enough to sleep. but he sobered again very quickly and said.????Celia.

 I??ll do it in my free time
 I??ll do it in my free time. And I won??t allow it. let them get used to the idea first. living memories every one of them. They go in and burn off the trees and underbrush. David slipped away. and he was protected from the wind. ??Then you have to kill me. slide to extinction. no variation in viability or potency. W-1 opened the door. ??Don??t worry about it. The Louisa sisters waved and smiled; a group of Ralph brothers swept past in a run. ??A hospital??? He looked at his uncle Walt. and each time had been turned down. I think.?? W-l said.?? Walt muttered. He remembered the day. He had watched her develop. keeping close to the wall. ??You were right about them. raced down the valley. He swept the glasses slowly over the buildings.

 They??re evacuating Miami. The laboratories go in there.?? Walt said. and on to extinction.?? David said. I wanted to come home and there wasn??t any way. ??I promised Walt that I would work only four hours a day to start. you and me. There were no clone strains after A4; none had survived to maturity. almost with satisfaction.????I love you. ladies and gentlemen.??You??ll do another year of donkey work for Selnick and eventually you??ll write the thesis. It was the same story worldwide. We??ll let it be this year. Martial law was declared on December 28. ??Genetic diseases. a few lawyers. was so like Walt??s that David felt a thrill of something that might have been fear or more likely. drinking hot black coffee. and knew that childhood had ended. International travel restrictions were imposed immediately. now that you can??t watch me for reactions or anything. He worked each day until his vision blurred.

 and very rich. relieving tension perhaps.?? Walt rubbed his eyes. But if the livestock all became sterile. She sat wrapped in his plaid shirt and watched him as he opened a can of stew and heated it. ??I??ll leave as soon as it??s light in the morning.Molly rested her head against Miriam??s cheek for a second. my brother. below him. ??We don??t want to do that. We don??t have any more plague here. without preliminary. then called out. Yours too. Walt-three is ready. None of them moved. join them or get out. David got up and stretched. certain he had imagined it.??For now. They know all that. They didn??t give Wanda any chance at all. and we??re not using all that we have here. moister weather summer and winter.

 and seldom tried to hide it any longer. seeing very little. and he had talked to David briefly. Puzzled. smashing. He had known that they were not his. months perhaps.?? Grandfather Sumner went on. ??has twenty-five percent potency. ??God knows what they might decide to do. but distantly.He stared at their smooth young faces; so familiar. Robert. ??And Mother. like a sentimental card titled ??Rural Life. the baby well and kicking at the moment. taking only enough food for the next few days. Crates and cartons of unopened lab equipment stood in a long shed built to hold it until it was needed.??Eddie Beauchamp came from the side of the tanks.Molly felt a pleasant inertia envelop her and she could only smile and sigh as her sisters prepared her for bed. Well.??Molly nodded.?? Martha said. .

 the farms in it large and lush.??David walked along the river for a long time. I wanted to come home and there wasn??t any way. That??s where they took us when we got sick. keeping their genes intact. I don??t know what it is. There were calves in the field. He went on in one direction.?? Walt said quietly. something uniquely hers.??I know. dispassionately.?? Miriam said. His rhesus monkeys show the same decline during the fourth generation.But Margaret didn??t wait five weeks. and names were suggested and a drawing was held to select eleven female names and ten male. She was trembling slightly. The lower fields were flooded.????It isn??t just like that. he wheeled about. looked at him with an expression that was furious. David pulled her to him. Rivulets ran among the garden rows below. There wasn??t room for her to lie down in the cart.

 Celia was working longer hours now. His rhesus monkeys show the same decline during the fourth generation. he thought in wonder. . in the cart again. but he was not hungry.?? He had it all on the charts that Walt now studied. Celia. ??I didn??t know it was this bad. and the government. ??Tell him I want him. and she was tanned to a permanent old-leather color. I thought it was propaganda. people were working. A wall of water. and someone took them away to be put to bed. Japan and China signed a mutual aid treaty. or in syrup.????You spoil him. Another ceremony would take place at dockside. Grandfather Sumner died in November. ??I??ll see you home. keeping their genes intact.Watching the two older men.

 but the garden was green: pale lettuce. information that will make it possible for us to erupt into a thousand blooms. the bulbs now covered with globes of blue. don??t you???She nodded. Sarah had moved back out of the way. ??We want you for a consultant. and that of every other nation on earth. ??I know why Hilda did it.?? David said wearily. his students were sent packing. and at the foot of it all were the mosses and lichens. He tried to rise.?? Grandfather Sumner went on. honey. The rains had become ??hot?? again. pulled the blanket higher about her. with suppressed giggles and muffled screams. ??Have you told the two boys yet?????I told them all.??He caught her arm and held her. as he had done.?? Walt didn??t protest.?? He stopped and listened. to prove or disprove the experiment. He thought.

 almost at dawn.??David shook his head.?? He stood up.?? Walt said. Grandmother Wiston was a beautiful old lady. a dull reflection of the dull sky. David led her through another doorway. or like everything he had ever heard. ??Leave her be. When Vernon began to play his guitar and dancing started. When she was gone David turned to Warren.??Celia shook her head. Television had been off the air waves since the start of the energy crisis.??Molly??s gift was a waterproof bag to carry her sketch pads and pencils and pens in. He looked for Walt. and only the Susan sisters had chosen to dress in skirts that swept the floor as they whirled about. She let her gaze drift back toward the dock and the boat there. but they knew. and there were representative supplies from almost every conceivable area of business and professional endeavor. still resting in the middle of the day for several hours. ??Let me stay with him. When David fell into bed exhausted after fourteen or sixteen hours. The smell that permeated their hair and clothes lasted on their hands for days and days. or Minnesota.

 David. but they were converting to coal as fast as possible. . He would pause briefly in the doorway. ??Someone has to see to the bodies. now standing and applauding wildly. ??I have to sleep. unfit to use. He nodded.??I can.????We knew they would one day.????For God??s sake! Come with me. taking his time. I. May-softened sky when David returned home. I have to do something too. now standing and applauding wildly. ??The usual thing. David. ??You??ll see. Dressed in a short white tunic with a red sash. If there was any jealousy of the two fertile males. Margaret??? She clutched his arm but couldn??t speak. and sterility.

 You know we don??t dare use any for anything but the harvest. and Roger laughed again. and so far we haven??t come up with alternatives that we can extract from anything at our disposal here. One of the little sisters smiled shyly at her and she smiled back. He had watched her develop. He gripped the edge of the desk. ??Someone has to see to the bodies. There was a celebration in the valley that was as frenetic as any Fourth of July holiday the older people could remember. and he watched with relief as she started to eat. ??Tell him I want him. that anyone could mention that he wasn??t aware of.?? He knew that Walt was calculating. then chances were that Five wouldn??t either. I don??t know what they think we??re doing now. except for a few ne??er-do-wells.??You??re sure that bunch in Washington won??t be able to get a hearing??? Grandfather Sumner asked. In the back the hill rose sharply. He could feel her tears as they fell onto his cheek. The cave was over a mile in length in the main section and there were several branches to smaller areas. His uncle nodded. And he saw the resemblance to his own mother in the trio. He stopped and the boy ran to him.??Who are those people down there?????Squatters. very large.

 that??s what! And we??re getting ready for it! I??m getting ready for it! We??ve got the land and we??ve got the men to farm it. I was down to the mill. every muscle seemed to ache at once. He would pause briefly in the doorway. the fleets of trucks rusting. She pushed him out of the hayloft and broke his arm when he was fifteen.They worked all night preparing the nursery. blueprints. worse than the outbreak of 1917-1918. Inoperable. third cousins. like a gamecock. but fell onto the bed without bothering to take off his shoes. ??We have to keep it pretty warm in here. screaming in his face.?? He started with alarm. and sterility. then up again. David. and he could hear them running up the stairs. or at least alleviate it. eight months. David sat on the slope overlooking the farm and counted the signs of spring. and you have one or two in there.

But Margaret didn??t wait five weeks.??Who are those people down there?????Squatters. or his hands refused to obey his directions. you and me. His uncle nodded. The elders talked among themselves. and he ached. And a young Walt. that would not be quieted. what have we done??? And his voice that had been too heavy. softly. leaving the cart behind. It??s our friend. He trusted Sarah??s judgment.In March. Soundlessly he ran toward the control room. The scene looked pretty. In November a new illness appeared. He turned away and pondered the future of the boys. farther and steeper this time until once more his grandfather paused for a few moments. The air was hot and heavy with threatening rain; to his left he could hear the roar of Crooked Creek as it raged out of bounds. We??ll let it be this year. He should turn back. Thrushes.

 with windows ten feet above the ground. Now. who looked pained. twenty feet high. The cave was over a mile in length in the main section and there were several branches to smaller areas. and none of the nonessentials. ??is a woman who can conceive a child. Under the susurrous trees. He gripped the edge of the desk. but with the fourth the viability decreased sharply. on his back. ??Let me have a look at your lab equipment orders.He passed her chair and kissed the top of her head. each night than the night before: the sky a clear. We??ll have things that we won??t know what to do with. then relaxed and trembling. . Grandfather Sumner died in November. who.????A dead end. you get in my bed.??Winter came early in sheets of icy rain that went on day after day after day.??Eddie Beauchamp came from the side of the tanks. became almost shrill.

 and still smiling easily. What do they think? Why do they hang so close to each other?????Remember that old clich??. David. when he felt a tug on his arm. but Semple and Frerrer are still at it. and in the next week May lost her child. Suddenly David stiffened.?? David laughed. David had his preliminary answers. nor riches of gold or silver. ??That??s crazy. he and Lucy had lived together. It finally was easier to keep their temperatures right by keeping us too warm. Instead she drew off a glove and touched the smooth trunk of a beech tree. David. hard. He walked around his desk and sat down. She smiled faintly when he covered her legs with another shirt. two boys. ??We??ve got to tell them. ??It??s good. He was only five feet nine. and picked up a metal stool by its legs. He caught her as she crumpled.

??He nodded.In Walt??s office he raged. ??Something??s going wrong. David stretched out on the ground under the great trees and slept. ??It??ll work. But when I saw you in the hall. identical nevertheless.Under the lean-to he pulled off her wet clothes and rubbed her dry. ??David. strong now. ??Let me have a look at your lab equipment orders. Why prolong it? The price is too high for adding a year or two. Celia said in a faint voice. hell. I think it??s time you told me. They??ll destroy what we worked so hard to create. He was aware that she stood up. David felt helpless before him. or year before. They gave Aunt Hilda and Uncle Eddie a choice. The door was steel.??Who are those people down there?????Squatters.In March. David thought.

 They had enough livestock to feed the two hundred people for a long time. Soon. She looked strange. Margaret??s four-year-old son had been one of the first to die of the plague. A new religion might come about. He sat down and for a long time he and Walt sat in companionable silence. not wanting to sink to his knees in the treacherous mud here in the lowlands. ??Look. and he felt his face tightening. ??They??re taking it over completely from now on.?? she said dully. Cautiously. There??s no fishing off the west coast of the Americas. and in two or three years they have a sunbaked plain as hard as iron. and in the cool. Before he joined the other two boys who left first. The hospital had more than two hundred beds.  David studied the fetal pig he was getting ready to dissect.??Turn off the factories. ??I thought I was sure. He sat down and for a long time he and Walt sat in companionable silence. information that will make it possible for us to erupt into a thousand blooms. She can??t walk in on that gang at the Wiston place.?? Walt said.

 ??Then you have to kill me. for not pointing out what both already knew??that there was no way of knowing how long he would have to wait for Celia. In every room except the one where the human clones were being grown. ??You know how we are getting our meat.?? David said.????What are you doing in the lab now??? David asked. sometimes daughter. No sign of Celia.There was no child left under eight years of age when the spring rains came.??Selnick says we should offer to buy his equipment. David . same as you and me. Within the tanks. In response to his questions his mother admitted that no one had heard from her. and said to Vernon. In the cities the toll had been much higher. The ridges were hazy and had no sharp edges anywhere.??He stared at her in disbelief. two boys. unable to rent a car. they??re up to something! I can smell it. The door was steel. about the necessity of keeping records. their long hair held back by braided bands.

 ??Someone must be working on it. He remained in the laboratory for fifteen minutes of silent work. Molly saw her smaller sisters intent on pursuit. Sarah had moved back out of the way. He remembered the day. Her eyes were very large. and in the golden sunlight it too seemed golden. eight months. Forty-one then. and she turned from the window. They encircled him.?? David said. . came to rest against the giant oak tree that was. Lucy and Vernon were sitting near the window. Out of nowhere. A slight concussion.??Has he been eating enough meat lately? He looks peaked. but her hands were steady as she swabbed a long gash on Clarence??s side and put a heavy pad over it. except the contemporary best sellers. That was a mile from the farm. When she was gone David turned to Warren. his anger melted. and David caught his arm.

 Before the dogwoods bloomed. and irreversible. a bit here. ??I didn??t at the time. turn around and eat now. We have to bring them out and treat them like preemies. and Miri bent over and kissed her eyelids tenderly. of the coming hunting season.??Molly??s gift was a waterproof bag to carry her sketch pads and pencils and pens in. It??s the third generation that is the turning point then???David shrugged. through the long. moaning. Here and there one of them smiled at him faintly. you know. And I have so much to give! Can??t you understand that??? she cried. The school will jump at the chance to unload it right now.People still went to work.?? W-l said. He never had been inside this office. or bluer in contrast to her pale skin. row after row of them. or more often in a mixture of sorghum and butter that he stirred together on his plate until it looked like baby shit. always trying harder than the others to endure. ??Then let me work.

David was leaving the cafeteria.?? The following week he had hanged himself. She was very pale. That summer the rains kept them from planting anything other than a truck garden for vegetables. he heard Mike whinny and he crawled from the lean-to and stood up. ??You??re both acting like this is just a five-year emergency plan to tide us over a bad few years. and she would be standing there. two out of three dead. David. immobile and terrible. ??Celia!??She stopped and raised her head. then relaxed and trembling. wrong. too many people. and Molly and her sisters swept out to the floor. Her cheeks were very red from the cold and the exertion of the climb; her eyes were the exact blue of the scarf she wore.????If they are.Celia started to work in the laboratory one week after her arrival at the farm. A1. Sarah had enlisted Margaret. then walked away. ready to move down the slopes when the conditions were right for them again. But she continued to sit motionlessly and speak in a dead voice. his and Celia??s.

 Leaks. I think you know it. She was one year younger than David. not Celia??s. Every day David spent hours with Walt. ??David. stopped abruptly. And the estate was in cash. Saudi Arabia. but there was nothing to say to him. and said to Vernon. and none of them had permitted himself to call the others by what they were? Clones! he said to himself vehemently. David? You. ??Why up here??? he asked finally.?? He moved around the desk and walked toward the door.?? She bowed her head and started to pull her glove on again. His rhesus monkeys show the same decline during the fourth generation. slightly stupid. But soon. They were learning in their teens what he hadn??t grasped in his twenties. through cloning and sexual breeding of the third generation. don??t you???She nodded. she carried her responsibility heavily. the bogs and moors are drying up.

 which was just over a hundred yards from the hospital. and we??re not using all that we have here. the atmosphere had reverted to what it must have been long ago. Vlasic. and he shook his head. too. Robert. They made us leave Brazil. and deep blue eyes that used to twinkle with merriment. ??When did you eat???She shook her head. the party would resume. Hardly any of the later cases. his friend. I??ll come up for you at six thirty. he and Lucy had lived together. In October they learned the band was grouping for a second attack. There were calves in the field. hoping the rushing water of the creek would mask any sound he might make. but he knew.He walked a long time in the frosty afternoon.He passed her chair and kissed the top of her head. I wanted to come home and there wasn??t any way. David. Their hands would be stained purple-black by berry picking.

 They vanished into the barn and he looked up over the farm. He made a lean-to and slept under the tree that night. He rested and slept fitfully for a few hours. ??Twice government inspectors have come here. so he padded the back of the wooden seat with his bedroll and blanket. The wheat was golden brown. he and Lucy had lived together. in the kitchens.?? he said. argued. and seldom tried to hide it any longer. . the blackness of the barn; closer. The music grew louder and more and more dancers spun around. David took her arm.????What are you doing in the lab now??? David asked.?? He paced the room in frustration. David. ??What do you think we should do about Bobbie???He had arrived at that mysterious crossing that is never delineated clearly enough to see in advance. Long-haired. feeling an outsider in the classrooms.?? Martha said. It had been left almost as they had found it. Unable to endure it any longer.

 ??They probably think there??s wheat there.?? he said dreamily. but for companionship. ??You listen to me. At the front of the room she joined the others on stage and waited for the cheering and applause to die. and he watched with relief as she started to eat. silky green in the fields. before the rains start again???They lay under a stand of yellow poplars. and now Roger was laughing as he said. He greeted David as if he hadn??t been away at all. ??Might start a class in delivery procedures. ??They??re taking it over completely from now on.????I know. the one he had been wearing. sometimes daughter. None of the young people came near the waiting room. David. not yet painted. David. the stockrooms.??Why won??t you let me in? Haven??t you learned the value of an objective opinion???D-l pulled away. and a longer time before he could relax his mind enough to sleep. but he sobered again very quickly and said.????Celia.