"The program of the Playground is arranged to accommodate children until they reach the age of eighteen," Rodson answered curtly. "What generally becomes of the children then?" Lisa asked. "Most of them become ordinary citizens. The best of the male group are trained as Watchers. The females usually join a breeder group. It is only the elect, with the highest qualifications, that can fill either of these positions." "Who are those men and women out there with the children?" Brant asked, staring out into the crowded Playground. "They are some of the older ones who work with the children. Those young men are joining the Watchers when they finish here." Brant, Lisa, and Rodson watched as one of the leaders called sharply to a curly headed boy who had been playing with a pretty raven haired girl. The boy leaped to his feet at the sound of his name and raced to where the athletic young man stood. The man pointed to a group of two boys and a girl who were engaged in a tussle on the ground before him. Brant and Lisa repressed their surprise as the boy quickly leaped into the melee and, by virtue of his superior strength and size, beat the two boys and the girl until they fled before his brutal blows. The boy stared after them a moment and then returned to the man whose directions he had followed. Rodson laughed a short harsh laugh as the man slapped the boy's face and sent him sprawling in the dust. "These children must learn to be constantly on guard. The stronger the person, the better chance he has for survival," Rodson explained. "It's a rather hard way to learn, isn't it?" Lisa asked. Rodson stared icily at her for a moment before he answered. "Lessons learned the hard way are longest remembered," he said. As Brant listened to Rodson talk about the Playground, the children, at shouted commands from their instructors, assembled in a rank and file in the center of the Playground. "Listen!" Rodson ordered. One of the briefly clad young women raised her arm. Music resembling a primitive rhythmical chant filled the air. The children sang as Brant and Lisa listened. _We have fun. We have sun. We can fight. We are right. The Council leads us. The Council feeds us. Days of pleasure. Full of treasure. We are free! We are free!_ As the song ended the children were dismissed by a wave of the song leader's hand, and they raced wildly to the bright red barracks surrounding the Playground. Several of the younger children were knocked to the ground in the stampede, but they immediately scrambled to their feet and joined the racing mob again. Brant thanked Kirk Rodson and walked with him to the door where they parted. The Watcher led them down the silent hall and they were soon out on the street again. "We have nothing to worry about if we train the kids that well," Lisa remarked. "It's kind of hard on them at first, I guess," Brant observed.