Before long, the elevator had come down. As its doors opened, the people broke from their lines in a rush. Just after it had been filled, another two customers got on at virtually the same instant. Immediately a buzzer began to sound, and a voice came from the ceiling speaker.
“Weight capacity has been exceeded. We apologize for the inconvenience, but could the last customer to board please step out. I repeat….”
The buzzer was still ringing, but neither of the two seemed about to get off. One was an overweight middle-aged woman in gaudy clothes; the other was a small, jeans-clad girl of about seventeen or eighteen. The two were looking into each other’s faces, as if wordlessly arguing with each other that I got on before you; you got on after!
The elevator’s robotic operator-girl said softly, “We have a little problem. If neither of you is so kind as to step out, the elevator can’t go….”
Feeling the cold stares of the tight-packed customers, the middle-aged woman opened her mouth. “Well, as for myself, I bought a diamond for one hundred thousand credits on the fourth floor, so I feel I have a right to ride this elevator. Shall I show you the receipt? And really, it was I who got on the elevator before this girl!”
So saying, she looked off to the side in a huff.
While she suffered from the unpleasant fashion sense of the nouveau riche, what she had said seemed sufficiently reasonable. The customers’ gaze moved to the girl.
“I’m not as rich as this lady, so all I bought was a single five-hundred credit notebook,” she said in a small voice, “—but I washed dishes for a week to save up those five hundred credits! It’s a lot of money for me! And this lady shoved her way in after me, I swear!”
“Oh dear, I’m at a loss. We’re only over capacity by a single kilogram, but…” said the operator, and seemed to worry about it for a while. But then, as if struck by a flash of inspiration, she clapped her hands together and said, “—Please try this, then. In my pocket I have a sample bottle of the ‘Slim Soon’ that will go on sale next month in the pharmacy corner of the twenty-sixth floor of this department store. If each of you could please take one of these pills, then it seems to me we should get a result quickly.”
The two reluctantly took and swallowed the white tablets offered by the operator. The roomful of customers watched their condition closely. After half a minute, the buzzer stopped.
The operator’s cheerful voice resounded. “Everyone, I apologize for the delay. The elevator is no longer over its weight capacity. I’m going to close the door now, so please watch your feet.”
Thirty minutes later…
In a small coffee shop, the two from before were seated at the same table, drinking iced coffee. To the woman, who was puffing away at a cigarette, the girl said,
“Mom, it’s time to go. We need to hurry to department store H. There are still three more places today to perform the live ‘Slim Soon’ commercial.”
<+ + +>
エレベーター － 古賀 準二
M地下十二階で催されている火星物産展は、大勢の客で混雑していた。地上まで三秒間で上がる高速エレベーターの前には、買い物をすませた客が、両手にふくらんだ買い物袋をさげて列をつくっている。
やがてエレベーターが下りてきてドアが開くと同時に、人々は列をくずして殺到した。
すぐ満員になった後、さらに二人の客がほぼ同時にエレベーターに乗り込んだ。
そのとたん、ブザーが鳴り始め、天井のスピーカーから声が流れた。
「重量オーバーです。最後にお乗りになったお客様は、ご面倒ですが下りてください。繰り返します—」
ブザーは鳴り続けているが、その二人の客はどちらも下りようとはしない。
一人は派手な服をきた太った中年女性で、もう一人はジーパン姿の十七、八の小柄な娘だった。二人は、お互いの顔を見つめながら、
（私が先で、あんたの方が後に乗ったのよ）
と無言でいいあっているように見えた。
「どうも困りましたわ。どちらか下りていただかないと、このエレベーターは動けません……」
ロボットのエレベーター嬢がつぶやいた。
ギュウギュウ詰めの客たちの冷かな視線を感じて、中年女性が口を開いた。
「わたくしは、ここの四階で十万クレジットのダイヤモンドを買ったんですから、このエレベーターに乗る権利があると思いますわ。領収書をお見せしましょうか？大体、この娘よりわたくしの方が先に乗ったんですのよ！」
と言いおえるとプンと横を向いた。
成金趣味が嫌味たらしいけれども、この女性(ﾋﾄ)の言うことも、もっともだ。客の視線は娘の方へ移った。
「あたしは、このおばさんほど金持ちじゃないから、五百クレジットのノートを一冊買ったきりさ」
と娘が小さな声でつぶやく。
「—だけど、五百クレジットは、あたしが一週間皿洗いのバイトをして貯めたお金なんだよ。あたしにとっては大金なんだ。このおばさんの方が、あたしの後に割り込んできたんだ、本当だよ！」
「うーん、弱りました。重量オーバーは、わずかの一キログラムなんですがね」
エレベーター嬢はしばらく悩んでいたが、何がいいアイデアがひらめいたらしく、ポンと両手を打ってこう言った。
「—ではこうしてください。当デパート二十六階の医薬品コーナーで、来月から売り出す予定の〝スグ・ヤセール〟の試供品がひとビン、私のポケットにあります。この錠剤をお二人で一粒ずつ飲んでみてください。何でも飲めばすぐ効果があるらしいですから—」
二人は、エレベーター嬢が差し出す白錠剤をしぶしぶ飲み込んだ。
満員の客が二人の様子をじっと見つめている。三十秒後、ブザーは止んだ。
「皆様、大変お待たせいたしました。重量オーバーは解決しました。ドアが閉まりますので、足元にご注意ください」
エレベーター嬢の明るい声が響いた。
それから三十分後。
小さな喫茶店で、先ほどの二人が同じテーブルに腰かけて、アイスコーヒーを飲んでいる。娘がタバコを吹かしている中年婦人に声をかけた。
「母さん、そろそろ時間よ。次はH百貨店へ急がなくちゃ。〝スグ・ヤセール〟の生CM、今日はまだあと三ヵ所もあるんだからね」
2 comments:
One point that didn't come across well in translation: the word that I translated as "girl" literally means daughter, but can be used to refer to any young girl. There are other terms that could be used, though, and I'm sure Mr. Koga thought of himself as being clever by giving us such a hint right from the start.
That said, as soon as the robot mentions the pill, it becomes painfully obvious what the twist will be. The telegraphing ("on sale next month in the pharmacy corner of the twenty-sixth floor of this department store"!) is a little less blatant in the Japanese than in English, but the main charm of the story for me is still how thought-provoking the central conflict is. What does it say about a society when an elevator-full of people are willing to wait for a couple minutes for this little drama to resolve, when getting off would put you first in line for the elevator's next arrival -- twenty seconds later?
My first thought was to make the woman walk, as she could use the exercise. The cigarette clinched the idea.
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