"I believe so." What an interesting little game. Vlad wasn't entirely sure he agreed with all of the philosophy attached to it, but for the game itself, he was paying full attention. "The Emperor is more powerful than the Citizen, but can be brought low by the Slave because the money-based power the Emperor has doesn't apply to the Slave's life. The Slave is used by the Citizen, but his low status is in a sense an advantage as it frees him from an obligation to maintain possessions. The Citizen must serve the Emperor, and in turn has the resources to control the Slave. Something like that?" A bit of rock-paper-scissors with social constructs, although he had the feeling the game was a bit more complex than that.

And somehow charmingly idealistic. If they took the story correctly, the Emperor's power over the citizen ought to be easy enough to wield against the Slave, and faith in the Slave's will and ability to act simply because he had nothing to lose seemed excessive, although saying the Emperor had power because he had money was also a bit idealistic. Money was a kind of power, but real power went beyond money--money had been the first thing he'd taken once he'd started to realize his powers. It was a first step to real power.

"So, how do we play?" Vlad asked gamely, curious and leaning slightly closer across the table. Simply mixing the cards and picking them rock-paper-scissors style seemed too easy, but then again, they wouldn't have time for any games that involved too many hours of effort to set up and play.