* * * * * * *
Marginal by Moto Hagio
Chapter 3: Present Year, 2999
Translation by Emily Horner
{Kira...Where is Kira? Can you hear me, Kira? Answer me. Are you
asleep? Yes, asleep. Asleep and dreaming, like always.}
Asijin : How is he?
Grinja : His breathing has calmed down, but his fever will probably
last a little longer.
{Yes...this is Kira's dream.}
Grinja : He should be all right.
Asijin : It's morning. You should sleep a little, Grinja. There
are circles under your eyes.
Grinja : Shall we take turns sleeping? Where is the outhouse?
Asijin : To the right of the stone by the entrance. Beyond the
stables.
Grinja : That's unusual...it's foggy around the cavern.
Asijin : It often is. There's an underground water vein nearby.
In the south there's grass and small animals like
snakes, rats, and lizards. To the west, there's an
icehouse.
Grinja : What about water-borne ills?
Asijin : Mildew, you mean? No. Perhaps because of the nature of
the cavern, perhaps because of the wind currents. It's
a good place. Now go to sleep.
Grinja : Wake me when you want to sleep.
Asijin : All right.
Grinja : {Can I sleep?}
<>
Asijin : Grinja? Are you awake?
He seems very thirsty, so I'm giving him water. Is that
all right?
Grinja : Yes. It's late at night...
Asijin : You slept for half a day, without moving a muscle. You
must have been tired.
Kira : Grinja...?
<>
Kira : Where did you come from?
Asijin : He's the doctor I called.
Grinja : How do you feel?
Kira : My hands and feet hurt.
Grinja : That's because of the fever. You'll get better soon.
Asijin : I bought him, you know.
Grinja : I know.
<>
Asijin : Take it!
Kira : No!
Asijin : Then I'll force it down your throat!
Kira : No!
Grinja : What are you doing, trying to rape him? He's sick.
Asijin : I was just trying to make him take his medicine.
What have you brought back?
Grinja : A beehive. It's small but sweet. He has nothing to eat
but terrible-tasting medicine.
Asijin : He's my prostitute.
Grinja : I know.
Asijin : What are you looking at?
Grinja : No one's ever done my laundry before. I was the youngest
in my village of five people, so I had to do the washing
for everyone.
Asijin : I bought the kid to make him do this for me.
<>
Grinja : I am helping out with the beans even though I'm a guest.
Asijin : That's an easy job, for old people.
Grinja : How old are you, Asijin?
Asijin : 19.
Grinja : I'm older, 21. I'll do the beans, you'll do the washing.
Asijin : Where's Kira?
Grinja : In that cool spot over there.
Asijin : Kira!
<>
Kira : It's cold!
Asijin : You'll dry off soon.
Grinja : He's become quite lively, since his fever broke.
Asijin : Let's dry these out.
Grinja : The laundry?
Asijin : In this wind, everything will be dry within an hour.
<>
Grinja : You don't have to hurry. You'll get out of breath.
Asijin : Did he fall asleep?
Grinja : Climbing up the rocks must have tired him out.
Grinja : I know, he's yours.
Asijin : It will take him some time to get used to me.
Grinja : Is it already a new moon?
Asijin : This is the month of Wind. 13 days to the full moon.
Grinja : {10 days since Mother died. 5 days since I came here.}
Asijin : Perhaps things will turn out as the legends say.
Will you smoke?
Grinja : No. What legends?
<>
Asijin : There's a story that the light of the full moon can
bring the Mother back to life.
Grinja : She won't come back to life.
Asijin : That would be a problem, Grin. Why not?
Grinja : The Center doesn't have a Mother any more.
<>
Asijin : Who told you that?
Grinja : An old prophet.
Asijin : But if she doesn't come back to life, it'll be terrible.
Grinja : Let me ask you this. What's the population of your
village? How many children have come there in the last
decade?
Asijin : I don't know. That's a secret, because there's always
the risk that they could be kidnapped.
The population is 300, and we used to get 12 children a
year. But lately, it's perhaps one a year.
<>
Asijin : But that's because Mother was old.
Grinja : Why would the Center take such good care of a Mother who
was too old to bear children?
A number of villages have vanished entirely because they
couldn't get any children. Over the last decade, the
population has been decreasing everywhere.
There is no new Mother. No, the problem isn't the Mother,
it's the children. The Center can't make new children
any more.
Asijin : Does that mean that no more children will come into the
world? Because Mother isn't there? If so, everyone will
get old and die within 30 years, and humanity will go
extinct!
<>
Asijin : It can't be true. Without a Mother, the world would die.
Grinja : The world is dying. It's dying right now!
Mother and the Center are the source of everything.
If we can change the way the world is going, walking
along towards death, we don't have long!
<>
Asijin : My uncle was an odd fellow, but so are you, Grinja.
You're the first person to say that Mother and the Center
are the source of everything.
How can we change it?
Grinja : Forget what I just said. I said too much...it was merely
an idle thought. If the world's luck is strong, then
things will get better. They are too bad now.
<>
Asijin : I have something to tell you, Grin. Something I've never
told anyone else, not even my uncle. It's about the
Center. I told you that I was hospitalized there...
when I was 8, my skull was broken, and I was in bed
for a long time. I didn't open my eyes for a long time.
<>
--This is a child?
--You performed surgery on him? I've never seen a child
before.
--They're all dark like him. That's right, governor.
--...just arrived from the Station.
--I'd heard about them, but actually seeing one is
surprising.
--It's a boy?
--That's right, governor.
--They're all boys. It's a tragic world, with tragic
children. I am Margrave. This is Marginal.
<>
--The project is proceeding smoothly.
Grinja : "Marginal"? "Margrave"?
Asijin : I remember each of their words and phrases, as if they're
engraved in my brain. And that face, too. But I don't
know what it means.
Grinja : Marginal?
Asijin : You can laugh if you like. Perhaps it was only a dream.
Between this and your strange prophecy, we're even.
Kira : Marginal...the Marginal World. Bald, harsh world.
Grinja : What did you say, Kira?
Asijin : A bald, harsh, marginal world? Here, you mean?
Kira : Yeah...
Asijin : What does 'the project is proceeding smoothly' mean?
Kira : What?
Asijin : Who is Margrave?
Kira : A count from a remote part of the Roman Empire...the
code name of Marginal's top person...
Asijin : He's actually making sense! Is the "Roman Empire" a
town?
Grinja : What's the Station?
Kira : Something on this side of the moon.
Grinja : The moon?
Grinja : The moon in the sky?
Asijin : What did you mean when you talked about Columbus and
Magellan and the egg?
Kira : Columbus and Magellan went around the world.
Asijin : Were they friends?
Kira : No...I learned about it, in history.
Grinja : From who? You were talking about it in your sleep, when
you were sick.
Kira : I don't know...
Asijin : Houston!
Kira : An old space center in America.
Grinja : 2999 A.D.
Kira : That's this year.
Grinja : It's almost as if he's talking about another world.
Asijin : He's feverish...
Grinja : What you heard at the Center also seemed like it was
from another world.
Asijin : Then perhaps it's all three of us who have strange
ideas.
Mayor : Candidates for Mother?
Meyard : 20 from the city, 20 from neighboring towns and
villages.
Mayor : That's too many--it's almost like a contest.
Meyard : The Center's currently narrowing down the list.
Meyard : We still have time. It's 13 days until the full moon.
Mayor : But what about the preparations? The surgery?
Meyard : Surgery? That can wait until after we present him to
the people. We don't have to show him naked.
Mayor : But the breasts...
Meyard : Breast augmentation surgery is simple. It only takes
a day.
Mayor : A day?
Meyard : If necessary, even you could have breasts like that.
Mayor : Don't be ridiculous. What would I want with breasts?
Mayor : What are you saying, Meyard?
Meyard : I'm sorry, mayor. It was only a joke.
Mayor : I thought we were talking about the Holy Mother!
Meyard : Yes. And the holy surgery.
Mayor, what's wrong?
Call a doctor!
Mayor : There's no time for that!
--He's very old...
Mikal : My father--?
--Be quiet, Mikal. Do not worry. He is tired and needs two
or three days of rest. I will call you as soon as he
awakens.
Meyard : He'll be well by the time a new Mother is chosen.
Mikal : Meyard, the priest at the temple told me to wear this
to keep away demons, because of the rumors about Djinn.
Meyard : I can't believe that the mayor's son would listen to the
superstitions of the people on the street. Djinns are
entirely fictional. You can wear it if you like, though.
Mikal : I heard that a forest was burning 10 days ago...
Meyard : A helicopter from the Center burned the forest. I'll go
look for the report on it now. It's our job to burn down
old, rotten forests. You must understand the
medicine and science they study at the Center.
Well, everyone's nervous now. Those rumors will go away
when the new Mother appears.
--Meyard!
Meyard : I'll see you later, Mikal.
<>
Mikal : {Of course everyone's nervous. Aren't they nervous at the
Center? People at the Center are different from people
in the city. Maybe it's because of their "medicine"
and "science." They fly through the sky in helicopters...
the Center's like a whole other world. And especially
him...he's like a human who isn't human.}
Meyard : Is there a report out on the fire in the forest?
--Yes, I've found it.
Meyard : Tell me what's in it.
--At P Point, a forest was found that had turned grey, and
700 hectares were destroyed.
Meyard : When was that?
--October 2999.
Meyard : By the Monodor calendar?
--Fall of year 420, 20th day of the month of Gold, 6 am.
Meyard : The day that Mother died. The villagers are spreading
those superstitions because they connect Mother's death
with the fire.
--Are the rumors that bad?
Meyard : They're wearing charms to keep demons away. Is there a
picture of the forest?
--It hasn't been handed in yet.
Meyard : What? That's against regulations. Which helicopter is it?
--The company shuttle.
Meyard : {The company shuttle?}
--An Anti-G Shuttle V. A high-performance vehicle.
Meyard : It was brought out just for that one forest?
Leave the airport.
--Right.
Frou : Hi, Meyard. Are you well?
Meyard : How's your stomach, Frou? Is the company shuttle here?
Frou : I'm trying out a new medicine. Is the report on the
shuttle there?
Meyard : I just read it. There aren't any pictures.
Frou : I don't have any either. I flew off with the artificial
satellite when I heard that something strange was going
on at the P Point forest. I returned to the Station
after it stopped burning. There are patrols at the
airport here. It's strange...maybe they were doing
an air flight test.
Meyard : {The company shuttle went to burn down the forest? A
company patrol comes two or three times a year...and
burning down a diseased forest is a good thing...and
there is a report on it...but why aren't there any
photographs, from either before or after it was
destroyed? Was it really a diseased forest that they
burned?}
Frou, take a helicopter from the airport and take some
pictures of the forest. And take care of your stomach.
Frou : Right.
Meyard : {Whether or not it was, the fire probably left nothing
behind.}
Asijin : Kira, you seem to like my guest, even though I own you.
Would you choose him as your "nenja"?
I have this cave, and this whole area could be yours.
You should choose me.
Kira : What's a "nenja"?
Asijin : I've got myself quite a troublesome guest and a
troublesome prostitute.
Grinja : Someone's coming.
--Hey!
<>
Gulliver : Hey! Asijin!
Asijin : Gulliver!
Gulliver : How are you?
Juci : Hello, Asijin.
Asijin : Hi, Juci.
Asijin : These are my cousin and his companion. Let's go inside.
Gulliver : I came to get some ice from the icehouse. The village
chief finally returned from the city yesterday. It looks
like there's a big fuss over something in the city.
Asijin : I should think so. Is the village chief well?
Gulliver : He seems exhausted because of Mother's death and all
his travelling. I thought I should bring him some ice.
Juci : Do you have any salt, Asijin?
Asijin : I do, just wait a second.
<>
Gulliver : Don't mind him, Asijin. Juci just followed me here.
Asijin : Shall we have some moss wine to drink?
I can get the ice from the ice house tomorrow. I'll
come with you to see the chief.
Gulliver : Moss wine is my favorite.
Grinja : He's quite handsome.
Asijin : The handsomest man in the area.
Juci : Is that your prostitute?
Grinja : No, he's Asijin's.
Asijin : I only just bought him, so he isn't used to me yet.
Juci : That's too bad.
Juci : It's been some time since we've seen each other, Asijin.
Asijin : Indeed.
Juci : You never come to the village.
Asijin : That place will be my grave. I'll come there tomorrow,
with the ice.
Asijin : You haven't changed in the year since I saw you last--
no, you have. You've grown more handsome.
Juci : You have bad taste in boys. You should have chosen a
better one.
Asijin : Are you jealous? But you did refuse me.
Juci : I have no interest in living in a cave.
Asijin : But you came because you wanted to see me, right?
Juci : Did you expect that I wouldn't find someone else, after
you left me in the village by myself? Gulliver's been
jealous lately. Have you seen that beard?
<>
Asijin : He barely had one last year, but it's really grown in.
Juci : He didn't have one at all when I chose him as my
nenja. I thought he wasn't going to grow one at all!
But, after a year, it's getting thicker every day.
He's covered with hair from his chest to his navel. It's
just awful. At least he shaves the hair on his body.
Asijin : You should make him shave his face, too.
Juci : He never listens to what I say.
Your face is still smooth.
Asijin : For now; but you never know when a beard will start to
grow. It wouldn't be bad to have a white beard when
I get old, but Gulliver looks like a hedgehog.
Juci : No--no...
Asijin : I can't hear you.
Gulliver : Coffee? What time is it?
Asijin : Four o'clock.
Gulliver : Wake up, Juci. We have to get the ice before the
temperature rises.
Juci : Fine...
Grinja : Kira should be able to travel now. Kira! Wake up.
Kira : I'm sleepy.
Juci : Aaaaah!
Kira : I'm up.
Asijin : What is it?
Gulliver : Juci?
Juci : I'm growing a mustache!
Grinja : Where? Oh, I see...just a little bit.
Juci : But...
Juci : A mustache!
Grinja : How old are you?
Juci : 17. But I thought I'd be all right for another year...
Grinja : If you're 17, then it's about time.
Juci : I thought I was the type that would never grow a
beard or mustache! I'm too pretty!
Grinja : Then shave it off with a knife.
Juci : Do you shave?
Grinja : My hair grows in pretty sparsely. I shave once in a while.
Juci : Oh, I'm going to have rough skin and a thick beard!
It's pathetic!
Juci : A mustache! I can't believe it!
Gulliver : Stop complaining about it! There's nothing you can do.
Juci : Asijin's face is still smooth.
Gulliver : You're grown up now. You should think about finding a kid
to be a "nenja" for.
Juci : I don't like young kids.
Gulliver : When you get old and die, who's going to inherit your
money? If you don't get a child...
Juci : Children, children! There aren't any children anywhere
any more. You don't have any yourself.
Asijin : It's freezing in there. Grin, cover your hands and feet
with your cape. Gulliver, you take care of the horses
and camels, and him.
Grinja : Let's take him along.
Asijin : Fine, but you watch out for him. We'll be back in about
20 minutes.
Gulliver : All right.
A mustache is a punishment for infidelity.
Juci : How dare you strike at my weakness while I'm suffering!
Gulliver : Juci!
Juci : Hey!
Asijin : Juci! Where's Gulliver?
Juci : Back up there. I'll get into a fight with him if I stay
with him.
Grinja : Be careful with the rope.
Asijin : This should be a good spot.
Juci : Brr.
Asijin : I'll start cutting now, so shine the light more strongly.
<>
Kira : Kira!