Stalemate
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Tex enters a huge, cavernous room,
and walks down a catwalk running right down the middle. At the middle
of the catwalk, Tex comes across a small computer terminal. The Overlord
computer terminal. He types in the word "Stalemate," and
he must now feed in all eight STG passcards, and type in their corresponding
passwords. |
| To feed the cards into the slot click
and drag the card you wish to enter. To rotate it so it will fit,
press either of the directional keys on your keyboard.
The cards and their corresponding
passwords are as follows:
| A |
QUEEN |
| B |
DRAW |
| C |
CASTLE |
| D |
GAMBIT |
| E |
BISHOP |
| F |
RESIGN |
| G |
CHECKMATE |
| H |
KNIGHT |
|
 |
 |
After Tex initiates the Stalemate
sequence, he puts on a pair of virtual reality goggles. The lights
in the room go out, and a large virtual chessboard materializes.
J. Saint Gideon's face appears on
a nearby monitor. "Exit this program immediately, Mr. Murphy,"
he says.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Gideon, I
can't do that," Tex says.
"You don't understand what
you're doing. I am not the enemy," Gideon says.
"I know," Tex says
sympathetically. "But Overlord is."
Gideon puts on a pair of the goggles.
He appears on the other side of the virtual chessboard, dressed
in black, and not in need of his wheelchair. "Then you do
not understand its purpose," he says.
"I think I do,"
Tex says, appearing in the virtual world dressed in white. "Do
you know how close Law and Order came to overtaking your system?"
"A calculated risk, my friend,"
Gideon says, laughing. "It is the only solution."
"Well, a lot of innocent
people have been killed. I'm just trying to make sure there are
no more victims," Tex says.
"It is better that some die
rather than allow the entire planet to degenerate into total chaos,"
Gideon tells him.
|
|
"No one's got the right to
play God," Tex says.
"I agree... it's unconscionable,"
Gideon says, nodding. "But the fact is, it's done every
day and, moreover, by people who aspire to nothing more than avarice
and domination. What do you imagine stopping me will accomplish?"
"Well what do you think you'll
accomplish?" Tex answers.
|
 |
 |
"Overlord is the hope, Mr.
Murphy," Gideon says
triumphantly. "With it, I can influence events in
the global political arena for good."
"Good for you, maybe,"
Tex says.
"Good for all those who respect
mercy and justice," Gideon says, correcting him.
"You've created just a little
bit of a monster here, Mr. Gideon," Tex says, "and
it wouldn't be the first time you lost control of your creation.
The Law and Order Party was gonna' use it for its own purposes.
Other groups are gonna' try and eventually one of them's gonna'
succeed. This little nightmare of yours has got to be destroyed."
Gideon laughs to himself. "Oh,
I pity your blindness and regret that you cannot be reasoned with.
"Let the match
begin!"
|
|
Gideon punches a few keys on the
console in front of him, and black chess pieces form all around
the virtual board -- significantly outnumbering the white pieces.
"I'm black, right?"
Tex asks.
"Oh, I'm afraid not. But,
you have the first move," Gideon says, smiling.
"Well, that's good."
|
 |
| Tex puts Gideons king into Checkmate,
and the match is over. Orbiting the Earth, the Overlord satellite
explodes in a brilliant fireball. |
 |
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