"The Giver Quartet" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lowry, Lois)

"We failed in our last selection," the Chief Elder said solemnly. "It was ten years ago, when Jonas was just a toddler. I will not dwell on the experience because it causes us all terrible discomfort.''



Jonas didn't know what she was referring to, but he could sense the discomfort of the audience. They shifted uneasily in their seats.



"We have not been hasty this time," she continued. "We could not afford another failure."



"Sometimes," she went on, speaking now in a lighter tone, relaxing the tension in the Auditorium, "we are not entirely certain about the Assignments, even after the most painstaking observations. Sometimes we worry that the one assigned might not develop, through training, every attribute necessary. Elevens are still children, after all. What we observe as playfulness and patience тАФ the requirements to become Nurturer тАФ could, with maturity, be revealed as simply foolishness and indolence. So we continue to observe during training, and to modify behavior when necessary.



"But the Receiver-in-training cannot be observed, can-not be modified. That is stated quite clearly in the rules. He is to be alone, apart, while he is prepared by the cur-rent Receiver for the job which is the most honored in our community."



Alone? Apart? Jonas listened with increasing unease.



''Therefore the selection must be sound. It must be a unanimous choice of the Committee. They can have no doubts, however fleeting. If, during the process, an Elder reports a dream of uncertainty, that dream has the power to set a candidate aside instantly.



''Jonas was identified as a possible Receiver many years ago. We have observed him meticulously. There were no dreams of uncertainty.



"He has shown all of the qualities that a Receiver must have.''



With her hand still firmly on his shoulder, the Chief Elder listed the qualities.



"Intelligence," she said. "We are all aware that Jonas has been a top student throughout his school days.



''Integrity,'' she said next. "Jonas has, like all of us, committed minor transgressions.'' She smiled at him. ''We expect that. We hoped, also, that he would present himself promptly for chastisement, and he has always done so.