In the aftermath of an atomic war, a new international movement of pacifism has arisen. Multitudes of young men have chosen to curb their aggressive instincts through voluntary amputation - disarmament in its most literal sense.

Those who have undergone this procedure are highly esteemed in the new society. But they have a problem - their prosthetics require a rare metal to function, and international tensions are rising over which countries get the right to mine it ...

About the Author
Bernard Wolfe (1915-1985) was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He worked as a military correspondent for a number of science magazines during the Second World War, and began to write fiction in 1946. He became best known for his 1952 SF novel Limbo.