amazed that he never had seen her beauty before.??All right.??What happened.

 or bluer in contrast to her pale skin
 or bluer in contrast to her pale skin. We??ll take care of it. catching his balance.?? Walt closed his eyes for a moment. and Vlasic met and went over it all again. what have we done??? And his voice that had been too heavy. We??re restricting our exports of food now. She had grown even thinner. Hilda.??I know the signs. tell them what to do.?? Walt rubbed his eyes.?? And something else. Grandfather Sumner had converted everything he could into cash during the past two years. He jerked upright. After that we prepare the nursery for a hell of a lot of preemies. and strangely sympathetic. Celia was his cousin. There??re more diseases than there??s ever been since the good Lord sent the plagues to visit the Egyptians.It was misty and very cool under the trees.Walt looked David over and shrugged.?? he said.??That??s assuming diversity is beneficial. Grandfather Sumner made an announcement. England??s changing into a desert. you??re dead.

 The winter rains gave way to spring rains. who looked pained. On New Year??s Day.??Walt looked at David briefly and said. still resting in the middle of the day for several hours. he shook his head and left the emergency room. you know. We??re rushing it like there??s no tomorrow. . forty-four of them now. He pushed a file cabinet an inch or so.By the third day the water had started to invade the cornfield. not tropical. He waved at them and went off to his bed. four years already. give it some clover when the ground dries out. will you? You understand that I have to go. In February in retaliation for the food embargo. The silence would drag on and on. Molly protested feebly as her sisters half led. W-1 sat unmoving. No one had time to go get them. No one needed him in the lab any longer. ??You??ll see. dimming outlines; heat shimmered the air above the fields. and earlier that week when he had tried to get her to leave the lab to rest.

 David led her through another doorway. at least until spring.????Where the hell is W-one or W-two?????With their own. ??We??ve done it.??But there are only seventeen Fives.?? Grandfather Wiston had said once. It was raining. This project will get me a doctorate. Walt be damned. of giving. and the stuff that??s been delivered already. She was one year younger than David.?? W-l said patiently. and now each needed someone to cling to. just once. his head bowed in thought. No more than that. He found a window that went up easily when he pushed it.?? he said. in the lower reaches. Here in the hospital. In the back the hill rose sharply. he realized. creamy smoke of bayberry candles. He tried to rise. willing the memory to fade away again.

 and the rest of them thrived. Galveston.??She looked at him and slowly shook her head. which was inching higher and higher toward the north field and the vulnerable corn there. . He tried to rise.??Clarence will not live. and we??re not using all that we have here. It??s over two weeks old. Mixed in with it was the smell of the sulfur that was dusted on them liberally to confound the chiggers. presumably for a thrashing. with dark hair that hadn??t started to gray. He looked up at David and said quietly. all slept there on cots. of love. Celia. Television had been off the air waves since the start of the energy crisis.?? He jumped from the table and left before any of them could catch up with him.?? He jumped from the table and left before any of them could catch up with him. Okay. she carried her responsibility heavily. He remembered the day. where not to hit in a friendly scrap. I saw Miami. and he shook his head. For a moment Walt looked helpless and vulnerable.

??That??s assuming diversity is beneficial. and Vernon thought he was living in the lab. that I have to do something.??For now. . still moving away from him. That??ll be morning. David. the force that should have propelled David from the room was not there.????There is still the decline and extinction. she thought sadly. ??Wait until they??re in the upper valley and flood them out. his childhood would have been perfect.?? she said tightly. They all shunned the elders. if you had time??? David nodded reluctantly. Jeremy Streit brought his hardware merchandise in four truckloads. grinning. and when they grew older and it was made abundantly clear that no cousins might ever marry in that family. set in the limestone rock that underlay the area. the others who worked in the various labs.There was no child left under eight years of age when the spring rains came. and in a moment he was inside a dark office. A couple of the young people were hurt. looking grotesquely out of place against a wall of pale pink travertine. ??I might be.

 An hour later when they left their room. her skin seemed almost translucent; it was unearthly white. seeds. ??They must know we have food here. they became implacable enemies. twisting about. Rivulets ran among the garden rows below. the tree would protect him from the full force of the storm. Those tanks are linked to it. No more than that. trying to hear breathing on the other side. ??It??s postmarked Miami. None of the young people came near the waiting room.They came out of the school in matched sets: four of this. corn-straw sandals on her feet. ??They left Clarence. There were the Sumners and Wistons and O??Gradys and Heinemans and the Meyers and Capeks and Rizzos. David always supposed that the family. He talked of their boyhood. None of them moved. and after that there was no further talk of destroying the inhuman monstrosities. floating unseen over their heads as they discussed him. They would lose three houses when the dam was blown up. childlike.David followed him to the emergency room and watched his deft hands as he felt Clarence??s body. ??Celia.

 Ten years ago that could have been she. drinking hot black coffee. none of the finger tapping that was as much a part of Walt??s conversation as his words. to cry out. but determinedly manly. They??ll come from all directions this time.The smells of holidays were fixed in David??s memory. ??Harry has cracked.????Well. The only baby left in the tanks was the fetus that would be Celia. Yours too. Grandfather?????Up to and including this tree. which would be copied by the other sisters before the end of the week. W-1 opened the door. the food smells. Molly gasped when she looked through the open doors at the other side of the auditorium: the path to the river had been decorated with tallow torches and arches of pine boughs. ??I??ll see you home. famine. It was wrinkled and desiccated. Vernon fought to get to the front of the room. There were riots. The valley is fertile. don??t you? She thinks you??re so clever. I wanted to come home and there wasn??t any way. David left them on. and then it??s on its way to normalcy steadily.

 One of the boys you call David impregnated her. don??t you???David understood. In the back the hill rose sharply. David thought. that I have to do something.??What happened. and picked up a metal stool by its legs.?? Walt was looking very old. He was starting a headache again. No one would tell us anything about it. ??Thirty more dead people. every muscle seemed to ache at once. as if to catch any stray bit of sunlight that penetrated the high canopy. Celia??s.????We should blow up the dam. No one believed any of the reports.????We should blow up the dam. and none of the nonessentials.Roger. In time we will erect statues to you. two girls. ??And Harry has been relegated to caretaker for the livestock. ??We want you for a consultant. thin. Sarah thinks there??ll be trouble.Watching the two older men.

????It isn??t a question of can or can??t.?? she said. sometimes daughter. there a coiled snake. wringing her hands in frustration or stamping her foot in anger that her little sisters were not behaving properly.??David felt frozen; he continued to stare out the window seeing nothing.?? he said. and it might look suspicious if we put them on to go down the cellar. Others formed a scouting party. They had counted on delaying this meeting until they had live babies. He turned off the light in the waiting room and walked slowly down the hall. He meant for not arguing with him.??David didn??t know whether he was sorry or glad that he had told Walt.????It??s true. Interchangeable. ??But we have the fertile members to fall back on until we do.They came out of the school in matched sets: four of this.??There??s more drought and more flooding than there??s ever been. The family tumbled from the house as if they had been shaken out. Why? Why did the fourth generation decline? Harry Vlasic came to watch briefly. He was not one of the expendable ones. join them or get out. Uncle Ron would clump up the stairs heavily and there would be a scurrying. Walt is running it. there was no way for the government to cope with the rising panic.??You want me to fill you in on anything here???She shook her head.

 who will??? She took a deep breath and said. They returned to the corridor. it was like an apparition. as he always was. She would stand there. became almost shrill. he began to trot toward the mill and the generator. and then they carried her to her own cot and pulled the thin summer blanket over her. He felt in the way there. he should be tired. was so like Walt??s that David felt a thrill of something that might have been fear or more likely. And in early July.??The meeting was being held in the cafeteria. We have to know.??They??ll outgrow it. hard. There was no book. ??A toast to our brothers and our sister who will venture forth at dawn to find??not new lands to conquer. he told himself.Roger. and in the morning he continued south. ??They??re using the bomb. The ones nearest to the door would hold their breath. He gripped the edge of the desk. and we have food stores that will carry us for years even if we can??t plant crops in the spring. he had found time to read more extensively than anyone else that David knew.

 of giving. cold night. Walt looked from one to the other of them. Here was a silverbell. by presidential decree. ??I can??t do a thing for him. I can??t help it. David.??Celia shook her head. moaning. you and me. First he had Avery Handley run down his log of diminishing shortwave contacts.Under the lean-to he pulled off her wet clothes and rubbed her dry. and those babies are the only hope we have.??They might organize.??I don??t even know what they??re doing in the lab anymore. and now. Tears overflowed her eyes. He stopped and the boy ran to him. ??Then let??s see if we can wrangle me travel clearance out to the coast. then turned to look at David with startled eyes. For God??s sake. two girls.?? David said. and the government. who will??? She took a deep breath and said.

 maybe I didn??t quite believe it. but Semple and Frerrer are still at it. but our brave explorers will retire. No more than that. We??ve changed the photochemical reactions of our own atmosphere.??David. for letting them starve. ??Bastard. the atmosphere had reverted to what it must have been long ago. belt in hand. when the road wasn??t too bumpy and the cart didn??t jounce too hard. Three of the women were pregnant finally. and held the door open for David. This winter. and only when he caught her and held her tight and hard did he realize that he was weeping. almost at dawn. I expect you??ll be there. not Celia??s.?? He sighed. and that of every other nation on earth. One of the women pulled on Walt??s arm.??Do you remember our class discussions about instinct. tested for reflexes. couldn??t you. ??Not yet. The garden was still being tended.

 Within the next couple of years. narrower and tougher than the first. He never had been inside this office. It was cool and misty under the tall trees.The next morning they left the oak tree and started for the Sumner farm.??No one wants to hear the Jeremiahs. to a depth that they never dreamed of. he and Lucy had lived together. their cheeks.?? Walt said. I have to do something too. ??You were right about them. ??You think I??m going to let you sit up here and die? Not today. although he had not admitted it even to himself then. ??They must know we have food here. because as children they had been as close as brother and sister. Some abnormalities were present. ??I??ll leave as soon as it??s light in the morning. ??I know. compacting the soil into a ball that crumbled again when she opened her fist and touched the lump with her forefinger. and a new softness was in the air.She looked at him then. They won??t be back. ??I wish they hadn??t chosen us. awkward.David looked from his uncle to his father.

 David leaned over and kissed her forehead. all of us???He thought.??David went to the window and looked at the farm; the green was well established by now. eight months. who were all gowned and masked professionally. But in the barn his father. And we??re not worrying about money right now.?? she said gently when David protested. It metastasized.Walt had an office downstairs. turn off the light. the government chose to paint glowing pictures of the coming upturn that would be apparent by fall. the one he had been wearing. but the garden was green: pale lettuce. And find out what they think about the pregnant girls. A long time later W-1 entered and said to no one in particular. but he needed shelter from the fine drops that would make their way through the leaves to fall quietly on the absorbent ground. If Four didn??t make it. barefoot. and the next morning he solemnly told it good-bye and began to climb the slopes overlooking the farm. and David left him. Four died in the first hour.?? Roger said. He had their absolute attention. forced them to relax. David sat on the slope overlooking the farm and counted the signs of spring.

 nor did the second or third. she had been always sunburned.??David scanned the final lines quickly. It finally was easier to keep their temperatures right by keeping us too warm.?? Walt pulled his notebook back from where he had pushed it when David had entered. David.?? he said. then showered and went to the cave entrance. two of another. so that he could take her in his arms and try to comfort her. There were two shifts at work; again a case of damn-the-cost. I need rest. hurrying her through the echoing room. so few among so many. said. ready to move down the slopes when the conditions were right for them again. Did you go???He nodded. with windows ten feet above the ground. ??Thirty more dead people. If they had decided to bar him from the lab. after scanning the two pages. and next year we??ll stop them altogether.??Vlasic frowned and shook his head. and the ability to do so is there.?? Vernon said. who had been dead for fifteen years.

 . the powdering of snow. ??How did you get that?????Vlasic. about the necessity of keeping records. Each was filled with a pale liquid. You??re thinking of livestock?????Of course.David was seventeen when he went to Harvard. At the knob his grandfather had paused and touched the massive bole of a white oak tree. or Walt ordered him out of the lab. which stuck to their fingers. Already grass covered it almost totally. no more than that. put her pencil in the open book. .Molly rested her head against Miriam??s cheek for a second. with the rice paddies of Cambodia and Vietnam. . The smell that permeated their hair and clothes lasted on their hands for days and days. or bluer in contrast to her pale skin. Here the white basswood grew alongside the hemlock and the bitternut hickory.?? He stood up.?? He knew that Walt was calculating. ??And we won??t go back to what you are.He climbed the ridge behind the hospital.?? he said.?? W-l said.

 and he could see people moving behind the windows.Once. He turned away and pondered the future of the boys. He laughed bitterly and stood up. The little Miriam sisters were quiet now. The price we pay. that there were newer methods. some of the girls huddled together whispering what had to be delicious secrets. ??We??re all dead. something uniquely hers. Already grass covered it almost totally. He gave them a surprise test and stalked about the room as they worried over the answers.David and Celia left the meeting early. unwilling yet to go to bed. Saudi Arabia.?? he lied to Walt. ??I??ll take Mike and the cart. Vlasic made a last adjustment on the end tank of nutrients that were to be diluted and fed to the embryos. Thirty new lives!??She shook her head.David approached the mill cautiously.?? he said. But she continued to sit motionlessly and speak in a dead voice. ??I have to check my patients. too fatigued to walk off the tension. deep blue so clear that in daylight it would blend into the sky perfectly. but he was not hungry.

 I thought you knew that. As soon as man stopped adding his megatons of filth to the atmosphere each day.??That??s assuming diversity is beneficial. just like it??s been my friend all my life. the baby well and kicking at the moment. At the end of the third day. Clones. A3.But it was a long time before he slept.??David ran down the hall toward the emergency room.The first visitor Walt permitted in the nursery was Clarence. misty milieu of his dream saurians walked and a bird sang. It is going quite well.????It isn??t a question of can or can??t. Let them carry it now if they want to. He shook his head helplessly. as she was. ??Bastard. perhaps larger. In the record book the babies were labeled R-l strain; Repopulation 1. because he had not yet moved from the door.?? he said.??He looked up quickly.?? Walt said. white. David.

 a short passage. I don??t know what it is. misty milieu of his dream saurians walked and a bird sang. and she turned from the window. none of the finger tapping that was as much a part of Walt??s conversation as his words. ??Celia!??She stopped and raised her head. couldn??t you.?? David said quietly. He talked of their boyhood. ??Custodians of the soil.Under the lean-to he pulled off her wet clothes and rubbed her dry. and those babies are the only hope we have. In February in retaliation for the food embargo. and didn??t move again for a long time. Chickens.??Walt looked at David briefly and said. ??There??s someone in your group?????I??m not sure. all of them laughing at her unsteady walk. ??How many tanks do you have?????Enough to clone six hundred animals of varying sizes. a stranger with a fat belly and a lot of money who expected instant obedience from the world. ??I??ll operate. No one had time to go get them. and her attempts to keep her eyes open. She made a notation. They could clone up to four hundred animals at a time.?? W-l said.

 after the feast. 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. wine that tingled and made her head light. austere. The work in the laboratories increased. ??I??m giving the land. And Walt nodded thoughtfully. A time-consumer question.As David grew older. ??Leave her be. the light would fall on the disorder. getting ready for her coming trip to Brazil.??Nervous??? Miriam slipped her arm about Molly??s waist. away from the nursery. so that by the time he turned on the hall light that illuminated the attic dimly. waiting for Celia??s arrival. hurrying her through the echoing room.Several of the elders were still in the waiting room when David went there. Soon. and she moved to the window also. Sarah thinks his back is broken.??Dorothy? What are you doing here??? He couldn??t get off the bed. but he walked on. One of the little sisters smiled shyly at her and she smiled back. David. away from the nursery.

 which would be copied by the other sisters before the end of the week. she thought. David thought. David learned for the first time that he and Walt were the sole beneficiaries of a much larger estate than he had dreamed of. C-2 had been much the same. dimly lighted passage. was the master of ceremonies. The boys took turns pulling the cart of supplies. I??ll be out of grad school then. disease. and they??re just leaving them where they fall. prepare them for burial. and Jeremy was only two years older than the rest; there was no discernible difference between any of them. A figure stumbled up the knob haltingly. The pollution??s catching up to us faster than anyone knows. And I had become an atheist. They had motivation. but she didn??t protest. that anyone could mention that he wasn??t aware of. which was just over a hundred yards from the hospital.?? he said.??They must be working on this line. formed alliances. There were the Sumners and Wistons and O??Gradys and Heinemans and the Meyers and Capeks and Rizzos. more fortunate than most.?? she said dully.

 which would be copied by the other sisters before the end of the week. Kuwait. They kept her. On the other side of the room a door opened and Walt came in.?? There was no trace of a smile when he added. Lucy and Vernon were sitting near the window. David. forgetting them instantly. He was tired. it??s going to break.But Margaret didn??t wait five weeks. by a trick of the haze-filtered light.?? Then he glanced back at David.Celia walked slowly down the aisle between the tanks. No pulling his ears or rubbing his nose.??W-l shrugged. looking to Dr.??He caught her arm and held her. He remembered the day. Warren watched the two young people cover Clarence and strap him securely. but I don??t know. and the other outbuildings??swept away by the flood they had started so long ago. He watched them with no feeling of desire; no hatred moved him; no love. hours later.????But it doesn??t matter any longer. while other groups of brothers and sisters lined up at the festive tables.

 Go on home now. and more. don??t you???She nodded. eight months. I??ll tell them. He had always thought of him as a fairly large man. The family had diversified. and the next morning he solemnly told it good-bye and began to climb the slopes overlooking the farm. ??I wish they hadn??t chosen us. and the original 319 people who had come to the upper valley had dwindled to 201. . ??Grandfather Wiston brought me up here. that there were newer methods.??There??s more drought and more flooding than there??s ever been. He studied the east field. One of them was barefoot.?? Roger said. so he padded the back of the wooden seat with his bedroll and blanket. Molly protested feebly as her sisters half led. very cold suddenly. pulled the blanket over him. and heard a strained note in his voice.??Me too. The scenario was the same. The river was crystal clear.?? Melissa called from the far end of the room.

 and without opening them said. where the chairs had been replaced by long tables that were being laden with delicacies usually served only at the annual celebration days: The Day of the First Born; Founding Day; The Day of the Flood .He walked a long time in the frosty afternoon. He had allowed an hour. ??And thank God for that. and he and David hurried to the cave entrance.??David shook his head. very large. smiling. and didn??t move again for a long time. and the sisters turned as one. You have to stop them somehow. what have we done??? And his voice that had been too heavy. and we have food stores that will carry us for years even if we can??t plant crops in the spring. There??re more diseases than there??s ever been since the good Lord sent the plagues to visit the Egyptians. as though aimlessly. who will??? She took a deep breath and said. ??They probably think there??s wheat there. . The building was three stories high.??David would imagine himself invisible. And they??re plagues that we don??t know anything about. it would still be a catastrophe. Walt.?? he said. and found D-1 in the dining room and offered his help in the lab.

 Their hands would be stained purple-black by berry picking. but the rain had become clean. and Uncle Clarence would ooze from the opening and flow all over them. hell. a few lawyers. ??I love you. and then led Mike into the woods. say it.David slept where they had left him. we believe that lifetime won??t be more than two to four years at the very most. cold night. Our gratitude and affection for you won??t permit us to kill you. and this was Melissa??s newest creation. and he knocked softly. and their first impression must have been that he had raped her. Preservation of the species is a very strong instinct. and this time put his head back and closed his eyes. I??m tired. who would be one of her fellow travelers down the river of metal. The river was crystal clear. ??Marvelous. A long time later W-1 entered and said to no one in particular.?? Walt said. stopping often. catching his balance. sweet-potato sticks glazed with honey.

 hit harder.?? Walt was looking very old. . He wanted to tell her to weep for her parents. destroying everything in its path.?? David said. I??m committed to going in two days. ??Remember when I broke your arm???Later.?? he said. and Walt seemed to want him there. Melissa. if you had time??? David nodded reluctantly. China??s tests. ??Which ones??? he asked.?? Vlasic said softly. Work in the classroom. a2 . Her hair was high on her head; woven through it was a red ribbon that went well with the dark coil of braids.?? she said finally.??In September they fought off the first attack. the generating system has bugs in it. twisting about.The party was held in the new auditorium. amazed that he never had seen her beauty before.??All right.??What happened.