Hearing about The Ship of Theseus for the first time was a memory from my distant past life.
It was a famous tale. If you replaced each plank of a sailing ship one by one, until eventually every plank had been swapped out, was it still the same ship? Even if nothing from the original ship remained, could it still be said to have reached its destination as the same vessel that set sail?
Perhaps, as an adult, I would have found this an intriguing philosophical topic. As a middle schooler, I might have scoffed and responded with a somewhat cynical and pretentious reply. It was that kind of light metaphysical paradox.
However, I first encountered this story before I even attended kindergarten. Thus, the emotion I felt was fear. At that age, when one believed dolls were alive, I imagined the inanimate ship as a person.
That night, I was tormented by a nightmare of an evil witch cutting my body apart and replacing it with different ones, piece by piece.
Different hands.
Different arms.
Different legs.
And even a different head. Revisiting that nightmare from my distant past, shrouded by time, was no coincidence.
-ring, riing, riiing. ring, riing, riiing.
I didn’t think I would be able to sleep. It was a relief that I had set an alarm just in case. At least I woke up. Gradually, my numb senses began to return—
It’s cold.
As soon as I returned to reality, the clammy feeling of the blanket sticking to me greeted me. My body was drenched in cold sweat… I regretted not at least wearing pajamas to bed.
Though I was tempted to burrow deeper into the blanket, the sticky sweat all over my body was too unpleasant.
I should get up.
Was it just my imagination? The blanket felt heavier than usual. I forced myself to throw it off and stood up. With familiar motions, I washed up and carefully applied light makeup in front of the dressing table. There’s nothing you can’t learn on GTub.
Thinking of it as drawing on my face made it less daunting.
Having finished all my preparations, I noticed it was an hour before my appointment.
It was time to get moving.
I glanced in the mirror, smiled lightly, nodded—
And took a selfie.
…Shall I head out?
* * * *
The room at the fine Japanese restaurant exuded luxury at a glance.
As the waiter slid open the door, Lee Yeri stepped through, greeting with a bright smile.
“Yena!”
Turning her waist and lifting her head to face Lee Yena, she noticed how her sister sat right by the door, not taking a seat anywhere comfortably despite arriving first. That was truly typical of her younger sister.
“Were you waiting long? Sorry, that bastard Attorney Kim kept dragging things out to the end— Ah, my bad. Anyway, that’s how it is with work. Did you order anything yet?”
“…No, not yet.”
“Then let’s start by ordering. The special course menu for two should be fine, and… Oh, you said you had something you wanted to talk about? Is it something we need drinks for?”
“Well… I might need unni.”
“Really? Then we should order some. One bottle of Hakaisan, please.”
“Yes, I’ll prepare that right away.”
With the sound of a sliding door closing, the room fell silent, leaving only the two sisters. Lee Yeri smiled brightly, while Lee Yena, unable to hide her discomfort, fidgeted with her water glass.
‘What could it be?’
It had been so long since her sister had asked for advice. Not once since she grew up, at least. As Yeri thought that maybe it was odd she felt proud rather than worried, the server came back with drinks and appetizers.
Yena, with an expression like something was stuck in her throat, finally spoke after their glasses were filled with sake.
“You know…”
“Yeah?”
“Do you know the story of Theseus’s ship?”
An out-of-context question.
But it wasn’t particularly surprising. Ever since they were young, Yena often wandered into Yeri’s room with sudden questions whenever something puzzled her, like asking, “Do bears hibernate if you put them in the refrigerator?”
“Yeah, I know.”
Answering as such, Yeri took a bite of the salad with tangy yuzu sauce and well-aged flounder. These rare moments made her feel that the grueling effort she put into life at the law firm was worth it.
“What do you think about it though?”
“Seriously?”
Tilting her head, Yeri extended her glass instead of saying they should drink first. Philosophical debates might be fun at a bar, but they usually came up when people were drunk and missing the last train.
But when Yena carefully clinked their glasses and barely touched the drink to her lips, Yeri finally realized how serious her sister was.
“Hmm… I think, no matter how many planks they replaced, it’s still Theseus’s ship.”
“Why?”
“It might sound silly, but promise you won’t laugh?”
“Okay.”
“There are many versions of the Theseus’s ship story, but the original is about honoring Theseus, who killed the Minotaur, by preserving the ship he returned on. Since their preservation techniques weren’t advanced, parts of the wooden ship rotted over time, and subsequent Greeks replaced the decayed sections with new planks. If every single plank ended up replaced, is it still the great hero Theseus’s ship?”
“So it wasn’t done while sailing.”
Perhaps embarrassed, Yena reached for her glass but withdrew her hand at the last moment.
“How could you replace all the planks during a voyage? Anyway, I still believe that ship is Theseus’ ship.”
“…Why?”
“Because if it’s not, it means the magnificent ship of Theseus has already rotted away into pieces. That’s just too sad.”
A moment of silence flowed in the small room.
Perhaps interpreting the silence as a good timing to enter the room, a waiter, who had been waiting outside, walked in briskly with two plates of sashimi, the main course.
“Here’s your sashimi. Starting with red snapper, engawa, raw shrimp with sea urchin, and tuna belly. Please enjoy.”
Until the waiter finished explaining and politely bowed before leaving the room, Lee Yena kept her head down without saying a word.
“What’s this? Don’t tell me you’re getting all emotional?”
If that was the case, it would be a bit unfair. She had simply given a sincere answer for once. Perhaps Lee Yena had been expecting a cold, logical response befitting a lawyer.
‘If she was expecting that, even now-‘
“Unni.”
“Huh, what? Ah. You know, my MBTI actually fluctuates between F and T, right? Just now, it was an F-type answer, and there’s a T-type answer too. Listen. It’s actually a question of whether to include the changes over time in the definition of identity. Want to hear it?”
“…Next time. I have a confession to make.”
Lee Yena emptied the glass in front of her, then laughed with an unusually solemn expression.
“I do internet broadcasting. That’s what I wanted to tell you.”
Maybe because of the serious look she wore just moments before, her smile seemed somewhat resolute, as if she had prepared herself for this moment.
***
– Ppwooob! Cough! Cough!
…Cold.
I thought spraying drinks across the room was something that only happened in dramas.
I handed a napkin to Lee Yeri, who was still coughing violently after spewing her drink.
“Cough, in, cough! Internet broadcasting? No way, huh? Really? Did I give you too little allowance? Wait, where? Where is it?”
“… I get why you’d worry, but… it’s not like that. It’s just… broadcasting about playing games and chatting sometimes.”
“Oh, really? Hoo- It’s not that I doubted you. It’s just that as a lawyer, I see scandals all the time… That’s why. Besides, I heard YouTubers are all the rage these days. They say not even a hundred lawyer jobs can out-earn a successful video… Anyway! So, how’s it going? What’s your channel’s name?”
“Well, no. It’s just a small, cozy channel. You wouldn’t find it even if you searched for it… Anyway, there’s no need to look it up. It’s just a hobby.”
“I see. Well, if you end up signing with an MCN, make sure to tell me. I’ll go over the contract thoroughly. Getting caught by a harmful clause would be a disaster. Oh, by the way… just a wild guess, but there aren’t any jerks saying nasty things to you, are there? If there are, tell me right away. I’ll take a leave and file lawsuits everywhere!”
.
.
.
One hour later.
“Did you resolve your issue?”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
“I really want to hang out more, but I have to make a delivery by dawn… Oh, do you want to call a friend and drink a bit more? Should I give you my card?”
“No, I need to head in. You better get going.”
I waved goodbye to Lee Yeri, who reluctantly took a step away. How many times would she look back? Should I lift my lips into a slight smile? I wonder if she could see it from that distance.
Even though the figurehead had been changed, it was still the same ship…
As Lee Yeri’s figure grew smaller and eventually disappeared beyond the revolving door of the skyscraper, my body shivered. The power of the significantly chilly evening air was remarkable.
I hadn’t said any of the things I originally planned to. Or rather, maybe I chose not to. I really don’t know. Some might call it cowardice… but I guess I have to bear that criticism myself. It’s better that way.
I, alone, will bear—
—Buzz
『Revan: There’s something weird about this game』
『Revan: Where do we get food?』
『Revan: Eating bloody bread drops the hygiene level too much』
Ha.
『You can rely on fishing and farming later』
『At first, raiding the Empire’s outposts to loot their food storage is best』
—Buzz
『Revan: ??』
『Revan: This game said there’s no farming』
『Revan: Is it a mod?』
『Huh』
『I thought the logger’s passive skills included farming』
『Maybe they’ll figure something out since it’s the same profession』
『Revan: Must be the plunderer’s passive skill』
『Revan: I can’t access it』
『I still have a wish voucher left』
『Revan: I’ve got a content voucher too』
What is this? The Cuban Missile Crisis vibes, where each was ignoring the gun pointed at their own heads, threatening each other while screaming, “You’ll die if I press this button.”
Heh.
Even though I laughed, I didn’t quite know what was so funny.
Broadcasting—I think it was the right decision.
That thought came to mind.
TL’s Corner:
Not much comedy, it was a philosophical chapter. What do you think about Theseus Ship??? Leave a comment or ping me at Fenrir’s Discord Server 🙂