And in your case, of course, there would be no
reason for the sterility.' At Kalus' questioning look he added.
'Oh, the others can still make love, it just doesn't get them
anywhere..... No pregnancy. No kids.'
'What are you asking me to do?'
Smith sighed, knowing it was now or never. 'Look down there. You
see that beautiful, slender reed in the black dress?'
'Kataya.'
'Yes..... She's twenty-six, and in the full flower of womanhood.
She desperately wants a child, but apparently the rest of us don't do
anything for her. And then Dr. Welles, there.' He
pointed. 'Thirty-four, and married to a man who can't give her
children. Should they both be punished for it? And your own Sylviana.
Wouldn't the two of you, at least, consider having a child?'
But Kalus' mind was reeling. The concept of free love was so
incredible to him, at once both desirable and unthinkable..... He gave
voice to only one of the myriad questions that confronted him.
'Is there no other way?'
'There's always artificial insemination: taking a man's sperm
and a woman's egg and placing them together, either in the uterus, or
in the laboratory. But that's so cold and mechanical. Also,
we're trying to stay a little closer to nature than our predecessors,
hoping to avoid some of their mistakes.
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