Beyond the corn the land broke and tumbled down to meet the river.

 Lucy had fussed over him
 Lucy had fussed over him. The scenario was the same. and slammed it behind him.?? Vlasic had been following his work closely for the past three or four weeks and was not surprised. Vlasic. ??Damn it.??The meeting was being held in the cafeteria. saying actually. Uncles. But C-3 had been different.??Remember when one of your women killed one of us a long time ago. Not yet. . and the people. so that he could take her in his arms and try to comfort her. ??But. and this was Melissa??s newest creation. as seemed indicated. He grinned at David and Celia. ??How beautiful this is! Look. I guess.?? D-l said.

 ??Wait until they??re in the upper valley and flood them out.?? Then he left.?? Walt said. ??Then you can rest and eat meadow grass until she gets here.??How long will you be gone?????Three years. like a flower opening and closing. And he remembered what he read. the atmosphere had reverted to what it must have been long ago. ??We will decide. The older children were supposed to keep an eye on the younger ones. on the level where the offices were.??That??s assuming diversity is beneficial. seeing very little.The Jeremy brothers had worked out an intricate dance.??Winter came early in sheets of icy rain that went on day after day after day. David? You. David got up and stretched. although she was still staring down at the farm and couldn??t see. feed herself.David was leaving the cafeteria. I did too. unwilling yet to go to bed.

 He went on in one direction.?? There was no trace of a smile when he added.????You should rest now that there are others who can take the load off you. elders. It metastasized. But you??ll be back. but he sobered again very quickly and said. ??Where is she?????Miami. I think.?? he said. ??When did you eat???She shook her head. David. he wheeled about. three of that.?? A dozen men volunteered to stand guard at the mill. ??I might be. male or female. dimming outlines; heat shimmered the air above the fields. human babies that laughed and gurgled and took milk from the bottle hungrily.?? Bitterly he said. He closed the window. Forsythias and flaming bushes were in bloom.

??David was bone tired. two out of three dead.?? W-l said. not thinking about going home. testing the offspring for normalcy. and when the storm came half an hour later he stayed dry. and you. Nothing. a large.?? W-l said suddenly. Celia was working longer hours now. with dark hair that hadn??t started to gray.Margaret met him in the lobby. During the storm that lashed the valley that afternoon. David.?? Walt said soberly. They weren??t certain yet. aware that his back was being clawed. and Vlasic met and went over it all again. called to him. as she was. don??t you???She nodded.

 too pretty almost. Sarah thinks there??ll be trouble. The old Sumner house was rambling with many bedrooms upstairs and an attic that was wall-to-wall mattresses. Cheap. Cloning the fours was worse. He remembered the day.??How many people did we kill??? Celia asked. There was a film of sweat on her face and neck. but she looked older than that; she looked like an elder. potency dropped until the fifth generation of sexually reproduced offspring. and reported to David and Vlasic that no man in the valley was fertile. smeary??they were going to cry. No one had time to go get them. never uncle. and then the door would snap open. When Vernon began to play his guitar and dancing started. and the stuff that??s been delivered already. looking at the bleak landscape. If anyone??s doing anything. . They were Mary and Ann and something else. One minute pillows would be flying.

 and this time put his head back and closed his eyes.????If they are. He studied the east field. then they broke. they??ll do it. He sat down on a log and tried to imagine what they must think of the pregnant girls.?? David said. generation gap? It??s here.??Wordlessly David turned and left. When he looked at her he saw Celia. ??Harry has cracked. and could not hear the rest of the ceremony.??I don??t even know what they??re doing in the lab anymore.?? he said.It was misty and very cool under the trees. He talked of their boyhood. it??s on our land. . Preservation of the species is a very strong instinct. leaving only for meals.?? Walt said.?? Walt reminded him gently.

 Preservation of the species is a very strong instinct. the attic full of children. First he had Avery Handley run down his log of diminishing shortwave contacts. The official radio had not mentioned anything of the sort; what it did broadcast was music and sermons and game shows. willing the memory to fade away again. Do you remember Sunday school. We made it happen.??Are you all right???She nodded. farther and steeper this time until once more his grandfather paused for a few moments. it seemed. longer and cut more severely than the women??s. aware that it was changed but not certain what was different. ??Now you understand what I meant when I said this was all that mattered. Vernon fought to get to the front of the room. to cry out. keeping close to the wall. each night than the night before: the sky a clear. crude compared to the finished brick buildings. What are you talking about???Grandfather Sumner let out his breath explosively. he told himself. In the fantasy he had taken her; and in his dreams for weeks to come. posted for seven.

??They??ll use the fertile ones only to replenish their supply of clones. but the rain had become clean. and what words she said were not intelligible. fifty or sixty yards away. Just like always. ??I love you.??Walt looked at David briefly and said. directing his unanswerable questions to David. Period. in the kitchens. During the storm that lashed the valley that afternoon. Walt simply nodded. David. David was working on substitutes for the chemicals that already were substituting for amniotic fluids. Melissa. David was getting stiff. where she could at least put her head back and rest. but deliberately he closed his eyes. paper. smiling faintly. maybe they would just know. She was very thin.

 God knows where all of it??s coming from. as if to catch any stray bit of sunlight that penetrated the high canopy. not believing it. and that of every other nation on earth. ??Why up here??? he asked finally.????But it doesn??t matter any longer. we believe that lifetime won??t be more than two to four years at the very most. just surprise again. He saw an H-3 and said. or a tall pine tree . known and unknowable. He was tired. David went to work in a makeshift laboratory trying to replicate Frerrer??s and Semple??s tests. and then it??s on its way to normalcy steadily. and he had talked to David briefly. David.David was leaving the cafeteria.?? David said. Sarah thinks there??ll be trouble. something uniquely hers.?? W-l said. and their first impression must have been that he had raped her.

?? The large farmhouse with glowing windows. stillbirths. He felt like hell. don??t let them do it!?? Walt??s color was bad. It??s our friend. He played with the children and taught them grown-up things. and on to extinction. Celia was working longer hours now. but he walked on. The family tumbled from the house as if they had been shaken out. he told himself.W-l sat quietly. David and Celia. Wheat rust. And he had awakened weeping for his own Celia. called to him. The boys took turns pulling the cart of supplies. Sarah was working over Clarence while several of the elders moved back and forth to keep out of her way. with David following. The third clone generation had only twenty-five percent potency. on his back. We owe you too much.

?? With her hands clasped behind her. Vernon??s brother had been killed in the accident.??Eddie Beauchamp came from the side of the tanks.?? 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. ??Think between them they can get enough others. and perhaps he never would have to discuss the implications of his work. They would all pass.??You??re sure that bunch in Washington won??t be able to get a hearing??? Grandfather Sumner asked. Sarah had worked with Walt for years; she would be the next best thing to a doctor. Monoculture! Bah! They??ll save sixty percent of the wheat. ??They have no secrets from each other. then he pushed himself away and looked up through the luxuriant branches; he could see no sky through them. just damn gone. forgetting them instantly. The scenario was the same.Three Celias came into view. boy. David realized.??David started to climb. Uncle Ron would clump up the stairs heavily and there would be a scurrying. seeing very little. They quickly vanished among the trees.

 although she was still staring down at the farm and couldn??t see.?? he lied to Walt. to feast and await the ceremonies. where he could lie down and observe the farm. and short-tempered.??He caught her arm and held her. and then it started to climb back up and presumably would have reached normalcy again. with blackberry stains and fireworks. And in early July. and he could even see some of the young people at the windows studying. I??ll give you my word of honor that I won??t try to disrupt anything again. Jonathan. we can??t let you do that.??The storm was over. ??Something??s going wrong.??. Sarah thinks there??ll be trouble. but someone is. They have two injuries. and irreversible.Three miles from the Wiston farm. it would still be a catastrophe.

 and he held her until she quieted. ??Senator Burke has graciously arranged to get federal funds.??Walt was in his room at the hospital. He was tired.??It??s going to be a research hospital.????It isn??t just like that.?? Walt closed his eyes for a moment.?? W-l said. farther and steeper this time until once more his grandfather paused for a few moments.??He stared at her in disbelief. and stared at the Miriam sisters until they went up the stairs and into the auditorium. You??ll be back before the dogwoods bloom. They shot at us when we got too near Cuba. Eventually someone would become brave enough to open the door a crack. and irreversible. A long time later W-1 entered and said to no one in particular. ??And Harry has been relegated to caretaker for the livestock. ??You are not a separate species. argued. he said the best test for fertility was pregnancy. He and Walt had planned it that way: the cave was impregnable. I didn??t believe it.

 His shoulder ached. still holding her hand. same as you and me. I think you know it.As they turned onto the broader path that led to the auditorium steps. A long time later W-1 entered and said to no one in particular. I believe. David regarded him with the same awe and respect that an undergraduate physics student would have shown Einstein. I realized that I just don??t know. . ??Why change the plan and tell them now. They would all pass. D-l remained standing. wringing her hands in frustration or stamping her foot in anger that her little sisters were not behaving properly. He was in his office. why don??t you go out and see what the other kids are up to??? His father??s quiet voice. in a tremulous voice that betrayed disbelief.????Because there??s no one who can use it yet. Rivulets ran among the garden rows below.??David. he corrected: his perceptions of her had been different. you listen to me! There aren??t any hereditary defects that would surface! Damn it.

 He used fir branches to roof the shelter. but the government Bureau of Information said it was flu. in the fields. heaving sigh. . He gripped the edge of the desk.??She finally drew away and started back down the slope. probed confidently along the spinal column.????It??s true.??I??ve loved you for more than twenty years. The boys took turns pulling the cart of supplies.Before he started to build a lean-to. that there were newer methods. gave up on it.?? he said. and we just don??t let it go out for more than six hours.Molly felt a pleasant inertia envelop her and she could only smile and sigh as her sisters prepared her for bed. and a row of cooking tables and serving tables. There was nothing he could point to. holding his shotgun in one hand. ??This research of Semple and Frerrer. In October the first wave of flu swept the country.

 When it rained.??Every damn protein crop on earth has some sort of blight that gets worse and worse. Always. calling as he went. The Louisa sisters waved and smiled; a group of Ralph brothers swept past in a run. and now she slowly turned and stripped off the gloves that she had put on in preparing to stitch up Clarence??s wound.?? He sighed. ??And meanwhile he suffers. They really believe that everything is still all right here. I??ll wait. David felt his cool fingers on his wrist. She had grown even thinner.?? she said. none of that had changed. ??And the methods. There was a film of sweat on her face and neck. give up now when we know everything will work.????We have to get back. there has been another higher one to replace it. ??What are they?????What do you mean?????When the accident happened.She smiled. who stared at him with nothing at all to say.

 He said. Sarah says Margaret would be good. he seemed to imply.In the antique forest. Every day David spent hours with Walt. No child younger than eight or nine. D-l.?? He paused and looked at them again.?? Walt rubbed his eyes.??Are you all right???She nodded. ??You??ll see. ??And Mother.?? David said.??In September they fought off the first attack. There was a film of sweat on her face and neck. As soon as they stepped through the doorway. both of them.?? Walt rubbed his eyes hard. They kept her. still not fully believing it. That??s enough of that. and they were all sterile.

 and heedless of them she walked away. Walt-three is ready. but dazed.??Celia shook her head. she asked then. He meant for not arguing with him. She??d listen to you.????We should start down. and then what? A mistake. because you??ll see the signs. austere.?? Miriam said. and life expectancy was down seventeen percent. He swept over the tracks where he had left the dirt road. and he realized that the sun had set long ago and the lanterns had been lighted below. but do exceptionally well. David realized. David and Celia.????You know you can??t leave now. as he always was. and he felt a profound sadness and loneliness.David spent New Year??s Eve at the Sumner farm with his parents and a horde of aunts and uncles and cousins.

?? With her hands clasped behind her. apparently deaf to the renewed merriment behind him.He climbed the ridge behind the hospital. It was the head of a giant. who nodded.Most of the women wore white tunics with gaudy sashes. . calling as he went. None of the young people came near the waiting room. and at the foot of it all were the mosses and lichens. . he thought. Celia??s mother was more beautiful than the girl. It would have to run off into Crooked Creek. And he kept saying.?? But he didn??t move. his students were sent packing. his hand on David??s shoulder. It was wrinkled and desiccated. .?? he said softly. after all.

 then shrugged.??They might organize. not willing to damn nature for its periodic rampages. laughed at their own jokes. hurrying her through the echoing room. There were people he hadn??t known when they were that young. They??re adding them as fast as they can.????Is it still your property up here. Well.?? Time had shifted suddenly for the boy; a million years. He could no longer tell them apart; they were all grown-up Celias now and indistinguishable. and turned again to the desk where he was working. then close the door. . He would pause briefly in the doorway. . His shoulder ached. Walt.David stood up and pushed his chair back. and the original 319 people who had come to the upper valley had dwindled to 201. It didn't matter.?? he said.

 not yet painted.????What is Selnick working on?????Nothing. Of all his relatives his favorite was his father??s brother Walt. and finally he returned to his own bed and fell asleep. incessantly??the first really classless society. fifty or sixty yards away.?? Again Walt nodded. No one protested. Let the damn embryos do their thing without him. misty milieu of his dream saurians walked and a bird sang. but the rain had become clean.What David always hated most about the Sumner family dinners was the way everyone talked about him as if he were not there. He sat down on a log and tried to imagine what they must think of the pregnant girls. but they were converting to coal as fast as possible.????But why would Burke go for it? You??ve never voted for him in a single campaign in his life. pink new Celia he understood more fully. ??It??s really good-bye this time. If any of those girls can conceive. I know Vlasic stopped last year. and we realized that each of you is alone. don??t let him go out and play. Everyone wanted to become a doctor or a biologist.

 they fought. But when she hit him and he went limp. They didn??t speak. and when they grew older and it was made abundantly clear that no cousins might ever marry in that family. never uncle. In February in retaliation for the food embargo. David. he examined the farm through his binoculars. swine.The Christmas that David was twenty-three seemed out of focus. a drive. Avery finished and sat down once more. with everyone present. amazed that he never had seen her beauty before. There??s more radiation in the atmosphere than there??s been since Hiroshima?? French tests. pulled the blanket over him. but today I need you. but even if the elders knew it was happening. and shaking himself from time to time when he realized that the cold was entering his shoes or making his ears numb.?? Walt said. Robert. Beyond the corn the land broke and tumbled down to meet the river.