Verruca and The Wildlings — Ep10: Watch That Queen
All sorts of pastime had been tried. But what about a medieval game of questionable kings?
Creativity comes to play when they are bored. They’d put up a tightrope line to walk across on, climbed trees, painted walls, played cards, self-tattooed, exchanged massages, brewed beers, grew drinkable alien matter, baked loaves of bread, made music, planted food, foraged magic, gone swimming, abused smoking, walked around aimlessly, talked about walking around aimlessly.
“What else can we do,” Pix asked Cora.
“Chess?”
“Oooh, I love Chess! I don’t meet many ladies who play Chess. Why do you think that is?”
“I once met a guy from Saber State (a land of swords…and also fish) who said that chess is a supercomplicated puzzle — a moving puzzle; the problem is always evolving. Maybe some women aren’t excited by puzzles?”
“And who can blame them? Imagine having to navigate hormonal changes every week or so, trying to make sense of your madness, and then having to learn to relax about men’s surplus in bravado and general attraction to recklessness. I guess the last thing women want is another thing to resolve in their free time.”
“That’s why the King can only move one place at a time. He’s prone to laziness and self-indulgence, can’t be trusted to look after his men. He needs to be guarded because he’s likely to do something wacky and become a liability. Better put the Queen in charge, hyuk hyuk!”
Fungus, the landlord, walked into the courtyard and started a confrontation with another man. Platypus, his wife, eventually came into the picture, diffused the men’s rising aggression, and sent them both off elsewhere to reclaim her peace. The girls watched the event unfold from a distance.
“The wisdom of Chess tells us all to pay very close attention to the Queen.”
“It’s a cool metaphor for life: the woman who knows her power can enjoy many victories even in a world run by fast and furious men.”
“Let’s play?”
