What is silk?

Silk factors into the story “Reeling for the Empire,” and represents the method by which the nature of Kitsune and the other girls is denied. Silk is normally spun by silkworms, and is the single major export of Japan during its period of industrialization. However, the silk reeled by the Mill in the story is silk gained from half-human, half-silkworm creatures created by a strange tea administered by the Mill’s Agent. The silk is ultimately used to spin cocoons by Kitsune and the other girls so that they may transform into moths and fly away to freedom.