Chapter 45: Winning a Battle of Wits with Someone Smarter Than You

I can’t outsmart Monitor. My only real hope is to make her outsmart herself. So I could challenge her to a riddle contest, but I would lose. I could challenge her to a game like chess or tic-tac-toe, but I would lose.

“Any game I suggest will be heavily weighted in your favor,” I say.

“Yes,” she agrees.

“So I have to subvert things. I have a challenge for you, a competition, a battle if you will, but it requires a game for us to play. Would you prefer chess or tic-tac-toe?”

She laughs. “You forget, Father. I have seen Wargames as well. I know that the only way to win is not to play.”

“Yes and no,” I say. “Is that the game you want to play?”

“Let us play chess,” she says.