He cannot co-operate with another male. He hates them, and they in turn
hate him. George, here, is a perfect example of absolute freedom from
restraint." Douglas smiled unpleasantly.

"His whole history is one of complete lack of control. As an infant,
being a male, his mother thought she was favored by the gods and she
denied him nothing. In fact we were quite insistent that she gave him
everything he wanted. By the time he was able to walk and take care of
himself, he was completely spoiled, selfish, and authoritative.

"Then we took him and a dozen others exactly like him and put them
together." Douglas grinned. "You should see what happens when a dozen
spoiled brats are forced to live together. It's more fun. The little
beasts hate each other on sight. And we stimulate them to compete for
toys, food, and drink. Never quite enough to go around. You can imagine
what happens. Instead of sharing, each little selfish individualist
fights to get everything he can grab. Except for one thing we
don't punish them no matter what they do. If anyone shows signs of
co-operating he is disciplined severely, the first time. The next time,
he is culled. But other than that, we leave them alone. They develop
their personalities and their muscles--and if one proves to be too
much for his fellows we transfer him to a more advanced class where the
competition is keener, and he learns what it is to lose.

"At puberty we add sex drive to the basics, and by the time our male
reaches maturity we have something like George. Actually, George is
more mature than either you or I. He has all the answers he needs. He's
strong, solitary, authoritative, and selfish. He has no curiosity and
resents encroachment. He's a complete individualist. If he proves out he
should make an excellent sire."

"But isn't he dangerous to handle?" Kennon asked.

"Yes, but we take precautions."

Kennon grimaced with distaste.

"Look at it objectively," Douglas said. "We're trying to select the best
physical type we can in the hope that he'll pass his qualities to his
offspring, and there's no better practical way to select the strongest
and hardiest than by natural selection. We control their environment
as little as possible and let Nature do our educating until they're old
enough to be useful.

"Naturally, there are some things which we cannot provide, such as
exposure to disease, to the elements, and to predators. The one isn't
selective about whom it inf