&&¨&¨&&&¨& &¨¨&¨&&¨¨&
&&¨&¨¨&&¨& &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& ¨, ««««««« ««««««« ««««««« ,¨ &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& nick wilde is a red fox and a conman. &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& ¨, ««««««« ««««««« ««««««« ,¨ &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& he's not above petty crime, but he &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& knows that if he puts in a bit of work, &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& he will find much more lucrative &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& rewards. &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& and thus he's currently working &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& alongside hatsune miku for a company &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& that makes synthetic meal replacements. &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& he's got a vague outline of a plan, to &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& scatter with some product, or even &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& better, some formula? these things are &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& worth a lot to a competitor. &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& he's been lucky; the place is &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& surprisingly unguarded. once he's got &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& his paws on something worthwhile, it'll &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& be easy to just waltz out. until then, &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& keep doing the work... &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& come to think of it, the place is &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& almost eerily empty. there are few &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& coworkers. (in fact the company is &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& ai-run and only a few key roles are &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& filled by actual people. &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& none of the employees know this.) &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& ««« ««« &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& ««« ««« ««« &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& ««« ««« &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& nick and miku are both stationed in &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& early processing, housed in a state of &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& the art factory close to the docks. &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& they create the early building blocks &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& that are later combined into the meals &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& that's sold to customers. &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& the bases are mostly sludges &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& or pastes, such as: &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& :« plant matter &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& :« blood colony &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& (made with a type of bacteria) &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& :« wild flesh &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& (free roaming animals) &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& :« organs &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& (taken from a living human that &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& is willing to sell) &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& :« minerals &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& :« blood colony two &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& :« insects &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& (which are mainly used for their &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& brain, which is used to extract &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& receptors that detect pheromones) &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& ««« ««« &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& ««« ««« ««« &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& ««« ««« &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& miku is in charge of the blood &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& colonies. there's large vats of the &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& original culture which is fed blood &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& meal, bone meal, what doesn't qualify &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& to go in the "wild flesh" paste, and &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& some processing chemicals. all these &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& ingredients have an effect on the blood &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& which in turn affects miku. &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& there is a large tank behind the &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& factory that contains a vast number of &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& auxilliary blood colonies. miku watches &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& over these as well. their purpose is &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& unclear. &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& the factory is surrounded by the blood &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& meal farms. there is a constant &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& exchange of blood and blood meal. this &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& provides two of the major materials for &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& both the colonies and miku. &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& ««« ««« &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& ««« ««« ««« &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& ««« ««« &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& nick is uncomfortable around &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& the "wild flesh" vats. &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨
&&¨&¨&¨&¨& &¨&&¨¨&¨&¨
¨&¨&¨&¨&¨& &¨¨&¨&&¨&¨