Here was the future of his people, if any such thing existed.

Even if the thing exists, what chance any one of you will find it more than another?

Such things may exist, but he'd like to have some hard evidence.

"Not least because I never knew such a thing existed."

You know, there are countries where such a thing exists.

At a certain time some things exist and others do not.

He was beginning to think that such a thing did exist.

Other things did exist but are no longer with us.

These things exist on paper, and they must now be put into practice.

So he might say, never having heard them, that such things do not exist.