This talk will raise numerous questions about the general nature of contemporary speech research. Are we making good progress, or are we in need of a glorious revolution? Do we have anything which could be called a 'science' of speech andt if not, when and where will one happen? It is proposed that future progress (and funding) of the field depends on the early establishment of a theory of speech pattern processing. (According to the dictionary, 'whither' -/wID@/- means (i) to what place? (ii) to what end or purpose? - not to be confused with 'wither' which means to droop, fade or shrivel up!)