"Amiel Marties, who founded the school of mechanistic psychology, formulated the law that whenever the equilibrium between life and death is upset by war, famine, or pestilence, nature makes an effort to restore the balance." She paused as several blank expressions still met her eyes. "In other words, when some catastrophe decimates the population, a wave of seeming licentiousness grips everyone. Men and women appear to be hurled into each other's arms by the force of their desires. It's nature's attempt to restore life." The psychologist's voice was very earnest. She talked, Matt thought, as if she were reading a paper. As a plant biologist, he was familiar with Marties' law of equilibrium. "The catastrophe that depopulated the Earth is--is...." She groped for an adjective, and gave up. "There's been nothing like it before. Although we didn't witness the plague, we've been touched ourselves. We lived together intimately for three years with no liaisons that I'm aware of. "But, when we return to find humanity destroyed, we become obsessed with the necessity of producing children, restoring the equilibrium. "These women"--she waved a plump hand toward the Amazons--"lived through the plague. They don't realize it, but they are psychologically twisted by that awful pestilence. "Witness the fact that they have adopted every child that they could find--and spoiled them and pampered them beyond reason. Witness their squabble for men--and the rapidity with which they have abandoned established morals and their former settled way of life. "They are the product of a ravening nature trying desperately to restore a status quo after a debacle, the magnitude of which has never been rivaled in history. "They aren't quite human!" * * * * * She stood there, looking searchingly up and down the table to see what effect her words had had. After a moment she asked, "Are there any questions?" Matt, who believed in striking while the iron was hot, asked, "You can substantiate this?" "Marties' Law?" She replied in a puzzled voice. "There are volumes of proof. Marties' own paper. '_The Law of Nature's Equilibrium._' It has pages and pages of statistics ... the abnormal laxity of morals during World Wars I and II ... the effect of the cholera plagues in Naples, in...." She broke off. "Oh, I could cite examples the rest of the night." "So what?" came Nesbit's challenging voice like a sword-cut. Barb turned to him as if facing a heckler, her face suffusing rosily with anger. "If you're unable to see how dangerous these women are, you should be psychoanalyzed yourself!" Matt said, "Explain, Barb." "They've reverted to the primitive. A matriarchy is one of the earliest forms of society. They are irresponsible and untrustworthy. If we are to use them at all in the work ahead, they'll have to be handled like a chain gang!" "Amen!" said Matt with satisfaction. Nesbit's face went white; he stared at Matt venomously.