Vol 2 Chapter 3.1 (2/2)
Inukas.h.i.+ threw his head back and cackled.
”What was that for?” s.h.i.+on said in disbelief.
”'What was that for' he says!” Inukas.h.i.+ crowed. ”Haha, what a surprise! You fell right into that handshake, and you're turning on me and asking me 'what was that for'? Cla.s.sic.”
Inukas.h.i.+ showed his palm to s.h.i.+on, and bent his fingers slightly. A tiny needle-tip poked out of the middle of the ring. When he straightened his fingers, it retracted again.
”It's been used as an a.s.sa.s.sination weapon for ages. Well, the proper way to use it would be to coat the needle-tip with poison. But I haven't done anything to these, so you can relax.”
s.h.i.+on pressed hard on the base of his finger. He licked his dry lips, and opened his mouth in question.
”Why would you do that?”
”Oh dear,” said Inukas.h.i.+ exaggeratedly. ”Now he's asking me, why would you do that?”
Inukas.h.i.+'s gaze moved to Nezumi, who stood by silently.
”Haven't you taught this guy anything about how to live here?”
”That's not my responsibility.”
”You picked him up and brought him home, didn't you? If you're gonna pick up a stray, you gotta take care of him properly. He'll make himself useful one day.”
”I'm not so sure about that.”
Inukas.h.i.+ laughed again.
”If he doesn't, just eat him. Or is he―” Inukas.h.i.+'s gaze travelled to s.h.i.+on's hair. ”He's got interesting hair. Has he got issues, or what?”
Nezumi turned up the corner of his mouth and answered shortly.
”As many issues as the dogs you have. Too many to count.”
”Uh-huh. So the rumours were true. You really are keeping a young boy as a pet.” Inukas.h.i.+'s face turned serious as he stared at s.h.i.+on from head to toe. It was a bold and insolent gaze. The thin dog suddenly raised itself off the floor, and barked once. Two furry brown b.a.l.l.s came tumbling out of the darkness. They were puppies, probably a month or two old. Their noses and tails were tipped with white. The skinny dog lay down again, showing its belly. Its teats drooped pitifully. The puppies eagerly latched themselves onto them. Their round bottoms wagged from side to side.
”Wow, puppies!” s.h.i.+on exclaimed. He gently petted their backs so not to get in the way of their feeding. ”Wow, Nezumi, look. They're so soft. Why don't you try petting them too?”
”No thanks.”
”But look, they're puppies. So you're a mom, huh. It must be tough for you, raising all these kids.”
Inukas.h.i.+ furrowed his brow and retreated half a step away from s.h.i.+on.
”What's up with this guy? What's he doing having a serious conversation with a dog? Is he unbalanced or something?”
Nezumi pointed to his temple.
”He's a little vacant up here. It comes naturally to him.”
”Comes naturally, huh? Why are you taking care of this weirdo?”
”Like I said, he's got issues. And he might not look it, but he's pretty good with his hands. He can even pull off a simple surgery.”
”I don't care what he can do, I wouldn't have any of it. He'd never be anything more than a dead weight.”
”Couldn't have said it better myself,” replied Nezumi. ”So have you looked up what I asked you to?”
”Of course. A job's a job. Let's go upstairs.” Inukas.h.i.+ took his candle holder in his other hand and disappeared back into the darkness. There were more stairs. Like the ones before, they wound upwards in a gentle curve. These ones weren't crumbled as badly. The rubble was cleared with a s.p.a.ce just wide enough for a person to walk through.
”Oh―” s.h.i.+on murmured in surprise as they emerged at the top of the stairs.
A narrow hallway ran straight before them. There was a person curled up at the edge of the hall. Beside him were a pair of dogs. They had long white fur, and they were nestled closely against the person as if to protect him. s.h.i.+on squinted his eyes, and he could make out several more of these groups of people and dogs curled up together.
”What are these people doing?”
Inukas.h.i.+ answered over his shoulder.
”They're my customers.”
”Customers?”
”This place used to be a hotel, and it still is now. Rumour says this place used to be quite grand, but now it's just somewhere people can bunk for a bit of money if they have nowhere to stay for the night. We have beds, too. If you can cough up the cash, I can get them ready for ya.”
”What about those dogs?”
”I rent them out for heating. It can get pretty cold at night, but it's not so bad if you curl up with a dog or two like them. You won't freeze to death, at least.”
”So that's where 'dog-lender' comes from.”
”Dogs are useful for other things too. They'll collect information, guard your property, or carry your stuff. They'll do anything. They're probably much more useful than a natural airhead like you.”
Nezumi clucked his tongue.
”That's my line.”
At the very end of the hall was a wooden door. Beyond it was a small room, with a low ceiling and no windows. A round table stood in the centre of it. Inukas.h.i.+ placed the candle holder down, and spread an old map over the surface of the table.
”This map that Nezumi got his hands on is from around twenty years ago. This is my hotel here, and LK-3000 should be somewhere around here.”
”Latch Building isn't marked on this map,” Nezumi added. ”I asked Inukas.h.i.+ to look into that.”
He ran a finger lightly over the map. It was a casual gesture, but one of understated elegance. It was a movement calculated and honed to perfection, fully aware of watching eyes.
”What?” Nezumi tilted his head at s.h.i.+on's gaze.
”No― I just thought that sometimes you move really elegantly.”
”Huh?”
”Sometimes your gestures are really captivating. I couldn't help but stare.”
Inukas.h.i.+ looked up at them, his gaze alternating between Nezumi and s.h.i.+on's face.
”How can you say something like that in front of his face?” he asked in disbelief. ”Nezumi, this guy really is naturally oblivious. How do you put up with him?”
”I manage somehow.”
”s.h.i.+on, haven't you heard what this guy does for a job?”
”No.”
Inukas.h.i.+ thrust his open palm toward s.h.i.+on.
”If you pay up, I can tell you. Selling information is another one of my trades.”
”I don't have any money.”
”What? You don't? Nezumi, you're taking care of a penniless b.u.m?” Inukas.h.i.+'s eyes narrowed. ”So he has weird hair, he's an airhead, shakes hands without a second thought, and has no money― Nezumi, where did you bring him from?”
”Where do you think?”
”I'm asking the question here.”
”If you pay me, I can tell you.”
”Don't mess around,” Inukas.h.i.+ snapped. ”You're the one who should be paying up.”
Nezumi took out a small leather pouch from his pocket.
”There you go.”
The contents of the pouch fell on top of the map. It was a small, grey mouse.
”It's a mico-robot. It has audio and video recognition and recording sensors, and it's mounted with a solar-powered micro-battery. One charge will make it last for thirty-six hours. It can move around freely to gather information. You'll find plenty of use for the places your dogs can't get into. You were telling me you wanted one, right?”
Inukas.h.i.+ nodded wordlessly. He moved his head up and down in an exaggerated way, much like how a small child would nod.
”Are you really going to give this to me?” he asked.
”Yeah. If your information is worth it.”
Nezumi put the mouse back into the pouch again, and clenched it lightly. Inukas.h.i.+'s tone of voice sped up.
”Fine. I'll jump right to the conclusion. Latch Building doesn't exist.”
”Is that all you've got?”
”Of course not. It doesn't exist, but there's something that goes by that name.”
”Latch Building?”
”Latch Bill, and it's the name of a newspaper. A long time ago, there used to be a newspaper company by that name, right behind this hotel. It went bankrupt and got torn down to be made into a parking lot for this place. It happened before this map was made, which is why it doesn't exist.”
”So Latch Bill 3F means―”
”If it means the 3rd floor of that newspaper company, then―”
”Then?”
”I have no idea,” Inukas.h.i.+ said abruptly. ”There's no way for me to know what could have been on the 3rd floor of a newspaper that went out of business twenty-something years ago. You should meet up directly with the guy who has ties to that place.”
”There's someone with ties to it?”
”Yeah. I got the location of one guy who had ties to Latch Bill. And said guy also has interesting connections to No. 6. Listen carefully―”
Nezumi leaned forward. s.h.i.+on swallowed.
No. 6 was shrouded in the red glow of the sunset. Nothing was more exquisite than the sunset of late autumn. The man let out a satisfied sigh.
What beauty this was, what a tranquil scene. The Forest Park only days ago had been showing a vivid contrast between turning leaves and those that were still green, but now most of the trees had lost their leaves. It was a peaceful kind of beauty, of nature that was quietly preparing for the approaching winter.
He had gathered here the pinnacles of modern science; he had nature under his management, and the ultimate utopian city was nearing its completion. People were fortunate to be able to be born, raised, and live to an old age here. They were the chosen ones.
There was no such thing as misfortune here. Even the occasional hurricane that came upon them was an abundant source of natural irrigation that watered the agricultural and farming pastures that spread from East to Southern Blocks.
All it needed was a little more. A little more, and the land of the G.o.ds would finally be complete. A utopia, where only the chosen ones would reside. It only needed a little more.
”You really must love the view from here.” A voice said behind him, with the hint of a laugh.
”Wouldn't you agree that it's excellent?”
The man that had laughed silently shook his head in an expression of refusal. He was wearing a white lab coat.
”I prefer the micro-universe. The world of bacteria, microbes, neurons, macrophages, viruses. When you get to something like viruses, you're at the nanometre scale. You could only see them through an electron microscope. They're very beautiful, you know. The really beautiful things are things you can't see with the naked eye. There's only so much that your eyes can show you as is.”
”That's always been your mantra, hasn't it. You've been saying that for as long as I can remember.”
”It's my unchanging mantra.”
”And you also still drink strong coffee before and after supper.”
”That's another unchanging habit of mine.”
The men looked at each other and chuckled quietly. They had known each other for decades. They knew well what part of the other had changed, and what remained the same.
”So what now? I think it's about time.” The man raised his custom-made coffee cup. The coffee in it remained steaming and fragrant as if it had just been poured, thanks to the adjustment mechanism built into the cup. The man robed in the lab coat licked his bottom lip. It was his habit when he was immersed in thought.
”You're talking about collecting more samples,” he said.
”Live ones.”
”Yes, we've already collected a few dead sample bodies. But we can't say they're nearly enough, though. We want a few more.”
”If you want, I can find ways to go about it. How many do you need?”
”I'll report to you later with how many we want for each condition based on s.e.x, age, and history of illness.”
”That would be great. So how about the live ones? Do you want me to go into collection preparation?”
”No, I need more time.”
”Why?”
”The data from the collected samples is still incomplete. We're still running a.n.a.lyses and uploading it to the database. I want to flesh that out first.”
”It's taking unusually long for you. How rare.”
”If we were able to do it publicly, things would go much more smoothly. But doing this much under wraps is going to take double the time. I want you to keep that in mind. Besides, we should have entered the live samples stage only after the dead sample database was complete. That was an unexpected occurrence― we have to investigate as to why that happened in this stage. It'll all take time....”
”I know,” the man conceded. ”I'm not rus.h.i.+ng you. Make sure that everything gets carried out carefully, thoroughly, and perfectly. This is all connected to No. 6's future roots. Yes― and this is the final piece.”
”The final piece to make this place a Holy City in the actual sense, hmm.” The lab coat chuckled. ”Cheers to the Great Leader.” He raised his coffee cup lightly.
”And cheers to the Great Brain behind it all.” The man lifted his cup as well. There was a moment of silence. The man in the lab coat spoke with a slightly lowered voice.
”But is it really good to go?”
”What?”
”Collection of the living sample. I heard a certain Rat is with him.”
The man placed his coffee cup down, and wiped his lips with his fingers.
”It's just one rat. It should barely be an obstacle at all.”
”If you could get him alive as well― I'm interested in him.”
”You want to cut him open?”
”An autopsy, hmm. That would be rather nice. I would like to investigate every corner of his body. But before that― we need more samples.”
The man in the lab coat suddenly stood up, and began soundlessly pacing on the thick carpet. He strode impatiently, taking large steps with his hands behind his back. It was a bad habit of his that he had since he was young. Following the movements of the tall lab-coated man with his gaze, the man reclined deeply into his desk chair.
”Yes that's the main issue,” the lab coat continued. ”The total number of samples is severely lacking. We need more, Fennec.” Fennec was a nickname that had been given to the man when he was young. A desert fox. It had the smallest body and largest ears of its kind. Its ears, which could reach up to fifteen centimetres long, was not only well-suited for releasing body heat effectively, but possessed keen hearing ability that could detect even a gra.s.shopper hopping in the sand. He had also heard that, contrary to its cute appearance, it had a vicious personality.
It was not a nickname that he liked very much. He had not used it, nor been called by it for quite some time now. He had almost forgotten about it. But he didn't feel the same repulsion toward it as he did in his younger days. He even felt somewhat fond about it now.
Fennec. The desert fox. Not bad.
”We don't have enough living samples either. I'd want at least two, no, three more on hand. But that could be difficult....”
The man in the lab coat continued muttering to himself, and paced increasingly quickly. He was completely oblivious to everything else around him. He had probably not even realized that he had called the man Fennec. He had been like that since he was young. His research and experiments, his speculation, his satisfaction. It was only ever about him. He had never shown any interest toward things external to him. He showed no attachments to power, money or women. He had no need for faith, philosophy or morals in his life. A brain of rare intelligence and a vacant soul....
―Which is why he's useful all the more.
The man trained his gaze on the pacing figure clad in the lab coat, and smiled.
―You would have no use for a soul. If you did, it would only be to declare your loyalty to me.
The lab coat stopped pacing.
”Fennec, let's make another living sample. I want a female this time. It might be difficult. Yes, at this stage it will be very difficult... but that's why we should prepare one ahead of time.”
”Let's do it.”
”There's a great risk of failure, however―”
”Failure and sacrifice are all things we must go through in order to gain progress. Don't worry, we'll be able to overcome it to hold the final piece in our hands.”
”I guess you're right,” the lab coat agreed.
”Let's have supper then, shall we? This probably won't pique your interest much, but I've had it all prepared, and the main course will be lamb. I've also a remarkable wine to go with.”
”And coffee after the meal?”
”Of course. But I beg you, at least take off that lab coat while we eat.”
The man lightly clapped the lab coat on the shoulder. Then he gave a sidelong glance at the scene out his window. Beyond the pane of thick, spotless gla.s.s, the stars were beginning to twinkle.
Notes
My own translation; most j.a.panese and English sources seem to take this quote in an ominous way, but I preferred to use the more optimistic interpretation of s.h.i.+rane, which interprets the pa.s.sage as, because humans shapes.h.i.+ft, anything goes.
s.h.i.+rane, Haruo, & James Brandon. Early Modern j.a.panese Literature: An Anthology, 1600-1900. New York: Columbia UP, 2002. 57-58.
Original source:
Ihara, Saikaku. Saikaku Shokoku-banas.h.i.+. 1685. (back)
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