[nama]
by issen4
Not a real fish
***
Hikaru, a child of the technological age, who had grown up playing games involving the adventures of an Italian plumber and who regarded the microwave oven as a basic cooking appliance and the common mobile phone as an extension of himself, had a tendency to adopt a blasé attitude when it came to inventions of the modern age.
He was, after all, also playing professionally a game that had been invented before the printing press, and he was haunted by a ghost who had existed since the days of the Heian era. The way Hikaru saw it, old or new, there was nothing he couldn't deal with. After all, hadn't he successful navigated the internet (forgetting for a moment that he had then needed the help of Mitani's big sister) to play igo?
It was just a little unfortunate that Hikaru had not reckoned on Sai's reaction to the modern world.
"I can’t believe that's not a real fish," Hikaru said, his nose pressed against the glass of the aquarium that had been placed in the middle of the Go Institute lobby.
"I know!" Sai was peering into the water first from beside Hikaru, then from the other side of the water tank.
Still, he had to admit that there was reason for Sai's excitement. "Those scales look so…" Hikaru said.
"Real. Is it really a robot, Hikaru?"
Sai pronounced the word "robot" laboriously, as though foreign loanwords were a thousand times more difficult like "damezumari".
"Yeah, according to the explanation here." Hikaru nodded at the little card affixed to the side, which gave the name of the company responsible for manufacturing the merrily swimming school of goldfish. He couldn't help smiling as Sai continued to study the fish by darting left, right, and around the tank, the long sleeves of his clothes flapping about him as he moved. It was just as well no one could see him, Hikaru thought; they'd have assumed that he was demented.
It was rather amusing how Sai could remain sceptical of the moon landing and yet be so delighted by what were essentially toys that were essentially floating pieces of integrated circuit boards, tiny batteries and plastic.
"But it's not like the other one we've seen," Sai noted. "And they didn't move their fins."
He was referring to the earlier display of hologram fishes. "It says here they studied the way real goldfish move, so that they could make something that is true to life."
Sai paused from his attempt to attract the fish's attention by tapping lightly on the side of the tank. He was frowning slightly. "You mean, someone made them behave exactly like real goldfish?"
"Yes. It's not as though they say, 'I'm making a goldfish' and it will know how to be a goldfish, you know. You have to teach it, Sai."
"Teach it," Sai repeated. Then his eyes brightened. "Look! Look! One is chasing its tail!" He pointed, and sure enough a little red goldfish was suddenly swimming in small, tight circles, as though trying to catch something behind it.
Hikaru looked. After a while, he said, "I think it isn’t really chasing its tail." The crazed churning of robotic fins had slowed to drunken twitches and the fish seemed to be floating towards the surface. "I think it's broken, Sai." Its mechanical brethren seemed unheeding of its self-destruction, a couple even bumping into it as they continued swimming in the tank.
"Oh…" Sai was gazing at the tank as though it suddenly contained piranha.
"Who are you talking to?" Someone else asked, and with a start, Hikaru turned to see his friend Waya, dressed neatly in a suit. He must have just finished a game upstairs.
"Waya?" Hikaru said, glancing at where Sai was now clinging to him, making noises about scary fish.
Ways tugged his necktie loose by a bare half-inch, and advanced towards them. "I though I heard you say the name 'Sai' just now." His eyes were puzzled rather than suspicious, but that was more than enough for Hikaru.
"What? No such thing," he said. "Erm, I have an appointment. I have to go now - bye!" And he was rushing out of the doors.
Waya could have sworn he heard, "Let's go, Sai!" and was about to chase his friend down, but he was distracted by the gurgling, plastic-creaking sound of an exploding goldfish in the tank.
Not a real fish
***
Hikaru, a child of the technological age, who had grown up playing games involving the adventures of an Italian plumber and who regarded the microwave oven as a basic cooking appliance and the common mobile phone as an extension of himself, had a tendency to adopt a blasé attitude when it came to inventions of the modern age.
He was, after all, also playing professionally a game that had been invented before the printing press, and he was haunted by a ghost who had existed since the days of the Heian era. The way Hikaru saw it, old or new, there was nothing he couldn't deal with. After all, hadn't he successful navigated the internet (forgetting for a moment that he had then needed the help of Mitani's big sister) to play igo?
It was just a little unfortunate that Hikaru had not reckoned on Sai's reaction to the modern world.
"I can’t believe that's not a real fish," Hikaru said, his nose pressed against the glass of the aquarium that had been placed in the middle of the Go Institute lobby.
"I know!" Sai was peering into the water first from beside Hikaru, then from the other side of the water tank.
Still, he had to admit that there was reason for Sai's excitement. "Those scales look so…" Hikaru said.
"Real. Is it really a robot, Hikaru?"
Sai pronounced the word "robot" laboriously, as though foreign loanwords were a thousand times more difficult like "damezumari".
"Yeah, according to the explanation here." Hikaru nodded at the little card affixed to the side, which gave the name of the company responsible for manufacturing the merrily swimming school of goldfish. He couldn't help smiling as Sai continued to study the fish by darting left, right, and around the tank, the long sleeves of his clothes flapping about him as he moved. It was just as well no one could see him, Hikaru thought; they'd have assumed that he was demented.
It was rather amusing how Sai could remain sceptical of the moon landing and yet be so delighted by what were essentially toys that were essentially floating pieces of integrated circuit boards, tiny batteries and plastic.
"But it's not like the other one we've seen," Sai noted. "And they didn't move their fins."
He was referring to the earlier display of hologram fishes. "It says here they studied the way real goldfish move, so that they could make something that is true to life."
Sai paused from his attempt to attract the fish's attention by tapping lightly on the side of the tank. He was frowning slightly. "You mean, someone made them behave exactly like real goldfish?"
"Yes. It's not as though they say, 'I'm making a goldfish' and it will know how to be a goldfish, you know. You have to teach it, Sai."
"Teach it," Sai repeated. Then his eyes brightened. "Look! Look! One is chasing its tail!" He pointed, and sure enough a little red goldfish was suddenly swimming in small, tight circles, as though trying to catch something behind it.
Hikaru looked. After a while, he said, "I think it isn’t really chasing its tail." The crazed churning of robotic fins had slowed to drunken twitches and the fish seemed to be floating towards the surface. "I think it's broken, Sai." Its mechanical brethren seemed unheeding of its self-destruction, a couple even bumping into it as they continued swimming in the tank.
"Oh…" Sai was gazing at the tank as though it suddenly contained piranha.
"Who are you talking to?" Someone else asked, and with a start, Hikaru turned to see his friend Waya, dressed neatly in a suit. He must have just finished a game upstairs.
"Waya?" Hikaru said, glancing at where Sai was now clinging to him, making noises about scary fish.
Ways tugged his necktie loose by a bare half-inch, and advanced towards them. "I though I heard you say the name 'Sai' just now." His eyes were puzzled rather than suspicious, but that was more than enough for Hikaru.
"What? No such thing," he said. "Erm, I have an appointment. I have to go now - bye!" And he was rushing out of the doors.
Waya could have sworn he heard, "Let's go, Sai!" and was about to chase his friend down, but he was distracted by the gurgling, plastic-creaking sound of an exploding goldfish in the tank.