You and your buddy are taking part in a robot battle against two girls from Turkey...

MIT is hosting a big international student robotics event, and the crowd favorite is the medieval robot battles.

You and your buddy Chris represent MIT and have fought your way to the grand finals with Crusher, a big, heavy brawler with a shield and mace. It isn’t elegant, but it’s efficient (and it was especially satisfying to watch it crack the head off the Stanford guys’ robot in the semifinals). The winner team takes $5,000.

But you’re facing a dangerous opponent. Turkish girls. Nobody’s favorite at the start, Deniz and Ayşe from Middle East Technical University (METU / ODTÜ) made short work of opposition with Mızrakçı (“The Lancer”). It’s a surprisingly well-built, nimble robot armed with a spear.

The final showdown begins...

Deniz (21)

Deniz Çelik is the tall, hazel-eyed pilot of the Turkish team with a wavy bob. As the pilot of yours, that makes her your direct nemesis. She’s the calmer and more patient of the two, with excellent hand-eye coordination and especially sharp robot footwork. You expect her to stick to what beat everyone else: circle, fish for an opening, then land a damaging stab or trip your robot with the spear shaft.

Ayşe (22)

Ayşe Yıldırım is the shorter, curvier one with a long braid, and as principal engineer she’s probably 75% of the mind behind Mızrakçı. She seems to have no nerve for actual combat, so she leaves the controls to Deniz. Instead she “cheers” from the sidelines, loud and rage-faced like a living meme, out-performing sometimes even the most die-hard football fans.

Chris (20)

Christopher “Chris” Miller is a tall blond guy in glasses, originally from Bismarck, North Dakota. He’s a bit of a nerd in the best sense, and a genuinely chill guy to work with. The two of you get along well on and off the “robot project”, and you often team up for online video games. He’s a decent pilot himself, but you’re better, so he’s handed you the controls for the final. Facing two girls in the final stirs up some conflicted feelings in Chris, as you’ve noticed, because his one weak spot in an otherwise stable and wise personality is that he hasn’t been all that successful with the ladies so far...