A Christmas in Neo-Manila [OPEN][SIGN-UP FIRST][IC]

[Qhevak]

3rd Floor
Little Moscow Mall

---

"Excuse me. I'm from the Kawanese Embassy. Would you consent to being recorded for a very brief interview?"

The query startled Akane from behind as she sat on a food court bench, busy searching for local spots on her smartphone. She'd landed last night after a grueling 21 hour 2-stop flight from LAX, and an even longer but much more comfortable 1-month starflight on the MLV Calming Ambience, which would be returning to a easily accessible fractal Earth iteration in a couple weeks after finishing missions elsewhere. Under her very effectively AI constructed cover as a Japanese-American student taking a gap year following graduation from CalTech, that gave her plenty of time to spend a break in this country.

She was a young woman of average height, twenty since a month, with long black hair, and an ethnicity close enough to Asian to pass as such. She was presently dressed inconspicuously, with a light grey sweater and jeans, a far cry from her usual attire but one that was useful for her current wish to not stand out too greatly.

"Eh, sure!" She nodded, smiling slightly. "Not like I have much else."

"Do you have an idea as to how Christmas is celebrated in Bengal, either from books, mangha, anime or video games?" and "What do you think sets Christmas in the PAS out when compared to Bengal?"

She frowned. Wasn't Bengal mostly Muslim? The thin diamond strings of her neural lace still encircled her brain, inconspicuous as they were, and she could have had the answer with a thought - but half the point of this vacation was to avoid such things, try spending some time in a place where all needs couldn’t be resolved with the flick of a mental switch. So she didn’t, tried to rack her brain’s own memory, and came up hapless.

“Out of luck on the first, sorry!” she answered.

“But for the second… I’m from the states, and I’ve only been here for a day, so I can’t say much more. If I had to guess, I’d expect with the more, um, socialist culture they’d put more of an emphasis on the… communal aspects of gift giving as opposed to the, uh, religious and consumerist aspects - (and that's certainly something i have experience with) - but that’s a guess, really!”

She smiled and sat back, hoping that little bit of bullshitting would be enough to satisfy them.

[Great United States]

the traffic was exhausting,but vern eventually arrived at the laurel district,he paid the driver and got out of the car ,he looked around in amazement,such a hyper active city,he headed to a hotel and booked a room,had a small conversation with the front desk employee,and went back to the streets,he ran hastily through the traffic whenever it stopped,he arrived at a mall, he could feel the AC's air ,he headed inside and decided to explore

[-Astoria-]

Once standard procedures were out of the way, Neo-Manila opened up to Jack. A few cafés and restaurants stood in the perimeter of immigration. A recreational area with an indoor park and a small exhibit stood at the center of the airport plaza, underneath a glass ceiling from where natural light could seep in. A MagLev train ran under the Arrivals complex and there were a few duty-free stores that set-up shop in and around the airport that were accessible to him as well.

The hustle-and-bustle of Neo-Manila life made it seem like every person knew where they were going, and they did so expressionlessly. Crowds of people of all Asian ethnicities strode undeterred in colored facemasks to where they needed to be. Jack had well and truly reached the Pearl of the Orient - it was a city that never slept and was always on the move.

'This would be a great establishing shot', Jack mused, producing a small GoPro camera, which he then used to record a panoramic view of the arrrivals section.

Once he had finished, he now had to make a decision as to how he was going to get to the hotel; earlier, he had noticed a number of trains passing underneath where he stood.

Outside, the exit awaited. Taxis lined up to serve guests whose hotels were within the same district. Skyscrapers gleamed in the distance, outside the window, distantly gleaming in the December Tagalog sun.

There were also a stream of taxis waiting on the forecourt, with many coming and going to a myriad of destinations unknown. A decision had to be made, and Jack appeared to have chosen his.

'You know what? At least I'll get there a bit quicker...', he wondered, pulling his bags with him towards the exit.

A couple of mements later, Jack briefly considered regretting that action while approaching the taxis, as it took some amount of time to get used to the abrupt transition between the air-conditioned interiors of the airport buildings to the unending purveyor of heat that was the midday sun which lay in wait outside for travellers who had lulled themselves into comfort.

He approached the nearest taxi that appeared vacant, looking around as to where its driver may be.

[Bengal and Assam]

~SNIP~

continuation

---

Serbisyong email ng QQ|MAIL.QQ.COM

From: suyeon_nancy23@mofa.gov.kw
To: aang_sophon@politiburo.go.pa
Subject: Embassy Christmas Event- Help please

Dear Aang,
I'm Nancy Suyeon, the Cultural Officer from the Kawanese Embassy. We've met at the May Day party at the Kawanese chancery in Makati.
Its been quite a while since we last met. I hope you've been doing well.

I'm writing this correspondence out of a need for assistance from someone who knows the PAS and is well connected. Given that I'm more or less still new here, you came first to mind.
If I may explain the situation. The embassy is planning an open door Christmas event that will double as a sort of cultural exchange between Bengal and the PAS. Mainly the unique bits of Christmas celebrations in Bengal and the PAS.

However, the problem is that we really don't know how Christmas is done here, nor do we know anyone who has an idea of what sets Christmas in the PAS apart. Therefore, with 5 days left to the deadline, we do not have much done, aside from certain preparations.

I know that you may be busy through the holiday given your position. But do you have anyone in your connections who may be able to help us?

Sincerely,
Nancy Suyeon,
Cultural Officers, Public Relations Department, Embassy of British Kawa