Chapter 9

Before Jonas leaves the Auditorium, he is given a folder with all of the rules that he will be needing to become the Receiver."Alone in his sleeping room, prepared for bed, Jonas opened his folder at last. Some of the other Twelves, he had noticed, had been given folders thick with printed pages. He imagined Benjamin, the scientific male in his group, beginning to read pages of rules and instructions with relish. He pictured Fiona smiling her gentle smile as she bent over the lists of duties and methods that she would be required to learn in the days to come.
But his own folder was startlingly close to empty. Inside there was only a single printed sheet. He read it twice.

Jonas

Receiver of Memory

1. Go immediately at the end of school hours each day to the Annex entrance behind the House of the Old and present yourself to the attendant.
2. Go immediately to your dwelling at the conclusion of Training Hours each day.
3. From this moment you are exempted from rules governing rudeness. You may ask any question of any citizen and you will receive answers.
4. Do not discuss your training with any other member of the community, including parents and Elders.
5. From this moment you are prohibited from dream-telling.
6. Except for illness or injury unrelated to training, do not apply for any medication.
7. You are not permitted to apply for release.
8. You may lie.

Jonas was really surprised at the last rule. He had never been able to lie, it was a rule that he had grown up learning and it was going to be hard to be able to break it. Jonas decides that he would have no reason to lie and leaves the thought alone.