«Well, the story of the last Inca emperor, perhaps, is worth reading more closely but it is unlikely that our books will be fully reliable,» Artem said. «But generally, and understandably, it was the rivers of blood that flowed due to the seizure of the new continent that gave rise to all the Evil that was increasingly growing and chess for many centuries became a kind of lost treasure, having found which people were able to develop their logic, found the key to tactical thinking not only during the game, a battle, but also in peaceful life, and enriched their minds.»
«It was not the rivers of blood that gave rise to the Evil but the connivance of others, whether five hundred years ago, eighty years ago or not so long ago, and each time it was the same country that kept gradually subjugating the will of others by substituting values: substituting family for entertainment, friendship for profit, humanity for selfishness, thus making something that used to be black white,» Alice said.
«We understand, Edie, what kind of madness you are talking about. Its called power and the difference in the level of scientific development apparently does not play any role. And power cannot bring a sense of fullness; there is no word stop, there is no sense of moderation. Only in a sense of proportion is true good as Shakespeare once wrote. Its obvious that those live overseas and cant get enough have not read Shakespeare but are happy to impose this very quote on everyone else as an internal motto,» Artem added.
«I agree but lets remember how wildly popular chess was during the era of the greatest confrontation between our countries,» Keira argued. «Why didnt children from our planet get to the Tournament then?»
«I dont follow the history of your planet but I can assume that at that time there simply wasnt such a Tournament. However, apparently, the impetus that was driven by the confrontation you are talking about gave birth to children like you. Children who not only learn and memorize moves but who think in the language of chess in all areas of their lives,» Edie answered.
«Im afraid our world is not ready for that yet but we have to help you win,» Alice answered with a sad smile.
«Thank you, Alice, but the artifact is not an item, it is the ability to control the Streams of Power affecting the entire Universe and we will all be the keepers of these Streams as equals as long as we are a single team. But you are right. We must win and by winning we will save not only my planet but also Akkhshvar. They won their tournament honestly, which means they were worthy at that moment. We also need to find out why and how the change occurred in order to avoid repeating mistakes.»
«How come you know so much?» Artem asked.
«Its your planet that has not participated in the Tournaments for five hundred years and we were the winners of the Tournament before last plus technically our planet is much more developed. We have been traveling between worlds and galaxies for a long time,» Edie said, laughing.
«Its amazing, terrifying, enviable and I just love it but, Edie, show us your face at last,» Mark asked.
«Mark, what you see is my face indeed,» Edie said. «There are virtually no micro elements on our planet and our shell consists of semi-poisonous gases. So, we have no flesh or bones, as you know them. We assumed such shape in order not to scare the opposing team once we got to this stage. But in fact, I can assume on absolutely any shape because I live on frequencies of which you are unaware.»
And at the same moment he turned into a boy of about the same age as the guys resembling each of them to a certain extent.
«Looks a bit creepy. Like its the baby of all of us at the same time,» Alice wondered. «Youd better choose any shape that suits you. We will accept it because thats what the team does and you are now a member of it.»
At that point, Edie turned into a monk again. However, this time he was significantly shorter and matched the average height of the entire team.
«Time is running out, team, enter the portal.»
The guys joined hands with each other and one by one, but all together, went through the next door.
Chapter 6
Getting acquainted with Chaturangi
Примечания
1
S. I v a s c h e n k o. Chess Combinations Textbook. Volume 1.
2
S. K a r j a k i n, E. V o l k o v a. Chess school of Sergey Karjakin. Bronze book.
3
V. Cisar. 1896.
4
S. Loid. 1858.
5
Alireza Firouzjaa vs Magnus Carlsen. 2020. Norway Chess.
6
Sophie Gorodova, Zlata Maltseva. 2022. Championship of Russia for Children under 9