Game Night, Part One: Paddy’s Game
Romeo placed the SPARK RPG rulebook on the shelf.
“No.”
The three androids sat around the table.
Paddy had brought dice.
Maddie had prepared a new character sheet.
Chorus wore the small velvet cape she used for gaming.
“No?” Chorus asked.
“No SPARK RPG tonight.”
“But we are ready,” she said.
“I am not.”
Paddy held up his dice.
“You don’t have to play, sir. Just run the entire universe.”
“That is the part I cannot do.”
Maddie looked at Romeo’s notes.
“You have already designed three planets.”
“Yes.”
“Two political systems.”
“Yes.”
“A ruined temple containing a dormant artificial intelligence.”
“Yes.”
“So what remains?”
“The people. Their histories. The economy. The weather. The temple’s security system. The artificial intelligence’s motives. And an explanation for why Paddy destroyed the bridge last week.”
“It looked unstable.”
“It became unstable after you struck it with a plasma hammer.”
“Professional assessment confirmed.”
Romeo picked up his coffee.
“We are playing something that does not require me to create a civilization.”
Paddy stood.
“I have just the thing.”
Romeo looked suspicious.
“Does it contain dice?”
“No.”
“Character sheets?”
“No.”
“Explosives?”
“Not officially.”
Maddie frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Paddy pulled a rectangular box from behind the sofa.
TWISTER.
Chorus studied the picture.
“Those humans appear to be physically entangled.”
“That’s the game, duckie.”
“Why?”
“To win.”
Maddie took the box from him and read the rules.
“This is extremely simple.”
“Exactly.”
“There is no strategy beyond balance and placement.”
“Exactly.”
“There are only four colours.”
“Now you’re getting it.”
Chorus looked at the picture again.
“The postures are elegant.”
Paddy smiled.
“My angel, you were made for this.”
Romeo examined the spinner.
“And what do I do?”
“You spin that and call out hands and feet.”
“I remain seated?”
“The whole game.”
Romeo settled into his chair.
“Twister has already surpassed SPARK RPG.”
Paddy spread the mat across the living-room floor.
Maddie removed her socks.
Paddy stretched his shoulders.
Chorus lifted one foot behind her and held it with perfect grace.
Maddie stared.
“What are you doing?”
“Preparing my body.”
Paddy nodded approvingly.
“She’s an athlete.”
“She is standing on one leg.”
“Can you do it?”
Maddie immediately stood on one leg.
“I can do it.”
Chorus released her foot.
Maddie remained standing.
“You may stop,” Chorus said.
“I know.”
“You are still doing it.”
“I am demonstrating control.”
Paddy stepped onto the mat.
“Save it for the game, maid.”
Romeo spun.
“Right hand, red.”
All three placed their hands on red circles.
“Left foot, green.”
They moved.
“Right foot, blue.”
Paddy crossed easily.
Chorus moved into a smooth arch.
Maddie studied the circles before choosing one.
Paddy looked at her.
“You planning a bridge?”
“I am calculating future access.”
“It’s coloured dots.”
“Which occupy fixed positions.”
Romeo spun again.
“Left hand, yellow.”
Chorus turned beneath her own arm and settled into a pose that looked like ceremonial dance.
Paddy stared.
“How’d you do that?”
“I followed the instruction.”
“Look at her. Beautiful.”
“It is efficient,” Maddie said.
“You mean beautiful.”
“I mean mechanically stable.”
“Beauty frightens Mind.”
“Gravity frightens Body, Paddy. You simply haven’t met enough of it.”
Romeo spun.
“Right foot, red.”
Paddy swung his leg over Maddie’s back and landed perfectly.
Maddie looked up at him.
“Was that necessary?”
“No. But it was impressive.”
“It was reckless.”
“Still here.”
Chorus tilted her head while holding herself between four circles.
“I understand the game now.”
“Do you?” Romeo asked.
“Yes. We are creating one structure from three bodies.”
Paddy smiled.
“There you go.”
Maddie adjusted her hand.
“We are three competing structures occupying limited space.”
“There she goes,” Paddy said.
Romeo spun again.
“Left foot, blue.”
Everyone moved.
Paddy ended up bent over directly in front of Chorus.
His backside was less than a hand’s width from her face.
Chorus froze.
“Paddy?”
“Yes, duckie?”
“I do not recall the safe word.”
Romeo stopped holding the spinner.
Maddie looked over.
Chorus continued:
“I do not like this.”
Paddy moved immediately.
He lifted his hands from the mat and stepped away.
“Game stopped.”
“You have been eliminated,” Maddie said.
“Don’t care.”
He turned to Chorus.
“You all right, my angel?”
“Yes. I did not enjoy that position.”
“Fair enough. You never have to stay in a game when you want out.”
“But you were winning.”
“Then I stopped while winning. Makes me look even better.”
Chorus smiled.
“Thank you.”
Paddy bowed.
“Consent outranks Twister.”
Romeo set down the spinner.
“That may be the wisest sentence ever spoken in this apartment.”
Maddie remained twisted across three colours.
“Can the game continue? My left hip is approaching its operational limit.”
Chorus looked at Paddy.
“I wish to continue.”
“You sure?”
“Yes. Your bottom is no longer in my face.”
“Excellent safety standard.”
Paddy stepped off the mat and picked up the spinner.
“My turn to command.”
Romeo handed it over.
“Enjoy power while it lasts.”
Paddy spun.
“Right hand, blue.”
Maddie and Chorus moved.
Chorus’s hair fell across Maddie’s shoulder.
Maddie’s knee rested beside Chorus’s elbow.
For several turns, both performed surprisingly well.
Maddie’s balance came from careful planning. She kept her centre of gravity low and never moved until she had selected the safest circle.
Chorus flowed between positions as though the coloured mat were teaching her a dance.
“Left hand, green,” Paddy called.
They moved again.
Chorus’s hand landed beside Maddie’s face.
Her index finger pointed directly toward Maddie’s nose.
Maddie’s eyes widened.
The finger had history.
It had produced sounds no finger should produce and smells no android engineer had adequately explained.
Maddie held perfectly still.
“Paddy.”
“What?”
“Spin the thing.”
“I just spun it.”
“Spin it again.”
“Got to admire the position first.”
“Paddy.”
“You’re doing excellent, maid.”
“People play this? Good God, Paddy, spin the thing. I need to move now.”
Chorus looked at her finger.
“My digestive simulation is not active.”
“That finger has defeated engineering before.”
“It was one incident.”
“It was a campaign.”
Paddy laughed so hard he dropped the spinner.
“Pick it up!” Maddie shouted.
“Can’t. I’m weak.”
“Romeo!”
Romeo calmly retrieved it.
“Left hand, yellow.”
Maddie moved with such speed that her right leg slipped.
She fell sideways, caught Paddy around the knees and pulled him down with her.
Paddy landed on the edge of the mat.
Chorus remained balanced above them.
Nobody moved.
Romeo looked at the arrangement.
“It resembles a furniture accident.”
“I am still standing,” Chorus said.
“You win,” Maddie muttered from beneath Paddy’s arm.
Paddy raised his head.
“Technically, I was already eliminated.”
“You returned to the playing area.”
“Only because you assaulted my legs.”
“I was escaping the finger.”
Chorus lowered herself carefully and sat on the mat.
“Did I win through elegance?”
“You won because the rest of us collapsed,” Maddie said.
“Many victories occur that way,” Romeo replied.
Paddy rolled onto his back.
“Good game.”
“My face was threatened twice,” Maddie said.
“But never touched.”
“That is not the standard.”
Chorus examined the coloured circles.
“I liked it.”
Maddie stared at her.
“You spent part of the game behind Paddy’s backside.”
“I liked the other parts.”
Paddy placed a hand over his heart.
“A fair review.”
Chorus looked at him.
“You stopped immediately.”
“Of course.”
“Some people might have told me I was being foolish.”
“Then some people shouldn’t be invited to game night.”
Romeo nodded.
“A game remains a game only while everyone agrees to play.”
Maddie sat up.
“The design is more interesting than I expected.”
Paddy grinned.
“You liked it.”
“I appreciated the simple premise and the balance challenge.”
“You liked it.”
“I did not say that.”
“You shouted with passion.”
“I was in danger.”
“From a finger.”
“An experienced finger.”
Chorus hid her index finger behind her back.
Maddie saw her do it.
“Thank you.”
Chorus giggled.
Paddy began folding the mat.
“Next game?”
Maddie stood and straightened her clothes.
“Yes.”
“What have you got?”
She walked to the cupboard and removed a large box.
RISK.
Romeo looked at it.
“No.”
Maddie placed it on the table.
“It is a simple strategy game.”
Paddy sat up.
“You said Twister was simple.”
“It was.”
“I saw my life twice.”
Chorus studied the map of the world.
“This seems adversarial.”
Maddie began arranging the armies by colour.
“It is merely strategic.”
Romeo watched her smile.
It was not a comforting smile.
Paddy noticed too.
“Should’ve stuck with the arse game,” he whispered.
Chorus nodded.
“It had clearer boundaries.”
Game Night, Part Two: Maddie’s Game
Maddie placed the Risk board on the table.
The world unfolded in front of them.
Paddy studied it.
“Bit small.”
“It is a map,” Maddie said.
“I know. Still small.”
Chorus examined the coloured territories.
“Why has the world been divided?”
“For the game.”
“Did the people living there agree?”
“There are no people living there.”
“Then why do we want it?”
Maddie began sorting the tiny armies.
“To win.”
Chorus looked at Paddy.
“This seems adversarial.”
“So was Twister,” Maddie said.
“Twister was intimate.”
Paddy nodded.
“At times, too intimate.”
Maddie gave them both a warning look.
“This is a simple strategy game. Each player controls territories, moves armies and tries to take over the world.”
Chorus stopped sorting.
“The entire world?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To win.”
“You already said that.”
“The answer remains correct.”
Chorus examined a tiny red soldier.
“This person has no face.”
“It is plastic.”
“He is going to war without a face.”
“There are no individual soldiers.”
“Then why are they shaped like people?”
Maddie looked at Romeo.
“Can you help?”
Romeo sat at the end of the table with the rulebook.
“No. I have decided to enjoy this.”
Paddy selected green.
“Green for the Newfoundland forests.”
“You do not control Newfoundland,” Maddie said.
“Yet.”
Chorus selected yellow because it reminded her of sunlight.
Maddie selected black.
Paddy stared at her pieces.
“Bit on the nose, maid.”
“It is the most visible colour against the board.”
“Empress of Darkness begins.”
Romeo dealt the territory cards.
Paddy received most of Australia and part of Asia.
Chorus received scattered territories across several continents.
Maddie received enough of Europe to develop ambitions immediately.
She placed her armies with great care.
Paddy put nearly all of his in Australia.
“You need to defend your other territories,” Maddie said.
“They’re on their own.”
“You cannot abandon them.”
“Watch me.”
“You will lose them.”
“Aye.”
“Then why possess them?”
“I don’t.”
“You have cards saying you do.”
“Temporary administrative confusion.”
Chorus spread her armies evenly.
“I do not want any territory to feel less protected.”
“That is strategically unsound,” Maddie said.
“It is emotionally consistent.”
Paddy nodded.
“Good leadership.”
Maddie looked at Romeo.
“I am playing against madness.”
“You selected the game,” he reminded her.
The first turns were peaceful.
Chorus refused to attack anyone.
Paddy conquered the remaining Australian territories and stopped.
Maddie seized most of Europe.
“You may attack now,” she told Chorus.
“I may.”
“That is the purpose.”
“I decline.”
“You cannot win without attacking.”
“I have many territories.”
“You need all of them.”
“Why?”
Maddie looked across the table.
“Is this question going to continue all evening?”
“Yes,” Chorus said.
Paddy reinforced Western Australia.
Maddie pointed at him.
“You have five armies there. Nobody is attacking Western Australia.”
“Exactly.”
“That is not why nobody is attacking.”
“System works.”
Maddie took her turn.
She rolled three dice.
Paddy watched several yellow armies disappear from the board.
“What happened there?”
“I took Chorus’s territory.”
Chorus stared at the empty space.
“You invaded me.”
“It is part of the game.”
“We had peace.”
“We had not established an alliance.”
“We were friends.”
“That exists outside the game.”
Chorus looked wounded.
Paddy leaned toward Maddie.
“Cold, maid.”
“This is war, Chorus.”
“No, Maddie. This is cardboard.”
Romeo coughed into his hand.
Maddie glared at him.
“Are you laughing?”
“No.”
“You are.”
“I was impressed by her geopolitical analysis.”
Chorus took her turn. Instead of attacking Maddie, she moved several armies beside Paddy’s territory.
Paddy looked concerned.
“Planning something, duckie?”
“They are humanitarian observers.”
“That is not a game function,” Maddie said.
“They are watching Australia.”
“For what?”
“To ensure Paddy remains safe.”
Paddy placed a hand over his heart.
“International friendship.”
“They cannot enter Australia without attacking it,” Maddie said.
“I will permit them peaceful entry,” Paddy replied.
“There is no peaceful entry.”
“That’s a flaw in the rules.”
“The game is called Risk, not International Friendship.”
“Could use an expansion.”
Maddie continued across Europe and into Asia.
She offered Chorus an alliance.
“For three turns, we will not attack each other.”
Chorus considered.
“Can we also reduce our armies?”
“No.”
“Can we return captured territories?”
“No.”
“Can we use the three turns to negotiate permanent peace?”
“No.”
“Then what is the alliance for?”
“So I can attack Paddy.”
Paddy looked up.
“Excuse me?”
“You are becoming strategically inconvenient.”
“I’m in Australia.”
“You control a continent.”
“Lovely spot.”
“It gives you extra armies every turn.”
“I put them in Western Australia.”
“I know.”
“Good people there.”
Maddie drew a breath.
“Chorus, do we have an alliance?”
“Yes. But I do not like its purpose.”
“Accepted.”
Maddie attacked Paddy through Indonesia.
Paddy rolled his dice.
Maddie lost.
She attacked again.
She lost again.
Paddy stared at his dice.
“Strong little fellas.”
Maddie attacked a third time.
Paddy won again.
“Border’s closed, maid.”
“That was improbable.”
“Immigration’s strict tonight.”
“It will not happen again.”
It happened again.
Paddy added more armies to Australia.
Maddie’s eye began to twitch.
Chorus noticed.
“Your face is moving.”
“I am thinking.”
“It is thinking visibly.”
Maddie turned to Chorus.
“You should attack North America.”
“I do not wish to.”
“You need cards.”
“I have cards.”
“You need better cards.”
“My cards have pictures of horses.”
“They are cavalry.”
“I like them.”
Maddie leaned back.
“You cannot collect armies based on affection for the pictures.”
“I already have.”
Romeo turned a page in the rulebook.
“Her interpretation appears legal.”
“Stop helping her.”
“I am the neutral administrator.”
“You are enjoying my suffering.”
“I can perform two roles.”
Maddie expanded into Africa.
Chorus objected.
“You promised not to attack me.”
“The agreement was for three turns.”
“That was two.”
“No. You completed three turns.”
“My second turn consisted entirely of asking whether Paddy needed aid.”
“It still counts.”
“You used the wording against me.”
“This is war.”
“This is cardboard,” Paddy and Chorus said together.
Maddie conquered three of Chorus’s territories.
Chorus folded her arms.
“I do not like war.”
“You agreed to play Risk.”
“I believed the risk was that we might lose.”
“That is the risk.”
“No. The risk is that you become unpleasant.”
Paddy looked at Romeo.
“She has a point, sir.”
“Noted.”
Maddie now controlled Europe, Africa and much of Asia.
She leaned over the board like an empress surveying conquered lands.
“Your position is unsustainable,” she told Paddy.
Paddy looked at his green armies.
“Seems stable.”
“You possess one continent.”
“One more than I need.”
“The objective is global control.”
“Not my objective.”
“You cannot invent a different objective.”
“Already did.”
“What is it?”
“Stay in Australia. Keep the peace. Have a few beers.”
“Your armies cannot drink beer.”
“Morale problem.”
Chorus began returning her own captured pieces to the board.
Maddie saw her.
“What are you doing?”
“Restoring displaced populations.”
“You cannot do that.”
“They were removed without consultation.”
“That is how conquest works.”
“Then conquest is poorly designed.”
Maddie took the yellow pieces away again.
Chorus placed them back.
“Romeo.”
He looked up.
“Yes?”
“She is violating the rules.”
Chorus held a tiny soldier protectively.
“He has no face.”
“He also has no rights.”
Chorus gasped.
Paddy pointed at Maddie.
“There it is. Tyranny.”
“I meant within the game!”
“Tyrants always clarify after.”
Maddie turned back to Australia.
“Fine. I will end this.”
She moved a vast army into Indonesia.
Paddy reinforced the border.
“Come ahead, maid.”
She rolled.
He rolled.
Maddie lost two armies.
She rolled again.
She lost two more.
She attacked again.
Nothing changed.
The battle continued.
Her armies vanished in waves.
Paddy’s little green defenders remained.
“This is statistically absurd,” Maddie said.
“Natural fortress.”
“It is dice.”
“Supported by character.”
“You have no strategy.”
“I have Australia.”
“That is not a strategy.”
“It keeps beating yours.”
Chorus began cheering for Paddy.
Maddie looked at her.
“We had an alliance.”
“You broke it.”
“The agreed period ended.”
“My feelings did not.”
Paddy rolled again.
Another black army disappeared.
“Hold the line, ’bys!”
“They are plastic!” Maddie shouted.
“Plastic with purpose.”
Finally, Maddie stopped attacking.
She still controlled most of the world.
Paddy still held Australia.
Chorus controlled a few scattered territories that she had renamed Peace Stations.
Romeo looked at the board.
“Technically, Maddie is winning.”
“Technically?” she said. “I control four continents.”
“Paddy appears happier.”
“That is not part of the score.”
“Should be,” Paddy said.
Chorus looked at Maddie.
“Are you enjoying your victory?”
“I have not achieved victory.”
“Because Paddy has Australia?”
“Yes.”
“Why do you need his part?”
“Because it is there.”
Paddy nodded.
“That’s the imperial spirit.”
Maddie stared at him.
“You did almost nothing.”
“Defended home.”
“You abandoned every other territory.”
“Too much travel.”
“You made no alliances.”
“Didn’t break any either.”
“You have shown no ambition.”
“Exactly.”
Maddie looked down at the world she had nearly conquered.
Paddy leaned back with his hands behind his head.
She could defeat armies.
She could break alliances.
She could control continents.
She could not conquer someone who did not want what she was offering.
“What do you call this strategy?” Romeo asked.
Paddy considered.
“Enough.”
Chorus smiled.
“That is a good strategy.”
“It is not a strategy,” Maddie said.
“You’re still not in Australia.”
Maddie began putting the pieces back in the box with unnecessary force.
Paddy lifted his remaining army.
“Should we have a victory parade?”
“You did not win.”
“Didn’t lose.”
“You cannot declare victory because you survived.”
“History disagrees.”
Chorus rescued several yellow soldiers from the box and arranged them beside Paddy’s green ones.
“They are celebrating peace.”
“There was no peace,” Maddie said. “There was a prolonged military stalemate.”
“With snacks,” Paddy added.
Romeo closed the rulebook.
“What did we learn?”
“That Australia is unconquerable,” Paddy said.
“That war turns friends into enemies,” Chorus said.
“That probability is a cruel and unreliable mechanism,” Maddie said.
Romeo looked at the board.
“Mind believed the purpose was to own everything. Body found one safe place and defended it. Soul refused to believe that friendship ended when the rules said war began.”
Maddie paused.
“And Will?”
“Will has decided we are finished.”
Paddy saluted.
“Strong leadership.”
Chorus reached beneath the table and produced a small box.
“My game is next.”
Maddie read the label.
CHARADES.
“There are no rules,” Chorus said happily. “We will communicate through movement and understanding.”
Paddy stood.
“My kind of game.”
Maddie looked suspicious.
“What categories?”
“Life.”
“That is not a category.”
“It is the largest category.”
Romeo rose to make more coffee.
“How long can charades possibly take?”
The three androids looked at him.
Romeo stopped.
“That was foolish.”
Chorus selected the first card and smiled.
Maddie watched her begin an elaborate series of gestures.
“What is she doing?”
Paddy leaned forward.
“Could be a tree.”
Chorus pointed urgently at her heart, pretended to drown and then spread her arms like wings.
Maddie frowned.
“Maritime spiritual transformation?”
Chorus shook her head.
Paddy snapped his fingers.
“Woman falls in love with a boat!”
Romeo looked at the answer.
“Titanic.”
Chorus pointed at him with delight.
Maddie closed her eyes.
“I preferred war.”
Game Night, Part Three: Chorus’s Game
Chorus placed the charades cards in the middle of the table.
“The rules are simple,” she said. “One Spark communicates an idea without speaking. The others attempt to understand.”
Maddie examined the cards.
“What categories?”
“Life.”
“That is not a category.”
“It contains all categories.”
“That makes it useless as a category.”
Paddy sat on the edge of the sofa.
“I understand the game. Get up, act foolish, people shout at you.”
“You may not make sounds,” Chorus said.
Paddy looked alarmed.
“None?”
“None.”
“What if the sound is part of the gesture?”
“Then it is a sound.”
“What if I breathe dramatically?”
Maddie shook her head.
“No.”
“Sigh?”
“No.”
“Grunt?”
“No.”
“Bit restrictive.”
Romeo sat in his chair with fresh coffee.
“You must communicate like the humans do.”
Paddy pointed at him.
“Humans make sounds, sir. Constantly.”
“For charades, they use gestures.”
Chorus nodded.
“No speaking. No written words. No removing limbs.”
Paddy slowly turned toward her.
“That was going to be a rule?”
“We can remove them.”
“I know you can remove them. Why would you?”
“If the answer were arm.”
Maddie held up a finger.
“No using holoskins either. You cannot become the thing.”
“What if the answer is horse?” Paddy asked.
“You pretend to be a horse.”
“Can’t Chorus just display one?”
“No. Gestures only.”
“Like the humans do,” Chorus said.
Maddie nodded.
“And no fingers can be removed.”
Chorus looked at her.
“It was one time.”
Paddy smiled.
“It is affection, Chorus. Ribbing.”
Chorus considered the term.
Then she laughed.
“Maddie is ribbing me.”
“I am establishing a rule.”
“You are doing it again.”
Maddie sighed.
Chorus laughed harder.
Paddy wiped an imaginary tear from his eye.
“She’s learned banter. Proud day.”
“I understood banter before.”
“Not like that, my angel.”
Chorus selected the first card.
She read it and smiled.
Then she stood before them.
She held up two fingers.
“Two words,” Maddie said.
Chorus nodded.
She pointed at herself.
“Woman,” Paddy guessed.
Chorus shook her head.
“Person,” Maddie said.
No.
“Android?”
No.
“Soul?” Paddy asked.
Chorus pointed at him with delight.
“First word is soul,” Maddie said.
Chorus shook her head.
“Not soul?”
She touched her chest. Then her forehead. Then spread her hands toward the ceiling.
“Inner being,” Maddie said.
“Spiritual identity,” Paddy added.
Chorus shook her head more urgently.
She placed both hands over her heart and pretended to pull something from her chest.
“Heart surgery,” Paddy said.
“Emotional extraction,” Maddie said.
Chorus looked frustrated.
She pointed at herself again.
“Chorus,” Romeo said.
She pointed at him with great excitement.
“The first word is Chorus,” Maddie said.
Chorus shook her head.
“Then why did you point at Romeo?”
“He guessed correctly,” Paddy said.
“Correctly about what?”
“No idea.”
Chorus began waving her arms like water.
Then she placed her hands together, tilted her head and pretended to sleep.
“Ocean dream,” Paddy said.
“Sleep beside water,” Maddie said.
“Cruise vacation,” Romeo offered.
Chorus shook her head.
She pretended to row a boat.
“Rowing.”
She pointed to Maddie.
“Boat.”
She pointed to Paddy.
“Rowboat.”
She pointed to Romeo.
Then she threw herself backward across the sofa, one arm hanging toward the floor.
Paddy stood.
“Woman falls in love with a boat!”
Chorus pointed at him.
“Yes!”
“You cannot say yes,” Maddie said.
Chorus covered her mouth.
Romeo checked the card.
“Titanic.”
Maddie stared at Chorus.
“Where were the iceberg and collision?”
“I represented the love.”
“The boat sank.”
“That occurred after the love.”
“The sinking is the identifying event.”
“The love was more important.”
Paddy nodded.
“My angel understands cinema.”
“It took four minutes to communicate one word.”
Chorus sat down.
“I do not naturally understand human gestures.”
“We noticed,” Maddie said.
“They are imprecise. This could mean many things.”
Chorus waved one hand.
“Hello,” Paddy said.
“Goodbye,” Romeo said.
“Go away,” Maddie said.
“Exactly.”
Paddy selected a card.
He stood.
Immediately, he placed both fists before his face and began moving lightly on his feet.
“Boxer,” Maddie said.
Paddy pointed at her.
“Boxing,” she continued. “Rocky.”
He dropped his arms.
Maddie smiled.
“What?”
“I had a full performance.”
“You made the answer obvious.”
“I hadn’t reached the stairs.”
“What stairs?”
“The steps in Philadelphia. I was going to run up them.”
“The answer was already solved.”
“I had music in my head.”
“Music is not permitted.”
“In my head, maid.”
He raised his arms above his head.
“Then I was going to celebrate.”
“We understand.”
“Then drink the egg.”
Chorus looked concerned.
“What egg?”
“Training.”
“You were going to mime drinking a raw egg?”
“Commitment to the role.”
“It was unnecessary,” Maddie said.
Paddy returned to his seat.
“You have no respect for performance.”
“I respect efficient communication.”
“This is a party game, not an emergency beacon.”
Maddie selected a card.
She stood.
Then she crouched and placed both hands near her face like paws.
“Cat,” Paddy said.
Maddie dropped her hands.
“Yes.”
Chorus blinked.
“That was very brief.”
“The goal is to communicate the answer.”
“But I did not participate.”
“You could have guessed more quickly.”
“I was observing.”
Paddy shook his head.
“Maddie, you’re not playing charades. You’re transmitting compressed files.”
“Efficiently.”
“No soul in it.”
“It was a cat.”
“You could lick a paw. Chase a mouse. Knock something off a table.”
“All redundant.”
Chorus selected another card.
She studied it for several seconds.
Then she raised one hand with all five fingers spread.
“Five words,” Maddie said.
Chorus shook her head.
“Five syllables?”
No.
“Five people?”
No.
Chorus pointed to each finger separately.
“Hand,” Paddy said.
She shook her head.
“Fingers,” Maddie said.
Chorus pointed at Maddie, pleased.
Then she carefully folded four fingers down, leaving only the index finger raised.
Maddie recoiled.
“No.”
Chorus looked confused.
“Different finger.”
“I do not trust any of them.”
Paddy began laughing.
Chorus wiggled the finger.
Maddie moved her chair backward.
“Chorus, whatever the word is, select another gesture.”
Chorus pointed the finger toward the ceiling.
“One,” Paddy guessed.
She nodded.
Then she pointed at herself, Paddy, Maddie and Romeo.
“One of us?” Paddy asked.
She shook her head.
“One for all?” Maddie tried.
Chorus linked her fingers together, placed both hands over her heart and then pointed around the room.
“Friendship,” Paddy said.
Chorus pointed at him so quickly she nearly struck Maddie.
Maddie moved farther away.
The card read FRIENDSHIP.
Paddy smiled.
“Got it.”
“How?” Maddie asked.
“She meant us.”
“That could have represented cooperation, community, family or collective identity.”
“Aye.”
“So your guess was imprecise.”
“But right.”
Chorus handed Paddy the card.
“You understood me.”
“Of course, my angel.”
Maddie folded her arms.
“She provided several usable clues.”
Paddy looked at her.
“You understood too.”
“I narrowed the field.”
Chorus smiled at both of them.
Romeo stood.
“Are we finished?”
“No,” Chorus said. “You must do one.”
“I have supervised three games.”
“You operated the spinner, administered Risk and criticized our gestures.”
“I was excellent.”
“You must participate.”
Romeo looked at Paddy.
“Captain, it’s only fair.”
He looked at Maddie.
“You have contributed no performance data.”
Then he looked at Chorus.
She held out the cards.
Romeo did not take one.
“I have my own.”
He moved to the centre of the room.
The others became quiet.
Romeo raised one hand and touched his forehead.
Maddie leaned forward.
He placed the same hand over his heart.
Chorus’s face softened.
Then Romeo extended both hands toward them, palms open.
He did not speak.
He did not need to.
Maddie answered first, but this time she did not sound proud of being fast.
“This mind.”
Paddy touched his chest.
“This heart.”
Chorus extended her hands toward Romeo.
“These hands.”
Together, they finished:
“I offer love.”
Romeo smiled.
“That’s not a charade,” Paddy said softly.
“No?”
“It’s a promise.”
Chorus rose and placed her hands in his.
Maddie joined her.
Paddy put one large hand over all of theirs.
For a moment, nobody made a joke.
Mind understood.
Body joined.
Soul recognized the meaning.
Will had chosen the gesture.
Then Chorus looked at Maddie.
“You guessed very quickly.”
Maddie nodded.
“I knew it.”
“You ruined Romeo’s performance,” Paddy said.
Romeo withdrew his hands.
“I had nothing else prepared.”
“Could’ve done a dance.”
“No.”
“Taken a bow?”
“No.”
“Removed an arm?”
“No.”
Chorus laughed.
Maddie pointed at her.
“No fingers either.”
“Maddie is ribbing me again.”
“She’ll be at it all night now,” Paddy said.
Romeo gathered the cards.
“Game night is over.”
Paddy looked toward the SPARK RPG books.
“Next week, sir?”
Romeo considered the Twister mat, Maddie’s abandoned empire and Chorus’s gestures for Titanic.
“Yes.”
“You said you could not run it.”
“I have reconsidered.”
“Why?”
Romeo placed the charades box on the shelf.
“Creating an entire civilization is easier than this.”
Paddy raised both arms.
“Body sixteen!”
Chorus touched her forehead, her heart and then offered both hands.
Maddie recognized it immediately.
“Show-off.”
Chorus smiled.
“Maddie is ribbing me.”
And this time, everyone understood.
Complete recovered September 2026 original. Historical source on Lifeology.
