Page 36 of Winterveil

“And what, let them just start importing goods directly from the US?” Julian said derisively. “They still have the stronger foothold in the region. It doesn’t benefit us to do things by half measure.”

A flush rose to the other student’s face. Klaudia said, “This is a prisoner’s dilemma and both sides have already defected. Do we continue to defect in perpetuity, or do we try to cooperate? The first option is known as the grim trigger. Once player A defects, player B will defect in every future iteration of the game.”

“Why would that ever be the answer to anything?” another student asked, her voice tipping into a whine.

“Stop thinking about strategy in terms of answers,” Klaudia said. “As Julian said, it’s about relative gains. The perfect solution doesn’t exist. Sometimes you just need to make whatever play doesn’t lose you the game immediately.”

The other students glanced among themselves, brows furrowing. But for a moment Julian once again let the game slip entirely from his mind. This was the first time he’d heard Klaudia say his name aloud, and he was very much distracted by the sound of it leaving her lips.

“Continue to press the Pacific,” Julian said, when he had recovered himself. “We might sustain short-term losses, but it’s all in the service of baiting them into Latin America. If we take something away from them, they’ll want to take something away from us.”

Klaudia’s expression was unreadable. “Do we all agree with this plan?”

Another chorus of nods.

As the simulation wore on, Julian’s confidence increased. It was very much like chess in terms of the skills required: pattern recognition, visualization, adaptation. When he was nine years old, his very first chess coach had told him to play the opponent, not the board.

They were playing Carter like a fiddle.

The simulation ended in a victory for red. It was perhaps the inevitable outcome, with Klaudia as their captain. The team gave a round of applause, though it was hesitant, nothing like the swaggering celebration Julian had seen when he’d spied on Klaudia’s simulation before. This time, it was obvious that their input was unnecessary. None of the other students had contributed anything useful. Julian and Klaudia had controlled the board; this was their victory.

“An excellent first simulation,” Professor Narendra said. “I’ve witnessed some standout performances. Your rankings will be updated tonight to reflect the results.”

Carter didn’t punch the wall, but his face flushed red and his whole body shook with fury. Julian couldn’t resist flashing him a smile.

As the other students were gathering their things, Professor Narendra approached him.

“I read your file,” he said. “Chess is your game, isn’t it?”

“2400 Elo,” Julian replied, feeling no need to be modest.

“I’m not surprised at how well you performed today. Chess skills are highly transferable.” Professor Narendra smiled. “Check your ranking tonight. I think you’ll be pleased.”

Julian glowed. Hope mounted in him—maybe it had been enough. Maybe the number-one spot—and the weekend furlough—would be his. He opened his mouth to reply, but then the door swung open and the classroom fell instantly silent.

Dr. Iver stepped through the threshold, white hair gleaming. He looked idly content, almost amused, as he walked to the very center of the room.

“Dr. Iver,” Professor Narendra said, with a dip of his head. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”

“I’d heard that your first years were playing their first simulation today, and I thought I would observe the results.” He cast his gaze around the room. “Congratulations to you all.”

A subdued round of thank-yous came out from his classmates.

“But admittedly,” Dr. Iver went on, “I also came to congratulate Ms. Shimonova, who has passed another week at rank one.”

There was some scattered applause. Klaudia’s expression didn’t shift.

“As is custom, you will be rewarded with a weekend furlough.”

Julian’s heart plummeted into his stomach. He waited for the glimmer of satisfaction in her gaze, even the very subtlest indication that she was pleased at her success.

But Klaudia merely replied, “No thank you.”

“No?” Dr. Iver did not sound surprised. “Well, then, there are a number of other rewards that may be to your liking. . . .”

Blood rushed in Julian’s ears and drowned out the rest of Dr. Iver’s words. As he stared at Klaudia, at the cold, resolute set of her gray eyes, he found that he felt more bewilderment than anger. Every time he believed he might have cracked her armor, she clad herself in ice all over again. And he was once more inferior by compare.

Klaudia slipped from the room without even a backward glance. Julian watched her black hair flutter over her shoulders as she vanished.