Brahman World Cuisine

**Brahman World Cuisine** (無国籍料理 ブラフマン, *Mukokusekiryōri Burafuman*), known more frequently as **Brahman**, is a location featured in *AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES - nirvanA Initiative*. It is partially the real world counterpart to the Somnium world Necessary Intervention, and also appears in flashback in New Investigation and Novel Ingress.

It is a small fusion restaurant that was originally located in the Yotsuya neighborhood before it relocated to the packed streets of Golden Yokocho. The restaurant has been managed by Gen Ishiyagane since its inception. Gen is also the only employee, though Iris Sagan and Amame Doi are known to offer their help from time to time.

The restaurant is a popular attraction, with its cooking highly praised by multiple characters. That said, Gen is known to be erratic with how he runs it, only opening when he feels like he can serve his best meals. In 2030 he lost the key to his freezer, and so each morning he goes to the market to stock up on fresh ingredients that he can no longer freeze.

Brahman is a rival restaurant to Matsushita Diner, another popular restaurant located in the Shinagawa District, with Gen often disparaging Ota Matsushita's cooking.

## History

In *nirvanA Initiative*, Brahman was first mentioned chronologically on February 11th when Kuruto Ryuki met with Iris and Amame at Sekiba High to discuss the Half Body Serial Killings. Gen arrived at the school to pick them up for work, leading to a discussion about the restaurant. It was revealed that Amame, Iris, Ryuki, and Kaname Date were all frequent patrons of Brahman. Amame and Iris complimented Gen's cooking, saying it was just as good as the cooking at Matsushita Diner, which prompted Gen to complain about the quality of the food there declining ever since Ota took over for Takero Matsushita.

***WARNING!!***
***This article contains spoilers for*AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES - nirvanA Initiative *from this point on.Proceed with caution!***

Later on, sometime during the 11th or the morning of the 12th, Amame came to Gen with the left half of a corpse that her father, Andes Komeji, had stolen from the rooftop of Misetan. She didn't want to get rid of it but she also didn't want the police to find it, so Gen took the body and hid it in the freezer at Brahman, then threw the freezer's key into the ocean. Gen went to the Harbor Warehouse District afterwards to calm down and found a balloon there that he accidentally popped. He then ran into Bibi, who was looking for the balloon as part of Tearer's puzzle. Solving the puzzle would've eventually led to the corpse in the freezer being discovered, so Gen lied about him finding the balloon and the piece of paper inside of it. Bibi realized he was lying later in the day and confronted him at Brahman, threatening to get a warrant to search the place if he didn't follow her back to ABIS. Not wanting the freezer to be opened, Gen went to ABIS and acquiesced to a Psync that gave Bibi the information she was looking for.

On the 13th, Gen closed up Brahman early since he couldn't find ingredients that he was satisfied with, and instead went to hang out with Amame at Marble. There he met Ryuki, who discovered that Lien Twining was a close friend to Gen and a frequent patron of Brahman. On the 15th, Gen was working at Brahman when Ryuki burst in and told him that Amame's best friend, Kizuna Chieda, had gone missing. Gen immediately left to go search for her. Ryuki was concerned about leaving the restaurant open, but Tama pointed out to him that the cash register was basically empty as a result of electronic payments becoming the standard.

Six years later, sometime on February 10th, Kaname Date arrived at Brahman after having gone missing for six years. He wanted to conduct an investigation independent of ABIS, and so convinced Gen to let him work at Brahman while wearing a Gen costume. A drunk Ryuki saw both versions of Gen before one left to buy miso and the other chased down a dine-and-dasher. While they were gone, Mizuki Date arrived at Brahman in search for Ryuki. Upon finding him blackout drunk, she hauled him off to ABIS to Psync with him.

On February 12th, a sober Ryuki arrived at Brahman to ask Gen some questions relating to the president of Naixatloz, Tokiko Shigure. Unbeknownst to him, the Gen he was talking to was Date, who didn't know who Tokiko was. Amame was also at Brahman, feeling depressed due to being blackmailed into working with Tokiko. Using a song that the real Gen had written for Amame, Ryuki was able to cheer her up, and she deflected his questions about Naixatloz and Tokiko until he left.

In the early hours of the 13th, Date asked Lien to use his lockpicking skills to open the freezer at Brahman. Inside they discovered the corpse that Gen had been hiding for six years. Gen found out that they'd broken into the freezer, and was in a bad mood when Mizuki arrived at Brahman later in the day to talk to him. Despite this, Date continued to pretend to be Gen on the 14th, when Ryuki peeked into Brahman while looking for Amame.

The next day, the 15th, Mizuki was brought to Brahman by Bibi so that she could explain all of Brahman's secrets: about the corpse hidden in the freezer, and about Date pretending to be Gen for the week. The group then worked together to pin Amame as one of the culprits of the case, leading to her getting arrested. Gen was heartbroken and temporarily closed Brahman, only opening it back up a week later on the 22nd. When asked about it, Gen explained that he would keep working hard so that Brahman was still in top shape when Amame was let out of prison.

In Gen and Amame Route, on the 14th, Mizuki discovered in Lien's Somnium that Gen was keeping a corpse in the Brahman freezer. She then took Lien to Brahman and got him to unlock the freezer, revealing the left half corpse of an unfamiliar person. Amame then arrived at Brahman alongside Date disguised as Gen. He couldn't explain to Mizuki why the corpse was in the freezer since he didn't know himself. The group were then alerted to the arrival of the SAT, and Mizuki and Date stepped outside to take care of them. Once the real Gen showed up, and the squad were taken out, the whole group moved to Yoyagi Park, where it was explained to Mizuki how the corpse had ended up in the freezer in the first place.

## Design

Brahman World Cuisine is a small, two-story building, designed similarly to the buildings surrounding it but with a higher first floor. The exterior wall is green with stylistically asymmetrical white markings running along the top and bottom. The red, green, and white sign for the restaurant is hung above the door, with the same design visible on a signboard just outside. The door is covered in a variety of small, colorful posters. To the left of the door is a barrel with a chalkboard sat atop it, detailing Brahman's lunch menu, while on the right is a tall plant, with another plant on the other side of the window looking into the restaurant. Multi-colored string lights are strung up along the top of the wall and the surrounding street lights, which are turned on in the evening. The second floor has a balcony with a small railing that protrudes above the entrance.

Entering the restaurant, the back right of the room is taken up by the kitchen, divided from the seating area by an open, L-shaped bar counter. Inside the kitchen are various counters with a sink, chopping board, pots, and various bottles. A stove sits on one counter, and on top of it are frying pans, a wok, and a large pot. Against the right wall is a shelving unit containing various spices and sauces that are used for cooking. Next to the shelving unit is a blue plastic trash can. In the back wall is a door leading into a walk-in freezer.

In the seating area, at the back left corner, is a refrigerated case for drinks. Eight red bar stools line the bar, four along each side. Small menus and bottles are placed atop the bar. At the front left corner of the restaurant, next to the door, is a barrel with a small houseplant on top of it, and an empty beer case next to it. On the other side of the door, at the front right corner of the room, are two extra tables for customers. Each table has four blue stools and a small menu.

The restaurant has wooden floorboards and textured yellow walls with a dark blue, flowery design running along the bottom. All along the left and back walls are colorful posters and collected license plates. On the right wall is a chalkboard with the menu written on it and a large picture of the Hindu god Ganesha. More multi-coloured string lights are hung up along the left and front walls, with many colorful lanterns hanging from the ceiling to provide more light.

## Staff & Customers

### Staff

* Gen Ishiyagane (owner)
* Iris Sagan (volunteer)
* Amame Doi (volunteer)

### Frequent Customers

* Kaname Date
* Kuruto Ryuki
* Mizuki Date
* Bibi
* Iris Sagan
* Amame Doi
* Lien Twining
* Shoma Enda
* Andes Komeji

## Item Dialogue

* Counter
* Table
* Chair
* Blackboard Menu
* Menu
* Houseplant
* Mug
* Oil Drum
* Posters
* Beer Case
* Refrigerated Case
* Ganesha Picture
* Door
* Freezer
* Alcohol Bottle
* Kitchen
* Spices
* Cutting Board
* Kitchen Knife
* Sink
* Large Pot
* Wok
* Trash Can
* Glass

### Counter

* Default dialogue:
	1. *It's a counter.*
* 2/12: Traveler, during the 6:30 PM investigation segment:
	1. *Nothing suspicious here.*

### Table

* Default dialogue:
	1. *A table...*

### Chair

* Default dialogue:
	1. *A round stool.*

### Blackboard Menu

* Default dialogue:
	1. *A list of recommended dishes.*
* 2/12: Traveler, during the 6:30 PM investigation segment:
	1. *It doesn't matter right now.*

### Menu

* Default dialogue:
	1. *The menu.*

### Houseplant

* Default dialogue:
	1. *A houseplant.*
* 2/11: Pass Mildly Away, during the free move investigation segment:
	1. **Aiba:** (Mizuki, look! It's a Hispella testacea!)
	 **Aiba:** (Yay! Go, little Hispella testacea!)
* 2/12: Traveler, during the 6:30 PM investigation segment:
	1. *Not here...*

### Mug

* Default dialogue:
	1. *It's a glass mug.*
* 2/10: A Strange Tale, during the 10:10 PM investigation segment:
	1. *Mugs on the table...*
* 2/12: Traveler, during the 6:30 PM investigation segment:
	1. *It's a mug...*

### Oil Drum

* Default dialogue:
	1. *An oil drum.*
* 2/11: Pass Mildly Away, during the free move investigation segment:
	1. **Mizuki:** (Hey Aiba, can you do that thing?)
	 **Aiba:** (\*sigh\* Fine. But just once, okay?)
	 **Mizuki:** (Mhm!)
	 **Aiba:** (Hello, I'm Drum-aemon!)
	 **Mizuki:** (...)
	 **Mizuki:** (I see...)
	 **Aiba:** (What's with that weak reaction?!)

### Posters

* Default dialogue:
	1. *There are posters and flyers stuck to the wall.*
* 2/12: Traveler, during the 6:30 PM investigation segment:
	1. *It doesn't matter.*

### Beer Case

* Default dialogue:
	1. *A beer bottle case.*
* 2/12: Traveler, during the 6:30 PM investigation segment:
	1. *No...*

### Refrigerated Case

* Default dialogue:
	1. *A refrigerated case... Mostly alcoholic beverages inside.*
* 2/12: Go, during the free move investigation segment:
	1. **Tama:** (Don't drink them.)
	 **Ryuki:** (I know...)
* 2/12: Traveler, during the 6:30 PM investigation segment:
	1. *Nothing suspicious here.*

### Ganesha Picture

* Default dialogue:
	1. *A picture of Ganesha.*
* 2/10: A Strange Tale, during the 10:10 PM investigation segment:
	1. **Aiba:** (It's a picture of Ganesha, the Hindu god.)
	 **Aiba:** (Ganesha is worshipped as the god of wealth, especially by merchants.)
* 2/12: Go, during the free move investigation segment:
	1. **Tama:** (It's a picture of Ganesha, the Hindu god.)
* 2/11: Pass Mildly Away, during the free move investigation segment:
	1. **Aiba:** (I guess you might say there's an...elephant in the room.)
	 **Mizuki:** (Wow. That was remarkably unfunny.)

### Door

* Default dialogue:
	1. *The restaurant door.*

### Freezer

* Default dialogue:
	1. *The freezer door...*

### Alcohol Bottle

* Default dialogue:
	1. *A liquor bottle.*

### Kitchen

* Default dialogue:
	1. *The kitchen.*

### Spices

* Default dialogue:
	1. *There are seasonings from various countries lined up.*
* 2/12: Traveler, during the 6:30 PM investigation segment:
	1. *It's just normal condiments. Though some of them...aren't normal.*

### Cutting Board

* Default dialogue:
	1. *A cutting board...*

### Kitchen Knife

* Default dialogue:
	1. *It's a kitchen knife.*

### Sink

* Default dialogue:
	1. *The sink...*
* 2/12: Traveler, during the 6:30 PM investigation segment:
	1. *Nothing here.*

### Large Pot

* Default dialogue:
	1. *It's a big stockpot.*
* 2/12: Traveler, during the 6:30 PM investigation segment:
	1. *Nothing off here.*

### Wok

* Default dialogue:
	1. *It's a wok.*

### Trash Can

* Default dialogue:
	1. *A trash can...*
* 2/12: Traveler, during the 6:30 PM investigation segment:
	1. *It's a trash can. We need to take the top off to look inside...*
* 2/12: Traveler, during the 6:30 PM investigation segment (with X-ray):
	1. **Mizuki:** There it is...
	 **Aiba:** (A popped balloon.)
	 **Aiba:** (But X-ray will not reveal the color.)
	 **Aiba:** (It could be a coincidence.)

### Glass

* Default dialogue:
	1. *It's a glass with Oolong tea in it.*

## Gallery

Brahman World CuisineBrahman World Cuisine at nightBrahman World Cuisine in the snowBrahman's position in Golden YokochoThe interior of Brahman, as seen from the tableThe interior of Brahman, as seen from the doorThe interior of Brahman, as seen from the back left cornerThe interior of Brahman, as seen from the kitchenClose-up of the chalkboard menuGen cooking in the kitchenBrahman filled with customers, showing off the menu and foodRyuki drunk at BrahmanOne of Brahman's specials, a "snake-inspired intestine soup, squeezed nuts wide-legged old man's whisper sunfish volcano style, old spirit impact"Brahman as represented in New InvestigationBrahman as represented in Novel IngressThe sign for BrahmanBrahman's poster of Ganesha, the Hindu godVarious posters and license plates that are put up in BrahmanThe chalkboard menu at BrahmanThe table menu at BrahmanThe menu given to customers at Brahman
## Trivia

### Etymology

* "Brahman" is a term in Hinduism that refers to the highest universal principle: the infinite truth and consciousness that never changes but is the cause of all changes. Notably, Brahman as a concept is opposed to Buddhism, which is a recurring theme throughout *nirvanA Initiative*, most notably in Naixatloz's desire to achieve enlightenment. However, some schools of thought posit that the Buddhist concept of *nirvana* is similar to the Hindu concept of *brahman*.
	+ Gen seems to fear change, and both he and Brahman are a constant in the plot of *nirvanA Initiative*. Despite being unchanging, Brahman ends up serving as an important location that hides a major discovery for the Half Body Serial Killings.
	+ The rejection and similarity between *brahman* and *nirvana* could reflect how Gen is acquainted with Naixatloz, and has lost his emotions in a manner similar to those who are indoctrinated into the Naixatloz philosophy, but ultimately does not abide by their ideals.

### General

* The sign for Brahman features two lines intertwining around each other. This resembles a DNA strand, which is a recurring theme in *nirvanA Initiative*.
* It is unclear what the second floor of Brahman is used for. It could possibly serve as a storeroom, or it could be a small apartment that serves as Gen's place of residence. In "2/11 Mizuki Chapter 1 - Pass Mildly Away", Gen tells Amame that she can rest "in the back" if she's feeling unwell. There are no other doors in the main room of Brahman besides the entrance and the locked freezer door, and the main room itself is too small for someone to lie down, so it's possible that Gen was referring to the second floor when he said this.

## Navigation

 Locations | **Tokyo**
*Chiyoda District*: Police Headquarters (Boss's Office, Psync Room, Interrogation Room) • Sunfish Pocket • Sekiba High
*Chuo District*: Horadori Institute of Genetics (Underground, Hostage Room) • Naixatloz Japan Branch (President's Office, Cathedral)
*Koto District*: Harbor Warehouse District • Date Residence
*Minato District*: Studio Dvaita • Aioen Orphanage • Ikume Shrine • Kumakura Office • Sejima Residence • Central Hospital
*Shibuya District*: Lemniscate Entertainment Offices • Yoyagi Park
*Shinagawa/Kabasaki District*: Matsushita Diner • Sagan Residence • Enda Residence • Kabasaki Chemical Plant
*Shinjuku District*: Golden Yokocho (Marble, **Brahman World Cuisine**) • Misetan Department Store • Tokyo National Stadium
**Side Ryuki:**
Dispossessed • Anyone Imagines • Ought to Know • Nothing to Be Done • Go • Farewell
**Komeji and Shoma Route:** Joy for Anguish • I Found Me • Past Its Ken
**Explosion Route:** Smiles for Tears • Well-Known • The Mind of God • Not All A Dream • She Was the Universe
**閭｡陜ｶ荵句､｢邱ｨ Route:** 遐ｴ邯ｻ逋ｾ蜃ｺ • All This Happened, More or Less
**Side Mizuki:**
Alone • Pass Mildly Away • End Where I Begun • Traveler • Left Behind • The Expense of Spirit
**Gen and Amame Route:** All Living Things • Of Arms and Of Man • Who's There • All That We Are
**Kizuna and Lien Route:** Bid the Soldiers Shoot • Sweet Silent Thought
**Resolution Route:** Hell • Visions • In Truth • Births • The End of Craving • Braver Than All Flowers