Pesca slithered onto the mud and gasped for breath. He was the first. He foresaw it all.

His children and descendents would become Reptiles, mammals, primates, and hominids. Civilization, weapons, and war would follow, and then nuclear annihilation.

Pesca slithered back into the water. He would be the last amphibian.

Harry Demarest has retired after careers encompassing scientific research, teaching at a university, software development, web application development, and voter database compilation and distribution. He is now spending his time with his grandchildren and writing memoirs and short stories.