+shl dx, 1 ; dx = xss << 1
+xor bx, dx ; bx = xss ^ (xss << 1)
+mov dx, bx
+
+shr dx, 3 ; dx = xss' >> 3
+xor bx, dx ; bx = xss' ^ (xss' >> 3)
+mov dx, bx
+
+shl dx, 10 ; dx = xss'' << 10
+xor bx, dx ; bx = xss'' ^ (xss'' << 10)
+mov [XSS], bx
+
+ret
+
+; print_grid() - print GRID cells to screen -----------------------------------
+
+; (*) this function expects ds = 0 when called and sets es = 0 before
+; returning. this is simpler because in the rest of the program we want the
+; segment registers to be zeroed anyway.
+
+; clobbers ax, cx, di, si
+
+print_grid:
+
+mov ax, VGA >> 4