Bullet Train (Assassins #2)

by Kōtarō Isaka

‘So pessimistic. You’re like a hermit crab who won’t leave its shell because it’s worried about earthquakes.’ ‘Is that what hermit crabs worry about?’ ‘If they weren’t worried about earthquakes, they wouldn’t have portable houses, would they?’ ‘Maybe they just don’t want to pay property taxes.’

It wasn’t just the Rwandans who expected the Americans to act a certain way. Most Japanese people think that if there’s ever a major problem, America or the UN will deal with it. A feeling like the police are on the job and will take care of everything. When in reality, the US and UN determine their course of action based not on any sense of mission or moral obligation, but on a calculation of profit and loss.

It’s like you’re bragging to us about having the measles. We all got over it a long time ago.’