2. The Mediator: The Hunter

  Mafi appears just in time. Well..about 15 seconds late. But the negotiations had dragged and the exact timing for an intervention can only ever be estimated. To be fair, it’s difficult to judge exactly how resilient the sentient life on a new planet will be. From a billion locations across the planet her manifested forms observe the life before her and renders judgement. Weak is fairly typical but the creatures of Earth strike her as a little pathetic. Always are in these sectors, Mafi thinks. Yet even so, she sees promise and potential here and there.

  With a flex of her will she forms bubbles of temporal energy around each human on the planet and suffuses a blend of her vitality and spirit. In seconds emptied stomachs are filled, blood slithers back into mouths, ears and eyes. Ruptured eardrums heal, and new cancers formed as cells violently mutated under the system’s energy revert to healthy forms. In a moment the violence of the system's arrival has vanished and billions of bodies greedily accept a far more gentle version of the system’s energy as it passes through the intent of the Mediator.

  System Pairing Complete. Tutorial Selection Now Open.

  For Mafi, the system’s voice is a tickle that brings goosebumps to the pale purple of her skin. Her manifestations watch as light dances in the eyes of the Earthlings. With another small exertion, she mediates the systems energy as it acts to forcefully focus minds, subdue emotions, and delay the ability to react to the mind-breaking truth of what is happening. With her help what should be a brain liquifying experience results in only a suppression for the next fifteen minutes—or at least until they each human makes a choice and is swept away to a tutorial in whatever pocket dimension their tutorial sponsors have created.

  Mafi’s presence observes all as humans begin to wink away in a flash of light all over the planet. If she nudges the tutorial options of some…well, no one is here to stop her. After all, she is the only S-Grade in the system and it’s her energy that will keep the planet from shattering during the next five years. Taking some liberties to keep herself entertained and making a few investments in individuals with promise is just a perk of the job.

  A sudden sensation of wetness draws her conscious to one manifestation of her form. From a vague awareness, her mind shifts to a fuller focus to find herself in a small room. A particularly pathetic human is before her in the frozen and rigid position she would expect. Mafi looks down and sees something that surprises her.

  A furry dog with oversized upright ears, a long body, and four very short legs is standing before her. Mafi’s eyes meet the brown eyes of the creature and after a pause the creature leans forward and drags it’s long tongue up her shin.

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  “What the fuck?” Across billions of manifestations, Mafi sees millions of animals accompanying the humans of the planet. Birds, cats, dogs, lizards, snakes, fish, crocodilians, bears, tigers, she even sees a few humans who have filled their living spaces with glass enclosures with all manner of slug and snail. And every single one has ben completely frozen since her manifestations appeared. The dog with the short legs licks her shin again.

  “Um, hello…” Mafi says. The dog barks and if she wasn’t a supreme being capable of collapsing entire solar systems with her strength she may have jumped slightly at the short and sharp sound. Their eyes meet again and after a moment the dog licks her again.

  “How are you doing that? Is this a joke? Did my brother transport you here?”

  Another short bark and another lick.

  “Can you stop that? What do you want? You want food?”

  Another bark and the dog settles back on it’s haunches, its mouth open and it’s tongue hanging out. Mafi notices it’s tall ears have swiveled towards her and it’s eyes seem to shine with anticipation.

  “Why are your legs so short?” Another bark. “Okay, okay. Let me see what I have.” Sending her mind into a pocket of inverted space, Mafi materializes the a haunch of meat as tall as her knee and twice as long. The meat falls to the floor beside her with a slap that makes the dog’s ears twitch.

  The dog’s eyes lock on to the meat and it hunkers like a spring before pouncing. Mafi watches as its short little legs struggle to push it on top of the mound of meat as fresh blood pools out and begins to soak into the carpet.

  “How are you doing this, dog? Are you immune to my energy?” The dog begins to growl as it chews on the meat. “You really are a beast of this planet. You’re teeth are not strong enough to pierce the meat of an A-grade emperor boar.”

  With a whine, the dog slides off the mound of boar and trots over to Mafi’s feet. It offers her skin another lick before sitting back and looking up at her with pitiful, pleading eyes.

  “Don’t look at me like that. I currently see more than thousands of dogs just like you across this planet and every single one is completely frozen. Tell me how you are able to ignore my domain and I will tenderize the meat so that you are able to eat it.”

  The dog lets out a series of barks, it’s tongue lolling out and it’s eyes continuously darting back and forth between the meat and Mafi.

  “Your human says you are the best boy in the whole world? Hmm that may be true if you are able to move freely.” With a snap of her fingers the haunch of raw meat falls into thousands of perfect tenderized cubes before the dog. Without hesitating the dog bounds forward and begins to inhale the mound of small cubes of meat.

  “That is A-grade meat! A single bite should have put you into a coma for the next one hundred years as your body digests the power. Or just killed you. Tell me what is your name, beast?” It takes Mafi a second to decipher the dogs grumbling bark as it answers without pausing from its feast.

  “Hopper, huh? But you like to be called Hop becuase you can jump so high. Hmm, Hopper their is something primal about you. And you are a wise hunter from the way you have lured me in with your little legs and your big ears. Your human will be leaving momentarily for a tutorial. How would you like to spend the next five years with me training?”

  “Yes, there will be plenty more meat. In fact, if you work hard you’ll be able to slay your own giant boar. No, not A-grade beasts like that one was. But with your potential and my resources possibly…D-grade by the end of the long wait.”