



Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online
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                            Spawning Ground

                           By LESTER DEL REY

                They weren't human. They were something
                 more--and something less--they were,
               in short, humanity's hopes for survival!

           [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
             Worlds of If Science Fiction, September 1961.
         Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
         the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]


The Starship _Pandora_ creaked and groaned as her landing pads settled
unevenly in the mucky surface of the ugly world outside. She seemed to
be restless to end her fool's errand here, two hundred light years from
the waiting hordes on Earth. Straining metal plates twanged and echoed
through her hallways.

Captain Gwayne cursed and rolled over, reaching for his boots. He was
a