Vol 1 Chapter 3.1 (1/2)
[Novel] NO. 6 - Vol 1 Ch 3 (a)
These are English translations for the novel NO. 6 by Asano Atsuko.
CHAPTER 3
Flight for Life
s.h.i.+on inserted his ID card into the card reader of the Park Administration Office. The door opened soundlessly, and the air filtration system and temperature control started up. There was no one inside the office yet. It was odd that Yamase was not here already. s.h.i.+on turned on the switch of the park administration system. It was the start of another work day.
”Good morning.” An image of City Hall, The Moondrop appeared along with the greeting. ”Your unwavering allegiance to the city―”
He placed his hand on the image of the Moondrop and recited slowly.
”I pledge hereon and ever my unwavering allegiance to the city of No. 6.”
”Our grat.i.tude for your loyalty. Engage in your day's labour with sincerity and pride as a good citizen of the City.” The Moondrop disappeared, and was replaced with a report of the living conditions of all the organisms in the Park. s.h.i.+on breathed a sigh of relief. The daily allegiance rituals had become a source of discomfort for him. Although it was among the farthest branches, Park Administration Office was still under direct affiliation with the City. All employees were required to pledge allegiance to the City every morning. If they refused, they would lose their job.
It was no big deal. All he had to do was cast his hand over the display, and recite the same words. s.h.i.+on tried to brush it aside, but the worn and ba.n.a.l words of the pledge, and the sheer ridiculousness of the ritual itself always filled him with disgust. And for repeating this ba.n.a.l and ridiculous ritual every morning, s.h.i.+on's injured pride stung. He remembered Safu complaining of the same thing. The laboratory where Safu worked also operated under the City, so an allegiance ritual was mandatory as well.
s.h.i.+on lightly blew on his palm. It was no use complaining. As long as he was to be a citizen of No. 6, as long as he was going to continue living here, it was no use fretting about pride. So he kept telling himself.
The office door opened, and Yamase came in. Behind him stood a woman who looked about in her twenties. Yamase called over to her softly, but she shook her head, bowed slightly, and left in a hurry. She was a small woman with long hair.
”I see...” s.h.i.+on stopped his hands over the control keys and turned to stare into Yamase's square, angular face.
”It's rare to see you with a woman, Yamase-san. Could she be―” He went on to say 'your girlfriend', but promptly shut his mouth. Yamase was sitting at his control panel, reciting the pledge of allegiance to the city. His expression was tense. s.h.i.+on could tell from his face that this wasn't the right time for teasing.
”Yamase-san, is something the matter?”
”s.h.i.+on, that lady...” Yamase paused, and turned to s.h.i.+on. ”She's the wife of yesterday's body.”
”Huh?”
That would make them a couple of enormous age difference. No. 6 had no strict regulations for marriage, as long as it was between two consenting registered citizens. Even if the couple had not gotten an official marriage certificate, it was not a problem. The problem was more with whether they would be able to prepare an appropriate childrearing environment if they were to have children. Childbirth was not permitted for people who didn't meet the city's criteria of standards. s.h.i.+on didn't know what those criteria were. Nevertheless, people were free to marry, and a couple or two with this much age difference was nothing out of the ordinary.
”She says they're only three years apart,” said Yamase quietly. s.h.i.+on didn't understand. ”He was three years older than her,” Yamase repeated.
”Three years... but―”
Yamase nodded. ”That body was only 31 years old.”
”No way!” exclaimed s.h.i.+on incredulously. ”That can't be. That body was an elderly man, no matter how you look at it.”
”Yeah,” said Yamase heavily. ”I was surprised too. But the body hasn't come back to the madam since. They're keeping it over at the Bureau.”
”Keep? So you're saying an autopsy wasn't enough to find out how he died?”
”I guess that's what it means.”
They couldn't find the cause of death. s.h.i.+on couldn't imagine a cause of death that No. 6's front-line medical technology couldn't decode. Medicine had long had full bearings on organism a.n.a.lysis to the nanometre scale. An average cell measured approximately 20 micrometres. A micrometre was 1000 times larger than a nanometre. Any disease at the cellular level should be more than easy to find and a.n.a.lyze.
s.h.i.+on felt a chill. Abnormal rigor mortis, its dissipation, and the body it left that was unmistakably that of an elderly man―what did it all mean? He didn't know. At present, Yamase's low voice spoke again.
”The madam was told that he died from an accident in the park, and to wait for further notice until they figure out his cause of death. She came here today asking if she could at least see where the accident happened.”
”Accident? Bulls.h.i.+t!”
”You're right, it's a load of bull. Them telling her it was an accident is a huge lie,” Yamase replied, and scratched his neck vigorously in irritation.
”Yamase-san, why does the Bureau have to lie about it? And isn't it strange that they can't seem to find a cause of death?”
”Yeah... this incident is full of unanswered questions.”
”If the Bureau can't explain it, could it be a cause of death that's never had any previous case?”
”No previous cases?”
”That man died from something that was completely unknown up until now, something no one's experienced before ― is that possible?”
”s.h.i.+on! What are you...” Yamase trailed off. His face was pale. s.h.i.+on figured his own face must look the same.
”Let's have some coffee, shall we?” Yamase suddenly stood up as if he couldn't bear the tense atmosphere any longer. s.h.i.+on hastily stood up after him.
”Oh, let me―”
”No, I'll do it. You like lots of milk in yours, right s.h.i.+on?”
”Thanks.” s.h.i.+on paused. ”So―but anyone could look at the body and tell it wasn't an accident, right?”
Yamase turned toward him. His usual gentle face was strangely contorted.
”Yamase-san?”
”s.h.i.+on, bodies can be modified.”
”Huh?”
”I―” Yamase stammered. ”Before I started working here, I used to work at the Munic.i.p.al Central Hospital. My job was to modify dead bodies.”
”Modify―what do you mean?”
”I wasn't planning to tell this to anyone, but...” Yamase hesitated. ”s.h.i.+on, have you ever seen a dead body before?”
”Once, at a funeral for my grandfather on my mother's side. I saw his body in a coffin at the viewing.”
”How was it?”
”How...? He looked peaceful. Don't they all look like that?”
”You think so?”
”Are you saying they don't?”
Medical technology had made enormous progress not only in the fields of disease treatment and prevention, but also in the removal of pain. Technology of the present day could remove anything, whether it be from accident or illness, ranging anywhere from pain during surgery, to breathing trouble, severe pain and seizures experienced in the moments leading up to death. People ended their lives free of suffering, and all died with peaceful expressions on their faces. That was what s.h.i.+on had been told.
Yamase handed him a cup of coffee. He lowered his gaze and bent his neck to scratch it, as if to avoid s.h.i.+on's gaze.
”All this about front-line medical technology goes right over my head,” Yamase said slowly. ”But all I know is that... no matter how much technology develops, it's impossible for everyone to die a peaceful death. That much I'm sure of.” Yamase's face contorted even more. The hand which held his own mug trembled slightly.
”I worked for a long time in the bas.e.m.e.nt of the Central Hospital. My job was to modify the bodies that were brought there.”
”Yamase-san, so what's this about modifying bodies?”
”It's an easy job. When the body's been confirmed dead and brought down, I would coat its face with a special chemical and cover it with this apparatus. And then―”
”Then?”
”Then it would smile. All of them did. They would all look like they were having some wonderful dream.”
s.h.i.+on almost let out a cry. It was just as Yamase had said. He was nine years old when he saw his deceased grandfather's face, and he had been smiling.
”It's almost like he's having a wonderful dream,” he remembered his mother whispering through her tears.
”Of course,” Yamase continued, ”the majority of people that die don't need to be modified. They're all people that have been able to get proper palliative care, and have really died a peaceful death. But it's still only a majority ― not the entire population. There are a small number of people, though, that die tragically, their faces all stiffened up in pain.”
”For example―?”
”Huh?”
”What kind of people die like that, Yamase-san?”
Yamase exhaled shortly, and drained the rest of his coffee. ”I don't know. My job was only to coat the faces with the chemical and cover them with the apparatus. I didn't know why these people had to die with such suffering and sadness in their faces, and no one would tell me.” He paused. ”But― there was this one time, a middle-aged man was brought in... I usually have to wipe the face before applying the chemical, and I noticed that the man had tear streaks on his face, and ― and I thought ― maybe he'd been crying right up until he died. I wondered if he'd been crying the whole time while he was dying. And then I just had this thought that― maybe this man had killed himself.”
”Killed himself? A citizen of this city―?”
”You think it's impossible?” Yamase asked flatly.
”Of all causes of death in the last ten years, suicide has only been 0.05%. And most have been impulse cases due to temporary psychosis, so they technically don't even fall into that criteria. According to the city's statistics, anyway.”
”According to what the city has published as statistics, yes,” Yamase rephrased.
Despair did not exist in No. 6. All citizens lead a secure and hospitable life. There was no starvation, no war, no anguish. Not even any pain in the moments leading up to death.
You guys have been programmed to think this holey mess is the ideal utopia.Nezumi had spat these words out four years earlier. Now, s.h.i.+on was experiencing its reality word for word. Lost Town was full of people who had abandoned hope. They had enough to eat, and enough to keep living. But they had no hopes for the future. Lost Town wasn't the only place―maybe the same could be said for Chronos. How many people could die with a real smile on their face, and say they've lived a fulfilling life?
”Yamase-san, are you saying that the Bureau is manipulating information?”
”s.h.i.+on!” Yamase warned, knitting his brow and shaking his head violently. ”Don't say stuff like that out loud. We've been hired by the City. We've pledged allegiance. We shouldn't be talking about our suspicions. I don't know what's gotten into me. Forget everything I said. Just forget it.”
”Alright,” s.h.i.+on replied uncertainly.
”Right then, let's get Sampo and the rest moving. Where were the main regions today?”
”Areas JK02 to ER005. Mainly cleaning up foliage.”
”Alright, let's get to work.”
”Right you are.” They began to tap the control keys for the robots. Yamase gave a short grunt of pain.
”Yamase-san?”
”Ah, it's nothing. It's just―my fingers are strange.”