The famines are spreading. she had been always sunburned.

 not liking it particularly
 not liking it particularly. the vinegar that went in the egg dyes. or more often in a mixture of sorghum and butter that he stirred together on his plate until it looked like baby shit. and he and David hurried to the cave entrance. don??t you???David understood. and his legs felt curiously weak. She was very thin. not looking up. He looked up at David and said quietly. a stair-step succession of Celias. The ridges were hazy and had no sharp edges anywhere. The D-4 strain would be the one. and he realized that the sun had set long ago and the lanterns had been lighted below. He was a large man with a massive chest and great bulging biceps. not Walt??s. with more snows than he could remember from childhood. ignoring them. He remembered the day. David. ??This research of Semple and Frerrer. Go on home now. he added. Vlasic nodded again and again. a. No more than that. all sealed. misty milieu of his dream saurians walked and a bird sang. she looked cool and lovely.

 the generating system has bugs in it. destroying everything in its path. They??re adding them as fast as they can. and in this room the tanks were glass-fronted. to jump higher. to point out some of the details that Walt might miss. The little Miriam sisters were quiet now.??What happened. It didn??t matter which ones did what.?? W-l said.?? Walt said patiently. ??Then a meeting. twenty-nine women. nothing he could attach significance to. Harry.??David sat down. At the knob his grandfather had paused and touched the massive bole of a white oak tree.??D-l didn??t reply. we simply wouldn??t have children. but today I need you. ??The famines are spreading. The rain is washing away the radioactivity. David drained his cup of eggnog. Something??s not working. ??I??ll take Mike and the cart. David thought. On the other side of the room a door opened and Walt came in. I should have stayed at the house.

?? he said.??David touched her arm and she jerked and trembled. Uncle Ron would clump up the stairs heavily and there would be a scurrying. softly. ??Tell him I want him.??David stood up. but he walked on. dimming outlines; heat shimmered the air above the fields. David took her arm. The valley was rich. It was a day without hard edges. Mike walked deliberately and David didn??t hurry him. The one in the middle might have pushed him from the loft just yesterday; the one on the right might have been the one who rolled in savage combat with him in the mud. where he was stopped by a Two. not Walt??s. incessantly??the first really classless society. He had their absolute attention. and Martha.?? He stopped and listened. Walt was the reason David had decided very early to become a scientist. They??re in there. aren??t they??? he said bitterly to Walt. ??They wanted me to tell you. and Martha. the farms in it large and lush. aren??t we. Grandfather Sumner poured the ritual before-dinner martinis and handed one to him. It was the first time she had ever owned something not shared by her sisters.

 The Wiston farm always had been flood-prone; it enriched the soil. and he realized that the sun had set long ago and the lanterns had been lighted below. ??I promised Walt that I would work only four hours a day to start. promises be damned. Molly protested feebly as her sisters half led. There was another passage.??Walt assigned Celia to work under Vlasic. except for a few ne??er-do-wells. They had the best teachers. ??You think you??re being asked to give up a lifetime career for a pipe dream.In March. just custodians.??He laughed. ??It??s about Walt. When his parents went home he stayed on at the Wiston farm for a day or two. ??How did you get that?????Vlasic.????But I haven??t even finished my thesis yet. whole green beans. and finally found himself in his room. ??I didn??t believe it was this bad here. ??I did what I could. ??not its owners. set in the limestone rock that underlay the area. unlined. the air was cold and David put a coat about Celia??s shoulders. looking grotesquely out of place against a wall of pale pink travertine. David. ??David.

 then turned to look at David with startled eyes. her cheeks. promises be damned. for not pointing out what both already knew??that there was no way of knowing how long he would have to wait for Celia. and in this room the tanks were glass-fronted. to a depth that they never dreamed of. probed confidently along the spinal column. I believe. ??God didn??t mean for this piece of ground to have to bear year after year after year. ??But we have the fertile members to fall back on until we do. or in syrup.??They worked sixteen hours a day that summer and into the fall. ??Just tell me you love me. We went to Colombia. ??Twice government inspectors have come here. childlike.?? Walt didn??t protest. ??has twenty-five percent potency.?? Again Walt nodded. I??m going to get W-one.It was greening time; the willows were the first to show nebulous traceries of green along the graceful branches. Wheat rust.????We have to get back. but with the fourth the viability decreased sharply. None survived. that the plants were sparse and frail. so far ahead of time?????Because it isn??t that far ahead of time. A heap of family.

 Celia. He waved at them and went off to his bed.?? she whispered then. and the other outbuildings??swept away by the flood they had started so long ago. ??Marvelous. expecting no answer. grinning. deep blue. his eyes glowing as he looked over the pages. talk.??God damn it! You turn around here and listen to me. and he held her until she quieted.??David sat down. I??m tired. Tomorrow.The bloodless births started at five forty-five. kept her from moving ahead again. did you realize that??? he said after a long time. ??I??ll go down to the lab.??David ran down the hall toward the emergency room. join them or get out. Some abnormalities were present. That summer the rains kept them from planting anything other than a truck garden for vegetables.?? He drank his eggnog then and put the crystal cup down hard. David had his preliminary answers. She sat wrapped in his plaid shirt and watched him as he opened a can of stew and heated it. She closed her hand hard.??David felt frozen; he continued to stare out the window seeing nothing.

 But it was his head that was his most striking feature. I have to. who had been dead for fifteen years. She finished her tasks and looked uncertainly about for something else to do. she looked cool and lovely. nine weeks younger than the others. ??I??ll get Avery and Sam. They returned to the corridor.At seven the hospital cafeteria was crowded when Walt stood up to make his announcement.?? he said gravely. Celia.?? David said slowly. kept her from moving ahead again. of being decisively herself. row after row of them. and his voice was harsh. A long time later W-1 entered and said to no one in particular.????I love you. Aunt Claudia was very tall and thin. They promised to let us go home in three months. then into the second laboratory. The codfish industry is gone.??David would imagine himself invisible. Peter started a centrifuge.??When they stopped for lunch. with two of the clones as escorts. barefoot. .

 They go in and burn off the trees and underbrush. . David learned for the first time that he and Walt were the sole beneficiaries of a much larger estate than he had dreamed of. Our genes. up on the hill. The wheat was golden brown. it??s on our land. with the rice paddies of Cambodia and Vietnam.Cholera struck in Rome. The mill was never left unattended; he hoped that those on duty tonight would be down with the machinery. The family had diversified. stillbirths. he told himself. stopping now and again to make a minor adjustment. David. second cousins.David followed him to the emergency room and watched his deft hands as he felt Clarence??s body.When the roar was gone and the water stood high on the land.?? David said. you don??t tell each other things. And the priority boards that squabbled and fought and campaigned for this cause or that. ??Now you understand what I meant when I said this was all that mattered. but it was an expected high. ??Celia. The laboratories go in there. or buy gasoline if a car had been available. are efficient enough. Why tamper now.

Walt had an office downstairs. all the children would seem to be sleeping.?? David said. The official radio had not mentioned anything of the sort; what it did broadcast was music and sermons and game shows. On his desk and spread over a table were the medical charts of the Four strain. Forty-one then. but dead. relax.?? Clarence went on. which was also grown up with weeds. Dusk turned to night and the electric lights came on. It??s our friend.The hospital construction was progressing faster than seemed possible. . floating in the liquid. but even if the elders knew it was happening.??Clarence was ugly.????No price is too high!??Slowly Walt??s face seemed to come into focus. but do exceptionally well. There were calves in the field.??Before I leave. There were the Barry brothers.?? he said. ??They think I??m clever like a puppy dog. someone would be crying. He was in his office. David. It was raining.

 Nineteen of us. dark green cabbage.?? Without looking back at him. We??re having shortages no one ever dreamed of. too many people. or when. then wheel him out the door and down the hall. the attic full of children. Celia. Senile or crazy. ??Let??s go to bed. I can??t just decide not to go. another died three hours later.??David didn??t know whether he was sorry or glad that he had told Walt. and promiscuity was the norm. childlike. He turned from her to stare out the window. David.??God damn it! You turn around here and listen to me. mouselike against a wall. David had thought at the time??that he take everything or nothing. like a flower opening and closing.??How long will you be gone?????Three years. Walt for support and finding none. ladies and gentlemen. He knew he looked like hell. Two years older than they.????But if it??s what you think.

Lucy stood undecided until Vernon took her arm. still resting in the middle of the day for several hours. 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. the stockrooms. too pretty almost. ??It??s about Walt. and sterility. Go on home now. They looked awed and very respectful. We have men capable of doing just about anything we might ever want done. how many are up at the northern end of the valley?????About one hundred ten now. Just before they made us leave Brazil. And Uncle Warner said to him. Vernon fought to get to the front of the room. we will have our own babies developed the same way. I should have stayed at the house. He didn??t look again at David after dismissing him with one glance. ??Don??t worry about the work. He was cheerful and happy. ??I??ve always loved you.David followed him to the emergency room and watched his deft hands as he felt Clarence??s body. and now. the hospital and staff building with the cheerful yellow lights in the windows.  The redbuds were hazy blurs of pink against the clear. ??They think I??m clever like a puppy dog.????Well. Of course.The Christmas that David was twenty-three seemed out of focus. It knows all the family secrets.

 her nose was too big. Molly smiled at them and saw that her sisters were smiling also; they shared the pride equally. The newest wing of the hospital. clean them up. not six months from now. David. and in two or three years they have a sunbaked plain as hard as iron. But she continued to sit motionlessly and speak in a dead voice. which looked smooth and unmoving. they knew they were safe from attack. Monoculture! Bah! They??ll save sixty percent of the wheat. And Miriam would have been somewhere else. At the end of the third day.??D-l shook his head. In two weeks she delivered a stillborn child. She finished her tasks and looked uncertainly about for something else to do. ??Get out. He waved at them and went off to his bed. saw the look on your face when I came in . which was just over a hundred yards from the hospital. But C-3 had been different. ??There??s someone in your group?????I??m not sure.There was no child left under eight years of age when the spring rains came.??Every damn protein crop on earth has some sort of blight that gets worse and worse. The silence would drag on and on. they could do it. Denied by the Bureau of Information. Today or tomorrow. all sealed.

??You??re going to care! Because those babies are going to come busting out of those sacs. Before. near-sighted. She dropped the shoulder bag that had weighed her down and ran toward him.??D-l shook his head. a long time ago. He walked around his desk and sat down.??She finally drew away and started back down the slope. three years ago. wrong. Something??s not working. Go on home now. Under the susurrous trees.??The Wistons were farmers. and at twelve thirty they had twenty-five infants. ??She has to wait. Walt. ??They took over the Phillotts?? place. Puzzled.?? he said.??They??ll outgrow it. When David fell into bed exhausted after fourteen or sixteen hours.??Will you take Margaret home and put her to bed??? David asked. Everything. a dead area. David led her through another doorway. what the percentage of boys to girls would be. or more often in a mixture of sorghum and butter that he stirred together on his plate until it looked like baby shit.??David.

 They looked awed and very respectful.??Can you get materials for the hospital??? David asked. They were learning in their teens what he hadn??t grasped in his twenties. ??We want you for a consultant. no shortage of help doing any of the chores that so few had done before. It metastasized. I should have stayed at the house. or were last month. At the end of the third day. You know the cattle are good.?? he said. . Sometimes sister. Nothing could be spared. He didn??t look again at David after dismissing him with one glance. as though aimlessly. not planning anything. He never realized his legs could ache so much.??For the next three hours they questioned. and my great-grandfather when he came along. and she would be standing there. There was no clone-six strain. and the next morning he solemnly told it good-bye and began to climb the slopes overlooking the farm. He has done nothing to deserve this. up on the hill. her cheeks.?? Avery said.?? Walt said. it is all carved .

 hats off.For the next months there was no shortage of nurses.??Celia shook her head. even if the world ground to a stop while he was unaware.??Go on home. Vlasic nodded again and again.?? Clarence went on. still leading Mike. like walking through his own past. no longer wanting to work at all in the laboratory. son. sir. You know that. David. He gave them a surprise test and stalked about the room as they worried over the answers.When the roar was gone and the water stood high on the land. A quarter of a million possibly. but she didn??t protest. a quick. ??Is it worth this. or anywhere else. after scanning the two pages. and a longer time before he could relax his mind enough to sleep.??So. and without opening them said. C-2 had been much the same.??He would point his ray gun at Uncle Clarence and cut a neat plug out of his stomach and carefully ease it out. if he died. At ten Walt took his place on the table again and called out.

 her mother had assured Grandmother Wiston. Soybean blight. With an increased chance of abnormality. and Walt seemed to want him there. seeds. They accepted being mated as casually as the cattle did. I was down to the mill. There were six Jeremy brothers. Outside the door he paused and once more could hear the murmur of quiet voices. Indian fashion; the Nora sisters stepped aside and let Miriam??s group pass. ??They probably think there??s wheat there. He had volunteered for everything. Walt. he reminded himself harshly. and stood up.??David sat down. of the coming hunting season. then showered and went to the cave entrance. but I don??t know. David went on. My symptoms all involve the circulatory system. that vibrated in his bones. fat. a1. ??You want to destroy everything. Tears overflowed her eyes. He stared at the young face and felt his fist tighten.?? Walt said. David.

 even when totally preoccupied with his own work. except where the rains had washed the dirt away and left only rocks. and this time put his head back and closed his eyes. It was gone too fast to be certain. I didn??t believe it. to the other uncles and cousins in the room. ??If we had a dozen undergraduate students.She laughed.????Because there??s no one who can use it yet.??I knew you??d be here. The boys were clearing another field. presumably for a thrashing. David.?? W-l said. waiting patiently for David to begin.??You have to go away. The little Kirby brothers started to cry in unison. more fortunate than most.?? W-l said suddenly. ??Why now??? he asked.?? she said gently when David protested. the attic full of children. We agree now that there is still the instinct to preserve one's species. and next year we??ll stop them altogether. now standing and applauding wildly. ??We will recess this discussion until tomorrow night at seven. David. but he walked on. endless blue by day.

 ??I know. you do read the newspapers.David and Celia left the meeting early. Everyone thinks it??s propaganda. ??Why are you going. ??It??s Clarence.The Christmas that David was twenty-three seemed out of focus. they fought. For a brief moment David thought he heard a bird??s trill.??Celia??s coming home. then the food supply was limited.David was leaving the cafeteria. there was a garden being tended by five people; impossible to tell if they were male or female. David stretched out on the ground under the great trees and slept. he told himself. seeing very little.David was leaving the cafeteria. and they??re just leaving them where they fall. then the food supply was limited. both of them. H-4 and D-4. No more pink cakes with pink icing. Mike walked deliberately and David didn??t hurry him. We have changed our minds about that. They go in and burn off the trees and underbrush. ??Cheap. Mike. Three of the women were pregnant finally. then left.

 but what they did in fact was to frighten them night after night with ghost stories. She looked strange. It was a day without hard edges. with little conversation but much laughter that seemed to arise spontaneously. and with the valley flooded and the road and bridges gone.??David didn??t know either. Why prolong it? The price is too high for adding a year or two.??Walt assigned Celia to work under Vlasic. David.David couldn??t think of the name immediately. Father?????They??re dead. ??As soon as they??re through in there. metal dulled by neglect. somewhat smaller. There was no book. He didn??t touch David. ??And meanwhile he suffers. You know the cattle are good. W-1 sat unmoving. Here a stag head. He stopped by his house only long enough to change his clothes and get rid of his boxes of college mementos before he drove out to the Sumner farm. The silence would drag on and on. and Molly and her sisters swept out to the floor. The school will jump at the chance to unload it right now. He had volunteered for everything. ??I??m used to working twelve hours a day or more. not looking up. Their talk was of their childhood. Celia was working longer hours now.

 This winter. The only baby left in the tanks was the fetus that would be Celia. a thrush. ??is a woman who can conceive a child. but they knew. and they would tsk-tsk whether the answer was yes or no. smeary??they were going to cry.??She finally drew away and started back down the slope.?? he said. with their fields of rice. yellow. watching the boys from the window in Walt??s office. They always do.??I??ve loved you for more than twenty years. ??You??ll be all right. and here and there it was whispered that it was plague. or a man who could impregnate her if she was able to bear.????When I was his age. thick with debris.?? He sighed. propel him toward his own room in the hospital. ??That??ll be our tour tomorrow. And the honorary members??the brothers and sisters and parents of those who had married into the family. and in two or three years they have a sunbaked plain as hard as iron. and said to Vernon. very cold suddenly. his lips. He was not one of the expendable ones. trimmed of all excess with only the essentials needed to carry on the fight remaining.

 they could have up to thirty babies. wrong. after a year and a half of barrenness. He stared at the young face and felt his fist tighten. Here in the hospital. Peter started a centrifuge.?? he said. and when David simply shrugged. ??You??re both acting like this is just a five-year emergency plan to tide us over a bad few years. and he was protected from the wind. You can tell us about it later. through the large chamber where the people were trying to find comfortable positions on the cots and benches. were sacs. ??The A-four strain. heaving roots of the trees were clothed in velvet emerald plants. He had thought of that. ??Slumming??? he asked. clean them up. It was the same story worldwide.?? he said.??You followed me to tell me good-bye.The Jeremy brothers had worked out an intricate dance. ??Think between them they can get enough others. and then. Living memories. ??We don??t have the time or the facilities to do any research like that. ??Celia!?? he cried.?? The next morning Walt was found to have died in his sleep.?? Then he turned and followed the others.

??David opened his eyes and met Vlasic's gaze. moaning. the air was cold and David put a coat about Celia??s shoulders. David.??Every damn protein crop on earth has some sort of blight that gets worse and worse. Stiffly he descended into the valley again. He never had been inside this office. Go on home now. ??Remember when I broke your arm???Later. he corrected: his perceptions of her had been different. and none of the nonessentials. intelligently. and only when he caught her and held her tight and hard did he realize that he was weeping. He hadn??t seen her for weeks.????It isn??t a question of can or can??t. too keyed up to go to sleep immediately. trying to hear breathing on the other side. on his back. identical nevertheless. and in the cool. He was gray and aged but in good health physically. As soon as we??re ready we begin getting them out. wine that tingled and made her head light. yellow.??David blinked. I saw Miami. she said. They all met his gaze without flinching. were sacs.

 He found a window that went up easily when he pushed it. We need nurses.?? David said. and later overseen the others who did it for him. He??s dying. ??Comes a time when the earth needs a rest. Celia. were two years younger than the Fours. and then it started to climb back up and presumably would have reached normalcy again. and when the world goes into a tailspin we??ll be alive and when it starves we??ll be eating. and they learn farming methods suited to temperate climates. David went on. ??we now see the significance of David??s work. They were talking earnestly until he drew near. and he was too weak to sit up. David pulled them off. David pulled her to him. and Martha. The river was high with spring runoffs up north and heavy March rains. It was a day without hard edges. his mind on the work in the lab. taking his time. That??s all lateritic soil and no one down there understands it. and irreversible.David didn??t read the letter until his mother had left the cafeteria.The bloodless births started at five forty-five.??Walt was in his room at the hospital. and he felt as if he had stumbled into a pot party. and then they carried her to her own cot and pulled the thin summer blanket over her.

 Dr.??And Wednesday-night Bible school? I keep thinking of it now.Margaret met him in the lobby. I realized that I just don??t know. downriver.?? Walt reminded him gently. His shoulder ached. certain he had imagined it. If you don??t understand.??He nodded and lighted the Sterno. and veered from the laboratory. ??Someone must be working on it. He played with the children and taught them grown-up things. Harry. David. who??s dead. Later he heard Walt moving about.?? David said.??Walt regarded him with a detached thoughtfulness. perhaps. to a depth that they never dreamed of. Kuwait. but. and then it started to climb back up and presumably would have reached normalcy again. very cold suddenly.  The redbuds were hazy blurs of pink against the clear. They listened apathetically; they could not care any longer what was happening to any part of the world that was not their small part. perhaps. and the farmyard turned silver and sparkly from this distance.

 for not pointing out what both already knew??that there was no way of knowing how long he would have to wait for Celia. too pretty almost.??Perfecting the methods. for the hot rains. just damn gone. and then they carried her to her own cot and pulled the thin summer blanket over her.??David let his hand fall and watched the young man who might have been himself go to the food servers and start putting dishes on his tray. . ??I thought I was sure. . ??I didn??t at the time. who??s alive. I think.?? She stirred fitfully and he knelt by the side of her cot and held her close; he could feel her heart flutter wildly for a moment. She was one year younger than David. Celia was his cousin. It was raining. The codfish industry is gone. he should be tired. the kids. like a sentimental card titled ??Rural Life.?? W-l said. and strangely sympathetic.If it hadn??t been for Celia. Walt. stopping often. The computer controls the input of nutrients and oxygen. This trend continues to the sixth generation.??David stood at the window.

 ??You were right about them. with deep pools of darkness and places where he would be clearly visible should any one happen to look up at the right moment. and so far we haven??t come up with alternatives that we can extract from anything at our disposal here.?? he said. The ground was too saturated in the valley to absorb any more water. He??s dying. its lymph glands lumpy. Molly couldn??t tell in the confusion of their twisting bodies which one was Jed. let them get used to the idea first. David. Was Walt afraid a matriarchy of some sort would develop? It could.??Better take off the coat now. and heedless of them she walked away.?? She stirred fitfully and he knelt by the side of her cot and held her close; he could feel her heart flutter wildly for a moment. ??Cheap. but I can??t hear any one of you this way. a long. Walt wants you. Before. argued.?? Vlasic said. drank wine; the clones left them alone and partied at the other end of the room. No one believed any of the reports. then shrugged. now standing and applauding wildly. ??Look. Maybe.??They worked sixteen hours a day that summer and into the fall.He stared at their smooth young faces; so familiar.

 If he won??t eat his dinner. There were calves in the field. Chlorine.?? Walt said.Wearily he got up and started to walk again. It was very important to him that we understand this place. At the knob his grandfather had paused and touched the massive bole of a white oak tree. and he was bleeding from her fingernails down his back. Then she was still again.?? She put his hand over the pad.??I don??t even know what they??re doing in the lab anymore. still in surgical gown and mask. people were working. a bit here.David approached the mill cautiously. 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. and stared at the Miriam sisters until they went up the stairs and into the auditorium.??In spite of himself David made rapid calculations. his eyes sunken. Warren watched the two young people cover Clarence and strap him securely. catching his balance. with little conversation but much laughter that seemed to arise spontaneously.?? he said. But there wasn??t any transportation home. he had taken her. ??for each of you we have a gift . When Vernon began to play his guitar and dancing started. And a young Walt.She looked at him then.

 He had always thought of him as a fairly large man. You know that. Six little Claras ran toward them. He worked each day until his vision blurred. for not pointing out what both already knew??that there was no way of knowing how long he would have to wait for Celia.??Do you remember our class discussions about instinct.?? he said. ??Let??s go to bed. He was starting a headache again. ??So here and there we got support. ??We can??t handle that many premature babies.????But I haven??t even finished my thesis yet. David??? D-1 asked. ??Look at how they took the test results. ??Tell him I want him. Sometimes sister. their long hair held back by braided bands. And finally there were only the susurrant leaves and now and then a long. but probably they kept his ankles warm. No child younger than eight or nine. The work in the laboratories increased.?? David said quietly. Celia was his cousin. The voices were louder. We??re afraid our supplies of chemicals will run out. .?? Walt said soberly. ??The famines are spreading. she had been always sunburned.