The Elites
"Do you think both of them have noticed?"
"They seem to have noticed, look."
"Yes, truly incredible. In this game, someone spotted the detail before the first draw even started. He's so focused he doesn't even realize what he's achieved."
"The funnier part is, his own clone found it before him. He's been staring at the cards since the beginning. Hahaha!"
Rei's Side
Is it good or bad for me to take the card? I'm not sure whether it's good or bad. But since the game will end after twenty-one draws, it doesn't mean much. Though if the joker starts with me, then alternates hands over the course of twenty-one draws, the joker could end up with me at the end of the twenty-first draw. The reverse: one draw with me, then the second and third with him, the fourth with me, and if it keeps alternating like that, the card ends up with him. To fix that, when the first draw is with me and the second and third are with him, the fourth and fifth need to be with me. There are chain scenarios like this, but they're highly improbable. When the opponent plays differently, new possibilities open up—but too improbable to calculate. It feels like you can only think about such things when there are fewer rounds left. Making your opponent play exactly as you want over twenty-one or so draws would be extremely difficult. If the me across the table is me, he must also be aware of this—he must have thought this far too. If I think this tactic is currently impossible, he must think so as well. Which means we won't be aiming for such things in the early stages of the game.
The important part is: Does he think the exact same things as me? We moved almost identically in the dice game, but I deliberately waited a millisecond and won. If we were exactly the same, we might have tied again. I'm not sure if we think the same. I need to test this.
In a very short moment, I thought about quickly scratching my chin. Then I scratched my chin while looking at him. He showed no reaction and continued staring at the table. When I saw his behavior, I felt a little more at ease and kept looking at the cards.
So we don't think the same. Or he might be aware of this and deliberately acting this way. He might have deliberately waited in the dice game so the game could begin. But that's very unlikely. If we think the same, how would the game even end? Two tests support that we don't. He probably doesn't think the same as me. Our way of thinking, our intelligence, our logic must be of the same kind. He has no emotions. If I make emotional moves, he won't be able to anticipate them.
After taking the middle card, I looked at the paper. It looked like an ordinary card—there was a strange pattern on it. Seeing me take the card, my other self randomly took a card. When he took a card, I took one too. This continued until we each had three cards. The cards had been distributed. My other self was looking at me and his cards for the first time. He held his three cards in a way I couldn't see—I was holding mine the same way. Even the way we held our cards was identical.
I think this game is going to be different from normal. We both know where the cards are. Let's see what happens.
"The first draw has begun. Please take one of the cards your other self is holding."
I nodded in confirmation. I drew one of the random cards my other self was holding—now I had four cards in hand.
Just as I thought. All the cards in my hand are the same. All the cards in the game might be identical except for that one detail.
Seeing me take the card, my other self shot a sharp glance at the cards. He drew the joker card from my hand and placed it among his own cards. Once again, we both had three cards.
I'm sure he knows where the joker is just like I do.
"It is time for the exchange. Exchange one of your cards!"
After holding a random card in my hand, instead of handing it over face down, I held it out completely face up—so the card's identity was visible. My other self, on the other hand, held out a random card face down. The cards continued gliding across the table until they reached us. We took the cards and added them to our hands. We both had three cards again.
No rule was stated about how we should handle the cards. So I can do things like this.
Since it was my turn to select, I chose one of the cards my other self was holding. I didn't take the joker—the joker was still with my other self. Now I had four cards. While holding four cards, I placed my cards down on the table. The cards lay face up on the table. Seeing the face-up cards, my other self cast a brief glance at them.
"Three draws have been made, meaning one round has passed. We're moving on to the fourth draw. Second Rei, you may choose a card. By the way, for your information, each player has ten minutes whenever the turn changes."
The Elites
"What is this Rei doing? Does he think the joker is with him?"
"No. He's bluffing by testing his own self."
"What bluff?"
"During the exchange, he deliberately showed his card face up. The meaning of that is telling the opponent: I know all the cards are the same, and I know you're aware of that too. Since I'm giving you the card face up, the card I'm giving is the joker. He's saying—in the first step, even though he doesn't have the joker, he's acting like he's giving the joker to the opponent. Then, to further convince him that he has the joker, he used the rule loophole and placed his cards face up on the table. This way, he's telling the opponent, 'The joker is with me—if you can't see the hidden side, you'll have to keep tracking the card.' Since all cards are the same, the cards other than the joker are meaningless. Using this, he placed his cards face up on the table. Now he's going to shuffle the cards around to disrupt the tracking. But the key part here is—he's doing all of this while the joker isn't actually in his hand. He's acting as if the joker is with him."
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"But the one across from him is also himself. Can he be fooled?"
"Probably not. Rei is currently trying to extract information from himself. While doing so, he must be tracking the joker with his eyes. Even if he can't directly deceive his other self, he's trying to make his opponent believe that he believes the joker is with him. What he wants from the opponent is to make the opponent genuinely think the joker is with him. But in reality, Rei is aware the joker isn't with him. Yet he's acting as if it is. His goal isn't to make him think the joker is with him—it's to make him believe that the real Rei thinks the joker is with him. But as I said, in reality, Rei is aware the joker isn't with him. He wants him to believe the information I just mentioned. For this, he created a three-step strategy in a short time. Now he's about to execute the final step."
"I see..."
"At the same time, I think he won't want the joker with him until the sixth draw."
"Why?"
"Think about it. The game has changed. The game is now about knowing or not knowing the joker's location. If anyone gets penalized and has to select with their eyes closed on the next turn, you can shuffle the cards and leave them face up on the ground while the opponent's eyes are closed. Since the positions have been changed, the opponent forgets the joker's location. There's a one in four chance—if they can't draw it, they won't be able to tell which one is the joker at that moment because the cards are lying face up on the wooden table. Because the thing that allows them to identify the joker is on the back of the card. And with their eyes closed, they can't track the card itself. That's why the penalty on the sixth draw is so crucial."
Rei's Side
As the second Rei was preparing to draw a card, I quickly swapped the positions of the cards while they lay face up on the ground. It was as if I was trying to make it harder for the opponent to track the cards. My other self indifferently drew a random card. I stopped shuffling the cards—they continued lying face up on the table. Once again, we both had three cards.
If I want to win this game, I need to do things he can't understand. If I make moves thinking about my values, my friends, he can figure that out. This has to be something I would never do. It has to be throwing myself into irrationality without caring about my friends, without caring about the situation I'm in.
Since he has no emotions, he might think of this, but he might not think I could do it. Because I have emotions—I care about my friends. This is something I've thought about. So I have to do things my own self would never do in order to surpass myself.
"We are on the fifth draw. Choose your card, Rei!"
When I looked at the cards, my other self suddenly began shuffling the cards in his hands. He wanted to make it harder for me to track, but I was tracking the card instead of the dot. While he continued shuffling, he suddenly placed the cards face up on the ground, just like I had done.
I understand. If he had left the cards face down, I wouldn't have chosen the joker since I know where it is. Meaning the joker would stay with him on the sixth draw. Instead, he first tried to make me lose track of the joker by shuffling the cards in his hands. Then he suddenly placed them face up on the ground. If I lost track of the joker, I would have a one in three chance of drawing it. If I didn't lose track, I naturally wouldn't draw it at all. By doing this, he aimed to force me to leave it to chance. Clever—but I remember where the joker is.
I could remember that the joker was the first card from the left. I took the third card on the far right and placed it face up among my cards.
This means he's aware of my earlier deception. Naturally, I expected him to know that the joker was with him—but it turns out he also knew I didn't think he would fall for it. If he didn't know, he wouldn't have done this. But unfortunately for me, the selection turn on the sixth draw is his. If he had made me lose track of the joker this hand and made me draw it by chance, he would have taken the joker from me and swapped its position while my eyes were closed. It would have been very difficult for me.
The joker is with him, and the selection turn is his. Did I make a mistake? Should I have taken the joker on the fourth draw? No, I didn't make a mistake. The selection turn was always going to be his on the sixth round. So he's actually in an advantageous position no matter what. Is it the same on the next sixth round too?
Yes. When another six rounds pass, the selection turn is his again. For fuck's sake. If I hadn't taken the joker first, I could have been the one in the advantageous position. This means that son of a bitch was aware of this from the start and deliberately lost the dice roll. Then he deliberately took the joker from me on the second draw. The little bastard calculated all of this from the very beginning. How is he this smart?
When he started second, even when the joker is with him, the selection turn on the sixth draws isn't mine. Even when the joker is with him, he carries no risk. On the contrary, on the fifth draws, he has the chance to give me the joker and put me in danger. He's been aware of the advantage of going second from the very start. Son of a bitch!
If I had drawn the joker now, he would have taken it from me on the sixth draw and gained an advantage while my eyes were closed. I've only managed to dodge his attack for the first five rounds. I couldn't make a direct countermove. In the next encounter, if the sixth draw counts as the first draw of the next cycle, then the selection turn on the next sixth draw will be mine. If that's the case, I still have a chance. It has to be that way—otherwise the game wouldn't be fair. But still, realizing the advantage of going second from the very start of the first six draws and deliberately losing the dice roll, then taking the joker from me on the second draw and calculating all of this—it's unbelievable.
On the fifth draw, he was able to understand that he was in a position where he could put me in danger without endangering himself. He was aware of the advantage of going second in the first six draws. I have four cards, the joker is still with him. I've escaped danger for this round.
Four cards lay face up in front of me. In front of my other self, two face-up cards were lined up. My other self continued staring sharply at my cards. After understanding what he had done, I began to fear myself for the first time.
If the sixth round was always going to come to me anyway, then why did he take the card? I guess he thought I wouldn't be able to track the joker when he shuffled the cards. He wanted to test my intelligence regardless. I understand.
"We are on the sixth draw. You may choose your card, Second Rei. The rule is in effect—don't forget!"