After The Shouting Was Over Life had been cruel before and millions had perished from war, hunger, disease and each other. Bullets and guns were still needed because there would always be men like Dancy but people didn’t want the same old world that hadn’t worked. They hoarded and planted seeds, dried and saved them for the next planting. Itinerant engineers moved about, working small miracles so life would be easier. Water flooded into fields from irrigation ditches powered by wind generators. People became weavers again, making thread and clothing. Glass blowers made a new kind of light bulb but people mostly went to bed and rose with the sun. Life on the frontier was hard. Old ways had died and it was time to make or break. The planet spun as it had since time out of mind, since before there were minds that discovered knowledge of these things. Most agreed reaching for the sky was impossible and resulted in lofty ideals being thrown back to the ground where they belonged. They jus