CHAPTER 18: WHAT LUCK

"I know that the luck system is designed for card games, but I never knew an administrator would be very straight forward about it." Fi said, as she slid one of her Luck chips forward along with the rest of her group.

"Originally, Fortuna Sands was designed as a regular casino simulation, but the first benefactor thought that was too ordinary." Benjii said as he pushed his three chips on the table and started handing out 4 cards to each player face down. "With virtual space you're not bound by the limits of space and time and you're got hundreds of VR games that have everything from fantasy, sci-fi, and sports. So, with her relentless filibustering she convinced the whole board that the game should not be about skill but the very definition of luck itself."

"By definition, Luck is the advantage of success."

"That's one definition." Benji said playing the first three cards of the table face up slowly from the deck. "It's infinitely more complicated than people think, shaped by more than just circumstances, events, and opportunities. You can be born rich and then wind up a pauper, be born poor and then rise above even the gods of men. It's an intricate web of belief, superstitions, and science so vast that the human mind can not quantify it...but she tried anyway."

He placed the last card on the table with great force and everyone turned the results.

[ 8 of Diamonds ], [ Queen of Spades ],

[ 4 of Spades ]

"She must have been pretty smart." Cee commented.

"As cold and ice and more calculating than a supercomputer...no bets this round?" Everyone nodded their heads as Benjii played with the stack of chips by his side. "She came from a wealthy family and was a genius in math and physics, but she was also methodical to the point where she wanted complete control of the project... dealer stays."

He grabbed the next card and placed it beside the last row of cards.

[ 7 of Spades ]

"I don't even know why she needed the 12 of us in the first place, she could have afforded to make the game herself and then some. Maybe that was just another stroke of luck itself, we all just happened to be at the right place at the right time... final bets, any takers?" Everyone nodded their heads again as he placed the final card to complete the deck. "Alright, let's see what you got." Everyone revealed their cards to each other.

Fi-Ownya revealed,

[ 9 of Diamonds ], [ 2 of Diamonds ],

[ 4 of Diamonds ], [ Ace of Hearts ]

C-Note revealed,

[ 4 of Hearts ], [ 7 of Hearts ],

[ King of Hearts ], [ Jack of Hearts ]

Chance-Lrr revealed,

[ 6 of Diamonds ], [ 5 of Clubs ],

[ 6 of Clubs ], [ 8 of Clubs ]

"Looks like the highest hand is straight, let's see if I can beat that." He slowly revealed his hand to others one card after the other.

Benjii-Benjamins revealed,

[ 10 of Clubs ], [ 9 of Clubs ],

[ 10 of Hearts ], [ 3 of Spades ]

"Looks like I'm feeling a little flushed. Guess that means I'm the winner of this round." He scooped up the chips on the table and added them to his pile.

"Luck! I knew I shouldn't have listened to his story." Chance said, slamming the table. "It totally threw off my game."

"I thought it was a good story, I mean I know what it's like to have trouble struggling with the human factor." Fi said. "Numbers are simple but people are hard to define, like Luck I guess. It's one of the reasons that attracted me to this game in the first place."

"What about the rest of you?" Benji said, placing his three chips forward on the table. "Why do you all play a game that tries to quantify such an abstract engine?"

"Honestly, I thought it would be better than getting a day job." Chance said, putting his last chip on the table. "Especially since VR is a growing industry, they even had classes dedicated to the subject of using a Tyche engine in daily life."

"We might have been able to move it into classes before high school if certain circumstances hadn't been dealt with."

"You're talking about Double Life Syndrome." Cee said as she watched him place the first three cards of the pool on the table. "That's why my dad didn't want me to even own one until my aunt left one to me in her will."

"How very generous of her." He said as he placed the last card.

[ 3 of Diamonds ], [ 10 of Spades ],

[ Ace of Diamonds ]

"No bets this round." He concluded with the lack of chips on the table.

"If you say so." She said in a somewhat disappointed manner.

"You know, some believe that the poker table is like a confessional, you come in, you tell a little story and you come back out maybe a little wiser from the experience." He said holding his hand on top of the deck. "I know it sounds like I'm playing head games, but sometimes confession is good for the soul and can help the game in more ways than one?"

She had been holding her feelings back for some time, but here in the presence of new friends and perfect stranger she felt that there was something boiling in her heart that she had to speak into words.

"...my dad didn't talk much about his family, I didn't even know I had an aunt until she passed away just recently. Let's just say when I heard she left an inheritance, I thought it would be more than just an old VR Engine and a pre-loaded game."

He placed the first card down.

[ 8 of Hearts ]

"You sound as if she gave you some old junk, but junk can be treasure in disguise."

"It was supposed to be an inheritance, something that could help us in this time of need."

"If you hadn't got it, you wouldn't have met us?" Fi said with an optimistic smile.

"Sometimes I question how that ever happened." Chance added.

"That's the beauty of FS, it's an extraordinary place where events all know human or natural laws." Fi said. "A true feat of dynamic miracle in virtual engineering. That's why I love it."

Benjii played the final cards on the table.

"A miracle may seem supernatural, but sometimes it's part of a greater design if you look ahead enough to find it." He said. "Please reveal your cards."

Fi-Ownya revealed,

[ King of Hearts ], [ 2 of Diamonds ],

[ 2 of Hearts ], [ 5 of Diamonds ]

C-note revealed,

[ 6 of Spades ], [ 6 of Clubs ],

[ Joker (Wild) ], [ 4 of Diamonds ]

Chance-Lrr revealed,

[ Jack of Diamonds ], [ King of Clubs ],

[ 4 of Spades ], [ 7 of Spades ]

"It looks like the highest hand is a three of kind, and the dealer has..."

Benjii-Benjamins revealed,

[ Jack of Hearts ], [ 10 of Diamonds ],

[ Queen of Hearts ], [ 3 of Spades ]

"...Two pairs, looks like the game has turned."

"That means we're out." Chance said in anger.

"...but you're still in." Fi said. "Looks like the chips are even, it just comes down to a one-on-one."

"Well help you as much as..."

Suddenly the room stood still and silent, Cee recognized this feeling before but it wasn't until she turned her head that she knew exactly where she was. She could move freely but everyone but her in Benjii were stuck in the petrified stare of inert time. She had felt this before but never at a time where she could move in this realm as easily as in real time.

"No more interference from the peanut gallery." Benjii said, raising his hand to shuffle to grab the deck.

"You can control time too?"

"Another privilege of the Benefactors, but not meant for the frail of mind." He said placing the deck down. "Since the score is now equal, what do you say we start raising the ante to 2 chips to start?" He slowly placed the 4 cards to himself and her. "Now, we can go back to what we discussed earlier without any comments from the peanut gallery...So, what did you think you'd get when you heard inheritance?"

"I mean who doesn't need money to help, but it was a clue." Moving two chips forward. "I know I have a family, but my father refuses to talk about it. He said that I was the only family he needed, so much so that he changed his name when he married my mom."

"Sounds like what you're really hoping to find is a heritage, a legacy that would lead you to who your father is and who your aunt was." He placed the three cards slowly as spoke. "So, you figured that this game has some clue to your family's legacy?"

"How is that even possible?"

"How is anything possible? Circumstances, designs, interventions, if things happen they were meant to be, if you keep thinking about it, you'll lose sight of what's right in front of you."

[ 7 of Hearts ], [ 9 of Clubs ], [8 of Hearts ]

"Do you always talk like this around the Poker table?"

"Actually, I'm one of few benefactors who loves a straightforward game of chance. All the bells and whistles were someone else's idea, I guess you could call me old fashioned but at the end of the day a gamble is still a gamble...place your bet?"

"...1 Chip."

"...Dealer calls."

He casually pulled the next card, and placed it on the table.

[ King of Clubs ]

"I could also say that cards are like life, but instead I know they can teach you a thing of two about life." He said, leaning the table looking into Cee's eyes. "In the same way tarot cards are used to read the future, by reading the cards you can also read how things will turn out. For example, the seven of hearts could mean a broken promise, the nine of clubs could mean new opportunity, and the eight of hearts could mean an invitation."

"So, put together you're saying a broken promise could lead to a new opportunity if I accept an invitation."

"Ah, but the King of Clubs, tells us that a strong older man could lead you to this opportunity."

"Are you talking about yourself?"

"...You think," he chuckled. "I don't put my stock in tarot cards, they're often broad and vague at best. Whatever you see will determine the path you take, chance or choice, luck or opportunity, only one person can decide how the game ends. Just like I'm making a decision now to go all in..." He pushed his remaining chips on the table. "I've noticed the other two were taking a peek at their cards the moment they got them, but you haven't checked yours once."

"Well, it's the first time I've played this game, I wasn't aware I could."

"Still, if you know what you're going to lose if you do, but you're still willing to play, some might call that foolish or just plain stupid. I believe an old Italian proverb said, 'he who knows nothing doubts nothing.'"

"Still sounds like you're calling me a fool."

"Like the card readings, it's all about interpretations. Are you willing to go all in, or are you going to let fear hold you back for the great reward?"

Cee looked at the table and thought long and hard while Benjii eagerly awaited her answer.

Is that his way of being subtle? She thought, staring at her remaining chips. If I don't call I'll have to fold, then I'll have to face him at a disadvantage, but if I call and then lose I'll lose everything...I know I shouldn't spend money I don't have, but if it means being indebted to this strange man...

With some hesitation she pushed the remainder of her chips on the table.

"Then we're all in. Let's see what luck brings us at the end of the river."

Even though they were stuck in Inert Time, things seemed to move even slow as he lifted the final card from the deck. Without even giving it a second glance he tossed it on the table so that it landed perfectly at the end of the 4 other cards. Then both the dealer and the player turned their heads down to see the final results.