“Okay, we move to Plan C,” he said.

He walked over, vaulted the fence, and took a coil of rope from the cargo robot. He tied a noose in one end, jumped back over the fence, walked to the animal nearest the chute, and slipped the noose over its head.

“Now,” he said, “come with me.”

And he started toward the chute. The rope tightened, and the animal dug in its hooves. He couldn't pull on the rope any harder without hurting it.

“Here,” he said, handing the line to Eve. “You pull on the rope.”

He went around behind the beast to push on its hindquarters. Eve pulled and he pushed, and the beast made ten-centimeter furrows in the ground before it bellowed and lashed out with both hind legs, catching Adam in the chest, setting him on his rear end.

Then the animal reared back, still bellowing and jerking the rope so hard Eve knew she was going to hurt it if she held tight. She let the rope go, and the animal trotted over to join the other two on the far side of the corral, trailing the line across the trampled grass.

“Plan D,” Adam said.

He walked over to the animal with the noose around its neck, loosened the noose, and slipped it off. It stood there tranquilly while he worked over it, as though it knew it had won that round and had nothing further to fear.

He tightened the noose to a ten-centimeter circle, bent down, grasped one of the animal's forelegs, and started to lift it. The animal jerked its leg from Adam's hand and trotted off a couple of meters before it stopped and resumed grazing.

Adam went to it again, bent down again, but this time with lightning motions he lifted the foreleg, slipped the noose around it, tightened it, stood and whipped the rope completely around the animal, jerked the rope tight so that the animal's legs were brought together and swept out from under it. It fell to the ground with a loud bellow as Adam took two more rapid turns around the legs.

Eve walked over from the chute.

“Plan D is rather painful,” she said. “In a good cause,” Adam said.

He retrieved the shears from the chute, sheared one side of the beast, flopped it over, and sheared the other side.

He unwound the rope from the beast's legs, slipped off the noose, and slapped it on the rear. It scrambled to its feet and trotted off.

By that time it was dusk.

Adam gathered up the blankets of wool, threw them and the shears over the fence into the cargo robot, and opened the three outer gates and the two chute gates.

“We'll do it again tomorrow,” he said.

They rode back to the apartment as the minillamas drifted out of the corral and into the forest. Adam compressed the wool into a tight ball and tied it with rope as they bounced along.

“Do you think that little bit of wool is worth the pain it caused?” Eve said…, And what will that poor beast do without its fleece? That, too, has to be painful, both the loss of warmth and the injury to its dignity.”

“Indeed, it may not be worth it. I feel some aftereffects myself from the afternoon's work. We' II let Master Derec be the judge.

“And what about you?” Adam asked. “What aftereffects of the day's activities are you feeling?”

“How should I feel, having just lost my Master?” she asked.

“Perhaps you should stay away for a while. You've got some sorting out to do with respect to humans, something I can help you with better than they. Miss Ariel might just take you to the disassembly station. Right now, she might consider that a fair exchange for the little that was left of Jacob Winterson. I suspect that's what she and Mandelbrot were putting in the ground as I left the city.”

“No, I've got to serve someone, even a pseudomaster. It might as well be Miss Ariel. She was there at my birth. I bear her imprint. I'll serve her for now.”

The mammals were all sitting on the balcony when they got back.

“Master Derec, catch,” Adam called, still standing in the cargo robot. He threw the ball of wool up in a parabolic trajectory that ascended to a peak and then dropped, terminating precisely in Derec's lap.

Before Derec could answer, Adam jumped out of the cargo robot, hurried into the lobby and up to the apartment, followed more slowly by Eve.

They walked through the apartment and came out on the balcony. Derec tossed the wool back to Adam.

“So that's what you've been up to,” Derec said. “A commendable effort, wouldn't you say, Ariel?”

“That's from just one animal,” Adam said.

“It does show a great deal of initiative, Adam,” Ariel said.

From Ariel's tone, Adam was not sure it was so commendable. It became less likely as Ariel continued.

“However, we decided early that we would not introduce any form of animal husbandry to this world. I'm afraid your woolgathering falls into that category.”

“But his initiative is quite commendable, isn't it Ariel?” Derec said.

“Yes,” Ariel said. “Quite commendable.” But to Adam, it didn't sound so.

“I was under the impression that animal wool was quite valuable,” Adam said, “and easily moved in the interplanetary marketplace.”

Despite having admitted that he was experiencing bad aftereffects from his animal husbandry-perhaps because of that-it was not easy for Adam to gracefully absorb a second rejection by Ariel.

“Perhaps in a second phase, Adam. But not in this first phase. That decision has already been made.

“And now, Eve, what brings you back?” Ariel asked.

“I wish to serve you, Miss Welsh,” Eve said.

“And the alien, Neuronius, what about him?”

“He is dead, as you know.”

“Yes, but there are other aliens you could serve.”

“Master Neuronius was special.”

“Yes, the only human on the planet! Isn't that the way you put it?”

“Adam believes otherwise.”

“We're not concerned here with Adam. What do you believe?”

“I am re-examining the data.”

“Good. You do that. In the meantime, why must I be burdened with you?”

“You were present at my birth.”

“Can't you see I'm not up to this right now? Your shenanigans have killed Jacob. I want as little to do with you as possible.”

“I will endeavor to serve you well, Miss Welsh.”

“As far as I'm concerned, you can go stand in that niche and never come out. That's the best way you can serve me.”

Eve walked over and backed into the niche.

Thus did Ariel end Adam's ranch initiative. The next day he asked her for Eve's assistance, and by midmorning the two of them had pulled up the fences and tidied up the area.

Eve was back in service but not forgiven.

Chapter 30. A Sort Of Swan Song

Finally the experimental phase was over. The robot farmers had been fully programmed to convert Oyster World into one big farm. During that time, Ariel and company had got no response from the Ceremyons, negative or otherwise; and until now, when they were about to leave, they had not solicited a response for fear it might be negative.

The numbers of Ceremyons that moored each night atop the forest canopy had decreased, and Ariel suspected that Synapo and his Cerebrons were once more in nomadic mode.

That was a positive sign, but it might make their departure more difficult, for she wanted to take her leave in a last meeting with Synapo. It was he who had been her champion, and it was he who deserved her last thanks and a final expression of gratitude.

So after dinner on the day that Wolruf had turned in a final report on the satisfactory nature of the long-term terraforming operation, Ariel pushed back her chair from the table and glanced toward Adam SilverSide in his customary station by the door.

“Adam,” she said, “see if you can raise the Ceremyon, Synapo, on your radio.”

“That will not be possible, Miss Ariel.”

“Why not?”

“He has already tethered if he is anywhere in this time zone or a later one.”