nd I'm the guy who talked her
into having a baby without the benefit of Leff shots. Sure, it's
illegal, and only a few of us ever try it any more, but we both agreed
that we wanted it that way. A real, life-sized, normal baby. Or
abnormal, according to the Yardsticks and the stupid government.

"It was a dirty scum of a government doctor who let her die on the
table when he discovered the child weighed seven pounds. That's when I
really woke up, Eric. That's when I knew there was going to be only
one decision to make in the future--kill or be killed."

"Annette. She died, you say?"

Wolzek moved over and put his hand on Eric's shoulder. "You never
married, did you, Eric? I think I know why. It's because you felt the
way I did about it. You wanted a regular kid, not a Yardstick. Only
you didn't quite have the guts to try and beat the law. Well, you'll
need guts now, because it's getting to the point where the law can't
protect you any more. The government is made up of old men, and
they're afraid to take action. In a few years they'll be pushed out of
office all over the world. We'll have Yardstick government then, all
the way, and Yardstick law. And that means they'll cut us down to
size."

"But what can you--we--do about it?"

"Plenty. There's still a little time. If we Naturalists can only get
together, stop being just a name and become an organized force, maybe
the ending will be different. We've got to try, in any case."

"The Yardsticks are human beings, just like us," Eric said, slowly.
"We can't just declare war on them, wipe them out. It's not their
_fault_ they were born that way."

Wolzek nodded. "I know. Nothing is anybody's fault, really. This whole
business began in good faith. Leffingwell and some of the other
geniuses saw a problem and offered what they sincerely believed was a
solution."

"But it didn't work," Eric murmured.

"Wrong. It worked only too well. That's the trouble. Sure, we
eliminated our difficulties on the physical level. In less than thirty
years we've reached a point where there's no longer any danger of
overcrowding or starvation. But the psychological factor is something
we can't cope with. We thought we'd ended war and the possibilities of
war a long time ago. But it isn't foreign enemies we must fear today.
We've created a nation divided into Davids and Goliaths--and David and
Goliath are always enemies."

"David killed Goliath," Eric said. "Does that mean we're going to