intently. His
voice was softly insistent. "The one continuous thread in human history
has been the seeking of more pleasure and greater comfort for all
members of the race. Our technology gives us a maximum of both. No one
labors, and the few who work prefer to do so. No one is diseased, no one
stays in pain longer than the time necessary to reach a medic. Everyone
can have everything he needs, without striving and without debt. And as
technology advances, there will be even greater benefits for all. What
more can be done to make the citizens of Earth happy?"

For the first time, Allen felt confused. "I don't know," he said slowly.
"The way you put it, it sounds right. But where does it all lead? What
reason have I got for living? What reason does the human race have for
surviving?"

The sociologist looked even older. "In all seriousness, sir, can you
answer the questions you have just asked?" His eyes were expectant--but
there didn't seem to be much hope reflected in their depths.

Allen noted a tenseness around the table. Why were they asking him for
answers they were supposed to know? Or was it another of their
subtleties?

"No," he said curtly, "I don't know the answer to any of them. Has it
got a bearing on my getting a DP?"

The central figure sighed. "None at all." He pressed several tiny
buttons on the polished table and an inscribed card rose halfway out of
a slot. "We merely hope that some day a man will come along who can tell
us--before someone who may not be a man comes along and makes the
answers futile." He handed Allen the card. "Here is your permit. You may
take it to the third office south on the corridor through that door. We
don't feel it is the answer to your problem, but we admit we don't--"

"Pardon me, sir," interrupted Allen. He wet his lips. "Did you say
'someone who may _not be a man_'?"

"Yes. It is an aspect you have not considered, Mr. Kinderwood." The
sociologist's face seemed haggard. "Even a few generations ago, Earth as
it is today would have seemed like a concept of heaven. We know now it
is not enough, but we don't know why. Perhaps, if we can reach the stars
the problem will cease to be critical. By the same token, life from the
stars may come here first.

"We have no remotest idea what such an eventuality would entail. It may
provide a solution. It may quite conceivably send man back to the
forests and jungles.

"You have experienced our only answer to the latter possibi