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Curiosities of Lotus Asia/Chapter 27
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Page 198-205
| < | Chapter 26 | Curiosities of Lotus Asia | Afterword | > |
| サイコロの記憶が「記憶」が 確率と運命を左右する…!? |
The dice of memory shows "memory". Dominated by probabilty and fate...!? | |
| 大人気同人STGのノベル連載も今回でひとまず終了。長い間 応援ありがとうございました!! 『東方』の世界は、今後もさまざま なメディアで広がっていく予定。本連載をまとめた単行本も、 2008年春発売予定なのでお楽しみに!! |
The novelization for the popular doujin shmup series now comes to an end. Thank you for your long-time patronage! The world of Touhou will continue in various media in the future. Look forward to the Kourindou compilation book, planned for release in spring of 2008! | |
| 幸運のメカニズム | Mechanism of Fortune | |
|---|---|---|
| ここに |
Assume you have a die. If you were to roll it on a desk, few will be able to predict what the result will be. | |
| 例として投げた賽子の目が一だったとする。では、もう一度同じ賽子を投げた時はどうなるだろうか。 | Take the number that came up from that throw as one example of an outcome. Now, what will happen when the die is cast again? | |
| Of course, it usually isn't possible to know what will happen, but let's assume some certain conditions. These conditions are ones that match the initial conditions of the dice. In other words, the initial states of position, angle and force. | ||
| するとどうなるだろうか？ 賽子は一回目と同じ様に回転しながら空中を舞い、そしてまったく同じ時間にまったく同じ角度で机の同じ場所に当たり、同じように跳ねるだろう。初期条件をまったく同じにする事は妖怪ならば出来ない事も無いが、人間の手では難しいかも知れない。その場合はそういう装置を作っても良い。 | What happens then? The dice will dance in the air rotating as the first time, strike the desk at the same place, the same angle, at the same time and bounce identically. Matching the exact same conditions may be something that a youkai can do, but it is more difficult for human hands. In that case, you may make a device that could do such a thing. | |
| これならば、賽の目は再び一になる筈である。この事実が何を意味するかと言うと、何らかの拍子で世界に存在するあらゆる物体が、過去の一点とまったく同じ状態に |
In doing so, the die should once again fall on the same result. The meaning hidden behind this reality is that everything in this world, no matter when or where it happens, will reach a condition identical to one in the past, and from then on, history will repeat itself. This point in time marks a predictable future. Furthermore, it is safe to assume that the conditions at the end of that repetition must return to the point it is in currently. Perhaps this world has already gone through some untold number of loops. | |
| ――カランカラン | *Ring-a-ling* | |
| 店の扉がいつもの様に来客の音を立てたのは、ある作業をしている途中だった。日常がループしているかいないかを確かめる為に必要な作業だ。 | I was in the middle of my work when the door made a noise that indicated my usual visitors. It is work to confirm whether or not daily life forms a loop. | |
| それは日記を書く事である。二、三年前から書き始めた日記は、分量にして既に数冊分になっていた。日記とは、僕が見てきた幻想郷の仕組みを書き留めた物であり、有り体に言えば |
That task would be writing in my journal. I had begun writing two or three years ago, and already I had filled several books. I was recording my viewpoint of the structure of Gensokyo, and I frankly believe that one day it will become a history book. | |
| 妖怪は人間より圧倒的に寿命が長い為か、余り幻想郷の歴史を |
Youkai live longer than humans to an overwhelming degree, so there are few sources on Gensokyo's history. Because of this huge advantage over the humans, the youkai likely twist what little history remains to whatever will benefit them. Humans can learn much from history, but the youkai have intentionally stolen this away from them. | |
| 里に住む妖怪達は、毎日の生活を楽しむ事しか考えていない。山に住む妖怪たちは、同じく山に住む同士たちの為だけに歴史を創る。里に住む人間は歴史を |
The youkai that live near the village are solely concerned with enjoying daily life, the youkai that live in the mountains only record history for the sake of the other residents there, but humans don't have much of an opportunity to make any. It's practically as if the history of Gensokyo has yet to begin. | |
| 僕は人間と妖怪の為に日記を書いている。僕の日記はそのまま幻想郷の歴史書となる予定である。それが幻想郷に住む妖怪と人間のありきたりの生活に吹く、新しい風となる筈だからだ。 | I am writing a journal for both human and youkai. I expect it to become a unabridged history book of Gensokyo. It will be a breath of fresh air into the ordinary lives of both humans and youkai that live in Gensokyo. | |
| 「――いやぁ、今日は |
"But man, that sure was a big'un, wasn't it? I don't think we'll see somethin' like that ever again." | |
| 「何を大げさに言ってるのよ。ここん所毎年こんな感じじゃないの」 | "You're exaggerating. It's like that around this time every year." | |
| 魔理沙と霊夢の二人が、帽子や肩に掛かった落ち葉を払いながら店に入ってきた。 | Both Marisa and Reimu entered the store, brushing fallen leaves from their shoulders and hats. | |
| 数年ほど前からだろうか、季節の変わり目になると |
A few years ago, the phantoms began increasing in numbers at the turn of the season. Since then, Reimu and Marisa's phantom-herding had become a yearly occurrence. | |
| 毎年繰り返される幽霊増加、僕にはかすかに覚えが有る。やはりこの世界は繰り返しているのだろうか。 | I could faintly remember this infestation happening every year. I suppose history is repeating in this world, after all. | |
| 「どうだい、今回の幽霊退治は。少しは幽霊は減ったかい？」 | "How did the phantom extermination go? Have their numbers decreased a little?" | |
| 「それが今回も幽霊退治 |
"We had our hands full of them; the same as always. I wonder if I should come up with a counter-measure... There's more of them every year." | |
| 「実害が無いのならば放っておけばよい。幽霊は、陽気で |
"Would leaving them alone create that much of a loss? But anyway, phantoms are cheerful beings, so maybe throwing a party or festival would gather them in one place." | |
| 「実害なら有るぜ」 | "If we did that, there would be a loss." | |
| 「なんだい？」 | "What would that be?" | |
| 「幽霊は食べられない」 | "We can't eat the phantoms." | |
| あれは六十年以上前だっただろうか……今と同じように幻想郷に幽霊が増加した時期が有った。幻想郷はその当時から変化する事を放棄し、平和な生活を築いていた。 | I believe it was over 60 years ago... There was a time where phantoms had increased in number, just like they are now. Gensokyo had resigned to the changes at the time, and resumed their peaceful life in spite of that. | |
| 安定した状態で |
Stable and resistant to chance, Gensokyo today exists in a similar "peace" to those days from 60 years ago. History is repeated over 60-year cycles. In other words, everything in the future 60 years may be rather nostalgic.[1] | |
| 「この店に幽霊ホイホイとか無いのかしら？ 置いておくだけで幽霊が捕らえられる様な何か……」 | "Don't you have any phantom traps in this shop? Something you can just leave somewhere that will catch phantoms or something...?" | |
| 「うーん、幽霊を捕らえるったって、幽霊はとりもちにはくっつかないからなぁ。それに箱だろうが何だろうがすり抜けるし……」 | "Hmmm, it's difficult to catch something that has nothing to catch on to. And they'd just slip through boxes and things like that." | |
| 「でも、とてもじゃないけど退治しきれないのよ。このまま幽霊が増え続けたら、この世界はあの世になってしまうかも知れないわ」 | "But I have to do something about them. If more keep showing up, this world might become the next Netherworld." | |
| 「大丈夫だよ。 |
"It'll be fine. The phantoms will settle down after a while. The future is predetermined like that." | |
| 霊夢は |
Reimu gave me a dubious expression. | |
| 「霖之助さんも、吸血鬼や妖怪達と同じ事を言うのね」 | "The vampires and youkai said the same thing you just did." | |
| 巷は幽霊が異常発生したと言われているが、この店に |
Phantoms will appear in public places, but they don't show up at my store often. To begin with, phantoms tend to gather easily wherever there is a lot of commotion. This is because of a phantom's transient nature, where they may vanish at any moment, so they gather at a lively place where it is easier for others to notice their existence. It is likely just as when they were human, preferring to be in crowds to people. | |
| 「未来が予定されているって言うけど、そんな訳ないぜ。毎日の生活が運だけで成り立っている様な奴も居るしな」魔理沙が霊夢を見てそう言った。 | "There's no way ya can predict the future. Some people are only able to get by on luck, y'know." Marisa said, looking at Reimu. | |
| 「まぁ運だけというか |
"Well, if by "luck" you mean "intuition," there is actually a foundation for intuition." | |
| 魔理沙が信じられない、といった顔をした。 | Marisa's expression said that she didn't believe her. | |
| 「宴会で |
"Whenever we play Chinchirorin at parties, you've seen horrible odds win out anyway. How can ya say there's a foundation for that?" | |
| ちんちろりん？ ああ、 |
Chinchirorin?[2] Ah, the simple game played with dice. Feasts and gambling go hand-in-hand with the underworld. | |
| 「魔理沙、霊夢が賽の目を確実に当てる事が出来るのは、きっと予定された未来を瞬時に計算しているからだと思うよ」 | "Marisa, I believe the reason why Reimu can guess the outcome of dice rolls must be because she can forecast using the predetermined future." | |
| 賽子の目が決定されるメカニズムに対する僕の考えを伝えた。霊夢は恐らく、賽子の初期状態を見て直感で結果が計算できるに違いない。世の中にある幸運とはそういうものだ。 | I told them my idea, about the mechanism by which the outcome of dice was set. Perhaps Reimu can determine the initial state and result of the dice by her intuition? There are those in this world with such luck. | |
| 「霖之助さんそれは全然違うわ。幾ら何でも賽子見ただけでそんな計算出来っこないわよ。計算高い人は確率でしか考えないじゃない。それに、たとえ計算してもその結果通りにはならないの」 | "That's not it at all, Mr. Rinnosuke. I can't forecast anything no matter how long I look at the dice. People who do that only think of probabilities. Besides, for all their calculations, they can still be wrong." | |
| 「何故そう思うんだい？ 確かに計算出来る訳が無いってのはそうか知れないが、もし計算出来たら未来が読めるって事になるじゃないか」 | "Why do you think so? While I suppose you don't do that, wouldn't that still let you tell the future if you could?" | |
| 霊夢は呆れた様な顔をした。 | Reimu looked shocked. | |
| 「運に関しては私の方が数段理解が深いみたいだから、今日は私が教えてあげるわ。確率のメカニズムを。あとついでに未来が予定されていない事も……」 | "I happen to have a very deep understanding of fortune, so today, I'll be doing the lecturing on the mechanism of fortune. And something you won't be able to forecast afterwards." | |
| そういうと霊夢は三人分のお茶を |
Reimu brewed tea for the three of us and gladly served it. | |
| 霊夢の勘の良さの理由が聞けるのであれば楽しみである。僕はお茶を冷ますのも忘れて口に運んだ。 | We looked forward to hearing the reason behind the quality of Reimu's intuition. I brought the tea to my lips, forgetting it had gone cold. | |
| 「……ほう。霊夢は初期条件がまったく同じになった |
"...Ah. So what you're saying is that even if the initial conditions of the dice are the same, it's possible to get different results?" | |
| 「当然そうなるわね。それだけで結果が決まる訳が無いじゃない」 | "Of course, I am. Those aren't the only things deciding the outcome." | |
| 霊夢の話は難しい話ではなかったが、そこに衝撃的な真実が含まれていた。 | Reimu's tale was a complex one, but there was a shocking truth contained therein. | |
| 霊夢 |
She says that the world is made up of three layers. | |
| まず、生き物や道具などがある物理的法則に |
First is the physical layer that moves in accordance with the laws of physics, including all living things, objects, etc. It is on this layer that an object falls towards the ground, and that the water of the river flows. | |
| 二つ目は心の動きや魔法や妖術などの心理の層。嫌な奴に会って気分を害したり、宴会を開いてわだかまりを解いたりするのがこの層。大抵の妖怪はこの物理の層と心理の層だけで世界を捉えているから、歴史が繰り返したり、未来が予定されているといった |
The second layer is one that moves with the spirit, which includes things such as magic and sorcery, the mental layer. One's mood turning sour when meeting an unpleasant person, and releasing all your stress and cares during a party lie here. Since most youkai can control the world through both the physical and mental layers, they say that history repeats itself and the future is predetermined as a prank. | |
| だが霊夢曰く、三つ目の世界の層が世界のループを |
But according to Reimu, there is a third layer that rejects loops. The third layer is the layer of memory, which is the recollection of events that lies within all things.[3] Since it's only possible to add to the memory layer, it's impossible to completely recreate the past. If something were to happen that already occurred in the past, then there would be a contradiction because that would imply that memory was lost, which is impossible. The memory layer always continues to build up. | |
| 物理の層が物理法則で、心理の層が結果の解釈で、記憶の層が確率の操作を行う感じで、相互に作用して未来を作る。記憶が過去の一点と同じになる事が有り得ない以上、未来が予定される事など無いという。 | The physical layer follows the laws of physics, the mental layer explains the outcomes and the memory layer alters probability, mutually creating the future. Reimu said that excepting the cases when something has already happened in the past, it is impossible to predict the future. | |
| 例えば賽子を一回振って一が出たとする。もう一度まったく同じ条件で賽子を落としても、一が出たという事実を |
So take the dice roll as an example. If you were to throw them with the same initial conditions as before, unless it doesn't recall being thrown in that way, the probability of the same outcome isn't as high as you might assume. | |
| そこまで聞いて理解しようとしていた所で「それで、どうして賽の目を読めるって言うんだ？」と魔理沙が質問した。 | I followed her explanation up to that point, but then Marisa asked "So how are ya able to tell how the dice will fall?" | |
| 僕は霊夢が考える新しい世界の図に気を取られていたが、魔理沙は冷静だ。賽の目が読める様になれば、ちんちろりんで負けないだけでなく、霊夢並みの幸運を手に入れられるかも知れないからだろう。 | While I was entranced by Reimu's new illustration of the world, Marisa was unfazed. I didn't think she wanted to know just to beat Reimu at Chinchirorin, but to use that idea to become as lucky as Reimu. | |
| 「別に私は次に出る賽の目を読む訳じゃないわ。 |
"I'm not really "telling" anything. The way I can guess how the dice will fall is by feeling the dice." | |
| 賽の目の記憶に霊夢という幸運のカードが入るだけで、結果が大きく霊夢側に |
The naturally-lucky Reimu, simply by using the memory of the dice, could make the outcome favor herself. The results just seemed to side with Reimu. | |
| 「何だそれじゃあ、そんな知識、幸運の持ち主以外役に立たないじゃないか」魔理沙はふてくされた。 | "What? Howzzat gonna help anyone but Lady Luck over here?" Marisa sulked. | |
| 僕は世界の中で運の存在を何か嘘くさい、いかがわしいものだと思い込んでいた。それは未来が予定されていると考えていた事が大きな要因である。 |
I doubted the existence of things such as fortune in this world, deeming it too unreliable. This was largely in part of me thinking that the future was predictable. I saw good luck charms as nothing more than lumps of fallacy. | |
| だが、霊夢の言葉を聞いてこの世における運の存在を再確認した。運の良い人間、悪い人間は確かに存在する。 |
However, upon listening to Reimu's words, I have reaffirmed the existence of fortune. The blessed man and the cursed man both exist, certainly. There is a man that succeeds in shouldering his trials. There is a man that is a failure, captive by jinxes, as well. It might certainly be reckless to just think of each one starting in the same initial conditions. | |
| 確率の決定が記憶の力によるものだとすれば、縁起物が確率を操作する力を持つのも当然なのかも知れない。由来が複雑で奇異である |
If we assume that probability is determined by the power of memory, it may be natural that such a power can be manipulated by good luck charms. The more complicated and unusual the origins are, the more knowledge a charm will have, thereby raising its effectiveness. | |
| 霊夢は『この世の物質、心理は全て確率で出来ていて、それを決定するのが記憶が持つ運』だと付け加えた。 | Reimu added to this, "In this world, both objects and souls result from probability, and it is determined by how fortunate they are in the memories they hold." | |
| その言葉を聞いて思い出した事がある。『 |
I remember hearing that phrase before. "In the material world, that all things exist with probabilities is already common knowledge."[4] Something along those lines was written in a science textbook from the outside world. With only a vague understanding of its meaning, I wondered "So that means someone already determined these probabilities?" | |
| でも、霊夢が同じような事を考えていて、さらに確率の決定権が記憶にある事に気付いていた。それは驚くべき事だった。 | But Reimu had come up with the same idea, and even worked in her idea of the memories changing the probabilities. It was surprising. | |
| 「記憶が確率を決定する……言い換えれば |
"Memory determines probability... in other words, it works like karma. That's pretty amazing. It may very well be true. By the way, how did you come across this knowledge?" | |
| いつも |
Your lifestyle appears so idle, I was about to add, but to preserve the current subject I changed my mind. | |
| 「 |
"I heard it from a really, really smart human." | |
| 「もの凄く頭の良い、って言い方って何だか頭悪そうだぜ……」魔理沙が |
"If ya say it like that, it makes ya sound even dumber..." Marisa muttered. | |
| そんな世界の根源にまで関わるような事まで判る人間が居るのだろうか。 | I wondered if there was any human in Gensokyo who knew the roots of the world like that. | |
| 「妖怪にとって歴史が繰り返されていると感じる理由は、単純に人間じゃないからよ。人間は短い期間で記憶の糸が途絶えるの。だから妖怪から見て人間は、生まれてから死ぬまで同じ事を繰り返している様に見える、ってだけ」 | "The reason why it feels like history repeats itself to youkai is purely because they aren't human. A human's memory is only as short as its lifespan, but in a youkai's lifetime, they will see the same things over and over again." | |
| 霊夢は「霖之助さんみたいにね」と得意げに語っていた。いつもとは立場が逆なだけに、少し悔しい。 | "Just like you, Mr. Rinnosuke," Reimu said smugly. The situation is usually reversed, so I was slightly annoyed. | |
| 「その、もの凄く頭の良い人間は、記憶をすべて本に書き |
"And this really, really smart human has the memories of all the books stored by her ancestors for generations. She knows things that not even youkai who have lived for a long time know, much less any other human." | |
| 随分と長話をしていたようだ。既に窓の色が夕方の色に変化していた。外の紅葉が部屋の中まで染み出してきているみたいだった。 | That was a rather lengthy conversation. The color of the window has already changed to match the color of the evening. The autumnal tint of the leaves outside had begun to permeate the room. | |
| 「ところでもう日が沈むが、今日は何か用事が有って来たんじゃないか？」 | "Even though the sun is beginning to set, did you have any business for coming here today?" | |
| 「ああ、そうだった。今日来たのは他でもないわ」 | "Ah, that's right. We were here because we had nothing else to do." | |
| 「幽霊もあらかた追っ払ったし、これから神社で宴会するんで、香霖もどうか？ って誘いに来たんだったな」 | "Chase out some phantoms, then go have a party at the shrine. We came 'ere t'invite ya. Whaddya say, Kourin?" | |
| なるほど、それを言うだけで随分と時間がかかったもんだ。最初に用件を言わないからうっかり長話をしてしまったじゃないか。 | I see. It took quite a while for it to come to this. They didn't announce why they were here, and we thoughtlessly ended up talking for longer than expected. | |
| 「誘ってもらって嬉しいが、僕はやらなければいけない仕事が有る。それにちんちろりんをやったって、霊夢には |
"I appreciate the thought, but I still have an important job to do. And besides, if you play Chinchirorin, I doubt I would be able to be a match for Reimu." | |
| 「仕事って、その本を書く事か？」魔理沙は僕の日記を指さして言った。 | "Job? Ya mean writin' yer book?" Marisa said while pointing at my journal. | |
| 「そうだけど、ま、店自体も仕事なんだけどね」 | "That's true, but I also have to tend to my store, as well." | |
| 「まだ日記を書いてたのか。三日坊主になると思ったんだがな」 | "So you're still writin' that thing, huh? Thought ya gave up on that by now." | |
| 「これは日記だが、いずれ歴史書になるんだよ。簡単には止めるわけにはいかない。香霖堂発、人間の知識を豊かにする歴史書さ」 | "Sooner or later, this journal will become a history book. I cannot stop so easily. This will be a history book that enriches human knowledge, a product of Kourindou." | |
| ここ数年の間、紙の入手が容易になってから書き始めた日記が結構な分量になっている。僕はこれを一つの本という形にして記録を残すつもりでいる。その本が幻想郷の歴史書となり、幻想郷のアカデミズムが急激に動き出すだろう。そして幻想郷は外の世界に近づき、未来は |
A number of years ago, I started writing this journal since paper had become an easily-obtainable commodity, and I now have a considerable amount stored up. I plan on making a book to pass down these records. If the book becomes the history book of Gensokyo, the academia of Gensokyo will begin to move rapidly. This will bring Gensokyo closer to the outside world, and it will become a secure place in the future. (At the same time, if it sells well, the shop will also be secure.) | |
| 今日はさらに、ランダムから事実が決定するメカニズム、 |
And today I learned about the mechanism of how reality can be determined from randomness, why there is a difference in the amount of fortune between people and how there are people who can know the coming reality surprisingly from Reimu. I should note the "Not records, but memory determines the future." concept in my book. And then, if whoever reads my book learns of this person who already has the mechanism of fortune, then they will probably be unable to guess the future. Humans living moving forward in a future unprecedented by youkai. And since the youkai will also be unable to know what will happen tomorrow, they will be fortunate enough to get a taste of the future we humans will enjoy. | |
| ――外はすっかり暗くなっていた。今頃霊夢と魔理沙は神社で宴会をしているのだろう。いつもの |
It had become completely dark outside. I wonder if Reimu and Marisa are holding a party at the shrine by now. Their behavior, as always, drinking sake, as always, with Reimu winning the bets, as always, and drinking too much, as always... | |
| でも、決して世界はループはしていない。何故なら、霊夢も魔理沙も妖怪たちも、人間と妖怪のハーフであるこの僕も、その事を記憶しているから。その記憶が毎日を少しずつ楽しくしていくのだから。 | However, this world has never repeated itself. Because Reimu, Marisa, the youkai and myself, the half-human, half-youkai, remember these things. Because these memories make every day more enjoyable, little by little. | |
Notes
- ↑ The 60-year cycle of world circulation. This is related to Phantasmagoria of Flower View. Perhaps this chapter is supposed to show the idea of 60-year cycle resembles Nietzsche's Ewige Wiederkunft.
- ↑ Also known as 'Cee-lo' or 'Four-Five-Six'; a simple dice game involving rolling 3 die. A combination of 4/5/6 results in an immediate win for the roller, assuming nobody else matches his roll.
- ↑ They later refer explicitly to "karma" in the Buddhist sense, as one of five aspects of 'being' that connects to you in the form of a karmic 'history' or 'memory' that tracks the results outcomes of your actions. This is the third layer that Reimu speaks of.
- ↑ The quantum uncertainty.
- This chapter implies the advertising effect that Rinnosuke's diary is going to be published. In fact when it was planned to publish the book of this novel, which was abandoned due to the copyright of several publishing companies, Rinnosuke starts diary in Chapter 17: Price of Paper at Luoyang, as we can see it the release of Rinnosuke's story.
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