Quiet and serene atmosphere, mournful faces, reddened, tired eyes… whispers of grief and muffled weeping... Everything one could expect to see in the waiting hall of a crematory. Last words and farewells to the close and loved ones, whom you cannot forgive for leaving this world ahead of you.

It’s not surprising to see people from the military here, losing a fellow brother in arms, someone maybe closer than a family member. Soldiers are always mentally prepared to part with comrades, at least that’s what they want people to believe. It’s considered lucky if there is a body to hold a ceremony for. The technology and firearms are so developed and battles so fierce that the human body often just perishes without a trace. Today was considered a good farewell as they were able to bring back the body of a brave, honoured soldier who left a long list of meritorious deeds for his life story. 

The grieving emotions of family members were a little restricted with the presence of a very special guest.

Seeing the most revered Admiral who saved the nation from chaos and anarchy, and who rarely appears in public, makes everyone present mindful and think deeper about their loss. The Admiral did not stay long and nobody could or would try to stop him from quietly retreating. Even if called quiet it’s a kind of presence impossible to neglect and wherever he went dozens of timid, fearful and admiring glances followed him. A kind of feeling that a transparent magnetic field is surrounding and moving with him.

Surrounding people have no idea what are the thoughts in his head, they possibly don’t even try to guess and naturally stay distant while Admiral Carnage walks through groups of people towards the entrance followed by a single subordinate. Military Assistant Bartel has his own honourable list of heroic deeds and an impressive demeanour but those apparently get dimmed when in comparison with the Admiral. It’s hard to call Admiral Carnage particularly handsome as it’s challenging to look at him for too long to assess his facial features while his figure and overall presence gives a feeling of thrilling combination of security, fear and power. Even in thick military uniform one can clearly imagine the force and lethality of his muscles and build. The characteristics he possesses are not really that of a benevolent and generous “King” type but rather that of a top of the food chain creature.

There are enough historical facts speaking for themselves: a true ruthless and unforgiving warlord.

The environmental conditions, the decrease in social and interpersonal connections, as well as the changes in morality and beliefs made the whole process of funerals simpler. When a person dies, first they need to be checked and confirmed dead, then during the same day or a later fixed date the relatives or close ones part with the person at the crematory. As simple as that… no one believes in gods or afterlife or rituals anymore, if you’re here, you’re with us, if you’re gone… farewell. Souls are researched now, what the primitive understanding called “soul” science proved to be certain wavelengths of vibrations, fluctuations. This discovery brought a new perspective, a whole new worldview to the universe but in the life of the general public actually a lot was lost… many habits, rituals and actions became meaningless and redundant.

‘…the world transformed over and over again, chaos that lasted over half a century changed people’s hearts. Even if the order and law are back for almost 90 years now it’s impossible to make something crumpled completely smooth again. There is always memory, as the human heart is not such a pure place, if given a chance and if there is a seed for violence and destruction in it, the beast inside will emerge when it sniffs blood.

Dominating, suppressing, tearing into pieces, enjoying the power to snatch what you want to own from others, destroying what was beautiful but unreachable: distorted, greedy human nature. When you’ve witnessed the monstrous nature of the mankind it’s hard to look at people with kind eyes again and…’

The most respected and feared Admiral’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted. He did not slow down his steps, just fixed his wandering gaze to a certain direction. His military assistant who was by habit quietly  following him halted as he had learned through time to feel even the minor fluctuations of his superior’s behaviour. While trying to figure out the reason for this sudden micro action, he probed and followed the line of his sight. But the scenery in that direction was not much different from the surrounding: scattered small groups of people each surrounding the body of a diseased person they are parting with.

When looking back at Admiral Carnage Military Assistant Bartel was startled to see the certain glint in the eyes of his superior, this look can be legitimately called terrifying especially if you’re the one receiving it. What could it be that agitated the cold blooded Admiral at a time like this? Before Military Assistant Bartel had time to build logic, the figure that usually moves quite slow and in a profound manner turned to walk in a straight line with agility and determination which probably only military personnel knows how lethal and dangerous can be.

Even though there are many who are in groups, there are as many where there is just one person beside the body of the deceased. In some cases these are even just legal representatives who are doing their job of sending off and confirming the procedures for single and lone citizens.

So it wasn’t so surprising that there was just one person beside the, characteristic for this place, metallic table in the direction where the Admiral was walking to. Being an efficient assistant, Bartel didn’t wait to be told and tried to pull out any relevant information as soon as he could and the moment Admiral stopped in front of the body on the table and made a gesture for him to talk, a move that was almost unnoticeable for anyone else but the keen assistant: he started the report in fairly loud voice and military stance.

“Reporting to the Admiral!

Deceased: Silvano Ulime

Age: 19

Gender: male +

Status: married

Children: none

Health conditions and cause of death: lack of vitality, poor physical health, disabilities, heart failure

Spouse: Jerome Ulime

Genealogy: orphan, parents unknown

Birthplace: unknown

Education: Decolan village no.3 Elementary School, Decolan village Middle School named after doct. George Frabbel”.

During the report Admiral’s eyes were fixed on the body of the deceased and moved only once when the name of the spouse was announced, he threw a short emotionless glance at the man standing beside the cremation table who had a slightly panicked and perplexed expression.

Seeing that the Admiral is quiet, assistant Bartel resumed with the report.

“The deceased in spite of lack of physical health was a gifted person with diverse and rich spiritual wavelengths, researched to be quite high both in amplitude and intensity”.

It was the assistant’s turn to panic as this was all the information he was able to get at the moment whereas it was clear to him that Admiral was not content. While he was surveying all the databases available on his multifunctional device and was about to start a report about the academic records of the deceased, Admiral, who rarely says anything but orders, turned to face the “spouse” and asked in a very human manner.

“How did he die?”

It was impossible for the assistant to know how other people perceived his revered superior, as he served him for a long time. But for him it was evident that this was not a simple question and even if the Admiral was looking at the man at this moment his attention was still on the body lying on the stone paved surface of the metal crematory table. Only then Military Assistant Bartel himself took a closer look at the young man’s body. The overall body was very thin and looked huggard with thin bony fingers, he did not look particularly gentle or feminine as you’d expect a “male+” gender to look like.

To say that you can meet a male+ person everyday is not true, but you can’t say that it was such a rarity. Around 20 % of the population is born this way now. Those people are treated as odds in rural areas but in cities with dense population they can be called even popular. Researchers often call them evolved humans as they have attributes of both genders. But not everyone is born perfect, male+ born people are mostly androgynous looking and delicate, sometimes leaning either towards male or female, not always well proportioned. They don’t have an obligation for mandatory army service and are exempted from tedious physical assignments, they mostly have quite pampered lifestyles even when born into a mediocre family. Very often they become legitimate partners for people who like to mess around with men but also want children. So in a way these people have a very peculiar “demand”. Even when born in a family where they are not loved they are sure to be valued in today’s society.

But this particular male+ person doesn’t look very androgynous, nor feminine, nor gentle, resembling more a homeless huggard young man. Maybe long struggles with pain and disabilities made him look like this after death?

It can be considered natural for a young husband who has just lost their spouse to be silent when randomly asked about their sufferings, especially by someone in military uniform with an oppressive aura of a leader. But the man made a grave mistake, when asked he could’ve acted aggrieved or disheartened but before he could make up his resolve to “act” properly the eyes darted left downward and slid slightly… If the assistant didn’t miss this tiny expression then the Admiral wouldn’t for sure.

“He…”