Fool’s Mate

Published April 14, 2020 · Updated July 6, 2022

Hi,

First, have a palindrome:
“Serac cares.”

No heavy theorizing, just a short story recommendation which seems to echo elements of Serac’s dilemma.

“Fool’s Mate,” by Robert Sheckley, written in 1953.

“The players met, on the great, timeless board of space. The glittering dots that were the pieces swam in their separate patterns. In that configuration at the beginning, even before the first move was made, the outcome of the game was determined….”

The story details two great fleets both commanded by ruthless, all-knowing AIs. The random arrangement of the ships when they first met mathematically determined that one side had a tiny incremental advantage that was insurmountable by any strategy. The AIs were too smart to be tricked by each other. The tension on the losing fleet waiting for the AIs to pick the optimum moment for attack drove some of the crewmen mad. They ended up putting a madman in charge of their fleet which made their moves nonpredictable and they ended up winning the battle they had thought was a foregone defeat.

Elements of that here. Pretty short read, available on kindle. Love the ‘cast.

Mike T.

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