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On October 3, 2050 Marvin Berhane introduced his young son, Samuel, to the game of chess. Marvin held no special regard for the game, but Samuel took to it instantly. The next day, Samuel spent three hours online watching videos and lectures on chess strategy. His father found it amusing and paid it no mind. But when the behavior continued day after day, Marvin took notice. He enrolled Samuel in a local chess club and encouraged him to pursue his passion to its fullest extent. Samuel’s after-school hobby quickly transformed into chess matches against older opponents. His first breakthrough came in 2060, at age 15, when he won the territorial championship in the youth category. The victory did not satisfy him. He only competed against six kids from the entire territory. The next year, at age sixteen, he entered the adult competition and finished fourth. He finished third the next year. In his third year of competition at the territorial adult level, Samuel finally won, defeating the same person who’d knocked him out in the semifinals the two previous years. Pressure mounted on Samuel to enter the World Junior or World Senior Championships and pursue the rank of Grandmaster, but he declined, choosing instead to focus on college applications.
Samuel enrolled at University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg and started at the age of 17. He listed his major as History with an emphasis in 21st Century Events, but found it so easy that he added Political Science as a second major. On a whim, Samuel decided to audition for a new play called All is Fair. Very few men showed up for the audition, leading to Samuel’s selection as the male lead opposite a woman he’d never met, Sarah Pretorius. Samuel was attracted to her the moment he saw her audition and was thrilled to see her get the part opposite him, especially knowing that the script called for three kissing scenes. The day they married was the second happiest day of his life. The first was the day Samuel Jr. was born.
After graduation from Wits and then law school, Samuel took a job in the office of the Director of Public Prosecution in Johannesburg. His superiors quickly identified him as a rising star with his near-perfect success rate at prosecuting criminals. By age 30, he was offered the job as director of the office when the former director was caught having an affair with his administrative assistant. Unfortunately, Samuel’s success made him enemies with both criminals and lawyers.