Funerals

When John and Jessica returned, it turned out they were the only people missing by the table. The Sun was setting, therefore the whole gathering moved to the veranda. Their return met with many curious looks.

- It was quite a long stroll, wasn't it? - asked Martin, looking at his sister first, then moving his eyes to Marlow - Where have you been?

John did not say a word immediately, trying to find a good explanation, or an excuse. However, he did not to since Jessica replied as if having everything prepared beforehand.

- Our farm is quite big, you know. I wanted to show him around the fields.

Martin gave her a suspicious look.

- This much time to show him corn fields? I didn't know you were interested in agriculture, John. Who would have thought?

John sat next to Jessica and smiled.

- I wouldn't go as far as to say that. I'm much more interested in technologies used. I've been always curious about techniques applied in platform constructions.

- Well, well. Do you know who built ours?

Mentioning technical stuff made Martin passionate out of nowhere. He started going on about the initial plans and how they decided with his father to develop the fam by incorporating the layered field, placed on platforms based on the same solutions as the ones used in nowadays cities. As it turned out, they went with prefabricates adjusted precisely to their needs. John learned that it took about three years to get the work done, and it was only possible owing to employees they hired.

After going on the topic for several minutes, the crew ended up in smaller groups talking to each other. John continued to stay with Martin, who stood up from the table at some point.

- Still, it's better to see some details with your own eyes, from close - he claimed, showing Marlow to follow him - Dad, Jessica, are you coming?

Johnson senior immediately joined them, but Martin's sister shook her head.

- I've just been there. Besides, I'm not that interested in your geek stuff. I'll stay with mom.

Once they went farther from the house, Johnson junior put his arm around Marlow's neck, pulling him closer so his father will not hear them talking.

- Well, John. I went away for a moment, and you've managed to disappear with my sis for quite a while. Tell me, honestly, what were you doing there?

John could expect that - their explanations were not that convenient as one would think. He considered if telling the truth straightforward was a way to go, but he preferred to approach the matter carefully.

- We went to check the fields, and we talked.

It was not a lie, but not the full story at the same time.

- Only that? - Martin seemed amused by the way John talked - Listen, John. I've spent many years with my sister, and I know her well. She's usually extremely shy around men, and here he went somewhere alone with a guy she just met.

What Johnson said really came at Marlow as a shock. From his experience with Jessica so far, he could say a lot about her, but not that she was shy.

- Apparently, you talked about me quite a lot. She was really interested in who I am.

Martin gave him another curious look.

- Excuses, excuses. But yeah, I told them quite a bit about work. Without breaking NDA, of course. Still, who would've thought she'd get interested in my friend. So, what were you doing there?

- As I've already said...

- Really, I know my sis really well. When she told me that you went to see the fields, she was extremely confident, too confident. When Jessica is like that, it means she schemes something. C'mon, John, whatever it is, you can tell me. Jessica looked happy so I won't make you problems.

Marlow did not know what to say - after all, he would feel too embarassed to admit what happened between him and Martin's sister. What was he supposed to say? "I fucked your sister"?

- I'd rather not continue this topic. It's between me and her.

This time, it was John's friend who smiled.

- So it's just as I thought - he sighed - I recall you had someone there... Keira, do I remember correctly? I don't know what's between you, but just one thing. Don't hurt my sis, okay?

- I've never planned to do that. I didn't do anything she didn't want.

- Well, I could agree with you, however, when it comes to family, a lot of stuff changes. I consider you my friend, so just don't screw this up.

And that was it for their serious talk. Martin was not angry, just concerned about his sister. Marlow knew what he did was not the best idea.

- I'm sorry for making you worry.

Johnson shook his head.

- No, there's nothing to apologize for. We are just humans, and we can come to understand each other.

Despite concerns John had after this conversation, from this moment on, Martin behaved as if nothing happened. Together with his father, Johnson gave him a tour and showed the mechanisms controling the platforms' functions. Once they got back, veranda was already empty, and most of their group was already in beds. The only people around were Martin's mother and sister, who were cleaning after supper.

- Come, John, I'll show you to the bedroom we've prepared for you.

Marlow followed his friend upstairs. The room they have prepared for him was at the far end of the corridor.

- Bathroom is in front of your room. Your luggage is inside.

- Thanks, and sorry for the trouble.

Martin shook his head.

- It's no problem for us. I'm happy I can repay you for your support, to some extent at least.

John looked at him, a bit confused.

- I don't get it. I don't think you need to repay me for anything. I don't recall doing anything special to be honest.

- Well, it's typical of you - Johnson interrupted him - It's either you don't remember or you never considered these to matter much. Maybe it was not the case for you, but to me, it was important and helped me a great deal.

Marlow tried to smile, but he was so bad at forcing himself that he ended up with grimace.

- I get your point, but don't overestimate me. In the end I don't consider myself a considerate person. Remember that I'm a really bad egoist.

- You think you're an egoist? And you still helped this many people? - Martin was nearly laughing - John, if you want to be an egoistic sociopath or whatever you call it, that's not the way. No matter how much you keep saying that, you actually care about other people. I really respect you, but I hate this bullshit you tend to say.

These words both surprised, and irritated Marlow.

- Excuse me, Martin, but you're one to talk. I may be hypocritical at times, but between us two, you're the one who should rethink their behavior. You trust others too much, and you should remember that selfless help doesn't exist anymore. Sadly, this is the world we live in, the place where you need to think of yourself.

To his even bigger surprise, Johnson nodded.

- Actually, you may be right. Still, it never crossed your mind that's because of people thinking like that the world is like this?

John did not expect such calm response, and Martin made a valid point, so he just shrugged.

- Even if, do you want to moralize the whole world? Those several dozen billions of people? Our whole lives wouldn't be enough. Then again, it's already too late for this kind of discussion.

Martin nodded again.

- I can agree on that matter. But don't you think I'll agree to your way of living.

- And here I had hopes you'd drop it. We've got a lot of things ahead of us, so goodbye for now.

- See you tomorrow.

***

The next day, everyone in their group woke up early. Some were awake from way before six, and past seven, everyone were sitting by the table, eating breakfast. The plan was to use today and the day after for funeral activities, taking the time required for travels into account.

The first one was supposed to take place at 2PM local time, meaning they had slightly over six hours from now. Such amount of time was more than enough to reach the site in US. Others, who were visiting their families on different continents had it worse. When John and his group were leisurely eating a breakfast at Martin's, other groups had to be already on their ways.

It would have been definitely better, if they did not have to travel anywhere, but no one knew the way to turn back time, and save Steve and Artyom, so they had to face a sad truth.

All groups met about two hours before Steve's funeral. Knowing they were on a tight schedule, everyone decided to visit a local restaurant and eat a good meal.

This tight schedule was a result of an eleven hours time difference between the countries they were supposed to visit. This meant that at the time the first funeral starts, it will be the next day already in Russia, at the site where the second ceremony was supposed to be held. Because of that, with this information in mind, they had to leave as soon as possible after the first funeral.

After arriving at Steve's family home, about half an hour before the funeral, John and colleagues were the biggest group. The family gathered in a living room, which was the biggest room in the whole house, where the coffin was placed - obviously closed, given the state in which the body, or rather remains were. Remaining people - friends, neighbors, and other acquaintances stayed outside or in the hall.

Until now, the only funerals Marlow attended were the ones held for his parents. And these two moments in his life were the main reasons he kept staying away from such ceremonies. That is because, when someone dies, not everyone who comes to the funeral feels grief or compassion towards the family.

Nowadays, funerals were like a gathering of vultures, who came for their own benefit. Sure, they act tactful, speak good about the dead and console the family, but deep inside they are relieved it did not happen to them, and sometimes, they also look for personal gain, especially when the dead worked in the same corporation, or had any fortune to pass down. People were simply insensitive, and he had a chance to learn it the hard way, having met such at both his parents' funerals - it was not about his parents, but always about trying to get on his good side. Still, John knew their true colors, and because of such experience, his opinion could not easily change, even though he saw Steve's family was genuinely caring.

Sadly, death was common thing, even at young age, and everyone was quickly getting used to it early in their lives. Some were more obvious about their feelings than others. In case of Steve's family, their sadness was clear, though each family member showed it differently. Steve's father was sitting with a grim face, mother was sobbing all the time - after all, their oldest son died, but one of the sons sat silently, smiling from time to time, without a reason - maybe unable to grasp the situation or having hard time accepting the fact? Based on reactions from younger sister and the youngest brother crying might have mean the second brother was simply shocked.

Nevertheless, Marlow hated participating in such ceremonies, mainly because of those terrible people he still remembered from funerals of his parents. He might have been looking for better life over the years, but even with this kind of approach, he never let greed to get a better of him, and people wanting to benefit from someone's death made him sick.

Among lower classes, where John lived for a long time, it was actually uncommon for proper, formal funerals to be held. Dead bodies were usually burnt in a special oven, which was also used as a generator - some used to say that dead helped the cities running, though amount of power from a single corpse was not that big.

On the other hand, rich people - despite continuing the traditional approach - had a different view on the matter than those with less money. In case of lower classes, people tend to say the dead no longer had to worry about earthly problems, but the rich often complained and cursed at medical technology when two hundred years old passed away, saying it still requires improvement, as if they were supposed to live forever.

Marlow grew up poor and his ambition was to become successful. He really wanted to make up to his parents for all the hardships they had to go through when raising him, but once John reached the minimum goal, it was already too late. On each of two funerals, which came in only several weeks intervals, he could barely speak, all because of the shock. He was not allowed to experience the satisfaction of showing his parents the success he reached, and only his mother managed to see a glimpse of his new life. It was yet another example of how unfair this world was.

Despite John's opinion about this kind ceremonies, and human nature, he joined others with condolences. Once he got to his turn, and introduced to Steve's parents, mother's eyes became livelier. The woman stood up.

- I'm really grateful for you being here. Steve talked a lot about you.

"And here I barely managed to get to know him - thought Marlow - I should've talked to him more."

Still, he knew what was the case here. The young man wanted to become an engineer, be someone more than just a mechanic. John listened to this once again, this time from missus Anne.

Talking to this woman whose son died made Marlow feel guilty yet again. He so much wanted anything could be changed. But no one could win against death, for now at least. Powerless, he listened to her full story without interrupting.

- I'm so sorry for your loss. Steve was a good guy, with a lot of promise - John was never good at this condolences stuff - I'll be missing him.

Steve's father, Roger, stood up just after his wife finished talking. He extended his right hand with clenched fist towards Marlow, whom he asked to also extend the hand. Once John did that, a dog tag with Steve's name and some seeds ended up in his hand.

- Our son may no longer be able to fulfill his dream, but you guys can do it for him - Roger stated - Please, do it in his stead. Make sure the ship you were building with Stevie reaches its destination. And once you get there, please plant these seeds. Stevie might have been an aspiring kid, wanting to become an engineer, but he got so excited learning about fertile soil on that planet, he wanted to see how our plants would grow there.

Honestly speaking, Marlow had no idea if there will be such a possibility to plant the seeds at all. He did not know if it will be allowed to plant Earth seeds on that planet as interfering with the new planets ecosystem could cause a lot of harm. Besides, he was not in a colonist group, which meant he could not cultivate the land. However, he could not decline in such circumstances - in the end, he could always discuss the matter with some colonists.

John had to put everything together in his head before replying. Martin, who obviously misunderstood a slightly longer moment of silence, put a hand on Marlow's shoulder and said:

- We will do whatever we can.

It was true that he often felt uncomfortable in such situations, he really did not need help right now. Johnson irritated him and, if circumstances were different, Marlow would have likely used some harsh words at him. Still, Steve's family had to be assured, given some kind of hope.

- We cannot allow for all these years of work to be for naught. We'll get there no matter what - he intentionally left the part about seeds out of it, though he hoped they will manage somehow.

Visibly uplifted by this conversation, Steve's parents bid John farewell with warm handshakes. Before that, they asked everyone in the group to stay for the wake, but people from Future's crew had to decline due to a tight schedule.

Unfortunately, due to long time spent on conversation at current site, they had about two hours less than initially planned. According to original plan, Marlow was supposed to visit his apartment, but given the situation, he had to skip it. However, if they knew what was going to happen at Artyom's funeral and how they will be received, this part would have been cancelled for sure.

Contrary to Steve's, Russian's funeral ended up in an extremely bad atmosphere. Not only John, but everyone in the group had no idea about Artyom's family circumstances.

Artyom was a cheerful man, always keen on accompanying Martin on the outings and joking a lot. Honestly speaking, none of his crewmates would ever think this man had it so harsh. Because his situation was really bad, but he simply never said a thing about that, and all of these jokes and funny stories acted as a cover, a facade to hide the sad truth.

As it turned out, their colleague had six siblings, and though it was not that unusual in this region, he also had three children, whom his wife left with him, and his mother who was taking care of the whole family during his absence. They were all living in the same house, having many rooms to live comfortably, but the problem was that Artyom was their main source of income.

Therefore, when it came to the funeral, it became the worst ceremony to attend. While in case of Steve, his family really seemed caring, here money ended up being more important than feelings, mainly because of fear of losing their current lifestyle. It was not enough to get some kind of allowance and help, and simply get by, no - they did not want to lose this standard. Despite what many could think, capable mechanics were not growing on trees nowadays, and that is why their job was well-paid.

Seeing how the family behaved, John wondered what kind of method it was for so many people to rely on one person and putting so much burden on him. In Marlow's opinion, they should be ashamed, but he obviously did not say it in their faces as situation was already bad. Those people not only did not cry and grieve for their brother, father and son, but instead, they were blaming living crewmates for being alive instead of Artyom.

People from Future project were treated with aversion, even hatred, and some, including Marlow, were openly claimed to be responsible for Artyom's death. Some people from his family even said those people should be the ones lying in the coffins right now.

As if these incidents were not enough, journalists and some meddlers appeared during funeral - a thing Mathias warned John. With those people around, military security had their hands full.

Marlow actually wondered why would they appear only just now, moments before the crew members were to return to Orbital Ring. What could they do at the very last moment? Or maybe John simply missed their present until now? No matter which one was the case, their presence finally caused a kind of a riot, resulting in Future's crew being evacuated back to the Ring ahead of schedule.

On that day, Marlow was once again reminded about how far did the society fall.