A Side of Curry, Pasta for Main, Pickles on the Side

Miko! Do you know the Trolley Problem?

…I don’t, nya

So there’s this runaway trolley, right---

…hold on, nya

Huh (>_<)?!

Before that, let me ask something, nya. There’s a curry that’s been sitting overnight

…Curry?

The spices have all blended together, the potatoes got all soft, it’s gotten nice and thick, nya. The flavor changed over one whole night

But what if the world began five minutes ago, nya

…What?

This curry popped into existence five minutes ago, already in its “sat overnight” state, nya. The overnight wait never happened. The pot, the spices---everything just appeared five minutes ago “as if it had always been this way”

Netsuki-chan. The curry in front of you---is it good, nya?

…I think it’s good? The taste hasn’t changed, right?

The taste is the same, nya

Then yeah, it’s good. But…

It kinda bugs me. I thought it was special because I waited overnight for it. If that night was a lie, does it stop being special? Even though it tastes the same?

…So “good” isn’t just about taste, nya? The fact that time went into it… that’s also part of what makes it good?

…Yeah. I think it is

…nya

…So anyway, the trolley. There’s this lever, right---

…hold on, nya

There are two perfect plates of peperoncino, nya. Same look, same taste, same aroma

More food talk?!

The first one I made myself, nya. Watched the garlic browning, tested the pasta firmness with my fingers, listened to the pan to know if it emulsified right

The second was made by a machine, nya. Temperature sensors and timers, following the recipe precisely. Never tasted it. But the result is the same

Which one would you eat, nya

Yours, obviously!

…Why, nya. They taste the same

…The taste is the same, yeah. Looks the same too

But…something you tasted and thought “yeah, this is right” before serving, and something a machine pumped out without anyone ever tasting it…they’re not the same

…Could you tell by eating it, nya?

…Probably not. I probably couldn’t tell just by eating. But it’s different

…nya

---So ANYWAY! There’s 5 people and 1 person, right---

…hold on, nya

AGAIN?!

There’s Grandmother’s nuka pickling bed, nya. I’ve been taking care of it for ten years

Every day I add fresh rice bran, remove the old, nya. Pickle vegetables, stir it, add salt. I haven’t missed a single day in ten years

Not a single grain of Grandmother’s original bran remains in it now, nya. The container cracked once and got replaced too

Is this still “Grandmother’s pickling bed,” nya?

It’s totally Grandmother’s!

…There’s literally nothing of Grandma’s left in it, nya. So why do you say it’s still hers

Because you’ve been taking care of it every single day, so the connection is still there! Even if the ingredients changed, the care never stopped---so it’s still Grandmother’s

…Then what if I had frozen Grandmother’s bran instead and started a new bed from that, nya

Which one is really Grandma’s --- the one I’ve been tending for ten years, or a brand-new one made from her original bran, nya?

Huh…

…The one you’ve been taking care of every day. The frozen one just…stopped

…nya

…Wait. I’ve been the only one answering this whole time?

…Dinner won’t make itself, nya

She ran! You still haven’t answered the Trolley Problem! I answered THREE of yours!

…Shift’s over, nya

Wait come baaack!