face a million mothers."

He looked so amazed and outraged that Jeff and I laughed outright, but
she went on gently.

"I do not think you quite understand yet. You are but men, three men,
in a country where the whole population are mothers--or are going to be.
Motherhood means to us something which I cannot yet discover in any
of the countries of which you tell us. You have spoken"--she turned to
Jeff, "of Human Brotherhood as a great idea among you, but even that I
judge is far from a practical expression?"

Jeff nodded rather sadly. "Very far--" he said.

"Here we have Human Motherhood--in full working use," she went on.
"Nothing else except the literal sisterhood of our origin, and the far
higher and deeper union of our social growth.

"The children in this country are the one center and focus of all our
thoughts. Every step of our advance is always considered in its effect
on them--on the race. You see, we are MOTHERS," she repeated, as if in
that she had said it all.

"I don't see how that fact--which is shared by all women--constitutes
any risk to us," Terry persisted. "You mean they would defend their
children from attack. Of course. Any mothers would. But we are not
savages, my dear lady; we are not going to hurt any mother's child."

They looked at one another and shook their heads a little, but
Zava turned to Jeff and urged him to make us see--said he seemed to
understand more fully than we did. And he tried.

I can see it now, or at least much more of it, but it has taken me a
long time, and a good deal of honest intellectual effort.

What they call Motherhood was like this:

They began with a really high degree of social development, something
like that of Ancient Egypt or Greece. Then they suffered the loss of
everything masculine, and supposed at first that all human power and
safety had gone too. Then they developed this virgin birth capacity.
Then, since the prosperity of their children depended on it, the fullest
and subtlest coordination began to be practiced.

I remember how long Terry balked at the evident unanimity of these
women--the most conspicuous feature of their whole culture. "It's
impossible!" he would insist. "Women cannot cooperate--it's against
nature."

When we urged the obvious facts he would say: "Fiddlesticks!" or "Hang
your facts--I tell you it can't be done!" And we never succeeded in
shutting him up till Jeff dragged in the hymenoptera.

"'Go to the ant, thou slugga