Espresso Love (A Dystopian Japan Novel) #Wattys2014

The Pinnacle

We have almost reached the pinnacle by now. Behind us and ahead of us are coloured gondolas dangling from thin joints like keychains. They curve in perspective, smaller and smaller in the distance, bending out of sight. Of course, we're in similarly swaying and jingling in one, chained along the circumference of the circle. I wonder how we might appear to someone on the outside. Two peas in a clear pod, hanging by a thread. We're completely exposed. But I can only imagine; as long as we remain within this encasing, we would never understand how the rest of the world observes us.

At this height, the entire cityscape sprawls out before us - Tokyo at our fingertips. No longer do we see individual buildings like the Landmark Tower, or cars and roads, but we see the contrast between light and dark. We see the sudden void of black space washing against the edge of the ocean port, ablaze, like spiritual warfare between heaven and hell. Tiny explosions of children's glitter and coloured pointillism that compose a mass. It stretches beyond what our eyes could see, becoming orange mist in the horizon.

"Reminds me of Mao II. The mass communal wedding of six thousand couples."

"Six thousand five hundred. You were reading it a month ago."

"Yes, thirteen thousand people in a stadium."

"Like a massive orgy," she says.

"What?" I laugh. An image of Ahn Mi Hyun in a business suit comes to mind. "I hardly think dressing in formal attire is fitting for that."

"Who knows? There are some performance art pieces that are entirely shocking. There is a lot of nudity in performance art. It happens when human beings try to make a statement."

No doubt, I know a few names as well. "Shimoda Seiji, Kusama Yayoi, Ono Yoko, to name a few. Adam and Eve were created to be naked after all. Now it is a taboo."

"So is sex. For many years it has been standard, and an everyday common occurrence, like buying groceries. People did it, for whatever reasons, for pleasure, for fun, for love, for needs, because it's routine. But the System removes all emotion and basic human instincts as well, whether they're aware or not, so abstinence is slowly Etiquette. Even now, the Japanese adhere to sexual Etiquette, like showering and cleaning beforehand; women still don't have certain freedoms, expected to behave certain ways, they fake orgasms; and the sex industry is commonplace. Every salaryman makes visits after work and it becomes a simple business transaction. The severance between the body and the spirit or heart, if it can be called that, is widening. Maybe in another ten years, it would be largely different. Maybe there will no longer be natural urges to reproduce. Somewhere, Etiquette will be implemented."

"Would you rather something open and promiscuous like the Brave New World?"

"No, no. Either or, it's triviality." She blushes. I can tell because our faces are lit with neon yellow glow, and her cheeks are becoming a shade darker. I hadn't thought she could be embarrassed.

"Either way, it emphasizes on the removal of emotional value and individual subjectivity. The isolation of the body, without the psyche. People exist in service to the whole," I say.

The ferris wheel seems to groan in effort but we continue moving. As we approach the summit, I feel a strange sensation through my body. A lightheadedness as if my spirit is leaving through the top of my head - maybe from the height or anticipation. Or it might have been entirely something else.

"If I tell you to, if it means breaking Etiquette and making a statement, would you walk around nude?" Her lips curve up in tease.

"Even if you were holding a camera, I wouldn't, no." It's my turn to be flustered.