got to fix ourselves up according to the new state of affairs. That s
how I figure it out. It isn t quite according to what a man wants for
his species, but it s about what the facts point to. And that s the
principle I acted upon. Cities, nations, civilisation, progress it s
all over. That game s up. We re beat.
But if that is so, what is there to live for?
The artilleryman looked at me for a moment.
There won t be any more blessed concerts for a million years or so;
there won t be any Royal Academy of Arts, and no nice little feeds at
restaurants. If it s amusement you re after, I reckon the game is up.
If you ve got any drawing-room manners or a dislike to eating peas with
a knife or dropping aitches, you d better chuck em away. They ain t no
further use.
You mean
I mean that men like me are going on living for the sake of the breed.
I tell you, I m grim set on living. And if I m not mistaken, you ll
show what insides _you ve_ got, too, before long. We aren t going to be
exterminated. And I don t mean to be caught either, and tamed and
fattened and bred like a thundering ox. Ugh! Fancy those brown
creepers!
You don t mean to say
I do. I m going on, under their feet. I ve got it planned; I ve
thought it out. We men are beat. We don t know enough. We ve got to
learn before we ve got a chance. And we ve got to live and keep
independent while we learn. See! That s what has to be done.
I stared, astonished, and stirred profoundly by the man s resolution.
Great God! cried I. But you are a man indeed! And suddenly I
gripped his hand.
Eh! he said, with his eyes shining. I ve thought it out, eh?
137