Phaze Doubt

“Not exactly,” she repeated. “I mean, that’s how it’s played, yes, only sometimes it doesn’t work. You’ll see, maybe.”

“Then let’s play it,” he said. He saw that the numbers were highlighted for him, so he touched 3. CHANCE. She would have no chance against him in any ordinary game, so this was the only fair way, as it largely negated skill.

“I’m choosing A. NAKED,” she said, touching her screen.

“But are you supposed to tell me? I thought the point was that the choices are hidden until the result is manifest.” Indeed, that was the essence of gaming: the hidden strategy and counterstrategy.

“Well-“

She broke off, and he saw why. Instead of highlighting the 3A box, the screen was flashing words. SOME TALK OF ALEXANDER, AND SOME OF HERCULES; OF HECTOR AND LYSANDER, AND SUCH GREAT NAMES AS THESE. GOOD MORNING, LYSANDER! HAVE YOU MADE ANY RECENT CONQUESTS?

He looked over the console at Alyc. “This is a joke?” he asked, uncertain whether to laugh.

“Not exactly,” she said. Her cheeks showed a becoming hint of a flush. “I mean, I didn’t do it. It’s the Game Computer.”

“The computer recognizes me?” But obviously it did, using the ubiquitous sensors of Proton. It was already talking again.

LYSANDER: NAVAL AND MILITARY COMMANDER OF SPARTA, WHO ENDED THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR IN 405 B.C. BY DESTROYING THE ATHENIAN FLEET AND REDUCING ATHENS TO A SECOND-RATE POWER.

“I am no military commander!” Lysander protested. But he wondered: could the computer know of his true mission?

LYSANDER: A CHARACTER IN SHAKESPEARE’S MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM WHO FALLS IN LOVE WITH HERMIA, WHO FLEES WITH HIM TO THE WOODS IN ORDER TO AVOID MARRIAGE TO HER FATHER’S CHOICE OF MEN. HAVE YOU TAKEN A WOMAN TO THE WOODS, LYSANDER?

“Well, actually she took me,” he said. “Her name was Belle, and she was a unicorn. She spoke to me musically on her horn, telling me of the recent history of the planet and the mating of ‘rovots’ and the unwelcomeness of goblins. But she had no human form.”

YOU ARE PLAYING CAT AND MOUSE WITH ME, LYSANDER. THEREFORE I GIVE YOU THE GAME OF FOX AND GEESE. DO YOU KNOW IT? A pattern appeared, showing thirty-three dark circles arranged in lines of three and seven.

“I know it. But this is not the type of game we selected.”

IT IS CLOSE ENOUGH. REPORT TO THE GAME CHAMBER SHOWN BY THE BLUE LINE. A line appeared on the floor, leading away from the console.

“See?” Alyc asked. “It does what it wants. It won’t let us play any game but the one it chooses for us.”

“Intriguing. Do you think the magic affected it?”

“It must have. Now it’s a self-willed machine.”

“Well, let’s see what it’s like. Do you prefer to be the fox or the geese?”

“I have no choice. It marked you the fox.”

“Oh. I hadn’t noticed. Very well, I’ll play the fox. You have played the game before?”

“Yes, it’s fun, the way it’s set up. Only I don’t like the way other women cut in.”

“Women cut in? Are we talking about the same game? This should be a board, with marbles—“

“You’ll see.”

Something was definitely askew. Lysander shut up and followed the blue line.

The chamber was larger than necessary for a table and board game; indeed, neither was there. Instead there were rows of human-sized neuter mannequins standing as if ready to march to war.

“I think we have the wrong room,” Lysander said.

“No we don’t. It’s a life-sized game. Those are the geese, and you’re the fox.”

“But in the game, the fox tries to jump the geese and remove them, while the geese try to block in the fox so it can’t move.”

“See, the places are there,” she said, pointing to the floor. Sure enough, it was laid out in the game pattern—and each mannequin was standing in a circle. “You don’t literally jump the geese, you just touch each one so she gets orT the board and you step beyond her. It’s the same, only larger.”

“She? Those mannequins are neuter.”

“No they aren’t.” She stepped up to the center of the forward line, which had one blank circle. As she did so, things changed. Suddenly all the mannequins were clothed in frilly dresses that were padded to make them look female, and all had wigs that contributed to the effect. So did Alyc—and in the dress and wig, she looked astonishingly like the others. Rather, they all looked like her. It was a transformation that seemed almost magical.

Almost? Now he knew that magic was literal, here; it could indeed be involved. “But you’re in clothing! I thought only Citizens—“

“In the games it’s okay. It’s costuming. But we would never go like this outside!”

He nodded. Special license for costumes made sense. It also gave serfs a chance to act out whatever fantasies they might have. He was coming to appreciate why the Game Annex was so popular among those who might not otherwise have been game-minded. It represented therapy on unspecified levels.

“Now play,” Alyc said. “You move first.”