The Book of Knots - Jags

they have been and will be will fall away, consumed in the maelstrom of
the ancient poles/houses.
This plan is inevitable and the Caretakers choose not to see it; instead
they choose to rage against it – to assert their superiority of humanity, to
claim the universe as theirs, and to attempt absolute homicide, in the face
of the mathematical certainty of failure.
JAGS Wonderland: Mate in Two
JAGS Wonderland takes place in the 4 th move of End Game; some
humans have already journeyed to the bottom of universe and seen what
there is to see there. None of them have understood it yet (at least not
understood it in its entirety) but this is only a matter of time.
These are the last days before the unveiling of the universal truth and the
outcome of the war between humankind and the Caretakers; someone
– some human – will journey deep enough and travel far enough, and
arrive with the wisdom to see what is possible.
Playing the End Game
The way we play, the PC’s learn about Wonderland in stages, peeling
away the layers of the onion – initial discoveries of the Caretakers
suggests a world without hope, but further exploration will identify
a false hope—the Deconstructionist and the coming “Civil War” in
Wonderland.
Saving humanity at this point (midway into the game) seems to be a
matter of playing the Deconstructionists against the Caretakers – a
great game between alien superpowers who are both inextricably tied to
humanity.
Eventually, though, the truth will emerge: the Deconstructionists
are nihilists at best and hypocrites at worst – they would either
systematically destroy everything or would overthrow the Caretakers,
only to become them (in spirit) and develop their own awful plans
for humanity. In any case, all of them are insane and overwhelmingly
powerful.
Sometime during this period, the PC’s would discover that there are
secrets even the Caretakers don’t understand – forces they fear. The
foundations of the Universe hold some terrible secret and (perhaps)
hope.
In the “canonical” JAGS Wonderland Game, the PC’s will probably visit
Chessboard Seven before they understand its true meaning – typically
searching for clues others have missed. These initial contacts would be
frustrating and disappointing. The ruins are really ruins; there are no
sages or sphinxes or oracles to ask for answers. The machines are all but
ruined and repairing them (even if they were understood, which they are
not) seems an impossible task… likewise, controlling them is beyond
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Book of Knots - Chessboard Seven