Now that is interesting! Mind you, I still don't have a clue what the rules of the Game are, but that's part of the beauty, especially considering the nagging feeling that you have already given us enough information to figure out at least part of the pattern. I always did like a good puzzle. But what really surprised me in this chapter was what seems to me to be the reintroduction of hope. For a while now, I have been working from the assumption that the story was written on a premise borrowed from classical tragedies, in that tragedy was inevitable. It has certainly seemed that way, in light of the presumably impending choice. From the very beginning, all paths have seemingly been leading up to this choice, and this choice seems to be between a horrible fate and a worse one. The father's rejection took this to a whole new level, bringing Chris to a new low. At the end of the last chapter, the future started looking a little brighter again. Then along comes this enigmatic clown, with cryptic promises of insight and control; after all, a game can be won, can it not? And as if that wasn't enough, the story of emperor Norton seems to indicate some silver lining to one of the options that has yet to present itself in the equivalent scenario for Chris. In other words, I suspect you have a few more tricks up your sleeve for this one. Your writings always make for an interesting read; keep it up.