Chapter One
The letter
drew the colour from his face. Its sibling on the table, meant for
his brother, was of little consolation. He felt foolish for thinking
it wouldn't come - it was always going to come. He wished he could
have had the optimism of his twin, Luke. They were identical but for
that - he was a little more cautious and measured whereas Luke was
headstrong and enthusiastic.
"Dear Sam," it read, "Our
records indicate that you will shortly reach the age at which you are
required to be drafted into the nationwide PR (Population Reduction)
programme. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to society
and future generations. Please find enclosed your Registration Pack
and details of your induction on May 17th.
We look
forward to welcoming you into the programme and supporting you on
your future journey.
Regards
PR Team"
His
heart sank. May 17th was just two weeks away; his and
Luke's 20th birthday.
He set the letter down and
rifled through the stack of paper that accompanied it. Directions to
the nearest Intake Facility, an Information Booklet and a
questionnaire comprised of exactly one thousand questions. He exhaled
sharply. It was a lot to take in.
He'd known, of course, about
the Government programme since its introduction four years ago, but
had never known any detail about it. There were no advertisements or
Youtube videos - nor even online forums frequented by past inductees.
All that was officially known was that for the last four years, if
you happened to turn twenty, you were conscripted to National Service
and sent away to do your duty. Where they were and what they were
doing nobody knew, not even their parents, but not one person from
those four years had come back yet. This year, the fifth, was the
last of this term, the cycle to be repeated five years apart but only
twice more. According to the experts, that would sufficiently stem
the population boom.
Sam's head was spinning. He knew Luke
would be pleased to finally have his call-up letter but the reality
that it was actually going to happen was beginning to bite. He
grabbed the papers and headed upstairs to commit the time to going
over it all properly.