[ Ash's assumptions aren't personal and based more on his past than on current actions. People don't help him without asking a price and that price has normally been sex. Lately, with Eiji, Max, and the others, he's had more positive experiences, but old habits aren't easy to kill.

He sits in silence, listening. The words paint a moving picture. Someone worse came into play and made the officials reflect on their own actions. As if they were really better, forcing people to come to a city that pushed them into roles that could either degrade or force others to be degraded. The world is full of grays, but some are darker than others. ]

I couldn't find a lot out about the government. How often seats change, that kind of thing. [ Admittedly, he'd just arrived. ] When politicians change, so do ideas.

[ Ash takes another large drink of beer. It's a familiar feel sliding down his throat, but he wouldn't have been too angry at something harder. Maybe when he finds his room. ]

Slut Center, Zoos... You ever been to one?

[ He's asking about punishment. Ash expects he'll end up in one or the other. Maybe both. ]