Blob Thing Goes All The Way To Mars For A Game Of Chess

Blob Thing came out with his person on another adventure.  He's got such a lot to tell you about it.  Such a lot.  It's going to take him a week because he did so many things.  He wants to tell you about all the other things he's been getting up to recently but he's so excited and satisfied with his most recent adventure that he can't wait and desperately wants to share his news about it.  His other days out are just going to have to wait.

Near the beginning of this adventure, Blob Thing spotted a sign.  "Mars Garden."

He said to his person, "Ooh, ooh, please.  Can we go to Mars?  I've never been to another planet.  Please."

His person, being a sensible woman - at least some of the time, told Blob that it wasn't another planet.  It was just a garden, named after a planet.  She reminded Blob that he had already had his picture taken that day in front of a strange domed building.  A temple that wasn't a temple, named after the Sun.

It did look interesting though with tall circular hedging and she agreed that Blob could pay a visit.  Blob didn't really mind that he wasn't going into space.  He could use his imagination, an imagination powerful enough that a patch of grass could become a trip across thirty million miles of empty, airless space riding in a specially made Blob space ship rather than riding in a pocket.  Blob enjoys imagining.  He's really very good at it.

On arriving at Mars, Blob was very surprised to find a raised platform with a metal chess board on the top.  Blob likes chess.  A lot.  Or at least he thinks he does.  He has seen books about it on his person's shelves and has even read about the game on a day when he stayed at home and his owner went out.  She was very apologetic about forgetting to take him but Blob said he had a good day resting and reading and had learned far more at home than he would have done if she had taken him out to some boring place again like she usually does.  It has to be agreed that Blob's acceptance of the apology was not without some element of grumpiness.  Grumpy but still smiling.

Blob sat on the platform and imagined himself playing space chess against Mars versions of some of the great players.  Blob would use his immense intellect and skill and would beat them all.  He would trounce Bobby Fischer so completely that Fischer would flee to the Mars America, miserable.  And no matter how many Mars Russians were sent, Blob would beat them all.  Even the Martian Kasparov.

Oh yes, it didn't matter how good Kasparov's Sicilian was, Blob would find a way through his defence and win.  Blob was incredibly happy about the thought of winning the Mars World Chess Championship that he bounced up and down excitedly on the chess board.  To beat Martian Kasparov.  What a dream.

Blob moved on from the imagine chess and walked round the garden in between the concentric circles.  And then he saw it.  A thing.  That's what blob called it.  A thing.  At the centre of Mars.  He didn't know what it was but wanted to sit on it.  His person later looked up the thing.  The artist says it's "part chess piece, part medieval mace."  So in effect, it is a thing.  At the centre of Mars.  Just like blob had said.

Here he is, Blob, enjoying Mars.  He was fortunate.  He couldn't climb to the top himself and it's quite a tall sculpture.  His person could only just about reach to put him up there and she had to climb on the sculpture to do it.  He was so pleased to be there, surveying his planet as if he, Blob Thing, were the King of Mars - or the elected president because he doesn't really believe that an unelected monarchy is a form of just government.

Blob believes in democracy even if the electorate can so easily be manipulated into making all kinds of stupid decisions in elections and referendums.  Even if politicians and powerful media owners twist truths and use fear and sometimes lies to win elections rather than using honesty, intelligence and reason.  Blob sees the flaws and misuses of democracy but he still believes in it.