City Series:Volume3a Afterword
Afterword[edit]
Miss, how are you feeling in this lazy afternoon sun?
I, for one, am sleepy.
(Omitted) the ominous time of 4:30 AM, so I’m only so wide awake because I finished writing the second part of Hong Kong (omitted) through the first half while eating the Häagen-Dazs I bought at the convenience store with the pale kid, so (omitted)
That’s no good at all.
When I’m feeling this sleepy, there’s nothing like calling a friend to wake me up.
“Hello, this is T.”
“The phone number you just answered is not currently in use. Please hang up and-…”
“This is Kawakami, isn’t it?”
“How did you know?”
“I had a feeling it was just about my turn.”
“Well done, then. Did you look through the rough draft of Hong Kong A I gave you before?”
“Yeah, I read it. I loved how manly the warrior from the continent of Mu was when he showed up partway through.”
“There wasn’t anything like that in there.”
“Just kidding. Get mad too much and you’ll go bald. I still curse you for getting it all cut off at the barbershop.”
“I just fell asleep and they cut it way too short. …Hey! Don’t just hang up!”
The selfish bastard didn’t know how to respond.
Anyway, I’ve been so very thankful for all the letters from readers I’ve been getting.
I sent a New Year’s card or commemorative card to everyone who sent their thoughts in a letter or postcard. If anyone feels like yelling “I didn’t get anything like that, dammit!” like some of the more violent people on the streets, then your letter must not have reached me for some reason. If you don’t mind the trouble, please send it again. (This is getting long. I really like writing, don’t I?)
Now, then. This one was split into two parts, so it’s really turned into something amazing.
What is the connection between Akira’s parents and Huang Daquan? What is their connection with the General? What happened in Double Lee, Gunmal, and the others’ pasts? What is the contradiction in the Flight Song? And what will happen to Hong Kong?
I’ve left all that hanging, but it will all be resolved in the second part. A lot of it is closely related, so make sure you don’t miss anything while reading.
And the story has grown so much because I decided to start the City Series in earnest with Hong Kong. That’s why I threw in a whole bunch of the ideas for the setting I’d been stocking up on. (This is all thanks to the people who supported me with Berlin and London. Thank you.)
And as the story expands, the Afterword quickly grew by two pages, the book itself also got longer, and the second part is longer still.
Am I trying to write a dictionary here?
I don’t really get it, but I’ve been hearing something about Osaka lately?
That’s right. Osaka.
What’s that about?
To answer your question, um, it’s the City world’s version of Osaka, Japan.
I’m making a game set there. I make it sound simple, but let me make one thing clear: producing video games is my real job. I’m producing it and writing the scenario because that’s where my abilities lie.
But it would be cheating to talk too much about a game in a novel afterword, so if you’re interested check on the internet: http://www.tenky.co.jp/
That should tell you what I’m doing.
And with that personal business out of the way, I just finished rereading this first part while listening to Angel Night by PSY・S. (It fits this book so well.)
“Everyone has this kind of power, don’t they?”
That’s what it made me think.
What that means and what happens next will be in the second part and I hope to talk about a number of things in that afterword.
Let’s hurry onward.
October 1997. A morning of a sudden cold wave.
-Kawakami Minoru
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