Chapter 36

The Words of an Info Broker I love humanity. I’ve said as much many times in my life. I. Love. People. It’s true. It might sound like a trite statement, but I’ve never shied away from saying it. In fact, my love for humanity is so true that I don’t know any other way to say it. I suppose if you wanted, you could call me a fan. Yes, I’m a fan of humanity. “I’m a fan of man!” …Have you ever heard that line before? It’s from a famous movie. A master actor plays the Devil, and he says it to a pious young human man to tempt him. “I’m a humanist,” he says. I’m not the Devil, of course. I’m just a normal human being without so much as a single supernatural power. But I am one of humanity’s biggest fans. The thing is, all people are fans of man. Don’t you agree? Fan, of course, being short for fanatic. Human beings are constantly fanatical for their fellows. Some people would deny that, of course. It’s only natural. That’s what you want from people. Some people can’t help but detest humanity, and others say they have no interest. Funny thing about that is—both hatred and indifference are types of fanaticism. In Japanese, the word fanaticism is written with the kanji for heat and madness. Do you see where I’m going with this? To go mad over heat itself. To go mad when heat is applied. And for one’s own heat to go mad. All these interpretations are valid. The heat one feels for humanity going out of control—that’s me. Overheating and falling in love with humanity itself. Others become too cold and detest humanity instead. Those who take on neither heat nor cold, maintaining perfect equilibrium no matter what happens around them, are also experiencing an abnormality in calibration. Personality can also be shaped by things outside of humanity… Say, being struck by the majesty of nature or undergoing a terrifying wild animal attack. However, only humans can alter the enthusiasm they feel toward humanity as a whole. Let’s say you’ve got someone who says, Everyone around me is such a tired, predictable bore. They don’t inspire anything in me. If you ask me, that person’s feeling the influence from humanity stronger than anyone. After all, he’s receiving the emotion of boredom from others. It’s much harder than you’d think for your emotions to be perpetually changing—did you know that? Let’s say you’ve hated a type of food since you were a child. If someone told you to simply get over it and change your opinion, it wouldn’t be that easy, would it? It takes a vast amount of energy to constantly provide a human being with the feeling of boredom. Just think about it. Sure, looking at rocks is boring. That’s because rocks don’t move. Human beings are constantly moving, though. The more you observe them, the more often you’re likely to see a new side of them. Therefore, someone has to actively try to feel consistently bored. Does that sound facetious to you? Well, of course. I’m using facetious logic. The truth is, I don’t care what anyone else says. The important thing is, what about yourself? I love humanity. Yes, I love it deeply. I’ve been saying that for years, which is why I think humanity should be allowed to love me, too. Mutual love with all humanity—what a wonderful thing. It could be love that gently envelops me. It could be love that virulently insults me. It could even be love that ignores me. Do you really think love doesn’t have a shape? Really? Love has a shape; it’s just always changing. I want to prove that to everyone. Ultimately, I want to connect with people—that’s all. I want to move around as many people as possible, stirring up the world like a sticky batch of natto, creating tendrils between people that stretch and stretch and tangle up with one another. That desire made me the man I am today. It’s a good thing to be fanatical toward each other. Very good. Even if the law and society are against it, I will accept you. So don’t worry—go wild out there. Love others; hate others; be perfectly indifferent. Each of those choices is equal, and each has great value.