He clenched his fist, ground his teeth and stared long and hard at the board. He was unable to watch the game, he knew the outcome. He tried to walk away too, but he was stuck between his son and his baby — The Masterbot.

Joseph had spent his youth, middle-age and even sacrificed his marriage, to invent a chess player that no human being would defeat. He was 40 years old, by the time The Masterbot was released and sat undefeated in front of tired, frustrated chess players. Joseph was proud — he was recognized as a great inventor, taught artificial intelligence as a distinguished professor and garnered enough wealth to last three generations of his family. He felt his invention had made up for all that he had lost.

Today was different — there will be no winners. He sat in front of the television for hours, longer than his son, Sean, had spent on the game. Sean had won all the chess grand titles for the last five years and finally challenged The Masterbot to a game. It was day 3 of the duel and an end-point was nowhere close. The Masterbot was way smarter than Sean.

“That’s my son! How can ever think like that?”

Joseph tried to grip his thoughts tight, or else they’ll escape his body-space and burn everything. It’s the greatest game ever and also the most horrifying one of his life. Everything he stood for and everyone he loved were at stake.

And then, the time came. The game was about to end, just the way Joseph had designed it to. He juiced some strength to look up at his son’s eyes — they were bloodshot and empty. He would’ve claimed that he designed those reactions too but not this time, not with this player, not his son. Joseph had given The Masterbot eyes too — like ours but perpetually bright and filled with nothing but victory. Of course, his robo-baby had a voice too.

“Buhahahaha!” For 30 years, that scream gave Joseph goosebumps.

Today, he felt his machine had chewed his son alive. And Joseph could do nothing but watch — helpless, lifeless, defeated.