- Sep 22, 2013
- 4,956
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I love game-theory, mathematics of odds, and the work of John Tukey and films such as Hard Eight and Rain Man, so here's a Vegas-capitalism paranoia vignette I cooked up inspired by the recent Vegas terror-incident and the fortune-dissection film Casino.
This short-story also references characters/warrior from the American paramilitary fantasy-adventure franchise G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (Hasbro/Marvel/Hollywood).
I wonder what President Trump thinks of 'capitalism-based imagination.'
Signing off,
====
Snake-Eyes and Shipwreck were on-leave from their units. They had become trusted soldiers of the secret American paramilitary crusaders known as 'G.I. Joes.' The Joe leader, Duke (who was secretly a Hollywood celebrity), ordered Snake-Eyes and Shipwreck to take a vacation-leave to the casino-city of Las Vegas, Nevada. None of the Joes knew that Snake-Eyes and Shipwreck had a secret mission-protocol in Vegas from Duke. This was no vacation.
The G.I. Joes always contended with their rival, the super-terrorist organization known as 'Cobra' (which was comprised of rogue American socialists, munitions smugglers, and members of ISIS, the IRA, Hamas, and some random European Neo-Nazi groups). Cobra had staged a clever 'high school field trip' and 'reunion event' fiasco in Vegas involving a random and seemingly 'normal' American high school in New Jersey named Eastern High School (EHS).
Duke had received inside-information regarding this Eastern High 'maneuver' in Vegas from a Cobra agent seeking to defect to the Joes. That's why he sent Snake-Eyes and Shipwreck to deal with this Eastern High conspiracy in Vegas, which could only spell capitalism-demoralization. Cobra held the Eastern High principal (Mr. Rapp) hostage and forced him to arrange a high school field trip (senior class of 2018) as well as a reunion event (graduating class of 1996) in Vegas which would obviously involve terrorism/explosives.
Snake-Eyes and Shipwreck were to arrive in Vegas and track down the members of the Eastern High class of 2018 and 1996 present there for their field trip and reunion event. Since the EHS students/alumni would have to appear as 'normal' Vegas visitors, there would be no obvious 'pattern' to their selection of game-slot machines and/or game-tables (e.g., Blackjack, Roulette, etc.). However, there was some pattern present, and Snake-Eyes and Shipwreck needed to crack the 'code' to disarm/dispose of the bomb(s).
Four of the members of the class of 2018 (seniors, not old enough to gamble) were taking pictures of showgirls near the game-slot machines. Four of the members of the class of 1996 were at the Roulette table. The game-slot machines and the Roulette table were equidistantly spaced from the Blackjack table which was right in-between. Snake-Eyes and Shipwreck noticed that one EHS class of 1996 member and one mysterious-looking man in a baseball cap were both seated at the Blackjack table.
Shipwreck seated himself at the Blackjack table (seated as a bearded Vegas tourist in a cowboy hat) while Snake-Eyes scoured the surrounding area. The mysterious man in the baseball cap was most likely the Cobra agent Xamot (whom Shipwreck recognized and avoided to remain camouflaged!). Xamot was 'teaming-up' with the EHS class of 1996 member at the Blackjack table to 'improve' his odds, and Shipwreck realized that doubling the odds meant that the bomb was somewhere in the game-slot machines. Cobra intended to use the EHS field trip and reunion event as a veil to posit the media-message that the terrorism-event (planned) was 'staged' by a fanatical high school student!
Snake-Eyes received Shipwreck's signal that the bomb was in one of the game-slot machines by the Blackjack table. Snake-Eyes correctly guessed it was the 2nd one from the left of the Blackjack table and hence equidistant from the Roulette table. Cobra wanted this terrorism event to look 'geometrically schemed' but juvenile in scope (to add to the hysteria!). Snake-Eyes pulled out the bomb and ran outside with it. He disarmed it quickly and threw it into the sewer. He then ran back into the game-room floor and grabbed Shipwreck. Xamot was the back-up plan!
As Xamot attempted to reach a secret secondary bomb hidden in a stairwell, Shipwreck intercepted him, wrestled him to the ground, and handcuffed him. Snake-Eyes then extracted the location-info of the back-up bomb from Xamot and disarmed it. Vegas was saved, and the soul of the EHS students/alumni completely rescued. Duke congratulated Snake-Eyes and Shipwreck on a job very well done and now offered them real vacation time in Tahiti, and the valiant Joe soldiers gave each other a high-five and gladly accepted. Duke remarked to himself ominously, "Now, I have to inform President Trump that Las Vegas is the new World Trade Center, since capitalism is a 'monster's game'!"
====
This short-story also references characters/warrior from the American paramilitary fantasy-adventure franchise G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (Hasbro/Marvel/Hollywood).
I wonder what President Trump thinks of 'capitalism-based imagination.'
Signing off,
====
Snake-Eyes and Shipwreck were on-leave from their units. They had become trusted soldiers of the secret American paramilitary crusaders known as 'G.I. Joes.' The Joe leader, Duke (who was secretly a Hollywood celebrity), ordered Snake-Eyes and Shipwreck to take a vacation-leave to the casino-city of Las Vegas, Nevada. None of the Joes knew that Snake-Eyes and Shipwreck had a secret mission-protocol in Vegas from Duke. This was no vacation.
The G.I. Joes always contended with their rival, the super-terrorist organization known as 'Cobra' (which was comprised of rogue American socialists, munitions smugglers, and members of ISIS, the IRA, Hamas, and some random European Neo-Nazi groups). Cobra had staged a clever 'high school field trip' and 'reunion event' fiasco in Vegas involving a random and seemingly 'normal' American high school in New Jersey named Eastern High School (EHS).
Duke had received inside-information regarding this Eastern High 'maneuver' in Vegas from a Cobra agent seeking to defect to the Joes. That's why he sent Snake-Eyes and Shipwreck to deal with this Eastern High conspiracy in Vegas, which could only spell capitalism-demoralization. Cobra held the Eastern High principal (Mr. Rapp) hostage and forced him to arrange a high school field trip (senior class of 2018) as well as a reunion event (graduating class of 1996) in Vegas which would obviously involve terrorism/explosives.
Snake-Eyes and Shipwreck were to arrive in Vegas and track down the members of the Eastern High class of 2018 and 1996 present there for their field trip and reunion event. Since the EHS students/alumni would have to appear as 'normal' Vegas visitors, there would be no obvious 'pattern' to their selection of game-slot machines and/or game-tables (e.g., Blackjack, Roulette, etc.). However, there was some pattern present, and Snake-Eyes and Shipwreck needed to crack the 'code' to disarm/dispose of the bomb(s).
Four of the members of the class of 2018 (seniors, not old enough to gamble) were taking pictures of showgirls near the game-slot machines. Four of the members of the class of 1996 were at the Roulette table. The game-slot machines and the Roulette table were equidistantly spaced from the Blackjack table which was right in-between. Snake-Eyes and Shipwreck noticed that one EHS class of 1996 member and one mysterious-looking man in a baseball cap were both seated at the Blackjack table.
Shipwreck seated himself at the Blackjack table (seated as a bearded Vegas tourist in a cowboy hat) while Snake-Eyes scoured the surrounding area. The mysterious man in the baseball cap was most likely the Cobra agent Xamot (whom Shipwreck recognized and avoided to remain camouflaged!). Xamot was 'teaming-up' with the EHS class of 1996 member at the Blackjack table to 'improve' his odds, and Shipwreck realized that doubling the odds meant that the bomb was somewhere in the game-slot machines. Cobra intended to use the EHS field trip and reunion event as a veil to posit the media-message that the terrorism-event (planned) was 'staged' by a fanatical high school student!
Snake-Eyes received Shipwreck's signal that the bomb was in one of the game-slot machines by the Blackjack table. Snake-Eyes correctly guessed it was the 2nd one from the left of the Blackjack table and hence equidistant from the Roulette table. Cobra wanted this terrorism event to look 'geometrically schemed' but juvenile in scope (to add to the hysteria!). Snake-Eyes pulled out the bomb and ran outside with it. He disarmed it quickly and threw it into the sewer. He then ran back into the game-room floor and grabbed Shipwreck. Xamot was the back-up plan!
As Xamot attempted to reach a secret secondary bomb hidden in a stairwell, Shipwreck intercepted him, wrestled him to the ground, and handcuffed him. Snake-Eyes then extracted the location-info of the back-up bomb from Xamot and disarmed it. Vegas was saved, and the soul of the EHS students/alumni completely rescued. Duke congratulated Snake-Eyes and Shipwreck on a job very well done and now offered them real vacation time in Tahiti, and the valiant Joe soldiers gave each other a high-five and gladly accepted. Duke remarked to himself ominously, "Now, I have to inform President Trump that Las Vegas is the new World Trade Center, since capitalism is a 'monster's game'!"
====
