What do children represent?

Children are symbols of hope; they represent the future. Without children, there is no future and no hope. Toby’s loss of her ability to have children is symbolic of the larger decline of society. The society Toby lives in has no future and is handing its children an empty wasteland.

The God's Gardeners take special care to educate their children, as the world after the Waterless Flood will belong to them. They teach survival skills, lore, and memory exercises and as well as natural healing methods. Unlike the modern society that Toby's experience exemplifies, the God's Gardeners are planning for the future and teaching their children accordingly.