periment. This, my friend, is a
laboratory. And you are a nice, healthy guinea pig."

"But that doesn't make sense. I haven't been experimented on. They've
let me do as I please."

"Exactly. And what do guinea pigs excel at? _Breeding._"

"You mean this whole thing was rigged up just so that Sue and I
would--?"

"Please, let's not be so egocentric, shall we? After all, you're not
the _only_ male patient in this place. There are a dozen others
wandering around loose. Some of them have their favorite caves, others
have discovered little bypaths, but all of them seem to have located
ideal trysting-places. Whereupon, of course, the volunteer nurses have
located _them_."

"Are you telling me the same situation exists with each of the
others?"

"Isn't it fairly obvious? You've shown no inclination to become
friendly with the rest of the patients here, and none of them have
made any overtures to you. That's because everyone has his own little
secret, his own private arrangement. And so all of you go around
fooling everybody else, and all of you are being fooled. I'll give
credit to Manschoff and his staff on that point--he's certainly
mastered the principles of practical psychology."

"But you talked about breeding. With our present overpopulation
problem, why in the world do they deliberately encourage the birth of
more children?"

"Very well put. 'Why in the world' indeed! In order to answer that,
you'd better take a good look at the world."

Arnold Ritchie seated himself on the grass, pulled out a pipe, and
then replaced it hastily. "Better not smoke," he murmured. "Be awkward
if we attracted any attention and were found together."

* * * * *

Harry stared at him. "You _are_ a Naturalist, aren't you?"

"I'm a reporter, by profession."

"Which network?"

"No network. _Newzines._ There are still a few in print, you know."

"I know. But I can't afford them."

"There aren't many left who can, or who even feel the need of reading
them. Nevertheless, mavericks like myself still cling to the ancient
and honorable practices of the Fourth Estate. One of which is
ferreting out the inside story, the news behind the news."

"Then you're not working for the Naturalists."

"Of course I am. I'm working for them and for everybody else who has
an interest in learning the truth." Ritchie paused. "By the way, you
keep using that term as if it were some kind of dirty word. Just what
does