, fortunately, our art is not yet entirely
intellectual, as is our music. There are many unfinished artistic
projects in the house of Orlon, and if the companion of my son should
not find one to her liking, she will be at liberty to continue anything
else she may have begun, or to start an entirely new project of her
own."

"You have a family, then?" asked Margaret, "I'm afraid I didn't
understand things very well when you gave them to us over the educator."

"I sent things too fast for you, not knowing that your educator was new
to you; a thing with which you were not thoroughly familiar. I will
therefore explain some things in language, since you are not familiar
with the mechanism of thought transference. The Five, a
self-perpetuating body, do what governing is necessary for the entire
planet. Their decrees are founded upon self-evident truth, and are
therefore the law. Population is regulated according to the needs of the
planet, and since much work is now in progress, an increase in
population was recommended by the Five. My companion and I therefore had
three children, instead of the customary two. By lot it fell to us to
have two boys and one girl. One of the boys will assume my duties when I
pass; the other will take over a part of some branch of science that has
grown too complex for one man to handle as a specialist should. In fact,
he has already chosen his specialty and been accepted for it--he is to
be the nine hundred and sixty-seventh of Chemistry, the student of the
asymmetric carbon atom, which will thus be his specialty from this time
henceforth.

"It was learned long ago that the most perfect children were born of
parents in the full prime of mental life, that is, at one hundred years
of age. Therefore, with us each generation covers one hundred years. The
first twenty-five years of a child's life are spent at home with his
parents, during which time he acquires his elementary education in the
common schools. Then boys and girls alike move to the Country of Youth,
where they spend another twenty-five years. There they develop their
brains and initiative by conducting any researches they choose. Most of
us, at that age, solve all the riddles of the Universe, only to discover
later that our solutions have been fallacious. However, much really
excellent work is done in the Country of Youth, primarily because of the
new and unprejudiced viewpoints of the virgin minds there at work. In
that country also