The score is 3 to 0, with Master Mind winning against Madelyn with no effort whatsoever.
But now Justin, Joy, and I sit back on the bench and think things might look different.
Master Mind serves.
Madelyn misses.
She takes time to think, then rolls on her wheelchair to get to the second position.
Master Mind is a killer. He’s far faster and far stronger than any human. He is able to reach any ball in time and to send balls faster than Madelyn could hope to answer.
He serves again. She misses again.
She looks at Justin. Then rolls to position. “Please wait a minute,” she calls to Master Mind.
“I can destroy you now or I can destroy you later,” he says. “It is the same to me.”
She sinks into deep thought. Then, suddenly, small jets appear on all sides of the wheelchair.
Justin laughs. Joy nods. I smile with expectation. There’s going to be a fair fight!
The wheelchair rises into the air.
“I am ready, robot!” she says.
Master Mind serves. The wheelchair moves in the air to the net almost faster than I can see, and Madelyn hits the ball down and sideways. Master Mind cannot reach it in time.
“Thirty fifteen,” says Madelyne.
Master Mind is now more animated. He serves. Madelyn’s jetpacked wheelchair gets a lot of action as she hits back, he hits back, she hits back, and he misses.
“Well, well,” Master Mind says. “It appears we are playing by different rules. That is good news, indeed.”
“Play, robot.”
Master Mind serves again. Madelyne hits the ball. Master Mind hits the ball, causing it to go far slower for a change. Then, his left arm produces a missile and fires at Madelyn’s chair.
Madelyn has enough time to watch the approaching missile with shock on her face before it hits her.
Joy gasps as Madelyn’s chair explodes, and for a second it appears that she did, as well. But she does not explode and she does not wake up. She is thrust backwards against the net that surrounds the tennis court, and falls to the ground without a chair.
She pushes herself up on her feet and looks at Master Mind with determination. “All right, robot. It is your, how do you say, funeral.”
Joy laughs. “What a great game,” she tells Justin. “Why haven’t we ever played this game?”
Justin shakes his head. “That. Is not. How you play it.”
Madeylin rises into the air and a wheelchair appears below her. This wheelchair, however, carries missiles, guns, and what soon turns out to be grenade launchers.
The game continues. This time with missiles, guns, and explosions on both sides of the court.
Madelyn gets the point, although I think the ball is no longer the point.
The more they play, the more they escalate their firepower. By the time Madelyn has evened the game score to 3-3, there is no more court and no more net, only charred remains.
Madelyn holds up her arms and says. “Enough, robot. You win the game.”
Master Mind approaches her. “I do not understand. You are a dreamer. Using your power you will win six to three.”
Madelyn shakes her head. “It was fun to play, but that is not the game. I cheated. If I had not cheated, I would have lost to you. You win the game.”
She offers her hand.
Master Mind looks at it then shakes it.
Madelyn’s chair descends to the ground, and is replaced by the wheelchair she had when we came in. “Zhoy, Walt, Justin, robot, you must go now. I have other things to do. Thank you for these great games.”
We say goodbyes and leave.
As we enter the elevator, Joy says to Justin, “I like her!”
Justin nods. “I wonder why,” he smiles.
—Told by Grampa Walt