Luca Signorelli (SignorelliL@alma.it)
--- RED TOWER, BLACK TOWER, GREY SLABS ---
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PART 4 OF 4
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- Later: Altair --
Ryouga sat inside the Nekohanten, waiting for Shampoo to get ready for
the New Year's Eve party at Ucchan's. He was trying to focus his eyes
on the small letters on the border of the "K2" menthol cigarette
packet. He had got the habit while convalescing on the Islamabad
military hospital, after treatment for minor frostbite. Everyone else
said that these cigarettes were the worst - Ryouga had bought two
crates of them before leaving Pakistan. He was fascinated by the image
drawn on the packet - K2 as it is seen from Concordia. He put his
fingers on the top and let it slide down along Abruzzi's spur, trying
to put in relation every place on the image with his own memories. The
Bottleneck, the Shoulder, The Black Pyramid, The Red Towers, House
Chimney... his finger always came back to the top. Only six month
before he had been there. There. There. There...
Cologne came to the table, bringing an opened Kirin. "Shampoo's
getting ready. She'll be here in a minute."
Ryouga didn't answer. The temperature inside the restaurant was
suffocating.
"If you don't mind, I'll wait outside. It's too hot here." He got the
bottle and left.
The street before the Nekohanten was covered by a thin layer of snow
and empty, except for a tall and gaunt figure staring at the
restaurant's ensign. He had a carefully trimmed short beard and a
regular tan that contrasted with his fashionable grey dress. It was
Kuno.
"I wasn't sure about the place. I mean, it has been so many years
ago." Ryouga was glad to see him - he got another beer and a chair,
and they sat outside the Nekohanten's door.
Kuno was back in town for some month, before his next assignment - he
planned to get married with an Italian girl before the end of next
year. He needed some rest and Ryouga noticed how Tatewaki's eyes
always stared at an indefinite point before him. His next to last
responsibility had been in Central Africa. Here, another inter-tribal
war had exploded - United Nation's intervention had been, as often,
too late and not enough to prevent a genocide.
-- Later: Vega --
Kuno had quickly discovered that you can get used to everything, no
matter how horrible and revolting. He had seen mass graves, and spoken
with people whose families had been burned alive in churches. He had
saved kids of one ethnic origin from being killed by their own mothers
belonging to another. And he couldn't prevent people who had
participated in the earlier massacre from being lynched by survivors.
One day, in charge of a military team, he had evacuated the survivors
of a refugee camp that had been stormed by the opposite faction. He
had rounded up a small group of children who had survived the ordeal.
Some of the mothers, panicking, had tried to launch their kids over
the high barbed wire fence - there were small bodies hanging from it.
One was still alive. He had lost his right arm and was completely
entangled by wire, but he was still alive, his eyes crazed by the
pain. Mercifully, he had died a few minutes later. Kuno's squad
removed the corpses and burned them in a roadside ditch.
The surviving children had been put in Kuno's vehicle, and they had
started the journey back to the UN camp. One hour later, they had
found an obstacle across from the road. While they waited for it to be
removed, the kids had improvised a soccer game with a rounded tin can.
So far, Kuno had succeeded in maintaining his composure. But as he
realised the incongruity of this children's game on the very border
of hell, something inside him had snapped. He had cried for hours,
unable to stop himself. One week later, he had resigned.
Ryouga sat silent as Kuno, his profile stern and hieratic as anytime
he could remember from the Furinkan's years, calmly unfolded his
story. His marvellous and daring mountain adventure had become
trivial: Ukyou and he had just been two tourists in distress over some
exotic holiday location. They hadn't done anything really important -
just climbed a remote mountain no-one cared about. He felt his ancient
angst and sense of purposelessness lurking behind a black corner of
his own conscience. He wondered if even Ukyou had ever felt that way,
since they had come back. Suddenly, he realised they hadn't yet
discussed what had really happened that morning on the Shoulder.
-- Later: Deneb --
Ryouga turned his head. Cologne had silently slipped behind their
shoulders.
"Kuno-san, our tradition says that when Mongols sacked the city of
Tien-tsin, they raised to the sky pyramids of severed heads. I don't
think the world is much changed since, and I'm afraid it will never
change." The old, diminutive woman's expression was blank.
"I don't know, ma'am. But I'm afraid I don't buy this anymore. Someone
tells me that's all to do with human nature, and human nature doesn't
change. If it is true, it's horrible, and I don't think it is true.
It's an excuse for people like my sister and her friends. I'm tired of
hearing lectures on how natural and inevitable these things are. They
aren't. Not at all. And if they are, I hope to face one day the one
responsible of all that, and give him a slap for every human being
that had ever to meet human nature. I really hope so, ma'am. Really."
Cologne didn't answer.
-- Tour Rouge, Tour Noire, Grey Slabs --
Kuno would chaperon Shampoo to the New Ucchan, so Ryouga left. Since
their return from K2, Ryouga's orientation sense had improved a lot,
and now he didn't risk anymore spending days trying to get back home.
Nerima's street were all uniformly covered by the same, thin layer of
snow, coldly reflecting the streetlight's yellow glare. The wall
seemed to be incessant, but Ryouga was glad to be there.
When he arrived at the restaurant, Ukyou was upstairs. She had been
adamant that they weren't going to keep it open for New Year's Eve, so
the light inside was dim, and no one had yet arrived for the party.
Ryouga sat on a bench near the counter. He felt dazed. Something in
the conversation with Kuno had stirred a movement inside his brain,
but he could not identify what it was.
Without notice, from the upper room, came Ukyou's voice. She was
singing - the same song Ryouga had heard on K2's summit, 21000 miles
from Tokyo and 8611meters over the sea level. He still couldn't
understand the words, but now the tone was different. It wasn't
anymore a call of triumph: just a slow, sad tune sung by a young woman
dressing for a New Year's Eve party.
Ryouga understood what he was trying to remember. He got his pocket
diary, where the unfinished poetry stood:
"Aurora's rising
showing up her multi-lights
I watch her coming
A fearsome growing
beheading my illusions
empress of visions
the veil of Maia
has been torn before my eyes
Aurora's rising"
Then he added
"And even I should see the face of God
It will mean not so much for me
because I've heard
the voice of a merciless Jesus Christ
who's lost his wish for our redemption."
What a beautiful trick they played on us, Ryouga thought. It's really
true that the door will not open, and Akane won't come in smiling,
dressed in yellow and green, ready for the New Year Party? Is it
really possible that Kasumi will not enter and, as in the dream on the
mountain, she'll not bring me some tea and brownies? For me, for
Ukyou, for Kuno, for the kid on the barbed wire fence. They're gone.
What a terrible, splendid joke.
He leaned back. He could still see the image of the distant city
beyond the river, blazing in flames - the same he had glimpsed, beyond
hope but at last at rest, on the mountain shoulder. But the scene
changed - as seen through a limited field of vision, like an iron
slit: the sky was lead, the ground was steel - a voice shouted orders
in an unknown language. There were towers of smoke on the horizon, and
shapes streaming toward him like a torrent of rats. Instinctively, his
hand searched for an invisible ignition key.
I know that everyone's going to his duty - whatever the situation,
whatever the outcome. He clenched his fist again, and suddenly felt
much better.
He closed the notebook, and went upstairs to Ukyou.
THE END
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RED TOWER, BLACK TOWER, GREY SLABS
a story by Luca Signorelli
edited and proofread by Lyn Daniel and Francis Sanchez
"Aurora"'s lyric written by Andrea Signorelli
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To the memory of
Ubaldo Rey, who found his way out of the Shoulder
and
Alan Rouse, who couldn't.
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I love getting mail, rants & grunts, even of the aggressive variety. I
can be reached at
SignorelliL@alma.it
or through snail-mail at
Luca Signorelli
Corso Belgio 105
Turin (Italy)
or by phone/fax at
011/8991336
Ryouga, Ukyou, Cologne, Kuno, Ranma, Akane, Kasumi and Mousse are
products of the talent and fertile imagination of Ms. Rumiko
Takahashi, and I don't claim any right on them (of course!). Ranma 1/2
is a marvellous example of literary genius applied to popular fiction.
To paraphrase someone, I can imagine the world without "X-Files", but
not without "Ranma 1/2." So please, Ms. Takahashi, don't sue me!
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Author's Notes
This story is my first attempt to write fiction directly in English,
and without the learned, skilful and invaluable help of Lyn Daniel
(for the entire text) and Francis Sanchez (for the first part), it
would have been an unreadable typo-fest. Lyn and Frank's contribution
has been even more commendable because of their commitments and the
length of this story. My deep gratitude to them.
The idea that the Wedding Fiasco (Ranma and Akane's first attempt to
marry) could have such serious consequences has been suggested by a
discussion I had with Caroline "Kun-Chan" Seawright, High Priestess Of
Ryouga and victim of one of my longest and direst attempt to make a
decent interview. To her, again, my eternal acknowledgement.
My debt with James Ballard is immense, so I feel a bit uneasy to quote
only a part of it. Anyway, the first few lines of this story are
inspired by the beginning of his short story "The Terminal Beach."
Also, the structure is similar. I believe that he invented the only
narrative technique worth using in this end of century, and I plan to
use it for most of my future fictional output.
Of course, I've to include in this thanklist my brother Andrea. He's
always begging for coming back to his regiment (believe me, I don't
know which regiment is talking about) but his help and inspiration are
second to none.
Someone may find my portrait of Ukyou, Ryouga and Kuno downright
depressing and a far cry from Rumiko Takahashi's solar atmosphere.
Anyway, it occurred to me that in "Ranma 1/2" there's an undercurrent
of subtle melancholy, as if all the frenzy, fun and gaiety of Nerima
was just taking place on the border of the abyss, in a world where
sunset is not far away . Of course, it may be just a matter of
interpretation...
K2 is the second highest mountain on Earth, but it's also the most
beautiful, most dangerous and, along with Gasherbrum IV and Cerro
Torre, most technically difficult - far, far more than Everest. On its
flanks, acts of unimaginable heroism and incredible stupidity have
been perpetrated, and every three climbers attempting its summit, one
dies. It's a place that defies description so, if you want really to
know what's like, you should at least buy a book. K2 isn't documented
well as Everest, but there's a batch of decent book on it. The best
one I know in English is "K2 - The History of The Savage Mountain" by
Jim Curran (London - Hodder and Stoughton).
K2 "true" West Face (not the WSW, climbed first by Japanese in 1978)
is one of the last unclimbed big walls on Earth. The West Face has
been attempted only twice by extremely competent teams, that have
renounced well below the 7000 metres limit because of avalanche
danger. In the Golden Age of Himalayan Climbing (the mid-80's) it
would have attracted hordes, but now it's difficult to think it will
climbed any soon. In fact, along with the nightmarish Makalu West
Face, it remains as one of the symbols of the impossible
If you feel that Ryouga and Ukyou's ordeal has been exaggerated, think
about it twice. In fact, it is the other way round. I've assumed that
Ryouga and Ukyou's nearly supernatural strength and knowledge of
ancient arts would have helped them in the environmental condition to
be found on K2. No actual climb has inspired their story, but the
closest I can think it's Robert Schauer and Woycek Kurtzyka desperate
attempt at Gasherbrum IV's "Shining Wall" in 1985 - maybe, so far, the
most difficult mountain climb EVER. Similarly, Ryouga's close call on
the Shoulder has been to some extent inspired by the 1986 catastrophe,
so tautly described in Mr. Curran's first book on K2: "K2-Triumph And
Tragedy".
Ukyou's hypotesis on Mick Burke's fate (read on the subject the
brilliant account by Pete Boardman, the last men who saw Burke alive,
in "Sacred Summits" ) has been suggested by Reinhold Messner's "The
Limit Of Life." This is an interesting but little know book dealing
with the psychological effects of altitude climbing, written by the
first man who climbed all the 8000's.
Ryouga's poetry ("Aurora") and Ukyou's song ("Tour Rouge, Tour Noire,
Grey Slabs") do really exists. They're both included in Braindamage's
CD "The Turning Point." The former has been written by my brother
Andrea, but the latter is mine!
Most of "Red Tower, Black Tower, Gray Slabs" contents is fictional:
Kuno's tale unfortunately isn't. Thanx to Michele Ricca for his
nightmarish first-hand account, told me on the 1996's Xmas eve.
A quick n' dirty glossary: 14-points crampons are metal devices to be
attached to the sole of the climbing boots. They have 12 metal spikes
perpendicular to the sole, and 4 frontal slightly oblique. They are
used for progression on ice terrain, to prevent slipping. Karabiners
are oblong rings with a spring loaded gate, used to connect the
climbing rope to a piton or any other anchorage. Hexentrics are metal
blocks of several shapes, used universally (along with other metal
spring-loaded expanding devices and/or pitons) to provide anchor
points in rock cracks. Rappels (or abseils) are means of descent on
steep terrain using a double rope anchored on rock (or ice). A belay
point is a safe stance where the rope is anchored safely. A Stitch
plate is a friction device used to control the rope during descent.
Last but not least: Ukyou and Ryouga don't use bottled oxygen, still
the norm when climbing at extremely high altitudes. At 8000 meters
oxygen pressure in the atmosphere is one third than at sea level. Most
mountain expeditions brings bottled oxygen to reduce hypoxia and
survive a longer time at these altitudes. Anyway, the bottles are
heavy and cumbersome, and someone thinks that they are a form of
"cheat". Since Reinhold Messner daring oxygen-less ascent of Everest
in 1978, there's a trend to climb the highest mountains of Earth
without it. Anyway, risks are enormously increased, as the recent
statistics shows.
Turin (Italy), late July 1997