Chapters 9-10

In chapter 9, Jonas rides on his bike back to his dwelling. He and his parents talked about how greatly honored Jonas his. They also talked about another Receiver that was picked and failed. After they discussed Jonas's new job as the Receiver of Memory, Jonas took out the folder that everyone got that told the instructions and other things of what the job was about. Jonas saw as he was riding home that the other folders of the other Twelves', had been thick and filled with papers about their new topic. But when Jonas took out his folder and looked inside of it, all he had in it was a single sheet of paper. On the paper was the following.

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 your training, do not apply for any medication.
7. You are not permitted to apply for release.
8. You may lie.

This is what the single sheet of paper in his folder read. After he read the list of rules, he thought about each one and compared it to his past life and saw if it changed him. The one that he did have to change from was the last one. You may lie.

In chapter 10, Jonas has his first day of training for the Receiver of Memory. He rides with Fiona, a good friend, and then goes to the Annex entrance like his instructions told him to do. When he got into the entrance an attendant was waiting for him at a desk. She welcomed Jonas and told him where to go. Then Jonas walked into a furnished living room. There was on thing weird about the room and it was the books. In every dwelling there are the three same books and no one every thought there were any more, but in this room there were books piled high on bookcases that lined the room. Then he introduced himself to a man that was sitting in a chair at a desk. The man sitting at the desk was the current Receiver of Memory. Jonas noticed that he looked very old and the Receiver said that the job had aged him and that he isn't actually as old as he looks. The Receiver said that his job is to transmit all his memories he has of the past. Jonas thought he said of his childhood, but when the Receiver said it was from the whole world back and back generations he was stunned. Jonas thought that there was only this generation and just this community. The Receiver said that there was memories from Elsewhere (the place where people would go after they are released). Then the Receiver told Jonas to take off his tunic and lie down on the bed.

"Close your eyes. Relax. This will not be painful."

Jonas remembered that he was allowed, that he had even been encouraged, to ask questions. "What are you going to do, sir?" he asked, hoping that his voice didn't betray his nervousness.

"I am going to transmit the memory of snow," the old man said, and placed his hands on Jonas's bare back.