“You've drawn the Tau
And you best get going now
Because you have to set sail
And the earlier you do
The better a chance you'll have
At winning the race
Because that is what it is
And only the first six
Are guaranteed
To rightly succeed
The game you've sworn to play
So go away
Lest you wish to fail”
“What do you mean by that
I haven't sworn
To do but such a thing
I just clicked on the game
And looked to play for fun
Because it didn't speak
Of anything serious
Like vows but sworn
And having to sail
Or anything like that
So don't tell me shit like this”
“That's a most unfortunate thing
For you to say
Because an unwilling spirit
Can scarcely win the game
Or even place but high enough
To thrive in the playing
Which is more important
Than you could ever understand”
She said to me
Without a hint of humour
Like she was deadly serious
“Like but what
If I fail to place yes high enough
I'll lose the right
To my own life”
I said with a laugh
Knowing that it couldn't be
As bad as that
Because that'd be stupid
And beyond the pale
Like who would offer a game
With stakes like this
Without but telling its players
That these were in fact
The most dangerous stakes indeed
“So like everyone else
You didn't read the fine print
In which we state
What the stakes but rightly are
Because the prize is as great as it is
Which demands the cost of failure
Of the right to own your life
And as I looked into her eyes
I saw what she meant
Like she wasn't human
Because I couldn't look
Into the eyes of a human
And see the scenes I saw
And I finally understood
How serious a game
I'd stumbled into playing
So off I raced
To the nearest marina
In search of a ship
That I could sail