the scent of the deep fried “silken” tofu filled his nostrils. As he picked up his chopsticks, he noticed in the room’s dim light that there was a design, deeply branded, in the center of the slab of kinugoshi:
The ancient symbol for a kimono....
As he lifted the oishii treat to his lips, prior to savoring the warm custard-like interior, Masafumi decided that no matter what it might cost him, or how many free tattoos he might have to give that nano-tech factory worker, he would somehow get the thirteen yards worth of transparent nano-fabric for Harumi’s osode...no other cloth would do, under the circumstances.
AFTERWORD TO “THE HIKIKOMORI’S CARTOON KIMONO”
This version of the novelette is the original manuscript which I submitted to Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine back in 2006; the version which was published early the next year was somewhat shorter and slightly different in spots (including an ending which made it clear that the evil mall cop was actually killed by a mob of justifiably angry Japanese people); I needed to cut about 1,000 words for length alone before it sold, and I simply wanted to restore that material for those readers who might’ve wanted the story to go on just a bit longer. I also thought it would be interesting for readers who have the magazine version (it was in an anniversary issue, and was thus a “must buy” for many sf fans) to be able to compare the two texts, just to see how the editing process can result in small yet significant changes in a particular piece.
I am quite pleased with this work, be it in the original version or in the magazine version—for once I was able to blend many different themes and characters and make everything work as a unified whole.
The freakish rent-a-cop Ulger is based on a policeman in my city who has an inordinate fondness for grabbing small children and man-handling them, among other less acceptable sexual proclivities; while people have been complaining about him for years, the former chief adored him, and refused to acknowledge that his favorite “yes-man” is anything but a wonderful cop—even to the point of placing this goon in charge of security at the local high school. Talk about foxes in henhouses....
Masafumi is one of my favorite characters through; I am very fond of this shy young man who manages to take the otherwise bitter reality of being used for a nefarious act and turn it into something beautiful, and powerfully creative. I only wish I knew how I created him so well—coming up with a fellow like him is one of those rare, unpredictable literary feats that usually remain beyond one’s grasp....
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
