F101 - おーい でてこーい (Ooo-i, Detekooo-i)

The title translates to 'He--y, Come Ou--t!', a short story written by a popular Japanese writer Shinichi Hoshi (1926 - 1997), who is well known for writing science fiction short stories.

I read this story from a Japanese textbook, but unfortunately I can't reproduce the text and translation here. Luckily there is an animation created which enacts the plot of the story:

There is no English translation provided, but I don't think it's necessary. As long as you pay attention to their graphics and actions, you'll understand what the story is trying to tell.

As I read the story (slowly), I felt the ending was rather unexpected, though I was waiting for something to happen. Hopefully the ending will trigger some thoughts from your mind.



For those who still don't really understand the story, here's a short summary:

After a typhoon, the building of a shrine was blown off and the villagers discovered a hole. They tried to test if anything was inside but there was no response at all, not even a single echo.

Shortly after, many people came to witness this mysterious hole, including scientists who attempted to find out its depth by emitting sound waves into it. However the waves went in and never returned. The scientists were helpless and ordered the villagers to cover up the hole.

Upon this, a profiteer stepped out and requested the villagers to let him have the hole, and in exchange he would build a new and better shrine for them. The villagers agreed.

Thus the profiteer went around to publicize the existence of the hole, which he claimed was at least 5000 metres deep and a perfect spot to dispose nuclear and radioactive waste. Gradually, roads were built into the village to facilitate transportation of disposal trucks.

The hole gained popularity and was used to dispose almost everything. The police threw counterfeit notes into the hole to destroy them completely. Criminals threw documents into the hole to get rid of evidences. Bacteria infested carcasses from experiments and decomposed corpses were thrown in too. At least the hole is much better than disposal into sea.

As the hole showed no sign of being filled up, the company managing the hole expanded and soon a flourishing city began to rise at the area, until one day...


So what do you think this story is trying to tell us?