Bobby Fischer's Marbles is an artifact featured in "There's Always a Downside".
Origin[]
The artifact belonged to Bobby Fischer, a world-famous chess Grandmaster.
Effects[]
Holding one of the marbles gives the handler an intense focus and determination to achieve any goal they set out to accomplish. However, with prolonged use the user can become so obsessed with reaching their goal they'll do anything to complete it. It also results in violent acts against anyone who tries to get in the way of their accomplishment, as well as insanity and possibly fatal cardiac arrest/stroke. The artifact's use usually manifests in the handler through dark veins along the user's body and eyes, along with high blood pressure - according to Brady Miller, it "felt like his chest was about to explode". The artifact's effects are only able to be cancelled out if all the marbles are Neutralized at the same time.
History[]
The artifact belonged to Bobby Fischer, a world-famous chess Grandmaster. Hugo Miller tried to obtain this artifact in the 70's, but couldn't because of the incident with Hugo One, so Artie was the one that snagged it.
The artifact was stolen from the Warehouse by the Brotherhood of the Black Diamond and sent to Hugo Miller by FedEx. By sending the marbles to Hugo and subsequently putting him and others in danger, the Brotherhood put Artie's friend in danger as a warning to Artie and to coerce him into reversing the effects of Ferdinand Magellan's astrolabe, which Artie used to erase time and prevent the destruction of the Warehouse.
When Hugo Miller found the marbles he called Artie to let him know he had found them, though not specifying that it was the marbles, and Artie immediately sent Pete and Claudia to New Canaan, Connecticut to retrieve them. But before he called Artie he showed his nephew Brady Miller the artifact, making him the one family member he is allowed to reveal the existence of the Warehouse to. He also hoped by showing him the artifact he would help Brady become a Warehouse agent and leave a legacy behind.
Unfortunately, Brady got careless with the artifact and used one of the marbles to write a computer engineering paper in under 20 minutes for his school's IMT (Interschool Multi-Disciplinary Tournament). The artifact's negative effects eventually manifested, and even worse Brady shared out the marbles with four of his friends at the Tilson Academy, which turned them violent and insane. Pete, Claudia and Hugo went to the school to retrieve the marbles. They managed to recover three, but the last marble was confiscated by the academy's headmaster. The marble gave Headmaster Marshall the drive to combat the budget cuts the school has been undergoing by resorting to attempted murder of the Academy's schoolboard by poisoning them with a chemical gas. However, Pete managed to foil his plan, ironically using one of the marbles to disconnect the electrical grid of the gymnasium's ventilation system. The marbles were neutralised, and returned to the Warehouse.
It was through the marbles that Artie discovered that the Brotherhood was stealing artifacts from the Warehouse - when he rushed to the aisle that contained artifacts belonging to Bobby Fischer, he found the digital panel that displayed an 'ARTIFACT REMOVED' warning (but strangely did not alert the main computer system), and in the bag's place was a small black diamond.[1]
Pete mentioned Brother Adrian's theft and release of the Marbles when asserting that Adrian's operation was everyone's business, not something Artie should keep secret.[2]
Real World Connection[]
March 9, 1943 - January 17, 2008
Robert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th world chess champion.He is widely considered one of greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author. At age 13 he was already considered a chess prodigy and by age 14 he had won 8 United States Championships. At age 15, he became both the youngest grandmaster and the youngest candidate for the World Championship. In the 1963–64 U.S. Championship he won 11 to 0, the only perfect score in the history of the tournament. In the early 1970s he became one of the most dominant players in modern history.
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
- There's Always a Downside
- Second Chance (mentioned)