[dream 10-1] do you know your enemy? [week 10, day 5]
In order to defeat evil, do you stain your hands with evil? Or do you do what is right even if it means you lose to evil?
It's a paradox, C.C. says from behind you, walking - almost pacing - in that silent way she has. No matter which course of action you take, evil still remains. You know it's a paradox - you posed that question to Guilford weeks ago. This is a lesson you have learned over and over until it has been practically carved into your back: evil always remains.
But if what remains is a lesser evil -
if it is an evil that can be understood and controlled, even if only for a time -
then it is worth taking that risk. It is worth sitting at the board and playing this game.
Because if you don't fight at all, evil remains by default. And nothing changes. Nothing will ever change.
You can see the board right now, arranged in front of you, in its familiar patterns and lines and order - blackwhiteblackwhiteblackwhiteblackwhite, white rook on a1, queens on their color, everything contained and controlled. Two rooks, two knights, two bishops, eight pawns, one queen, and one king per side.
The Emperor of Britannia is your opponent. Your Black Knights versus the White King. It's fitting, really. He has been your opponent since the beginning. Thankful for Zero's mask, you watch him, waiting.
White moves first.
[1. d4 ...]
The first pawn is out. This is it. This is your final opponent. You have prepared for this day for seven years of your life. For eight years of your life.
There is no room for philosophy on the board. There is no room for ethos or pathos. Only logos. Only the legal moves. Only the clearest path to checkmate. Only the black and white.
You smile.
[... d5]
You're going to enjoy this.
[ A sudden noise outside jolts Lelouch awake. Another late-night/early-morning brawl in Yomisato. He hopes it will not spill over into the house in which he's currently squatting - the previous resident had apparently died a day or so before, and no one so far has seen fit to investigate the house or challenge Lelouch's quiet claim to it. Yet.
Lelouch glances around one more time, but the commotion seems to have moved into another alley. He settles down to return to sleep, but the dream does not resume. ]
[[ooc: as the hyphenated number implies, this is a new experiment for me - recurring dreams! this particular dream will continue or be modified over the course of several dreams, not all in a row, over several months. also, the chess match that Lelouch will be acting out (this one, at any rate) is mostly taken from the Elijah Williams vs. Daniel Harrwitz match of 1846, if you're curious. ]
It's a paradox, C.C. says from behind you, walking - almost pacing - in that silent way she has. No matter which course of action you take, evil still remains. You know it's a paradox - you posed that question to Guilford weeks ago. This is a lesson you have learned over and over until it has been practically carved into your back: evil always remains.
But if what remains is a lesser evil -
if it is an evil that can be understood and controlled, even if only for a time -
then it is worth taking that risk. It is worth sitting at the board and playing this game.
Because if you don't fight at all, evil remains by default. And nothing changes. Nothing will ever change.
You can see the board right now, arranged in front of you, in its familiar patterns and lines and order - blackwhiteblackwhiteblackwhiteblackwhite, white rook on a1, queens on their color, everything contained and controlled. Two rooks, two knights, two bishops, eight pawns, one queen, and one king per side.
The Emperor of Britannia is your opponent. Your Black Knights versus the White King. It's fitting, really. He has been your opponent since the beginning. Thankful for Zero's mask, you watch him, waiting.
White moves first.
[1. d4 ...]
The first pawn is out. This is it. This is your final opponent. You have prepared for this day for seven years of your life. For eight years of your life.
There is no room for philosophy on the board. There is no room for ethos or pathos. Only logos. Only the legal moves. Only the clearest path to checkmate. Only the black and white.
You smile.
[... d5]
You're going to enjoy this.
[ A sudden noise outside jolts Lelouch awake. Another late-night/early-morning brawl in Yomisato. He hopes it will not spill over into the house in which he's currently squatting - the previous resident had apparently died a day or so before, and no one so far has seen fit to investigate the house or challenge Lelouch's quiet claim to it. Yet.
Lelouch glances around one more time, but the commotion seems to have moved into another alley. He settles down to return to sleep, but the dream does not resume. ]
[[ooc: as the hyphenated number implies, this is a new experiment for me - recurring dreams! this particular dream will continue or be modified over the course of several dreams, not all in a row, over several months. also, the chess match that Lelouch will be acting out (this one, at any rate) is mostly taken from the Elijah Williams vs. Daniel Harrwitz match of 1846, if you're curious. ]