"Why?"

"It's faster than thinking about it myself. And it amuses me."

Ivan blinks at the board. "I do not understand how that is a thing you can do, let alone notice."

"My designer plays competitive speed chess at haut level; I know something about the game and I've played Miles before."

"But there's - how is there personality in how he's moving the little pieces around to the point where you can go oh, that's Miles."

"I'm not sure I can usefully communicate it to you."

"What's really interesting," says Mark, "is that I've never had a complete record of a game of chess played by Miles to study. This is just - extrapolation."

"It's uncanny, although playing against Ivan may have helped."

"Maybe," he says. "Is uncanny bad?"

"I'm not sure what you mean by that question."

"I'm not sure how to rephrase."

"It's further evidence that you do a very good and very thorough Miles, which I already knew but am acquiring more detail about. It's a good way to beat Ivan at chess and a bad way to beat me, if that ever comes up."

"I don't know that I have a better way to beat you at chess. I've never tried."

"I'll play one game with you if you like, but then I want to get back to what I'm doing."

"All right."

She trades seats with Ivan. "Do you still want black?"

"I don't care."

The board is already arranged with him as black, so she goes ahead and moves first.

Linya slows down after he - improves. Takes more time to think about her moves. They aren't playing with a clock.

Mark still plays fast, but not as unthinkingly as he did with Ivan. There are momentary pauses while he considers things.

"Lucky for you that you're not playing again, then, isn't it? Ivan, want another round?"