Ninefox Gambit (The Machineries of Empire, #1)

by Yoon Ha Lee

“Second: what do you think games do? What are they about?” The flippant answers weren’t going to be right, but she had no idea what he was after. “Winning and losing?” she said. “Simulations?” “It hasn’t escaped me that your first answer is a Kel answer and the second is a Nirai answer,” Jedao said. “A Rahal would say that games are about rules, an Andan would say they’re about passing time with people, and who knows what the Vidona are authorized to say.” “You’re a Shuos,” Cheris said, “so I presume you’re going to tell me what the Shuos answer is.” “According to the Shuos,” Jedao said, “games are about behavior modification. The rules constrain some behaviors and reward others. Of course, people cheat, and there are consequences around that, too, so implicit rules and social context are just as important. Meaningless cards, tokens, and symbols become invested with value and significance in the world of the game. In a sense, all calendrical war is a game between competing sets of rules, fueled by the coherence of our beliefs. To win a calendrical war, you have to understand how game systems work.”