Consider Phlebas

Content Warning: This section references depictions of cannibalism, sexual harassment, sexual assault, torture, body horror, suicide, and mental health crises.

Damage is a card game where players use their hands to manipulate emotive fields that influence the emotions and decisions of others. The game demands significant psychological fortitude as players must resist the intense emotional pressures that can compel them to make suboptimal decisions, such as folding a strong hand under duress. This manipulation of emotions illustrates the broader thread of psychological warfare in the novel, where control over one’s mental state becomes crucial to success. Damage is a chilling symbol of the dangers inherent to The Pursuit of Purpose and the complex morality of war and conflict.

Kraiklyn, in particular, leverages Damage to find purpose in his life. For him, the game transcends entertainment, becoming a battleground where he seeks meaning and validation. The extreme stakes of Damage—where players risk lives as counters and can even wager their own lives—mirror the high stakes of conflict and the often morally ambiguous choices individuals face in wartime. As Kraiklyn navigates the lawless spaces left in the wake of the war, his life becomes a barrage of chaos. By immersing himself in this high-risk environment, he attempts to assert control and find significance amid the chaos.

The morality of Damage reflects the broader ethical dilemmas of war and conflict. Each player starts with a maximum of 12 Lives, real human beings who are killed when a player fails to drop out early and loses a hand. Lives can originate from various sources, adding a layer of socioeconomic commentary to the game. Wealthier players might have specially bred Lives, while those with fewer resources might recruit from prisons or asylums. Depending on the recruitment agreements, Lives might be entitled to a share of a player’s winnings or could will their posthumous gains to others. This variability in the source of Lives not only reflects the socioeconomic divides in the game but also illustrates how biological lives are commodified in the pursuit of personal and financial gain. The game’s brutality is accentuated by the ability to induce death by suicide through emotive fields, highlighting how the game dehumanizes its participants and further commodifies their lives. This dehumanization reflects the grim realities of warfare, where people often treat human lives as expendable resources.

The game’s end occurs when only one player has a Life left, though practical gameplay often concludes earlier. If a player exhausts all their Lives, they may, with permission, wager their own life, demonstrating the extreme measures individuals might take to preserve their sense of purpose or achieve their goals. Kraiklyn’s engagement with Damage reveals how individuals can find meaning through extreme and sometimes morally questionable avenues, paralleling the often ambiguous ethics of war.