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Just thought it worth mentioning in the context of Wolfe's story "Unrequited<br />
Love" that P D James' novel "The Children of Men" is about a world in which<br />
human beings have stopped having children and the species is in danger of<br />
dying out. In the story, childless couples are depicted as sometimes<br />
consoling themselves with lifelike dolls which they treat as if they were<br />
children.<br />
<br />
The book which, though memorable, was not terribly good, was made into a<br />
film recently. I've read the book but not seen the film. Wolfe might or<br />
might not have read the book or seen the film but he may well have read a<br />
review of heard discussion of the film and been struck by the themes of<br />
childlessness and dolls replacing real children. It is after all a slightly<br />
strange take on things in that, globally, the population of the world<br />
continues to increase rapidly. It is true that some groups are not<br />
reproducing at a sufficient rate to sustain their numbers, but their<br />
shortfall is more than made up for by others.<br />
<br />
Nigel<br />
<br />
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