A Tale for the Time Being Read Free Page A

Imagine a ring of snakes, each biting the tail of the one ahead of it. The
Kuroshio is one of four or five currents that make up the Turtle Gyre.”
    She nodded. She closed her eyes and pictured the snakes.
    “Each gyre orbits at its own speed,” he continued. “And the length of an orbit is called a tone. Isn’t that beautiful? Like the music of the spheres. The longest orbital
period is thirteen years, which establishes the fundamental tone. The Turtle Gyre has a half tone of six and a half years. The Aleut Gyre, a quarter tone of three. The flotsam that rides the gyres
is called drift. Drift that stays in the orbit of the gyre is considered to be part of the gyre memory. The rate of escape from the gyre determines the half-life of drift . . .”
    He picked up the Hello Kitty lunchbox and turned it over in his hands. “All that stuff from people’s homes in Japan that the tsunami swept out to sea? They’ve been tracking it
and predicting it will wash up on our coastline. I think it’s just happening sooner than anyone expected.”

Nao
    1.
    There’s so much to write. Where should I start?
    I texted my old Jiko this question, and she wrote back this:. 10
    Okay, my dear old Jiko. I’ll start right here at Fifi’s Lovely Apron. Fifi’s is one of a bunch of maid cafés that popped up all over Akiba Electricity Town 11 a couple of years ago, but what makes Fifi’s a little bit special is the French salon theme. The interior is decorated mostly in pink and red, with accents
of gold and ebony and ivory. The tables are round and cozy, with marblelike tops and legs that look like carved mahogany, and the matching chairs have pink puff tapestry seats. Dark red velvet
roses curl up the wallpaper, and the windows are draped in satin. The ceiling is gilded and hung with crystal chandeliers, and little naked Kewpie dolls float like clouds in the corners.
There’s an entryway and coatroom with a trickling fountain and a statue of a nude lady lit by a throbbing red spot.
    I don’t know if this decor is authentic or not as I’ve never visited France, but I’m going to guess that probably there aren’t many French maid cafés like this in
Paris. It doesn’t matter. The feeling at Fifi’s Lovely Apron is very chic and intimate, like being stuffed inside a great big claustrophobic valentine, and the maids, with their
pushed-up breasts and frilly uniforms, look like cute little valentines, too.
    Unfortunately, it’s pretty empty in here right now, except for some otaku 12 types at the corner table, and two bug-eyed American tourists. The
maids are standing in a sulky line, picking at the lace on their petticoats and looking bored and disappointed with us, like they’re hoping for some new and better customers to come in and
liven things up. There was a little bit of excitement a while ago when one otaku ordered omurice 13 with a big red Hello Kitty face painted in ketchup
on top. A maid whose name tag says she’s Mimi knelt down before him to feed him, blowing on each bite before spooning it into his mouth. The Americans got a real kick out of that, which was
hilarious. I wish you could have seen it. But then he finished, and Mimi took his dirty plate away, and now it’s boring again. The Americans are just drinking coffees. The husband is trying
to get his wife to let him order a Hello Kitty omurice, too, but she’s way too uptight. I heard her whispering that the omurice is too expensive, and she’s got a point. The food here is
a total rip-off, but I get my coffee for free because Babette is my friend. I’ll let you know if the wife loosens up and changes her mind.
    It didn’t used to be this way. Back when maid cafés were ninki #1! 14 Babette told me that the customers used to line up and wait for
hours just to get a table, and the maids were all the prettiest girls in Tokyo, and you could hear them over the noise of Electricity Town calling out, Okaerinasaimase, dannasama!, 15 which makes men