[ WP ] At age 18 you are required to go to city hall and have someone read you through a choose your own adventure style book of your life while you make the choices . The choices are permanent and will determine your life . You are the clerk reading the books .

“ Come in. ” I wave in the hesitant boy who is hovering outside my office. “ Close the door behind you. Oh, honestly! It isn ’ t as bad as they make it out to be. Now come in and close the door. ” 
 
 The boy shuffles in and closes the door behind him. I give him the customary thirty seconds for him to look around my office I have come to expect from all applicants. To gaze at the rich wood paneling and the myriad of bound books surrounding them. To stop at the empty leather chair before continuing up to the wall behind me. To watch their eyes linger over the photographs behind me, trying to discern my relationship to the people in them. Their eyes then drift down as if on cue and focus on me. This boy is no exception. 
 
 “ So ” I give my best grandfatherly smile. “ Not what you expected, was it? ” 
 
 “ No, sir. Not really. ” he replies. 
 
 “ Did they give you the story of probes & drugs during the screening? You know, in my day, it was needles and drugs. The truth is slightly disappointing. We are going to read a book and remain fully clothed while doing so. ” I slyly grin at him. “ But you can tell the next guy outside whatever you want. Now take a seat. ” 
 
 He grins back at me as the tension drains from his body and he collapses into the chair. 
 
 “ Now onto business. You are Peter A. Robbins of Glenndale, correct? ” 
 
 “ Yes, sir. ” 
 
 “ And today is your 18th birthday, correct? ” 
 
 “ Yes, sir. ” 
 
 “ Well this calls for a toast. ” I pull out a bottle from my desk drawer and rummage around until I find a glass. I pour out two fingers of the amber liquid into the glass and pass it to him. “ 18 years old, just like you. Bottoms up. ” He looks at me hesitantly. “ I can ’ t. I ’ m working and I do about 30 of these tests a day. The result would be quite predictable and inevitable. But my sincerest wish for a happy birthday. ” 
 
 He swallows down the drink in a gulp and tries his best not to cough. He slams the glass on my table as if he was shooting tequila in a bar. I smile while mentally flipping to the conclusion; page 84 and refill the glass from the bottle. 
 
 “ Now, as I was saying, we are going to read a book together. This is an aptitude test to determine the most mutually beneficial role for you in society. You will be expected to make choices based on limited information and within a short period of time. We are looking for gut instinct so go with what you feel. Also keep in mind that the results are permanent and will not be revealed to you until the end. ” 
 
 I look over to Peter and see him nodding in agreement. The relief of avoiding probes still evident on his face. “ Lets begin. ” 
 
 “ Peter, it is your 18th birthday. Based on your screening, you are given the choice of applying to the Military, Research or Administration. Which do you choose? ” 
 
 “ Military. Gon na rock that uniform and get all the ladies. ” Peter replies without hesitation. I flip to page 4. 
 
 “ You are admitted to Military Training. Training is hard but you make it through boot camp. You are assigned to your fireteam and the four of you quickly become inseparable. You train hard, push and motivate each other and are consistently in the top twenty five percent of your class. ” 
 
 I look up and see Peter leaning back in the chair, eyes closed imagining his future. I try and remember the candidates during those moments, when the whole world is full of possibility. 
 
 “ At the end of training, your squad places well enough that consideration will be given to your choice of career path within the Military. You can choose Recon, Assault Line or Recovery. ” 
 
 “ Recon ” Peter replies again without hesitation. I turn to page 8 and inwardly sigh as the doors of possibility start closing. 
 
 “ You are assigned to the Assault Line. The three other squad members are assigned to Recon. ” 
 
 “ Wait, what? Why wasn ’ t I picked for Recon? ” His eyes are now open and locked on me. “ That ’ s not fair! ” 
 
 I place my thumb to hold the page and look at him. “ Life isn ’ t fair, Peter. You don ’ t always get what you want even if you earned it. In this particular case, Charlie, one your squadmates gave you a low evaluation to improve his chances of getting into Recon. It worked. ” I open the book again. 
 
 “ You are assigned to the Assault Line. ” I continue. “ You perform well, are promoted to squad leader but do not find the same camaraderie you had before. You make it through a full year and with a very favorable review by your commanding officer, Military rules allow you to request a transfer if you so desire. Do you choose to apply to transfer to Recon? ” 
 
 “ Hell yeah. ” Peter replies. Inwardly I cringe. “ You sure? ” I ask. Technically a violation of prompting the candidate but it is my choice to make. Peter nods firmly. 
 
 “ The request is denied. The men under you start treating you differently once it becomes known that you don ’ t want to be in Assault Line. The friendships erode quickly and the yearly reviews become marginal. It becomes apparent that you will not be promoted any further and your reviews kept marginal to deny you the opportunity of another transfer request. You start drinking heavily and fear you will wash out before your ten years are up. ” 
 
 “ That is bullshit! ” shouts Peter jumping to his feet. “ That is life. ” I reply. “ Well, it sucks. What kind of crappy aptitude test is this? Fuck the Military. I want out of this crappy story. ” 
 
 “ Thats what you choose? Desertion? ” 
 
 “ Hell, yeah. ” Peter replies. “ I don ’ t want anything to do with the Military. ” I see the anger and testosterone raging as he reaches over my desk and pours himself another drink and slams it down. 
 
 A coughing fit follows and Peter calms down while trying to get his breath back. “ You know what, I ’ m glad I took this test. No way I ’ m wasting my life on the Military. Let me try Research. I always liked science. 
 
 I close the book. “ Research would have been a good path for you. You could have been happy. ” 
 
 Peter sits back down and stares at the closed book. “ Sorry for the outburst. So lets see what happens in Reseach. ” 
 
 I sigh and place the book on my desk. “ Its not that simple Peter. You made your choices and you have to live with them. In a moment of passion two years from now, you desert the Military. You will be caught two weeks later and summarily executed. ” 
 
 Peter looks stunned and disoriented. “ But this was just a test. I haven ’ t done anything yet. ” “ No, Peter. This is the results. The screening was the test. We are statistically confident that the actions I described would be the inevitable outcomes of the choices you would make. ” 
 
 Peter stands and I can see his mind racing as the doors of possibility close around him until only one final door remains open. He starts swaying unsteadily and falls back into the chair. “ But I haven ’ t done any of it. ” His words have become slurred, his eyes unfocused and his breathing becomes labored. “ But you will Peter and the penalty for desertion is death. ” 
 
 “ Thats not fair. ” Peter whispers before his breathing stops all together. 
 
 “ “ Life isn ’ t fair, Peter. ” 

