Chapter 1: Hunger for Strawberries

[Peter "Levitas" Barak]

"Right. Anybody not part of a group will want to get the heck off the island and should sell fast. And once the groups are done ripping through one another they can be acquired." He moved over to where Tuvi was and leaned forward, his elbows on the counter.

"The group's leader had a gun in his pocket I didn't know about, everybody else just had knives. He only got off the one shot and he didn't make it a great one, but he did get me. No big deal though, been through worse."

[Toolah "Tuvi" Renee]

"Hm." Tuvi says. Once the kitchen is decent, she yawns and streches.

"You know, Dinari asked me earlier if I was happy working for him. Are you happy working for Dinari?"

[Eun/Aoi Kiriyama]

"She should be coming in a few minutes or so." says Eun's colleague. Soon enough, Eun trip herself into the work room.

"Sorry. My mom is sick again and had to make her a small breakfast." Eun says to her colleague as she stood up. As soon as Eun notice Mr. Keitoleinen, she quickly stop talking.

"Oh.....hi sir." Eun says to Mr. Keitoleinen.

[Peter "Levitas" Barak]

"Happier than I would be for anyone else," Peter replies, still smiling, "Working for top dollar, restoring the homeland, and getting a passcard to get away with almost anything I want. It would be difficult for me to find a job I like better." He frowned, just for a moment and looked at his hands. "He gave me power," he said simply, "More than I could have gotten on my own... but he also legally owns me. I hate the idea of being owned." He closed his eyes than looked up and shrugged, smiling again. "But Dinari never pushes it so no big deal."

[Toolah "Tuvi" Renee]

"He owns us all. But of course, Dinari is never the kind to use it aganist us." Tuvi replies simply. What the world is now... its a dark place. Manalist are really making this place a horrible place to live. But Tuvi is a survivor.

"I am happy I work for him. He could've, and still can, treat me horribly. We are a lucky bunch, huh? I wish there was a France..."

[Peter "Levitas" Barak]

"... so we could make fun of them for eating snails," Peter added with a grin. He laughed, thinking back to all of the great French jokes that'd spread around just before the Manalists took over. Boy had people hated the French. "I gotta agree, the world isn't the same without a universally disliked country like them. I mean sure, the Manalist priests act upity and crap but they shot people, they don't smoke and make snide comments in a needlessly complex accent. And they sure has heck don't surrender at the first real threat of violence like the French did."

Peter's smile faded alittle. He remembered other countries too. He'd made fun of them all, to their faces in most cases, he believed you should say what you thought directly at the people you thought about, even if it was insulting. "There used to be alot of places..." he said, resting his chin on his proped hands.

"Hell, there used to be more of America and Miami and a few swamps. The big cities, the grim, the crap, the people... that's what I miss, the press of American kind... and having lots of foregin people to make fun of... and be made fun of by. The best fights in my life started because somebody insulted America so I throw one back... great times."

[Jumala Keitoleinen]

"Hello Miss Kiriyama. I have heard good things about you." Keitoleinen says politely to the plant woman. "Tell me, do you prefer working here for SOTA compared to Intelligent Design. Someone told me that you worked for that Japanese company. Is that true? And if so, what was that like?" He questions her. He is curious about learning more of his Japanese competitor, even though the companies make slightly different things.
Today Keitoleinen is wearing a suit and looks like a fairly average human, but for his sharp teeth and long white hair.

[Hilja Kukkanen/Sasha Pisarev]

Sasha finds himself in London now. He could appear anywhere and leave this place if he so chooses. In some ways, being an illusion could be a liberating experience. He can now travel anywhere in the world that he likes. He always dreamed of travel. However, it never lasts long. Hilja doesn't sleep much, and so he gets less and less time to experience the world...or experience the world for her.

He walks past a giant statue of Scrag. The statue is holding an authentic manala crystal. It gleams bright red and he admires it for a while. A pigeon lands on the statue and he continues his walk. He wants to meet someone...talk to someone about something...

[Eun/Aoi Kiriyama]

"Yes, both my parents and I had worked at Intelligent Design." Eun quickly reply.

"When I was working there, the boss wanted the mechas and robots be perfect, espcially his prized arachnoid, or he wouldn't be too happy about it."

"I think Sota is slightly better than Intellugent Design because this place is kinda more laid back but that is just me."

[Jack Kruschev]

Stepping out of the teleporter, Anthony nearly doubles over and throws up his guts. Teleporting in these damn things always made him nauseous. Still feeling a bit woozy, Anthony sits down on a nearby bench and relaxes for a few moments. After a couple minutes, he gets out his phone and calls Danari Dollar.

“Mr. Dollar, I’m now here. When’s a good time, buddy boy,” He recites, sarcastically, to himself as the phone’s ringing.

[Alexei Nacharade]

Alexei waited patiently in a jeep they'd burrowed for Sakari, ready to depart for Helsinki.

[Toolah "Tuvi" Renee]

"Hey. Get off the French." Tuvi says, letting her accent slip. She catches herself and clears her throat, looking uncomfortable.

"The world is what it is now. I guess we'll just have to settle making fun of the Manalist in private." She adds, with a smile.

[Jack Kruschev]

Anthony waited as the phone rang.

"Whats taking so long?" he muttered to himself.

[Peter "Levitas" Barak]

"For now," Peter mutters quietly with a glance towards Dollar. The man was a fool, he was brash, and he was completely in line just about everything that the Manalists actually valued. Yet, somehow, he resisted their control. Did the man have some special spark he had yet to reveal, or was his vision of America just so deeply ingrained he couldn't be shaken loose. Or was he just that thick?

It brought a smile to Peter's lips. He disliked everybody, all cultures, all skin colors, all humans and every other species that crawled in the dirt. Hate would be too much of a word, but he didn't like any of them. Except, for some reason, Dinari Dollar. The man was, truly, the real core of America boiled down and given flesh. He was like... well, kind of like an American Christ really.

Of course the idea of Dollar as a savior in the traditional sense was laughable but still... he had vision. Not constant vision, but he had one. And Peter, to his own surprise, respected that. He was going to remake America, not because he really thought it would be better, but because of Dollar. Which, he felt, made him seem gay when he really thought about it. He decided to try and find a new way to express his beliefs if he ever needed to speak them aloud.

"Nobody lasts forever, most for a short time indeed." Peter smiled, wide enough to show teeth now. "Whatever you might think Tuvi," he turned to face her, still grinning, "We're gonna win this thing, in the end, even if I have to burn every single person into ashes with my bare hands."

[Toolah "Tuvi" Renee]

"Hm... nice you want to be so personal with Dinari's conquest." Tuvi replies coyly. She too sneaks a peek at Dinari but he is, once again, in his own little world. Sometimes, she wonders if Dinari is stupid or if he patriotism has survived the sands of time.

She respects Dinari but at the same time, if anyone knew just how much she respected him, they would think she was fucking him. Which she hasn't and doesn't plan to in the future.

Tuvi smiles back, showing a hint of fang. "Sure. Almost anyone can be short term."