olonists before it could be blasted
out of existence.

It was difficult. Damned difficult. A brand-new world here, all ready
to receive the refugees from dying Earth. Or rather, all ready to be
_made_ ready, which was the task ahead of the Exodus VII's personnel.

An Earth-like world. Green, warm, fertile--and crawling, leaping,
hooting and snarling with ferocious beasts of every variety. Farrel
could certainly see the women's point in banding together and refusing
to produce children. Something inside a woman keeps her from wanting to
bring life into peril--at least, when the peril seems temporary, and
security is both remembered and anticipated.

Pornsen said, "I guess I feel just about like Mary does. I--I don't see
any reason for having a kid until we get this place ironed out and safe
to live in."

"That's going to take time, Ralph." Farrel clasped his hands in front of
him and delivered the speech he had delivered so often in the past few
weeks. "Ten or twelve years before we really get set up here. We've got
to build from the ground up, you know. We'll have to find and mine our
metals. Build our machines to build shops to build more machines.
There'll be resources that we _won't_ find, and we'll have to learn what
this planet has to offer in their stead. Colonizing New Earth isn't
simply a matter of landing and throwing together a shining city. I only
wish it were.

"Six weeks ago we landed. We haven't yet dared to venture more than a
mile from this spot. We've cut down trees and built the barricade and
our houses. After protecting ourselves we have to eat. We've planted
gardens. We've produced test-tube calves and piglets. The calves are
doing fine, but the piglets are dying one by one. We've got to find out
why.

"It's going to be a long, long time before we have even a minimum of
security, much less luxury. Longer than you think.... So much longer
that waiting until the security arrives before having children is out of
the question. There are critters out there--" he nodded toward the port
and the busy clearing beyond--"that we haven't been able to kill. We've
thrown everything we have at them, and they come back for more. We'll
have to find out what _will_ kill them--how they differ from those we
_are_ able to kill. We are six hundred people and a spaceship, Ralph. We
have techniques. That's _all_. Everything else we've got to dig up out
of this planet. We'll need people, Mary; we'll need the children.