"comprised of ten billion nerve cells. whereby neurons and synapses communicate via neurotransmitters. this process demonstrably occurs in other animals besides humans. driven by the survival mechanism known as fear..." "Hey!" "Why are you talking during my presentation!" "?" "the wind's really picking up." "The Moon Drop might start to cry." "man." "You should be ashamed of yourselves!" "Was that an insult?" "You shouldn't get too cocky about being selected for the gifted course." "Not when you wear clothes from last century." "that's an insult..." "You want a piece of me!" "?" "Safu..." "What on earth is going on?" "Safu!" "Get off him!" "1)}Drowned Rat" "Honestly... not a neuroscientist." "were you?" "Sion." "in that society provides us with a sense of self." "human uniqueness is based upon the existence of an ego." "is today the big day?" "Huh?" "Yeah." "Isn't that why you invited me along?" "Not for that..." "The typhoon." "Oh!" "It's supposed to pass through No. 6 tonight." "I'm pretty excited..." "It's the best present I could've hoped for!" "What are you talking about?" "let's hurry!" "Safu!" "Sion." "You've grown so tall." "Grandmother." "Grandma..." "I know..." "It's finished!" "happy birthday!" "Huh?" "For me?" "you still remember?" "The first time I wore one of these to school?" "You were the only one who said anything nice." "You told me it made you feel warm inside." "Oh... huh? but your name is Sion." "So you're named for a purple flower." "Yep." "Thanks!" "Grandmother. once you're enrolled in the gifted course." "ma'am." "I'll go start baking the cake..." "I'll give you a hand." "It's fine! so I just need to throw it in the oven!" "I'm so glad that you liked your present..." "Oh... ma'am." "Since I couldn't do anything else for you." "Grandma..." "Sion!" "Come here for a sec." "Look!" "isn't it?" "Wow..." "Your grandmother made all of these?" "You bet." "Some of these were made back when I was still growing." "Aren't they gorgeous?" "That's why I don't need any of those clothes made from special fibers." "Grandma? I never knew anything else I could do for you. everything is provided for us." "I can't think of anything to do tomorrow or the day after that." "I'll come back for my bike tomorrow." "Okay." "Your present will get ruined. right?" "too." "What is it?" "Why are you doing the same thing my mother did?" "It's not the same." "Mine was a behavioral expression of the emotional desire to reproduce..." "The Moon Drop is crying!" "It's been forever since the last time I heard the Moon Drop cry..." "I guess typhoons aren't all bad." "A blister..." "Huh?" "A blister on the earth..." "Just like a blister on your skin." "Don't move." "Don't move." "I have experience with these situations." "I can treat your wounds." "Treat them..." "You understand what that means?" "Mom?" "Sion?" "Window... yeah." "Don't do that." "You'll catch a cold." "Got it." "Mom... so don't disturb me." "A report?" "The gifted course must be difficult." "I guess so." "I have a lot to do..." "I'll eat dinner later." "I see." "Don't push yourself too hard." "We need to stop the bleeding." "You're enrolled in the gifted course?" "Starting next month." "Impressive." "You must have a high IQ." "Are you making fun of me?" "No way." "A Rank A classification from your age-2 exam would have landed you in the best educational institution out there. that's pretty damned elite." "what do you think you're doing?" "Local anesthesia." "Wait a second..." "Why is that necessary?" "For the stitches." "Stitches?" "You ever done this before?" "Of course not." "I'm majoring in ecology." "But I do have a basic understanding of the process for suturing blood vessels." "huh..." "Your arm should feel numb soon." "Press this gauze against the wound." "You're pretty weird." "Wh-Why?" "You haven't even asked for my name." "Oh... either." "right?" "Like the flower?" "My mom used to really love trees and wildflowers." "What's yours?" "Rat." "Huh?" "That's my name." "Rat?" "That doesn't feel right..." "Doesn't feel right?" "Why?" "Okay!" "I'll stitch you up." "How'd you get hurt?" "I was shot." "With a gun?" "Yeah." "I thought guns were restricted to Hunting Club members." "Close enough..." "Only difference is that these people hunt humans." "What do you mean?" "and humans who are hunted." "That's how it goes in No. 6." "You should rest here until the storm dies down." "There's a sweater on my bed." "You can wear that." "eh?" "You should have a look in the mirror before saying anything." "What?" "Good stuff." "are you always like this?" "Huh?" "Do you act so defenseless around everyone you meet?" "Or is altruism a dominant trait in pure culture elites?" "never experiencing fear or exercising caution." "That's not—" "How else do you explain it?" "It's because you're small and look like a girl." "and looked ready to pass out..." "Besides..." "Besides?" "I don't know." "Thank you. prisoner VC103221 escaped during transfer to the West District's correctional facility." "He is believed to have fled toward Chronos." "The indicated area has been designated off-limits." "Acknowledgment confirmed." "Did you finish your report?" "not yet." "There's a message from the Bureau of Public Security." "Read through it and reply." "Uh-huh. VC..." "I wonder what his crime was... prisoner VC103221 escaped during transfer so it won't to the West District's correctional facility." "take the tracking system long to find him." "let's have dinner." "Sion?" "Huh?" "Oh... it's nothing." "Mom..." "Don't turn on the light." "I can't see anything in the dark." "It shouldn't matter." "You can't navigate around your own room?" "Sorry." "I'm not much of a night owl." "You don't have any trouble moving around?" "I'm a rat..." "Nocturnal by nature." "VC103221." "I saw you on the news." "You're a celebrity." "don't you think?" "I brought you some stew and cherry cake." "Are you sure about this?" "Of course. so I could work on my report." "Smells good." "My mom's a great cook." "it's delicious." "Will you be able to escape?" "You bet." "What about the VC chip?" "It's still in my body." "But that means..." "Don't worry." "The VC chip is just a worthless toy now." "Toy?" "You could even say that No. 6 is all one big toy." "Do you know how this place came to be?" "Y-Yeah..." "The Babylon Convention. so all military force was banned." "six city-states were formed." "No. 6 was one of them." "Why were you arrested?" "They said that you escaped during transfer to a correctional facility." "Wrong. and the Bureau of Public Security brought me into No. 6." "Brought you here?" "There you have it." "Taking you where?" "City Hall?" "Why take you to the city center?" "You don't want to know." "Answer the question!" "Pipe down..." "Could you let me get some sleep?" "So you won't tell me?" "Do you know how to forget what you've been told?" "How to act like you never heard a word?" "knowing nothing at all? but you aren't mature enough to pull it off." "I guess..." "Hey!" "Don't you get it?" "You're already in a lot of trouble." "Harboring a VC..." "Neglecting your duty to inform the Bureau..." "And now you're pestering me for the grimy details." "I get it..." "Then don't ask." "I'm not saying another word about it." "Uh-huh... I won't mention how you were screaming." "Didn't see that coming! Hey! Hold on!" "and you popped out." "already!" "I've never seen anything like it before." "Shut up! you'd already be dead." "I-Impressive." "Huh?" "There must be a trick to it." "How do you paralyze a person's body?" "Do you hit certain pressure points?" "You're crazy..." "Absolutely crazy." "You have no idea." "You're burning up!" "You have a fever." "I'll get you some antibiotics." "Forget it." "I just want to sleep... you'll only exhaust yourself." "You're pretty warm yourself... humans are warm." "Yes?" "Huh?" "The Bureau of Public Safety?" "age sixteen. and enrolled in the best educational institution available." "His major was ecology. after aiding and abetting a fugitive VC." "why didn't you enroll in the gifted course?" "It isn't that I didn't want to." "But it wasn't my decision." "It's possible that the authorities have been manipulating information." "You are suspected of being a malcontent." "Let go of me!" "Let go!" "Your Majesty." "Nezumi!" "City Adorned in Light" "Welcome to the real world."