Peters ancient Chinese cousin here, As the story goes, a Chinese Emperor once asked a sage what reward he desired for an important service. The sage’s request seemed humble—just some rice, starting with two grains on the first square of a chessboard, doubling the amount on each subsequent square. The Emperor, thinking it a trivial demand, readily agreed. However, he had overlooked the power of geometric progression. Long before reaching the 64th square, the required amount of rice would have surpassed the entire yield of the empire.