Time to PLAY THE GAME!
![Twisted Evil :twisted:](./images/smilies/icon_twisted.gif)
![Mr. Green :mrgreen:](./images/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif)
Sorry, couldn't help myself.
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
Somewhere else
Well, I never thought they'd get this far....
Q looked over the world called Nova Terra circa the year 2019. He was quite pleased to see that it wasn't reduced to a charred radioactive cinder like the last planet he gave this bunch. Maybe it was the new players? Or was it just pure dumb luck like these mortals are so capable of.
Or... maybe it was the fate of the first world? So many with knowledge of the first world, it surely restrained them. Well, except Sheppard maybe....
That was the thing, wasn't it? Once they got to nuclear weapons, none of them wanted a repeat of round 1. So even if they poked and prodded none of them actually went all the way. It was a magnificent display of humanity's will to restrain its savage instincts in the name of self-preservation.
It was also boring.
"Hrm... how shall we do things this time?" Q had an answer right away. Take away those damned nuclear weapons for one. Without the prospect of nuclear annihilation, well, maybe they'd mix it up a bit more.
But how? Oh, sure, last time they had no nuclear weapons... but he let them have nuclear energy, and it was just a short trip away to them. This time nothing nuclear could be permitted. And he had to make things more exciting, more level and complex. Even out the power balance....
A ha! That was the thing. Q snapped his fingers. A bald-headed figure in a gray-shouldered uniform appeared in a flash. The man looked around at the pure whiteness and then toward Q, which caused his expression to darken. "Q, what is it this time?!"
"Oh, calm down Jean-Luc, I've only brought you here to do one simple solitary task." Q snapped his fingers again... and a coin appeared in Picard's clenched right hand.
He opened his hand and looked upon it. A gold coin emblazoned with "1900". He flipped it over to see what was on the other side, and this one said "1925". "Q?"
"It has nothing to do with you, Picard. I just need you to toss the coin."
"You did all this... for a coin toss?", Picard asked incredously, clearly suspicious.
"Well, I couldn't toss the coin myself, could I? I can't trust the result then!"
Still suspicious, Picard was very eager to get back to business. "Fine," he snapped. He tossed the coin up, let it land in his hand without looking at it, and flipped it onto the back of his left hand before revealing it.
Seeing the result, Q clapped his hands. "1925 it is!" He turned away to begin fashioning the proper world.
"Q!"
"Oh, yes," he yawned, snapping his fingers and returning Picard to the Enterprise. Now, down to business. We take this copy of Earth's solar system, change a few things here or there... oh. Just added an extra third or so population. Oh well, should make things more interesting this time.
With a snap of his fingers, Q had his world ready. He reached into the player's minds and used that to shape the world below... and then, for extra interest, he wiped them rather thoroughly of any knowledge of the last two rounds - well, for those who knew of them anyway. Maybe a little bit in the back of their minds might remember it in the middle of a dream, but only just that. This time he would keep them in the dark, maybe play with them once and a while for sport or to liven things up, but for the most part he would remain a spectator....
"And here we go."
Q's fingers snapped.... and the game began anew.
![Image](http://stgjr.com/sdnw3/mainmap800.png)