Category: 55.1

Thirty Years Later: Sacred Scripture, Ghost in The Shell, and Our Lady of Perpetual Cyberpunk

⮌ SFRA Review, vol. 55 no. 1

Features

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Thirty Years Later: Sacred Scripture, Ghost in The Shell, and Our Lady of Perpetual Cyberpunk

Despite its initial commercial underperformance and lukewarm critical reception, Mamoru Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell (1995) experienced a cult renaissance in the years following its release due to home video sales. It made a hard connection with a  highly influential group of filmmakers such as the Wachowski Sisters, Steven Spielberg, and James Cameron, who publicly described Oshii’s film in The Guardian as “a stunning work of speculative fiction . . . the first to reach a level of literary excellence” (Rose). The interest in Oshii’s film has not waned as a live-action remake of Ghost in the Shell was released in 2017, and a 4K limited rerelease ran in select IMAX theaters in the U.S. in 2021. In addition to its paradoxical use of cyberpunk trappings to tell a story that resists the usually grim outlook of technological proliferation within the genre, Oshii makes use of uniquely Western Christian archetypes for meaning and metaphor rather than spectacle, as is the usual norm in anime. Oshii’s visual symbols are often religious and distinct from the use of Christian symbols in contemporary works such as Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995–96, Shinseiki Evangerion) which serves no authentic story-telling purpose as Brian Ruh argues in Stray Dog of Anime (54-55). However, the usual interpretation of the film, and perhaps even an interpretation through a Christian framework, falls short of describing the fullness of Oshii’s use of the Christian mythos in Ghost in the Shell. To interpret Oshii’s symbolism as solely Christian is too broad a description for there is a denominational distinction becausewithin that overarching Christian framework, exist older and more telling motifs, the severity and specificity of which can only be described as uniquely Catholic. Oshii employs these Christian and specifically Catholic symbols, as this paper will how, to explore the near-universal desire for evolution, transcendence, and, ultimately, some semblance of an answer to the eternal questions.

Neon Genesis Evangelion is a contemporary to Ghost in the Shell due to its release date and overlap in genre. Neon Genesis Evangelion also uses Christian symbolism, biblical allusions, elements of Shintoism, Judaism, and even creature names such as “Adam” as parts of a universe in order to create an entertaining, high-fantasy mythos. Ghost in the Shell goes much further in developing these motifs by embracing a singular Catholic vision as the central theme and metaphor in a speculative cyberpunk universe. This metaphor serves to sustain Oshii’s argument for the redemptive and even divine qualities of technology as a forceful contrast to the fundamental cynicism of the cyberpunk and tech-noire genres.

Certain Catholic rather than simply Christian clues emerge from Oshii’s life that bring clarity to the director’s enigmatic use of religious tools of expression. Richard Suchenski writes in Senses of Cinema that Oshii at one point seriously considered entering a seminary to become a priest. Brian Ruh, meanwhile, maintains that Oshii’s consideration of seminary was only to study religion (8). Oshii himself stated in a 2004 interview: “When I was in college, I was always interested in Christianity and religion… I even thought of transferring to a Christian seminary… It’s really the phenomena created by religion that I’m most interested in, rather than religion itself” (Mays). This fascination permeates Oshii’s body of work. However, a merely Christian reading of a work is too easily perceived as a default Protestant reading to a Western audience whereas one must take into account the flavor of the Christian framework from Oshii, the would-be priest. While the tiny percentage of Japan’s population identifying as Christian is approximately evenly divided between those identifying as Protestant or Catholic, to a Japanese audience, the difference between the two sub-categories is an irrelevancy, argues Ishikawa Akito, Professor of Religion at Momoyama Gakuin University. In the West, however, the distinction between Catholic and Protestant is of grave importance, and the Catholic distinction is critical in Oshii’s Christian framework, especially to an American audience. In the case of Ghost in the Shell, Oshii’s use of Christianity is founded upon a Catholic rather than Protestant reading of the Christian mythos and is employed accordingly in his filmography—a non-distinction for a Japanese audience, as Akito argues, but a serious one for the Western viewer.

The hardboiled skepticism from other 80s and 90s tech-noir media conveys a general caution about humanity’s relationship with technology, but Oshii resists this trend by elevating technology to a divine position through interlacing technology’s place within the Holy Family of Catholic teaching: Jesus, Joseph, and Mary. Oshii employs this trinity of the Holy Family to affirm humanity’s push towards technological advancement and hybridization, as opposed to the “criticism of the extreme enthusiasm of mankind about science and technology” found in Neon Genesis Evangelion and other tech-noir/cyberpunk media (Napier 89). The Catholicism of Ghost in the Shell, therefore, becomes a sustaining metaphor throughout instead of an avant-garde ambiguity; it is not an undeveloped, cross-shaped explosion as spectacle, or a high-fantasy original creature casually named “Adam.” Instead, Oshii uses the Holy Family metaphor to describe the potential divinity of technology in Ghost in the Shell, with Batou as the chaste St. Joseph the Protector, Major Kusanagi as the Virgin Mary, and the Puppetmaster-Kusinagi hybrid as the newborn Messiah. The Messiah’s body serves not only as a representation but is, within the universe of Ghost in the Shell, the nexus of humanity and divinity, the higher order of technology as humanity’s saving grace. Oshii uses the tools of Catholicism in a secular though highly spiritual manner to perpetuate his tradition of “[alluding] to religion to say something deeper about the human condition” (Ruh 55). Ghost in the Shell can be seen as an example of how Japanese content producers use the images and writings of Christianity; for instance, Kusanagi and the Puppetmaster repeat, almost verbatim, in two separate points in the film, the language of Paul the Apostle in 1 Corinthians 13:11-12: “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now, we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.” But it is also a distinctly Catholic work which makes use of the Holy Family of Catholic doctrine and iconography to offer a secular yethopeful image of the future using metaphors typically reserved for the spiritual realm. Despite all the blood and violence (in the film and in the history of Catholicism), the image Oshii produces is an optimistic theory and suggested map of the next stage of human evolution where technology is not only a boon to ease humanity’s temporal suffering but, from the images of descending angels and mysterious recitations of the Epistles, a divine path forward towards apotheosis.

The trinity of the Holy Family of Catholicism is manifest in the three major characters of Ghost in the Shell. First, Major Kusanagi’s chaste nakedness recalls the Virgin Mary, the mother of Christ. Second, Batou fills the role of St. Joseph the Protector in his platonic relationship with Kusanagi. Third, the Christ child at the end of the film, conceived from this higher power, is preceded by the visiting angel, Gabriel (see Fig. 1). It is not the conventional Christian symbolism employed by typical directors; it is instead the intensely violent and bloody Catholic imagery that unlocks these ancient archetypes and makes Ghost in the Shell a counterclaim for the transcendent potential of technology super-imposed upon a grim tech-noir, cyberpunk context.

Fig. 1. Descending Angel from the Major’s perspective (Oshii 1:13:37)

Major Kusanagi’s nakedness functions as fan service on one level, but more importantly, Oshii emphasizes the nudity to convey a statement on sexuality or, in this case, the lack thereof; the Major has no sex organs. The cyborg is drawn seamlessly around the hips. This is not a loophole to bypass Japanese censors. Oshii chooses to make a point of slamming the viewer in the face for the first ten minutes of the movie with a torso with no visible sex organs. However, despite this lack of an opening, and despite the fact that Kusanagi herself states, “I cannot bear children” (1:11:43-44), she is given a full set of breasts. Due to the lack of sex organs, it is reasonable to conclude that the Major is a virgin. One could argue that, if the Major had once been human before receiving her cybernetic body, perhaps she was not a virgin; however, that objection is irrelevant since, in keeping with a Catholic reading, the Major immaculately receives a new body as demonstrated at the beginning of the film (see Fig. 2). A tension also exists within the popular consensus, as reported by fan wikis, that the Major may, in fact, be solely cyborg, her memories of an original body as artificially constructed as the poor ghost-hacked truck driver in the first half of the film. At one point in the film, she even speculates, “Maybe there never was a real me in the first place, and I’m completely synthetic like that thing” (0:42:36-41). The Major’s chaste nakedness in the film contrasts with the almost hyper-sexuality of the Kusanagi of the manga source material, but this departure from source material is a matter of course for Oshii.

The presence of breasts, the means of nursing, in the assassination scene before the beginning credits, contrasted with the lack of exposed sex organs, indicates a being not of carnal sexuality but rather of sexless motherhood like the Virgin Mary; the Major bears the means of nursing but not the gifts of sexual pleasure, sexual union, or procreation in any typical sense. Oshii denies Major Kusanagi even the chance of traditional sexual agency, thus maintaining her virginity. Like Mary, Major’s motherhood is a gift from a higher force; she is meant for union with this higher force of technological divinity because carnal or human sexuality is too base to give birth to the new creature who emerges at the end of the film. Therefore, Kusanagi is equipped with neither the urge nor the ability for sensual pleasure or physical reproduction but a far more substantial motherhood—a divine motherhood explained through the metaphor of high technology.

Fig. 2. The Major’s Cybernetic Body Creation (Oshii 0:06:16)

Major’s consent to the Puppetmaster for a generative union is a parallel to Mary’s Fiat in Luke 1:38: “May it be done to me according to your word.” Susan Napier states that “it is [Kusanagi’s] body, standing at the nexus between the technological and the human, that can best interrogate the issues of the spirit” (107). The vision of technology as not only good but divine in Ghost in the Shell takes up residence in the womb of a cyborg, for in such an affirmation of technology Kusanagi is already connected to this world as Napier’s nexus. This conception manifests the Catholic teaching that the Virgin Mary was without sin before, during, and after the conception of the Messiah through the Marian dogma of the Immaculate Conception. As the nexus, Kusanagi already has a foot in the world of the divine/technological, but this important presence in the world of sinlessness loses meaning for a Protestant Christian framework which is either hostile to or unconcerned with the Marian doctrine of Immaculate Conception and her perpetual virginity: however, it gains momentum when seen from the Catholic perspective. The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, as promulgated in the 1854 Ineffabilis Deus states that Mary was free from original sin, a teaching rejected by Protestants (Elwell 595-596). Just as Mary was without sin, the Major is “full of grace” and, as Napier’s nexus, simultaneously occupies the divine space of the technological, manifested in the image of the descending angel, as well as the familiar physical space of flesh and blood; Batou says to Kusanagi, “You’ve got human brain cells in that titanium shell of yours” (42:42-45). She is thus uniquely worthy to participate in the birth of the Messiah.

Kusanagi’s own Immaculate Conception at the beginning of the film shows the Major receiving her new body. The Major assumes a fetal position (Fig. 2) within the water-filled womb from which she emerges, taking on the divine technology within and upon her ghost so that she may be ready to accept the gift from on high. Though born into the baseness of flesh, both Major and Mary’s bodies are literally reconstructed in the image of the divine, a technological Imago Dei and, most importantly, without the essential sin that comes with a humanity bound to its flesh. The Major is reborn through the technologically divine intervention of Oshii’s Immaculate Conception—in this case a divinely digital one, and Kusanagi, the nexus, is now ready to carry the seed within her redeemed womb of sacred wires, holy circuits, and metal (Fig. 2).

Batou has a sexual tension with the Major that he does not indulge, even internally. For example, Batou struggles with this tension on screen, as he winces when he sees the Major unzip her dive-suit in the boat (Fig. 3). He turns away in embarrassment while gritting his teeth (Fig. 4), for he is ashamed that he, as St. Joseph, would even consider the Major in a manner outside of her divinely appointed role; even Batou’s eyes are unequipped for carnal desire, being artificial inserts with a range of tactical filters.

Fig. 3. Batou Reacts to the Major Undressing (Oshii 0:29:52–0:29:52)
Fig. 4. Batou Looks Away (Oshii 0:29:53–0:29:54)

Batou is the chaste St. Joseph, the adoptive father of Christ and the protector of the Holy Family in Catholic doctrine. It is Batou, who later arrives with his self-described “standard-issue big gun” (1:06:12-14), who saves the Major from being crushed by a tank. Though this dynamic may appear to be a muted sexism where the damsel must be rescued, it is vital that Batou fulfill this role within the Holy Family as St. Joseph, the Protector. It is Batou who takes the bullet into his own flesh for the Major in the ending scene, giving her more time to do her great work. It is Batou who cares for the new child at the end of the movie, even though the child is not his biological offspring. It is Batou who covers Major Kusanagi’s nakedness when she must shed her clothing during the employment of thermo-optic camouflage (Fig. 5). This chaste feature of Batou parallels St. Joseph’s own story within the Holy Family. St. Joseph’s relationship with Mary and  Batou’s relationship with the Major are chaste ones; a feature that separates the Catholic vision of the Holy Family from a Protestant one.

Fig. 5. Batou Covers a Naked Major Kusanagi with His Coat (Oshii 0:24:20)

“The Protector” has been St. Joseph’s role in Catholic tradition since the beginning but became official in 1882 when Pope Leo XIII declared him so. In the Bible, when Herod searches out the children to be killed, Joseph takes Mary and the newborn Christ to Egypt (Mathew 2:16–18); when the Major, the Puppet Master, and the new being they create are likewise ordered to be killed, Batou protects them with his own body (1:13:39), and he leads them away to his hiding place. When Batou has hidden away the Major (and the new child of whom she is part) in his own safe house, it parallels St. Joseph the Protector who “…did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home” without hesitation or objection (Matthew 1:20).  Batou takes his place within the Holy Family, acting with an uneasy obedience to this higher force and in agreement with the Fiat of the Major. It is his role to stand by, keep watch, and protect while the Major and this entity from beyond work to redeem the world.

Even more overt than Oshii’s interjection of scriptures is the robed, glowing angel with feathered wings descending from the light near the end of the film (Fig. 1). The vision of the angel in question functions on three levels, but only one of these is complementary to the Holy Family of Roman Catholic doctrine. The first interpretation of the angel’s descent and the accompanying cascade of feathers fits Oshii’s use of Catholic teaching: this otherworldly creature, as a Christian figure, serves effectively as a secular symbol to represent a being of higher order. Its appearance communicates to the audience and to Kusanagi that she is about to make contact with this higher order, and some kind of transcendence is about to occur. A second interpretation, and the one which explains the presence of the child at the end, is that the angel is Gabriel, the messenger angel (Luke 1:26–35). The angel is descending to announce to the Major that she is to conceive a child with the help of a great and otherworldly force. Then, in the following scene, in a hailstorm of bullets, bodies are destroyed and ripped apart in the throes of the labor pangs (Fig. 7). Despite even Batou’s best efforts to shield her (Fig. 8), Major’s body is eventually pierced by the bullets from the helicopters above, just as Mary’s soul was pierced as foretold by St. Simeon in Luke 2:35: “And a sword will pierce your very soul”The helicopters approach bearing modified snipers; when they come into position, the vehicles unfurl the segmented wings of a dragon with glowing red eyes (Fig. 6), the same dragon from Revelation who follows the pregnant virgin into the desert waiting to devour the child at its moment of birth (Revelation 12:2–4).

Fig. 6. Helicopter Unfurls Metallic Wings as Snipers Prepare to Fire (Oshii 1:07:09)
Fig. 7. Major’s Body Is Ripped Apart (Oshii 1:05:25)
Fig. 8. Batou’s Arm Is Shot Off as He Seeks to Protect the Prone Major Kusanagi (Oshii 1:13:39)
Fig. 9. Red Eyes and Tails of the Helicopters (Oshii 1:11:24)

Nearby, the entire hierarchy of evolution leading to “hominis” as the pinnacle form of natural selection is shown on the engraving of the tree (see Fig. 10). It is a tree similar to the one found in Oshii’s Angel’s Egg (1985) with its cross-carrying soldier and retelling of Noah’s Ark, but this tree is riddled with bullet holes from the tank’s auto-cannons, foreshadowing the disturbance of the natural order that must occur, for this next step will not be a linear and incremental natural selection; it is a disruptive leap into the unknown.

Fig. 10. Tree Engraving Shot by Tank (Oshii 1:04:21)

Batou takes the Major away, sparing her the indignity of the incoming soldiers out to fulfill their orders from King Herod. In the following scene, we see the child. This child bears the face of the Major, for indeed, it is appropriate that the savior carries one half of its mother’s DNA. This is the savior with a foot firmly planted in both worlds. It is the Emmanuel whose arrival has been foretold by the descending angel in the film. It is totally singular and made substantial only through the Major’s Fiat; therefore, it bears her face and her voice.

Through these Catholic archetypes, Oshii does not anticipate a slow incrementalism, for his view of the next step of human evolution involves violent, painful birth and perhaps even a savior to emerge in the divine light of unhindered technological pursuit. His bloody and Catholic symbolism is fulfilled and sustained far more than the casual Christian imagery of a Protestant nature. However, Oshii’s Catholic framework does not serve as one-to-one allegory for the purpose of religious evangelism. Rather, its purpose is that of technological evangelism; the film makes use of the deeply held preexisting Catholic archetypes to convey the image of the next stage of human evolution. It will happen all at once, and it will be the most destructive force of our creative potential. Oshii affirms this new creation, despite the death and pain of metamorphosis, as the new creature asks aloud to itself, “And where does the newborn go from here? The net is vast and infinite” (1:17:35–42).

Oshii does not draw a traditionally Catholic conclusion in his Platonic journey from the Cave; this “net” is not Heaven. As Napier argues, it is “a reference not only to cyberspace but to a kind of non-material Overmind . . . which does not offer much hope for [the] organic human body” (105). Ultimately, Ghost in the Shell suggests “that a union between technology and the spirit can ultimately succeed” (114), and in Oshii’s universe, technology has taken on divine status. To communicate this prophetic statement, Oshii adopts the Catholic metaphor of the Holy Family. The nexus cyborg Major Kusanagi, who is full of grace due to the wires and microchips embedded in her flesh, gives birth to the new creature that is half of Kusanagi but also half of something else so much more. In Ghost in the Shell, Oshii has appropriated the symbols of Catholic theology to state his hypothesis of a secular transcendence. This transcendence is an alternative answer to the visions of heaven and salvation promised by the Abrahamic faith traditions and an alternative to the dire warnings of the cyberpunk genre where technology becomes the means of humanity’s salvation rather than destruction.          

WORKS CITED

Akito, Ishikawa. “A Little Faith: Christianity and the Japanese.” nippon.com, May 30, 2020. https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/g00769/a-little-faith-christianity-and-the-japanese.html

Catholic Church. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2019.

Elwell, Walter A. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001.

Faxneld, Per. “Blavatsky the Satanist: Luciferianism in Theosophy, and its Feminist Implications.” Temenos 48, no. 2 (2012): 203–30.

Ishikawa Akito, “A Little Faith: Christianity and the Japanese,” nippon.com, May 30, 2020.

Leo XIII. “Pope Leo XIII: Prayer to Saint Joseph.” udayton.edu. University of Dayton, 2022. https://udayton.edu/imri/mary/p/pope-leo-xiii-prayer-to-saint-joseph.php#:~:text=Blessed%20Joseph%2C%20husband%20of%20Mary,him%20from%20danger%20of%20death

Mays, Mark. Machine Dreams A talk with visionary Japanese animator Mamoru Oshii about his new film Ghost in the Shell 2. Other. Nashvillescene.com. Nashville Scene, September 16, 2004. https://www.nashvillescene.com/arts_culture/machine-dreams/article_b50d24f8-5092-55ff-a567-6c1bc6c243ac.html

McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. Burnaby, BC: Simon Fraser University Library, 2018.

Meehan, Paul. Tech-Noir: The Fusion of Science Fiction and Film Noir. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2018.

“Motoko Kusanagi: Ghost in the Shell Wiki.” Fandom. Last modified June 2, 2021. https://ghostintheshell.fandom.com/wiki/Motoko_Kusanagi.

Napier, Susan. Anime from “Akira” to “Princess Mononoke”: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation. New York: Palgrave, 2001.

Oshii, Mamoru. Ghost in the Shell. 1995; Beverly Hills, CA: Anchor Bay Entertainment, 1998. DVD, 82 min.

Rayhert, Konstantin. “The Postmodern Theology of ‘Neon Genesis Evangelion’ as a Criticism.” Doxa no. 2 (30) (2018): 161–70. doi:10.18524/2410-2601.2018.2(30).146569.

Rose, Steve. “Hollywood is haunted by Ghost in the Shell.” The Guardian, October 19, 2009. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/oct/19/hollywood-ghost-in-the-shell.

Ruh, Brian. Stray Dog of Anime: The Films of Mamoru Oshii. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Palgrave, 2013.

Suchenski, Richard. “Oshii, Mamoru.” Senses of Cinema, July 2004. https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2004/great-directors/oshii/.

Brian DeLoach, PhD, is an instructor of composition and independent researcher. He has been published in various political publications, outdoor magazines, journals of education, and has been a contributor to the best-selling Teacher Misery series of books. He lives in Cleveland, Tennessee.

Savannah Welch is an artist and student at Polk State College, where she tutors her peers in writing at the Teaching and Learning Center on campus.

Three Tastings of the Delicacy

⮌ SFRA Review, vol. 55 no. 1

Fiction

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Three Tastings of the Delicacy

Baoshu
Translated by Xueting C. Ni

1. The Sumptuous Banquet

The provocative little waitress wheeled the serving cart over, on which, a dish sat covered with a gleaming, radiant cloche that looked like it had been made of pure gold.

Smiling, the waitress maneuvered the cart directly in front of the guest, and then carried the dish, still with the lid on, to the table.

Just as she was about to reveal its contents, the diner gently pushed her delicate, jade-like hand away: “One moment, I have something to say.”

Across from him, the host gestured, indicating “please, continue.”

The guest spoke unhurriedly: “Although I haven’t mentioned my name, you all know who I am. My photograph has often been featured at the top of the rich lists, and even for the ordinarily wealthy, this million RMB private sifang1 experience would be beyond their means.”

The host nodded, indicating that they knew exactly the man’s name and status.

The tycoon spoke again: “beautiful women, fast cars, luxury mansions—all hold little interest for me, nor do I have ostentatious hobbies, such as space travel or deep-sea exploration. My only passion is eating. I built my fortune from nothing, but right from the start, any time I had earned even a little money, I would invariably treat myself to a meal of something I had never eaten before. It’s a dilemma that, after all these years, I have exhaustively worked through the gourmet cuisines from every part of the world, and my tastes have become increasingly demanding. Recently, no matter how delicious, or how rare the delicacies I have found, none of them have been able to pique my interest. My friend told me that you serve an incredible feast here, and his mysterious avoidance of details convinced me to come and give you a try. I have yet to see anything either good or rare. These half naked girls you have serving me are as laughable a gimmick as the pure gold tableware. I am truly disappointed. I’m sure these tricks work well on the tuhao2, who’ve yet to experience the real state of gourmandise, but quite honestly? Seeing these things has already killed my interest. I therefore bid you goodnight, though I assure you, I shan’t expect my one million back.” With that, the tycoon stood up and prepared to leave.

Still smiling, the host urged: “please wait a moment longer. Even if you don’t eat, there’s no harm in taking a look, is there? Aren’t you even a little curious about what’s under the cover? Perhaps a peek may convince you to change your mind?”

The tycoon pondered this, nodded, and returned to his seat: “fine, let’s see what cure you’ve got in your gourd,” and reaching out, he lifted the golden dome.

He was a seasoned connoisseur, but what he saw still left him stunned.

Presented on a wide crystal platter was an odd black helmet.

It took a good while for the tycoon to formulate any sort of action. He picked it up and carefully examined it, and, ascertaining that the helmet was in no way edible, his anger instantly flared: “what’s the meaning of this?!”

“Just as you said,” the host spoke leisurely, “having tasted all the rare and unusual delicacies of the world, what could satiate your appetite? Nothing. So, the search for anything new would be fruitless. However, if those sensations, caused by enjoying good food, from another person could be transmitted into your brain, then naturally you would be able to experience the sweetness, the richness, the aromatic taste of food, all afresh.”

The tycoon snorted: “And this helmet can do that? I’m a businessman and have seen more than my fair share of con artists, so don’t even think about trying to swindle me.”

“Well, then you should be able to see that I’m no swindler. I am, in fact, a scientist, not a chef. I can’t even cook a simple dish of fried egg and tomato. I was initially a researcher at a university, developing a long-distance project to read brain waves, but unfortunately, it failed, and the higher-ups cut my funding. However, there was a by-product from my many years of research, and it’s that helmet. That is why I opened this ‘Taste of Herz” sifang experience, hoping to raise enough funding to allow me to continue with my original research.”

“So you’re saying, that this fancy bucket can collect people’s brainwaves when they’re eating?” The tycoon’s demeanour changed to one of curiosity.

“The headset is only a transmitter; the actual mechanism behind it is in the back. It’s about two or three storeys tall. Humanity’s most basic desire is their appetite for food, and the hunt for the gourmet is the highest form of this desire, so of course it will generate the most intense of brainwaves, which can easily be recorded by the apparatus, and almost as easily transmitted to others. Put it on, and you’ll have the full sensory experience of the subject as they enjoy their food. Taste, scent, textures and temperature, pain… Everything, of course, except auditory and visual recordings so as to, technically, not invade their privacy.”

“Interesting,” mused the tycoon, now fully engrossed. “Well, let’s give it a try.”

“Wait,” said the host, “let me clarify the function. There are seven levels, categorised according to the intensity of pleasure received by this helmet. Each level allows you to experience a random signal. Think of it as blind ordering. However, with regards to the final level… being that this represents the most intense transmission of brainwaves, at the moment we cannot guarantee it would not cause damage to the brain, so please do not select that level. If anything were to happen to you, it would make international news.”

The tycoon indicated his agreement and pulled on the helmet.

“In that case, bon appetit,” the host courteously replied, before withdrawing with the female attendants.

An hour later, the tycoon rang the bell, summoning the host.

“I haven’t felt this way for a very long time!” the tycoon gushed excitedly. “It was all so delicious, so infinitely evocative!”

“Did you try every level?” asked the host.

The tycoon nodded.

“Would you mind recounting the experiences to me? So I can record it for the sake of my research?”

The tycoon closed his eyes, savoured his culinary memories, and slowly began to speak:

“The first level was very spicy, with a fresh xian3 taste and an aromatic sensation. Probably mapo doufu at some Sichuanese restaurant. Not particularly interesting, so I quickly skipped it.”

“The second level tasted rich, tender, sweet, and buttery, melting as soon as it entered the mouth. That should have been high quality Snowflake beefsteak,4 but for me, it’s an everyday meal, so I didn’t stay for long.”

“The third level, I experienced an exceedingly ravishing xian, smooth and tender taste, mingled with the scent of sea breeze. It was actually very familiar to me. Fruit de mer. Good quality lobster, abalone, and such.”

The host smiled and commented: “but for you, this wasn’t anything new.”

“No,” said the tycoon, “but from the fourth level onwards, it was different. That kind of pure, light, yet rich and crisp taste, with the elegance of fresh vegetables, the exquisite delicacy of young meat, and the rich aroma of mushrooms, all combined into one, yet distinguishable in layers…” as he spoke, his mouth began watering in response.

“Do you know what the dish is?”

“An excellent broth baicai,5” the tycoon answered without hesitation. “The taste and texture were just right, state banquet quality. I tried it once ten years ago, but the chef passed away, and I have never again tasted broth baicai made to quite the same standard again. Where did that cast come from? Can you check?” 

“Of course.” The host opened their laptop, and pulled up the log.  “It came from a small town in Sichuan; the precise location is—”

“Please, just send it to me after the session,” interrupted the tycoon, whose enthusiasm was still focused solidly on his dining experiences. “Let me tell you about the fifth level. That was a type of chocolate; tasted like it was from Mexico. It was more bitter than the usual chocolate, and even a bit savoury, but at the end, it became something infinitely more relishable in its nectar and fragrance. Of course, the taste itself was nothing special…but in that sweetness, there was like a kind of…joy and a jubilation that lifts the soul…I think, it must be chocolate given by a lover. It felt full of that passion. It made me think of my first wife. It’s a shame we divorced, and she left with a billion of mine.”

“But enough of this, let’s talk about level six, which was just…water! I have no idea what kind of water, but it was almost like nectar. Such a pure, bright taste. I’d never tasted anything so delicious as this water; not even the celestials’ ambrosia could be better than this! I drank it down so desperately, as if my life depended on it, but never felt like I had drunk enough…what kind of water could do that?”

“Let me check the location…” replied the host. “The location…is…an oasis in the Taklamakan Desert. It must be a desperate, dehydrated traveller who found the water source there and drank to their heart’s content.”

“Makes sense!” The tycoon slapped his thigh. “I wondered how simple water could taste so good! That sounds about right. OK, so in the seventh level—”

“Wait!” interrupted the host, flustered by this. “Did I not make it very clear that you should not access the machine’s seventh level? It’s incredibly dangerous!”

“I’m sorry,” said the tycoon, a little embarrassed, “but level six was so fiercely satisfying, and knowing the seventh must be even better, I really couldn’t resist…luckily, nothing’s happened.”

“Okay then,” the host sighed, feeling it was no use protesting further. “What did you experience, precisely?”

The tycoon savoured it, as if reliving the memory of eating in his mind, before replying: “It was a kind of roast meat, a little like roast piglet, but a hundred times more mouth-watering! Just smelling it alone made my soul tremble. I only got to taste a piece or two; it was burning hot and had a charred crunch, as though it had just been pulled out of the fire, but the sensation of putting it in my mouth… I felt like I was being consumed by fire myself, and then reborn from the ashes! Just what kind of meat is this? And where was it eaten?”

“From the coordinates…” mumbled the host, as he browsed the logs, “should be…” he gave an awkward, unfamiliar place name.

“Oh,” said the tycoon, “I know there’s a lot of rare birds and beasts there, but they’re all protected species. I’ve never had a chance to taste them so…perhaps it’s some kind of monkey or sloth? But how could it taste so good?”

The host shrugged, indicating he had no way of finding out.

“Wait, it’s been a warzone there for months. The conflict has caused a huge famine, and there’s been no way for international aid to reach them. Thousands of people starving to death… they’d probably eat anything now. Who cares about protecting animals when you’re starving? But the conflict’s been going on for over six months…so what’s there left for those people to eat now? What else…but…”

The tycoon’s face changed, his lips continued to twitch a few more times, before he bent double and was violently sick.

2. The AppetAid Service

Some years later.

“A steak meal, please,” said the youth sitting at one of the tables in a small restaurant to the welcoming orderbot, which was rolling towards him.

“Certainly, sir, and will you be requiring the AppetAide service?” the synthesised voice asked.

“Of course,” said the customer, without hesitation.

In this restaurant, a steak cost 40 RMB, whilst AppetAide, at 35 RMB, was almost as costly as a dish. However, ordering it meant that the taste could be improved severalfold, giving even an ordinary dish the taste and impact of a high-end banquet for its user, so it could be said to be well worth the cost.

“Then please choose your zuocanshi.[1]” Rows of profile pictures began scrolling across the wafer-thin screen on the orderbot’s chest, the majority of which were pretty-looking women of every body type, some as voluptuous as Concubine Yang of Tang, others as slender as Queen Zhao of Han, each beautiful in their own way. The rest were elegantly handsome or earnest-looking men. 

Without even lifting his head, the youth replied straight away: “the usual please, Number 88.”

Number 88 hadn’t even been displayed, but her beautiful face was already present in the young man’s mind. For the past year, whenever possible, he would pick number 88 as his zuocanshi. In fact, he had built his whole order according to the schedule that Number 88 had announced ahead of time: when she said she was eating steak, he would pick steak, when she was eating seafood, he would pick seafood. Her lucid and elegant features, her slight but shapely figure captivated him, but more importantly, it was that tiny mouth of hers, and the incomparable taste buds it contained. Abundant, refined, and dynamic. Every meal with her was like the most splendid of symphonies, sending him head over heels, unable to extract himself from the sensations.

As the meal began, Zuocanshi88 materialised at the table holographically, as if she were facing the diner. Lifting her fork, she gave the youth a small smile, her dimples seemed to light up the whole room.

It was a shame that he wasn’t the only one Number 88 was smiling at, as today, he wasn’t the only one dining with Zuocanshi88 in the restaurant. He could clearly see a bucktoothed, acne-scarred man sitting diagonally across from him, who had also ordered steak and Number 88, and she was simultaneously flashing her brilliant smile at him.

The coincidence was unfortunate, and whilst there were probably several thousand people across the country all being serviced by Number 88’s AppetAide right now, it was unusual to meet a “fellow fan” at the same restaurant.

If he had enough money, the youth thought, he would love to buy Zuocanshi88’s exclusive services and enjoy the one-to-one dining experience, but the price for that was astronomical. Remembering his ever-emptying e-wallet, the youth reluctantly angled his head away, so he didn’t have to look at the ugly simp who still sat diagonally across from him.

“Darling, I’m all turned on and ready to go. Come on, let’s do it together!” Said 88 with a smile. With the gleaming steak knife, she deftly cut off a piece of rosy, succulent, red Matsusaka beef, medium-rare, before skewering it with her fork and placing it between her enticing cherry lips.The youth put a piece of steak into his own mouth, and began to chew. Of course, his standard flank steak that cost a mere 40RMB was coarser and tougher, and was much harder to slice, so his actions could not completely synchronise with those of his Zuocanshi. However, when he placed the steak in his mouth, the stimulation of his taste buds activated the brainwave reception functions of his neuro-implant for taste and smell, and 88’s dining sensation came flooding through the transmission.
 
Delicate and distinct sensations he had rarely experienced in real life flooded his mouth, such aromatic fragrances, smooth tenderness, warmth, and the xian piquancy, all came swirling around the tip of his tongue, forming a complex and beautiful vortex.
 
The transmission and reception of “FlavorWave” and AppetAide had been in development for over a decade, and had long attained greater commercial value than the simple sensation-stealing helmet it originated from (which was still embroiled in a slew of legal issues). No matter how fantastic the gourmet tastes the helmet allowed users to experience, they could not rely on absorbing electric brainwaves to provide them actual sustenance, and those who got used to eating ‘brainwave meals’ found everyday dishes dull, which led to problems not only with daily living, but also of survival. Therefore, many restaurants began adopting the technology, transmitting it into their customers’ brains as an accompaniment to dining through the “AppetAide,” thus improving their dining experience immensely and guaranteeing that they would enjoy the food with absolute satisfaction. As the FlavorWave augmentation service became increasingly popular with customers, it rapidly became a common service, available at exclusive restaurants and dive diners alike. With this, many related companies and organisations were formed, but Taste of Herz, the company that pioneered the technology, remained one of the biggest players in the industry.

The only pitfall was that there had yet to be any development in an apparatus for storing and replaying these brainwaves, so the whole experience relied on live-streaming. Despite this, the receptor and transmission devices had already been simplified to a microchip that could be implanted into the brain, so there was no longer the need for clumsy, heavy devices like the helmet. Along with all of this came the birth of a new profession: the AppetAide Zuocanshi. 

Zuocanshi would be able to taste all the most exquisite haute cuisines, prepared by the most masterful chefs and, simultaneously, transmit their gourmet experience to diners who are only able to afford ordinary fare. Though this sounded like an enviable profession, not everyone could become a verified AppetAide partner. The oral and olfactory sensitivity required by this trade was exceptionally high, and had even become the new threshold for all professional sommeliers. To maintain the optimum conditions, the Zuocanshi’s tastebuds, mouth, olfactory receptors, and nasal cavity must be maintained to the highest of standards, with regular examinations by a doctor to ensure the best perception and optimum oral sensation during dining. Furthermore, a Zuocanshi’s presentation and appearance was also an important factor to consider. Of course, rather than brainwaves of indeterminate origin, people much preferred to share the gourmet experience with a beloved figure they could see seated in front of them, who could provide them with all kinds of other delectable associations.

Zuocanshi88 sipped the red wine and then picked up another morsel of beef, chewing carefully and slowly for a good while, her posture and deportment eternally impeccable. Such deportment was said to be the dining etiquette of the British monarchy. The youth knew that her line of work was not an easy one. It was said that, in order to produce the most vibrant of dietary experiences, Zuocanshi need to starve themselves for days beforehand, becoming so hungry they could eat a whole cow. However, in order to maintain their eating etiquette, they must dine without letting that desperation show. It was vital to avoid accidentally biting their own tongue or lips. In the early years, there was a Zuocanshi who was so starved that, in a ravenous frenzy, they almost bit their tongue clean off, transmitting that sensation of pain to countless recipients, generating wretched howls simultaneously across hundreds of cities and thousands of restaurants.

This was, of course, a mistake that Number 88 would never make. Her dining techniques were the best. It was not just the gracefulness of her posture, the delicacy of her feelings, but the fact that the food seemed to take on a magical quality as soon as it reached the tip of her tongue. Steak, sauces, asparagus, wine, even bread: the sensory quality of each was at its apex. Main, supplementary, and base notes – the jun chen zuo shi7 of tastes, flavours, and textures, combined and separate, creating countless amalgams of exquisite and blissful moments. The youth felt as if he was surfing on a sea of roiling waves, constantly bringing him to the climax of desire.

Suddenly, 88 slowed her chewing, letting her eyelids drop a little, displaying an expression of intoxication, as if engrossed in the incomparable flavours. There was an indescribable charm and loveliness in her expression, which, combined with the delectable steak, provided the utmost enjoyment.

But something in this scene made the young man pause. The expression on the face in front of him gave him a strong sense of déjà vu. He felt sure he had seen that exact look before. This shouldn’t be a surprise, having already “dined” with her so often over almost a year, he would have seen a similar expression from Zuocanshi88 countless times. But this manner and expression was still giving him an uncanny sense of familiarity.

Why was this?

Being in the midst of his gourmet experience, he let it pass and thought no more of it. However, as the dining continued, similar feelings rose in him, again, and again, and again.

Half an hour later, when Zuocanshi88 had completed her synchronised dining, she stood up, curtsied sweetly, and disappeared.

The youth paid the bill and wandered out of the restaurant. Number 88’s expressions and movements throughout the meal were fresh in his mind, but he repeatedly had the feeling that something was not quite right.

“Bring up the recording of my dining experience today.” Back home, the youth instructed the AI assistant on his chip to access the video. Because of his infatuation with 88, he would use a camera in his glasses to record the visuals of her AppetAide session, every time, often playing them back to savour the moment.

Yet this time, when the Zuocanshi’s enticing, smiling figure was projected before him, the youth had no capacity to enjoy it. He scrubbed forward to the moment he’d initially felt déjà vu, and then instructed his AI to “make a search through Zuocanshi88’s channel for all similar images.”

In the past year, he’d made over 270 recordings of 88, and from them, the AI found over 1500 images with similar postures. However, the youth added some more selective criteria, refining by the same outfits, same foods, and so forth.

Very quickly, that number of similar images had fallen to nineteen. The youth browsed through the first two pages before stopping on the third: one of the thumbnails was exactly the same as the scene he had just experienced at the restaurant. The placement of the food, the pose of the person, it was exactly the same. Identical down to the intricate pattern of creases in her outfit.

“Overlap the two images,” he commanded.

The AI overlapped the two images, and even though the background was different, every visual element related to Zuocanshi88 and the dish overlapped perfectly, with no point of distinguishment.

That had been an AppetAide service from four months ago.

Hoping that it was just a wild coincidence, he spent a few minutes comparing the full footage from the two experiences and found that, although the two were not exactly the same, for around one minute before and after this image, 88 made exactly the same movements. Undeniably, at least this part was a recording.

“Those bastards have cracked FlavorWave storage! What a fucking cheat, keeping it secret and still pretending it’s a live stream,” raged the youth between gritted teeth.

The clever young man quickly unravelled the ruse: if they made FlavorWave storage public knowledge, then people would want to purchase the stored experiences and enjoy their dining on their own, just using those recordings repeatedly, so how would Zuocanshis get any more business? The whole AppetAide industry had insidiously concealed the truth, remixing the same recordings to disguise them as live casting, thus lowering their costs, deceiving the public, and exploiting everyone for their own explosive profits!

Poor Zuocanshi88. Perhaps after she had made those recordings, she had already been dropped by these unscrupulous companies!

With this thought, any hesitation in the young man’s head vanished, and he began writing up his findings at a tremendous speed. Trimming up and processing the two clips, he uploaded it to every social media site he could. With the two different backgrounds and the date stamps, it was very easy to prove that the 3D recording was made at different times. The ironclad evidence was as irrefutable as the mountains.

The young man was not wanghong,8 so he had no net-celebrity, and for the first couple of days, his post languished, with only a few of his friends sharing it. But after all, this concerned the AppetAide network, a technology that millions of people relied on in their daily lives, so eventually, it was bound to catch someone’s attention.

After three days, the number of reposts began to snowball until, finally, it went viral across every platform.

Overnight, it received over a million reposts. The video was watched over 10 million times.

Immediately, a representative from Taste of Herz stepped forward to dispel the rumours, stating that there was absolutely no such thing, that the video was made by a malicious image manipulator, and further demanding that the rumourmongers step forward and take legal responsibility for their defamation. For a time, they even seemed to manage to quell the story.

However, the power of the masses had been activated, and soon, people across the internet began searching for their own evidence. After another day, a whole new round of similar recordings began to emerge across the internet, and the truth of the matter could no longer be denied.

Aside from the recording scenario imagined by the youth, people began hypothesising other frightening possibilities, such as these companies presenting pretty or handsome models as the “faces” of the experience, whilst transmitting the Zuocanshi experiences of crusty old men who liked to pick their feet or withered old ladies with hairy chins. This would be a hundred times worse than just pre-recorded streams.

Given the serious nature of the accusations and public sentiment growing more and more contentious, the police eventually stepped in to formally investigate the issue.

A month later, the truth came out, and what a truth! It’s said that the truth often exceeds conjecture, but that day, when the youth saw the headlines, he almost passed out.

CEO of renowned dining experience and live-casting company Taste of Herz, Dongguan Hurton, and numerous high-ranking personnel have been arrested and detained by the police. The police revealed that Taste of Herz has been exposed for illegally breeding and keeping several hundred Tugou dogs and Yorkshire Saddleback pigs and for transmitting the “FlavorWaves” generated by feeding them via the AppetAide Service to hundreds and thousands of customers around the globe, whilst simultaneously employing digital deepfake technology and A.I. tracking to generate “human” disguises for these subjects. With gustatory and olfactory senses far exceeding those of humans, the brainwaves provided by the canine Zuocanshi have proved extremely popular. This hair-raising hoax has been perpetrated over a period of at least three years. According to certain sources, many other companies have also been perpetrating similar clandestine operations …

3. The Last Meal

Some years later.

The launch event for Taste of Herz Dining Experience Group’s new product was about to begin. Already, over a million people had registered their participation online, and some important guests had been invited to the Experience Centre itself to attend it in person.

The VIPs gathered. Champagne glasses clinked.

An elderly gentlemen sat down by a middle-aged man, and when their eyes met, there was instant recognition.

“Hello…you’re that tycoon!” said the middle-aged man excitedly. “One of the earliest diners to enjoy the FlavorWave system! They say that was the time when you tasted the world’s most forbidden–”

The old tycoon laughed loudly to interrupt him. “Those are unreliable rumours, and the truth was nowhere near as sensational. But back then, when I had invested a few billion in Taste of Herz, there were all kinds of rumours about me. It was inevitable really…but, if I’m not mistaken, you’re the young kid who first exposed the Herz Live Experience scam, yes?”

 “I’m more of an ‘old kid’ now,” said the erstwhile youth rather bitterly, “but I never expected that after that, things would take a path like this…”

After being exposed for the scandal of transmitting FlavorWaves from dogs, and even pigs, to humans, the entire industry imploded, taking companies large and small with it.

However, this turned out to be nothing but a temporary setback. Customers who had grown used to the enhanced sensory brainwaves of the animals and to the much sharper, more sensitive, and abundant stimulation they provided to the tongue, found that  returning to the FlavorWaves of human Zuocanshi no longer satisfied their appetites. But as it’s those with courage who reach the headiest of heights, many people quickly broke through that mental block: justifying to themselves that, since we happily consumed the bodies of animals already, why not consume their experiences too?

Despite there still being waves of objections, including religious figures and thinkers, who decried “the degeneration of humanity” till they were blue in the face, a new market, providing animal FlavorWaves rose from the ashes, and with it, the almost expired Taste of Herz Group rose again like a phoenix, its business expanding further and further.

“Had you not poked a hole through that paper window, it would have taken many years to transform the market,” the old tycoon smiled. “Who’d have thought that, after the story broke of our use of animal FlavorWaves, the public would be clamouring for a whole new world of gourmet experiences. And us old taotie9 would be reaping the benefits!”

The younger man had to agree: “when they first used animals, they were just trying to save the costs of human labour, and so needed the eating experience to be at least comparable to that of humans for the scam to work and satisfy the customers, but after it went public, people couldn’t help but dig into the experiences of thousands of rare and unusual predators, expanding our menu enormously…that is, I should say, expanding our ‘Gourmet Sensory Spectrum.’  It’s fascinating.”
 
 “It sounds like you’ve tried a few yourself?”
 
 “Yes, over the last few years, I have tasted the xian of fresh grass in the mouths of cows and goats, the sweetness of bamboo leaves enjoyed by giant pandas, and the wonderful delight felt by a kitten’s first taste of fish…you must have experienced these yourself?”

“Not only these, but so much more…have you ever experienced the lion’s thrill when it digs a warthog out of the mud and cracks its skull in a single bite, so the brains explode into its mouth? Or the chewiness of a giant squid when a sperm whale dives into the depths and tears it apart? Or the interwoven icy cold and blazing heat when a polar bear on the glacier bites into a tender, young, blubbery seal pup?” The old tycoon rolled each experience off as if they were familiar delicacies.

“I have to say, I’ve never tasted those. They’re all premium experiences, reserved for the super-rich. The FlavorWaves of these rare, wild animals are hard to capture; each experience must cost a few billion at least?” The middle-aged man mused, salivating, before smacking his lips and swallowing repeatedly. 

“But experiences such as these are worth any amount of money. Look, why don’t you come and see me another day, and I’ll treat you to a proper banquet!” the old tycoon suggested with largess.

“Well…then thank you. Thank you very much! But, on the subject of banquets…do you have any idea what today’s experience might be?”

“Well, it has to be some new development in animal AppetAide,” the old tycoon shrugged, “but these people, there’s nothing they haven’t already come across, so I really don’t know what this new thing this could—”

“Esteemed guests, welcome to the Taste of Herz Dining Experience New Development Press Conference Live!” The CEO of Taste of Herz appeared on stage, interrupting the tycoon.

After a short introductory speech, he finally revealed the mystery: “in today’s event, we will be introducing the world to a whole new Gourmet Sensory Experience! Initially, we could only transmit, receive, and interpret human brainwaves that were related to eating, before being able to extend this to different kinds of mammals. As for other organisms, due to the difference in their inherent biological make-up, which was far too distanced from that of humans, their brainwaves took entirely different forms. And this barrier was one we were unable to break through for a very long time. But recently, our scientists have cracked the code, and successfully interpreted the corresponding brainwaves of reptiles, in a manner where their brains could connect with those of humans. Today, the FlavorWaves that everyone will be enjoying come directly from…crocodiles!

“Crocodiles?” The middle-aged man was a little disgusted. “Those dull, dirty creatures? What could be so special about their experience? Don’t they have brains, like, the size of an egg?”

“Perhaps,” the old tycoon said, patting him on the shoulder, “but still, all life is full of wonders, and the unique flavours that animals on the hunt experience have given me many delightful culinary surprises. For instance, when I was receiving the ’waves of an anteater whose tongue was stuck deep into a nest of ants, the ants crawling all over it felt sweet and active, like a mouthful of popping candy…quite unforgettable!”

“OK. That makes me want to try it less…” The middle-aged man frowned.

But still, he activated the receive function on his implant.

Under the anticipation of thousands of people in the venue and the millions viewing online, a magnificent landscape appeared on the giant screen before them.

The scene was split into left and right sides, each side bisected between top and bottom. The top part of both sides showed what looked like sky, snowy mountains, and woods; the bottom half was a dark green world strewn with floating algae. The host informed everyone that this was the world as seen through the eyes of an 18-foot-long Nile crocodile, floating on the water. ToH workers had anesthetised the beast and implanted a FlavorWave transmitter chip into its brain. Of course, the crocodile was completely unaware of any of this.

The Nile crocodile stayed motionless in the waters for a long time. The host said it could spend the whole day waiting like this by the water’s edge, but just then, as a herd of bison appeared in the distance (driven, of course, by the staff), the Nile crocodile began to respond, at which point, the audience began to receive its FlavorWaves.

This was an exceptional feeling. Clearly it had not yet eaten anything, but there was already an intangible thrill stimulated in its mouth, like humans salivating when they look at food, imagining its taste the food before eating it—but this feeling was much fiercer than simple salivation.

This kind of aperitif thrill drove the Nile crocodile to make its move. Slowly, it swam towards the herd, coiling its body and gathering momentum to strike.

Although it had no ‘eating’ to transmit, the middle-aged man was already feeling the extraordinarily fierce excitement of the predator. It wasn’t a desire to eat, but rather the impulse to launch his entire body, wrap it around the prey, and become one with it! It surpassed even the strongest of his sexual urges.

The bison began wading through the river, and a moment later the crocodile suddenly lashed out, snapping its jaws around the leg of a young calf! With a biting force of around 5000 pounds, the bite penetrated the tough skin and tight flesh, delivering the marvellous sensation of blood doufu. That fresh warm blood flowed into its mouth, tasting sweet through the metallic tang, and like a taste bomb, exploded in the mouth of every diner!

In an instant, the middle-aged man felt as if he had become one with the crocodile, a fierce thrill transmitted to all parts of his body. He chomped the air, roared, clenched his fists, and as the crocodile performed its signature ‘death roll,’ thrashed around in his seat. He could see that the old tycoon and the other diners were making similar movements. If he were an onlooker, he might have found it comical, but in the moment, he could only marvel at it. How awesome! How stimulating! Every movement of his body was accompanied by an invigorating freshness and delicacy of taste that he had never experienced before, on an entirely different plane of eating sensations than that of humans, or any other mammal. In pleasurable and comfort it was more comparable to sex. If Zuocanshi88 had ever really existed, she would be a joke compared to this.

After a series of flips and rolls, tearing and biting, the young calf stopped struggling underwater and quickly became a mess of bloody and broken meat. The Nile crocodile dragged this back to its cavernous nest and began to enjoy its catch. Each great mouthful was unusually fresh, fatty, and satisfying, stretching out and relaxing each and every armour-like scale on its body. 

The whole experience had been faithfully transmitted to every diner. In reality, the waiting staff had delivered thick slices of fresh steak, but the silverware remained untouched–that would only have ruined this extremely marvellous experience.

The crocodile’s appetite was surprisingly large, and in no time at all, the entire baby bison was in its stomach. That joy of a full stomach, followed by a deep, deep sense of satisfaction, was felt by every diner, who now felt as though that they too had eaten an entire bison. There had never before been such a fulfilling dining experience!

“I’ve never felt this way before! How could it be so….so good?” The middle-aged man struggled to find the words to describe it.

“Interesting,” said the old tycoon thoughtfully. “I think it’s because reptiles are cold-blooded animals, who are far less active than mammals. Their usual states are almost completely stationary; they expend most of their vitality in just those rare occasions of hunting, mating, or fighting for their lives. It’s precisely the lure of a wonderful meal that send their bodies into momentary explosiveness. It could be said that they devote their entire bodies, no, their entire lives, to eating! They are the world’s most profound epicures! How marvellous!”

Yet even more marvellous things were yet to come.

The next day, very little of that deep feeling of satisfaction had dissipated. The old tycoon hardly wanted to move, nor could he bring himself to eat. Unsettled by this, he enquired of the other guests, and found that they were having a similar reaction.

Discussions began across the internet. Some people started researching crocodiles, and soon discovered a terrible truth that, after eating a large meal, they could go for months, even a year, without needing to feed again! That Nile crocodile had faithfully transmitted its experiences into the press conference, so even if its FlavorWaves were no longer being received, the minds of those who attended the event were retaining the state induced by these brainwaves.

The old tycoon was shocked to find that his appetite had totally vanished, soon realising he not eaten anything for two whole days. Very quickly he began to rely on injections of nutrients to keep himself alive.

According to statistics collected shortly thereafter, among the first batch of people who participated in the experience of crocodile FlavorWaves, these symptoms had manifested themselves in as many as 85% of them.

It was a relief that this condition didn’t actually last for a whole year. After three days, appetites returned. One morning, the old tycoon woke up feeling ravenous. He leapt out of bed and, without even getting dressed, rushed to the nearest bakery stall, picked up the first ham roll he could find, and devoured it as if it were the best thing he had ever eaten. The old man breathed a sigh of relief that he seemed to be returning to health.

He had no idea that this was only the beginning.

Soon after, the old tycoon realised that he now no longer needed the stimulation of AppetAides and could enjoy even quite basic food with hearty abandon and pleasure. Every time he ate, he was consuming several times his usual fare, filling his stomach to its absolute fullest. After eating his fill, he would slip into a profound contentment and exhaustion, not wanting to move a muscle. Even his thoughts were beginning to grind to a halt. He could lie or sit like that for hours on end, his mind a total blank, not even moving a finger.

It wasn’t until a day or two after, when the food had been completely digested, that his brain resumed its basic abilities, and with the cravings of a drug addict, he would go about looking for his next meal.

He became less and less communicative, and after a month, struggled to even string a whole sentence together.

In other words, like several other million people, he had started to live the life of a crocodile.

Soon, all the attendees were taken into hospitals, but there was nothing that the doctors could do.

Later, medical research discovered that the Nile crocodile’s FlavorWaves had activated a dormant reptilian cortex deep within the human brain, causing an appetite that had been suppressed by centuries of evolution to awaken, fundamentally—and permanently—altering the body’s functioning.

Although Taste of Herz had performed a minimal number of experiments previously, to test the technology they had used the more common Chinese alligator and certain species of fish, the side effects from which were naturally not as strong. When they had just begun the clinical trials of the Nile crocodile, Taste of Herz discovered that their competitors were about the announce similar dietary experiences, and so pressed ahead with the launch before tests were completed, resulting in this tragedy that brought disaster upon millions of people.

As for the old tycoon and the man who broke the story? They did not feel miserable. After losing most of their human thoughts and behaviours, they could at long last live in the eternal world of the epicurean, and focus on becoming one with their beloved food, without any other distractions.

Perhaps, then, this is the most profound meaning of the gourmet: I eat, therefore I am.

NOTES

  1. Sifang – traditionally sifang cai are the most exclusive of dining experiences. The dishes are served in private mansions. They are not open to the public, nor advertised, nor is there a menu. They are cooked by the host themselves from secret recipes passed down through the family for generations.
  2. Tuhao – a derogatory term meaning “earth rich,” referring to the nouveau riche from China’s rural areas.
  3. Xian – Chinese term for umami.
  4. Snowflake beef is a premium category of wagyu beef.
  5. Broth baicai – kaishui bacai, an haute cuisine of Sichuan and one of its greatest classic dishes, created by an imperial chef named Huang Jingjin, consisting of Chinese leaf vegetables skilfully cooked in chicken or pork bone broth supplemented by pieces of tender meat.
  6. Zuocanshi – “master appetite enhancer.” In Chinese cuisine, a zuocan dish is traditionally a food or drink accompaniment, such as a sauce, a dish of pickles, or wine, that supplements the main dish and improves its taste and the diner’s appetite.
  7. Jun chen zuo shi – “ruler, minister, aide, envoy,” originally meaning those that govern the country. They also represent the principles for TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) prescriptions, the “ruler” herbs being the ones that nourish vitality, the “minister” and “aide” components doing most of the treating, supplemented by the “envoy” herbs. Here, the idiom is extended to oral sensations.
  8. Wanghong: social media influencers
  9. Taotie – the terms means “ravenous gluttony” and refers to a mythical beast, one of the Four Fiends, that is cursed with an all-consuming hunger.

Baoshu, science fiction author, translator, member of the China Science Fiction Literature Association, and scholar of the China Berggruen Institute. His well-known works include novels such as The Thinking Verse and The Ruins of Times. He has published over one million words in multiple novellas. He has won major categories in the Chinese Galaxy and Nebula Awards, and many of his works have been translated into English, Japanese, Italian, German and other languages. He has also been editor-in-chief of collections such as Chinese History in Science Fiction. His translations include The Cold Equations and the Star Maker. This short story was originally published as a Galaxy’s Edge exclusive.

­Xueting C. Ni was born in Guangzhou, during China’s re-opening to the West. Having spent a childhood living in cities across China, she emigrated with her family to Britain, where she continued to be immersed in Chinese culture, alongside her British education, realising ultimately that this gave her a unique a cultural perspective in bridging her Eastern and Western experiences. After graduating in English Literature from the University of London, she began a career in the publishing industry, whilst creating works of non-fiction and literary translations. Since 2010, Xueting has written extensively on China’s cultures and its place in the Western consciousness, working with companies, institutions and festivals, to help improve understanding of China’s heritage and innovations, and introduce its wonders to new audiences. Xueting has contributed to the BBC, Tordotcom and the Confucius Institute. Her non-fiction works include From Kuanyin to Chairman Mao: An Essential Guide to Chinese Deities (Weiser Books), Chinese Myths (Amber Books). Her curated fiction in translation includes Sinopticon: A Celebration of Chinese Science Fiction (Solaris) and Sinophagia: A Celebration of Chinese Horror. Xueting is currently working on a range of projects, including a book on wuxia culture. She lives just outside London with her partner and their cats, all of whom are learning Mandarin.