I can’t outsmart Monitor. My only real hope is to make her outsmart herself. So I could challenge her to a riddle contest, but I would lose. I could challenge her to a game like chess or tic-tac-toe, but I would lose.

“Any game I suggest will be heavily weighted in your favor,” I say.

“Yes,” she agrees.

“So I have to subvert things. I have a challenge for you, a competition, a battle if you will, but it requires a game for us to play. Would you prefer chess or ...