"For one thing, because we can't live a lie," Pete said. "Living a lie of that sort requires great concentration and continuous effort. With the clan, no one person can concentrate on any one other. The lie, if it ever got started, would be a very short-lived one; and I don't think it would ever get started. Not only is it pretty obvious when a new girl is added to a clan, that we can't all be so desperately in love with her; it isn't necessary. A person joins the clan. She's getting a new way of life, and a whole new group of friends. Until she's been in the clan a while, these are not more than friends; it takes time really to integrate a person into a clan. But, at least they are friends--people who will help you to stand against the world. "So she does get something out of the clan. She gets a sense of belonging, and it doesn't depend on any one person but on the group-structure of the clan. The clan is there to belong to, regardless of any one individual. But with a monogamistic marriage, the structure is lost when either person pulls out. So this thing means that, in the first place, the clan can't live a lie, and, in the second, that there is no need for the lie, anyway. Finally, this means that the situation is quite different from a monogamistic marriage for money. Even if, by chance, the thing is unstable, there is still no reason for fear." "You think this thing's all right, then?" Tom asked. "Didn't say that," Pete smiled. "I don't think it's particularly immoral, but that doesn't say it's all right; I don't know. I haven't really thought it out. But what I am saying is that you can't just take over the old ethics into the clan. We got to create a new code and we got to start from the bottom." "I guess you're right," Tom said. He stared thoughtfully out the window for a moment. Then he shrugged and turned away. "But it doesn't help much," he added to himself as he wandered toward the dining room. 5 It was after supper, when the dishes had all been washed and the children packed off to bed, that the clan gathered in the livingroom. They had chatted for a short time, but all fell silent when Ricky got up. He went to the mantlepiece and, turning, announced: "I find that there are problems before the clan that require the mature consideration of the clan. I therefore request a caucus." The words were the ritual of the process, established through long custom, and the clan's by-laws. Tom stood up and, with some ostentation, counted the people present. He then announced: "I find that there is present the full membership of the clan that is adult, and that has been accepted into responsibility for the clan. Also, there are no strangers present. I believe you may call a caucus." He sat down.