-oyasumi- Nhk Ni Youkoso - Welcome To The Nhk - -

The NHK fee collector hasn't come in three weeks. That's the longest he's ever waited. He's training. Next time, he'll bring a battering ram shaped like a TV license.

The 6:00 AM news chimes from a broken clock radio. A cheerful NHK announcer reports on rising stock prices. You turn the volume down. It sounds like a conspiracy. -Oyasumi- NHK ni Youkoso - Welcome to the NHK -

Oyasumi, sekai (Goodnight, World)

The whisper comes from the corner of the room. Not from you. From the other you—the one who lives in the mold stain that looks like a map of Hokkaido. The NHK fee collector hasn't come in three weeks

Your neighbor's plants have grown through the wall now. Vines wrap around your ankle. They aren't plants. They are fiber-optic cables from the NHK's basement server farm. They want to broadcast your failure. 24/7. A reality show where nothing happens. Next time, he'll bring a battering ram shaped