Overview

The Cemetary [10]

This is the only cemetery within Mirai City. With space inside the city’s walls being at a premium, the portion of the cemetery that has a more traditional look with grave markers is quite small, and generally reserved for very high profile or rich individuals. Most of the cemetery is actually a multistory building with rows of small storage units for cremated remains of residents. Most of the building is of course empty; the city’s unusual demographics mean that the city has a lower death rate than most.

The Central Reformatory [10]

The Central Reformatory is for powered students who have committed severe enough crimes to be incarcerated. The buildings are surrounded by a high wall, with strands of wispy wires irregularly jutting from the top edge -- part of an anti-psi field that encompasses the entire facility, and causes power use to malfunction in unpredictable ways. Headaches from the field are common.

The main building is set up much like a school still, for the more ‘minimum security’ students, ones who essentially need an extended supervised ‘time-out’. Deeper in the facility is another building with individual cells where the students are not allowed to mingle, and solitary cells with special soundproofing or other necessary details to keep specific powers in check.

All guards use powered suits for their duties, as working here is possibly the most dangerous job in all of Mirai City. Even with the anti-psi field (and there are additional types active within the facility as well, layering the security) power usage sometimes still breaks through.

City Courthouse [1]

This is where evidence is presented by an Antiskill officer to a judge who determines whether a full trial with jury is necessary or if they should simply hand down sentencing – much like Japan, generally by the time you’re brought in to this position, Antiskill has collected considerable evidence and guilt is generally assumed. Lawyers can be hired to argue on the defendant’s behalf, but are often ineffectual. A range of penalties are possible, but full expulsion from Mirai City is not considered in the case of powered students, who usually end up being diverted to doing community service or under probationary supervision rather than spending some time at a student reformatory.

Adults convicted of lesser crimes are often simply expelled from the city. Although there is a small conventional prison for more serious criminals, house arrest and monitoring is used where possible. Violent crime among the adult population is incredibly low. Most major criminal cases are related to intelligence and industrial espionage, trafficking prohibited goods, and so on.

District 7 General Hospital [7]

One of the larger hospitals in the city, District 7 General Hospital is well placed to serve the student populations in District 7 as well as overflow from neighbouring districts. They are very accustomed to all kinds of injuries, considering students with superhuman abilities can get into every conceivable kind of trouble, and acknowledging that accidents sometimes happen. With Mirai City on the cutting edge of medical technology, they are well placed to deal with even the most severe of injuries.

The Grand Library [7]

A massive structure within District 7, the Grand Library eschews traditional styling for a hyper-futuristic look, with a huge silvery glass atrium and modern angular terraces built into the side as sunny reading and study rooms. Inside, stylized murals portray the advancement of human knowledge over the millennia, from ancient Egyptians making paper from papyrus through to evolution of Chinese hanzi and scholarly exams, on to the printing press and linotype machines and finally the internet and the breadth of information across its servers.

Inside, in additional to vast numbers of physical books and scientific journals, there are a number of computer rooms to peruse digital catalogues and items. There is even an entire floor devoted to fiction, manga, and borrow-able games and blu-ray disks.

Library staff are always around to answer questions and help find materials, or even digitize information or help students make web pages. The library is open from 7am until 10pm every day, including weekends, in consideration of maximizing availability to students, through branch libraries may have more limited hours.

There is space in the library for rotating exhibitions from the city’s various specialty museums and scientific exhibits, hosting a different set every semester.

Nuclear Energy Plant [10]

Alongside Mirai City’s green energy initiatives, the city is home to a modern, very safe, fission nuclear reactor. Not only does it provide the city with power, but it can be used to generate useful radioactive isotopes for research and medical purposes.

The Observatory [21]

On the highest point within the city’s forested hills, the location of the observatory makes it somewhat more limited than the world’s biggest telescopes. Despite that, it is still heavily used by the city’s research community, and only open to the public on scheduled evenings. Its location also makes the observatory hill one of the best places for citizens to watch city fireworks in the summer or on New Year’s. Visitors are encouraged to take the monorail rather than drive.

Security Checkpoints [N/A]

There are several security checkpoints to pass through the wall of the city, with one close to a JR train station outside.(JR Mirai City). On entry, a person needs to pass through several types of scanners, but rarely subjected to physical search, only a couple questions about purpose for the visit. On exit, however, all electronic devices must be passed over to check – any Mirai City data or products need fully filled out paperwork for release.

Students in the Power Curriculum need a valid pass to exit. These exit passes are usually granted promptly for average students going on holiday for Golden Week or off on summer holidays, and the guards do an admirable job of moving people through, but it can get very congested at these certain times of year.

All others need an entry permit for a valid stated reason, usually for work, conferences/meetings, or as a parent of a student. General purpose tourists and others are only granted permits at certain times of year; these passes are in limited supply, and non-transferrable, since a thorough background check is part of the entry permit process.

Skyreach Tower [16]

One of the tallest buildings in Mirai City, this thin spire in District 16 has less of the flash and sparkle of District 1’s buildings, but is still a critical component of the city. This is the financial hub where stock traders and economists gather. At the ground level, a large board with popular stocks keeps anyone passing by updated on the rise and fall of both global commodities and enterprises within the city.

The Spire [8]

Although religiosity is exceptionally low in Mirai City, this interfaith building has spaces for all major world religions, and exists to accommodate both city residents and visitors.

Student Registry Office [1]

Although most things related to student life can be done online, if you need to speak to a real person to resolve an issue with tuition, grants, or even get an emergency replacement student card, this is the place to go. A huge complex of buildings housing the admnistrative staff and servers, the in-person help desk area is within a large airy foyer, attractive and easily accessible.

Theatre of the Performing Arts [9]

Never let it be said that just because Mirai City is a city of science, that folks don’t enjoy a good dramatic performance now and then. The plays and performances here are generally not professional productions, with the exception of touring groups. Instead, events here are put on by various arts schools or drama clubs that, while amateur, can have surprisingly good special effects thanks to their power use.

The Windowless Building [7]

Rising high into the skies of District 7, near its border with District 1, lies what’s known as the “Windowless Building”. It has no doors or windows, only a blank white-panelled surface rising gracefully from the ground. This is where the head of Mirai City’s Board of Directors is said to reside, and the outside is lightly guarded. Despite its apparent importance, it is not even the tallest building in its district, but yet notable against the skyline from the right point of view. It’s said that the only way to get in is by teleportation, and there’s a student in the city who lets people in and out for meetings. The Windowless Building is also protected by an extremely strong magical barrier, though this isn’t obvious to most.

ENTERTAINMENT AND PARKS

Arcade Explosion [7]

This arcade is hugely popular with all students, from strength-testing machines (that are frequently broken) to all kinds of racing games, drum games, flight sims and competitive fighting games – this arcade even has a series of classic purikura booths and a huge costume section, for those who want to goof around and take silly pictures with friends. The proprietors so ask that students please refrain from using their powers in the arcade though, since that’s the main cause of equipment being broken.

Bathhouses [7, 8]

For those that like spas and Japanese onsen, there are several bathhouses of varying quality through Districts 7 and 8. Most have a variety of temperature pools, a sauna room, a room with massage machines and vending machines with cool drinks for afterwards. You can rent or buy towels and other goods here as well.

Electronica Psychotica [7]

A popular dance club in district 7, with DJ Sy-Kotic running the tunes, which are usually fast paced electronica and heavy beats. As it’s aimed at the teenage student population, there are no alcoholic drinks served here, but that doesn’t prevent Skillout from dealing party drugs in alleys nearby.

The Escher Building [5]

A demonstration project, this building contains an infinite staircase, enabled by spatial-warping technology. One has to hop on and off or otherwise physically attach/detach from the stairs entirely, due to the way it interacts with the standard three dimensions. Unfortunately, since the lead on this project passed away, no one has been able to replicate this effect since.

Fireflower Apiary [3]

This business/tourist attraction supplies bees (both real and artificial nanobot versions) to pollinate Mirai City landscaping and for use in the agricultural district, with hives set up to be easily moved. There is also an exotic flower and butterfly exhibit on the premises as a draw for tourists.

Hirogaoka Park [13]

A large park close to the primary school district with assorted playground equipment, and usually a few food trucks/vendors featuring takoyaki, crepes, and other small treats. There’s a splash pool in the warmer months, and an amphitheatre are for plays and other public performances. After dark, the area is well lit, making it a safe place for the younger students to hang out before curfew.

Infinite Escapes Zero-G Experience [7]

Infinite Escapes is a chain of entertainment facilities, featuring classic arcades, escape rooms, and its premier attraction in District 7, antigrav laser tag.

Not for the weak of stomach or otherwise queasy, this warehouse-sized building is set up with floating obstacles and a 3D walled environment within a zero-G field for an exciting game of high-tech laser tag. Surprisingly affordable at 1000 yen per person per hour, there’s also an extra layout with regular gravity for those that can’t handle the vertigo.

Izumike Plaza [18]

A park-like plaza area not far from several prestigious schools in District 18, its primary draw is a set of very nice upscale cafes outside a large fountain. It’s also a good place for privacy while still sitting in public, as the rushing water from the fountain is surprisingly loud, making it difficult to hear any conversation more than a few feet away.

Mirai City Amusement Park [6]

Located towards the city’s edge from District 7, and not too far from the aerospace district, lies Mirai City’s amusement park. The surrounding areas are full of vendors and outdoor malls, but as you get closer to the tickete gate, there are a seemingly endless set of arcade machines, festival food vendors, and seller of small trinkets like cellphone charms and folding fans. Attendants tend to looking the other way when students are skipping out on school, too.

The park itself holds a huge number of classic rides, from ferris wheels to bumper cars to teacup rides, even a round-the-year haunted house and rollercoaster. There are also booths for every classic carnival and Japanese festival game.

MyColor [1]

An artistic experiment downtown near the border of District 7 and District 1, this building has its interior repainted pure white every week, and students are invited to come in, grab some paint (bucket or spray can, with various brushes and other things available to borrow) and paint whatever they’d like inside. This site is pretty popular for the more artistically inclined, or just plain bored, since it’s free – a team of psychology students go through after its regular opening hours to analyze the output.

Next door is a more thoughtful exhibition building, with each room painted in wide swaths of different colors at irregular intervals and abstract but colorful sculptures. Anyone is free to wander the artistic exhibitions, but is asked to complete a short survey after passing through about their mood and feelings regarding at least one of the exhibits they saw, on exit.

Okumori Campground [21]

Not too far from the shrine, this is a spot for group camping, with tenting sites and composting toilets on site. It’s not very “rustic”, since there’s running water for its small shower stalls, but there’s places to have a campfire, lots of trees and dirt, and it’s completely dark at night aside from the lights of the city in the distances below the hills. Students sometimes head here for school trips or as a holiday activity for those that aren’t leaving the city during Golden Week.

There are also a variety of trails through the forest, many with interpretive signs talking about forest ecology and small flora and fauna. There is a small deer population in the forest but no other large animals; the deer are hardly wild either, often approaching students in hopes of treats.

The Space Elevator [6]

Immediately adjacent to the amusement park is the space elevator, rising from its massive spiralling foundations and narrowing quickly to a thin line that rises high into the sky, visible from almost everywhere in the city. At ground level, the building is huge, occupying almost a full city block. Entrances for students and tourists are around the side closest to the park, while the other side is blocked off to the public, allowing for deliveries of construction materials and satellite components. Nearing completion, visitor can only take the elevator to the halfway mark at the moment, and is sometimes access is shutdown for construction work. Nevertheless, it’s a popular draw and usually very busy when open.

Yotsubishi Stadium [3]

Zaibatsu sponsored, the stadium in District 3 is a great place to use to show off in demonstrations to the outside world. There are a couple of Olympic-sized fields for all kinds of activities, with a transparent forcefield roof cover that can be used in case of rain.

A number of Grand Champion Star Festival games take place here.

Ziggurat Gardens [3]

Loosely (VERY loosely) inspired by the ancient hanging gardens of Babylon, these tiers of garden space are arranged inside a huge glass ziggurat, showcasing botanical curiosities from around the world. A section of it is bio-secure, but as long as tourists are willing to go through the sanitization procedure on entry and exit, they can be treated to views of more exotic bioengineered plants as well. Situated near many of the hotels in District 3, it is a popular attraction for the less research-oriented visitors and parents.

SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION

Ichihara North High School [7]

A smaller school dedicated to helping older students who still have trouble controlling their abilities. Considering the number of possible issues and possible solutions, this school takes an intensive one-on-one approach with its students, which unfortunately limits the number that can be enrolled in a given year.

Jacobi School of Metaphysics [5]

The closest thing to a theological school in Mirai City, this college specializes in philosophy, study of religions (ancient and modern) in an academic/anthropological sense, and produces truly obtuse papers on par with the theoretical physicists elsewhere.

Mirai City School of Industrial Arts [9]

Although there are many schools in District 6 devoted to fine arts, MCSIA is one of the largest in the district and for good reason, as it focuses on practical application. Product visual design and architecture are its main foci, and its graduates are beginning to make their way into Mirai City’s planning department, improving city skylines and keeping the steel and glass, but eco-friendly, aesthetic alive.

Nagatenjouki Academy [18]

Not the richest or the most powerful of the top schools in Mirai City, but by far home to the smartest students. Genius level intellects only are allowed entry to Nagatenjouki Academy, with many teenage students performing experiments alongside adult researchers or medical staff. As with most schools in Mirai City, some students have powers – but in fact Nagatenjouki has a lower percentage than usual of these, and has been unable to successfully produce a Level 5, despite its prestigious position.

Still, as a funnel for promoting research and keeping talented individuals within the city, Nagatenjouki remains a major player in Mirai City. Its grounds could be compared to a university campus, with multi-story buildings, quads, walkways, an on-site research hospital and nanotech research institute.

Okusuka Girls' School [18]

Okusuka Girls’ School is the premier all-girls school for exceptionally talented students. They only accept Level 4 and 5 students, making it a small but prestigious group. Like Nagatenjouki, it also has a large grounds, much larger than strictly necessary for the rather small small student population – who are treated much like the upper-crust of society by staff here.

Rikaken Academy [18]

Rikaken has moderately high entry requirements, both in Level and academically, and a complex social structure with the student body split into competing ‘houses’. Rumors are that bullying incidents under the radar of the staff are pretty common here, but nevertheless, this school is ranked as another of the top institutions in Mirai City, as two of the Level 5s (Ren and Keishi) attend here.

Takegaki High School [7]

A high school aimed at gently reforming delinquent teens, its leadership promote a schedule full of activities, as well as regular check-ins with the students. It also has a fairly strict Student Disciplinary Committee, who are allowed to hand out detention alongside the staff and has access to contact information for all students.

Yanagigawa Ability Advancement Academy [7]

Initially billed as a school that promised a success rate of over 95% in giving students abilities, it was found out to be essentially ‘doping’ the students with neurochemical extracts from mediocre performers from previous years. The school was shut down in its third year of operation after this was revealed by a curious subset of students.

Yanagita School of International Languages [5]

It doesn’t hurt to be bilingual in Mirai City, even though most signage and schooling is offered in both Japanese and English. This school specializes in crash courses: Japanese for English speakers and English for Japanese speakers as both daytime and evening courses for adults and after school programs for students. An additional 20 languages are offered as evening or online courses, mostly aimed at business and administration types.

CAFES AND RESTAURANTS

Beni [1]

One of the fanciest restaurants in the downtown area, this is THE place to go for Japan-focused business; and their dress code mandates traditional Japanese garb – though nobody will say much about, say, a more modern-styled kanzashi or earrings. They do have a rental service for kimono, in the case of a businessman surprised by the requirements, and for a fee you can rent an appropriate outfit for the evening and guidance in putting it on properly – although as might be expected, the added fee is exorbitant.

Dishes are high-end fare, and without a doubt the best Japanese restaurant in the city -- though in local popularity polls it’s consistently beat by the revolving restaurant, Beni has two Michelin stars.

Cafe Benzaiten [8]

A smart little cafe near the river, decorated in a crisp modern Japan/India fusion style and serving a wide variety of pastries, teas, and coffee. In the evenings, it often hosts poetry readings or music from smaller (usually acoustic) groups. Although invisible to most of the city’s populace, it’s a common meeting place for mages from out of the city.

Casa de Cocoa [7]

A cafe/shop specializing in Central and South American goods, especially coffee and chocolate. It’s easily the best place in the city to appreciate a truly fresh single-origin coffee. The owner, Keiko Benites, a Brazilian expat, doesn’t speak English (Portuguese and Japanese only) but is happy to give out free samples of coffee and offers a very popular chocolate sampler. There is also a small selection of clothing and fair-trade small gift types items like jewellery and decorative boxes.

Cheese & Crunch [7]

One of the many more ‘exotic’ culinary experiments, this pizzeria offers various unconventional insect, crustacean, and arachnid-based toppings, with scorpion and cheese pizza being their most advertised, though questionably most popular. How it remains in business is a mystery to everyone in the neighbourhood, since it doesn’t seem to be a passing experiment in the same way that so many of Mirai City’s establishments are.

Homestyle Family Restauarant [Various]

The most generic of the generic chain restaurants, but if nobody can decide what they want, usually a solid choice. Burgers, pasta, teriyaki, fries and shakes and tacos are typical menu fare. None of it is anything to write home about, but it’s not bad either, and great on a student budget. If it’s not busy, they usually don’t mind if students linger in the booths – but at suppertime, you might get a dirty look or two.

Kirakuen [16]

Although not strictly off limits to students, Kirakuen bills itself as a teahouse for more expensive clientele. This is where business arrangements are made, with the utmost in privacy taken into consideration. The place is designed as a traditional tea house, but actually is completely encircled by solid walls; the ceiling is a fancy LED panel display with grow lights for the exotic plants. The outside of the building is a Faraday cage, meaning that no electrical signals can make it out, and even with that, people asked to leave their electronics outside. A place designed to be serene and secure, to be sure.

Lamson's Conbini [Various]

Found throughout Japan, Lamson's Conbini offers all the usual Japanese convenience store goods, from umbrellas to magazines, sandwiches to dengaku, photocopy services to pay-as-you-go cell phones.

Mirai City Revolving Restaurant [1]

At the top of one of the tallest buildings in the city, this rotating restaurant is quite pricey but offers the highest-quality sushi and sashimi, as well as an incredible view overlooking the entire city. Most people coming here simply order ‘osusume’ - the chef recommendation. Chef (and owner) Suzume Hirosaki, creates tasty and elegantly artistic plates. The restaurant is considered to be especially beautiful at night, when staff dim the lights and the bright lights of the city below really sparkle.

Moonlight Market [15]

This vaguely Chinese-style night market comes to life after dark in one corner of the shopping district, with fresh fruit, drinks, and all kinds of tasty treats and random small goods. After curfew the alcoholic drinks come out as well, with small tapas stalls opening up for workers on their way home after a long day.

Nantokanare Cafe [8]

By day it’s a low-end cafe, serving old coffee and stale tea with fading posters. After curfew, it transforms into something closer to a dive bar, which suits the rundown atmosphere a bit better. There are few places to smoke in Mirai City, but the back room here is one. Rumors abound that if you know the right people, you can get in on games of poker, mahjong, or pai gow in the back on certain nights.

Nekotachi Nya-nya Maid Cafe [7]

A cat cafe with catgirl maids waitstaff – very literally here, since all the employees are all girls who got cat ear biomods (and in one case, a tail). Enjoy tea and pastries at absolutely exorbitant rates while surrounded by a bunch of absolutely spoiled cats as well. The cats all have a back room with a cat door they can use if they’re not feeling very social; unfortunately the wait staff don’t get to hav the same laissez-faire attitude to the customers.

Nurunuru Ramen [Various]

A chain of shops offering ramen, soba, and udon noodles, with stores all across the city. It’s cheap student food with no human involvement required – you buy your meal ticket from a machine after giving your order, then simply wait to pick up your soup from the automated serving counter. It’s not amazing, but as mentioned, it’s cheap, and orders are almost always correct. Sometimes they will have special deals on experimental flavours as well; students on a budget and a stomach of cast iron can stay very full indeed.

SHOPPING AND SERVICES

Americana! [15]

Yes, the exclamation mark is part of the name! This shop sells all things stereotypically American: cowboy hats, baseball and basketball goods. Although obviously they aren’t going to sell guns (there are plenty of military and weapons dealer type research outfits in Mirai City for that) they do sell paintball guns, paintball accessories, and fireworks.

Attached to the side is a large fast food outlet with cheap burgers, tacos, and hot dogs.

Dengeki Street [15]

Symbolized with a thunderbolt, the shape of the main zig-zagging street, this area of District 15 has every brand of cellphone, charging cable, indeed, any electronic good you could possibly need. The main drag itself is lined with mainstream electronics, from home appliances to cameras, computers to 3D printers and prefab robotics. Although cheaper deals can be found elsewhere in the city if you know where to go, this is a one-sto-shop kind of area. It’s also popular with visitors looking for a souvenir, and so most shop owners here make sure to indicate which displays are for out-of-towners. Branching out down the side alleys, layered into skyscrapers, are a vast variety of specialty shops, many going to far as to cover on a particular brand, material type, or era of a specific electronic.

The Elephant's Junkyard [10]

This junkyard is almost more like an antiques store, taking things thrown away that might still have some value to someone. Its branch in District 7 takes orders from students, but the main junk depot is in District 10. Sometimes, things that might actually be worth quite a bit, scrapped in the shutdown of some highly experimental lab, find themselves here.

The owner, Arash Zandi, is fond of enterprising young students and is inclined to ask about their projects and take orders or keep holds on new stuff coming in, on request.

Kawakaru Industrial Transport [11]

Specializing in heavy cargo containers and rail/ air shipping, Kawakaru does occasionally deal with smaller packages, though usually ones that began their journey to Mirai City through those industrial-scale transport systems.

Kaede Shopping Mall [15]

Fashion-forward, this outdoor mall’s street is lined with Japanese maples, making it a beautiful sight in the fall. Every big-name brand is present here, with a side street devoted to more experimental choices in terms of fabric and style, in keeping with Mirai City’s general inclination towards research and new technology.

From here, the surrounding shopping district’s streets devolve into a network of streetwear and techwear mingling with ideas from high fashion stolen for urban youth, forming the Yamiya Fashion District.

Kinza [16]

Much like Tokyo’s Ginza district, this high-end shopping street lies within the heart of the shiny shiny skyscrapers of District 1. All name brands, including very very expensive ones, from clothes to watches that cost $100K USD and more, are here. Despite the prices, there are still a surprising number of students who come here to shop after school – after all, there are some very wealthy parents that send their kids to Mirai City for the sake of the Power Curriculum.

Kitaoka Onsen [21]

In District 3’s hills, Kitaoka Onsen caters to visitors who want a luxurious bathing experience. The well-appointed hotel has an attached traditional open air (rotenburou) onsen pool, mostly surrounded by trees but with a full view of the city: an amazing place to go for a soak after dark.

Lin's Cybershack [15]

Discount cyberware! If you can get over the idea that it’s been in someone else’s body at some point, “Lin” (no first name given to clients) sells older refurbished cyberware here. She doesn’t install for students, and doesn’t have the latest and greatest, but she’s known to be reliable and discreet, and will replace or compensate if something installed doesn’t work as promised. She also does repairs for existing cyberware.

New Moon Boutique [22]

Belowground in District 22 is New Moon Boutique, a store selling every kind f ostentatious gewgaw, crystal, pewter dragon’s head, candles, and so on. Of course basically all this is junk, with the few useful things only good if you know what to do with them – and to top that off you can find better quality elsewhere if you do know what you’re doing.

Pyramid Mall [1]

“At Pyramid Mall, we’ve Got it all!” But usually at inflated prices. Located within District 1, Pyramid Mall is the main place for office workers to go for a lunch break, with a decently large food court that allows good sunlight coming in from the glass peak for tropical plants inside. It’s pretty quiet after about 5pm or so and closes early, with admin staff home for the night.

Shironeko Delivery [Various]

The most common courier service in Mirai City, with a logo of a white cat carrying a kitten in her mouth on a purple background. Their cube trucks and smaller electric smart vans can be seen all over the streets. Drone delivery is something that was experimented with, but less reliable than hoped, due to aerial interferences from students exercising their abilities and Skillout gangs crashing them for kicks or to steal packages.

Sunrise Shotengai [15]

Part of District 15, the Sunrise Shotengai is a huge area set up for only pedestrian traffic, although emergency vehicles can travel down the broader streets. At all of the pedestrian entrances there’s a spot you can tap your phone with an app to log your paces, as a little exercise motivation. Somewhat counter to that, on the other hand, is the ice cream plaza with vendors selling every flavour you can imagine (and a few you can’t).

Togashi Bio Clinic [15]

A very small, but very expensive little business, hhis private clinic is one of the few places licensed to install and remove aesthetic biomods. The procedure is relatively painless; a localized anaesthetic applied, and an organic ‘spike’ of nutrient-fed pre-programmed tissue injected. Over the course of the next few hours, the spike will grow into the desired form, but may take a few days to fill out fully; patients are encouraged to stay in a waiting area until the initial growth is complete in case there are any issues, so the waiting area has a TV and plenty of books and magazines.

The clinic also handles removal, although there are few cases of that so far as the screening process reminds people that getting a biomod is a little more than getting a tattoo in terms of dealing with it if you decide down the road you don’t like it.

Subground Mall [7]

This mall connects District 7 to District 22 through underground shuttles, providing some of the subterranean district’s emergency exits as well. That aside, this mall caters to the student population with the usual draws: a large food court, a theatre, several restaurants, trendy (or at least in style at the time) but cheap clothes, and an arcade. Most popular in poor weather and in the winter, with folks migrating in to stay warm.

Vending Machines [Various]

Placed all around Mirai City, vending machines usually carry a range of typical and also untypical foods – heated strawberry curry soup in a can has become hugely popular in the winter. Some around Dengeki Town also carry adapters, headphones, and other inexpensive but useful goods. A warning to students: most are equipped with alarms to detect tampering. Even if you have psi powers, that doesn’t mean you’re entitled to free snacks!

RESEARCH LABS

Eco-village [12]

Hardly a village in a traditional sense, this experimental highrise region of the city is something like what one might imagine for a high-tech elven settlement, with every surface crystal clear glass and plastic or covered in greenery. Close to District 3, visitors can take tour buses to enjoy the hypermodern parklike atmosphere and organically aethetic shape of the treelike buildings.

Kamakara Fusion Labs [10]

Research into nuclear fusion is also taking place nearby at Kamakura Fusion Labs. Highly secretive, the group here has successfully created large-scale fusion reactors with efficiency only improving as time goes on.

Special Ability Institute [10]

The Special Ability Institute (SAI) operated years ago earlier in Mirai City’s research into Power Curriculum options. The main goal, when established, was to identify a way to induce a ‘second’ ability in students, a hypothetical situation called ‘Dual-Skill’, and something that has hitherto not been observed. However, many of the experiments were horrific, often involving orphans taken in through the city’s social programs.

The first hints that something was wrong there were researchers ending up in hospital from clearly power-inflicted injuries, but it wasn’t until a whistleblower called in that Antiskill were able to raid the place, shutting it down for good and rescuing the remaining subjects.

Currently, the building is abandoned, marked still ‘Do Not Enter’ and surrounded by chainlink fencing – however, gangs have broken in through the back and vandalized the place. There are few remnants of its dark past, but bulletholes and some stains, and the small cell-like rooms in the basement remain to this day.

Vertex Biolabs [20]

An up and coming biomod and cultivar fabrication lab, Vertex is currently research-focused and has no products currently for sale on the market, but a lot of interest from the scientific and industrial community.

INDUSTRIAL

Keyspring Recycling Complex [19]

Keyspring Recycling Complex is a large section of the old industrial zone in District 19. Since the ground there was contaminated anyway by oil refining in the past, it was used for more complex forms of recycling – this facility does not take paper, plastic, or old electronics. Instead, it is set up to handle complex chemical issues. The plant is divided into three rough sections: biohazardous, radioactive, and petrochemical. A central administration set of building lie in the corner, and it has modest security, considering the toxicity of the chemicals worked with there.

Recently part of the radioactive containment region collapsed. The region is being monitored but so far there are no leaks of material known at this time.

Octex Incorporated [19]

A huge American megacorporation, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, but with significant subsidiary resources and investment within Mirai City. Their logo is a garish double octagram in greenish-yellow.

Vertical Affinity Hydroponics [4]

A set of tall buildings nestled in District 4. Inside each 12-story building are are variety of integrated vertical farming techniques. Large vertical tubes of green algae and seaweed purify water as well as produce nutritious materials, whereas stacks upon stacks of growth lights produce vegetables like carrots, spinach, daikon, bok choy, and other small scale produce, and some level are spread out encourage the vines of taller plants like peas and squash to grow upwards, with mobile platforms supporting fruit and robotic arms on tracks able to move about and perform pruning and trimming as necessary.

OTHER

Amagaoka Shrine [21]

Amagaoka shrine is the technically oldest building in the city, seemingly not subject to technology and progress’ demands of constant rebuilding. On a forested hill not far from the observatory, stone steps lead up to a traditional Japanese shrine. It’s a common meeting place for some, and although the aesthetics are a bit ‘retro’ considering the rest of Mirai City’s looks, it still has tidbits of the modern (including cleaning robots that scour the paving stones at night).

For magically inclined, it might be a good place to meet like-minded individuals, and if you are trying to track someone down, well you might be in luck if you ask the shrine maiden nicely.

They sell traditional fortune-telling paper slips, omamori, and so on, as well as do regular festival rituals, but as a lot of the city is more focused on the future and/or not even Japanese, so these are not usually well attended, except on New Year's.

The Banneryards [19]

The ‘Banneryards’ are a large section of District 19 that is essentially ruled by Skill-out; Antiskill does not patrol it, since investigations often lead to conflict, and with Skillout ready to use violent force. With most of them being youth, meeting lethal with nonlethal force can be difficult. Skill-out members have also modified the layout, constructing barricades, ripping down walls, and completely reconfiguring the inside of buildings, causing headaches for anyone who doesn’t know the lay of the land. So as long as there’s no major trouble, it is only a minor headache and can’t even be said to be fully lawless, since the gangs there enforce their own rules.

The “Banneryards” name comes from the large sheets and tarps, “banners” covering the streets and alleyways to protect them from aerial surveillance.

The Cave [15]

With a half nod to the tale of Amaterasu hiding herself away in a cave, ‘The Cave’ is a subterranean hangout for the few resident mages in the city, with access tunnels near the base of the hill the observatory is on, accessible either through the entrance behind a shop named “Amenoko Market”, or through the storm sewers.

The interior of The Cave is decorated with celestial imagery, with private rooms for meetings and a common area for larger discussions in a pleasant environment. As resident mages tend syncretic, there are all sort of oddities and more electronics than a more traditional type might expect, including a full satellite TV hookup and game consoles.

The entrance is warded to avoid being seen by the average person, but selected individuals can be allowed in.

The Hive [N/A]

In a quiet corner of the sewers, not even frequented by the Low-rollers or other students, a few more animal-like pekemono have banded together and formed a strange little community. This takes the form of a sets of wasp-like hives built onto the sewer walls, filled with irregular honeycomb-like storage units.

The pekemono will flee at the first sign of light or noise, leaving their ‘homes’ available to scavenge. Most are full of shiny garbage like Pocky wrappers or broken glass, or food scraps like the bones from fried chicken wings. But sometimes valuable little objects make their way down here, secreted away and forgotten.

Narasute Station [N/A]

An underground metro station that was never completed when plans for routing changed. Access to the tunnel leading to the station is closed off by heavy steel roller-doors, but of course rumors are always circulating that the station is actually in use for secret city projects.

NXT Makerspace [7]

A semi-private but exceptionally well-equipped space, NXT Makerspace is by application only – and the fees to be a member are ridiculous. But if you want a place to fabricate titanium pates on a CNC machine to armor your robot... you can find that here.