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Battle Chess 4000

It had been sixteen years since I had last placed my hand on a chess piece. Sixteen years since I had abandoned the glorious game, sixteen years since the Chess Federation had proclaimed that I was no longer the world’s champion. I was tired then, tired of the endless challenges, tired of dreaming chess games in my sleep, tired of surrendering my life to armies of black and white chess pieces, tired of fighting endless battles on a black and white chessboard. I was standing in a bazaar, in the Near East. A man in colorful robes was holding a chess sct in front of me. The board was pure alabaster and ivory; the pieces were silver and gold, and gleamed in the hot Turkish sun. “You are a man of great kismet.” the merchant told me. “This is a magic chess set, enchanted by sorcerers when the Empire of the Ottomans conquered Constantinople. It is said that the pieces will grant wishes, but only to the greatest chess player in the world. I ignored the legend; the pieces were enchanting without magic. It had taken me sixteen years to understand that I had been fooling myself. Chess was my life, it was what I was, and what I am. It was time to start living again. My hand shaking, I reached for the golden king. “Will you make a wish, Grandmaster?” the merchant smiled as I picked the piece from the board. The king was as hot as the noontime sun in my hand. I watched it glitter, a crowd had gathered; they were as enraptured by its beauty as I was. “Your wish, Grandmaster.” the merchant urged. For the first me, I heard his voice clearly. I gave an unconcerned response. “I wouldn't mind seeing the future. The future of chess, that is...” Two millennia have passed in an instant. Beneath my feet, the world, a fragile blue egg, glistens through the pane of a space station window. The chronometer tells me that it is the year 4,000, and a computer mentions that the space station is old, fifteen hundred years old, but everything around me seems new and vibrant. I wander through the station, enjoying its sights, sounds, and fragrances, until I reach a large door. A man stands before it, wearing metallic robes that gleam with the light of holograms that dance upon it. There is a faint sound of a great chorus, coming from holograms that sing on his shoulder. It is then that I notice the emblems of chess pieces upon his robes. “Your wish, Grandmaster.” he says, in the same voice that the merchant used ten minutes and two thousand years ago. The door opens, and a light beckons me. Half-unwilling, I ignore the robed man, and walk into a great hall. The floor of the hall is an arena, and in the arena, a giant, translucent chessboard of incredible beauty. Hatchways open to either side of the chessboard, from which people, the likes of which I have never seen. Large as life, they glide into their positions, some gracefully, others comically. A life-sized chess match. I closely inspect the pawn rows. They look more like robots than people, and they carry weapons of a kind that I have never seen. Somehow I sense that their combats may be more slapstick than violent, and worth anticipating. In place of knights are uniformed men, carrying a large gun that would have appeared futuristic. Space captains, eager to battle for the glory of their kings. Times haven’t changed that much, I thought, scowling slightly. In place of bishops are scientists, I suppose it’s appropriate. In medieval times, the Church assisted the armies and gave them the cause that sent them into battle; in modern times, technology became the partner of the military. Like the pawn, the scientist also carried a weapon whose functions I could not easily identify. Unlike the pawn, the scientist had a smirking face that made me very uncasy. Standing in the shadows in the commer of the board were strange towering machines, whose very appearance suggested great destructive power. They stood in the same place as a rook, but looked much more foreboding. It struck me that this could be a futuristic version of the legendary Battle Chess. I had seen the original version of the game, played on the personal computers of the late 20th Century. I thought that Battle Chess was an amusing and innovative way to present the old game. But the original Battle Chess had been medieval; this was a new, futuristic, and more dazzling version of the classic game. Omnately dressed and exuding patience, the King and Queen did not seem as potent as the mechanical rooks. I began to scan them more closely, but I was interrupted by a trumpet fanfare that came from the comers of the room. From the opposite end of the station, a woman in regal garb glided towards me, accompanied by a large entourage. A slight smile was on her face, but her posture and her gaze indicated that she was a woman of immense intelligence and self-discipline.