The streets were only awake at night.

During the day there was poverty and violence, hate and fear. The skyscrapers were a maze of untold dangers and gang activity beneath a sky hazy with neglect from the corporations that pumped poison from their factories. But at night, the whole world changed. It was as if the mechanical beast was awakened, each building becoming a haven for anyone who desired a good time. An escape. A chance to live, even in a world where that was a frightful escapade.

Here was an office building turned nightclub; here was a car rental advertising slot machines; here was an alley stuffed with dancing nobodies... what slept during the day thrived at night, filling the sky with a different sort of pollution: light. Strobes littered the sidewalk, thudding and searing the air to the beat of various speakers' emissions. Everything was moving as you strode amongst the crowd, looking for a spot to waste the night like everyone else. You passed a dozen tempting establishments, most of which you'd haunted in nights past. You'd lived in this city your entire adult life, making money just to spend it after hours... by now, you'd just about seen it all.

Finally you halted by a rather grand bar area, which appeared to be a run-down coffee shop when the sun was up. You were checking the drink menu when a tall, broad figure shadowed your right side. When he regarded you, you could hardly hear him above the roaring of music and chatting patrons. "May I buy you a drink?" he inquired serenely, peering down at you with a feline smile which complimented his rich fur ensemble and catlike eyeliner. He looked wealthy, judging by the golden decorations that littered his figure--more wealthy, at least, than most people could claim these days.