Jeff Grubb StarCraft Libertys Crusade

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tunes of ancient Miller and Goodman warbled out of the comm unit. The ashtray
to one side of the board was filled with butts, all of them Mike s. They
smelled faintly of cat urine.
They were on board the
Hyperion, resting in a hidden hanger on Antiga Prime. Duke was off
reorganizing the rebel troops into something that was more Confederate in
nature. Raynor was off trying to keep Duke from making a complete mess of
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things. Mike had no idea where Kerrigan was, but that was normal for Kerrigan.
Chess is not like war? Mike asked.
Once, perhaps, it was, said Mengsk. On Old Earth, back in the mists of
time. Two equal opponents, with equal forces, on a level playing field.
And that s not the case. Not anymore.
Hardly, said the terrorist, warming to his own discussion. First, the
opponents are hardly ever truly even. The Confederacy of Man had
Apocalypse-class missiles and my homeworld did not; the
Confederacy played that card until Korhal IV was a blackened glass sphere
hanging in space. Hardly even. Similarly, our little rebellion seemed at first
to be undermanned and underfunded, but with each new revolt the Confederacy
loses more of its will to fight. It is ancient and rotten, and all it needs is
a good push to cave it in. You don t see that in chess.
Second, Mengsk continued, is the idea of equal forces. I mentioned the
missiles, so effective in my father s time, yet mere pinpricks in the light of
the forces being wielded today. Forces continue to evolve nukes, telepaths,
now Zerg being raised by the Confederacy.
War is supposed to increase development, said Mike.
Yes, but most people use the guns and armor analogy: one side gets a better
gun, the other side gets better armor, which inspires a still better gun, and
so on. The truth is that a better gun inspires a chemical counterweapon, which
then inspires a telepathic strike, which then brings about an artificial
intelligence guiding the weapon. The pressure of war does bring about growth,
but it is never the neat, linear growth that you learn about in the
classroom.
Or read about in the papers.
Mengsk smiled. Third is the idea of a level playing field. The chessboard is
limited to an eight-by-eight grid. There is nothing beyond this little
universe. No ninth rank. No green pieces that suddenly sweep onto the board to
attack both black and white. No pawns that suddenly become bishops.
A pawn can become a queen, Mike noted.
But only by advancing through all the spaces of its row, under fire the
entire time. It doesn t suddenly blossom into a queen by its own volition. No,
chess is nothing like war, which is one of the reasons I play it. It s so much
simpler than real life.
Not for the first or last time, Mike thought about Mengsk s almost
supernatural ability to warp reality around himself. You think that the
Confederacy is going to be able to come up with a weapon against these latest
attacks? Against the Protoss and the Zerg?
Unlikely, though they are pulling out all the stops. Doing what they do best
right now: propaganda and silencing those who speak out. Those are their best
weapons, and they have never hesitated to use them before. But they re just
throwing spitwads at a bull elephant that s bearing down on them. Hang on,
I ve got something here I wanted to show you. Mengsk pressed numerous buttons
on a remote control. He stared at it, as if trying to remember a secret code.
I thought you once said that the Confederacy was breeding the Zerg. Doesn t
that make the Zerg their weapons? Mike asked.
Originally I thought so as well. Mengsk pressed a few more buttons, then
paused. And though I may be incorrect in the assumption, as far as our
propaganda is concerned, that s our story, and we re sticking with it. Nothing
undermines faith in the government faster than realizing that they ve been
developing deadly alien menaces in their spare time.
But the truth really is? Mike prompted.
The truth is as malleable as ever. Mengsk grinned. Yes, the Confederacy has
been studying the Zerg for years, and the ones in the Sara system were
deliberately brought there by Confederate agents. Yes, they were a big weapons [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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