[ WP ] Two god-like beings , disguised as old men , play a game of chess on a park bench to decide the final fate of humanity . The players , however , are distracted by a couple seated across them ...

One would believe that the development of a multiverse is akin to mitosis, multiplying constantly and encouraging growth. That is wrong. The reality of the situation is that all of the multiverse simply *was* at the beginning, and has always been in a state of deterioration. If you had to make a metaphor, compare the multiverse to a brain and then each individual universe to a neuron flickering away. Slowly yet definitely, the multiverse will at one point be gone forever. 
 
 Other fun facts: one universe consists of one planet. You can not argue this unless you ’ ve met another conscious species from another planet. Consciousness is crucial in the management of a planet. Opposed, ethereal forces will seize upon specific universes and pass judgment upon them. One force is sustained by the existence of the multiverse and fights to preserve it. The other force feeds off of the dead matter of lost worlds. The forces can not fight each other directly, thus they manifest themselves into competitions of skill. 
 
 On one planet, the overly dramatic forces staged and fought a hundred year war. Millions died at first, then as the population withered away the spectacle became an embarrassment. The preservers conceded to the feeders to put the whole ordeal behind them. After that moment, the forces presented themselves in microcosms of competition. A game of pong. An arm wrestling match. Rock paper scissors. A race to the porch and back. If the feeders won, the universe was obliterated. It became a quick, entertaining procedure for both sides. 
 The fate of one particular world rested on a preserver wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants drinking soda out of a two-liter bottle and a feeder wearing a vest over a turtleneck in seventy degree weather. He sweated profusely as he set up a chessboard. 
 
 “ I prefer checkers, ” the preserver said as he reached into his grocery bag and pulled out a bagel. 
 
 The feeder looked over to his ancient rival, “ We agreed upon chess. If I had it my way, we would be deciding matters over a game of tennis. ” The preserver laughed, picking at his food, “ I ’ m not running back and forth in this weather. You can eat this world and twenty more like if I had to play sports. ” 
 
 The feeder sighed and sat across the preserver, “ Let ’ s not talk. Your appearance and demeanor is repugnant. ” The manifestations of the opposed forces has become its own psychological game; the preserver and feeder distract one another with averse depictions; the preservers grow uglier to the distaste of the feeder, and the feeder becomes more vain to throw the preserver off tilt. 
 
 The game began. After the preserver ’ s first move, the feeder studied the board. In their ancient feud spanning across a vast amount of time and space, the preservers and feeders never invested too much time into learning one particular game well. The world ’ s best chess player can probably outplay any player from the multiverse; ironically, a chess grandmaster can think fifty moves ahead of their opponent, yet could not begin to comprehend the true form of a preserver or feeder without their brain pouring out of their nose. 
 
 The feeder moved his pawn and began to observe the other chess players at the park and the rest of the world ’ s inhabitants. There was a college nearby, so many co-eds were bouncing all over the place catching frisbees. Dogs ran rampant after other dogs with sticks in their mouths. Children clung to monkeybars, kicking at the void under their undeveloped legs. The feeder did not have to justify his actions to the preserver, but he did appreciate the world ’ s he would feast on. Many were exactly the same, and the feeder could watch the duplicate of the same child grow big and strong while the feeder day after day ate his worlds one after another. 
 
 The preserver moved a piece. Then the feeder went. The preserver burped. The feeder sipped on a ten dollar bottle of water that he retrieved from his messenger bag. The two stared at each other in resentment as the battle raged. 
 
 The preserver saw an opportunity for a possible checkmate. As he moved his piece, a kickball hit the table, sending the chess pieces across the floor. The preserver and feeder stared at the board and one another as they fought to remember what the protocol was for a disrupted game. A young woman with dark, tight brown curls wearing a shirt and shorts attractively too tight on her flashed the two men a quick, unapologetic frown. “ I ’ m sorry! I have terrible aim. ” The feeder and preserver saw that two teams were waiting impatiently for the girl to retrieve the ball so their own game could resume. 
 
 The feeder began to put the pieces back on the table, unaware exactly which piece went where to continue: “ It ’ s okay. Just a game, after all. ” The girl smiled, took her ball back and mouthed *sorry* to the men before she left. Both men watched her return to her friends before they turned on each other. 
 
 “ I should have won, ” the preserver testified. 
 
 “ Nonsense. You just believed you were winning, ” the feeder retorted. They smiled at each other, understanding that the game was a draw by default, yet the conflict must resolve. 
 “ Chess is boring. What else can we play? ” 
 
 “ We could gamble on the kickball game. ” 
 
 They turned their attention to the undergrads whom played with a severity that only rears itself through recreational sports. The teams battered each other with the red rubber ball. The players ran at the bases hard. Feeder asked the brunette who was winning. She thought for a moment and then had to ask someone else. “ I think we are, but we aren ’ t really keeping score. ” 
 
 The two men sat in the grass, drinking soda and water, watching young adults play a children ’ s game. The fate of the universe, pulled in one way by the voracious maw of the feeder and the other by the firm grasp of the preserver, rested upon which of these athletes approached them first and told them who won. 

