Red Healthcare and Funeral Services held a reputation of being a reliable corporation in Eaton I. While they didn’t operate on a planetary-wide scale and were limited to a Rank 4 planet, their services were nothing short of Rank 3 in quality.

The triplets had woken up earlier than expected and had cleaned up the shop floor, clearing up sufficient space for the cremator. All four siblings were adorned in a simple, formal black suit with a plain white shirt and black tie. All of them, except for Simon, wore a sad expression, with Karina sobbing infrequently as she tried to contain her emotions.

The representatives from Red arrived exactly on time and brought the cremator with them as registered in the old man’s subscription service. They wore an orange overall with the Red Healthcare and Funeral Services’ bright red apple logo stitched onto their top pockets. They looked similar in appearance, you could mistake one for the other at a cursory glance.

Cremation was a commonly chosen option by the residents of Eaton I. With death being a common occurrence on the industrial planet, people tended to avoid extravagant funeral arrangements, choosing expeditious options instead. Furthermore, cremations could be performed in the comfort of their own homes, who’d want to go out and stand in the searing heat anyways?

“Red Healthcare and Funeral Services offer our sincerest condolences for your loss. Mr. Rockwell was one of our oldest customers, even our CEO expressed his sadness in learning that Mr. Rockwell is no longer with us. We’re glad that his passing was peaceful and we hope that Mr. Rockwell lived a fulfilling life. On behalf of the company, we would like to offer this funeral service free of charge. Furthermore, you can also upgrade the cremation to taxidermy to preserve your beloved’s essence for eternity.”

With a hint of irritation, Nathan spoke up, “Grandpa asked to get cremated, and that’s what we want. Please just get on with it.”

The representatives nodded in accordance and carefully walked over to the corpse of the old man dressed up and seated on his LChair. He slowly lifted his body and moved it onto a levitating gurney that detached from the cremator. Once the body was secured they slowly guided it back to the machine.

“Before we proceed, would you like to say any final words?” One of the representatives asked the people gathered in a room with a respectful tone.

Karina stepped forward first. While suppressing her sobs, she spoke, “Why’d you leave us like this Grandpa? I never even got to say a proper goodbye. And our final interaction was a fight. *sob* Why… Why couldn’t you wait for another hour?!”

She screamed and broke down. Horace quickly held onto her and hugged her to comfort her as she grieved.

Nathan took the opportunity to speak in his sibling’s stead, “You took in us four orphans when no one wanted us, and raised us single-handedly. Our greatest regret is that we were unable to reciprocate the kindness you showed us and that we couldn’t support you and care for you. I don’t know what happens after people die, I can only guess. But I hope that you find peace in passing.”

Nathan then looked at Simon who was sitting as still as a statue in his LChair. Simon noticed it and added, “I will also miss you, Grandpa.” With that curt statement, Simon motioned for the representatives to proceed with the cremation. Nathan was a little taken aback by Simon’s almost nonchalant appearance, but he’d gotten used to Simon’s general detachment and so rationalised it as Simon’s attempt at coping with the loss.

One of the representatives pushed the gurney into the incinerator and closed it off tightly. The other ran a final safety check and pressed the button to initiate the incineration. With a burst of flash, the window covering the incinerator lit up. Within 5 seconds, the bright light diminished.

The representative then pressed another button, and the machine made a whooshing sound, following which a simple metallic airtight jar slid out from underneath. Immediately after, a laser lit up and inscribed: Mohan Rockwell, March 2337-August 2450 in a cursive font.

Once finished the representative lifted the jar and handed it over to Simon who was closest to him. He then added a few closing remarks, “The death certificate has been transferred to all other services that Mr. Rockwell has registered to, they should update their database and initiate the procedures to transfer ownership to the next of kin listed in his account. Since an autopsy was waived, the cause of death was listed as ‘Natural’. If that interferes with any other legally binding contracts such as a Will and Testament, please take note that Red Healthcare and Funeral Services does not hold any responsibilities. With that said, we at Red Healthcare and Funeral Services appreciate your patronage and hope that you stay healthy, bright and happy!”

Karina remained seated on the sofa next to the shop counter, straddling the container with her grandfather’s ashes. She had calmed down significantly since the cremation, but a listless expression lingered on her face.

Nathan and Horace walked in from the kitchen, carrying trays of hot beverages and snacks respectively. They laid it carefully on the shop counter and handed everyone their respective cups.

A mournful silence prevailed in the shop as everyone languidly consumed their hot beverage. The triplets in particular were coping with the loss, as they realised that they had also officially become orphans by the traditional definition. While they didn’t know their biological parents, their grandfather was in a sense a fitting replacement. He had provided them with the comfort and warmth that most people would expect from a family, as well as the emotional and moral support that a growing child would need. So while apt, when referring to themselves the term ‘orphan’ never really felt appropriate.

“Before he passed away, Grandpa revealed something to me,” Simon said while breaking the silence. Everyone turned to face him with expectant eyes.

“But I’m not sure if you guys want to know. Just let me warn you that hearing what he revealed to me will affect you deeply.” Simon warned.

The triplets pondered on it for a while. It was the last words of their departed grandfather, so they had to know! But for Simon to warn them, it must have been something truly serious. So they considered their decision carefully.

“What’s it about?” Nathan asked cautiously.

“Our origin. And Grandpa’s past.”

Horace and Karina’s eyes lit up, “Is it about our parents?!” But once they finished, the spark in their eyes died out as they realised the damage that knowing their origin would cause them.

Simon answered their outburst vaguely. “Sort of. I don’t want to reveal too much if you guys aren’t interested.”

“Screw it! Just tell us! We can handle it!” Horace exclaimed. The other two nodded in unison as they firmed their resolve.

“OK. So first I want you guys to say your name, followed by your date of birth, then Grandpa’s full name, and date of birth.”

The triplets were a little confused by Simon’s instructions. Not that it was too difficult to follow, rather it was a little out of the blue and random. Slowly, the three spoke up together.

“Karina,” “Horace,” “Nathan,”

“““29th September 2433, Mohan Rockwell, 2nd October 2337.”””

On queue, the three experienced a searing pain behind their right ear. It was so intense they screamed and curled onto themselves, pushing their heads between the knees to subdue the pain. Just like with Simon, it lasted for 5 seconds, but within the period all three were completely soaked in their sweat and were panting in exhaustion.

“The fuck was that?!” Horace shouted as he slowly massaged his head. But suddenly his hand stopped. “The fuck is this?!” He screamed as he stroked a new metallic surface behind his ears.

The triplets looked at each other in shock and then turned to face Simon. Nathan asked the impending question, “Is it an implant? All three of us have it. I don’t remember ever getting one.”

Simon nodded, turned his head and shifted his right ear to reveal the matching connection ports.

“It’s not just you three. I have it, and so did Grandpa. It’s a fully integrated bio-implant, unlike the cyber implants you find in the market. It’s a part of you and grows with you. We underwent the procedure when we were one to two years old, as part of a pioneering test batch. Grandpa was part of the research group involved in developing this implant during the war.”

Karina quickly interjected, “No! Grandpa wouldn’t have done something like that.”

Without missing a beat, Simon validated her, “You’re right. He didn’t want to be part of the tests. He said it was unethical to run it on non-consenting parties. But the executives didn’t yield because quite a bit was expended in the research venture.”

Simon paused. Subtly, he swept the room to scope out his sibling’s reactions. When he was younger he lacked some insight in reading and understanding human emotions, but Simon was a quick learner. His years of experience and research gave him a good idea about how his siblings were feeling at that moment. Once he confirmed that everything was moving according to his plan, he continued his story.

“The procedure went successfully with you three, but there was a problem in mine when they were reconstructing my spine. Hence this.” He said while tapping his limp thighs.

“They were going to dispose of me since I was technically a failure, but Grandpa exfiltrated us and fled from the star system before they got to it.”

The three loosened their tense bodies as Simon finished. To them, their grandfather was a pure figure full of affection. Simon knew that fact, and he also knew that that image was something he could not tarnish in any way.

Nathan was first to somewhat recover from the bombshell, and he followed up with a question, “What does the implant do? Does it have something to do with why we’re better at some things than others?”

Simon nodded affirmatively and answered, “Yes. The implant is supposed to augment and improve human neural capability. The primary goal was to improve neural aptitude and capacity without having to undergo genetic treatments. However, one additional benefit of the procedure is that if performed on children whose neural functions haven’t reached full maturity, it is possible to influence their growth trajectory and to a lesser extent program their mentality.”

Karina’s eyes widened at that fact. While growing more agitated she asked, “You’re saying that they made me this way? Are we even human?”

Simon quickly tried to calm her down, “Yes you’re still human. The programming is more like a suggestion, it’s not a complete rewiring of your basic psyche. The implant influences certain physical and mental tendencies causing you to lean towards one preference over another. It doesn’t mean that you become an artificial intelligence. In fact, you still have a choice, you can choose to not do what your instinct tells you to.”

The triplets took their time to digest the information. Simon could visibly see their internal struggle painted across their faces. This was a point of jealousy for Simon. To be able to react and emote so naturally. Should he have reacted this way as well? He thought to himself.

While the siblings were relatively carefree with their lives. Certain aspects and behaviours of theirs were so blatantly obvious that it was impossible to neglect. One of those was their unwavering obsession with certain things. Such as Nathan’s obsession with Tonya, Horace’s obsession with martial arts and combat, and Karina’s obsession with gymnastics. While they generally waved it off as a simple hobby, at times they too felt that they were too deeply involved in it.

It was fine when Horace picked up training in mixed-martial arts centred on Brazilian jiu-jitsu. But after mastering it completely at the age of 7, and that too in less than a year, things started to get fishy. In the following 2 years, Horace mastered and perfected Krav Maga and Muay Thai, as well as some weapon-related martial arts such as Kendo and Wing Chun. After a point, even Horace started to question whether martial arts was a hobby of his or his low-key profession, especially given how lethal some of the martial arts he learned could be. Why did he pick those anyways? He could never verbalise it - it was as if something was calling out to him.

Finally breaking his silence, Horace asked coldly, “So Grandpa was in hiding? Who was he hiding from?”

Simon faked biting his lips to display some apprehension. With a hesitant tone, he said, “Zarro Consolidated.”

Horace dropped his head with a firm expression, while Simon smiled inwardly. This was exactly what he wanted! Simon knew that revealing one shocking fact after another, each destroying one aspect of his sibling’s paradigm would completely shatter their sense of self. He knew that doing so would leave his siblings in a precarious situation - stuck at the bottom of a deep and dark well. He knew that survival would be a gamble, either they’d manage to claw their way out and gain a new drive, or they’d resign themselves to wallow in a circle of depression and become hollow emotionless shells. For better or worse, Simon was satisfied with being the only hollow emotionless shell in the family.

And thus, Simon decided to twist the facts, only slightly. By concealing his grandfather’s involvement, and shifting the blame to a monolithic corporation, he effectively provided an artificial drive for his siblings - a metaphorical rope leading out of the well. Through his research, Simon found that one of the strongest motivating factors for human beings is revenge. While it is excluded from most publications on motivational theories, in terms of providing an impetus, even more than money and success, the motivation to seek revenge and retribution is the strongest and most unwavering. The intense determined look on Horace’s face signalled Simon’s success.

Now all Simon had to do, was to wait for the anger and hate to fester and grow.