The Search for Authentic Go in Fiction
It’s hard to find authentic depictions of Go in fiction. In Do Not Keep Silent, I attempted to remedy that. By weaving the game’s mechanics—liberties, snaking dragons, and sacrifice stones—into the narrative’s tactical backbone, I attempted to caopture the suffocating tension of the PolyU siege and the wider political struggle for existence.
“Chess is a Battle, Go is War”
The novel draws a sharp distinction between Western and Eastern strategic philosophies. While Chess is a singular “battle” to kill a king, Go is a complex “war” for territory and survival. This mirrors the occupations of Admiralty and PolyU; it is a struggle over who occupies the space. Mae, the movement’s leader, understands that her role is territorial, not individualistic:
‘And you’re a queen sacrifice,’ Pete said.
Mae shrugged. ‘I wouldn’t go that far. More like a sacrifice stone. Learn Go and you’ll understand.’
The Strategy of the Sacrifice Stone
The “sacrifice stone” serves as a key distinction between characters. William, the devious lawyer, utilizes stones as “enticing bait” to spring traps on his opponents. Mae, however, views the concept through the lens of a strategist’s ultimate duty: the survival of the group. She accepts her role as a sacrifice stone played for the preservation of the “organisation,” ensuring the larger entity remains on the board even if she is removed.
Visualizing the Siege: Dragons and Liberties
Image from Sensei.ix.net
The Go board’s geometry symbolises in the barricaded streets of Hong Kong. When Mae’s father faces an online opponent, he encounters a “long, snaking dragon with so many liberties it would be hard to contain.” This dragon is like “Tent City” and the “Great Wall of Hong Kong” – the massive barricade of bamboo, metal, and highway cones – built during Mae’s protest.
In Go, “liberties” are breathing spaces; without them, a group is suffocated and removed. Mae realises the movement faltered when the students allowed themselves to be “bottled up” and trapped in the university, losing the liberties required for a group to survive.
The Long Game
In Go, as in revolution, a lost battle is merely one move in a war that continues toward the 2047 deadline and beyond. The siege at PolyU was a move in a struggle for long-term existence.
Final Thought: If you were a piece in a game of life and liberty, would you play to win the battle, or are you prepared to be the sacrifice stone that wins the war?
FURTHER READING
Do Not Keep Silent is available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.
Leave a Reply