Setting

Valentine's Day, 2036. The story begins in the city of San Jose, California, in a lower-end neighborhood. The protagonist, Reiko Yamaguchi, lives in a communal house with several other punks and neo-hippies. The city is dirty, crowded, and full of discontent.

The world at this time is run by the whims of the super-rich, the mega-corporations that own just about everyone and everything. Same old story. The powerful and affluent few who rule over the less fortunate. In this environment of corporate greed and corruption, there will soon be a call for change. A call to a struggle, which will consume Reiko and all that she knows. A struggle for justice and revenge.

Chapter One Synopsis

Reiko Yamaguchi wakes up, and realizes it's going to be a bad day when her bootlace breaks. Searching the house for an alternative yields only some old wire. No other choice, she wires her boots on. She's poor, unemployed, and needs some new clothes badly. Thus she decides to go shoplifting to get what she needs.

Reiko reveals that she used to live on the streets in San Francisco, and that she used to work for a heroin dealer. She used to shoot up heroin, too. But now she's clean, thanks to help from her friend, Dennis. Dennis is the owner of the communal house where she now lives, in San Jose.

She converses briefly with two of her roommates, a neo-hippie couple, Josh and Brenda. Finding little food in the house, she gives her appearance a quick look in the mirror, then hurries out the door.

Reiko walks to the bus stop, observant of the delapidated state of her neighborhood, and the corruption that looms over everything. She has adopted a cynical, rebellious attitude towards society. And she believes that punk is still alive and well in her time. We learn that she's colorblind, a disability that's helped shape her outlook on life.

Later, Reiko gets off the bus in the rich part of town. She heads for a store that she's hacked before, one that she knows has a faulty security system. After prepraring her hacking equipment, Reiko watches through the store window until it's clear. Then she walks calmly inside. She ducks behind a clothing rack and plugs into the store's system. She relates to computers better than people, and gets a complete rush when hacking. In minutes, she disables the store's security temporarily. Then she strolls around, taking what she likes. She almost gets caught, but reacts quickly, and leaves before things get out of hand. Another success for her. She's proud, gloats over her achievement.

But her past returns to haunt her. On her way home, an old bum confronts her. He says he remembers her being his little heroin delivery girl in San Francisco. Revolted, and terrified that this has returned in some form, Reiko flees as fast as she can. She goes home and locks the door behind her.

Reiko's best friend, Dennis, finally comes home from work. She tells him that they need to do another robbery soon, because she needs money so bad. Dennis playfully says that the robbery gang is planning one for tomorrow night, and then refuses to reveal what it is. Only that it's a bigger target than anything they've done before. Later, Dennis suggests that they go out to a club. Reiko says no. But when Dennis tells her that her favorite punk band, the Cracked Babies, are performing, she gives in.

Dennis and Reiko walk to the club where the band's playing. The Cracked Babies are the last good punk band in San Jose, in Reiko's opinion. They put on a loud, outrageous show. Morlock, the lead singer, thrashes about the stage, poking fun at society and its ills, while he's dressed in a sexy space doll costume. Dennis and Reiko walk home after the show and talk about the parts they liked best.

When they get home, they sit down to watch a movie. Reiko's favorite, the film noir classic, 'Casablanca'. After they finish a bottle together, Dennis is quite intoxicated. He tries to make out with Reiko. She pushes him away and reminds him about the agreed platonic status of their friendship. Eventually, Dennis falls asleep. Reiko stays up until the movie ends, and says goodnight to all of her roommates as they pass through.

The next morning, Reiko wakes early, and can't get back to sleep. The house soon falls into the usual morning routine, everyone except Reiko struggling to get ready for work. Dennis apologizes to Reiko about the previous night, and there's no hard feelings. Then, Dennis pulls aside Reiko and Janet, another tenant in the house. Janet and Reiko share a bedroom. It works out alright, and they get along fine. Janet is the only other person in the house involved with the robbery gang. The other three roommates don't know about it. Dennis tells them both that the robbery is all set for tonight. But he still won't tell them where it will be. Janet argues, not liking Dennis's secrecy. They both head off to work, Janet still obstinate.

Reiko spends the day playing on her computer. She plays her music really loud and dresses up for the night early. Janet comes home, and talks to Reiko for a while. She suggests that Reiko go and apply for a job where she works, at a music store in the mall. Reiko realizes that this is a good idea. She knows she needs to make a lot of improvements in her life. Janet offers to make some dinner for them. Reiko has always looked up to Janet, thinks she's cool. Their roommate Tom passes through briefly, an awkward moment. And then Dennis comes home, and attempts in vain to make Janet and Reiko laugh.

Janet demands that he tell them what they're robbing. And finally, he reveals it. The Union Bayside Bank. Janet flips out, incredulous that Dennis could be so stupid. But he tells her to let him explain. He has a friend who works at the bank. Someone who has given them all the passcodes and information they need to get in, in return for a share of the money they can steal. He asks Reiko to look at the codes and see if she can do it. Reiko's just as shocked as Janet. She doesn't know if she can hack a bank's security. Her hardware is older and slower than most modern systems. But, after seeing for herself that the codes are in a programming language she knows, she agrees to join the attempt. It takes a little more persuasion to convert Janet, but eventually she says she'll go, too. Reiko thinks that they're all insane, or stupid, for doing this.