A bar in Milwaukee's Bay View where the only light comes from bioluminescent cats. Not metaphorical cats, not holographic cats — actual living felines that have been genetically modified to produce bioluminescent proteins in their fur, casting a soft blue-green glow that illuminates the space with the intensity of a dozen nightlights. There are fourteen cats, they roam freely, and the light level in the bar depends entirely on where the cats choose to be at any given moment. If three cats decide to sleep in the corner, that corner glows; if a cat jumps on your table, you can suddenly see your drink. The rest of the room exists in a shifting, organic darkness that no lighting designer could replicate.

The cats were created by a rogue geneticist named Dr. Yumi Lindgren-Asante who was attempting to develop bioluminescent organisms for Shelf lighting applications and ended up with cats because, as she explains it, "the feline genome was cooperative." The bar was an afterthought — Dr. Lindgren-Asante needed income to fund her research, and it turns out people will pay good money to drink in a room lit by glowing cats. The cats are healthy, well-cared-for, and completely indifferent to the humans drinking in their light. They have names — Photon, Lumen, Candela, Flux, and ten others — and regulars have learned to read the room by reading the cats: when the cats are active, the bar is bright and lively; when they sleep, the bar descends into a warm, near-dark intimacy that feels like a secret.