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From: jerry@oliveb.UUCP (Jerry Aguirre)
Newsgroups: net.startrek,net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: Followup to 'His was the most human...'
Message-ID: <683@oliveb.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 26-Feb-86 20:45:15 EST
Article-I.D.: oliveb.683
Posted: Wed Feb 26 20:45:15 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 1-Mar-86 00:49:52 EST
References: <1661@mtgzz.UUCP> <624@riccb.UUCP> <1406@gitpyr.UUCP>
Reply-To: jerry@oliveb.UUCP (Jerry Aguirre)
Organization: Olivetti ATC; Cupertino, Ca
Lines: 30
Xref: watmath net.startrek:4866 net.sf-lovers:12558

In article <1406@gitpyr.UUCP> chen@gitpyr.UUCP writes:
>The reason for this inquiry is that the scene you've described sounds
>very similar to a scene in "My Enemy, My Ally" by Dianne Duane
>(her latest, published Star Trek novel).  There, *Kirk* and Spock were
>playing a new variant on chess, "4-D" chess.  When it looked like Kirk
>had had it and was about to resign, McCoy asked if he could take over,
>did so, made some changes, (don't ask to me explain exactly what but it
>was believable) and promptly beat Spock.
>
>Before you go jumping about how McCoy shouldn't have been able
>to beat Spock if Kirk couldn't, remember that the game was a
>*new* variant with a very complex wrinkle that neither Spock
>nor Kirk had ever played before.

The reason it was believable was in the nature of the game.  Unlike
standard chess where all positions are visible this was more like
"battleship" or poker in that the "position" of many of the opponents
pieces were UNKNOWN.  Thus a major portion of the game was in trying to
outguess an apponents stratigy.

McCoy explained that he used information gleened from Spock's
(confidential) psychological medical records and exploited a weekness in
Spock's personality.

This was entirely consistent with previous stories in which Kirk has
pointed out that, in a game like poker, logic isn't enough.  It is also
consistent with McCoy's constant poking at Spock's psychology.

					Jerry Aguirre @ Olivetti ATC
{hplabs|fortune|idi|ihnp4|tolerant|allegra|glacier|olhqma}!oliveb!jerry