Chapter 1: The Sextennial

“Good morning, Jason! The sun is out, and it’s looking like another gorgeous day!”

Jason winced at the bright light forcing him awake, nearly blinding him in the process.

It wasn’t sunlight streaming in through his bedroom window that greeted him, however, but the Bunker’s computer turning on the overhead light. He’d never seen the sun before. Or windows, for that matter.

Jason had spent all 18 years of his life underground, with the rest of the human race. He desperately wished to feel the real sun on his face someday, instead of this cheap copy. But that “someday” would never come. It was far too dangerous.

The loud voice ringing in his ear came from the telescreen in his room. A caricature of a woman’s face beamed out at him with a computer-generated smile, giving him his morning greeting as she always did. “Ai” was the silver-haired, blue-eyed avatar of the Bunker’s computer, the artificial intelligence whose wisdom was guiding humanity to a better future.

Ignoring her, Jason got dressed for the day and walked out to join his parents for breakfast, like he did every morning.

“Hey there champ! Ready for your big day?” His dad greeted him with a smile.

But this was no ordinary morning.

“I made your favorite, eggs with ketchup,” his mom said. Jason was thrilled. Eggs were hard to come by, but this was definitely an occasion worth celebrating. He sat down at the table and began to dig in as his parents discussed the upcoming assembly.

His dad was right, today was a big day. It was his third Sextennial.

Ai ran the Bunker on a very tight schedule. “Like clockwork”, his friend Moira had once said, referring to a point in time in the old world where clocks were mechanical. The Sextennial took place every six years on the sixth day of the sixth month, to celebrate the newest Generation born, as well as all the Generations before them.

Jason finished his breakfast and excused himself. It was almost 8, which meant it was time to head to the assembly hall for the Sextennial Ceremony.

“Good luck!” His mom called.

“We’ll be watching from the crowd,” his dad assured him.

Jason smiled back at his parents. Their Generation would be turning 54 this year, though no one would be celebrating their Sextennial. The Sextennial Ceremonies were only for the four youngest Generations. And this would be one of his last.

As he exited into the hall, doors opened to the left and right of him as the other 18 year-olds left their residences. He greeted them with waves and smiles. He didn’t know all of them personally, of course, there were far too many in his Generation for that. But he celebrated every Sextennial with them, and their faces were familiar.

One face stood out among the others. It was Skye, his Partner.

Everyone had a Partner. From the day they were born, or maybe even before, Ai chose which children of each generation would become Partners. But even though Skye had been Jason’s Partner since he was a baby, they hadn’t formally met until their first Sextennial.

It had been 12 years since that day, and Skye still looked the same. Her skin was as white as the Bunker’s walls, and her steely blue eyes were still as piercing. With her bright golden hair and fancy dresses, she often reminded Jason of a doll.

But she wasn’t wearing a dress right now. She wore the same grey unitard as he was wearing, the same as everyone. While they could wear whatever they wanted most of the time, for the Sextennial Ceremony uniforms were mandatory.

Jason waved to Skye and she smiled slightly when she saw him. He caught up to her and soon they were walking together.

“Good morning, Jason,” she brusquely greeted him.

“Good morning, Skye,” he replied back.

“How is Kate?” She asked after his sister. Kate was in the Generation before theirs. Like everyone else who had turned 24 this year, she and her Partner Trevor had moved into their new quarters just two weeks ago in preparation for their lives together.

“She’s looking forward to her Unification Ceremony,” he laughed. “And Liam?”

“My brother is beginning his job at the oxygen farms tomorrow, and it’s all he can talk about,” Skye sighed. “Sometimes I think he doesn’t even realize he’s going to marry his Partner tonight.”

“I wonder what our Unification Ceremony will be like,” Jason mused. His sister planned to celebrate with a cake, but he wasn’t a fan of cake himself.

“Well, we still have 6 years to plan it out,” Skye said thoughtfully. “Perhaps I’ll compose a piece in celebration…”

Skye’s talent for the violin was apparent at a very young age, which was why no one would be surprised when Ai decided she would become a professional musician next Sextennial. She had been engineered that way, of course. Her father was a pianist himself, and had been a prodigy just like his daughter.

The conversations among his Generation ceased as they got closer to the assembly hall. But that didn’t mean things were quiet. Ai was all with them, giving them encouragements over the Bunker’s loudspeakers and reminding them how important today was.

“Don’t forget to stay by your Partner’s side at all times! And make sure you follow the indicated signs to find your seats as efficiently as possible!”

“As efficiently as possible”, that was probably Ai’s favorite saying, if a computer could have such a thing. Whatever she encouraged them to do, it was always to be done as efficiently as possible.

Jason’s Generation filed into the assembly hall. It was one of the largest rooms in the Bunker, able to easily hold everyone who lived on their level. There were multiple levels of the Bunker, but Jason didn’t know how many. No one he knew did, either, they only knew that travel between the levels was forbidden.

His Generation was not the first ones there. The previous Generation, the 24 year olds, were already seated onstage. He squinted to try and make out his sister from among them, but couldn’t. Following Ai’s directions, Jason and the others found the section for the 18 year olds, and found their seats.

It was easy for Jason. He didn’t even need to remember his number, because he always sat behind his friend Moira. Moira was very easy to spot out of the crowd because of her bright red hair. It looked especially curly today as he took his seat. Skye sat next to him as always.

“Jason!” Moira turned back in her seat and her green eyes flashed. Her cheeks were filled with freckles that made her look impish, perfect to go with her cheeky smile. Jason wasn’t particularly close with Moira, they had very different interests and hobbies. But he enjoyed talking with her. She always seemed so excited about whatever it was you had to say, and so happy to hear you say it. It was like she loved brightening everyone’s day.

“So, did you guys hear?” Moira whispered. “We’re going to be taking special adult classes starting next week! They’re called… um… ‘Intimacy Preparation Classes’, I think.”

Jason resisted the urge to laugh. Of course they’d heard; their teacher had made a class announcement about it just the other day! But as usual, Moira hadn’t been paying attention.

“It isn’t permitted to gossip in preparation for the Ceremony,” Skye coldly redressed Moira. “The Sextennial is a very important event and should be respected.”

Moira rolled her eyes and Jason had to agree. Skye was a bit of a stickler. Of course the rules were essential and one must always obey them, but even he had to admit that adhering so strictly to something as harmless as smalltalk was probably a little much. It wasn’t like Moira was the only one chatting, after all.

Over the next half-hour, more kids entered. The 12s Generation sat in the group ahead of them, while the 6s, trembling at attending their first Sextennial, sat at the very front of the stage so they could be closest to their parents.

And then the adults arrived. Jason didn’t even bother trying to scour the sea of faces for his mom and dad, he’d never be able to find them. Instead, he looked ahead at the 12s.

He still remembered his last Sextennial, when he’d sat on this stage. It still stood out sharply in his mind, as opposed to his first Sextennial, which he barely remembered aside from meeting Skye and Moira for the first time.

This new Generation looked so small and young. And the next one was even younger. The 6s, now fresh from nursery, would be entering Primary School this year, while the 12s would move onto Secondary School.

Jason had just finished Secondary School. Now his Generation would be entering Adult Education, where they would learn how to be constructive members of the community and help work for the sake of the Bunker and the future of the human race, in preparation for their jobs. At their next Sextennial when they turned 24 they would officially become adults, be assigned their roles in the Bunker, and get married to their Partners.

Once Jason became an adult, the Sextennial would take on a whole new meaning. At 30, he and Skye would have first child, who would join the Newborns. Ai would decide if it would be a boy or a girl. Then at 36, they would have their second. A son if the first was a daughter, or a daughter if the first was a son. They would raise their children as their own parents raised them, until both became adults and started their own families.

Jason thought back on his parents’ smiling faces from this morning. Would he and Skye be like them one day? It was hard to imagine. While Skye was a very polite and kind person he couldn’t quite picture her smiling at their children and making them eggs with ketchup.

A hush fell over the crowd and Jason sat up at attention, returning his focus to the head of the stage. It was almost time!

A telescreen flickered on, turned out to face both the audience and the Generations seated onstage. But it wasn’t Ai’s face on the screen, but that of a person nearly as familiar, Chairman Jefferson.

The Chairman was a position appointed by Ai to oversee the workings of the bunker. As advanced as the computer was, there were instances like this where words meant so much more coming from a fellow human. With his strong jaw and blazing blue eyes, the Chairman looked nothing like the man of 60 that he was. He seemed regal, proud, distinguished. And when he spoke, his words came from deep within him.

“Greetings, my friends. It is my honor to address you today on this, our 41st Sextennial within the Bunker. Today marks another step in our journey as a species. One more run on the ladder to the surface.”

“The surface,” Jason couldn’t help but whisper to himself. He wasn’t the only one. They all dreamt of it.

“252 years ago, our ancestors were united under Ai’s guidance, and took shelter in this bunker. 500,000 people, the last of the human race, the only ones to survive the radiation. They were tasked with… an unimaginable burden. To keep the human race alive.” A proud smile broke out across his wrinkled face, and he swept his hands out. “And here we are. Today marks another chapter in our book. As we await the day the earth becomes habitable again, we must remember the Three Great Lessons.”

Jason rose from his seat with everyone else and recited the lessons by heart.

1. Obey the rules of the Bunker.

2. Remember that Ai knows best, it is with her guidance that we will thrive.

3. Work for the betterment of humanity, and our future on the surface.

They were all important. Necessary. Without the Three Great Lessons, the Bunker would have descended into chaos many generations before Jason’s.

The Chairman looked pleased. “With every Sextennial we celebrate the birth of our next Generation, and the passing of the Honored Generation. We thank those who have come before us as they move on to their next world, and we promise to make life better for the ones who follow after, as they made life better for all of us.”

His voice grew louder, more intense. “With every Generation, we affirm our solemn vow. That by any means necessary, we shall insure the survival of the human race. We shall cherish our children, and their children, and their children’s children, until the Generation we rise out into the sun.”

“Until the Generation we rise out into the sun,” Jason solemnly repeated.