Never had he completed such a transfer. He could feel every little primitive pleasure sensation that rippled through Annie's healthy, growing body. Conversely, two dozen trivial but annoying twinges, aches, pains and bodily pressures that slowly accumulate with the years vanished from his 46-year-old body. The abscessed tooth that he should have had pulled a month ago quit hurting. The ache from the slightly pulled muscle in his back faded away. The pressure from the incipient gastric ulcer in his stomach eased off and disappeared. All the tensions and minor infirmities that had slipped up on him, almost unnoticed with middle age, vanished; and Baxter knew once again the long-forgotten, corporeal ecstasy of a young, human animal in the rapid-growth stages. * * * * * He awoke to see the fuzzy image of Rolanda over him. It was morning. Her face was faintly troubled, but she smiled with a rare warmth when he cooed at her. She caught him up in her arms, murmuring endearing sounds. Snuggled to her breast, he felt the satisfaction of a great subconscious yearning as the scented woman-smell pervaded his nostrils and her strong, warm arms cuddled him tightly. There was the unpleasant business of a diaper change, during which he became sharply aware of hunger. He yelled lustily for food, and soon he was sucking hungrily on a deliciously flexible rubber nipple that yielded an ambrosia of warm sweetness. A jumble of clear, high voices chirped familiarly in his ears, but he paid no attention to the words as such. His bath was delightful, although he sneezed violently at the talcum dust afterward. Now the voices were silent except Rolanda's occasional soft words to him. Again he enjoyed his liquid meal and slipped into delicious slumber with the shades drawn. * * * * * Voices awakened him. A man's voice mingled with his wife's. "In here, doctor. We managed to carry him to bed, and he hasn't awakened yet." Baxter heard the words with mild interest but no comprehension. The man's voice came through the wall of the nursery from the next bedroom, a low rumble of pleasant sound. "No sign of physical impairment. Resembles a catatonic trance. Strange. Heartbeat is rapid, light--respiration, too. Like a baby's. We'd better take him down to the hospital." "Is it that serious?" "Will be if he continues unconscious. He'll starve." "I'll call the ambulance." * * * * * Baxter fell asleep again. The chirping voices returned that afternoon, but there was a subdued air about them. For a few days the routine continued: eating, sleeping, eating, bathing, sleeping, eating--a wonderous, kaleidoscopic fairyland of enjoyable sensations. The subdued air disappeared, and the voices chirped loudly and happily around him again. All was pleasant, comfortable, secure.