Compatible

The Sword and the Go Stone, pt 5


It was the day after the tournament. After defeating the newcomer Michael M, she lost in the semis to the 2 seed. The game against Michael had been exhausting. He played strangely, so she was unable to rely on familiar memories and had to play by good principles instead.

Uno 'asked' her to come to the central compound to help with his investigation of the hotel intrusion two nights before.

The elevator was smart, immediately dropping eight floors below ground level as she entered. This was the Uno central computer's 'secure' area. This was her second time visiting such a compound. She had submitted to an evaluation when she went pro to prove that she'd never used a central computer to get better at Go.

She heard that in the old days, computers couldn't defeat humans in Go, but they dominated in an old game called 'Chess', and that it was difficult to prevent players from cheating through communicating with a computer or with someone else who had one.

Nowadays, anyone who went through a computer training program in Go would be able to dominate all of their tournaments. Computer training removes a lot of the variability and fun from the game. Its been banned for decades, but if Michael M had done some computer training, Go tournaments on Google colonies could start banning unknown players unless they submit to an evaluation. But to her thinking, if Michael was computer trained, he would have defeated her soundly in their game.

The elevator door opened, and she stepped out into the gloomy hallway. The walls were a lifeless silver grey. Dots played out on the floor, leading her past locked doors on both sides. It was cool and dry. The soft sound of distant computer fans was an ambient presence.

The pulsing lights on the floor lead her into a conference room, decorated only by a long mahogany conference table and roller desk chairs surrounding it.

Sandra sat closest to the door and waited. Uno would have his most detailed sensors in these rooms, to aid in his analysis. She knew that her heartbeat, blood pressure and blood sugar were just a small sample of the things he could detect, moment by moment. The history holos spoke of those who feared the central computers for their perception of such things. But if Uno can see such things, he can fix potential health problems before they become dangerous. That was her excuse at least.

What else could he determine? It was hard to say, counterproductive to speculate.

Michael entered the room from an adjoining room through a door that said, "No Access". He sat down at the far end of the table.

Uno finally spoke."Half a minute, please."

The after parties the night before had been subdued. The fact that Michael had taken any the chance to win any of the lower divisions pissed off a lot of people. Of those who were there, most of them wanted to buy her a drink. She had a take a lot of rainchecks. Even 'safe' alcohol isn't safe if you drink way too much. It's not really alcohol at all, technically. It involves a different chemistry that's still fun but much less hangover inducing. Michael didn't show, despite winning 4 1st place medals, which might never happen again.

"I've made my decision," Uno said. He took the form of a cowboy holo, with two revolvers in their holsters, a cowboy hat and boots. His holo sat down at the table, half way between Michael and Sandra.

"Michael M Mitchell, you will be barred from participating in further Go tournaments here on Exeter. I can't guarantee other Google colonies will ban you from play, but don't count on it. Computer training is not allowed for competitive go players, whether they are beginners or professionals."

Michael looked glum, looking away from the holo.

"Secondly, I have determined that you were not connected or involved in any way, with the intrusion early Friday morning. I still do not know who was behind such an aggressive act, but you bear no responsibility. Thirdly, I try to accommodate healthy, safe, human desires and goals, as much as is possible. I admit that this is awkward, but I will not let that stop me."

A three dimensional chart appeared in the center of the conference table. Sandra K wasn't sure what it meant at first. It had both her name and Michael Ms, associated with a bunch of bar graphs and statistical coefficients.

"Michael, why don't you explain what lead you to visit Exeter?" Uno said.

"Before I learned to play an enjoy Go, my main hobby was sword fighting, as a martial art. I am a 7-1 level member of 'The Sword Masters' on Shinamo, in the Toyota network. One day, after my daily training and evaluation was over, Duos summoned me to a central compound somewhat like this one. He presented to me a chart quite like the one Uno is displaying here.

"He said..." and Michael paused for a moment, unable to go on.

"He said..." and Michael cleared his throat. "He said he'd never seen two people more compatible than you and I, Sandra K."