Chapter 5 Chapter V Selection Ceremony

The day of the selection ceremony has arrived.We went on the bus, which was packed with disinterested people in gray shirts and gray slacks.Outside the car window, a circle of shallow sunlight pierced through the clouds, like a lit cigarette butt.I myself would never smoke a cigarette—they are closely related to vanity—but there was a group of honest people puffing away in front of the building where we were going to get off. I had to tilt my head back to see the roof of the central building, soaring into the sky, its top looming in the clouds.This is the tallest building in the city, and I can see the flickering lights of the two spiers through the window from my bedroom at home.

I squeezed out of the car behind my parents.Caleb looked calm and unfazed, and I thought so, too, if I knew what to do.But I felt completely different. My heart seemed to be jumping out of my chest at any moment. When I walked up the steps, I held Caleb's arm tightly to stabilize myself. The elevator was full of people, and my father offered to give up our space to Amity Pie, and we followed him up the stairs without hesitation.We set a precedent for the disinterested, and in a short while the three of us were lost in the half-light among a crowd of gray figures climbing the stairs.I merge into their unison.Listening to the footsteps climbing the stairs, and looking at the selfless compatriots who behaved in the same way, I suddenly felt that being a selfless person is also very good.If I choose the selfless faction, I will slowly adapt to their hive-like collective consciousness, always only shining on others.

But I was so tired that my legs ached, I was out of breath, and I was distracted by myself.I cringe a little at the thought that the hall where the selection ceremony will be held is on the twentieth floor, and we have to climb a full twenty flights of stairs. At last the twentieth floor arrived, and my father held the door and stood there like a sentinel, and the selfless people walked past him one by one and entered the hall.I wanted to wait for him to go together, but was pushed out of the stairwell and into the hall by the crowd.Here I will decide my future life. The hall is circular, and sixteen-year-old boys from various factions sit in the outer circle.We are not considered full members yet. Today we will choose a faction and become freshmen. If we pass the test, we can become real members of the faction.

Everyone sorts according to the order of the first letter of the surname. It is very likely that we will no longer have any connection with this surname after today.I lined up between Caleb and Daniel Poole.Daniel was a friendly girl with flushed cheeks and a bright yellow dress. The chairs for the parents form another circle, and they are arranged in five areas according to faction.In the selection ceremony, not all parents will participate, but there are still many people who come, and the scene is very spectacular. According to faction rules, the five major factions take turns to organize the annual selection ceremony, and this year it is the turn of the selfless faction to host.Marcus will address the opening ceremony and read the names in reverse alphabetical order.That way, Caleb would make the choice before me.

There are five metal bowls in the innermost circle, big enough for me to curl up and crawl into them.Each bowl contains different objects to refer to the different factions: gray stone for the selfless, clear water for the learned, dirt for the friendly, lit coals for the fearless, and glass for the honest. When Marcus called my name, I had to go to the center of the three circles and I was not allowed to speak.He would hand me a knife with which I would cut my finger and drip the blood into the bowl of the chosen party. I seem to see blood dripping on the gray stone, and I seem to see it sizzling on the coals of the Dauntless.

Before my parents took their seats, they stood in front of Caleb and me.Father grinned, kissed my forehead, and patted Caleb on the shoulder. "See you later." There was no worry or hesitation in his words. My mother hugged me, and the last bit of my resolve was crumbling.I gritted my teeth and stared at the ceiling, where the blue spherical lights hung, covering the entire hall in blue light.She hugged me tightly and refused to leave for a long time.Even when my hands were down, she still hugged me.Before letting go, she turned her head and whispered in my ear: "No matter what, Mom will always love you."

My mother turned and left. Looking at her leaving back, I couldn't help frowning.She probably knows what I'm up to.She must have known, otherwise she wouldn't have felt the need to say that. Caleb held my hand tightly, and my hand hurt from his grasp, but I didn't pull it back.The last time we held hands was at my uncle's funeral, when my father cried and was in so much pain.Just as then, now, we need each other's strength. The hall slowly regained order.I was supposed to be watching the Dauntless, trying to get as much information as I could, but I just stared blankly at the light across the hall, trying to lose myself in the blue light.

Standing on the podium between the seats of the Erudite and the Fearless, Marcus cleared his throat in front of the microphone: "Welcome! Welcome to this year's selection ceremony. Today is a special day. Many years ago today, our Based on the concept of democracy and equality, our ancestors divided human beings into five factions, and each of us has the right to choose our own way of life." Or for me, it's just choosing one of five predetermined ways.I squeezed Caleb's fingers as hard as he squeezed my hand. "The children in front of us are sixteen years old, on the brink of adulthood, and now it's time for them to decide what kind of person they want to be." Marcus said in a serious voice, with clanging words, "Many years ago, our ancestors' consciousness Realized that wars are not caused by different ideologies, religious beliefs or races, but by differences in human personality and evil in human hearts. Therefore, with the purpose of eradicating evil and restoring world peace, our ancestors established Five factions."

My eyes fell on the five bowls in the center of the hall.What are my beliefs?I don't know, don't know, don't know. "Those who resist conflict and war form the friendly faction." Friendly people are smiling at each other.I like how they dress comfortably, they usually wear red or yellow clothes, and they are kind, friendly, and free at all times.But I never made joining the Friendly Pie an option. "Resist the ignorant and the ignorant form the learned school." For me, excluding the polymath is the only no-brainer. "Resist cover-ups and cover-ups to create honesty."

I've never liked Honesty Pie. "Resist selfishness and indifference to build selflessness." There is a part of me that resists selfishness, and it does. "It is Dauntless to resist the timid and the cowardly." But I'm not selfless enough, I've been trying for the past sixteen years, and it's still not enough. I felt numb in my legs, as if I had lost all consciousness.Once they called my name, I didn't know how to get up. "The five major factions have worked together and coexisted peacefully for many years. Each faction has made different contributions to society. The selfless faction has produced government officials who are public and selfless, the honest faction has contributed reliable and fair legal elites, and the learned faction Good at producing teachers and scholars with rich knowledge and wisdom, Amity School provides empathetic counselors and caregivers, and Fearless School keeps us safe from internal and external threats at any time. But the contributions of each school are not limited to this, so Time relations, where we help each other far cannot be adequately detailed. Cliques allow each of us to find meaning in life, a purpose for being alive, and a reason for being.”

I suddenly remembered a motto in the faction history textbook: faction is far more important than blood.Compared with family, faction is the only place people rely on, but is it really so absolute? "We wouldn't survive without factions," Marcus added. As his words fell, a heavy silence enveloped the hall.In that silence lies our deepest fear, a fear deeper than death: to be nonpartisan.If you are labeled as "no faction", it is definitely worse than death. "Therefore, today is a day full of glory. Today, a new batch of freshmen from our faction will be born. Together with us, they will create a more prosperous and beautiful society and world." Marcus continued into the microphone. There was a burst of applause, but it was a little vague to me.I try to stand as straight as I can, because keeping my knees straight and my body stiff keeps me from shaking.When Marcus finishes his opening remarks and starts calling the first names, I'm so dizzy I can't make out a word.I panicked, what if Marcus called my name and I couldn't hear him? The sixteen-year-old peers stood up one by one and walked to the center of the hall.The first girl from the Amity Pie family chose Amity Pie, and I watched her cut her finger, and the bright red blood dripped onto the Amity Pie dirt, and then she stood behind the Amity Pie freshman seat, all alone. There are people walking around in the hall all the time, and when new names are called, new people will come out, new knives will be cut, and new choices will be born.I know most of them, but I suspect they don't know me. "James Tucker," Marcus called. James Tucker, from the Dauntless family, was the first person to stumble in the panic on his way to the big bowl, and he saved himself from hitting the ground by putting his hands on the ground just in time. His face turned red, and he walked quickly to the middle of the hall.Standing in the center, he kept scanning the bowls of Fearless Pie and Honesty Pie, seemingly hesitating—the orange flames were rising higher and higher, and the glass was emitting a blue light. Taking the knife from Marcus, he took a deep breath—I saw his chest bulge—then, exhaled again, took the knife solemnly, and slashed at his palm.He twitched, his arms stretched out to the side, and blood dripped onto the glass!He was the first among us to switch factions, the first switcher in the audience.There was a sudden murmur among the Dauntless, and I looked down at the ground. From now on, the Fear of Heaven faction will regard him as a traitor.His parents will only be able to visit him in the new faction on "Family Visiting Day" a week and a half later, but they probably won't because he chose to turn his back on his family.His departure will affect the lives of his parents for a long time, becoming a vacancy that can never be filled.This missing shade will slowly disappear over time.Just like when an organ is removed in the human body, bodily fluids will accumulate there, humans cannot bear the feeling of long-term absence. "Caleb Pullell." Marcus called his brother's name. Caleb squeezed my hand tightly for the last time, and when he got up to walk away, he suddenly looked back at me with a meaningful expression on his face.I watched his feet move towards the center of the hall, he firmly took the knife in Marcus's hand with both hands, and swiftly swiped it towards his own hand.He stood there with his lips glued to his teeth and a small pool of blood in his palm. He let out a long breath, then took a deep breath, and stretched out his hand to the bowl of the Erudite School, the blood dripped into the clear water, and the water was bloody red. The uproar soon turned into bursts of angry roars.My mind is in a mess, I can't believe it, my brother, my so selfless brother, is actually a transferer?My elder brother, he is obviously a selfless person by nature, but he chose the Erudite School? I close my eyes and picture Caleb's stacks of books on his bedroom table and his shaky hands rubbing his legs after the personality test.I suddenly felt so stupid, why didn't I realize that when he said yesterday that he asked me to think for myself, he was also giving himself advice? I glanced at the Erudites—they were smiling smugly and elbowing each other to say what, shall we?The ever-gentle Disinterested whispered nervously, glaring at the Erudite who had turned into our enemy across the hall. "Sorry," Marcus said, raising his voice, but the hustle and bustle couldn't hear him. "Quiet, please!" he yelled. The hall fell silent, only the humming remained in my ears. Then I heard my name called, stood up tremblingly and walked towards the center of the hall.On the way, I suddenly felt that I would definitely choose the selfless faction.I seem to see the future: I become the selfless woman in the gray robe, marry Susan's brother Robert, volunteer on the weekends to help others, enjoy the peace of routine, and spend quiet evenings in front of the fire, sure. , I am very safe, even if life will not be very good, it is better than the current suffering. It dawned on me that the buzzing was actually just my tinnitus. I glanced at Caleb, who was standing behind the Erudite Sect, staring at me solemnly, and nodded slightly at me, as if he not only knew what I was thinking, but also agreed with my choice.I staggered, anxious and irritable rushed to my head.If Caleb couldn't fit in with the Disinterested, how could I?How should I choose?Now that he has chosen to leave, I am the only one who can stay.Regardless of which faction I had decided to choose, at this moment, Caleb's departure left me with no choice. I clenched my jaw, determined to be the kid who stayed; I had to do it for my parents, there was no other choice. Marcus handed me the knife—I looked into his eyes, which were dark blue, a strange color—and I reached for the knife.He nodded at me, and I turned to face the big bowl.The Flame of the Dauntless and the Greystone of the Selfless are both to my left, one in the front left and one in the back left.I held the knife in my right hand, and put the blade horizontally on the palm of my hand. I clenched my teeth, and with the blade pointing down, warm blood flowed out instantly.There was some tingling, but I ignored it, and clasped my hands tightly in front of my chest, trembling with my breathing. I opened my eyes, flung my arms out, and blood dripped onto the carpet between Dauntless and Selfless.Unable to hold that breath any longer, I stretched out my hand, and the blood dripped onto the burning coals, hissing. I'm selfish, but brave enough.