Sector 8 slums

The Sector 8 slums is a location in Final Fantasy VII Remake Trace of Two Pasts. Located beneath the Sector 8 plate of Midgar, and neighboring the Sector 7 slums, the slums are home to a number of shady individuals under and run by Mr. Manson and the Manson Crew, was where Tifa Lockhart resided after being nursed to health in a clinic within the Sector 8 slums, before she moved to the Sector 7 slums.

History[]

Lodgings for construction workers in the Sector 8 undercity begun being built around 1976 when Mako Reactor 8 was complete.^{[note 1]} In 1976, when the city's construction was complete, the lodgings in Midgar's undercity were opened to low-income citizens due to the number of people emigrating, and piles of waste began to accumulate around the slums.^[1] This waste included a number of old cargo containers made of wood and iron that were originally used for transport by truck to haul materials during Midgar's construction. The containers were repurposed into buildings that became Container Row.^[2]

Mr. Manson, ran his business, Sector 8 Steamed Buns, for close to 40 years before 0002.^{[3][note 2]} He named himself "Pops" when running the business. At some point, Rashard Zangan came to the slums and took on Rakesh Oranye as his student. Zangan would visit every three-four months, but would complain about the smell each time.^[2]

Tifa was taken to the Sector 8 slums in 0002 to Dr. Dhamini Oranye's clinic, as he wanted to avoid sending her to the Shinra Building where she had been offered beds.^[4] When Tifa was discharged in December and in debt to the clinic, Rakesh set her up with an apartment in Container Row and a job for Sector 8 Steamed Buns. He told her that Manson prevented her from moving out of the row until she had paid her debts,^[5] but secretly had overcharged her to pay off his own debts to Manson, and was giving rules claiming they were from Manson when Manson had not agreed.^[6]

Jessie Rasberry, who had befriended Tifa, came to the Sector 8 slums looking for her help after Avalanche had come under attack. Shortly after, Shinra sent troopers to interrogate Container Row, operating on information that they were sheltering Avalanche members. After a violent interaction, Tifa beat up one of the troopers, which the Watchman, the bouncer at Container Row, killed with a knife. The Watchman was then removed from his post after.^[7] Manson later had the Watchman removed, with Rakesh filling the position.^[8]

Tifa and Barret Wallace eventually learned that Tifa had been scammed by Dr. Oranye's clinic, and learned Manson's identity as her employer. Tifa then beat up Rakesh, getting her remaining debts forgiven.^[6]

Geography[]

In comparison to the Sector 7 slums, the Sector 8 slums was considerably less cluttered.^[9] The slums also stunk of a number of smells, of which many were not identifiable, but identifiable smells included dust, sweat, iron, and spice.^[2]

Sector 8 Undercity Station[]

The Sector 8 Undercity Staiton was where a number of carts selling food are set up.^[10] There are seven businesses here. The most notable is included Sector 8 Steamed Buns, Mr. Manson's business where Tifa worked, which sells buns known for being sweet and spicy, guaranteed to make customers think of home. Sector 5 Steamed Buns is a direct competitor, selling easy-on-spices buns. The others are "perk-you-up" Sector 6 Skewers, "fancy" Slum Sandwich, "health-conscious" Veggie Soup, and the Spicy Noodle (new during the time Tifa worked there).^[11]

Sector 8 Steamed Buns was Mr. Manson's business, and had with an office and kitchen based in decommissioned railcars in abandoned lots near the station.^[12] The buns sold were made using Mr. Manson's mother's secret recipe: buns containing lettuce and an unknown meat, which takes customers back to "younger years".^[13] The business was open from 6:30 AM to 8PM.^[14] For optimal performance, the business aimed to make and sell one bun every 28.8 seconds during the 480 minutes of peak time. Most customers looked primarily for speed in their order, but Mr. Manson also differentiated by using sex appeal.^[11]

Container Row[]

Container Row is a neighborhood tightly run by the Manson Crew, and is located within an alleyway with a narrow entrance from the main street. The neighborhood comprises twenty old cargo containers made of wood and iron that were repurposed into buildings by residents. The row was home to alley cats, and a poor smell due to the sewer wastewater flowing through the alleys.^[2]

Some of the containers on the row are used for an apartment complex, fitted with small windows and doors. The apartment costs 15 gil a month, which includes rent due to mako reactors providing cheap electriy, and is furnished but with basic furniture. The complex has a communal bathroom, rather than individual bathrooms, but charges to use it. The complex was watched over by a man named the Watchman—a man described as "neighter young nor particularly old" and having "deeply tanned, weathered features"—and the Waterkeeper (whose real name was Aisha^[15])—a woman described as hunched and "on the cusp of old age".^[2]

Dr. Oranye's clinic[]

Dr. Oranye's clinic was located close to Container Row. The clinic uses the latest medical technology and drugs from Shinra, having a direct relationship with them.^[16] Among its specialties are the ability to repair piercing wounds and patch them with skin grafts, as seen both with Tifa^[17] and Marle. However, it was also unethical in using photos of patients for the medical community but doing so without patients' consent,^[18] and in overcharging patients by as much as three times what their actual procedure costs.^[6]

Society[]

Because of a lack of running water at homes making cooking a difficult option for most residents, eating out was the norm in the slums, particularly food that could be eaten on the go.^[19] The Sector 8 slums had three rushes a day: a morning, afternoon, and an evening rush. There were two hours in the morning, three hours for the lunch rush in the afternoon, and another three hours prior to closing.^[14]

Notes[]

Annotations[]

Citations[]

References[]

• Studio BentStuff (2020). Final Fantasy VII Remake Material Ultimania [Book]. Square Enix. ISBN 978-4-7575-6869-3.
• Kazushige Nojima (2023). Final Fantasy VII Remake Trace of Two Pasts [Book]. Square Enix. ISBN 978-4-7575-7348-2.