The Silk Moth Dream (Season 1 Complete)

EPISODE 2: SOME NIGHTS

Fiona's face is lit up by the monitor, her hands busy typing away. All of the students have left by now and which is when she usually starts working on... her second, slightly less legitimate, moonlighting career.

She swipes through countless profiles. Gang members, politicians, landlords... there are charming faces she recognizes from the news and regular ones, too, that she might mistake for a long-forgotten uncle or teacher from another life.

She studies each profile carefully, trying to discern any kernels of their personality or wealth through various snapshots of their life. Even though she knows she should hate them all, hate this job and why she has to do it, some part of her can't help but be dazzled by their profiles.

She always ends up scrolling through hundreds and hundreds of faces, until her sight blurs and swiping gets robotic. It is at this point, often past midnight, that Fiona starts to feel a little sick with herself and her perverse fascination with these profiles. After all, she isn't picking someone for marriage. Shorter their encounters are, the better. The best outcome would be if they never meet again.

She picks one at random. Adranuch Cao, who sports a 6-figure pair of Doc Martens that Fiona could never dream of affording in the paparazzi photos. Across all of her social media profiles, Fiona finds a fundraiser for the "Anti-Terrorism Coalition", which is working to target and prosecute those who may have aided in this morning's demonstration. A true philanthropist.

Adranuch Cao is a rare-breed in this day and age. A socialite. An influencer. Physical beauty long lost its value as currency when the Obsidian Tortoise popularized advanced surgery that makes anyone beautiful. Adranuch must be doing something right. Fiona bites her lip and tries to quell her racing heart. She's found her target.

As Fiona pulls up information on the different banks that Adranuch patrons, violent expletives rattle her eardrums from the alleyway outside. "Get the fuck back here!" someone shouts. She draws her windows shut. It could be a number of things, all of which she would most likely not want to get caught up in.

Even though it's not relevant at all, Fiona can't help but pull up all of Adranuch's socials across her monitor. In one corner, a blurry photo the tabloids caught of Adranuch at an Azure Dragon club, messy lipstick and glossy eyes. In another, a photo of Adranuch Cao and Daniel Chen, the most popular candidate in the Sacramento elections, during their brief relationship. He leans over her tiny frame and whispers something in his ear, both of them smiling at something only they know. One of Daniel's hands cannot be seen from this angle. An article about how the daughter of a casino empire has been investing in various properties, "ambitious beyond her years".

The shouting continues and now Fiona realizes that the government-run Compliance Order is outside her window, something that doesn't bring much relief. She can hear them harassing some passerby, not unusual at this time of night. "Resisting arrest violates Section 135 Article III of the Sacramento Declaration," a voice repeats over and over in a mechanized boombox, accompanied by a wailing alarm.

Fiona plugs in her over-ear headphones, her most treasured possession that her father left behind. They probably go for over $20,000 now. She puts them over her head very carefully, trying not to damage the foams. Instantly, the world mutes and Fiona feels a blanket of peace drape over her entire body. Back to Adranuch Cao, who banks at the Sacramento First Bank. Easy. Fiona's been in and out of their systems thousands of times.

The wailing alarm still cuts through Fiona's headphones which makes it hard for her to focus. Fiona takes a closer look at the Sacramento Times profile of Adranuch Cao, which highlights all of her groundbreaking achievements despite being a part of one of the first waves of refugees when Asia first began to collapse.