Dead Businessman, Mutant Fish, and a Sex Scandal? Seattle's Biotech Elite EXPOSED
Date: 2086-06-12 By: Jaxon 'Zero' Rook
Zero (host): I’m just saying man, these kids are frying their brains. You got people out there chipping BTLs like it’s candy. Simsense loops of the wildest drek.
Zev Shank (guest): Come on, Zero. You ever chipped a platinum-rated full-sense gourmet run? You are the chef. You feel the knife. You taste the umami. Why wouldn’t I want that for fifteen nuyen?
Zero (host): Because your brain’s not a fragging flash drive, man! It wasn’t designed to simulate a six-course meal, two emotional breakups, and a knife fight all in one lunch break!
Zev (guest): That’s just innovation Omae. You sound like an old wage slave yelling at kids to get off the AR lawn.
Zero (host): I am that guy. I’m that guy with a neurostabilizer and a tinfoil hat saying ‘Maybe don’t cook your frontal lobe on a black-market sex-baking hybrid simchip!’. Now for a little true crime segment.
Zev (guest): (laughing) Alright, grandpa. What’s next, telling us the matrix gives you cancer?
Zero (host): Nah, just brain rot and bad taste in fashion. But speaking of bad endings—it’s time for our True Crime segment.
Zev (guest): Oh frag yeah, this is gonna be good.
Zero (host): You hear about the Kurogawa murder?
Zev (guest): Yeah the fish guy, wasn't it the assistant that did it? Hardened ex-con right?
Zero (host): Only if you believe the corporate news media, but here at the Zero Zone podcast, we like to do our own research isn't that right.
Zev (guest): Lay it on me. What really happened?
Zero (host): For our listeners who don't know, Gendo Kurogawa ran Kurogawa BioDesign & Imports. Real high-end drek. Their latest project? Designer gene-modded fish for the ultrarich. Few months back, KE finds him dead—floating in his own fish tank. And get this—one of the fish stuffed in his mouth.
Zev (guest): What a way to go. What’d he do to get his assistant that pissed?
Zero (host): Like I said—that’s just what KE wants you to think.
Zev (guest): Right, right. My bad. Continue, detective.
Zero (host): Outside of messing around with fish DNA, Kurogawa was also a bit of a playboy. If the rumours are true, he was fraggin everybody. His employees, business partners, everyone.
Zev (guest): Ha ha my man! Can't say I fault him, if I could I would.
Zero (host): That's why you hit the BTLs so much....
Zev (guest): You know it!
Zero (host): Anyway, people have speculated on various matrix forums that it was actually a spurned lover that did him in and that the assistant was just scapegoated by KE to get the case closed.
Zev (guest): Well if he was fraggin that many people, who do they think it was?
Zero (host): Ah, this is where the dots start connecting. Matrix sleuths are saying it wasn’t the assistant at all. The real suspect? A former lover and business partner—Mirieille Fontaine. Wealthy, connected. And guess what? Days after Kurogawa’s death, she ghosted. Out of Seattle. Just like that.
Zev (guest): (almost spits out his glass of water) Oh come on, that’s textbook! Rich lady walks, poor assistant takes the fall. Classic fraggin’ setup.
Zero (host): Welcome to the sprawl, chummer.
Zev (guest): Bulldrek, man. Absolute bulldrek.
Zero (host): Alright, that’s all we’ve got time for today, chummers. Stay off the chips, watch your six, and remember—just because the news says it’s true doesn’t mean it ain’t bought and paid for. Speaking of shady sponsors—this episode of the Zero Zone Podcast is brought to you by DocWagon Platinum!
Zev (guest): (mock dramatic voice) "Because sometimes, living is optional—but extraction isn't."
Zero (host): Exactly. Whether you're bleeding out in a Redmond alley or having a little too much fun with your new ware, DocWagon Platinum will drop a team on your ass faster than a KE patrol at a SINless protest.
Zev (guest): Terms and conditions apply. Like, you know, being rich enough to afford it.
Zero (host): Or at least having a relative who still cares. Anyway—big thanks to DocWagon for keeping us from flatlining before our next episode.
Zev (guest): And to all our listeners—slot out safe.
Zero (host): This is Zero, signing off from the Zone. Stay loud. Stay weird. And stay awake.