They were all excited about this celebration, looking forward to it the way one looks forward to a birthday party.

Would you or I, in this nightmare of a century, believe how happy the inhabitants of this future were?

Could you or I believe that -- despite all our hard work to ensure the contrary -- our descendents finally figured out a way to live without hurting each other?

Could you or I believe how fantastically wealthy they all became?

Could you or I comprehend, even for a moment, how fiercely my great-granddaughter and her friends loved being alive, and that this love was not an evanescent mood, but a never-ending power which pervaded every sleeping and waking moment of their lives?

Could you or I believe it? Could we stand to believe it?