Story so far
As Holston’s deputy, Marnes helped handle the duties surrounding Allison’s condemnation and later watched Holston imprison himself. Although Holston called him the new sheriff, Marnes refused the position after his partner’s death. He recommended Juliette, impressed by the clues and judgment she contributed to their investigation in Mechanical, and accompanied Jahns to recruit her.
During their journey, Marnes shared canteens with Jahns, embraced her in the midlevel station, and defended her against Bernard Holland. He welcomed Juliette as his new boss. When Jahns fell ill, he urgently sought medical help, wept, and gave her water. After her death he kept her investigation file close and believed he knew the killer but lacked evidence. Depression left him unable to train Juliette, who later found him hanging by his belt and confirmed that he was dead.
Marnes had no next of kin or will and was buried near Jahns. No case was opened for his death. His bedside suicide note said it should have been him; his canteen had been poisoned, making him the intended victim. Juliette believes guilt helped destroy him and interprets his feelings for Jahns as love, while acknowledging uncertainty. She still recalls the practical knowledge he passed on about the airlock and using the sheriff’s radio to reach him on patrol.
Role
A deceased deputy whose recruitment and practical guidance shaped Juliette’s brief service as sheriff.
Relationships
Holston — Marnes served as Holston’s deputy and found the office painful after his death.
Jahns — Marnes shared an intimate bond with Jahns, is buried near her, and was the intended victim of the poisoned canteen that killed her.
Juliette — Marnes recommended Juliette for sheriff, welcomed her as his boss, and taught her about the airlock.
Sources — 60 recorded facts, by chapter
Chapter 1
- Marnes is Holston’s deputy.
- Marnes gives Holston the holding-cell key.
- Marnes is confused when Holston hands the key back through the bars.
Chapter 2
- Marnes is to remain at the desk all night during Holston’s confinement, following tradition.
- Holston identifies Marnes as the new sheriff.
Chapter 5
- Deputy Marnes and the mayor handle Holston’s procedural duties while he is distraught over Allison.
Chapter 6
- Deputy Marnes patrolled with Holston on the day Holston nearly asked to go outside a year before his cleaning.
Chapter 8
- Marnes refuses to become sheriff, expecting to remain a deputy until his death.
- Marnes recommends Juliette as his first choice among three sheriff candidates.
- Marnes and Holston investigated a death in Mechanical a few years earlier.
- Marnes admits that the other two candidates mainly make the selection look fair.
- Marnes finds remaining in Holston’s office painful after Holston’s death.
- Marnes leaves Terry in temporary charge before departing with Jahns.
Chapter 9
- Marnes shares his canteen with Jahns during their descent.
- Marnes says he never learned to tie a knot.
- Marnes reacts angrily when Dr. Nichols admits to falsifying his wife’s cause of death.
- Marnes describes the sheriff’s role as a citizen’s political office that does not require prior training.
Chapter 10
- Marnes takes Jahns’s full canteen to carry and share after his own is emptied.
- Marnes challenges Bernard to make a formal accusation against the preferred sheriff candidate.
Chapter 11
- Marnes visited the hydroponic gardens about four years earlier.
- Marnes investigated thefts from the gardens that turned out to be the work of a rabbit.
- Marnes believes the rabbit reached the gardens by the stairwell.
- Marnes heard a theory that a child stole the rabbit as a pet and released it in the gardens.
- Marnes plans for the ascent to take four days instead of the two-day descent.
- Marnes is considering consulting a priest partly to ask about Holston’s soul.
- Marnes was Donald’s best friend.
Chapter 12
- Marnes estimates that he and Jahns will reach level one-forty by dinner.
- Marnes declines to speculate about the lives of people outside.
- Marnes receives Juliette’s condolences for his partner.
Chapter 13
- Marnes repeatedly needs Marck’s help finding his way through the mechanical corridors.
- Marck says Marnes and Jahns have come to persuade Juliette to move up top.
Chapter 14
- Marnes says Juliette helped their investigation by noticing clues others missed.
- Marnes welcomes Juliette as his new boss.
Chapter 15
- Marnes is given a cot in the midlevel deputy station’s holding cell.
- Marnes joins Jahns in her bed and embraces her.
- Marnes steps between Jahns and Bernard during their confrontation.
- Marnes rests his hand on his gun while insisting that Juliette has the sheriff’s job.
Chapter 16
- Marnes insists that the generator disruption be called a power holiday.
- Marnes calls urgently for medical help when he notices something wrong with Jahns.
- Marnes cries while Jahns receives medical attention.
- Marnes gives Jahns water from his canteen when she asks for a drink.
Chapter 19
- Marnes keeps possession of the investigation file on Jahns’s death.
- Marnes believes he knows Jahns’s killer but lacks evidence against the man.
- Marnes takes Jahns’s case folder with him when he leaves work.
Chapter 21
- Marnes has been too depressed to help train Juliette as sheriff.
- Gloria reports seeing Marnes looking exhausted on the landing the previous night.
- Juliette finds Marnes hanging by his belt in his apartment.
- Marnes is dead when Juliette checks him after lowering him onto the bed.
Chapter 22
- Marnes has no next of kin.
- Marnes died without leaving a will.
Chapter 23
- Marnes is buried near Jahns at the upper dirt farm.
- No investigation or case folder is opened for Marnes’s death.
- Marnes left a suicide note on his bedside table saying it should have been him.
- Marnes’s canteen was poisoned, making him the intended victim rather than Jahns.
- Juliette believes guilt about carrying the poison that killed Jahns helped destroy Marnes.
Chapter 28
- Juliette interprets Marnes’s feelings as love for Jahns, while acknowledging uncertainty.
Chapter 32
- Lukas remembers Marnes as having died with nobody to bury him.
Chapter 36
- Marnes taught Juliette how the airlock mechanisms worked.
- Juliette uncertainly remembers Marnes saying that the inner airlock door unlocks automatically after the argon and fire cycle.
Chapter 77
- Juliette remembers using the sheriff’s radio to call Marnes while he was on patrol.