This is Ling Yù. Here, the Sino-Tibetan nations are a superpower.
This is the Illinois Delta. Of its many islands, only five are inhabited. They're either very big, under-populated, or both.
This is Island 16, the northernmost of the five inhabited islands. Across this one, many factories burn fuel, and blow smoke from their chimneys. Some of them get their power from the Great Lake itself.
Between many of these factories, railroads run. As trains travel them, they blow smoke from their locomotives' stacks.
From far and wide, the machine tools of these industrial parks make much noise. The finances of capitalism erect much...and they won't stop here.
Here, we have the city of Ottawa. It's a capital of sorts...but not of the Canadian States. It's the capital of this island. Here, many companies run their HQ. From Ottawa, much industry is commanded.
Tonight at the stadium, a basketball game is on. Tonight, the Ottawa Bulls take on the Tennessee Grizzlies.
The crowd makes noise. Big fingers are pointed. All over the court, ten tall men dribble an orange ball around. Every now and then, it flies through the air like a cannonball. More seldom, it falls through a hoop from which a cone-shaped net hangs. The crowd cheers, each time the Bulls do this.
From the sidelines, the Bulls' cheerleaders cheer them on. They all wear gorgeous uniforms. They've all got many male admirers, of course. Alas, now's not the time to dwell on that. Their team needs to win this game.
A man in a bull costume dances around, codepending both the team and the cheerleaders. In some ways, he seems out-of-place...but some people appreciate him.
From the front row, a busty blonde cheers, and shouts daring things to both teams. A few times, she dares lift the tail of her shirt, and reveals a rather lewd Sharpie-written message to her team.
Around her, a few people seem critical of her. She'd better hope that number doesn't get bigger. But then, it's probably better that it doesn't. This gorgeous noble blonde is Caroline Mulford, a daughter of queens. She's a party girl bent on destruction. Rumor has it, alas, that her parents are trying to get her into an Ivy League school; either Brown or Yale...or both.
As the Chinese cheerleaders cheer, they wag their butts at fans. Hence, a lot of local males have bought tickets for these rows.
Among them, Ted the Geek sits. He's very lucky to have gotten a ticket...and he's even luckier to have gotten a ticket from where he can ogle the Chinese cheerleaders' butts.
Alas, there's a reason he's here. The truth is, he didn't buy his ticket. He traded it...in exchange for a bet. Some doubting critics of his want him to get physical with one of the Chinese cheerleaders. If he doesn't, then... Well...the Geek doesn't actually KNOW what'll happen, if he doesn't bring back proof of the physical contact. But whatever it is, he'll owe them a basketball ticket, for sure. Again, he didn't buy his ticket for tonight...and there's a reason for that.
It's almost halftime. The Geek's first chance is looming. And he's got NO idea how to get started...