Unlocked Doors

In the universe-spanning games of higher powers, humans, planets, and even entire star systems are cast as obedient, voiceless pawns—sacrificed without the slightest hesitation or pangs of conscience. The pieces are already set, the rules agreed upon, the stakes placed—all is ready for a grand game that threatens to turn the entire human civilization to ash. And it seems there is no power capable of stopping the nightmare that is inevitably approaching. Yet in any plan—even the most detailed and carefully worked out—there will always be flaws. There will always be room for unaccounted-for factors and circumstances that can, playfully, flip the entire galactic chessboard…