So, why funny animal cyberpunk? I suppose it was the apparent contradiction in the term. Cute fuzzy critters in a hard, grim, decadent future. The absurdity of the concept just wouldn't let me leave it alone. My first shot at it was a lame Blade Runner/Soylent Green spoof that never went anywhere. The urge came up again when I drew up a punkish vixen in a leather jacket as a cover submission for Furrlough. The cover idea was never accepted, but I liked the character, and used a variation of it as a supporting character in a story for Take Off #1, where it appeared under the title, "The Butterfly Effect". When I decided to try submitting a story to Furrlough, the idea of funny animal cyberpunk emerged again, and so did the vixen, this time named Pi after Pi Thunder from the anime Dangaio. All I had to do now was figure out what to call the story.
Kevin Jepson is a gentlemen who has been very active in Calgary SF fandom, and every year at Con-Version he runs an excellent get-together called Ye Olde Nazgul Tavern. One of his specialties is a potent beverage he calls "Zaibatsu Tears". Don't ask me what's in it, only Kevin knows, and he's not telling. The name perfectly suited the tone of the story, so I asked his permission to use it, and then his wife, who it turns out originally came up with the name. And the rest, as they say, is history.
