The Conversion Bureau: Transhumanism

by Leobracer

John Bradly - Gaian

John steadied himself, as he hid the bushes, waiting for his quarry.

John Bradly was a hunter, and his father always told him that as a hunter, he had a connection to the Earth in a way that no person in the world could understand. In the past, John always took his father's saying as a metaphor, but after becoming a Gaian, he found that there was truth in his father's words. Becoming a Gaian allowed John to sense the vibrations in the ground that came from animals walking the land. It took him a few months, but he was able to read the intensity of the vibrations to determine how far away the quarry was from his vantage point, allowing him to determine when and where it would arrive within his firing range.

Many other hunters decried him for 'cheating', sating that 'real hunters' rely on instinct rather than magic to hunt their quarry. John didn't care much for their words, as unlike the detractors, he never hunted for sport, and spent his entire life hunting to provide for his family.

Reading the vibrations in the ground, John steadied his breathing, and aimed his Winchester rifle to where he sensed his quarry would be.

A few seconds later, much to John's disappointment, it wasn't a deer like he had hoped. Rather it was a trans-deer. He could tell, because the eyes looked more human than deer, and it was wearing a vest. A vest that had the PETA logo on it. John felt himself tempted to shoot it anyway, as he had numerous run in with PETA on many of his hunting trips, even before the Conversion Bureaus opened up. But John had no intentions of going to jail, so using whatever self-control he had, he kept himself from pulling the trigger.

A low growl came from his throat as John lowered his weapon. One way or another, he had to get that douchebag out of his way, so that he could find his quarry. John quickly remembered that there was another way that Gaians had a connection to the Earth, and placed his hand on a nearby tree. John's hand began emitting a green light a moment later, as he began 'issuing a command' to the tree. Not a moment too soon, the Tree's branches began moving. The PETA member spotted what was happening, and tried to make a break for it, but he was too slow, as the branches ensnared around him and hoisted him up from the ground, taking care to close his mouth along the way to keep him from calling for help.

With that particular distraction out of the way, John went back to looking for his quarry, and sensed another animal approaching the area.

This time, it actually was a deer, as its eyes were completely black, and it wasn't wearing any clothes. Smiling, John aimed his Winchester at his quarry, remembering to aim for the deer's center of body mass. He waited for a few seconds to steady his breath as John watched the wild deer graze at the grass. Letting out a breath that he had been holding, John pulled the trigger of his Winchester, the recoil of the rifle sending out a shockwave throughout his body, as the bullet spun out of the barrel, and struck right where he was aiming at the wild deer, killing it instantly.

Smiling, John pulled the lever of his Winchester, tossing the bullet out of the rifle, which John quickly caught before it could land on the ground.

Standing up from where he was, John made his way towards his prize, making sure to look up at the captured PETA member as he did. "I don't know who you are, and I sure as hell couldn't care less." John started. "But you PETA folks really need to learn to stay the hell out something that is none of your goddamned business."

The PETA member continued to struggle against the branches, muffling something at John that he couldn't understand. "Call me a murderer, or whatever you want. But you need to accept that hunting has been a part of human civilization since before we even had civilization." John said as he now stood over his quarry. "I have a wife and two kids who I need to feed. And I'm not gonna let crazy lunatics like you get in my way."

John then crouched down on the ground, and hoisted the dead deer over his shoulders. As he had been doing this his whole life, John didn't need to use his connection to the Earth to carry it. Before he left, he spared the PETA one final glance. "Stop struggling already. You have no chance of getting out of those tree branches." He said. "I told the tree to keep you up there for about an hour or so, while I get out of here with my prize. Now if you don't mind, I have a family to feed."

And with that, John made his way back to his truck. As he had been hunting in this forest for years, John knew his way around. "Good day, sir."

Comments

[17JosephLC]

Who are these PETA people?

[Harmony Muse]

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. a group that legitimately sees any human use of animal products as slavery and murder, even pets because "you don't love them like actual family."

[Alex Warlorn]

Sorry that more people haven't taken notice another TCB story as the setting was SUPPOSED to be, rather than 'Humans are badasses' stories with the conversion being a plot device to get the war started.

[Leobracer]

8963858

Eh, doesn’t bother me much. I’m not someone who craves attention.

[Alex Warlorn]

8963909

I envy you.