There were only two occasions of release which were not punishment. Release of the elderly, which was a time of celebration for a life well and fully lived; and release of a newchild, which always brought a sense of what-could-we-have-done. This was especially troubling for the Nurturers, like Father, who felt they had failed somehow. But it happened very rarely.
"Well," Father said, "Im going to keep trying. I may ask the committee for permission to bring him here at night, if you dont mind. You know what the night-crew Nurturers are like. I think this little guy needs something extra."
"Of course," Mother said, and Jonas and Lily nodded. They had heard Father complain about the night crew before. It was a lesser job, night-crew nurturing, assigned to those who lacked the interest or skills or insight for the more vital jobs of the daytime hours. Most of the people on the night crew had not even been given spouses because they lacked, somehow, the essential capacity to connect to others, which was required for the creation of a family unit.
"Maybe we could even keep him," Lily suggested sweetly, trying to look innocent. The look was fake, Jonas knew; they all knew.
"Lily," Mother reminded her, smiling, "you know the rules."
Two childrenone male, one femaleto each family unit. It was written very clearly in the rules.
Lily giggled. "Well," she said, "I thought maybe just this once."
Next, Mother, who held a prominent position at the Department of Justice, talked about her feelings. Today a repeat offender had been brought before her, someone who had broken the rules before. Someone who she hoped had been adequately and fairly punished, and who had been restored to his place: to his job, his home, his family unit. To see him brought before her a second time caused her overwhelming feelings of frustration and anger. And even guilt, that she hadnt made a difference in his life.
"I feel frightened, too, for him," she confessed. "You know that theres no third chance. The rules say that if theres a third transgression, he simply has to be released." Jonas shivered. He knew it happened. There was even a boy in his group of Elevens whose father had been released years before. No one ever mentioned it; the disgrace was unspeakable. It was hard to imagine.
Lily stood up and went to her mother. She stroked her mothers arm.
From his place at the table, Father reached over and took her hand. Jonas reached for the other.
One by one, they comforted her. Soon she smiled, thanked them, and murmured that she felt soothed.
The ritual continued. "Jonas?" Father asked. "Youre last, tonight."
Jonas sighed. This evening he almost would have preferred to keep his feelings hidden. But it was, of course, against the rules.
"Im feeling apprehensive," he confessed, glad that the appropriate descriptive word had finally come to him.
"Why is that, son?" His father looked concerned.
"I know theres really nothing to worry about," Jonas explained, "and that every adult has been through it. I know you have, Father, and you too, Mother. But its the Ceremony that Im apprehensive about. Its almost December."
Lily looked up, her eyes wide. "The Ceremony of Twelve," she whispered in an awed voice. Even the smallest childrenLilys age and youngerknew that it lay in the future for each of them.
"Im glad you told us of your feelings," Father said.
"Lily," Mother said, beckoning to the little girl, "Go on now and get into your nightclothes. Father and I are going to stay here and talk to Jonas for a while."
Lily sighed, but obediently she got down from her chair. "Privately?" she asked.
Mother nodded. "Yes," she said, "this talk will be a private one with Jonas."
2
Jonas watched as his father poured a fresh cup of coffee.
He waited.
"You know," his father finally said, "every December was exciting to me when I was young. And it has been for you and Lily, too, Im sure. Each December brings such changes."
Jonas nodded. He could remember the Decembers back to When he had become, well, probably a Four. The earlier ones were lost to him. But he observed them each year, and he remembered Lilys earliest Decembers. He remembered when his family received Lily, the day she was named, the day that she had become a One.
The Ceremony for the Ones was always noisy and fun. Each December, all the newchildren born in the previous year turned One. One at a timethere were always fifty in each years group, if none had been releasedthey had been brought to the stage by the Nurturers who had cared for them since birth. Some were already walking, wobbly on their unsteady legs; others were no more than a few days old, wrapped in blankets, held by their Nurturers.
"I enjoy the Naming," Jonas said.
His mother agreed, smiling. "The year we got Lily, we knew, of course, that wed receive our female, because wed made our application and been approved. But Id been wondering and wondering what her name would be."
"I could have sneaked a look at the list prior to the ceremony," Father confided. "The committee always makes the list in advance, and its right there in the office at the Nurturing Center.
"As a matter of fact," he went on, "I feel a little guilty about this. But I did go in this afternoon and looked to see if this years Naming list had been made yet. It was right there in the office, and I looked up number Thirty-sixthats the little guy Ive been concerned aboutbecause it occurred to me that it might enhance his nurturing if I could call him by a name. Just privately, of course, when no one else is around."
"Did you find it?" Jonas asked. He was fascinated. It didnt seem a terribly important rule, but the fact that his father had broken a rule at all awed him. He glanced at his mother, the one responsible for adherence to the rules, and was relieved that she was smiling.
His father nodded. "His nameif he makes it to the Naming without being released, of courseis to be Gabriel. So I whisper that to him when I feed him every four hours, and during exercise and playtime. If no one can hear me.
"I call him Gabe, actually," he said, and grinned.
"Gabe." Jonas tried it out. A good name, he decided.
Though Jonas had only become a Five the year that they acquired Lily and learned her name, he remembered the excitement, the conversations at home, wondering about her: how she would look, who she would be, how she would fit into their established family unit. He remembered climbing the steps to the stage with his parents, his father by his side that year instead of with the Nurturers, since it was the year that he would be given a newchild of his own.
He remembered his mother taking the newchild, his sister, into her arms, while the document was read to the assembled family units. "Newchild Twenty-three," the Namer had read. "Lily."
He remembered his fathers look of delight, and that his father had whispered, "Shes one of my favorites. I was hoping for her to be the one." The crowd had clapped, and Jonas had grinned. He liked his sisters name. Lily, barely awake, had waved her small fist. Then they had stepped down to make room for the next family unit.
"When I was an Eleven," his father said now, "as you are, Jonas, I was very impatient, waiting for the Ceremony of Twelve. Its a long two days. I remember that I enjoyed the Ones, as I always do, but that I didnt pay much attention to the other ceremonies, except for my sisters. She became a Nine that year, and got her bicycle. Id been teaching her to ride mine, even though technically I wasnt supposed to."
Jonas laughed. It was one of the few rules that was not taken very seriously and was almost always broken. The children all received their bicycles at Nine; they were not allowed to ride bicycles before then. But almost always, the older brothers and sisters had secretly taught the younger ones. Jonas had been thinking already about teaching Lily.
There was talk about changing the rule and giving the bicycles at an earlier age. A committee was studying the idea. When something went to a committee for study, the people always joked about it. They said that the committee members would become Elders by the time the rule change was made.
Rules were very hard to change. Sometimes, if it was a very important ruleunlike the one governing the age for bicyclesit would have to go, eventually, to The Receiver for a decision. The Receiver was the most important Elder. Jonas had never even seen him, that he knew of; someone in a position of such importance lived and worked alone. But the committee would never bother The Receiver with a question about bicycles; they would simply fret and argue about it themselves for years, until the citizens forgot that it had ever gone to them for study.
His father continued. "So I watched and cheered when my sister, Katya, became a Nine and removed her hair ribbons and got her bicycle," Father went on. "Then I didnt pay much attention to the Tens and Elevens. And finally, at the end of the second day, which seemed to go on forever, it was my turn. It was the Ceremony of Twelve."
Jonas shivered. He pictured his father, who must have been a shy and quiet boy, for he was a shy and quiet man, seated with his group, waiting to be called to the stage. The Ceremony of Twelve was the last of the Ceremonies. The most important.
"I remember how proud my parents lookedand my sister, too; even though she wanted to be out riding the bicycle publicly, she stopped fidgeting and was very still and attentive when my turn came.
"But to be honest, Jonas," his father said, "for me there was not the element of suspense that there is with your Ceremony. Because I was already fairly certain of what my Assignment was to be."
Jonas was surprised. There was no way, really, to know in advance. It was a secret selection, made by the leaders of the community, the Committee of Elders, who took the responsibility so seriously that there were never even any jokes made about Assignments.
His mother seemed surprised, too. "How could you have known?" she asked.
His father smiled his gentle smile. "Well, it was clear to meand my parents later confessed that it had been obvious to them, toowhat my aptitude was. I had always loved the newchildren more than anything. When my friends in my age group were holding bicycle races, or building toy vehicles or bridges with their construction sets, or"