Pathway to Japanese Literature

Perennial snow melts.

The summer of Showa 52 was extremely hot.

Particularly when it came to the heat from July 24th onward for one week, it reached levels that defied description.

Even in Shinshu and Joetsu's mountainous regions—which were supposed to be cool—the nights grew so stifling that people couldn't sleep unless they left their storm shutters open.
In places like Tokyo, the heat became so unbearable that people couldn't stay above ground, with nearly all residents descending into the underground cities to weather that week.

The intense heat did not spare even the deep mountains of the Japanese Alps.
The perennial snow in the Japanese Alps began melting rapidly.
Over the snowfield, something that couldn’t be called either a waterfall or a river formed, sending up spray as it flowed down, and the accumulated snow steadily diminished.

The perennial snow of Ubaga Valley had long been widely known as the most extensive in area.
It was old snow, frozen rock-hard like a glacier, but even this began melting from both sides in the unprecedented heat, growing thinner with each passing day.
It was no wonder the mountaineers were astonished.

“Was there a stream here all along?”

“Well, I don’t know. But according to the map, this should definitely be Ubaga Valley...”

“But that’s strange.”
“According to the map measurements, this is unquestionably Ubaga Valley.”
“Please look at this map.”
“Look, this rock.”

“Ah, I see. That is indeed Triangle Rock.”
“This is astonishing!”
“Hey you, the famous perennial snow has completely melted this year!”

That person abruptly stopped speaking and opened their eyes as wide as saucers.

“What could that be?… Take a look over there—I don’t know what it is, but there’s a large round sphere.”
“It’s at the curve of the valley.”
“Can’t you see it…?”

He leaned forward in astonishment and pointed downward.

“I see.”
“I can see it.”
“It’s a huge sphere.”
“It’s gleaming.”
“It’s a metal sphere.”

“How strange.”
“Anyway, let’s go check it out up close.”

“Hey, hold on!”
“Isn’t that thing dangerous?”

“Now that you mention it, it does have a shape like those naval mines seen in old photographs.”

“Hmph, it might resemble a naval mine in some ways, but naval mines belong in the sea—there’s no reason one should be in these mountains.”

The four mountaineers then moved along the valley and descended.
Everyone felt vaguely fearful, but since they themselves had discovered it, they absolutely wanted to ascertain its true nature.

Finally, they were able to approach it.

In the middle of the valley sat a metal sphere with a diameter of three meters, imposingly planted.
The surface gleamed brilliantly with a glossy sheen.
Cross-shaped bands were fastened around it.
Several eye bolts were driven in.
The group circled around it.

“Oh, there’s writing here!”

There was indeed writing.
Rather than being written, it would be more accurate to say that the characters had been burned in with something like an oxyhydrogen flame.

× HANDLE WITH CARE.
Open Door A ×

That was all that was written there.

What on earth could this sphere be?

Cryogenically frozen human

The four mountaineers' curiosity burned all the more intensely.

Mountain climbing was the last thing on their minds now. They couldn’t rest until they peered inside this strange metal sphere.

“This sphere must’ve come from under the melting perennial snow,” said one mountaineer. “I bet it rolled down from higher up and got stuck here.”

Another voice piped up: “What if it was launched from Mars? Maybe there’s a Martian message inside when we crack it open!”

“It’s not from Mars. Because look—it says ‘× Handle with Care, Open Door A ×’ in Japanese characters here, so this must’ve been made in Japan.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to quickly try opening that Door A?”

“That’s right.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“Let’s do it.”

After searching the sphere’s surface for Door A, they found something marked “× Door A ×” half-buried in soil at the rear.
When they dug into the earth, Door A turned out to be a circular lid.
It had a handle with instructions to twist left twenty times, which they followed precisely.

Then the lid-like object opened.
On the metal plate were characters carved in low relief, just as before.
When they read it, something astonishing was written there.

*

Inside this sphere lies Kosugi Masayoshi, a courageous boy preserved through cryogenic freezing. He is thirteen years of age at present. Having maintained suspended animation within this capsule for two decades, it remains his earnest wish to rejoin the living world. To those who discover this vessel: once confirming that twenty years or more have elapsed since its initial sealing, you are hereby entreated to extract this youth from his crystalline prison. The procedure proves straightforward - burn through the metal plate marked B at the base to expose an electrical receptacle. Supply this terminal with fifty-cycle alternating current at 100 volts, whereupon forty-eight hours hence the sphere shall autonomously disengage, permitting young Kosugi Masayoshi's emergence. Throughout this critical interval, you must refrain from any intervention beyond maintaining undisturbed stasis. August 13, Showa 22 (1947)

*

This was a tremendous find.
Inside this sphere was a cryogenically frozen boy.
It said that after twenty years had passed, he wanted to reenter the world once more.

Not twenty years—already thirty years had passed; they had to get him out quickly.
However, that the technology to cryogenically freeze humans had already been conceived as long as thirty years ago was a tremendous discovery.
And Dr. Kanno, one of the mountaineers, was astonished.

After discussion, it was decided that this large find would be taken back to Tokyo.

Dr. Kanno used a portable wireless set to call Tokyo.
He requested the Chiyoda Branch of Aviation Commerce Company to urgently dispatch a single helicopter—a bamboo-copter-style aircraft capable of easily lifting about five tons—to their location.

After about twenty minutes, a helicopter descended majestically from the sky.
It was the requested vehicle.
Dr. Kanno and his companions waved their handkerchiefs.

They loaded the metal sphere into the cargo hold of the landed helicopter.
Then Dr. Kanno and the others entered the passenger seats.
The helicopter soon took off and headed for Tokyo.

Through discussions en route, they decided to bring the recovered metal sphere to Yak University's Faculty of Physiology grand auditorium to open it there.
Dr. Kanno was a professor of that faculty.

The remaining three were Dr. Kanno's friends: the woman served as a communications engineer, one man worked as a musician, and another was a novelist.

The day to open the metal sphere finally arrived.

The grand auditorium was packed to capacity.

There was tiered seating with surrounding seats positioned high and a central podium lower than all else; to reach it required access through an underground passage.
The metal sphere in question had been placed upon this podium.
Surrounding it stood folding screens of polarized glass.
These were designed so nothing could be seen outward from within, while everything remained visible from outside.
This screen arrangement served as considerate preparation to prevent Kosugi Masayoshi—the boy expected to emerge from the metal sphere—from being startled by excessive spectators.

Dr. Kanno and five others were the only ones who entered behind the screens.
Following the instructions found in Door A of the metal sphere, they broke through its bottom to extract the electrical plug and fed it the specified alternating current.
That was exactly 10:00 a.m.

Two days later at 10:00 a.m., while everyone stood gripping sweaty palms, the sphere quietly split into four like a blooming flower.
And from within emerged a boy.
It was Kosugi Masayoshi.
The seven hundred spectators burst into spontaneous applause.
For here stood the youth who had been frozen thirty years prior, now splendidly revived.
This boy had remained like ice through three decades, untouched by time's passage.

“We’ve been waiting for you, Kosugi-kun. We welcome you.”

“We’ve been waiting for you, Kosugi-kun,” Dr. Kanno said.

“We’ll take care of everything, so please rest easy.”

Ms. Sumire said.

The Ginza Transformed Beyond Recognition

“After twenty years had passed, I wanted to see how much the world would change—that’s why I undertook this adventure,” said young Kosugi to those gathered around him.

“Ah, pardon my interruption,” said Dr. Kanno, “but actually it hasn’t been twenty years—thirty years have passed since you were frozen. You see, this year is Showa 52 (1977).”

“Oh my,” said Kosugi, “have I been sleeping for thirty years?”

It was said that the boy’s uncle, Dr. Mori, had been the designer of this cryogenic metal sphere.
It was also Dr. Mori’s idea to dig through the perennial snow of the Japanese Alps and lower it into place.
The doctor had been supposed to excavate this cryogenic sphere from the snow twenty years later, yet he never fulfilled that promise.
What in the world had happened?
What had Dr. Mori been doing?

Everyone listened with interest to Masayoshi’s story.
And they promised to look into Dr. Mori’s well-being in due course.

Putting that aside, they told him to have a light meal first after so long, then guided Masayoshi to the cafeteria and treated him to liquid food.

The boy was surprisingly energetic.
In addition to the original four-person group, Tokyo Mayor Kanizawa and hospital director Dr. Sakura surrounded the boy, but he talked about various things from thirty years earlier.
And he worried about how much Tokyo would have changed thirty years later—whether it might be so transformed that his mind would become unsettled while sightseeing.

“It’s all right. I’ll be right here with you.
“I’ll treat you straightaway.”

Dr. Sakura, the physician, immediately responded.

“Say, Kosugi-kun. First of all, where would you like to visit?”

Dr. Kanno asked.

“Well...”
“First and foremost, I want to see Tokyo’s Ginza where I lived thirty years ago.”
“I’d like to walk through those same places again.”

The boy uttered the name "Ginza" with nostalgia.

“Very well. Then let’s depart immediately. However, you may find this somewhat startling.”

The group left the cafeteria with Masayoshi.

“This place seems unfamiliar—are we near Ginza?”

“Indeed.”
“It’s about three kilometers to Ginza.”
“However, it won’t take long once we take the moving walkway…”

“What did you say?”
“What are we getting on?”

“It’s a moving walkway.”
“Ah, right—there were no moving walkways thirty years ago when you were living here, were there?”
“Back then, you only had trains and automobiles, didn’t you?”
“Nowadays, such things have almost entirely vanished.”
“Instead, moving walkways have taken their place.”
“The roads move.”
“There are five moving walkways lined up.”
“You remember those from the past, don’t you?”
“Like the conveyor belts from back then.”
“They move like that.”
“They’re lined up parallel to the sidewalk in five lanes, with the one closest to the sidewalk moving at 10 kilometers per hour.”
“The next one moves at twenty kilometers per hour, then thirty, forty, fifty—they gradually get faster in that manner.”
“And those moving walkways have directions written indicating where they go.”
“Now look here—”
“This is the moving walkway to Ginza.”

They finally stepped outside.
The sunlight shone.
They realized they had been underground until then.
Nostalgic sunlight, sweet air!
But something was off.

“Where am I? This is a field I’ve never seen before.”

“This is Ginza.
“The spot where you’re standing now is where the Ginza Fourth District intersection used to be.”

“No way… Oh! There are strange towers here.
“And then there are these dirt mound-like things scattered everywhere.
“What are those?”

Between the woods and grasslands stood strangely twisted towers and low green objects resembling overturned pots.

“Those round things have become house roofs.”
“The towers are watchtowers monitoring for approaching atomic bombs.”
“All of Ginza’s scenery became like this out of caution against atomic bombs.”
“Everyone lives underground.”
“Only occasionally do curious people come up to the surface like this for strolls.”
“Were you surprised?”

Masayoshi was indeed surprised.
That bustling Ginza scenery had now completely vanished from the surface of the earth.

Approaching Star People

“Are there still countries that wage war?”

With a look of utter bewilderment, young Masayoshi asked Mayor Kanizawa, their guide.

“Well, about that matter—firstly, it seems they’ve decided not to wage war anymore.”

“Whether they wage war or not, Japan had renounced war, so there’s no reason Japan should be starting one. Though this was all over thirty years ago now, you know.”

Masayoshi clearly remembered that back then, the new constitution had been established, with its provision renouncing war.

“What you say is correct, Masayoshi-kun.”
“However,”
“After that, another major war nearly broke out—though Japan was not involved, of course—and because of that, a vast number of atomic bombs were prepared.”
“At that time, there was an organization called the United Science Association—formed by scholars from around the world—and they issued a grave warning.”
“This concerned two critical matters.”

“What do you mean by that grave warning…?”

“The first is this: should the enormous number of atomic bombs prepared by the two nations now attempting to wage war ever actually be used, their destructive power would be so tremendous that it would cause cracks to form in the Earth we inhabit, eventually splitting it into several pieces. If such a thing were to occur, we humans—and of course all life on Earth—would soon perish. Therefore, they argued, such a dangerous war ought to be halted—”

Mayor Kanizawa of Tokyo wiped the sweat from his face with a handkerchief as he spoke.
Perhaps he had recalled once more the suffocating terror that loomed just before the outbreak of war.

“So, did the war happen, or…”

“The other critical matter was—”

The mayor did not answer Masayoshi's question and continued with what he had been saying earlier.

“Members of the United Science Association recently made an astonishing observation in the sky.”
“To explain what this means—there exists a mysterious star advancing toward our Earth with clear intent.”
“It is not a comet.”
“Judging from that star’s movement patterns, it’s following an unbound trajectory.”
“In other words, that star is navigating through the vast cosmos with deliberate intent, just like airplanes or rockets.”

“Whoa—
“So that star does have humans living on it, and those humans are piloting the star, right?”

“Well, I suppose so—that’s precisely why we cannot afford to let our guard down for even a moment.”
“That star does not belong to our solar system—it has clearly intruded here from somewhere far more distant.”
“And the creatures residing on that star are believed to be far more intelligent than we Earthlings.”
“Now, if such a star were to come here, we—being weak both in wisdom and strength—may have no choice but to surrender to those star people.”
“With such formidable enemies before us, for fellow humans living on the same Earth to start fighting each other—isn’t that a foolish notion?”
“Because of this, we Earthlings’ strength will diminish, and when the star people finally arrive, our weakened defensive capabilities will leave us with no choice but to fall to our knees and bow our heads before them.—Considering that, it would be unwise for the nations of our human race to wage war against each other now.”
“In other words, they warned: ‘Stop this war that’s about to break out now.’”

“Ah, I see, I see. That’s exactly right.”

“It appears that both nations came to fully understand this, and thus the outbreak of war—which was on the verge of explosion—was prevented.”
“Do you understand?”

“That’s good to hear.”
“But then why are there still so many atomic bomb watchtowers, alert stations, and shelters lined up like that?”

Masayoshi couldn’t understand the reason.

“Well, those were constructed so they’d be useful when new enemies from beyond our universe might attack and hurl atomic bombs our way.”

“Ah, I see.
“So it’s understood that those so-called star people also use atomic bombs, then?”

“The scholars say they’ll probably use them—and there’s another crucial reason why we need those bulletproof facilities.”

“What would that reason be?”

“That is,”
“Among our Earthlings, there are bad elements who secretly hide atomic bombs—they load them onto planes, bring them here, and drop them from the sky.”

"Why would they do that?"

"Are you asking why they would do that? There have always been robbers and gangs. Among today's robbers and gangs are those who use atomic bombs. They drop one with a thunderous boom, and when the area plunges into chaos, they rush in to begin looting. Therefore, those are necessary to guard against such groups as well."

With that, Mayor Kanizawa pointed at the watchtower.

“Whoa—the gangs thirty years later certainly do some astonishing things.”

Masayoshi the boy couldn’t help being astonished.

Splendid Underground Life

According to Mayor Kanizawa’s explanation, people had homes underground where they lived safely, but when there were no incidents or wars, it was said that not a few people would immerse themselves in natural landscapes reminiscent of the ancient Musashino Plain’s grandeur, enjoying pleasant walks or picnics.

“So there are no large cities on the surface like there used to be anywhere anymore?”

“Indeed there are not.
“In the past there were what we called six major cities along with many small and medium-sized cities—but nothing like that remains on the surface now.
“However—the bustle underground is quite remarkable.
“I shall now guide you there.”

Masayoshi descended underground again under the guidance of the mayor and others.

Speaking of underground, he recalled the musty smell inside subway trains.
He recalled the gloomy, damp, and unpleasant feeling of the underground passageway dug beneath the railway tracks for crossing.
He also recalled the muggy heat inside coal mines.

But the underground city they were guided to by the mayor and others was completely different. It wasn’t gloomy, nor was it damp, and there wasn’t the slightest hint of mustiness. There was no mugginess at all. Nor was there any feeling of suffocation.

So he felt as though he were in a pleasant room of a mountain villa, and it was also as if he were strolling along a highway during a pleasant spring or autumn.

“That is,”
“In constructing this underground city, every sanitary precaution has been applied so that we may live comfortably through various installed facilities.”
“For instance, the air undergoes thorough purification—all harmful microbes being completely eliminated—before being channeled underground.”
“Moreover, purification towers distributed throughout clean the air via their internal mechanisms.”
“Observe—over there stands a splendid advertising tower.”
“That structure serves dual functions as both signage and an air purification unit.”

“Ah, so that’s what that is.”
“Is it serving dual roles as both an advertising tower and an air purifier?”

It was a beautiful advertising tower about ten meters in height.
Painted in vivid colors of red, blue, purple, orange, and yellow, and spinning rapidly round and round, it was a tower so beautiful it nearly stole one's sight away.

“Additionally, the humidity is maintained at around forty percent.”
“Therefore, there is none of that damp, clammy feeling typical of underground spaces from before, nor any oppressive mugginess or discomfort.”
“Furthermore, the temperature is always maintained at twenty degrees Celsius, so it’s neither hot nor cold.”
“Since it remains this way year-round, as long as you live underground, you can wear the same clothes throughout the entire year.”

“That sounds convenient.”
“That must save on clothing expenses.”
“In the past, you had to have several sets of clothes—summer wear, in-between season wear, winter wear, and such.”
“It was right during a time when fabric was scarce, so my mother had a terribly hard time putting them all together. Ah… now that I mention it, my mother…”

Masayoshi’s voice grew hoarse, and he sniffled.

“What’s wrong, Masayoshi?”

Dr. Sakura, the hospital director, gently peered into Masayoshi’s face from behind.

“I... I...”

Masayoshi faltered mid-sentence but eventually spoke up resolutely.

“I suddenly wanted to see my mother. When I entered that cryogenic sphere, my mother was fifty years old. Ah, thirty years have passed since then. That means my mother should be eighty this year. She was always weak. There’s no way... no way she could have lived this long. I... I’ll never see her again, will I?”

The boy Masayoshi’s lament was truly pitiable.

Mr. Kanizawa, Dr. Sakura, and Dr. Kanno had gathered their foreheads together in discussion when Mayor Kanizawa finally spoke to Masayoshi.

“Excuse me, Masayoshi.”
“We do have some leads.”
“If things go well, you might be able to meet your mother.”

“Huh? Is that true?”
“But my mother is already dead.”

“No, that will become clear in due course.”
“Let me show you there while we tour the town.”

Artificial Heart

Masayoshi, having been comforted by Mayor Kanizawa and the others, regained a bit of his energy.

They showed him around the town, and indeed it was both bustling and clean.
In the past, the livelier the town, the more clouds of sand and dust would rise, scraps of paper would flutter about, and filthy things would litter the streets.

However, in this town, no dust rose, there were no scraps of paper, and the road surfaces were so clean that even walking barefoot wouldn’t dirty the soles of one’s feet.

The town had a high ceiling, likely thirty meters above the road surface.
And the ceiling was a clear, bright blue.
It seemed as though a genuine clear autumn sky stretched overhead.

"In that ceiling, discharge tubes that emit light identical to sunlight have been installed."
"Beneath them, navy blue glass panels have been affixed."
"That’s why walking here gives you the same feeling as when you used to stroll through Ginza back in the day."

“Ah, so that wasn’t the real sky—right, of course. Being buried underground, there’s no way I could see the blue sky.”

Masayoshi realized he had carelessly misunderstood and his face turned red.
However, it looked so much like a real autumn sky.

The mayor led Masayoshi into a splendid bookstore.
The back had been converted into a residence.
It was a so-called apartment-style residence.
The mayor, standing before one of them, rapped on the door.
Then a voice replied from within.
It was a woman’s voice.

“Ah! That voice…”

The door opened inward.
From inside the house appeared a white-haired old woman who stuck her face out.

“Oh! Mr. Mayor.”
“And Dr. Sakura too…”

“I’ve brought an unusual guest today.”
“Do you recognize this boy here?”

Told by the mayor, the old woman looked at Masayoshi.

"Why, if it isn't Masayoshi!"
"It's my Masayoshi."
"Oh my, Masayoshi, how on earth did you..."

The old woman was Masayoshi’s mother.

“Mother.”

Masayoshi and his mother embraced and shed tears of joy.

“Mother, you’ve really managed to live this long.”

“Masayoshi. I nearly died from heart disease once, but thanks to receiving an artificial heart, I’ve become healthy as you see.”

“An artificial heart?”

“You can see it there—this thing on my back that looks like a rucksack? That’s my artificial heart.”

Masayoshi looked.
Indeed，the mother was carrying a strange square box on her back.
Is that the artificial heart?
Masayoshi blinked rapidly.

the mustachioed younger brother

The artificial heart, unlike a real one, was a machine made by humans and therefore much larger.
Therefore, it did not go inside the chest but was fastened to the back.

Two tubes emerged from the chest and connected to this artificial heart.
One was painted red and the other blue.
The red one was the artery through which clean blood flowed; the blue one was the vein.
And the artificial heart served as a pump that sent this blood into the body and drew it back.

Dr. Sakura, the specialist, explained that it had been constructed using metal materials lighter than the duralumin of old and superior organic artificial flesh.

“Carrying something like this makes me look rather ridiculous, you know.
Masayoshi, even you must think it strange.”

Mother laughed.

It was Mother’s nostalgic smile.

“Appearance doesn’t matter at all.
Please use that artificial heart’s power to live much, much longer.”

“The doctor told me that since they replaced my failing heart with an artificial one, I could live to be a hundred with just this.”

“A hundred years old—that’s such a long life.”

“Oh no. According to the doctor, I can live even longer. Before reaching a hundred years old, if they replace the artificial heart with a new one again and then replace those other weakened organs with artificial ones as well, they say your lifespan will extend again.”

“Then, Mother, if that’s how it works, doesn’t that mean you could live even up to two hundred or three hundred years? That’s wonderful news. Then Father died in Showa 20 (1945), so he really missed out, didn’t he?”

“What a terrible loss.”
“If only Father had lived another fifteen or sixteen years, he could have joined those who can live much longer like me.”
“Then I would be happier than I am now, but…”

Masayoshi's mother quietly wiped away tears as she remembered her husband, Masayoshi's father, who had passed away long ago.

That was when.
A gentleman in his early thirties with an impressive mustache and a woman who appeared slightly younger came running in.

“Ah, Mother. I heard Brother came here to visit.”

“Where is my brother?”

Masayoshi blinked rapidly upon hearing this.

“Oh, your brother is right there.
“Look, that cute young man right there is him.”

Mother pointed at Masayoshi.

“Eh?!”
“Is this boy my older brother?”
“This feels a bit strange.”

“Oh my, it really is true! He looks exactly like the photo! But if my older brother is such a cute young man, it feels rather strange to interact with him as a sibling, doesn’t it?”

“Masayoshi.”
“This here is your younger brother Yoshikichi.”
“And next to him is your younger sister Mariko.”

“Hey, Brother.”
“Brother, I’m so happy to meet you.”
“Ah… A brother and a sister—”

he said, but Masayoshi himself felt just as awkward.
It didn’t feel like meeting younger siblings—more like encountering an uncle and aunt.

Surprise Farm

The unexpected reunion with mother greatly invigorated young Masayoshi.
The apprehension of being all alone after plunging into the midst of an unfamiliar world—such feelings vanished in an instant.

“Where are you taking me now?”

Masayoshi turned to look back at Mayor Kanizawa, Dr. Sakura, and the others as he inquired.

“We’ll take you somewhere that will surprise you.”
“Shall I give you a little hint?”
“It’s Japan’s new territory.”
“Ha ha ha, you’re surprised, aren’t you?”

“Japan’s new territory,’ you say?
“That’s strange.”
“Japan lost the war, and since we’ve also decided not to engage in warfare anymore, there shouldn’t be any way for our territory to increase.”

“You’d think so, wouldn’t you?
"But that’s not the case.”
“If you actually go there and see for yourself, you’ll understand.”

“Is it nearby?”

“No, it’s not nearby.”
“It’s quite far.”
“However, since we’ll be taking a high-speed vehicle, it won’t be a problem.”

Masayoshi couldn’t understand what Mr. Mayor was saying.
He recalled how，just as the land had grown cramped，a great number of compatriots had returned from overseas，making life terribly difficult and bringing suffering year after year.
Of all these hardships，food was the most difficult.

“Ah, right,” Masayoshi said.

“Mr. Mayor.”
“What has become of the rice fields and orchards?”
“If there’s a risk of attacks on the surface, you can’t very well maintain fields up there, can you?”

“That’s exactly right.”
“We can no longer plant rice on the surface, nor can we grow potatoes, cucumbers, or eggplants there either.”
“Even if we grew such things, there’s always the risk that terrifying germs and poisons might be scattered from the sky.”
“If that happened, we couldn’t eat them with any peace of mind.”

“Then are you not growing any crops at all?”

“That’s not the case at all. The meal you just had included pumpkin, and turnips were also served. We had rice, peaches, and persimmons as well.”

“That’s right.”

“Then let me take you there first. Perfect timing. Since they’re growing them at the nearby Asuka Farm too, let’s take a quick look.”

It was called Asuka Farm.
Mr. Mayor had stated there were no rice fields or orchards on the surface.
It seemed strange there should be a place called a farm despite that.
There was no way that farm could actually be underground.
Without sunlight and heat underground, crops couldn't possibly grow.

“Here we are.”
“Let’s enter.”

He was led into a large building.
What kind of farm could possibly exist inside this corporate-style building?

However, when guided to and shown the underground farm thirty years later, Masayoshi gasped in astonishment.

Pumpkins, cucumbers, and rice plants were all planted on shelves stacked in multiple tiers like old third-class sleeper berths.
They were growing vigorously.

“Observe this cucumber,”

the technician instructed. Masayoshi fixed his gaze on the vegetable.

“Oh—this cucumber is moving!”
“Goodness—it keeps growing larger!”

Masayoshi was shocked and felt queasy—this was a monster cucumber.

“These days, all crops are cultivated using this method.”
“In the past, crops were cultivated over long periods using sunlight and inefficient fertilizers, but now through applying specific chemical rays, electricity, and superior plant hormones, we can harvest excellent and nutritious produce in a short period.”
“With cucumbers like these, they reach a size where they can be picked just one or two days after flowering.”
“Whether it’s apples or persimmons, they form splendid fruit in just one week.”

“I’m astonished.”

"For that reason, unlike in the past, cucumbers and pumpkins can be grown year-round."
"Also, apples, bananas, and persimmons can be made to bear fruit year-round."
"So things like delayed deliveries and famines don't happen anymore, then?"
"Pardon me, what did you say?"
The technician didn't understand Masayoshi's question and asked him to repeat it.
Masayoshi, realizing this, withdrew that question.
In this present age where they could effortlessly achieve fiftyfold increases in production, it was only natural that concepts like delayed deliveries and famines would be incomprehensible.

Undersea cities

He got off the moving walkway and climbed up to a park-like area that formed a small hill.
Of course, being underground, there was a ceiling overhead.
There were walls.
Set here and there across the broad walls were windows fitted with long horizontal glass panels, resembling the viewing ports of large aquarium tanks.

He peered outside through the window.

“Ah, it is an aquarium after all.”

In seawater where faint blue light drifted, a school of fish swam vigorously about.
Forests of seaweed such as kelp and wakame were visible, and sea cucumbers clung to the rocks.
Sea anemones spread their tentacles.

“Do you think it’s an aquarium?”

Mr. Mayor smiled at him.

“Look carefully.”
“I’ll turn on the lights now so we can see far into the distance.”

With that, the mayor moved a switch-like object beneath the window.
Then, a light as bright as daytime suddenly illuminated the water.
The light reached far into the distance.
Startled perhaps by the light, countless schools of fish—their numbers reaching tens or even hundreds of thousands—swarmed around it in an instant.

“Does this still look like an aquarium to you?”

asked Mayor Kanizawa.

“No—that’s not it.
“So we’re actually looking into the real sea itself here?”

The view extended far into the distance.
There could be no aquarium tank as vast as this.

“So you’ve realized.”
“In other words, this is how our country is now vigorously constructing undersea cities.”

“Undersea cities, you’re saying?”

“That’s correct.
“We are extending cities into the seabed.
“We are also digging through the seabed to extract important resources lying beneath it.
“Even in ancient times, there were coal mines that reached under the seabed.
“Those became much more large-scale.
“People live there too.
“There are also cities.
“There were things called undersea tunnels in the past.
“You could consider that those grew into something larger.”

Masayoshi departed from the undersea cities and ascended back up again.

There was a station along the way, and a large number of elementary school students, dressed for travel, were boisterously making a racket.

“Ah, an elementary school excursion, isn’t it? Where are you all headed?”

“From California toward New York.”

“What? From California to New York? You shouldn’t tease me like that.”

“We’re not teasing! It’s true. You’re such a strange boy.”

Masayoshi found himself outmatched.

The mayor standing nearby smirked and whispered into Masayoshi’s ear.

“Nowadays, elementary school students go on field trips to America and Europe.”
“From this station depart the special express trains of the Trans-Pacific Underground Railway.”
“Through the wind tunnels, the airtight trains travel far like shells—or rather, fly through them, you see.”
“It reaches San Francisco in eighteen hours, you see.”

“They actually built something like that?”
“Couldn’t you still go by air routes?”

“Air travel carries the risk of enemy attacks, you see.”
“This subway is safer, you see.”
“After all, with enormous atomic power now at our disposal, large-scale civil engineering projects and massive constructions—ones people of old could never have imagined—can be carried out with such ease.”
“Therefore, you can travel anywhere in the world via high-speed subway.”

“Hmm—
“So now we’re in the underground living era, huh?”

“Well, I suppose that’s about right. However, we’re developing into space too, you see. Ah yes—tomorrow, the lunar expedition team is set to depart from Haneda Airport aboard ten rocket ships.”

Masayoshi let out a deep sigh and muttered to himself.

"Thirty years have passed, and I never would have imagined the world and daily life would change this much."
"If I’d known things would change this much, I would’ve mustered more energy and applied myself to studying thirty years ago…"

According to what was later learned, that aforementioned Dr. Mori had gone on a lunar expedition and met with disaster, leaving him unable to return.
This time’s expedition team would surely rescue Dr. Mori.