Revelation

Later that evening, Vincent was in Katze's car as he took him home. He sat in silence for a bit, before asking "Omaki Ghan, he's the owner of the Taming Tower?"

Katze glanced at him briefly. "Yes, he is. Is that going to be a problem?"

Vincent frowned, "He's not planning to...have me tortured, is he? You seem to know him. What is he like?"

"Omaki is quite a bit of a deviant, yes. He does have a penchant towards discipline but he is known for treating his own pets quite well. His current pet is a Xeronian named Enyu". Katze replied. " One thing though is that he fucks his pets, even though it is technically forbidden to do so, so you might want to take that into consideration".

Vincent looked a bit alarmed at the statement, and he stared at Katze wide-eyed.

Katze noticed and smiled slightly "You're really a virgin, aren't you?"

Vincent blushed and looked away.

"I must say, I find it strange for a mongrel to be a virgin. Sex is practically a currency in Ceres. Are you a prude or are you just picky?"

"Perhaps I am picky, but you can hardly blame me. Other mongrels are always chasing after me. You saw it yourself, earlier today. Perhaps if they were actually interested in a relationship instead of a quick fuck, I would be more receptive" Vincent replied, brushing his hair from his face.

Katze laughed "Relationships like that are rare in Ceres. A 'quick fuck' is 99% of all relationships in Ceres. You really don't sound like a mongrel".

Vincent was quiet for a moment. They were nearing the Midas/Ceres boundary line.

"To tell you the truth, I'm not full mongrel. My mother was a discarded pet", Vincent stated.

Katze looked a bit startled at this revelation. "Yeah? No shit? How'd that happen?"

"I'm pretty sure you know that pets that are no longer wanted by their masters are sold to Midas brothels and open clubs. My mother was one such pet. But eventually even they start losing their beauty and the brothel my mother was sent to eventually discarded her as well for that reason."

Vincent took a deep breath, before continuing,"No other brothels in Midas would take her in because they said she was too old so out of desperation, she looked to Ceres. Since women are rare in Ceres, it was easy for her to pick up work, even if she was no longer up to Midas standards and she eventually became pregnant from one of her clients and I was the result."

Katze couldn't help feel a stab of guilt as he listened to Vincent's story. One of the dark sides of the pet system is that eventually pets lost their looks and desirability after a time and were often discarded like broken toys. One of Omaki's jobs was relocating old pets into brothels and open clubs but no one really talked about what happened to those pets once they were too old for even a brothel.

"So I take it that's one of the reasons you dislike the idea of being a pet?" Katze inquired.

"Partly. It's also the reason that I feel too guilty about stealing to survive. My mother didn't want me to resort to that. That's also one of the reasons I don't just want a one-night stand. My mother's whole life at that point was 'one-night stands' and while it provided her with a living, she was always miserable." Vincent replied glumly.

They had pulled in front a large building, one of the few in Ceres that had electricity. "This is where you live, isn't?" Katze asked.

"Yup. I'd invite you in but I'm sure it wouldn't suit your fancy palate", Vincent teased.

"It's just as well. I've got to get home to Daryl".

Vincent shut the passenger door and turned to go inside.

"Just one last question. Where is your mother?" Katze asked, curious.

Vincent paused in the doorway of the building.

"She died," Vincent said shortly, before closing the door behind him.