Billie Jean reaches out from the bed and moves her King: the squares flare up beneath him. Black King. White light. Her opponent’s less cautious, bounding across the board, but when his flash goes off all he’s got is waste paper.

Billie Jean has just one piece, but sometimes it’s one and sometimes another. She takes the King off the board and slips him beneath her sheets. Light flares.

“Careful,” snarls the Watcher, at her window.

“Remember,” chuckles Billie Jean, “to always think twice,” and the Watcher feels a sudden thrill of fear.

Behind him, her white knight rides a tiger.