On Such A Full Sea

The first few weeks after Fan left the city, rumors spread that perhaps she had been actually sent away, instead of leaving of her own accord. This is because the citizens of B-Mor feel that they have good lives, and even though the city is not perfect, they have work, healthcare, ample water and food, safety, and the family structure of the clans. On the other side of the coin, luxury goods are expensive, and people are only allowed to spend one six-day work cycle at the health clinic without paying extra fees, regardless of their condition or ailment.

A story is told as an example of this scarcity of healthcare: that of Harvey and Ruby Rivera-Deng. They owned and operated a very popular restaurant and bubble tea shop, which made them rich by B-Mor standards. When Ruby experienced kidney failure, Harvey and the rest of her clan made plans to bring her home to be cared for. To raise money, they sacrificed much comfort, selling many of their fanciest clothes and shoes and changing the children’s work shifts at the grow facility to better care for Ruby. On the day they were meant to bring her home, Harvey was informed that she had died. It is revealed that Ruby had sacrificed herself for the good of her clan, knowing she would be an unbearable expense, by unplugging her kidney dialysis machine while unobserved, and only plugging it back in when she knew the medical staff would be checking on her.

The Charters have also had to make cost-cutting measures, according to rumors. When a Charter falls from their position, due to a loss of income or instability, there is almost no chance for them to enter the city and become a working-class citizen of a place like B-Mor. Instead, they often become outcasts, and end up struggling to survive in the outlying counties. There is no middle ground, and they usually do not live through the transition for very long. The rare exception to this rule are those with very specific and highly-regarded skills, such as doctors.

Fan wonders if Quig was perhaps once a Charter doctor or nurse, given his obvious medical skill. Fan overhears voices throughout the day, coming from outside her door. The most unsettling is that of Loreen, who Fan hoped would not return to torment her, even though she had not seen the woman since the assault. Toward the end of the afternoon, a pale, curly-haired boy named Sewey appears, and brings Fan a juice box filled with strawberry soy milk. They drink the beverages together, and Fan indicates that she would like some more, without speaking. The boy brings her two more boxes and has a one-sided conversation with Fan, asking her yes or no questions, such as “You really from B-Mor?” (64). Eventually, Sewey’s mother, Loreen, calls to him to get out of the room, and he leaves, promising Fan to bring back more drinks later.

Over the next few days, Sewey is Fan’s main contact with the world, and he brings her more beverages, graham crackers, peanut brittle, and pieces of chicken. Quig comes twice in the middle of the night to check on her injured leg. Fan and Sewey talk quite often, and she has to ask very few questions since Sewey is “the kind of talker you meet and have to nod at frequently and right off think about how to slip away from” (66), but since Fan is going nowhere, and Sewey has been looking for a companion who will listen to him talk, the relationship works for both of them.

They are in Quig’s compound, which is a facility where many people from the outside counties come when they have injuries or illnesses. Loreen had come to Quig when she was pregnant with Sewey, as she needed to be cut open in order for the baby to be delivered, and Quig was the only person within a two-day drive who could do so successfully. Fan learns that Quig was once a veterinarian, until a simultaneous outbreak of swine flu and bird flu in his Charter village had made everyone paranoid about animals, banning all pets. The business had dried up, and Quig, his wife, and his child, had left the Charter village. Quig’s wife and child had died, and Loreen has told Sewey that he is not to ask Quig about what happened to them. Sewey wonders whether the real reason Fan left B-Mor was to see if it was as awful out here as people say. Fan knows that although her main goal is to find Reg, she isn’t sure that seeing the counties wasn’t a factor.

This chapter opens focusing on Reg. As a couple, Fan and Reg were sweet and loving, and seemed chaste, in a puppy-love sort of way. B-Mor has not been the same since the pair has been gone. There is more litter in the streets, more vandalism, and more crime. An example of this is an older couple who were running an illegal catfish-raising operation. When asked about whether they thought they might get away with it, the woman had replied, “We knew it couldn’t last, but who cares anyway?” (73). This sort of cynicism and apathy is unusual in B-Mor and leads the narrator to wonder what the future might hold.

Reg was rumored “C-free” (74) and this was unusual, as everyone ends up getting cancer at some point. The blood panels done for public health reasons prove this. Since he was discovered to be cancer free, the directorate had been bringing Reg and members of his family in for testing, to see whether there is a genetic component. It is likely that Reg’s health and freedom from genetic diseases stem from his mixed blood, as he has a strong component of the original native blood from the area in his lineage. Black people made up a significant portion of the population at the time of the original Chinese settlers coming to B-Mor, and there was some interbreeding, of which Reg’s bloodline is a product.

The narrator speaks of his uncle, Kellen Yip, and his Auntie Virginia, the latter of whom was suspected of having some non-Chinese blood. They had been his favorite relatives, often ready to play and tell stories. Once, Uncle Kellen told them of the indigenous people who had wanted to remain, at the time of the Chinese settlers coming. He pointed out that although the schools in modern B-Mor taught that these old societies were failing, there were still stores, a government, and other fixtures of civilization. Soon after this, Uncle Kellen and Auntie Virginia recede from the family, showing little interest in being with them publicly and generally keeping to themselves. One day, they vanish, and although nobody wishes to admit that there was a racial component to their leaving, the narrator considers this factor and how it might have affected things. He wonders, too, if Reg’s mixed blood was the key to his being free of cancer. The narrator then discusses again the perceived chastity of Fan and Reg, but admits that they must have had sexual intercourse at least once, somehow, as when Fan left, it was not only to find her love, but to find the father of her unborn child.