THE MEN IN THE WALLS By WILLIAM TENN Illustrated by FINLAY [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from Galaxy Science Fiction October 1963. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] The world was divided between the Men and the Monsters--but which were Monsters and which were Men? I Mankind consisted of 128 people. The sheer population pressure of so vast a horde had long ago filled over a dozen burrows. Bands of the Male Society occupied the outermost four of these interconnected corridors and patrolled it with their full strength, twenty-three young adult males in the prime of courage and alertness. They were stationed there to take the first shock of any danger to Mankind, they and their band captains and the youthful initiates who served them. Eric the Only was an initiate in this powerful force. Today, he was a student warrior, a fetcher and a carrier for proven, seasoned men. But tomorrow, tomorrow.... This was his birthday. Tomorrow, he would be sent forth to Steal for Mankind. When he returned--and have no fear: Eric was swift, Eric was clever, he would return--off might go the loose loin cloths of boyhood to be replaced by the tight loin straps of a proud Male Society warrior. He would be free to raise his voice and express his opinions in the Councils of Mankind. He could stare at the women whenever he liked, for as long as he liked, to approach them even-- He found himself wandering to the end of his band's burrow, still carrying the spear he was sharpening for his uncle. There, where a women's burrow began, several members of the Female Society were preparing food stolen from the Monster larder that very day. Each spell had to be performed properly, each incantation said just right, or it would not be fit to eat. It might even be dangerous. Mankind was indeed fortunate: plenty of food, readily available, and women who well understood the magical work of preparing it for human consumption. And such women--such splendid creatures! Sarah the Sickness-Healer, for example, with her incredible knowledge of what food was fit and what was unfit, her only garment a cloud of hair that alternately screened and revealed her hips and breasts, the largest in all Mankind. There was a woman for you! Over five litters she had had, two of them of maximum size. Eric watched as she turned a yellow chunk of food around and around under the glow lamp hanging from the ceiling of the burrow, looking for she only knew what and recognizing it when she found it she only knew how. A man could really strut with such a mate.