
((Jacob, I think that's a hand-held universal translator. She doesn't look old enough for the neural implant version)) I suggested.
((You're probably right…)) Jacob agreed.
((Are you unsure if you are a yeerk spy, or are you unwilling to tell me if you are?)) the girl asked.
"Either, both, and neither," Jacob said, unable to keep the grin off his face.
This upset the girl, ((You're making fun of me))
"Just a little bit," Jacob admitted.
((I think you are a yeerk spy!)) the girl accused. Jacob shrugged, "I guess we'll find out in three days then, won't we?"
((You don't have to have a yeerk in your head to be a spy for them. The Skrit Na spy for the Yeerks, and they aren't being controlled))
Jacob squinted at her with a touch of respect, "That's actually a pretty good point… but the yeerks don't have to be in their head to control them. The Skrit Na are enslaved all the same."
This piqued the girl's interest. Ah, an intellectual.
((Explain your reasoning))
Jacob took a moment to gather his reasoning into a form that could be presented.
"The Yeerks are not just master enslavers, they're also master manipulators… and quite frankly, the Skrit Na are pretty easy to manipulate. Offer them a deal, and they'll haggle, and barter, but eventually, they will accept. It's in their nature," Jacob explained. My barbarian was becoming a better thinker. This made me proud. Jacob shot an annoyed thought at me, but kept his attention on the girl.
The door opened behind the girl, and a second girl stood frozen in the doorway. She too had a hand-held universal translator in her hand, but it was a much smaller model. Also, the two Andalites looked identical.
Jacob squinted at the girl in front of him, "More holograms?" he complained.
((Yes. More holograms)) the girl chuckled, and the voice in our head suddenly changed cadence and pitch, back into the voice of our interrogator. The hologram disappeared, replaced by the much larger Andalite.
"How is something larger concealed by a hologram smaller than it?" Jacob asked, puzzled.
The andalite male reached back, and his hand shimmered through the nearby console.
"Ah… you're not even here," Jacob realized.
((Just a holographic projection, and some remote manipulation of door controls)) the interrogator confirmed. The girl jumped suddenly, as if someone had started yelling at her, and fled the room. The interrogator didn't miss a beat.
"Still, it was a pretty good trick," Jacob pointed out.
((It was. Somehow, I doubt it will still be effective))
"Oh, by the way, I was wondering… the Hork-bajir I attacked. No lasting damage, right? I hit his trachea pretty hard…" Jacob actually managed to sound worried, while simultaneously trying to sound like he didn't. I applauded his performance.
((Only his pride was damaged in any lasting way))
"Good. Can't let the underlings get complacent, after all," Jacob replied blithely.
((Complacent indeed))
The interrogator turned to leave, and Jacob asked, "Could I have something?"
The Andalite paused, and regarded Jacob, ((It depends on the item))
"There was a book, in my bag. Could I have it?"
((The bound collection of fibrous sheets, with human writing on them?)) the Andalite clarified.
"That would be it," Jacob confirmed.
((We will see))
((()))
When we woke the next "morning" there was a familiar paper-back book waiting beside us.
((Well, he doesn't seem so bad)) Jacob decided, flipping to the last page we'd been reading, before The Creeper had shown up.
((We'll probably finish this book in the next two days. Then what will we do?)) I asked grimly.
((Well, there's always checkers)) Jacob suggested.
((Never mind))
Lywerav-Ontoul-Yrbon:
I observed the human "reading" his crude information storage device. It was actually quite elegant in its simplicity. It had taken me several hours to translate the pages manually, and give the contents a cursory check, but it appeared to be nothing more than an account of a past fictional or historical event. It was entirely possible there was a hidden code, but if so, the information was one way. Seventy-two hours had already passed, but I did not inform the human of this, and he had shown no signs of discomfort beyond intense boredom. I had also given Sonili a very stern lecture. She had reconfigured a hand-held universal translator to mimic my thought-speak, and a strand of my fur to fool the security precautions. I gave her credit for inventiveness, but I dreaded her coming rebellion stage. She would be a terror.
I snapped from my thoughts, realizing that the human was doing something. He was busy uprooting the grass in his cell. I leaned closer to the monitor. Within minutes he had a roughly square section of dirt, about half a meter to a side. Then he used his finger to draw criss-crossing lines in the dirt, in a rough grid pattern. Had isolation caused the human to go insane? He began shredding some of the different colored grasses, making a pile of green, and blue plant material. Was this some kind of ritual perhaps?
Jacob Nyles:
((This is not a good idea)) Esplin said again.
((Shush. Unless you want to play I Spy))
((No. Never again))
((Then we're playing checkers. If anyone asks, it's a single player game, like Solitare))
There was silence for several minutes as I set all twenty-four pieces of grass in position.
((I want to be blue)) Esplin said suddenly.
((Any particular reason?)) I asked curiously. There had been a quiet intensity in her thoughts.
((I would rather be blue, than green)) Esplin said evasively.
((No-way. What's the reason? If you don't tell me, then you're going to play as green)) I threatened.
((I prefer the color blue, to the color green)) Esplin eventually admitted.
((Yeerks have favorite colors?)) I asked, almost out loud.
((Everything has favorites)) Esplin retorted hotly, but she was still hiding something. I had pushed her enough though, anymore and she wouldn't play… and I was bored.
((Very well. Blue your are, then. You can go first)) I offered. I relaxed my left arm, and it moved independent of my will, placing a blue piece into another square.
Lywerav-Ontoul-Yrbon:
I could not deduce the meanings behind the movements. It was clearly a game of some sort. The rules were simplistic, but the movements chaotic. The hands seemed to move independent of each other, following two different strategies. After a few hours, I looked away, and focused on my reports… but the nagging thought that I was missing something kept eating at me. It refused to leave me alone. I was staring at the answer, I knew, but could not perceive it.
Someone knocked at my door, and I opened it, distracted. It took me a moment to realize my daughter had entered.
((What is it, Sonili?)) I asked.
((The human knows to look for holograms. What if I tried, instead of you?)) she said bluntly, not even trying to conceal her intentions.
((He would speak to you?)) I asked skeptically.
((He did when he thought he was speaking to me)) she pointed out. I looked at the mysterious game again, and tasted the bitterness of defeat. I sighed, ((Very well, but don't tell your mother))
Esplin 1894:
I peered at my soldiers intently, and glanced again at Jacob's own forces. I was winning.
((You haven't won yet)) Jacob said, sourly.
I moved another trooper to harass his left side.
((Left flank)) Jacob corrected, moving a green soldier to reinforce the line where it had weakened.
I harried his right flank, and let the attack fall flat, before turning my attention back to his left. Emboldened, Jacob made a sortie on the right, taking two of my pieces in a single move. His satisfaction turned to horror as I coldly sprung my trap, slipping a pawn through the gap in his defenses, and turning it into a king, before tearing his defenses apart from within. He had no kings of his own, and was helpless. If he moved his pieces, my remaining pawns would take them. If he maintained formation, my king would take them. Unable to sit by and be slaughtered, Jacob made a desperate attack on my lines, throwing his soldiers away, trying now to simply take as many of my pieces as he could before defeat.
He would have made a poor general. He was too intent on keeping his pieces alive, rather than achieving victory.
((Is it a war game?)) a voice asked.
Startled, Jacob let out a choked curse, and we looked up. The Andalite girl was back.
((If so, your left hand has the winning strategy))
"Maybe it's a reenactment," Jacob hedged, stopping the game. He still hadn't taken back his left arm, so I pinched him.
((What?)) he demanded.
((Keep playing. If you suddenly stop, it looks suspicious)) I said.
Within a minute the game was over, our movements quick and inevitable. I won, but only my King and a single pawn survived Jacob's all-out counterattack.
Jacob took back his arm, somewhat sharply, and peered at the girl.
"Now, are you really a girl, or your father?" he asked. Father?
The girl seemed rattled, ((Father? No, he's my father's brother))
"Did you come here for a reason?" Jacob asked.
((The game you were playing earlier… can two people play?)) the girl asked.
"Perhaps. There's another game I know, but I can't play anything that complicated with bits of grass and dirt," Jacob said.
((You can't leave the cell, if that's what you're suggesting)) the girl said nervously.
Jacob sighed, "No, that's not what I'm asking. Obviously if you released me, I'd overpower you, steal your hand device, and proceed on a rampage through the facility in my underwear, using your device to subdue every single Andalite warrior in single combat."
The girl stared at Jacob, and so did I. It was hard to tell who was more incredulous.
"Or… you could figure out a way to make a holographic board and pieces…" Jacob suggested.
((I will do that)) the girl stammered, and trotted to the console.
((What was this about rampage and underwear?)) I asked.
((That got your attention, did it?)) Jacob asked idly.
((Why are you testing her?)) I asked.
((Boredom))
As good an answer as any, I suppose.
Within ten minutes, Jacob had talked the girl through creating an 8x8 horizontal grid, with alternating checkered boxes. In addition, she had created various pieces in black and white colorations, (pawns, knights, bishops, rooks, queens, and kings). She had also created a dual board, one on Jacob's side of the containment field, and one on her side. Move a piece on one, and the movement mirrored on the other board. She had done that last part on her own.
"This game is called Chess," Jacob said with relish.
Lywerav-Ontoul-Yrbon:
I watched my daughter speak with the human, and paid particular interest as he began to teach her to play this new game. Much can be learned from how one being teaches another. My daughter quickly grasped the basic concepts of the game, earning the human's approval. That is not to say he made it easy for my daughter. He crushed her within ten minutes during her first game, losing only his knights, a bishop, and a pawn. However, when the game was over, the human went back and revisited her mistakes, suggesting better alternatives to her actions.
The second game, it took him twenty minutes to beat her, and he lost nearly half of his pieces. Once again, the human reviewed the game and her movements. My daughter is an impatient student, and did not suffer defeat gladly… but she made the attempt anyway, which impressed me. The human did not give her anything. By the end of their fourth game, she had earned a narrow stalemate with the human, a tie. The game was of interest to me as well now. It had a quaint charm to it, far removed from our more physical games. This was a game of focused contemplation. We had many games with balls and opposing teams, but that was a civilized warrior's game. This though, was a game played by barbarian warlords.
Esplin 1894:
((She has you)) I told Jacob smugly. He ignored me, and continued his gambit anyway. The Andalite girl did not accept the bait (a bishop), instead, she snipped the snare on his trap by taking his lightly defended knight instead. While Jacob had played his games with the Andalite, I had been watching them both. It was still too soon for the girl to have a cohesive playing style, which made her somewhat unpredictable. Jacob on the other hand, had a very distinctive style. He was like a magician. He liked to throw up a distracting screen of glitter, while his true moves were hidden deftly behind more aggressive positioning. He also relied on guerilla tactics, rapid attacks and retreats, using his pawns as little more than cover for his more mobile pieces. And he led from the front, using his king occasionally to lock down pieces from attack. As before in our checker games, I noticed a distinct unwillingness to sacrifice pieces, which sharply limited many of his strategies.
That is not to say he didn't sacrifice any pieces… but when it happened, it was more of losing a gamble, than intentionally letting the piece be taken. He usually had a back-up plan though, that would capitalize on the loss of that piece.
As I have said before, humans are full of contradictions, most of them based upon perception.
"I'll be damned," Jacob said, startled, "Check-mate,"
((I told you so))
((No one likes a smart-ass)) Jacob replied without heat.
The andalite girl looked up, ((I won?))
"Yes, you won. Now, what could I have done differently?" Jacob asked. The girl seemed off-balance by the question.
((But, you have played this game longer than I have, shouldn't you be telling me?)) she asked.
Jacob held up a finger, "Who won?" he asked.
((I did)) the girl replied.
((So your strategy must have been superior. As the victor, it is your responsibility to educate your defeated opponent. In this way, both are stronger for the next engagement))
((A curious view of war, human)) another voice said. The girl looked up as the interrogator entered, and moved to leave, but the male bade her wait with a flick of his hand.
((See, I am not mistaken, Jacob. He believes your ideas are strange as well)) I said smugly.
((You claim that educating a defeated enemy makes both stronger, please elaborate)) the male continued.
"Because in the end, you have lost an enemy, but gained a friend," Jacob answered softly.
The Andalite looked at us with those inscrutable eyes for several long seconds.
((My people were once as idealistic as yours, human… but the galaxy is a harsh place))
"Tell me, which fate is worse: to lose your people, or for the thing that makes your people who they are to be lost?" Jacob asked sharply.
I felt a crumbling sensation in my figurative chest. Either way, my race was damned.
((Empty words are worthless. Would you face me, instead of a child?)) the Andalite asked, gesturing to the holographic chess boards.
"Of course." Jacob said. The pieces on the boards reset.
((Alright Esplin, your turn)) Jacob said.
((What?)) I asked, startled.
((He's watched me play several games. He knows how I will react. I know you've been watching us play. We need to win)) Jacob said tensely.
Suddenly the conversation took on new meaning. ((But that's so… primitive…)) I complained, a trial by combat? Through a board game?
((You can beat him. I know you can)) Jacob answered simply.
((I don't want to)) I said stiffly.
((Please?)) Jacob asked. I stared at him for a frozen moment.
((Fine… but I get to move both hands, and eyes)) I countered.
((Move what you wish)) Jacob answered, relaxing his control. He got up from the controls, as it were, and let me sit down. I looked down at Jacob's hands, then at the board.
"Let's play," I said.
Lywerav-Ontoul-Yrbon:
The human's mannerisms changed, subtly, as if shedding a mask. His strategies in the game changed entirely. I understood finally, what the human had been doing. He had let me observe his movements, and then challenge him, confident in my understanding of his tactics… but now he used a different set of strategies on me. If all humans were like him, then I shuddered to think what they might be capable of if they possessed proper warships.
The most maddening part of this game, was his opening move. He marched his War-prince, which represented the player, to the front of his battle line, to stand at the head of his forces. It was a clear challenge, and radically different from his earlier moves. Such an exposed position was untenable, I was certain… yet every attempt I made to capture that most critical piece, ended in the loss of my piece. Seemingly from nowhere, at the last moment, a piece would subtly move, protecting the War-prince from harm, and trapping my attacking piece. It was maddening. Within ten minutes, our armies had been severely depleted, with only a handful of pieces on either side. I threw my prince at his right flank, trying to force his War-prince into the corner. Instead, his war-prince advanced, slowly dragging his Firsts, two arisths, and XO forward as well, in concert. My Prince fell, two moves later, taking his First, but this ultimately allowed one of his arisths to reach the end of the board, and become a prince. With that prince, he cornered my War-prince, and left his own war-prince to keep my war-prince trapped, since I could not move into "check." With that, he tore the rest of my pieces apart with his resurrected prince. Seven moves later, I stared at the board, unable to comprehend… how?
The human sat back, and crossed his arms, regarding me levelly through the containment field.
"Do you wish to know what you could have done differently?" he asked.
I swallowed my pride, ((If you would))
The human smiled, "Very well, the game hinged on this moment, here, when you committed your queen—" the human continued to speak, but I did not hear his words, precisely. I was listening to his character.
((()))
Later, as I grazed in the main meadow, Sonili found me. ((Uncle…)) she started quietly.
((What is it, sun-flower?))
((About the human… is he deceiving us?))
((Yes)) I said simply. He was withholding something. The sooner I could crack the encryption on the yeerk memory crystal, the answers would be mine, of that much I was sure.
((Tomorrow… may I play with him again?)) Sonili asked timidly.
((If I say no, you will find some way to do so anyway)) I chuckled. My niece remained suspiciously silent.
((Yes)) I sighed, my thoughts returning to the memory crystal.
