Oh, hello - didn't see you at first. Bullet through the stomach, is it? A nasty way to go. No, no - no need to get up. I'm just here to watch the battle. You got a nice spot to die in, at least - a wonderful view. You can see almost the entire field from up here.

It's going to be quite a show, don't you agree? The battle, the final battle. This is how the world ends, you know. Here, today. It's going to be something. Oh, it's not going to be as intense as the first battles of the war, or as big as the later battles - but it has a lovely smell of finality about it. All the big words, all the great deeds, all the heroics and betrayals and maneuvers and "straight up the middle, boys" - it all ends here. And not just this war - no, everything has lead up to this.

Good against evil? Oh, that is rich, that is so rich. Do excuse me, I'm not laughing at you ... well, actually I am. Good against evil? Don't be silly. Evil doesn't bother to fight - we just sneak away and strike again when good doesn't suspect us. It's good against good, man against man. We had to be very clever to arrange that, you know - but then we always were. Very clever, I mean.

And do you know what the most clever part is? It doesn't even matter who wins. It's the final, ultimate battle - and it is lovingly, perfectly meaningless. I mean look at yourself - you, your comrades, the enemy. Dirty, lousy, eyes and mind empty from weariness and lack of sleep, feet dragging, huddled up in muddy trenches, too weak to stay warm, but still trying to salvage an hour or ten minutes of miserable sleep.

It's really amusing - all the multi-billion dollar aircrafts, and the wonders-of-engineering submarines, and the skulking about of commandos in the night: physics, electronics, chemistry, logistics, mechanics, tailoring, accounting, computer-programming, strategy and all the other human arts and abilities - and it all comes down to this. A tired, beaten down regiment of underequipped infantry on one side of the field, and a tired, beaten down regiment of underequipped infantry on the other side. I'm almost surprised that you've still got automatic rifles that are working. Of course, there's preciously little ammunition to go around, so I guess a lot of it will come down to the bayonet. Pointy sticks, in this day and age, now there's irony for you.

I suppose there will be a few survivors, but, I mean, look around. What's there to survive for? Speaking of surviving, you're dying pretty fast on me. I guess I will have to watch the battle alone. Oh well, if you happen to see God, tell him I said "Check Mate."