February 11, 1977
By
day, I cruise around at will, in a general westerly direction, away from human
habitation, towards wildlife habitats.
By night, I just set up camp at any scenic spot that appeal to me not
otherwise occupied, except by lions, and build a fire. And in the firelight, I would read, or
write, or else play chess against my portable chess computer. I’ve brought enough batteries to last a thousand
games.
This
evening, I had lost two games to the computer, but was on the verge of taking
one back, when Raminothna said to me, “To all grand masters, masters,
ordinary players and non-players, I challenge you to the godgame of Cosmic
Chess.”
“Godgame? What’s a godgame? How do you play Cosmic Chess?” I asked her.
“Here
are some of its basic rules:” said Raminothna.
“Whereas
in chess there are two sides with sixteen pieces each, in the Earth version of
Cosmic Chess there are some two hundred sides, each with pieces numbering in
the millions.
“Whereas
the power of a chess piece is fixed, be it a king, queen, rook, bishop, knight
or pawn, a Cosmic Chess Piece has the power to change its own power, and that
of others.
“Whereas
in chess the pieces are moved by two external players, one piece per move, one
move at a time, Cosmic Chess Pieces are themselves each a Cosmic Chess Player,
who move themselves, and one another, simultaneously, and at will.
“Whereas
chess is a mere game, with little more than pride and prize at stake, Cosmic
Chess is a godgame, a matter of life and death, ascent and extinction, fate and
destiny. In fact, each Cosmic Chess
Piece/Player has a heart, a mind, a will a life, even a soul, of its own.
“In
Cosmic Chess as in chess, however, there is no move, however insignificant it
might have seemed at the time it was made, that has no profound influence, be
it constructive or destructive, upon the outcome of the whole game. And you, Cosmic Chess Piece/Player of the
godgame of Earth, ought to heed this, for whether you want to ‘play’ or not,
whether you know or know not what you do, whether or not you even care, you
make moves all the time.
“In
Cosmic Chess as in chess, all pieces must share an ultimate goal in common,
must make no move without bearing upon this common goal, and must cooperate,
and be coordinated, towards reaching this common goal – that is, if they wish
to win, which brings us to this final point:
“Whereas
in chess one must lose that the other can win, in Cosmic Chess, all must win,
or all will lose.
“In
Cosmic Chess, each side is called a nation, and each player-piece a citizen, of
which you are one.
“Homo
sapiens of Earth, I wish you a brilliant victory.”