Page 43 of The Presidents Shadow

OUR ESCORT PARKS the not-quite-a-jeep and tells us to follow him through a man-made tunnel.

We do as we’re told, a journey of barely a few hundred feet.

Both Burbank and I are carrying unwieldy pieces of sensitive equipment for surveying and managing the rubble.

Margo and Mr. Fujita help as much as they are able, all of us struggling to keep a foothold as rocks slide out from under our feet.

We emerge on the other side of the tunnel and see a group of eight Quonset huts forming their own little island of peace amid the enormous mountains of debris. The one-acre area surrounding them is clear and clean but completely covered with thousands of dark red pebbles.

A carefully lettered sign is attached to a wooden post that rises from the ground. It might easily be a traffic sign or a historical marker. Mr. Fujita reads the Japanese characters aloud for us.

“It is a sign of hope,” he begins. Then he reads, THE FORMER AND PRESENT SITE OF KYOTO UNIVERSITY. ADMINISTRATION OFFICERS PRESENT IN OFFICES. ALL ACADEMIC INSTRUCTION LOCATED IN NORTH CAMPUS AREA.

Fujita explains that the North Campus now also houses a group of Quonset huts, located about a half mile from where we stand.

“But for now, Acting President Myoki anxiously awaits your visit in office number 3.”

I realize that he expects us to follow him to the Quonset hut close by, but Margo, Burbank, and I are all so fascinated by the beautiful red stones covering the ground that we do not move. It is hypnotizing.

“Just a moment, please, Mr. Fujita. Before we meet the president, may we ask where the tiny red stones come from?” I say.

“They were natural remnants from the clearing of the debris, presumably from inside the rupture of the ground,” he says.

“When they were first distributed around the small temporary campus in the wake of the disaster, they were a light brown, some of them a dark beige. But one day, we awoke to see they had turned pink during the night. A few days after that we awoke to see that the pink had transformed into red.”

Burbank, Margo, and I all nod and exchange glances with one another.

Mr. Fujita says, “Let us hurry now to go and greet the honorable president.”

“Please inform the acting president that we may be a few minutes behind schedule,” I say. “We need to take this scene in, to understand it.”

Luckily Margo understands and respects the importance of courtesy in Japan.

She adds, “Please tell the honorable president we sincerely regret the delay and send our deepest apologies.”