 What kind of trouble could unauthorized neutroids mean for Norris?
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] They were such cute synthetic creatures, it was impossible not to love them. But think—we get this house rent-free; I've got my own district with no bosses around; I make my own hours; you'll meet lots of people that stop in at the pound. They looked over my aptitude tests and sent me to Bio-Administration. If I don't want to follow my aptitudes, the only choice is common labor. "They assigned me to it because I liked babies. And because I have a B.S. in biology and an aptitude for dealing with people. Destroying unclaimed units is the smallest part of it. Honey, before the evolvotron, before Anthropos went into the mutant-animal business, people used to elect dogcatchers. The suburban street wound among the pastel plasticoid cottages that were set approximately two to an acre on the lightly wooded land. With its population legally fixed at three hundred million, most of the country had become one big suburb, dotted with community centers and lined with narrow belts of industrial development. "Whose child are you, Rorry?" he asked. A class-C couple, allowed no children of their own, could get quite attached to a cat-Q-5. The felines were emotionally safer than the quasi-human chimp-K series called "neutroids." When a pet neutroid died, a family was broken with grief; but most couples could endure the death of a cat-Q or a dog-F. Class-C couples were allowed two lesser units or one neutroid. He found himself in Sherman III Community Center—eight blocks of commercial buildings, serving the surrounding suburbs. Attention All District Inspectors: Subject: Deviant Neutroid. Seize all animals in this category, impound, and run proper sections of normalcy tests. Delmont has confessed to passing only one non-standard unit, but there may be others. He disclaims memory of deviant's serial number. This could be a ruse to bring a stop to investigations when one animal is found. If allowed to reach age-set or adulthood, such a deviant could be dangerous to its owner or to others. Hold all seized K-99s who show the slightest abnormality in the normalcy tests. C. Franklin Norris frowned at the last sentence. Its replacement-quota of new neutroids was around three hundred animals a month. He tried to estimate how many of July's influx had been K-99s from Bermuda Factory.
 Unauthorized neutroids would mean more taking "babies" away from their mothers and more killing.
 Unauthorized neutroid animals could be used as an alternate food source for the skyrocketing population.  Unauthorized neutroids could cause food scarcity.  Unauthorized neutroids would mean more taking "babies" away from their mothers and more killing.  A black market for nuetroids could result in neutroid slavery.