#loreic loredump

Very long, lore heavy post

[Spoilers obviously]

Okay so not sure if this has been done before but, this is basically a compilation of everything that we know on how pet-humans are produced/sold plus my own analysis.

We know for a fact that there are three main ways humans are sourced in the ALNST universe:

Human modification centers/Human editing shops 

Foster homes/Family sales 

Auction houses 

+ Illegal factories 

(*not sure what the exact terminologies are exactly cause they seem vary according to translators but eh)

1. Human modification centers/Human editing shops

Examples: Till, Mizi, Sua

So first we have human modification centers, which do seem to be where the segyein typically adopt (read: buy) their pet-humans. The aliens who source their pets from these facilities also seem to come from all classes (e.g. Urak - businessman, Nigeh - influencer, Shine - ???) so I’m guessing modification centers are your typical commercial pet shop. 

We see baby Till being sold at a 50% discount so we do know they are sold pretty young, and that prices are probably based on whatever characteristics that the aliens deem favorable. But what I find interesting is the fact that these centers are called human modification centers (or editing shops in some translations), which hints that these kids do go under some form of modification before being sold. It’s most likely behavioral, kind of like a puppy training center, but I’m wondering if it could possibly include visual and genetic modifications too. 

I mean Mizi’s hair is pink even as a child ffs. You can’t tell me that’s normal.

We also know that Till was being cared for by his mom for a little while before he was separated due to the potential he demonstrated as a singer, which makes me think that most the kids that end up in modification centers are basically either A) produced in an in-house factory for that specific center or B) produced in an off site factory on a contract basis before being shipped off modification centers once they’re old enough.

Considering Io has a notch in her ear, which just gives me a heck ton of livestock vibes, and this specific image we got from Till’s comic I’m leaning more towards Option B. Baby Till also looks like he’s being shipped off in a giant crate which I’m guessing is a shipment to the modification center where he eventually meets Ivan. 

The providers look like they’re kept in tiny cages, and the whole vibe of the factories is giving puppy mill/commercial mass production. The fact that there are human mothers at all suggests that most factories that supply the products to the modification centers probably produce their products the old fashion way, with not much cloning/growing-artificially-in-alien-pods involved (probably to keep production costs low).

2. Foster homes/Family sales 

Examples: Hyuna & Hyunwoo 

Okay so there is almost no info on foster homes at all, but we do know that their main selling point seems to be the fact that they produce actual biological siblings that can be bought together in sets, which seems to be a novelty amongst the aliens (e.g. Sua and her ‘sisters’). They remind me a ton of amature dog/cat breeders – the sort that produce specific, fancy breeds and sell litters straight out of their backyards rather than go through pet stores. 

We know extremely little about the conditions in foster homes, but I’m guessing products are also produced the traditional route, but this is wholly speculation and being artificially grown in tubes seems just as likely (assuming the aliens running these things have access to such technology anyway). Either way, the conditions are probably slightly better than factories. Considering Phan (who is canonically some kind of alien aristocrat) ended up buying Hyuna and Hyunwoo, I’m guessing products produced in foster homes are most likely sold directly to middle and upper-class segyein, or possibly produced on a by-order basis. 

3. Auction houses 

Examples: Luka, Ivan (technically)

Right, so we’ve established that Luka is basically a human version of an inbred pug, having a bunch of traits that the aliens have deemed desirable at the cost of his health. The official art also lists his birthplace as an auction house, which suggests that these facilities have to be capable of producing humans at some capacity rather than just being a place where all the high quality pets with favorable genetics are sold. 

I’m guessing they’re sort of an extremely exclusive, overpriced version of foster homes that cater to the upper classes. The products they produced are probably the highest quality money can buy (think competition grade racehorses with ridiculously long pedigrees), and are sold to the highest bidder.

We don’t really know where this particular scene in Wiege takes place, but chances are that it’s either in some facility owned by Heperu or the actual auction house where Luka was born/created. We also don’t technically know for sure yet if Luka is actually a clone, or if he just happens to be the progenitor of the clones he accidentally murdered, but either way I’m guessing that products produced at auction houses would most likely be produced and grown artificially to ensure optimum genetics. Considering they cater to the upper class I wouldn’t put it pass them to offer exclusive services like cloning to their clients. 

Auction houses do seem to also function as a place where illegal products are sold. We still don’t really know how Ivan ended up being auctioned off, considering we saw him with Till in the modification center when he was younger (I’m suspecting Unsha might not actually be his first or even second owner, and that he was first illegally sold to the modification center, bought and then resold at an auction), but this particular shot of him is definitely giving underground, black market auction.

My theory is that the auction houses are either split between legal auction houses (like the ones that made Luka) and illegal caution houses (the one Ivan ended up in) or more likely that they have both legal and illegal sessions exclusive to the wealthy.

4. Illegal factories 

Examples: Ivan 

So Ivan’s birthplace is listed as the slums, and we do know that he was produced illegally. How is pretty vague, but the implication is that they are illegal human factories up and running in the shadier parts of town. Ivan doesn’t seem to know his birthday either, which probably means his documentation is shady af. We don’t know exactly if pet-humans have to be registered, but seeing that illegal humans are a thing, they probably have to be and Ivan was not. 

Considering we got this from his album cover, I think it’s safe to say that conditions are the worst out of all the places to possibly be born in the ALNST universe (rip Ivan, you deserved so much better). I’m assuming it’s supposed to reflect illegal puppy mills, where costs are kept as low as possible and the only goal is profit (I don’t even wanna picture the horror Ivan’s provider probably went through). Though it ended up being a trademark of his, I’m also thinking his snaggletooth might have originally been some sort of production defect that the aliens just never bothered fixing, considering he was technically supposed to be a low-quality product. 

Building on that, I’m guessing the main clients of these illegal factors are modification centers (similarly to how some pet shops would unethically source their animals), but considering some translations list Urak and Unsha as shady businessman I’m thinking illegal human trade is probably pretty rampant too, and some of their products are sold directly to lower-class segyein for cheaper prices. 

5. Bonus: Strays 

Not the actual term for the rebels but that’s what the rebels/humans without owners essentially are in this universe – strays. We see a bunch of kids in the rebel base in Wiege, which makes me wonder if they are kids that the rebels freed from captivity/picked up randomly during missions (case in point Dewey), or if they happen to be the children of the stray humans.