Kino no Tabi:Volume8 Chapter3

“Radio Country” — Entertainer —

[Good evening to everyone listening to our government radio station. Thank you for waiting. It is time for this station’s most popular radio program, brought to you twice a week—“Mr. Scherzi’s Start Now!” Tonight as well, we will be enlightened with various issues that would go unnoticed without Mr. Scherzi’s sharp insight. Our previous week’s broadcast, “Futility of Electricity, Futility of the Mind”, received plenty of reaction through phone calls and letters. Thank you very much. —Now Mr. Scherzi, please be our guide once again.]

[Good evening and thank you.]

[Let’s cut to the chase. Our topic for this evening is ‘traveler’, isn’t it?]

[Yes, ‘traveler’. For tonight, I want to develop my discussion from this.]

[Why is that again?]

[Of course. —Well, I’m sure everyone knows about the traveler who entered our country four days ago, and left just yesterday evening. Some of you may have even seen this traveler in person.]

[This rare visit even made it to the news. It was a traveler called Kino, who came to our country on a motorrad. Apart from the traders flowing into our country, it has been more than five years since a ‘pure’ traveler made their way here.]

[It is likely that among you, there are those who were glad that someone came from a different land to this small, isolated country. And probably, some of you were pleased with the thought that ‘we are not alone’, and having seen that the traveler had a safe stay and left with a smile, were relieved that you didn’t make a blunder during his visit.]

[Ah, it’s just as you say. Why, it’s been such a long time, after all. I won’t go as far as naming them here, but it seems that there were even politicians present in the welcoming party held in the dining hall of a lodging house built from our taxes.]

[Anyway, speaking of carrying out our duty as hosts, I suppose we did a good job. But please hold on. Has everything really ended well? That is our theme this time.]

[You mean to say?]

[I’ll go straight to the point and say my conclusion—that traveler is a fake.]

[Eh? He’s not a genuine traveler?]

[That’s right. There were several ‘strange’ points that made me adhere to this conclusion. Before the main discussion, I’ll raise several examples of these points. First of all—the traveler’s age.]

[It was quite a young fellow. Around mid-teens, I say.]

[Exactly. His youth was thoughtlessly and recklessly published in the newspapers as surprising and impressive, but this was the first detail that made me suspicious. For someone that young to go traveling all alone—isn’t that beyond common sense? Why is it that no one noticed this fact?]

[Oh, now that you mention it…that is true…]

[Be that as it may in his home country, still, wasn’t that an age where he should still be going to school? Moreover, do you think that’s a conduct parents would normally approve?]

[Ah, but see here. Wasn’t that a case of ‘making your beloved child go on a journey’?]

[That was a proverb they used to say a lot in the past, but people has taken it out of context. Those words originated from an era where traveling is the only way for a person to undergo successive hardships. But it actually means roughly the same as ‘spare the rod, spoil the child’. Today, having your child travel in lawless regions between countries is taking it to a dangerous extreme. And from that, we can see another point come to surface.]

[Oh, and that is?]

[That is, the contrived nature of such a youth going across lands rife with danger.]

[I see… Well, he was carrying a persuader, though.]

[Indeed he was carrying one. Unless you are some man of legendary strength, there is absolutely no way you could go on a journey without having any weapon. —But if I have to say it, that was a mistake.]

[‘That’, meaning?]

[That hand persuader hanging from his right thigh. I only saw it in photos, but it certainly looked like a six-chambered high-caliber revolver.]

[And how was it a mistake?]

[What I am saying is that it was a persuader that would be impractical for any traveler to have. This will be slightly technical, but let me explain. It was a type of revolver that requires its bullets, gunpowder, and primer to be packaged separately. It’s a rather old kind, different from the ones in general use nowadays, which use bullet cartridges.]

[Oho. And what about this old type?]

[You see for this type, once you’ve fired off all six shots, reloading takes such a tremendous amount of time. Now that there are automatic-type persuaders that can fire twenty or thirty rounds in one load, using that sort is a bit, you know…]

[Figuratively speaking, ‘why use a quill when you can use a fountain pen’, right?]

[Yes, you nailed it. One has to choose a weapon for a journey thoroughly and realistically. Taking such an antique item to deck out oneself is mere self-gratification, a display of artlessness.]

[I see… As usual, your sharp viewpoint enlightens us.]

[But indeed, not one person from this country noticed. But still, saying, ‘It’s understandable, since not everyone is well-versed when it comes to persuaders,’ is a rather shallow excuse, I say. —It’s a good example of slacking off and overlooking a fatal mistake.]

[Indeed. So even though he had a weapon, you noticed this one ‘odd’ detail about it.]

[Yes. —But, it’s not just the persuader, that motorrad is strange as well.]

[Oh?]

[It’s too big. Both the wheels and the engine. When you are choosing a motorrad, it is typical to pick something that would be suited to your body type. And so, there’s no reason for him to choose such a bulky model.]

[I see. Now that you mention it, it really looked unnatural for that traveler.]

[There’s more.]

[More?]

[He had a rather neat appearance. It’s strange no matter how you look at it. It seems that he was clean enough to not raise any attention while walking around the city. I heard that the guards and the inspectors at the gates were pleased with that.]

[Yes, there were such reports indeed. —But according to the person himself, he cleans up whenever he has the chance.]

[It can’t be that simple. What? After camping out in a place without a shower? Don’t tell me he had been swimming in a freezing river this late in autumn? Everyone sure was easily fooled.]

[Speaking of travelers, isn’t it expected for them to have scruffy beards and be quite dirty?]

[That’s too much stereotyping, but still, he’s too tidy…]

[I see. The flaws are coming out one after the other. I’m just beginning to see the truth myself.]

[There are various perspectives. However, you should not think that you have seen everything just from a fleeting glance of what’s before your eyes. You will only be easily fooled that way. You were intentionally shown only what is right in front of you, but there are a lot of things that people don’t want you to see.]

[Indeed, we know that there are a lot of people who can easily be deceived in this country.]

[And just as I have said from the start, that person is a ‘pseudo-traveler’—a fake. It’s just a person pretending to be an aloof traveler who wandered through the wilderness, alone with his motorrad.]

[Then, Mr. Scherzi, according to your conclusion, what is that traveler’s real identity, once and for all?]

[Ok. It’s probably a person from a neighboring country. We can’t really limit it to the closest countries, but he should be living in a country nearby. Of course, that he continues to travel by himself is a lie. A big fat lie.]

[And so—]

[He must be an extremely immature guy from a well-to-do family. He came to a place somewhere close to this country with a truck or something, taking the motorrad and some attendants with him on a pleasant journey. Of course, they must have paid a good deal for guards. Along the way, he must have had a cook to prepare wonderful meals for him to eat, and clean clothes to change into every day.]

[And then, he disguised himself before he entered the country.]

[Yes. He dressed up ‘like’ a traveler, piled up some luggage on the motorrad, and in order to convincingly play the role of an achiever, added the persuader. If a veteran traveler were to enter the country, this rustic country’s people would be very glad. I am sure he must have thought that he would be able to savor the pleasant feeling of being pampered and being looked at with admiring eyes. There’s no doubt that deep inside, he’s snickering at the gullibility of our countrymen.]

[That gives him quite a bad character.]

[We were all taken for a ride. Upon leaving the country, he must have been united with his friends. About this time, they’re on the way home to their country, laughing their hearts out. It was a mere three-day journey, after all.]

[That may be true. But he did say that he had decided on this as a rule for his journey.]

[I think that the truth is he would have liked to stay as long as he can. But in order to not let his disguise wear off, he lied and made up a traveler-ish ‘personal rule’ as an escape.]

[I see. There is some truth to that way of thinking.]

[Though in all respects, he was only a cowardly con artist, right about now, he may be announcing to his chums how he was able to completely deceive a whole country. —But now that the truth has been revealed, broadcasted and has become well-known facts, from here on, no matter what he thinks or what he says to anyone, it will only be a proof of his foolishness, nothing but piling shame upon shame.]

[In a way, he’s blessed for not knowing it.]

[Well, this may look only like a youth’s pranks exposed in broad daylight. However…seeing that his identity went unchallenged and that he was pampered due to our countrymen’s naiveté only shows that there is some problem with our people’s critical ability and prudence. The main message that I want to impart this time is this: The spreading disease of ‘lack of critical thinking’ and ‘simple-mindedness’ in this country.]

[‘Lack of critical thinking’ and ‘simple-mindedness’, is it?]

[Yes. Those two comprise tonight’s theme. Adults of ‘good sense’ from our country believed this traveler without a second thought. If he were not a mere ill-natured trickster, but was actually a spy sent by an enemy country, what would have happened?]

[That’s not a very appealing thought… They would probably think that this country is very submissive.]

[That might be seen as a reason for having a national defense, but it is not necessarily impossible. With that, I want our concerned citizens to seriously reflect about this.]

[Indeed.]

[There are too many gaps in this country. That is, there are too many gaps in its people. I want everyone to know that indifference and innocence are things that at times, can be considered as crimes.]

[The innocence of children is still pleasant, though…]

[About that. Though everybody thinks children are innocent, there are many of them who have composure and are capable of rational judgment. In fact, when my nephew heard the news about a traveler entering the country, it seems that he asked his parents many times over, ‘Really? Did a traveler really came?’ In other words, the child was able to see through his camouflage. This is quite amazing. A proof that a mere four-year-old child was able to get closer to the truth than the great majority of our citizens.]

[The accuracy and keenness of a child’s observation is really shocking at times.]

[Definitely. And when they grow up, that will be reversed, and what will emerge is the carelessness of an adult. It would be great if everyone turns back into children all at once.]

[That’s a bold proposal, but if that were to happen at once, this country might fall into ruin.]

[Well, it’s ruined enough as it is. This country is already in the process of decay. —Just as I said before, if all the adults here were to die at once, then that will give birth to a country of nothing but children. But once those children become adults, the world at that time will be much more preferable than the one we have right now. I assure you. —But of course, something like that is not possible, so we’ll just have to do with the tragedy of a country we have right now.]

[These blunders, or deeply ingrained ‘mistakes’ of adults—where did they come from?

[That is of course, a problem of the ‘mind’. I have been saying it from the beginning, but, right now, the adults don’t understand at all what that true ‘mind’ really is. And they don’t try to understand it. They don’t notice that they’re losing something important. They continue to pretend that they don’t notice. And the tragedy goes on. That is the true present condition of this country.]

[I see. It only means that adults no longer have a mind for ‘self-criticism’. —It’s about time, but let’s give way for tonight’s conclusion.]

[‘Lack of critical thinking and simple-mindedness’— If we continue living our lives like this, then we are headed to a mental downfall of this country. I’ve said it many times before, but that day is just right at the corner. People who haven’t realized it yet may be laughing lightheartedly, but for the sake of this country, please realize that that day of despair is about to come.]

[Thank you very much. —Everyone, what do you feel about this? We’ll be awaiting your phone calls or letters for your opinions and requests. See you again next time. Next will be the weather corner.]

—

[Hello. Is it all right to call now?]

[It’s okay.]

[Did you listen to the broadcast just now?]

[Of course. Just as always, that guy did a good job stretching out some obscure theory.]

[It was amazing. Usually, I erase the recording, but I saved it this time. When he talked about ‘minds’ out of the blue, I spewed out the tea I was drinking.]

[I roared out laughing when I heard about his nephew ‘who saw the truth on his own’.]

[Then there was that old ‘waiting for the day of despair’ discussion. He went talking about how he was so smart, being the only one to have noticed it, and all.]

[Yeah. —But they have been saying that non-stop since five years ago. Just when is that day gonna come?]

[They’ll keep on saying that until it comes, so someday they’ll get it right.]

[Hahaha. That corner is really fun. I want it to go on.]

[You bet. By the way, do you think the traveler was really like that?]

[Traveler? Ah, the traveler that was used as primer for discussion. —Whether it’s true or not doesn’t really matter anymore.]

——

“Hello there. Mr. Scherzi, thanks for today’s work.”

“Yeah.”

“Today’s show was also quite impressive. About this time, our PR must be getting flooded with phone calls. It will probably surpass the record of our previous installment.”

“That’s great but…there’s some weakness in the evidence, or a hole perhaps. But it’s just an opinion, so I guess it doesn’t matter.”

“Oh? Well let’s hear it for now.”

“That argument about the persuader. It may be true that his choice of weapon was offhand, but if it’s for traveling purposes, then it is reasonable to avoid bringing heavy weapons or those that use too much ammunition. That persuader uses gunpowder that can be bought everywhere and its bullets can be hand-made from molten lead. It is quite convenient in terms of not having to carry too much bullets with him. I believe that traveler knows this very well.”

“Your obsession is kicking in again. You really are detailed when it comes to persuaders, Mr. Scherzi.”

“There’s one more.”

“Yes, what is it?”

“There’s a hot spring about half a day’s travel to the east. That traveler must have camped out there. That was why he was clean. The water and steam there can be used as much as one likes, after all. Geologists know about this, so it would be a better not to mention it too much.”

“Okay… For the time being, I’ll mention it to our script writer. But you know, almost nobody who listens to us will understand that.”

“That may be true, though.”

“Well, help us again next time, Mr. Scherzi! Thanks for the good work!”

“Sure. Thank you.”

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