On Such A Full Sea

Protests and demonstrations in B-Mor have become blatant, organized, and no longer spontaneous or stray. The people are now openly questioning their way of life and their society. The testing percentile for promotion from a work colony to a charter is now at 1.25% instead of the previous 2%. People feel as though they are finally “free” to express discontent. New graffiti is appearing regularly now, such as “FREE ME, REG” and “I MISS REG.” There are wild rumors about Reg, placing him at mundane jobs, or gravely injured while escaping the authorities, or even mentally and physically changed into someone else entirely. Some young men of similar builds to Reg are even stalked publicly, as people look for some telltale sign of Reg’s influence or personality in their behavior.

Oliver, or Bo Liwei, as Fan has now discovered, sees her skepticism, and asks a question only children of Fan’s household would understand:

Oliver asked her if Old Yellow was still there, something he could have viewed but could not have known the name of; it was what all the children of the household called the ancient lion-head door knocker on their front door, and always would, as long as it was there (344).

He tells Fan that Vik left her here because Oliver told him to, saying “she’s my sister, after all” (345). Oliver explains that Vik was the kind of person who would get into trouble trying to help Fan. He spent all this time with her, coming up with excuses, without ever bothering to check on her identity, and if he had, he would have long ago figured out her story, as very few young ladies leave B-Mor.

Oliver then guesses that Fan might know about the affair between Betty and Vik. Oliver discovered the affair a month earlier, when he saw messages from Vik on his wife’s handscreen. The messages were mostly innocent in nature, but at any rate, the affair is over now. Oliver tells Fan to stay at least overnight with them. Fan stays, spending time with Josey, who is delighted that Fan will stay longer. Betty asks Fan about Vik, explaining that they had known each other for many years—since childhood, in fact. Vik had, at one point, been about to quit school entirely, when Betty convinced him not to give up. However, that was around the time she met Oliver and knew immediately that Oliver was meant to be a success.

The next day, Oliver and Betty tell Fan of their plan to create a full family household, with her as part of it. They want to live in the way that the families in B-Mor do, with many people, both family and friends, all under the same roof, working together. They tell Fan that they will use their resources, if she stays, to help her find Reg, and then he can come to live with them as well. She is excited by the idea, and feels hopeful about her future.

The people of B-Mor have begun having protests and questioning the status quo; however, nothing in their past has prepared them to be radically individualistic or think about how the system should be changed. They do not know what they are aiming toward, wondering if they are trying to become more like the Charters, and, if so, what would they become and how their place in society would change.

Fan has begun to fit in at the Cheung household. They have all moved into trailers that are outfitted with many of the comforts they would expect from a well-appointed Charter home. Their brand new house has barely had time to be lived in, and is now razed, with the idea that both of the lots they now own will have symmetrically-built homes that are connected in a variety of ways. This is in service of creating a large family home that can be lived in by numerous people and perhaps even multiple generations. Betty has been encouraging Oliver to pick up some of his old hobbies, and he responds by getting back into swimming and playing the violin. He speaks with Fan about her passions and how people do what they love, but that it’s hard to define what love really means. Fan truly loved the tank diving she did back in B-Mor, and Oliver finds her perspective interesting, so they often jog together, talking about their thoughts. It seems like Oliver is remembering what life is like in the work communities like B-Mor through Fan.

Oliver talks about how difficult the transition from B-Mor to the Charter had been for him when he was young. He had trouble making friends, his only real friend being Vikram Upendra, which makes the most recent trouble between them especially hard to stomach. He explains that this history is why he didn’t hurt Vik the day of the party: “I was going to punch him out. I was going to strangle him. But I couldn’t. He said he was sorry, which I could see he genuinely was. That was it” (369).

Oliver also feels bad because he feels that he neglected his marriage in pursuit of his research, so his mixed feelings lead him to blame everyone else a little less. Oliver asks Fan if she has talked to Vik at all, but then says that he doesn’t really want to know. Fan surmises that Oliver wants to be friends with Vik again. Oliver is melancholy, stating that he doesn’t ever want Betty to feel that she needs to apologize to him. Fan places her hand next to his as a sign of solidarity, noting that their hands are shaped similarly, showing their relatedness.

Over the next few weeks, Fan becomes very close with the Cheungs and helps out around the house, being used to living communally from growing up in B-Mor. This willingness to help the family group embodies all the reasons that Oliver and Betty undertook this project. However, the expenses of building and outfitting their new home have now begun to dwarf the amount of money in their accounts. The deal with the pharmacorp has been agreed to in principle, but the money has not changed hands yet, with the contractual details still being hashed out by the legal teams.

Even though there was no actual cash yet, all the banks had been happy to extend credit for the project, given the scope of the pharmacorp deal. Because Oliver and Betty were so consumed with the project, Fan tried to bother them very little about Reg. She began to think that perhaps Oliver wasn’t actually using his clout and contacts to find Reg at all, since there was really no reason for him to be in a hurry for her to make the choice to leave or stay.

The narrative switches over to another short anecdote, in which we follow a young woman who is enjoying a perfectly ordinary day. She shops at the underground mall, browses sale racks, stops for tea, and watches people through the large window at the tea stall. As she pays her bill and leaves, someone calls out, asking about Fan in a loud, clear voice, seemingly singling the woman out. This makes her nervous and she remains unsettled all the way to her home. This is yet another way in which society has changed in ways that are difficult to understand.

Fan has been mistaken about Oliver’s attempts to find Reg; he has actually been working toward that end quite a bit. As he kept hitting obstacles in his search, he became intrigued and began to apply his research methodologies: “He mentioned none of these activities to Fan, in part telling himself that to do so without a ready or even provisional means of finding Reg would be irresponsible, and maybe downright cruel” (377). The other reason that he kept this information to himself was because he was able to find out that Reg had become a primary object of curiosity for the very pharmacorp that was buying his drug, Asimil. This is due to the rumors that Reg is “C-free,” which is of obvious interest to an anti-cancer corporation.

The house is nearing completion now, and a road sign has been added naming their drive as “Betty’s Lane.” Betty spends a lot of time helping Fan pick out outfits as they shop, connecting and bonding with her almost like a big sister. Fan tells Betty about Reg’s inability to walk by a mirror without checking on his muscles, and they even talk about Oliver’s new and wonderful attention to the family and his relationship with Betty. Fan is becoming very much part of the family, spending time with Josey and the twins and growing close with Betty.

One Saturday, the whole family and their helper, Pinah, are at the gym, with Josey taking her swimming lessons and Oliver swimming laps. To their surprise, Vik Upendra arrives with several other men in order to practice their competitive swimming. He walks up and talks with Betty, who is walking on one of the nearby treadmills. Nobody can hear what they are saying, but after a few laps, Oliver notices them talking, watching, and waiting. Betty tells Vik to please stop doing this, and without anywhere else to go, Vik gets into the pool and starts swimming laps. Oliver swims beneath the lane divider, and begins swimming in the same lane as Vik, and soon they are engaged in a race in the same lane, crashing into each other and speeding faster and faster, until Vik gets ahead significantly. Oliver kicks Vik in the face, bloodying him, and the two begin to fight. Many people enter the water to either watch the fight or try to pull the two apart. During the fight, Pinah somehow falls into the pool, and Fan dives in to save her. She pushes herself down to the bottom and comes up from beneath, saving Pinah’s life. When Fan climbs out of the pool, she is nervous for the children, but then sees that the twins are still okay. Betty is holding Oliver, having a very intense conversation with him, while he stares at his wife with dead and hollow eyes.

The rumors are over and the demand for the fish produced in B-Mor has risen again, so the economic crisis seems to be in the past. Things are getting better in B-Mor, with rising prices for their goods, and a reversal of some of the most draconian policies, including a return to the 2% rule for promotions to Charters. There are new public works projects under an initiative called Keep It Up, which created jobs and a new sense of civic pride. The protests have calmed, no mass demonstrations have popped up lately, and things seem to be largely normal.

Since the altercation at the pool, there has been a certain tension in the air between Oliver and Betty, but most of the time it’s easy to ignore, as they busy themselves with projects and finishing the house. Oliver often gets up in the middle of dinner and retreats to his office. Betty will usually follow him, and they argue. They usually return to the table together. This pattern continues for some time.

Finally, Oliver tells Fan that he has found news of Reg, and that the facility that Reg is being studied at is not far away. Betty is as excited as Fan, and they go shopping the next day for a new outfit for Fan to meet her long, lost love in. After trying a number of outfits, Fan decides on a simple black outfit that reminds her of the outfit she wore after having just climbed out of the B-Mor fish tanks. She explains to Betty that she wants Reg to immediately think “[h]ere’s my Fan!” when he sees her (394).

Betty calls a friend of hers who works for the law firm handling the patent transfer to ask about the deal with the pharmacorp. To her surprise, she is informed that the deal is incomplete because the pharmacorp has not yet signed the papers. Liwei had done his part of the deal without informing Betty. Betty confides in Fan that she has been feeling very alone and frightened in some ways, feeling a cavernous emptiness. Betty wants to stay out longer and make a full “girls day” of it, but they know that Liwei will want the evening meal to get started. They have begun a tradition where every member of the family is fully engaged in the meal process, from planning and selecting ingredients to tasting and cooking.

Oliver starts spending a lot more time with Fan as well, not often talking and instead just being near her. One day, Oliver gathers the house together and tells everyone that there is not enough money to go ahead with the plans for the swimming pool and gym project. Betty is the only one who knows that the problem is monetary, with Oliver telling the others that it is due to zoning restrictions. Oliver seems to be less and less happy, his temples graying and his stress almost palpable. It seems that they are still waiting for the legal team of the pharmaceutical company to countersign the documents.

One day, Oliver comes downstairs with Betty and they look crisp and well put together. They are happy to announce that the contract has finally been completed and gone through. Betty tells Fan the good news and that in addition, they have tracked down Reg and she is to be driven to his location so they can be reunited. Fan changes into the outfit Betty recently bought her and packs her things. Betty convinces her to use a larger bag and pack many more outfits, just in case she is gone longer than anticipated. Betty tells Fan goodbye, but that she can’t stand long goodbyes and will not go downstairs with her. Oliver is still getting himself together for the trip; Betty hurries Fan along. Fan goes outside to meet the driver, who grabs her arm and rushes her into the back seat, saying “Please, miss.” By this time, Betty is gone, and before Fan realizes what is happening, they are on their way. They pass a similar car on their way out, and Fan notices there is a second person in the front seat. It is Vik, who turns and asks where Fan wants to go.

It turns out that Oliver had made the final deal with the pharmacorp after all, and he had promised them Fan. He had not intended to reunite her and Reg, but instead used her as a bargaining chip to get his deal completed. Betty could not betray Fan in that way, and so she had used her connection with Vik to enact this plan, allowing Fan her freedom. When Oliver got to his car, he only found Betty in the back seat. The narrator wonders whether they fought, cried, or spoke of love and doom. We do not know where Fan will go after this, but in some ways, that is better, because she needs to spend some time without anyone finding her, while still searching for Reg and travelling wherever she wishes to go.