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I

Even from a distance, Ceres looked fertile. In the black wastes of space ithung like a rich yellow ball, bright and alive. It was easy to see why farmersliked coming to such a planet without much effort you could imagine crops

growing there, could picture the bountiful harvests a farming man might raise.From the Observation Room on Solnas 3, such a farmer was looking at Ceres, a

faint smile spreading across his creased, weather-beaten face. In his mind, SamHarding was already there, feeling the rich dark soil underfoot and smelling therain on the abundant green foliage. Looking further ahead, he could see himself onthe porch of the farmhouse, the days work done, puffing contentedly on his pipeand watching the first of the crops growing up towards the sun and swaying gentlyin the breeze.

Sams reverie was interrupted as the door of the Observation Room slid openand the Navigator came in. Thought Id find you here, he said, smiling."Fraidyoull have to tear yourself away from Ceres for the moment, Sam. Well beentering her gravity field shortly and everybodyll have to be locked into theirseats. Dyou want to return to your cabin ?

Sure, said Sam, returning the smile and moving towards the door. It slidopen and he turned for a final look at Ceres.

The Navigator waited for Sam and watched him gazing back at the planet.Dont worry, Sam, he said, youll be there soon enough. Then itll be just youand Ceres for the next few months. Youll probably be so sick of the place by thenthat youll be glad when we come back for you.

Sam just nodded and smiled and they strolled along the short corridor to thelift.

As they descended, Sam reflected on what the Navigator had said. Sick ofCeres, he thought to himself. How could a farming man get sick of a planet likeCeres ? How could a man ever get sick of planting and growing and harvesting ?

Sam Harding came from a long line of farmers, a line that stretched back tothe times when farmers ploughed their fields with horses and sowed the seed by

hand. Farming was in his blood and now, after only two visits, so was Ceres.The lift doors slid open and the two men stepped out. The Navigator made his

way back to the Bridge and Sam strolled along to his cabin.

II

From a small hill overlooking the Landing Bay, Sam watched Solnas 3 depart.He raised his hand and waved but knew that everyone would be locked into theirseats and wouldnt see the gesture. He was glad to see the ship go.

He turned and looked at Ceres and a smile of contentment spread over hisface. The trees, the grass, the soil all looked fertile and in the distance, hecould see the empty fields where he would plant the seeds from which the crops

would grow.He knelt and scooped up a handful of soil. He raised it to his nose and

smelled it. It smelled good. Rich and earthy. Earthy! Sam said aloud and smiledas the word brought back memories of home. He squeezed the soil through hisfingers and let it fall to the ground.

He picked up his small suitcase and started walking towards the farmhouse.The day was almost through. The second of Ceres suns was already half-way throughits orbit. On Ceres there was no darkness. It was always light. It had beenarranged that way. For the crops.

Start work tomorrow, thought Sam as he walked along the path to thefarmhouse. Yep, settle in the rest of today and start work tomorrow. Sounds fine

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to me !He arrived at the farmhouse and climbed the stairs on to the veranda. He

turned and had a look at the empty field in front. It was broad and long and thesoil lay dark and waiting. It seemed to hold the promise of a good harvest tocome.

Sam turned and let himself into the farmhouse. Inside, it was fairly cleanconsidering it had been a month since the last man had left, although a faintcoating of dust clung to the furniture. Shift that soon enough, thought Sam,

but first best check the Controls.In the middle of the Control Room, on a narrow table, the main computer and

monitor had been covered by a sheet to protect them from the dust. Sam removed thesheet and tossed it into a corner. He turned on the computer and waited while themonitor flickered to life. He pressed the Test button and several panels on thescreen in front of him lit up one after the other, showing that all was workingproperly. Sam grunted his satisfaction and shut the computer down.

Happy with the controls, Sam strolled through to the kitchen and madehimself a sandwich then took it through to the living room. He loved the view fromthere - two of the walls were glass and afforded an excellent view of the fields.They looked good and Sam was tempted to start work right away but he felt tiredafter the journey from Earth. Tomorrow he would start working them. As he ate hissandwich, he thought of how he would till the soil, plant the seeds and then tend

the crops while they grew. Then the harvest. The fields would give him a goodharvest.

Yes sir, a good harvest, he said aloud. He stretched and yawned. Havingfinished his sandwich, he went through to the kitchen and took a bottle of beerfrom the fridge. Not bothering with a glass, he made his way upstairs to bed.

III

He was in the fields early next day. The automatic plougher was alreadyhalf-way across the first field, leaving neat lines of furrowed soil behind it.

Sam was sitting on the grass under a large oak tree, smoking his pipe andwatching as the plougher traversed the field in the pattern he had set it for that

morning. Another hour or so and it would be finished then, unaided, it would moveinto the second field where it would continue its process of furrowing. Afterthat, it would move on to the third and fourth fields.

Sam was a happy man. He settled himself against the oak tree and watched theplougher rhythmically moving back and forth. He glanced up at Ceres first sun andfelt the rays warming his face. A slight breeze wafted away his pipe smoke.

Should be through ploughing here by the time the suns overhead, hethought. Then he could start sowing. A smile spread across his face. Sowing wasthe part he liked best. He leaned his head back against the oak tree and dozed.

Sam woke to the sound of the plougher moving over to the second field. Hestood up and stretched then picked up the bag of seed which had been lying by hisside. He slipped the strap over his head and tied the two cords behind his back sothe bag rested against his waist.

He strolled along the side of the field until he came to the start of thefurrowed rows. The rows were interrupted occasionally by a narrow grass path. Samstepped on to the first path and put his hand into the bag and withdrew a handfulof seed. Moving his arm in a wide arc, he scattered the seed over the ploughedsoil. He strolled along at an even pace, scattering seed to left and right withboth hands.

This was the part Sam liked best sowing the seed, the way he had readfarmers sowed their crops thousands of years ago and although it was wasteful, allhis harvests were successful so the Commissioners back on Earth didnt complain.Sam chuckled to himself as he strolled along, scattering if they could see himnow, walking along like this, seed being wasted, while the expensive automatic

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seed-implanter lay unused in the hanger! Still, they were millions of miles awayand he was here. Theyd never know. He was still chuckling, lost in his rhythm,when he reached the end of the path. He moved along the field until he came to thenext path. His measured scattering resumed.

The second sun was rising as Sam finished sowing. He felt tired and hungry.He had sown the first two fields.

Dinner time, he said to himself. Then a nap, then finish the last twofields. Should be through before the second sun goes down. Laying his bag on the

grass, he made his way back to the farmhouse.

IV

Sam was in the Control Room. He had finished the sowing and the plougher wasback in the hanger. Although it was still light outside, the day was almostthrough and Sam was tired. All that remained of todays work was to set up thecontrolled climate cycle. Sam had already decided on a cyclewhich would allow himto harvest in two weeks :

2 days of light rain showers to vitalise the soil,4 days of uninterrupted sunshine to encourage growth,4 days of vitamin showers to feed the growing crops,

3 more days of sunshine then harvest at the end of the second week.Sam turned on the main computer and yawned as he waited for the monitor

flickering to life. He sat down in front of the keyboard and fed in the programme.He could hear the light rain starting to fall as he climbed the stairs to

bed.

V

It was the beginning of the second week of the cycle. The crops were abouthalf-way towards maturity. Sam stood at the edge of the field, watching themswaying to and fro in the afternoon breeze.

He strolled along until he came to one of the narrow grass paths between the

swaying rows, one of the paths where a week earlier hed scattered the seed. Hestrolled along the path, stopping here and there to to check the crops. He wassatisfied they were coming on fine.

He knelt and examined one of the growths. A strong green stalk grew from theground and supported the main body of the crop. Sam ran his hand over the stalkand marvelled at its thickness it was through this that all nourishment passedto the small dwarf-like human, which was growing on the stalk, attached at thenavel. Sam reached out and touched one of the dwarfs tiny hands with his finger its fingers slowly curled round his.

Sam grinned. Almost alive, he thought. He examined the torso, the legsand the arms. All were perfect. The small, finely shaped head moved slowly in thebreeze. Sam gently touched the eyes but there was no movement there yet theywould open in a few more days, as he had planned it, in time for harvesting. Sam

stood up and brushed the soil from his trousers.Perfect, he thought, looking down at the dwarf. He looked over the field

with its sea of dwarves, swaying backwards and forwards on their stalks in thegentle breeze. Whole field looks perfect, he thought.

Sam was pleased with his work. He would inspect the other fields before hisafternoon nap.

VI

The days work done, Sam was sitting on the rocking chair on the porch,

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slowly rocking himself back and forth. He was content. He puffed on his pipe,releasing small wisps of smoke, which were borne away on the soft breeze.

Should be a good harvest, he thought. One hundred of the dwarves to afieldfour fieldsthatll be four hundred of them. Say five harvests before theTransporters arrivethatll be two thousand of the dwarves !

From Ceres, they would be transported to Earth. From Earth, they would besold to other planets as workers and as there was a big demand for the Dwarves ofCeres, the price would be high.

Yup, a good harvest, thought Sam. They would be pleased with him back onEarth. Might even let him come here more often. Might even let him stay for goodone day.

Wouldnt mind that at all ! Sam said aloud, grinning and rocking back andforth. Nope, wouldnt mind that one little bit !