My name is unimportant, I am simply called the Maker. The Earth has been devastated by a third World War that saw over 6 billion people annihilated and the planetary ecosystem marred beyond recognition. My sole task was to restore it. Using three-dimensional replication technology that I perfected for both inorganic and organic duplication, I have been able to restore much of what was lost. But now I am dying, and a replacement must be found to continue my work. Without that, the world will slip again into an endless morass of conflict and destruction. All that I am, all that I have, is now focused on the selection of the next Maker. This is the story of that search - God help it to succeed.