The Game
2003 short story by Jonathan
Hicks Five
years after Episode IV – A New Hope At the end of the day, it all comes down to simple
choice. There
are those who spend their time in a pondering limbo, those who gaze at their
situation or predicament from all angles, all viewpoints, all
emotions. This is acceptable, but how long does the situation need to be
considered before time overtakes you? How much of your life are you willing
to spend pontificating over the smallest detail of your unfolding story, of
your position in this world? Take life as a Hardball game. You have a set time in the
game to make your decisions, work with others, take your chances, try to get as far ahead as possible. This is the nature of
the game. So, when the ball comes to you and it is time to make your
contribution, do you stand in the arena considering, wondering,
second-guessing your decisions? You waste your own time and the time of those
around you, up until the point where someone comes and takes that decision
from you. You lose your chance to make a difference, to progress further
through the game. You may lose – this much is true – but there can be moments
in the field where you have moments of glory, moments of brilliance. There
can just as easily be moments of pain, frustration and disappointment. But
there is no time to consider what you may or may not have done. You get up
from the arena floor, you take a breath, you learn
from your mistake, you carry on. You only have so much time to complete the
game, after all, and wasting that time is not an option. Just don’t get sent off. The Hardball Arena was a swarm of flags, pennants, light
emitters and holobanners; thousands upon thousands
of spectators on great steps of seats encircled the playing arena. Every time
the ball was thrown from player to player the crowd shrieked and hooted and
howled, cheering or booing depending on the side that had the advantage. Dodge scooped the hovering silver ball in his hand as one
of his defenders passed the sphere back out of their half of the arena floor.
The heavily armoured central defender, guarding the magnetic post from being
hit with the metal sphere, waved his appreciation to the defender for
stopping the ball with his staff, a scoop at one end and a trip-hook at the
other. Three defence, two support, two assault. The
standard Hardball team. Dodge slid under the diving tackle of a support player
for the Zelon Fliers, the team his own side were pitted against in this
decisive First League battle. The Amagad Assassins had fought their way from
a lowly Third League position and now, five years later, were hard at work
fighting against the top team in the Setnin Sector for the coveted First
Position Prize. Dodge grinned under his armoured helmet and drove his
shoulder into a heavy-set Zelon player’s leg, sending him flipping over onto
his back. He heaved the heavy metal ball at one of his support players who in
turn elbowed it to the other assault player. Dodge made a run for the
opposition’s magnetic post. Should he play the decoy or wait for the ball and go for
the point? There are far too many instances where people are under
the illusion that choice is difficult, but it is not. Perhaps it is easy for
me to say such a thing as I am under a single-minded pressure at this moment,
but why should my opinion on free will be any different at any time? Any
individual can find themselves in grave situations where their choice is
important, perhaps even life changing. Such a situation must be considered
and analysed before a choice is made, this much is true. But… How long must the decision take? How many times can an
individual agonise over their situation before they either decide on their
course of action or are forced into a decision? Making an actual choice,
defining how you want the future to unfold or how you want the situation to
be resolved is much more complete than having to react to the situation you
cause because of your indecision. You have that element of freedom taken from
you, and you feel as if you were never in control. That can crush, even
destroy, a soul. There are those who allow these incidents to spiral out
of their grasp because it is in their best interests to do so – this way,
they can feel a kind of justification in their indecision and feel better
about their situation because they can plead that fate was out of their
control and the resulting problems, even though they are partly responsible,
were not entirely of their doing. This is a form of cowardice. For a moment, Dodge faltered. He was getting too ahead of
himself. The Amagad Assassins were supposed to lose this game. Dodge slowed his run on the left side of the oval arena
and watched as his support player sent the ball sailing over to the other
assault player. His number two leaped into the air to intercept the pass but
his opposite number, who wrapped his arms around his waist and bought him
crashing to the metal ground, stopped him. The ball fell to it’s one meter hovering height and slipped on the grav
fields to the outside of the arena. Dodge was, at the same time, angry at the interception
and, strangely, relieved. His team were not supposed to win this due to heavy
betting on the side of the Zelon Fliers and, if he allowed his team mates to
play as well as they had been the last half-season they would win. And he would suffer
the consequences. His eyes flickered to the prime-viewing box above him. At least, that was what Mister Spyte had told him. With choice comes responsibility. There cannot be one
without the other. Those who cannot, or will not, make up their minds to
resolve a situation are lacklustre in their decision
making because they do not want the responsibility of the results of that
choice. Not wishing to accept the results of their indecision they allow
events to overtake them, allow the problems they find themselves, sometimes
even place themselves, in to perpetuate, even escalate, all the while blaming
their lack of foresight, or plain bad luck, on the circumstance. If they
could only allow themselves to take a stand and make a choice, for good or
for ill, then at least they will know they were in some control of their own
destiny. What is the preference? To be steamrolled by the
situation, or be able to take a stand and make a choice, for better or for
worse? The ball, free from grappling and handling, dropped to
its one-meter height and slowly slid along the repulsorfield,
it’s own momentum carrying it to the outer edge of
the arena. The intercepting player made a dive for it, the heavy padding of
the impact suit he wore flashing blue as he dived over the Amagad player and
rolled towards the sphere. An Amagad defender was faster. He scooped the ball with
one end of his staff and tossed the ball to Dodge, the other end catching the
foot of the Zelon player with the trip-hook and sending him tumbling into the
padded crash barrier. Dodge leaped and saw in his peripheral vision a Zelon
team member approaching at speed, so instead of grabbing the ball he thumped
it hard, down and at a steep angle. The balls skipped off the repulsorfield and up again, into the chin guard of the
defender, which sent his head snapping back, his body following suit, his
staff skittering across the floor. As only the ball was affected by the repulsorfield, he fell hard and heavy to the collective ‘oooh!’ of the crowds. The ball bounced back and Dodge
grabbed it again in his oversized glove. Dodge felt fast and free, a maniacal grin spread across
his features as he played the game. But then, it seemed, Glann Cipple’s face
appeared every time he blinked or gritted his teeth, wavering in front of his
tired eyes. Smiling. Pointing a fat, blood-soaked finger at him. Telling him
to win, and win well, to do Amagad proud, and ensure the tens of thousands of
credits he had invested in the team and the betting syndicates wasn’t a bad
spend. Because otherwise he’d end up dead. Plain and simple. Glann Cipple; he didn’t skirt the
important issues. All situations need consideration, but this consideration
needs to be justified. Too much second-guessing over a long period of time will
create far too many alternate paths of consideration, confusing the issue at
hand and resulting in decisions based upon supposition and not what is
regarded as fact. These lines of thinking are a great boon to those who do
not wish to take responsibility for their choices, because in their heads
they can blame certain aspects of the situation or blocked avenues of choice
upon other things. This allows them to continue on their chosen path, which
is generally one of a sense that fate is out of their hands and therefore
they need not take any responsibility for their actions. There are also those who are afraid. Dodge glanced up at the scoreboard hanging just below the
prime-viewing box, knew that the Amagad Assassins were one point behind and
had only twelve seconds to go. His team were in possession, they had the
advantage. If he could score from the two or three point zone they would win
–one point would draw the game but the Zelon Fliers would win by point zone
scoring difference. His eyes drifted upwards. He could see silhouetted shapes
in the window of the prime-viewing box and he wondered which one was Spyte,
because no doubt he had come to see his patsy Dodge do what he had ordered
him, paid him to do. Take a fall. Fumble the game for the Amagad Assassins.
Betray his team. Lose. What should he do? Lose the game, take the money, and
spend the rest of his life basking in the glory of a being that almost beat the Zelon Fliers, who almost got the First Position Prize?
Endless questions about the mistake he made that lost them the game,
shrugging his shoulders and talking about bad luck, or bad judgement, or
feigned injury. Then killed by Glann Cipple for not winning the prize for
Amagad. Or win. Spend a short time in the bright light of
interstellar fame. Loved by all. Then killed for double-crossing Spyte. An important decision – and only ten seconds of the game
to go with the Amagad Assassins in possession. A lack of responsibility reflects two kinds of person,
those who do not wish to make a choice and those who are afraid of making a
choice. Those who do not wish to make a choice have already been addressed;
it is easier for them to blame other things and people than to accept their
role and they are comfortable with that. But there are some who are afraid of
their choice, afraid for one solitary reason – they’re afraid of losing
something. That something can be anything at all – a possession, a
person, their own sense of respect, self-respect or the respect of others, or
even the chances of making any influential choices in the future. With every
important choice comes a result from that choice that will either benefit the
individual making the decision, or not. Some people are afraid to make that
decision based on what they stand to lose. So the basics are – the responsibility of choice is based
upon the concerns or the attitude of the individual, so is there a medium
that can be reached whereas all people can have the same approach to making
choices in a generalised term? I feel that there is. It dawned on Dodge, in those final desperate seconds of
the biggest game of his life, as he dived over the defenders and dodged the
assault players, that this entire moment was his and his alone. And yet… There were two men, whose heart wasn’t in the game, whose
only ideal behind the sport of Hardball was the fact that money could be
made, reputations could be built up or battered down, assets could be
controlled. It wasn’t about the passion of the sport, or the crowds, or the
love of what was, to Dodge, a beautiful game. As brutal and as dangerous and
as gladiatorial as it was, three beings had died over the last two seasons
alone, it was an almost breathtaking spectacle of acrobatics and skill that
would send the crowds into choruses of cries at even the most simple pass or
dive. It truly was a reflection of the Setnin Sector, a true mirror image of
the people who populated the sector and secretly controlled the running of it
all. It was a representation of their philosophy; smash, grab, and run like
hell. But
it was Dodge with the ball. Dodge in the arena. Dodge on the verge of glory
for Amagad. Dodge who had the choice of either denying his rich Hardball
skill for the vanity and profit of two men he detested. Who he was supposed
to be scared of. How could he ever look at himself in the mirror ever
again, if he failed his team for the benefit of someone else? You
see, there is a strength that can be gained from making a decision, a
decision that directly concerns an individual. The strength of that choice is
not based on whether the decision is the correct one, or whether they succeed
or fail. The strength is in the ability to be able to have the heart to make
that choice in the first place and being able to accept the consequences of
that choice. We all have our own reasons to pontificate over the results of
those actions we wish to take to resolve our own problems and crises, but
there must come a time when that choice needs to be made because extending
the problem over time can only make the situation worse. Perhaps, then, it is
a sign of even greater strength to make a decision when the situation is at
its most dire. Perhaps the sign of strength is addressing the problem
directly, whilst the situation is in its infancy – acting, not reacting. Of
course, the latter runs the risk of premature decision, which also increases
the chances of a wrong course of action. This depends on the attitude of the
individual more than the seriousness of the situation. Choice is something to be embraced and yet it is something
to cower from, but ultimately choice is not difficult. Those that say they
have a difficult choice, or that they are in a complicated situation, are
faced with that problem because they have allowed themselves to fall into
that trap. Those that run from choice, or deny it, are cowards, ergo they are
afraid. No amount of chest-puffing and
‘I chose to ignore the situation’ or ‘it’s not my problem’
speeches can ever justify walking away or re-directing the blame of a
situation, as the fact that they feel compelled to make such statements only
defines their role in the situation. Five seconds. Dodge heaved the ball with all his strength at the edge
of the two point scoring zone. Four seconds. The ball was caught in the low power magnetic field of
the Zelon post and started to curve towards it. The crowd fell
deathly silent. Three seconds. The post defender made a dive for the ball. Dodge had
heaved it a few centimetres above the repulsorfield,
and as it fell it skipped the field and sailed up and over the outstretched
hand. Two seconds. At first it appeared the ball was going to sail past the
post, but it suddenly spun and slammed into the tall two-metre stand. There
was a siren, and the post lit up orange and blew harmless gasses from the
top. One second. The crowd went insane. Time. The Amagad Assassins had won. First Position Prize. Top
of the First League. The Champions Chalice. The whole damn thing. Dodge stood and stared as the magnetic field of the post
switched off and the repulsorfield powered down, watched
as the steel ball dropped with a metallic thud against the arena floor. The
blood was pumping in his ears, the muted roars of the crowd, both Amagadian
and Zelonian roaring their delight and appreciation of a close, hard fought, entertaining game. He didn’t realise he had been hoisted
on the shoulders of his team mates, didn’t see the swell of support staff of
the two teams swarming through the hidden doors of the enclosed arena and
forming groups about the players. The Zelon Fliers graciously accepted defeat
and shook hands, some of them sinking to the floor to contemplate their loss.
The Amagad Assassins were dancing and shouting, trying to be heard over the
sheer press of noise. Dodge’s attention, however, was on the prime-viewing box.
He stared long and hard, wondering if Spyte was already making plans for
revenge, wondering if contacts of Glann Cipple were already making reports
back to Amagad that he had won the game. But he didn’t care. He didn’t care about Glann’s
achievements or Spyte’s loss. This was his game, his life, his moment. He smiled slyly at the box. His choice. Those that embrace choice, who allow themselves
to be carried by the routes they make themselves and accept the results of
their decisions, are strong. To battle through a problem and come out the
other side without taking full control of your fate may be an option, but
remember this adage; It is better to die on your feet, than live on your
knees. The Game
2003 short story by Jonathan
Hicks Five
years after Episode IV – A New Hope Histories – The story of the Amagad Assassins championship winning side and Dodge, the ex co-pilot of Goah Galletti and mid-league underworld character who made good in his beloved sport of Hardball.
Despite the interventions of both Mister Spyte and Glann Cipple, Dodge came down to the simple choice:
win or lose. And with his fate in his
own hands, he found the choice a simple one.
Cast
of Characters Dodge Mister
Spyte Glann
Cipple |