Sunday February 8, 2004
Book 4: The Blackness Between — Part V: Backstabbing on the Fast Track
The visible chess pieces on the table are, a bishop, a knight, and a cthulhu. The game has changed a bit over time.

Addendum to Note: There is precedent for the changing or renaming of pieces in chess. For instance, why do bishops move diagonally? Because they are not clergymen... they are ships, which must tack against the wind. In the Middle Ages, when the Church realized that it was not represented anywhere on the board, the game was altered so that the pieces closest to the royalty were the clergy. They moved in the same way, but were now to be called "bishops" instead of "ships."

This leads one to wonder just who was pulling the strings to get Cthulhu onto the board.

Addendum to Addendum to Note: No, I'm not telling you how the Cthulhu piece moves. The minute I do that one of you clever yoinkers out there is going to tell me why I'm WRONG, it CAN'T move like THAT unless you blah blah blah blah castle to queen four and shut up already.

Transcript

Narrator: Colonel Jaksmouth and his marines begin peacefully boarding the Serial Peacemaker. After all, they were invited.
Tagon: Right this way, everybody. Welcome aboard.
Jaksmouth: Thanks for the invitation, Captain Tagon. Admiral Breya sends her fond regards.
Tagon: "Sends?" Where is she?
Jaksmouth: She decided to ride this one out aboard the Sarasota with her husband.
Tagon: Oh crap.
Jaksmouth: What's that?
Tagon: Hrrm? Oh, I said "of course."
Tagon: Elizabeth can show your troops to the mess, Colonel. I've got some business to attend to.
Tagon: Ennesby, we need to locate Admiral Breya, now.
Ennesby: I've located her, sir. I need to... queen to castle... uh... check.
Narrator: Aboard the frigate Sarasota, the chess match has taken an unexpected turn.
Haban II: Relax, Ennesby. I just need to keep you from making our takeover of the Serial Peacemaker any bloodier than it has to be.
Ennesby: I'm reasonably sure that loading your castle with a short-range haxxor-ray is cheating.