Planet Ignis | Chapter 13

...leaving an indelible mark on the spirit of the game.

The Midas triplets hold a revered place in the collective memory of Ignians. Known for their boundless generosity, they brought prosperity and abundance to their settlement. Merilyn, the Transmuter, and Marion, the Alchemist, bestowed upon their people the precious gifts of resources and riches through their unique abilities. Their final act of selflessness, choosing to terminate in the depths of the Midas Mines, paved the way for continued progress and growth, forever etching their legacy into the hearts of their people.

Their Longevity Chess cards inspire strategic maneuvers that capitalize on...

In “The History of Longevity Chess” by Eli, the Flarewalker

Eli cast an envious glance at his master’s beard. Despite his efforts, his own attempts at growing one had failed spectacularly. Chess, too, was an ongoing struggle, with an unforgiving score of 0 to 34,324. He wasn’t keeping count, but Trother reminded him of the score daily.

Eli shuffled the cards while Trother reset the chessboard. Ironically, Eli drew Trother, the Wise. The card read: “Exchange your knights or rooks for two additional lit bishops.”

Trother received Howner, the Dwarf king. The card stated, “All Burst moves cost one less Longevity Stone.” Eli felt a shiver run down his spine and the looming shadow of inevitable defeat. Howner was a powerful card, and he seemed destined to lose again.

“So... you and Zawa.” Trother gave a sly smile, running his fingers through his beard.

“Come on, Master, get off my case.” No matter how hard he tried to remain calm, Trother’s incisive jabs hit home.

“She’s a nice girl. I was chatting with Faranee about her the other day. I think she likes you, too.” Eli felt a rush of blood to the head, and his ears ringing.

“R-really?”

“Oh yes. I’ve also seen the way she looks at you. Hehehe. Youth. It’s such a beautiful thing. Do you know what you should do, Eli?”

“Master, what is the Raptor?” Eli asked in an attempt to shift the focus of the conversation off the uncomfortable topic.

“Do you really want to know? Or are you using misdirection on your old teacher?”

“Both.”

Trother smirked. “The Raptor is one of the Last Seven, the only military drone aboard the Phoenix.”

“The Raptor is an AI?” Eli exclaimed.

“Yes and no,” Trother replied with a more serious tone. “Checkmate. Eli, this time, you reset the board. I’ll deal the cards.”

Trother went through the deck and selected the Raptor. He also took Dr. Hitori’s card and handed it to Eli.

“Let me tell you the tale of the Raptor, son.”

Trother gave Dr. Hitori’s card to Eli and placed the Raptor card on his side of the table. The latter was the worst in the game, designed to disadvantage the player who drew it. It read: “Raptor, the Thief. Lose half your pieces. One of the pieces must be the AI.” Trother often drew it on purpose to give Eli a fighting chance.

Eli turned over the Dr. Hitori card, possibly the best card in Longevity Chess: “Dr. Hitori, the savior. You can exchange a pawn for four Longevity Stones or four Longevity Stones for a pawn.” Eli sighed, knowing the advantage wouldn’t make a difference against the old monster.

Trother left a couple of pawns on his side of the board and removed the rest, including the AI piece and one of the knights. “34325-0, right?” mocked Trother, his tone cheeky.

“Yes, master.”

“You shouldn’t keep count of your losses like that, Eli. No one likes a sore loser.” Eli didn’t react. Having spent a decade in hunger, he had learned self-control.

Trother continued, “Now... let me tell you the tale of the Raptor.”

Eli smirked. It was typical of Trother, a born entertainer and the best storyteller in the Burrows. Eli knew it was one of the qualities that made him an excellent teacher.

“When the Flare occurred, most of the Phoenix’s systems were compromised. It was a miracle that Commander Byrd manually maneuvered the ship to the planet’s dark side, beyond the Flare’s reach.

The crew of thirty-three was stranded. Life support and cryogenic capsules were damaged, and supplies were limited. There seemed to be no way out. Dr. Hitori was the one who managed to pull them out of the darkness.

He argued that even if they were destined to die, they owed it to humanity to make use of the time they had left. They had a duty to study the alien planet and leave their discoveries for future generations. And so they did. The first thing they did was to repurpose one of the drones as a satellite.”

“How did they protect the satellites from the Flare?” Eli asked.

“They programmed them to remain on the planet’s dark side,” Trother replied. Eli had always appreciated that Trother never showed any annoyance when interrupted. He had often told him that being interrupted by a student was a great compliment to a teacher. It was a sign of eagerness to learn.

“I see.”

“The satellites began scanning the Earth, and the readings puzzled the scientists. They decided to send four of the Last Seven on an exploratory mission to the planet’s surface. Soon, the probes sent back incredible reports through the satellite network. They had discovered something extraordinary...”

“Celeria,” Eli whispered.

“Yes, that, and ignium. The crew began studying the samples sent up by the drones. Dr. Hitori found a way out of certain death in these discoveries. For someone to come up with a mutagen like Celer in such conditions… That Dr. Hitori was something. Or is something.” Trother seemed to lose his train of thought but recovered after a few seconds.

“Anyway, the crew members were thrilled at the prospect of surviving, even if only for a few more years. All except one.”

“The Raptor,” Eli said.

“The Raptor,” Trother echoed. “His name was Schneider. He came up with his survival plan. He believed that by scanning his brain atom by atom and uploading his mind to an AI, he could save himself from certain death. He thought keeping his mind on a computer was better than living a short life as a mutant on a barren planet.

“However, the space required to store a human mind in a computer is massive. Schneider concluded that he would need all the computers of the Last Seven combined to hold his entire mind.”

“Even if it meant for everyone else to die?”

Trother nodded. “Luckily, Dr. Hitori accidentally stumbled upon Schneider’s plans and informed the rest of the crew. When Schneider realized his crewmates were preparing to apprehend him, he locked himself in the docking bay of the Raptor drone and launched it into space.

Once out of reach, he began uploading as much of his mind as he could. Can you imagine it, son? Erasing over ninety percent of your memories, your very humanity?”

Eli gulped. “That Schneider fellow sure was heartless.”

“After what he did to himself, yet. Literally. His childhood memories, his compassion, his empathy, his humanity... all gone. After the upload, all that remained of Schneider’s mind was an aberration of his cunning, an intense drive for survival, and an awareness of the void where the rest of his mind should have been.

When Schneider ejected the Raptor’s Module, Dr. Hitori knew time was running out. He also recognized the potential danger of Schneider’s actions. The Phoenix had no defense against the Raptor’s weaponry.

Hitori urged the crew to initiate the settling project they had been working on. They all took the mutagen, reprogrammed the probes, and deployed them across the planet. The crew descended to the planet on the Phoenix’s lifeboats, splitting into four groups that headed to the locations scouted by the probes on Ignis.”

“Why didn’t Dr. Hitori join them?” Eli asked.

“He was the only one capable of opposing Schneider. Dr. Hitori was a talented programmer himself. Although he wasn’t confident he could prevent Schneider from uploading his mind into the Raptor, Dr. Hitori felt he had to find a way to keep him off the satellite grid, making it difficult for the Raptor to locate the settlements. Dr. Hitori stayed behind with the last probe, battling Schneider.”

“What happened next? How is it possible that Dr. Hitori is still alive? It’s been centuries!”

“I don’t know, son. Dr. Hitori instructed the settlers not to contact the ship. If he failed, attempts at communication could reveal their position. He had limited supplies, and we never heard from him again... our ancestors presumed he had starved or suffocated aboard the Phoenix. Until today.”

“What about the Raptor? What happened to it?”

“My theory is that it still follows Schneider’s original plan. It feels incomplete, driven by a desire to expand its mind and consume other AIs. Although it can’t rebuild the deleted memories, it craves more space to operate more efficiently. But that’s just speculation.”

Eli pondered the implications. Trother smiled. “You know, Eli, you and the Raptor have something in common.”

“What is it, master?” Eli moved a chess piece. “Check.”

“In essence, an unending hunger. But unlike him, you’ve mastered yours. I’m proud of you, Eli.”

Chapter 14