Lt. Commander V'Lar - To Thine Own Self
1 view
Skip to first unread message
Chris M
Jun 26, 2026, 1:56:57 PM (2 days ago) Jun 26
to sb118-...@googlegroups.com
((Skyhigh Arcade Lounge & Cafe, Midtown District, Adamas))
As they prepared to begin their game of Weiqi, Ensign Spelvan confirmed his agreement with the traditional 7.5 point compensation for white.
V'Lar accepted his decision with a slight nod of her head. As a player of some experience, she favoured the Star Point as her opening. Statistically it tied Komoku in win rate but crucially it did not commit to a specific direction, allowing her the flexibility to switch from corners to a central focus if needed. She placed her first white stone on the board with a crisp click.
V'Lar was content to play in silence, allowing both participants the ability to utilise their mental bandwidth on other matters. However, if Spelvan was in distress, silence could result in inefficient rumination.
V'Lar: While we proceed with this game, I am amenable to talking. If vocalising your thoughts will assist, I am prepared to listen.
V'Lar: If you are genuine in your intent, I am willing to provide assistance.
V'Lar: Your brother's visit is finite. How do you propose to manage interactions with him for the remainder of his stay?
Spelvan: Response
As they prepared to begin their game of Weiqi, Ensign Spelvan confirmed his agreement with the traditional 7.5 point compensation for white.
V'Lar accepted his decision with a slight nod of her head. As a player of some experience, she favoured the Star Point as her opening. Statistically it tied Komoku in win rate but crucially it did not commit to a specific direction, allowing her the flexibility to switch from corners to a central focus if needed. She placed her first white stone on the board with a crisp click.
V'Lar was content to play in silence, allowing both participants the ability to utilise their mental bandwidth on other matters. However, if Spelvan was in distress, silence could result in inefficient rumination.
V'Lar: While we proceed with this game, I am amenable to talking. If vocalising your thoughts will assist, I am prepared to listen.
Spelvan: Thank you. That is thoughtful of you.
V'Lar accepted his initial gratitude with silence, keenly aware that Spelvan's response did not actually verbalise whether he wished to accept the offer. Rather than pushing the matter, she allowed the structured rhythm of the game to take precedence. Over the course of the next five minutes, she observed the board state evolve, noting his focus on the corners.
Unlike in many games, the objective in Weiqi was not to eliminate the opponent's pieces, but to create an area of territory. V'Lar was carefully cultivating multiple strategic opportunities. In doing so, she had deliberately left several vulnerable formations. If Spelvan ignored them, she could use them to fence off larger territories; if Spelvan attempted to capture them, he would be forced into utilising turns to expend stones on inefficient formations that would yield minimal long-term returns.
Spelvan: My brother is here for a visit. He is more... illogical than I remembered.
V'Lar: As an individual who actively embraces emotional impulse, their behaviour will naturally be subject to change.
Spelvan: I am thinking, also, of what we discussed at N'Vea Hospitals. I asserted that logic was like the light of the moon. It may be that my affirmation may have been misguided.
V'Lar possessed a detailed recall of their discussion at the N'Vea Hospital on Deluvia IV, including the words that she had spoken to Spelvan at the time.
oO I believe that logic is akin to a radiant sun, towards which all true intelligence blossoms. It is beneath the light of that sun that our civilisation has prospered, in the darkness there is only regression to the chaos from which we ascended. Oo
V'Lar: It will likely not surprise you that my position remains unchanged.
V'Lar watched as Spelvan completed the last in a sequence of moves that successfully surrounded a grouping of her white pieces. She observed impassively as he reached across the grid, the ceramic pieces making a crisp series of plinks as he removed her 'dead' stones and deposited them into the capture bowl.
Spelvan: Perhaps it is time for me to more wholeheartedly regard Surak's teachings in my daily life.
V'Lar retrieved her next white stone from its velvet pouch. She did not dwell on the loss of her pieces; instead, she immediately placed her stone on the board, stretching out a larger line in the lower-left corner that she had been developing.
V'Lar: While it is very much a personal choice, I believe it to be a worthy goal and a highly logical objective.
Spelvan: Response
V'Lar studied his posture, assessing the sincerity of his statement. Rededicating oneself to pure logic was a profound undertaking, not one to be entered into lightly.
V'Lar accepted his initial gratitude with silence, keenly aware that Spelvan's response did not actually verbalise whether he wished to accept the offer. Rather than pushing the matter, she allowed the structured rhythm of the game to take precedence. Over the course of the next five minutes, she observed the board state evolve, noting his focus on the corners.
Unlike in many games, the objective in Weiqi was not to eliminate the opponent's pieces, but to create an area of territory. V'Lar was carefully cultivating multiple strategic opportunities. In doing so, she had deliberately left several vulnerable formations. If Spelvan ignored them, she could use them to fence off larger territories; if Spelvan attempted to capture them, he would be forced into utilising turns to expend stones on inefficient formations that would yield minimal long-term returns.
Spelvan: My brother is here for a visit. He is more... illogical than I remembered.
V'Lar: As an individual who actively embraces emotional impulse, their behaviour will naturally be subject to change.
Spelvan: I am thinking, also, of what we discussed at N'Vea Hospitals. I asserted that logic was like the light of the moon. It may be that my affirmation may have been misguided.
V'Lar possessed a detailed recall of their discussion at the N'Vea Hospital on Deluvia IV, including the words that she had spoken to Spelvan at the time.
oO I believe that logic is akin to a radiant sun, towards which all true intelligence blossoms. It is beneath the light of that sun that our civilisation has prospered, in the darkness there is only regression to the chaos from which we ascended. Oo
V'Lar: It will likely not surprise you that my position remains unchanged.
V'Lar watched as Spelvan completed the last in a sequence of moves that successfully surrounded a grouping of her white pieces. She observed impassively as he reached across the grid, the ceramic pieces making a crisp series of plinks as he removed her 'dead' stones and deposited them into the capture bowl.
Spelvan: Perhaps it is time for me to more wholeheartedly regard Surak's teachings in my daily life.
V'Lar retrieved her next white stone from its velvet pouch. She did not dwell on the loss of her pieces; instead, she immediately placed her stone on the board, stretching out a larger line in the lower-left corner that she had been developing.
V'Lar: While it is very much a personal choice, I believe it to be a worthy goal and a highly logical objective.
Spelvan: Response
V'Lar studied his posture, assessing the sincerity of his statement. Rededicating oneself to pure logic was a profound undertaking, not one to be entered into lightly.
V'Lar: If you are genuine in your intent, I am willing to provide assistance.
Spelvan: Response
While more closely following Surak's teachings would benefit Spelvan, it would not immediately solve his present dilemma.
While more closely following Surak's teachings would benefit Spelvan, it would not immediately solve his present dilemma.
V'Lar: Your brother's visit is finite. How do you propose to manage interactions with him for the remainder of his stay?
Spelvan: Response
==========/\==========
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages