Drone

“My father taught it to me when I was a boy while he was stationed in Tehran. We used to play every evening together. I suppose it’s why I have such a strong emotional bond to the game. You know, chess was invented by the Persians, but the mindless mullahs banned it for years after the revolution. Do you play, Dr. Strasburg?”

“On occasion, but poorly. I believe it was Bobby Fischer who said that one only becomes good at chess if one love the game.”

“I do still love it, but I seldom have the time,” Britnev said.

Strasburg paused, lost in a painful memory. “My brother loved the game. He said that he could tell a lot about a man after he played three games of chess with him. Do you find that to be true, Mr. Ambassador?”

“I find that one match is usually enough.” Britnev chuckled. “But perhaps that is because it is a Russian’s game. We understand the virtues of sacrifice and taking the long view. You Americans have no patience for such things. That’s why the Russian players are the best in the world.”

“Until IBM’s Deep Blue defeated Garry Kasparov.” Strasburg smiled. The old cold warrior couldn’t resist the dig. “Of course, there are other ways to defeat a grandmaster.” Both men were well aware that Kasparov had been a vicious opponent of President Titov and had been recently arrested for his political activities.

Britnev turned back to President Myers. “Is it true you never actually played chess in your youth?”

Myers nodded. “Never a full game, no.”

“Remarkable. Then how in the world did you manage to write a piece of chess-playing software?”

Myers shrugged. “Chess is a function of finite mathematics: sixty-four squares, thirty-two pieces, and a maximum of five million possible moves. The longest championship game ever played was under three hundred moves. It was simply a matter of finding the right decision algorithms.”

Britnev smiled playfully. “I suppose, then, that everything you need to know about a person is contained in the software programs he writes?”

“Depends upon the person. Or the software.” She flashed her most charming smile back at him.

Strasburg shook his head. “The whole subject is depressing to me. Computers are taking over everything. The ‘singularity’ is nearly upon us, and humans will soon no longer be the highest form of intelligence on the planet.”

“The highest form of intelligence? I’m afraid we lost that title the day the first human invented the war club,” Myers said. “Maybe computers will do a better job at politics than we have.”

“Unless it’s the same politicians who are writing the software. As a trained software engineer, Madame President, I’m afraid you possess a distinct advantage over the rest of us.” Myers had been the CEO of her own software-engineering company before she ran for governor of Colorado.

“Hardly. It won’t be long until we’ve developed software that can write its own software, so we poor humans will soon be out of the loop.”

“That’s a frightening thought, Madame President,” Strasburg said. “I’m glad I won’t be here when that happens.”

“It probably already has, Karl. They’re just not talking about it.” Myers took another sip of coffee, then set the cup down on the table in front of her. “So, Ambassador Britnev, to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit today?”

Britnev set his cup down, too. “First of all, President Titov asked me to send his personal condolences to you at your time of loss. The Russian people grieve with you.”

“Please thank President Titov for me for his kind thoughts.”

“He also pledges any assistance he can give you in your search for the murderers. We are not without some influence in Mexico and President Barraza seems to be a reasonable fellow.”

“We would greatly appreciate any assistance he can provide,” Myers said.

“We also understand borders. Unlike you, we have a thousand-year history of enemies violating ours.”

“An ocean on either side is our distinct advantage.” She grinned. “And Canadians to the north. Couldn’t be better neighbors.”

“Yes, Canadians. An amiable folk. Not like the Azeris.”

Myers and Strasburg shared a glance. So that’s why he asked for this meeting. Oil-rich Azerbaijan had just changed regimes.

“I should think you would welcome a peaceful, nonviolent, and secular revolution on your periphery,” Strasburg said.

“With a curiously pro-democracy, pro-Western, and pro-NATO orientation,” Britnev countered. “They almost sound Canadian, don’t they?” He chuckled at his own joke. “But maybe they’re more like the Mexicans, also swimming in oceans of oil and instability.”

“We’ll have to wait and see, won’t we? But so far, the Azeris don’t seem to pose any problems for your government, or am I missing something?” Myers asked.

“I believe Khrushchev said much the same thing to Eisenhower when Castro first came to power,” Britnev said.

“It was the Soviet missiles Castro allowed onto his island that caused the problem, as I recall,” Myers said.