What, I wondered, did he mean by society? The plural of human beings? Where was the substance of this thing called society? I had spent my whole life thinkng that society must certainly be something powerful, harsh and severe, but to hear Horiki talk made the words Dont you mean yourself? come to the tip of my tongue.

But I held the words back, reluctant to anger him.

Society wont stand for it.

Its not society. Youre the one who wont stand for it right?

If you do such a thing society will make you suffer for it

Its not society. Its you, isnt it?

Before you know it, youll be ostracized by society.

Its not society. Youre going to do the ostracizing, arent you?

Words, words of every kind went flitting through my head. Know thy particular fearsomeness, thy knavery, cunning and witchcraft! What I said, however, as I wiped the perspiration from my face with a handkerchief was merely, Youve put me in a cold sweat! I smiled.

From then on, however, I came to hold, almost as a philosophical conviction, the belief: What is society but an individual?