If You Can't Avoid It (1)
If You Can't Avoid It (1)
If there were one thing most essential for a person to live, what would it be?
Some might say love; others, dreams or honor.
Beyond that, friendship, work, learning, appetite, and so on.
There would also be those who proudly declare that money is the most important thing.
Well, to some extent, they're all correct.
But what I wanted to talk about wasn't that sort of thing.
The most essential thing for a person to live.
The most fundamental thing.
Naturally, it could be called "food, clothing, and shelter."
Especially here in Neon City, that was even more true.
"Clothing"—if you didn't wear any, by Lower Layer standards, Neon City's nighttime temperatures frequently dropped below freezing.
It wasn't a temperature you could endure with a bare body.
Beyond that, it went without saying that you couldn't rely on the legal fences erected by city law.
No matter how cyberpunk it was, indecent exposure was a thing.
And "food"—if you didn't eat, within a few days you'd be begging on the streets for cheap synthetic food made from "krill shrimp" or "soy protein."
For reference, both tasted unbelievably awful.
Not fit for human consumption.
Orcs at least managed to eat them, but judging by their expressions, they weren't enjoying them either.
They just ate them.
And finally, you needed a "home" where you could sleep safely.
Of course, there were plenty of homeless people in Neon City.
They were a common sight if you wandered around the Lower Layer districts.
There were plenty of vagrants who spread out cardboard outside, lit fires in drums, and tried to sleep.
But once you noticed them disappearing one or two at a time, you'd collectively realize just how important a home was.
In that sense, a home was important in Neon City.
Immensely so.
As long as it wasn't a tent-style dwelling situated under an overpass, any kind of home was fine.
In any case, some people would go to Royal Vegas and spend every day in a luxury hotel costing tens of thousands of credits a night.
And someone else would go to Chinatown in the Citizen District to spend the night in a dense cluster of cramped buildings reminiscent of the old Kowloon Walled City.
Even just going near Center Plaza, the central business district in the vicinity, there were plenty of buildings designed for lodging.
In one area, rows of high-end apartment buildings stood on one side, while on the other side you'd inevitably find one-pyeong capsule studio apartments you entered through a cabinet-sized doorway.
In this situation, the place where I lived could at least be described as above average.
Its name was "Golden Smile Condominium."
It was a decent, ordinary apartment complex.
For one thing, its location in the Middle Layer's Business District meant public safety was above average, and since it was a high-end building, not too many people lived on a single floor—an undeniable advantage.
For reference, the sibling buildings to this one were condominiums named things like "Silver" or "Bronze."
In the case of Silver, I'd heard over a hundred households lived on one floor.
I couldn't even imagine how dire the situation was for Bronze, which was in the Lower Layer.
Of course, I didn't evaluate my home as above average purely based on location and conditions.
No matter how good a home was, unforeseen problems always had a way of cropping up.
They say there are things you absolutely have to check when you move.
For example, water supply issues (rusty water), pest problems (30-centimeter cockroaches), or lighting issues (sunlight reflected from the building opposite could even start fires).
For reference, all utilities in Neon City were insanely expensive.
No one would want to pay expensive city taxes and then wash with rusty water or wage war against insects.
I could confidently say there is no house in this world with perfect conditions in every regard.
After such rationalizations and deliberation, I'd managed to find and lease a home I could be satisfied with.
Still, since it was a home I'd found after quite a long ordeal, I was satisfied in nearly every aspect.
Except for just one thing.
- Ding-dong.
"Hey, look here. It's me, Bill. I can't reach, so I can't get my stuff out, you know? Help me out a little!"
That was, if I could overlook the neighbor issue.
2. If You Can't Avoid It (1)
Back when I lived in Korea, I heard this kind of advice.
Monthly rent, jeonse, or purchase—they said there was something you absolutely had to check if you were thinking of moving.
Of course, things like water, pests, and lighting were definitely unpleasant aspects of life.
But they said if you wanted to avoid stress beyond that, you absolutely had to check "this."
Whether there was a bicycle kept on the floor above.
Or whether kids' ride-on toys like kick scooters were kept there.
And they said you had to check the condition of the front door and the residents on your own floor.
Then why, even knowing that, did I pay it no mind?
Why did I ignore it and overlook that part?
I truly regretted it immensely.
My neighbors were simply awful.
"Huh? Ask the management office for a ladder? You little punk! How the hell am I supposed to carry that all the way here!"
A crazy old man acting like a little kid.
"...Excuse me. It's just really noisy. Could you maybe keep it down?"
A weirdo who showed up at any hour, day or night, the moment there was a sound.
Even when Bill was the one yelling, they came to my door. Said the old man was impossible to communicate with, or something.
A nutcase.
"Oh my, our kids don't run around the house, you know?! What nonsense."
This person wasn't on the same floor.
She was a beautiful-looking lady who lived upstairs, but lost all reason when it came to anything involving her children.
And those little bastards seemed to have two hearts and three lungs.
It was maddening.
Lastly.
"Wow, lucky, huh? It's a relief the next-door unit happened to be vacant. Right?"
Even my friend (the protagonist), who moved in next door after I told him the address.
...But wait,
the next-door unit hadn't originally been vacant, right?
And I remembered the most decent person on this floor lived there.
What had happened to that person?
What had his name been.
...Uh.
Mm.
...Nobu, something.
Anyway, I forgot the name.
But I did remember the fact that he was a healthy Japanese young man with not a single ailment.
The most normal person among these crazy neighbors.
A presence like an oasis in the desert.
To lose him like this....
Watching the neighbors who came by in what felt like 30-minute intervals was depressing.
How had I managed to stay holed up in my room for that whole week before?
At this rate, I might really develop depression.
Had everyone just deliberately timed it today?
Why were they all taking turns visiting?
I couldn't hold out any longer.
"...Let's just go out."
[I strongly affirm. I inquire as to where you intend to go out.]
"Somewhere or other."
Eve answered quickly, as if pleased.
I wanted to make some snide remark to the AI who loved going out, but I didn't even have the energy left for that.
......My plan had been to not step outside the house for a month.
I hadn't expected my plan to get smashed to pieces like this.
"Anywhere will do."
In search of my freedom.
I slipped outside secretly, avoiding my neighbors.
In particular, it was crucial not to get caught by Catherine.
Since she had no active requests at the moment, I expected she would follow me without fail if she caught me.
Having successfully slipped outside unnoticed, I headed aimlessly toward the monorail station.
It was with the thought that if I just wandered around, a place worth going might come to mind.
Besides, there was no particular need to take a taxi.
It absolutely wasn't because I was reluctant to spend credits.
...Also, a taxi fare that high could buy how many servings of lab-grown chicken?
Anyway, that wasn't the reason.
The monorail station wasn't very far from my home.
That had been one of the things I'd considered when I looked for the place.
Living within a five-minute walk of a station was immensely important for a happy cyberpunk life.
Before long, I arrived at the large-scale monorail station.
[North Houston 3 Monorail Station]
Even in a cyberpunk world, riding a train wasn't much different from the old world.
The only difference was that you paid with a bio-credit chip instead of a transportation card.
- One adult male, payment processed.
[It's been a while since I last rode the monorail, I comment sentimentally.]
Eve's brief reflection followed.
"...Haa, I don't want to go out."
[It would have been better if the purpose of this outing had not been 'escape,' I evaluate.]
"What're you talking about? If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have come out."
[.......]
The noisy clamor of my neighbors still lingered in my ears.
Without fail, the next time I moved, I secretly vowed to myself that I would check the neighbors too.
...I'd decide what to do about the friend who followed me all the way next door later.
Soon, the train arrived.
Since it wasn't rush hour, there weren't many people.
Heat haze shimmered above the train.
I stepped inside slowly.
The train soon departed, gliding along its fixed rails.
Through the windows, holographic text scrolled across the cold scenery of Neon City.
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[Here is today's hot news from NCB24. Currently, terrorists from multiple organizations, including eco-fascists, Neo-Luddites, and extreme transhumanist groups, have been active in Neon City. The NCPD has announced that citizen cooperation is necessary. Today, once again in the Business District....]
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Different ads scrolled across each window.
Outside, buildings rushed by.
Occasionally, an ad for a geisha with white makeup would pass between the buildings, accompanied by English, Japanese, Chinese, and very occasionally Korean.
I stared blankly at the passing ads and buildings.
[Where you plan to go, I inquire.]
"......Let me think for a moment."
What kinds of places were there to kill time?
I considered just riding the train and wandering around, but I ruled it out, remembering the crowds that would pour in later during rush hour.
Back in Korea, what did I do when I was bored...?
"Ah."
[Have you decided?]
"I have."
Right.
Where do Koreans—no, where do people all over the world go when they're bored?
When waiting for a friend.
When they need to do work on electronics.
Or even when just wanting to kill time.
No need to agonize; there was one answer.
"The answer is a cafe."
[You're really showing signs of never having gone outside, I think.]
...You're supposed to keep thoughts like that to yourself.
The people of "eoljukah"—the tribe that would freeze to death before giving up their iced Americanos—make their appearance even in a cyberpunk world.
* * *
Tang! Tangtang!
"Everyone put your hands on your heads and hit the deck!! We are the environmental protection group 'Eco Warriors'! As long as you follow our orders, no one will get hurt!"
But I hadn't expected terrorists to make an appearance too.