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greatest occasion in our calendar, the Fall of Chance.
    “Since the foundation of our great town, the Fall has been at the heart of the community. It is the start of everything, the origin point for all us where Fate decides our identity and future.
    “Function, Family and Home: these are the core of who we are. Today these young people will find out all three. They will transform from the malleable stuff of childhood into something formed and solid. Each of you will become a brick, ready to take its place in the great edifice that is home and shelter to us all.”
    Kelly paused and let his congregation dwell on his opening words. These were the words used at every Fall of Chance. They were as unchanging as the form of the ceremony itself. It was the first time Unt had heard them but he’d read them often enough and he’d always been amused at that last bit. Who ever thought that people would be inspired by being told they were a brick?
    Kelly now resumed the opening address. “Today is the fifty-seventh Fall of Chance. That is fifty-seven years our community has stood firm in a chaotic world. This chaos is a chaos of man’s making. It is man’s interference, his will , his selfish nature and narrow agendas that bring anarchy to the world.
    “We, as a people, have chosen to reject the governing hand that our own desire would use to imprison us. We have cast our fate to Chance. It is natural for all things to find a serene equilibrium and it is the interference of will that prevents such order. For there is order in chaos and in embracing Chance, we are in fact embracing order.
    “There were twenty-three of us there that day, fifty-seven years ago, at the first Fall of Chance. Then, as now, it was not easy to put aside what we hoped for and to accept the hand that was dealt us. It is no easy thing to surrender to Chance but by accepting our fate, our energies become focused and the community can prosper.
    “The merit of our philosophy can be seen in the many lost souls who have come to us over the years. These people have been wandering their own path but found no value in it. They have decided to join us and have chosen to surrender to Fate.”
    Kelly was no great orator and everyone was familiar with the traditional words but they could all feel the import of the occasion. In spite of themselves, all the young folk were listening carefully.
    “Now, it is your turn to choose.” Kelly spoke directly to the candidates. “I must be absolutely clear that participation must not be imposed upon you. You have been raised in the traditions of this community and have been preparing for this occasion all your young lives, but even at this late stage, if you wish, you can withdraw.
    “This is your last opportunity to exercise free will in all but trivial matters. It is not something that should be given up lightly, but know this: a person who does not bind himself to Chance cannot become part of this community.
    “It is a sad fact that the discord of such a presence would shatter our delicate harmony. Anyone who is unable to take the vow must, regrettably, be asked to leave, never to return.”
    And there, thought Unt, was the rub. They might give people the choice to follow society’s rules or live a self-governed life alone, but it was really no choice at all. This was a group of kids with no life experience and no idea what lay out in the world beyond the boundaries of the settlement.
    There could only really be one choice but, cynical as he felt, there wasn’t a shred of doubt in his own selection. The guiding hand of Fate went much deeper than an idea: it was a moral certainty.
    Kelly left a pause just long enough to give the choice credence and then carried on. “At this point, I will ask three questions. The first will be put to the families here-gathered. Its purpose is to confirm that the person they are here to sponsor is here of their own volition.
    “The second question shall be put to the participants