The Babel Society

♪ Allegro (present) ♪

“Hey, kid. You finding the work interesting?”

After finishing a day of temporary trash collection work, one of the older workers called out to me. Being called kid like this was probably because I looked younger due to the effects of my personality split.

“Well, uh, yes, more or less. It’s rewarding.”

“Hah hah hah. No need to be polite. There’s no such thing as a job being noble or lowly, but compared to glamorous work, this one is plain. From the way you carry yourself, I’d say you used to live in the world of rich people, and for some reason you ended up here. Am I wrong?”

“…No, you’re not.”

So people really did watch you more closely than you thought. Well, of course they did.

“Listen. If you don’t want to say it, I won’t force you. But what’s going on these days in the world of the rich?”

He whispered it in a low, gravelly voice. Then he pulled out a battered flute and, for comparison, a much cleaner clarinet.

“Poor people use broken-down instruments until they fall apart. Rich people toss out even nearly brand-new ones as oversized garbage. Well, that itself happens in every age. In the old days, books written in the ancient language filled that role. It’s just that the symbol of wealth disparity has shifted from vocal music to instruments. Instrumental magic may be extending a helping hand to minorities and giving them opportunities right now, but sooner or later it too will be hit with heavy taxes and swallowed up by vested interests. That’s all.”

“Uh… I see.”

After letting out a deep sigh, the older worker continued.

“That sort of thing is just ordinary trash. But what about these?”

He set them down carelessly. A mask, a cape, a badge. Hero cosplay merchandise, maybe.

“They’re all goods from the hero tokusatsu shows people of our generation grew up with. Not the kind of thing young kids today would care about. And yet items like these keep turning up in the homes that throw out high-end instruments.”

He looked puzzled, so I decided to answer his question for him.

“Oh, that would be the Babel Society.”

“The Babel Society?”

“A rich people’s circle who can’t let go of the glory of their youth, so they play at being heroes. Older folks doing it among themselves, like they’ve gone back to childhood. They use a lot of in-group terminology that only makes sense to a specific generation, so people from younger generations like us can’t really join in.”

“That’s not a name I’ve ever heard before. Not in our day, anyway. I’ve never heard of any hero called Babelman.”

He gave me a suspicious look, so I explained again.

“The group’s name comes from the Tower of Babel, an anecdote from a religion in another world. Apparently they just thought the name sounded cool.”

“And what anecdote would that be?”

“Um, let me think… Right. Long ago, humanity grew proud and tried to draw close to a godlike existence. So they attempted to build a tower high enough to reach the heavens. But God punished them, their languages were thrown into confusion, and the people scattered across the world.”

“Why would anyone choose a myth like that?”

“From their point of view, I guess it means they’re people who can approach the level of gods, unlike the ancient Hebrews of Otherworld Earth who failed. They’d become the rulers of a new order, or something like that. Well, I assume it’s all a joke.”

“Hah hah. If anything, that sounds more like the evil organization from a hero show than the heroes themselves. Almost like a secret society.”

“If you organize something like a defense force for the sake of playing hero, then I guess it might really be two sides of the same coin with an evil secret society. Either way, though, it’s just make-believe.”

I said that with a tone of exasperation, but the older worker answered in that same heavy voice.

“Cults often spring up more naturally than you’d think, from exactly that sort of thing. They turn into political groups. Or religious corporations.”

What a strange thing to say. I let out a laugh.

“No way! That would make it sound like a conspiracy theory. Like they were plotting world domination or something…!”

The older worker did not laugh.

The Babel Society. I had occasionally seen suspicious meetings being held at the Ministry of Magic. But surely… no, that couldn’t be…

“What’s wrong? Packing up your things like that. You’re coming in tomorrow too, aren’t you?”

“I’ve found something I want to investigate. Just pay me today’s wages for the temp job.”