ed at Marty and me. "Like making the world a better place to
live."

Two weeks later, at a meeting of the town council, I wasn't too worried
about getting the proposal accepted. We might have some trouble with
Atherson, but I figured between the two of us we could handle him. When
the new business came up, I stood up and led Tommy to the front of the
hall. There were a few whispers as we went, as children under fifteen
aren't allowed in the hall during a council meeting.

"Tommy has something to say to you which, I think, will interest
everyone here. Go on, son."

Seconds afterwards, we all heard, a clear "Hello," but not with our
ears; the word came from inside our heads.

Someone said: "The kid's a telepath," and the silence was broken.

Everybody was talking at the same time.

"I suppose you think it's an honor to have one of them damn things for
your son," Atherson yelled. "I'm glad you're the one who got stuck, and
not me."

"Tommy was not _born_ a telepath, John," I told him. "He has been
_deliberately trained_ to make use of the latent power in his brain. And
I don't think I'm 'stuck' either. We all know we've been slowly slipping
into retrogression ever since '63. None of us like it, but there isn't
anything we can do to halt it--yet. We don't want our children, or their
children, to keep slipping backwards. If we don't stop it in our
lifetime, we may not be able to stop it at all.

"As I see it, the best chance we have to at least achieve a status quo
is to accept the aid those among us with psi talents are willing to
give. After all, it's their world, too. With their help, we may be able
to build a better civilization, one without the socio-political diseases
that led to the war.

"The young man who has been staying at my house for the past three weeks
taught Tommy to do what he just did. He says he thinks he can do it with
any child under ten years old, and is even willing to try it with some
teen-agers. Of course, Tommy's training has just begun. He will keep on
learning for years.

"Here's my idea. If some of the children get a grounding in how to
develop their dormant brain power, by the time they're twenty, they'll
be able to mold a new society, one geared to the present culture instead
of the past traditions. How about it?"

I waited. For a minute there was silence. Finally one of the older men
stood up. "Is he sure he can do it?"

"All we know is it worked with Tommy," I replied.

"I do