[ WP ] Everybody who turns 25 learns a reality shattering secret about the world . Nobody has ever leaked this secret to somebody under 25 . Today is your 25th birthday .

“ I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me. ” [ Genesis 22:16-18 ] 
 
 It was foolish, I know, but I still liked to do it. There were 30 happy smiling people around a cake and I knew I was about to disappoint them slightly. They were begging my for a speech, as wax slowly melted and oozed downward towards the white sugar frosting. 
 
 `` Okay, okay. I just want to thank my mom, and my dad. All of my friends - John, Tarven, Chris, Angie, Shawn, Murph, Tyler... thanks for the gifts, thanks for always being to me. And I'd like to thank the ones that are n't here. Grandpa D, Meemaw Rae, and Jacob.'' 
 
 Before they even had time to crestfall, I rapidly expelled the last of the air in my lungs, extinguishing the candle. They cheered, but it was a slightly disjointed cheer -- happy, but disjointed. They were a little sad that I had mentioned Jacob, and honestly, so was I - more that I had n't given up the ghost that he was still alive, and someday, he would walk back in, worse for wear. 
 
 Jacob was older then me by 15 years. I remember the day he left, the night of his 25th birthday. He never said a word. He just quietly packed up a small duffel bag and walked out. I nearly careened into him in the yard... I was chasing nightlight bugs with a bug stick - a miniature tennis racket shaped tool, strung with sticky spidersilk. Even with the biolights, the nightlight bugs were still fun to catch. We'd keep them in small provision jars and use them to read adventure novels at night. Plus, it was always funny to see somebody's butt glow through their shorts. 
 
 I thought he might have a work assignment. He was a mine engineer - he built the long winding tunnels, finding ore where there was none, and making sure that the tiny tremors that often caused the trees to shake and leaves to loose in a torrent did n't do more serious damage to the miners. However, the look on his face and the fact that he was n't wearing his uniform convinced me that this was n't work. 
 
 My father grabbed me and held me as I tried to run after him, to get an explanation or at least a goodbye. I had been the one to leave a Red Cordera under his bed to rot, and while I certainly now realize that a big of stinky fruit was n't his reason to leave, my ten year old mind reviewed each and every transgression with all the zeal of an Inquisitor. 
 
 He never came back, and to this day, I do n't know why. I ca n't remember when the self-loathing turned to rage and then finally to a overly optimistic hope, but I wanted to believe that the world was good, that God truly cared and would never rip families apart. I'm not even sure I really want to see him - I just want to look in his face and ask him `` Why? What did we do wrong?'' 
 
 I'd never do anything like that, never leave my friends and family without a sense of knowing why I'd left. I loved my family, and my friends more then that. I was resolved to live a life of virtue - not the one in the parables, but true virtue - honesty, fidelity, and devotion. 
 
 The rest of the party went on the way I would expect. Cheerwine was drank from tiny cups. We had cake and fruit and we sang along with the radio. I danced with Angie and cupped her behind in my hands. The Cheerwine was getting to her, because she did n't slap my hands or my face. I got a new spanner, a book by Robert Frost poems, a digital recording of an Explosions in the Stars concert, some new work jumpsuits. Mom and Dad got me a new regulator for the Magnabike I'd been restoring. 
 
 I was ecstatic. A few more months, and I'd be able to take her out. I could imagine chasing the sunsets, with Angela seated up against the bars, grinding her hips back against mine. I spent most of the time waiting for the party to wane enough that I could justify retiring to the garage to install it. I'd be exhausted at work tomorrow, but it would be worth it, knowing that I'd have dynamic distribution of energy to each of the magnetic pads. With that added stability, I could mount a turbocharger on the engine. 
 
 As people started to slowly retire, either to be able to get up earlier, or from a liberal dose of Cheerwine, I was counting the seconds, holding the large metal cylinder by it's output wires. I'd always had a love for speed and for machines. I'd just started as a mechanic, but people at the company already knew my aptitude. By 30, I'd be designing haulers. By 40, I'd be designing speeders and haulers. By 50, I could be chief of design. 
 
 My father looked over at me and smiled. He kissed mom, and walked across to me. 
 
 `` Robbie, can I help you install that regulator?'' 
 
 Dad liked to help me build when there was something important. We'd first gotten the frame a week or two after Jacob left. I had been a ball of rage since he left, and after being suspended for busting Percy Oliver's nose, Dad and I spent most of the night buffing out dents in that frame, talking about better times. 
 
 We rebuild the reaction core when we found out my mom was sick. 
 We bought new perrin fur seats when we found out she was in remission. 
 
 I grabbed a spanner and a set of metric pentasockets and started to disassemble the engine casing. 
 
 Dad walked over to the fridge and grabbed a growler of wheat lager. He popped the catch and took a long pull. 
 `` Son, do you know why I'm out here talking to you?'' 
 
 I did n't even look up as I continued to ratchet off the bolts. `` I'm not sure, but I'd imagine Jacob is involved.'' 
 
 `` Yes. Of a sorts. How much do you know of the outside world, son?'' 
 
 `` What's to know? Most of it is too wrecked to even deal with. Outside the barrier, there's a few thousand meters of safe forest, and then it's contaminated with radiation. We send probes out, and all it sends back is pictures of devastation and wreckage.'' 
 
 `` Robbie, that's not entirely true. Have you ever really thought about this area? Is there anything you've noticed that's weird about it?'' 
 
 I separated the sheet metal top from the sides, revealing the components below. 
 `` Is there something I should have noticed?'' 
 
 `` What do you think NSF stands for?'' 
 
 `` New South Falls. The name of the town.'' 
 
 `` Have you ever seen anyone in this town die of anything other then old age?'' 
 
 I knew what he was goading me towards. `` Tara Jackson. Her and her husband died in a magnabike accident. He disabled the autoguide and smashed into a tree.'' 
 
 `` Thomas and Tara were shot four times at close range. The magnabike accident was designed to cover it up.'' 
 
 `` How do you know something like that?'' 
 
 `` I'm the one who shot him. Coach Aubry shot Tara. The rifle I keep in the attic that belonged to your granddad. I told you it does n't shoot, but that's because the firing contact is disconnected. You connect it and it still shoots straight and clean.'' 
 
 My pentawrench made a loud metallic clang as it hit the ground. I looked up at him, my eyes straining to find an answer. `` Why? Why would you do that?'' 
 
 `` Thomas Jackson found a gap in our perimeter fencing and went joyriding out past the forest.'' 
 
 `` So? He got a little irradiated. So what? Miners get radsick all the time?'' 
 
 `` Son, I'm trying to get to that. This is not easy for me. I do n't like having to tell people hard truths, and I certainly do n't like shooting innocent boys. Nobody ever dies of sickness. Or crime. Or radiation. Or accidents. In fact, when you were younger and you got sick, we took you for treatment and you got better within hours. Do you remember that?'' 
 
 `` Yeah. You put me in the hyperbaric chamber and I got better.'' 
 
 `` What would pressurized oxygen do for a blood illness?'' 
 
 I stared at him oddly. `` What are you getting at?'' 
 
 `` It was n't a hyperbaric chamber. That machine fuses special root cells into your blood. Those cells healed you. We have a great society, with wonderful advances in medicine, engineering, science and technology, but have you ever seen a farmer?'' 
 
 `` No... how do we get food, then?'' 
 
 `` Because as you get older, you realize that sometimes you have to give up something to have a better life. We have all the food and supplies we want. We are eventually going to crack what is preventing the clone cells from binding and then the harvest will end. We've built so much. Our water is safe and clean to drink. Our air is purified and free of radiation. Everyone is happy. There is an initial period in every young couple's life after the harvest where things do n't seem right, and then you have your first child and suddenly, the color returns and you realize that you're bringing your child up in the best possible world. The best, healthiest, safest possible world. Angela's a good girl from a strong bloodline. I can see how much she loves you in her eyes. She's going to bear you a strong family. Your children will grow up strong and happy here, and get the best education, the best food, the best of everything.'' 
 
 `` And all it costs us is the child before. And killing any dissenters.'' 
 
 `` I wish Thomas and Tara had never happened, but I do n't regret the harvest. I do n't regret killing them. Robbie, I want you to grow up strong. This culture needs leaders. You have vision and drive and determination. That feeling of rage you're feeling now, it's fire in your stomach, and I know it hurts right now, but you will get better, and we need people with fire and determination to keep us going. You remind me so much of Jacob at your age.'' 
 
 `` Did Jacob just leave?'' 
 
 `` He broke my jaw, and then he left.'' 
 
 `` Did you kill him?'' 
 
 `` No. If you leave tonight, quietly, nobody will stop you. You can never come back, however.'' 
 
 `` Where did Jacob go?''
