Arthur Dekker Savage

“ But our best thinkers, since they are the most eager searchers, stumble most often into the hidden pockets of radioactivity that endure even yet; and they die, and their knowledge dies with them, and our dreams and aspirations become dimmer with each generation. ”

“ He gazed out over the placid water. "I could persuade no one to accompany me," he said simply. "You made a good choice, Oluf, to terminate your education and seek the freedom of the wilds—the natural life that I think all must someday embrace." He sighed deeply. "Of course, there is the dream of achievement that the city dwellers entertain. We've grown soft in our dependence upon the buried food in the rubble—spending our time in study of the books and other god-things, always hoping that we can understand and duplicate the old civilization. ”

“ Oluf grunted, and Bowron went on as though to himself. "I've come to believe that it's useless to follow in the footsteps of the gods—that we must wait, and think, and work, each in his own way, until we learn what is possible for us through our own trials and the further development of our simple tools. We've learned much from the god-things, slowly, over the years. But we also know that we're mutants, changed by the radiation of the great war areas, breeding true at last, and that we are different from the Wild Ones. True, we're superior, but—we're not gods. ”