“It’s a shame about the cost of Gravity,” Father said to us after class had been dismissed. “The military application alone would have been enormous.”

“I agree,” I told him. “Speaking of which, what sort of amulets do the Polemos make?” I added, wondering about our Human rivals.

“Polemos doesn’t have Nomos,” Father answered.

“Why not? Surely the ability to change laws would be of aid in battle?” I asked.

“It is,” Father affirmed, “and we sell them amulets that we think will help. However, Polemos isn’t unique in their lack of Nomos,” he explained. “Sofia is the only city to have it, and we only found it due to our pursuit of knowledge.”

“And we haven’t shared it with the other cities?” This seemed odd to me.

Father gave a deep sigh before answering. “Humanity is not united,” he said. “If we give them Nomos, then we will have no guarantee that they will aid us in our time of need. Not to mention that amulets has become Sofia’s biggest export,” he added.

“So how often have Sofia and Polemos been at war with each other?” I asked.

“Oh, no,” Father chuckled. “No, no, no, no. Humanity has never been at war with itself.”

“Then why not unite?” I wondered.

“A world where Humanity is united is a world I dream of everyday,” He said carefully. “When I wake up in the morning and when I go to sleep at night, I can see it. One Human army who crushes Sahalia and ushers in an age of…” he trailed off.

“An age of what, Father?” I prompted.

He paused before answering, “You wouldn’t understand if I explained it to you.”

I raised an eyebrow. “I have yet to encounter something that I can’t understand,” I pointed out.

“It’s so far outside your experience that no matter how intelligent or wise you are, you still won’t understand it,” he explained.

“Yet it is clearly not outside your experience,” I rhetoricated “so what makes you think it is outside of mine?”

“The fact that you don’t know why you are special,” Father revealed.

Id, Eth, and myself were all caught off guard by this answer. “So, I have once again run into a question I am not allowed the answer to,” I said bitterly to express our protest.

“In due time you will be given the answers to these questions,” Father assured me, “but that time is not now.”

“Is there any way I can become ready for this knowledge sooner?” I asked.

After a moment’s thought, Father said, “There is. I believe that an alliance between Sofia and Polemos will be the seed from which a single Human nation will sprout. If Sofia were to prove herself on the battlefield – better yet, if she could devise more effective ways of fighting – Polemos might be courted into an alliance.” He looked me in the eyes as he requested, “Aid me in this and I will give you the answers you seek.”

“Very well,” I agreed. “Put me on any battlefield and victory is assured.”

“This is true,” Father chuckled, remembering the battle with Sahalia all those years before. “However, there is a major drawback to relying solely on your foresight: no one could learn from you. You could ensure victory on any single battlefield, but there would be no replicating it,” he pointed out. “Invent new ideas about war and battles could be won long after you die. Besides, battles do not always happen where we wish them to, and a battle could happen too soon and far away to get you there. While your foresight could mitigate this, it wouldn’t nullify it. Correct me if I’m wrong, but there are limits to the future you can see.”

“You are not wrong,” I allowed. “Id cannot see to the end of time or with exact precision, and the more possibilities there are the harder and longer she takes to find a favorable outcome.”

“Then we are agreed,” Father said. “You must begin your education in war. Have you ever played a game of Petteia?”

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“Oh, I am sorry Father,” I echoed his words with sarcasm, “but you just aren’t ready for that knowledge yet.”

“Philena,” He admonished, “I do not take joy in denying you answers. You must trust me that as your father that I am doing what I believe is right for you.”

I sighed. “I haven’t been explicitly told the rules,” I admitted, “but I have seen it played so I have a vague understanding.”

Father then proceeded to explain the rules as he set up the board. However, before we began he ordered, “Just in case it isn’t clear, this is meant to teach you – so don’t use your foresight.”

The first game seemed to go rather well. I thought I was holding my own against; however, I was led into a trap I did not see and he captured a line of my pieces that went halfway across the board in one move. After that, Father cleaned up the survivors in a total victory.

In the second game, I was paranoid and avoided traps at all costs. This caused a very defensive and drawn-out game. It came down to each of us having two pieces, but by then Father was in a better position that resulted in my pieces being cornered and captured.

It wasn’t until the third game where I was able to get a victory all thanks to a single gamble which paid off.

“Finally,” I cried. “I don’t know if you could see, but I was sweating after I advanced in the middle.”

“I could tell you were up to something, but I wasn’t sure what,” Father agreed, seeming proud of my win. “Responding to it would have interrupted my own strategy so I was torn between countering you or resuming my plan. If I had known what you were going to do, I would have captured it as soon as you moved it.”

Father then set up the board for a fourth game. “Father, you seemed to have forgotten something,” I warned.

“No, I haven’t,” he assured me.

I pointed to my right corner, which was missing a piece, and raised an eyebrow. “That was intentional,” he said. I opened my mouth to protest but was interrupted.

“In the real world there is no guarantee that you will have numbers equal to the Sahalians,” he taught me. “You must learn to manage with a disadvantage.”

“I could simply not engage the Sahalians when at a disadvantage,” I said.

“They will not give you the option of doing that,” Father assured me. “By attacking a key target, or a simple surprise will make not engaging with lesser forces impossible.”

“Very well,” I relented. This game – and the next three – resulted in a loss.

“This doesn’t make sense,” Father said, perplexed. “You should be able to overcome this small of a disadvantage.”

“Well, I’m sorry,” I huffed. “You finally found something that I’m not the best at.”

Father simply shook his head and stared through the board. After a few minutes I was struck with an idea.

“Could we pick this up tomorrow?” I asked.

“I suppose we can,” he answered.

“Also, could you have the servants prepare a large breakfast?” I requested.

Father gave me a quizzical look.

“I’m not sure it will work, but if it does then I’m going to be very hungry in the morning.” I explained.

“What will work?” he asked.

“Father you are making me wait years,” I pointed out. “Surely you can wait one day.”

----------------------------------------

When night came, I ordered Eth and Id to sleep before gathering as much mental material as I thought would be necessary. I molded it into its own personhood and gave it a will. It woke with a start, confused and scared.

“It’s okay,” I told her. “I understand how you must be feeling. Sudden existence is quite disorientating. My name is Ego and I made you,” I introduced.

“Uh… hello,” she said hesitantly. “I don’t know what my name is.”

“Your name will be Al,” I decided. Since I intentionally made this personality, I felt it was up to me to name her.

“Very well,” said Al. “Why did you make me?”

“Our father requires us to be a strategic genius,” I explained. “However, none of us so far were up to the task, so I made you to fulfill that purpose.”

“I do not know if I can do that,” Al said.

“You likely cannot, as of now,” I told her, “but I intend to have you ready by the end of the night.” I then brought forth the image of a Petteia board and pieces. “You should know the rules already.”

Al and I played and, as I had expected, we were evenly matched. At the end, we both had only one piece, which was not enough for either of us to capture the last of the other. After this draw, I made some changes to Al and we played again. This time Al lost handily, so I reversed the changes and made new ones until Al was victorious. On it went through the night: after each game I would alter how Al thought, and Al would see a trend of an increasing level of strategy.

In the morning, once Id’s incredible appetite was satisfied and lessons were over, Father called me to play Petteia again.

“I’m sorry Father, but I can’t be your great strategist,” I began.

Father raised an eyebrow. “I know that’s a lie,” he said.

“Well, half a lie,” I admitted. “I can’t, but I know someone who can.” I then relinquished control to Al.

“Hello sir,” said Al.

“Are you Eth or Id?” Father asked.

“Neither. I am Al,” she introduced.

“Ego has said nothing about an Al,” said Father, confused.

“That is because Ego made me last night,” Al explained.

“Ego can make other personalities?” Father asked with surprise.

“It is so,” Al confirmed. She then removed half of her pieces from the board.

“You seem awfully confident,” said Father skeptically.

“I do not wish to waste time,” Al told him in that calm tone of hers. “It is your turn.”

Since Al only had half the pieces, she was able to deploy her whole line to the middle much faster. Once there, she repeatedly skipped her turn until Father had his within one space of ours; then she had the middle line retreat while keeping the flanks where they were. Father responded by advancing his center. The advance continued until Al moved her two flanks; in only two moves all of Father’s pieces were encircled. Most of his pieces couldn’t even move, and those that could only be able to move into a capture. Eventually all of his pieces were removed from the board, while Al hadn’t lost one.