{"data":{"id":19424,"title":"Life\/Labor: The Secret History of Hurston Dynamics","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/spectrum-dispatch\/19424-Life-Labor-The-Secret-History-Of-Hurston-Dynamics","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/19424","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/19424","channel":"Undefined","category":"Undefined","series":"News Update","images":[{"id":26463,"name":"source.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/media.robertsspaceindustries.com\/weozjmuuh3hwh\/source.jpg","alt":"","size":843046,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2019-09-19T15:49:32+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/26463","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/26463\/similar"},{"id":27892,"name":"source.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/media.robertsspaceindustries.com\/w3o9r4zgppm77\/source.jpg","alt":"","size":900916,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2021-09-06T14:48:40+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/27892","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/27892\/similar"},{"id":31475,"name":"Hurston-Hallway.png","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/media\/demy6oaxw6agur\/source\/Hurston-Hallway.png","alt":"","size":2030880,"mime_type":"image\/png","last_modified":"2023-08-18T18:11:12+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/31475","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/31475\/similar"}],"images_count":8,"translations":{"en_EN":"This article originally appeared in Jump Point 10.7.\nCHAPTER 8: MARIA PURE OF HEART, DUBIOUS OF PURPOSE?\n\u201cYou can\u2019t marry her. Maria has class but little else. She\u2019s nothing but trouble.\u201d \u2013 Alton Hurston\n\nIn 2799, Jasper Hurston married the 22-year-old Maria Wharton in an act of defiance against his family and specifically his father, Alton. Though one of his boldest confrontations, it wouldn\u2019t be his last. Jasper\u2019s independent streak and inclination to put Maria before his family would eventually lead to him being swept into the dustbin of Hurston family history. No plaque or statue commemorates him in Lorville but, in a strange twist of fate, the Maria Pure of Heart medical facility would be named in honor of the woman he was told not to marry.\n\nAlton Hurston\u2019s assessment of Maria Wharton was hyperbolic but based on a kernel of truth. The Wharton family had once been a fixture in the upper echelons of society only to lose their status due to their vocal opposition to the Messer government. The family\u2019s construction firm first rose to prominence by building the spaceport in Quinton on Angeli in the Croshaw system. A stream of lucrative government contracts followed, with their most famous being the design and construction of the biodomes that enclose Jata in the Davien system. Yet, the Wharton construction empire would crumble after being blacklisted by the Messer regime following their refusal of a contract to build an internment center they denounced as \u201cinhumane.\u201d\n\nWhen Maria was born in 2777, her family lived in a tenement high-rise in Jata and struggled to survive. Her parents were prominent anti-Messer activists, who spoke openly about how the regime destroyed the Wharton legacy due to their dissent. A picture of a defiant, teenage Maria and her parents protesting in the streets of Jata when the Messer regime was overthrown in 2792 was circulated widely on spectrum. She became a minor celebrity and used the attention to land lucrative promotional deals that helped raise her family out of poverty. She also leveraged her newfound fame to become a vocal proponent of a variety of progressive political causes, which is why her decision to marry into the Hurston family shocked many close to her. Though Maria would go on to fight for improved medical care for all Hurston employees, friends would criticize her for allying with a company that seemed to embody everything she believed was wrong with the empire. Some historians have even questioned whether she stopped fighting for truly revolutionary reforms at Hurston for the sake of her own name and reputation.\n\nAGENT OF CHAOS\nIn 2786, Olivia Hurston convinced the company board to install her younger brother, Alton, as CEO. Transcripts from the closed-door meeting reveal Olivia sold the idea by describing Alton as \u201can ideal stop-gap CEO who could keep the chair warm\u201d until the board found the ideal person to lead the company into the 29th century. Olivia hoped to convince her son, Desmond, to join the company and ultimately be groomed for the position. Yet, she worried that naming Alton CEO would increase the chances of his enterprising son, Jasper, attaining the position. So, Olivia worked with the board behind her brother\u2019s back to stonewall Jasper\u2019s career by transferring him away from the corporate headquarters on Earth to the Davien office. Jasper languished there for years, knowing his career was in trouble if his CEO father couldn\u2019t rectify the situation. He contemplated leaving the company to make a name for himself another way, until one fateful night when he met Maria Wharton.\n\nA mutual friend introduced Jasper and Maria and they bonded over a deep, shared sense that family history and politics were working against both of them. When they married in 2799, Maria convinced Jasper to stay at Hurston to focus on being a force for good. Meanwhile, she leveraged his status to further bolster her celebrity and reputation by holding lavish charity events that highlighted her as much as the cause. She admitted to loving the attention and justified using the events to raise her profile by telling the Terra Gazette that, \u201cI understand the importance of your name and reputation. My family had theirs destroyed for standing up for what was right. So, if I can now attach mine to a cause I truly believe in and get us both a bit of attention, then I consider that a win-win. More people will learn about a great cause, and more people will learn about me and hopefully take an interest in other initiatives I support.\u201d\n\nIn 2803, Jasper\u2019s mid-level management position within Hurston involved examining a rash of new laws passed at the system and local level that strengthened environmental protections and worker rights. As part of a team tasked with assessing whether these new laws would be cheaper to comply with or fight in court, Jasper saw the extent of Hurston\u2019s predatory labor and devastating environmental practices that had been allowed under the Messer regime. He shared this confidential information with Maria, who was likewise horrified. Worried that a leak would be immediately tied back to Jasper, the two contacted a Terra Gazette reporter with the names of several former Hurston employees who were \u201coff-booked\u201d after suffering severe injuries in an explosion at a Hurston weapon manufacturing plant. The subsequent article brought to light \u201coff-booking,\u201d a predatory labor practice used by Hurston to void an employee\u2019s Life\/Labor Contract so the company no longer had to provide housing or health care. The story revealed that the company kept meticulous records on each employee documenting even minor infractions, like taking unauthorized bathroom breaks, to use as justification for the firing and releasing them from any liability to cover their medical bills.\n\nFollowing the story and subsequent public scandal, Maria publicly announced she would host a fundraiser to help pay for the healthcare of workers who were off-booked. Her established reputation and public admonishment of the company made headlines across the empire, leading Jasper and Maria to receive a comm from his father, Alton, requesting that they immediately visit him at Hurston headquarters. Their gambit had worked.\n\nHUMAN CAPITAL\nIn the meeting, Maria agreed to stop publicly criticizing the company and cancel her event in exchange for two things: her working with the company to address the issue and Jasper getting a transfer back to headquarters. Alton and the board agreed, knowing that partnering with Maria on the issue would be a public-relations win. The couple relocated to Earth and, in 2804, Maria oversaw and implemented the largest expansion of Hurston\u2019s healthcare program, which the company successfully spun as a sign of its willingness to embrace the ethos of the new empire. Yet, Maria would privately admit that she compromised on several issues to get the deal done and that it didn\u2019t do enough to guarantee future coverage for those off-booked.\n\nMeanwhile, Jasper\u2019s standing within the company skyrocketed, though some influential family members resented that he achieved this status through public pressure applied by Maria. This faction opposed numerous manufacturing modernization initiatives spearheaded by Jasper as well as Maria\u2019s attempts to further expand the company\u2019s healthcare policies. The couple pushed Alton to champion their agenda but he stonewalled their efforts, clearly worried that submitting to their pressure would only get him ousted as CEO.\n\nBy 2811, Maria was convinced that real change would only occur with Jasper as CEO, and that he could only reach that position the way Archibald Hurston did \u2013 through a ruthless corporate takeover. Jasper secretly met with family members who supported him and set out to convince a few he believed would be on the fence. Then, one day, Alton called Jasper into his office and fired his son for plotting a coup against him and the family. Upon hearing the news, Maria stormed into Alton\u2019s office and demanded that Jasper get his job back. Exactly what happened next would become a point of contention within the family for years.\n\nNear the end of Maria\u2019s life, a confidant claimed she told him the truth of what happened. Allegedly, she threatened to expose the company for dumping toxic chemicals into a lake on Asura, which ruined its ecosystem and rendered its water unsafe to drink, unless Jasper got his job back. Yet, Alton made it clear that Jasper\u2019s political maneuverings made him a persona non grata within the company, and that while exposing the Asura incident would be bad for Hurston, it would also force the company to bury Maria and Jasper in lawsuits that could bankrupt them. In the end, Jasper would never work for the company again but, in 2812, Maria would help launch the Hurston Health Foundation, a charity focused on providing medical care to all former employees including those who were off-booked.\n\nToday, some believe Maria prioritized her legacy above fighting for real change. Others argue that she made the best out of a bad situation and helped Hurston workers more than anyone else of the era. Regardless, Maria\u2019s name became the one remembered and revered. Thanks in large part to Maria and Jasper\u2019s son, Chesterfield Hurston, who became one of the most powerful and venerated board members of the 29th century. Following Maria\u2019s death in 2880, Chesterfield announced that the new state-of-the-art medical facility being built in Lorville would be named in her honor.\n\nMany saw this as a fitting tribute to the woman who championed worker healthcare. Yet, others believe it to be a strategic move by Chesterfield to enshrine and ally himself with his mother\u2019s legacy instead of his father\u2019s. Much like the contentious relationship between Alton and Jasper, Chesterfield and Jasper famously feuded, including on the fateful night Jasper disappeared, leaving some to speculate that the Hurston family knows more about what really happened to Jasper than they\u2019ve publicly revealed.\n\nEXCERPT FROM LIFE\/LABOR REPRINTED BY PERMISSION. COPYRIGHT MERITUS PRESS.","de_DE":"Dieser Artikel erschien urspr\u00fcnglich in Jump Point 10.7.\nKAPITEL 8: MARIA - REINES HERZ, ZWEIFELHAFTE ABSICHTEN?\n\"Du kannst sie nicht heiraten. Maria hat zwar Klasse, aber sonst wenig. Sie ist nichts als \u00c4rger.\" - Alton Hurston\n\nIm Jahr 2799 heiratete Jasper Hurston die 22-j\u00e4hrige Maria Wharton und widersetzte sich damit seiner Familie und insbesondere seinem Vater Alton. Obwohl es eine seiner k\u00fchnsten Konfrontationen war, sollte es nicht seine letzte bleiben. Jaspers unabh\u00e4ngige Ader und seine Neigung, Maria \u00fcber seine Familie zu stellen, f\u00fchrten schlie\u00dflich dazu, dass er im M\u00fclleimer der Hurston-Familiengeschichte verschwand. In Lorville erinnert keine Gedenktafel oder Statue an ihn, aber wie es das Schicksal so will, wurde die medizinische Einrichtung Maria Pure of Heart zu Ehren der Frau benannt, die er nicht heiraten sollte.\n\nAlton Hurstons Einsch\u00e4tzung von Maria Wharton war zwar \u00fcbertrieben, aber sie beruhte auf einem Kern von Wahrheit. Die Familie Wharton war einst eine feste Gr\u00f6\u00dfe in den oberen R\u00e4ngen der Gesellschaft gewesen, bis sie ihren Status aufgrund ihrer lautstarken Opposition gegen die Messer-Regierung verlor. Die Baufirma der Familie wurde zun\u00e4chst durch den Bau des Raumhafens in Quinton auf Angeli im Croshaw-System ber\u00fchmt. Es folgten eine Reihe von lukrativen Regierungsauftr\u00e4gen, wobei der ber\u00fchmteste der Entwurf und der Bau der Biodome war, die Jata im Davien-System umschlie\u00dfen. Doch das Bauimperium von Wharton zerfiel, nachdem das Messer-Regime es auf die schwarze Liste gesetzt hatte, nachdem sie einen Auftrag zum Bau eines Internierungszentrums abgelehnt hatten, das sie als \"unmenschlich\" bezeichneten.\n\nAls Maria im Jahr 2777 geboren wurde, lebte ihre Familie in einem Hochhaus in Jata und k\u00e4mpfte ums \u00dcberleben. Ihre Eltern waren prominente Anti-Messer-Aktivisten, die offen dar\u00fcber sprachen, wie das Regime aufgrund ihrer abweichenden Meinung das Erbe von Wharton zerst\u00f6rte. Ein Bild der trotzigen Maria und ihrer Eltern, die in den Stra\u00dfen von Jata protestierten, als das Messer-Regime im Jahr 2792 gest\u00fcrzt wurde, wurde im Spektrum weit verbreitet. Sie wurde zu einer kleinen Ber\u00fchmtheit und nutzte die Aufmerksamkeit, um lukrative Werbevertr\u00e4ge abzuschlie\u00dfen, die ihrer Familie aus der Armut halfen. Sie nutzte ihren neu gewonnenen Ruhm auch, um sich f\u00fcr eine Reihe fortschrittlicher politischer Anliegen stark zu machen, weshalb ihre Entscheidung, in die Hurston-Familie einzuheiraten, viele in ihrem Umfeld schockierte. Obwohl Maria sp\u00e4ter f\u00fcr eine bessere medizinische Versorgung aller Hurston-Angestellten k\u00e4mpfte, wurde sie von ihren Freunden daf\u00fcr kritisiert, dass sie sich mit einem Unternehmen verb\u00fcndete, das ihrer Meinung nach alles verk\u00f6rperte, was mit dem Imperium nicht stimmte. Einige Historiker haben sogar in Frage gestellt, ob sie um ihres eigenen Namens und Rufs willen aufh\u00f6rte, f\u00fcr wirklich revolution\u00e4re Reformen bei Hurston zu k\u00e4mpfen.\n\nAGENT DES CHAOS\nIm Jahr 2786 \u00fcberzeugte Olivia Hurston den Vorstand des Unternehmens, ihren j\u00fcngeren Bruder Alton als CEO einzusetzen. Aus den Protokollen der Sitzung hinter verschlossenen T\u00fcren geht hervor, dass Olivia die Idee verkaufte, indem sie Alton als \"idealen \u00dcberbr\u00fcckungs-CEO beschrieb, der den Stuhl warm halten kann\", bis der Vorstand die ideale Person gefunden hat, die das Unternehmen ins 29. Olivia hoffte, ihren Sohn Desmond davon \u00fcberzeugen zu k\u00f6nnen, in das Unternehmen einzusteigen und sich schlie\u00dflich auf den Posten vorzubereiten. Sie bef\u00fcrchtete jedoch, dass die Ernennung von Alton zum CEO die Chancen seines unternehmungslustigen Sohnes Jasper erh\u00f6hen w\u00fcrde, den Posten zu bekommen. Also arbeitete Olivia hinter dem R\u00fccken ihres Bruders mit dem Vorstand zusammen, um Jaspers Karriere zu blockieren, indem sie ihn von der Unternehmenszentrale auf der Erde in das B\u00fcro in Davien versetzte. Jasper schmachtete dort jahrelang vor sich hin, denn er wusste, dass seine Karriere in Gefahr war, wenn sein Vater, der CEO, die Situation nicht korrigieren konnte. Er dachte dar\u00fcber nach, das Unternehmen zu verlassen, um sich auf andere Weise einen Namen zu machen, bis er eines schicksalhaften Abends Maria Wharton traf.\n\nEin gemeinsamer Freund machte Jasper und Maria miteinander bekannt, und sie waren sich einig, dass die Familiengeschichte und die Politik gegen sie beide arbeiteten. Als sie 2799 heirateten, \u00fcberzeugte Maria Jasper, bei Hurston zu bleiben, um sich dort f\u00fcr das Gute einzusetzen. In der Zwischenzeit nutzte sie seinen Status, um ihre Ber\u00fchmtheit und ihren Ruf weiter zu st\u00e4rken, indem sie verschwenderische Wohlt\u00e4tigkeitsveranstaltungen organisierte, bei denen sie ebenso im Mittelpunkt stand wie die Sache. Sie gab zu, dass sie die Aufmerksamkeit liebte und rechtfertigte die Veranstaltungen, um ihr Profil zu sch\u00e4rfen, indem sie der Terra Gazette sagte: \"Ich wei\u00df, wie wichtig dein Name und dein Ruf sind. Der Ruf meiner Familie wurde zerst\u00f6rt, weil sie f\u00fcr das Richtige eingetreten ist. Wenn ich also meinen Namen mit einer Sache verbinden kann, an die ich wirklich glaube, und wir beide dadurch ein bisschen Aufmerksamkeit bekommen, dann ist das f\u00fcr mich ein Gewinn f\u00fcr beide Seiten. Mehr Menschen werden von einer gro\u00dfartigen Sache erfahren, und mehr Menschen werden von mir erfahren und sich hoffentlich f\u00fcr andere Initiativen interessieren, die ich unterst\u00fctze.\n\nIm Jahr 2803 war Jasper in einer mittleren Managementposition bei Hurston damit besch\u00e4ftigt, eine Reihe von neuen Gesetzen zu pr\u00fcfen, die auf nationaler und lokaler Ebene verabschiedet wurden und den Umweltschutz und die Arbeitnehmerrechte st\u00e4rken. Als Teil eines Teams, das beurteilen sollte, ob es billiger w\u00e4re, diese neuen Gesetze einzuhalten oder sie vor Gericht zu bek\u00e4mpfen, erkannte Jasper das Ausma\u00df von Hurstons r\u00e4uberischen Arbeitsbedingungen und verheerenden Umweltpraktiken, die unter dem Messer-Regime zugelassen worden waren. Er teilte diese vertraulichen Informationen mit Maria, die ebenfalls entsetzt war. Aus Sorge, dass eine undichte Stelle sofort mit Jasper in Verbindung gebracht werden k\u00f6nnte, wandten sich die beiden an einen Reporter der Terra Gazette und gaben ihm die Namen mehrerer ehemaliger Hurston-Mitarbeiter, die bei einer Explosion in einer Hurston-Waffenfabrik schwere Verletzungen erlitten hatten und deshalb \"au\u00dfer Dienst\" gestellt worden waren. Der daraufhin erschienene Artikel brachte das \"Off-Booking\" ans Licht, eine r\u00e4uberische Arbeitspraxis, die Hurston anwandte, um den Arbeitsvertrag eines Arbeitnehmers zu annullieren, damit das Unternehmen nicht mehr f\u00fcr Unterkunft und Gesundheitsversorgung aufkommen musste. Die Geschichte enth\u00fcllte, dass das Unternehmen akribische Aufzeichnungen \u00fcber jeden Mitarbeiter f\u00fchrte, in denen selbst kleine Verst\u00f6\u00dfe wie unerlaubte Toilettenpausen dokumentiert wurden, um die Entlassung zu rechtfertigen und die Mitarbeiter von jeglicher Haftung f\u00fcr ihre Arztrechnungen zu befreien.\n\nNach der Geschichte und dem anschlie\u00dfenden \u00f6ffentlichen Skandal k\u00fcndigte Maria \u00f6ffentlich an, dass sie eine Spendenaktion veranstalten w\u00fcrde, um die Kosten f\u00fcr die medizinische Versorgung der entlassenen Besch\u00e4ftigten zu \u00fcbernehmen. Ihr guter Ruf und ihre \u00f6ffentliche Ermahnung des Unternehmens sorgten im ganzen Land f\u00fcr Schlagzeilen, so dass Jasper und Maria einen Anruf von seinem Vater Alton erhielten, der sie aufforderte, ihn sofort in der Hurston-Zentrale zu besuchen. Ihr Schachzug hatte funktioniert.\n\nMENSCHENKAPITAL\nBei dem Treffen erkl\u00e4rte sich Maria bereit, das Unternehmen nicht mehr \u00f6ffentlich zu kritisieren und ihre Veranstaltung abzusagen, wenn sie im Gegenzug mit dem Unternehmen zusammenarbeitet, um das Problem zu l\u00f6sen, und Jasper zur\u00fcck in die Zentrale versetzt wird. Alton und der Vorstand stimmten zu, da sie wussten, dass die Zusammenarbeit mit Maria in dieser Sache ein Gewinn f\u00fcr die \u00d6ffentlichkeitsarbeit sein w\u00fcrde. Das Paar zog auf die Erde um und im Jahr 2804 leitete Maria die gr\u00f6\u00dfte Erweiterung von Hurstons Gesundheitsprogramm, die das Unternehmen erfolgreich als Zeichen seiner Bereitschaft, sich dem Ethos des neuen Imperiums anzuschlie\u00dfen, vermarktete. Maria gab jedoch zu, dass sie in einigen Punkten Kompromisse einging, um das Gesch\u00e4ft abzuschlie\u00dfen, und dass es nicht ausreichte, um die zuk\u00fcnftige Absicherung derjenigen zu gew\u00e4hrleisten, die nicht angemeldet waren.\n\nIn der Zwischenzeit stieg Jaspers Ansehen innerhalb des Unternehmens rapide an, obwohl einige einflussreiche Familienmitglieder es ihm \u00fcbel nahmen, dass er diesen Status durch Marias \u00f6ffentlichen Druck erreicht hatte. Diese Gruppe widersetzte sich zahlreichen Modernisierungsinitiativen in der Produktion, die von Jasper angef\u00fchrt wurden, sowie Marias Versuchen, die Gesundheitspolitik des Unternehmens weiter auszubauen. Das Ehepaar dr\u00e4ngte Alton, sich f\u00fcr ihre Ziele einzusetzen, aber er wehrte sich dagegen, weil er bef\u00fcrchtete, dass er als Gesch\u00e4ftsf\u00fchrer abgesetzt werden w\u00fcrde, wenn er sich ihrem Druck beugen w\u00fcrde.\n\nIm Jahr 2811 war Maria davon \u00fcberzeugt, dass eine wirkliche Ver\u00e4nderung nur mit Jasper als Gesch\u00e4ftsf\u00fchrer m\u00f6glich war und dass er diese Position nur auf die gleiche Weise erreichen konnte wie Archibald Hurston - durch eine r\u00fccksichtslose Firmen\u00fcbernahme. Jasper traf sich heimlich mit Familienmitgliedern, die ihn unterst\u00fctzten, und machte sich auf den Weg, um einige zu \u00fcberzeugen, von denen er glaubte, dass sie noch unentschlossen waren. Eines Tages rief Alton Jasper in sein B\u00fcro und feuerte seinen Sohn, weil er einen Putsch gegen ihn und die Familie plante. Als Maria das h\u00f6rte, st\u00fcrmte sie in Altons B\u00fcro und verlangte, dass Jasper seinen Job zur\u00fcckbekommt. Was genau dann geschah, sollte noch jahrelang ein Streitpunkt innerhalb der Familie sein.\n\nGegen Ende ihres Lebens behauptete ein Vertrauter von Maria, sie habe ihm die Wahrheit \u00fcber die Geschehnisse erz\u00e4hlt. Angeblich drohte sie damit, das Unternehmen zu entlarven, weil es giftige Chemikalien in einen See auf Asura gekippt hatte, die das \u00d6kosystem zerst\u00f6rten und das Wasser ungenie\u00dfbar machten, wenn Jasper nicht seinen Job zur\u00fcckbek\u00e4me. Alton stellte jedoch klar, dass Jaspers politische Man\u00f6ver ihn innerhalb des Unternehmens zur Persona non grata machten und dass die Aufdeckung des Asura-Vorfalls zwar schlecht f\u00fcr Hurston w\u00e4re, das Unternehmen aber auch dazu zwingen w\u00fcrde, Maria und Jasper in einem Rechtsstreit zu begraben, der sie in den Ruin treiben k\u00f6nnte. Am Ende arbeitete Jasper nie wieder f\u00fcr das Unternehmen, aber Maria half 2812 dabei, die Hurston Health Foundation zu gr\u00fcnden, eine Wohlt\u00e4tigkeitsorganisation, die sich um die medizinische Versorgung aller ehemaligen Angestellten k\u00fcmmert, auch derer, die nicht mehr im Betrieb sind.\n\nHeute glauben einige, dass Maria ihr Verm\u00e4chtnis \u00fcber den Kampf f\u00fcr echte Ver\u00e4nderungen gestellt hat. Andere argumentieren, dass sie das Beste aus einer schlechten Situation gemacht und den Hurston-Arbeiterinnen und -Arbeitern mehr geholfen hat als irgendjemand sonst in dieser Zeit. Wie dem auch sei, Marias Name wurde zu dem, an den man sich erinnert und den man verehrt. Das verdanken wir vor allem dem Sohn von Maria und Jasper, Chesterfield Hurston, der zu einem der m\u00e4chtigsten und verehrtesten Vorstandsmitglieder des 29. Nach Marias Tod im Jahr 2880 k\u00fcndigte Chesterfield an, dass die neue hochmoderne medizinische Einrichtung, die in Lorville gebaut wurde, nach ihr benannt werden sollte.\n\nViele hielten dies f\u00fcr einen angemessenen Tribut an die Frau, die sich f\u00fcr die Gesundheitsversorgung der Arbeiter eingesetzt hatte. Andere wiederum halten es f\u00fcr einen strategischen Schachzug Chesterfields, um sich mit dem Erbe seiner Mutter statt mit dem seines Vaters zu verb\u00fcnden. \u00c4hnlich wie die umstrittene Beziehung zwischen Alton und Jasper waren auch Chesterfield und Jasper ber\u00fchmt f\u00fcr ihre Fehde, auch in der schicksalhaften Nacht, in der Jasper verschwand, so dass einige spekulieren, dass die Hurston-Familie mehr dar\u00fcber wei\u00df, was wirklich mit Jasper geschah, als sie \u00f6ffentlich preisgegeben hat.\n\nAUSZUG AUS LIFE\/LABOR NACHGEDRUCKT MIT ERLAUBNIS. COPYRIGHT MERITUS PRESS.","zh_CN":"This article originally appeared in Jump Point 10.7.\nCHAPTER 8: MARIA PURE OF HEART, DUBIOUS OF PURPOSE?\n\u201cYou can\u2019t marry her. Maria has class but little else. She\u2019s nothing but trouble.\u201d \u2013 Alton Hurston\n\nIn 2799, Jasper Hurston married the 22-year-old Maria Wharton in an act of defiance against his family and specifically his father, Alton. Though one of his boldest confrontations, it wouldn\u2019t be his last. Jasper\u2019s independent streak and inclination to put Maria before his family would eventually lead to him being swept into the dustbin of Hurston family history. No plaque or statue commemorates him in Lorville but, in a strange twist of fate, the Maria Pure of Heart medical facility would be named in honor of the woman he was told not to marry.\n\nAlton Hurston\u2019s assessment of Maria Wharton was hyperbolic but based on a kernel of truth. The Wharton family had once been a fixture in the upper echelons of society only to lose their status due to their vocal opposition to the Messer government. The family\u2019s construction firm first rose to prominence by building the spaceport in Quinton on Angeli in the Croshaw system. A stream of lucrative government contracts followed, with their most famous being the design and construction of the biodomes that enclose Jata in the Davien system. Yet, the Wharton construction empire would crumble after being blacklisted by the Messer regime following their refusal of a contract to build an internment center they denounced as \u201cinhumane.\u201d\n\nWhen Maria was born in 2777, her family lived in a tenement high-rise in Jata and struggled to survive. Her parents were prominent anti-Messer activists, who spoke openly about how the regime destroyed the Wharton legacy due to their dissent. A picture of a defiant, teenage Maria and her parents protesting in the streets of Jata when the Messer regime was overthrown in 2792 was circulated widely on spectrum. She became a minor celebrity and used the attention to land lucrative promotional deals that helped raise her family out of poverty. She also leveraged her newfound fame to become a vocal proponent of a variety of progressive political causes, which is why her decision to marry into the Hurston family shocked many close to her. Though Maria would go on to fight for improved medical care for all Hurston employees, friends would criticize her for allying with a company that seemed to embody everything she believed was wrong with the empire. Some historians have even questioned whether she stopped fighting for truly revolutionary reforms at Hurston for the sake of her own name and reputation.\n\nAGENT OF CHAOS\nIn 2786, Olivia Hurston convinced the company board to install her younger brother, Alton, as CEO. Transcripts from the closed-door meeting reveal Olivia sold the idea by describing Alton as \u201can ideal stop-gap CEO who could keep the chair warm\u201d until the board found the ideal person to lead the company into the 29th century. Olivia hoped to convince her son, Desmond, to join the company and ultimately be groomed for the position. Yet, she worried that naming Alton CEO would increase the chances of his enterprising son, Jasper, attaining the position. So, Olivia worked with the board behind her brother\u2019s back to stonewall Jasper\u2019s career by transferring him away from the corporate headquarters on Earth to the Davien office. Jasper languished there for years, knowing his career was in trouble if his CEO father couldn\u2019t rectify the situation. He contemplated leaving the company to make a name for himself another way, until one fateful night when he met Maria Wharton.\n\nA mutual friend introduced Jasper and Maria and they bonded over a deep, shared sense that family history and politics were working against both of them. When they married in 2799, Maria convinced Jasper to stay at Hurston to focus on being a force for good. Meanwhile, she leveraged his status to further bolster her celebrity and reputation by holding lavish charity events that highlighted her as much as the cause. She admitted to loving the attention and justified using the events to raise her profile by telling the Terra Gazette that, \u201cI understand the importance of your name and reputation. My family had theirs destroyed for standing up for what was right. So, if I can now attach mine to a cause I truly believe in and get us both a bit of attention, then I consider that a win-win. More people will learn about a great cause, and more people will learn about me and hopefully take an interest in other initiatives I support.\u201d\n\nIn 2803, Jasper\u2019s mid-level management position within Hurston involved examining a rash of new laws passed at the system and local level that strengthened environmental protections and worker rights. As part of a team tasked with assessing whether these new laws would be cheaper to comply with or fight in court, Jasper saw the extent of Hurston\u2019s predatory labor and devastating environmental practices that had been allowed under the Messer regime. He shared this confidential information with Maria, who was likewise horrified. Worried that a leak would be immediately tied back to Jasper, the two contacted a Terra Gazette reporter with the names of several former Hurston employees who were \u201coff-booked\u201d after suffering severe injuries in an explosion at a Hurston weapon manufacturing plant. The subsequent article brought to light \u201coff-booking,\u201d a predatory labor practice used by Hurston to void an employee\u2019s Life\/Labor Contract so the company no longer had to provide housing or health care. The story revealed that the company kept meticulous records on each employee documenting even minor infractions, like taking unauthorized bathroom breaks, to use as justification for the firing and releasing them from any liability to cover their medical bills.\n\nFollowing the story and subsequent public scandal, Maria publicly announced she would host a fundraiser to help pay for the healthcare of workers who were off-booked. Her established reputation and public admonishment of the company made headlines across the empire, leading Jasper and Maria to receive a comm from his father, Alton, requesting that they immediately visit him at Hurston headquarters. Their gambit had worked.\n\nHUMAN CAPITAL\nIn the meeting, Maria agreed to stop publicly criticizing the company and cancel her event in exchange for two things: her working with the company to address the issue and Jasper getting a transfer back to headquarters. Alton and the board agreed, knowing that partnering with Maria on the issue would be a public-relations win. The couple relocated to Earth and, in 2804, Maria oversaw and implemented the largest expansion of Hurston\u2019s healthcare program, which the company successfully spun as a sign of its willingness to embrace the ethos of the new empire. Yet, Maria would privately admit that she compromised on several issues to get the deal done and that it didn\u2019t do enough to guarantee future coverage for those off-booked.\n\nMeanwhile, Jasper\u2019s standing within the company skyrocketed, though some influential family members resented that he achieved this status through public pressure applied by Maria. This faction opposed numerous manufacturing modernization initiatives spearheaded by Jasper as well as Maria\u2019s attempts to further expand the company\u2019s healthcare policies. The couple pushed Alton to champion their agenda but he stonewalled their efforts, clearly worried that submitting to their pressure would only get him ousted as CEO.\n\nBy 2811, Maria was convinced that real change would only occur with Jasper as CEO, and that he could only reach that position the way Archibald Hurston did \u2013 through a ruthless corporate takeover. Jasper secretly met with family members who supported him and set out to convince a few he believed would be on the fence. Then, one day, Alton called Jasper into his office and fired his son for plotting a coup against him and the family. Upon hearing the news, Maria stormed into Alton\u2019s office and demanded that Jasper get his job back. Exactly what happened next would become a point of contention within the family for years.\n\nNear the end of Maria\u2019s life, a confidant claimed she told him the truth of what happened. Allegedly, she threatened to expose the company for dumping toxic chemicals into a lake on Asura, which ruined its ecosystem and rendered its water unsafe to drink, unless Jasper got his job back. Yet, Alton made it clear that Jasper\u2019s political maneuverings made him a persona non grata within the company, and that while exposing the Asura incident would be bad for Hurston, it would also force the company to bury Maria and Jasper in lawsuits that could bankrupt them. In the end, Jasper would never work for the company again but, in 2812, Maria would help launch the Hurston Health Foundation, a charity focused on providing medical care to all former employees including those who were off-booked.\n\nToday, some believe Maria prioritized her legacy above fighting for real change. Others argue that she made the best out of a bad situation and helped Hurston workers more than anyone else of the era. Regardless, Maria\u2019s name became the one remembered and revered. Thanks in large part to Maria and Jasper\u2019s son, Chesterfield Hurston, who became one of the most powerful and venerated board members of the 29th century. Following Maria\u2019s death in 2880, Chesterfield announced that the new state-of-the-art medical facility being built in Lorville would be named in her honor.\n\nMany saw this as a fitting tribute to the woman who championed worker healthcare. Yet, others believe it to be a strategic move by Chesterfield to enshrine and ally himself with his mother\u2019s legacy instead of his father\u2019s. Much like the contentious relationship between Alton and Jasper, Chesterfield and Jasper famously feuded, including on the fateful night Jasper disappeared, leaving some to speculate that the Hurston family knows more about what really happened to Jasper than they\u2019ve publicly revealed.\n\nEXCERPT FROM LIFE\/LABOR REPRINTED BY PERMISSION. COPYRIGHT MERITUS PRESS."},"links_count":0,"comment_count":12,"created_at":"2023-08-22T21:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"2 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-05-07 19:03:30","valid_relations":["images","links"],"prev_id":19423,"next_id":19425}}