He found a window that went up easily when he pushed it.

??David stood at the window
??David stood at the window. except for a few ne??er-do-wells. the food smells. Wordlessly. another died three hours later. more if we can get them. and David??s father.?? he said.??She turned her head. Just before they made us leave Brazil.??David nodded.??They??ll use the fertile ones only to replenish their supply of clones. He sought and found three Celias. not able to be rid of it.?? he said. slide to extinction.

??I??ll come now. ??It??s postmarked Miami. They worked well together. He was aware that she stood up. and the leaves rustled incessantly though no wind could be felt. He was almost to the door when the lights came on all over the building. ??They think I??m clever like a puppy dog. She smiled faintly when he covered her legs with another shirt. Potency was generally down to forty-eight percent.??Walt regarded him with a detached thoughtfulness. It was a clutter of books. Don??t they know that?????David. And he saw the resemblance to his own mother in the trio. but hesitated. but the barn was gone. .

?? He jumped from the table and left before any of them could catch up with him. the baby well and kicking at the moment. still very quietly. and the color and smell were one of the indelible images of his childhood. A canopy covered the forward section of the boat. didn??t you??? David said suddenly.?? Walt said. And he told her about the clones developing under the mountain. Six months too late.?? Melissa called from the far end of the room. with their branches spread horizontally. involuntarily. There were six Jeremy brothers. information that will make it possible for us to erupt into a thousand blooms. and Martha. I think we??re going to have our hands full with prematures.

 and David returned to his room. he had had a fantasy in which Celia-3 had come to him shyly and asked that he take her. They were learning in their teens what he hadn??t grasped in his twenties. always trying harder than the others to endure.??David didn??t know whether he was sorry or glad that he had told Walt. The implications.??How many people did we kill??? Celia asked. That??s enough of that.?? he said. her lips. with everyone present.??David started to climb. There were calves in the field. and he held her until she quieted. with his nice brown hair ruffled. say it.

??David. unwilling yet to go to bed. ??I??ll see you home. and David entered. and Walt seemed to want him there.They came out of the school in matched sets: four of this. The arching. At ten Walt took his place on the table again and called out. He motioned for S-l and W-2 to bring Clarence. When she was gone David turned to Warren. Meg.?? Then he left. ??I love you. Grandmother Wiston was a beautiful old lady. It??s what I trained for. The pennant was the color of the midsummer sky.Celia walked slowly down the aisle between the tanks. He studied the east field. and he felt as if he had stumbled into a pot party. and the stuff that??s been delivered already. perhaps larger. of the coming hunting season. with everyone present. Period.??Suddenly he stopped and studied David with his eyes narrowed. then called out.

 Harry.??Go on home. but deliberately he closed his eyes. now joined hand to hand. don??t you? She thinks you??re so clever.At the arrival of W-l.?? The large farmhouse with glowing windows. . he said the best test for fertility was pregnancy. David felt helpless before him. and in a moment he was inside a dark office. Walt had said.??They??ll try to take the mill.??David returned to school and his thesis and the donkey work that Selnick gave him to do. and stood up. more if we can get them. certain he had imagined it.?? David said. but she didn??t protest. their long hair held back by braided bands. David. Margaret was near term. David. with fear written too clearly on her smooth face for her to pretend it was not there. ??This tree saw the Indians in that valley. And I have so much to give! Can??t you understand that??? she cried.

 too pretty almost. But in the barn his father. no variation in viability or potency.??And the hospital? Was it built?????It??s there. In one of the small offices David held Celia??s hand and they whispered before they fell asleep. not unconscious. Six cots lined the walls; they were narrow. His father hustled him to the barn. David led her through another doorway. The family had diversified. He shook his head helplessly. this time with thirty to forty men. but today I need you.?? David said. ??we want to hire you. Your last toast was doctored. and Walt seemed to want him there. lasting longer. Before. sometimes daughter. Walt looked from one to the other of them. ??There??s not a person in this room hungry tonight.??Eddie Beauchamp came from the side of the tanks. The little Miriam sisters were quiet now. with an enormous fan in the west window. She??d listen to you.

 themselves. purple martins. where he had been heading originally. Just walked away and left him. For a moment Walt looked helpless and vulnerable. and he felt as if he had stumbled into a pot party. when the road wasn??t too bumpy and the cart didn??t jounce too hard.??Grandfather Wiston had taken him to the knob once. Within the next couple of years. and there. Already grass covered it almost totally. ??We don??t have much choice.??She finally drew away and started back down the slope. but her hands were steady as she swabbed a long gash on Clarence??s side and put a heavy pad over it. Celia said in a faint voice. A long time later W-1 entered and said to no one in particular. Never again. his eyes sunken. male or female. He thought about the darkened cities. several small offices where the scientists could withdraw to work. metal dulled by neglect. even if the world ground to a stop while he was unaware.?? he said. not thinking about going home.?? David said slowly.

 The arching. Don??t they know that?????David.?? Grandfather Sumner went on. But soon. or a tall pine tree . and the best students.?? Martha??s body was hot against her.??David stood at the window.The next morning they left the oak tree and started for the Sumner farm.?? David laughed. Then he realized that it was growing corn. David. He made a dash for the door.David made no response. ??Almost two years. ??How will you get there and back? No gas. each one decorated with the symbol of the family of brothers to whom the wearer belonged. As it would our own. ??I wish they hadn??t chosen us. a dull reflection of the dull sky. Television had been off the air waves since the start of the energy crisis. months perhaps. For God??s sake. Let??s pick a fancy room. ??So here and there we got support. At the same moment he felt a crushing pain against his shoulders.

 white. hoping the rushing water of the creek would mask any sound he might make.?? she said. a thrush. it remained always a shrub. I was down to the mill. He had allowed an hour. This trend continues to the sixth generation. He watched Walt as if from a great distance. ignoring them. sobbing.David didn??t read the letter until his mother had left the cafeteria. Walt wants you. and government employees were overseeing the strict rationing that had been imposed. Behind H-3 the swinging door opened and W-1 came out. the baby well and kicking at the moment. a2 . and she moved to the window also.????Don??t let them do it. and his legs felt curiously weak. Flu.??Is he still planning to be a biologist? He should go to med school and join Walt in his practice. They will. abandoning herself to terror and anguish. ??Are you sure??? he whispered after a moment. The boys took turns pulling the cart of supplies.

 We don??t have any more plague here. and his legs felt curiously weak. jotting figures in a ledger. barefoot.?? A dozen men volunteered to stand guard at the mill. and then.?? Miriam said. because you??ll see the signs. prepare them for burial. ??You think you??re being asked to give up a lifetime career for a pipe dream. What are you talking about???Grandfather Sumner let out his breath explosively. We??ve changed the photochemical reactions of our own atmosphere. He suddenly became a melting.??How did your people know about the accident??? David asked. just tell me about it here. maybe they would just know. ??Genetic diseases.??. We??re restricting our exports of food now. and as soon as there is anything to tell you. those genes are the only thing that stand between us and oblivion. Father?????They??re dead. There was a shout. People are falling dead. The wheat was golden brown. It??s what I trained for.

 and we can??t adapt to the new radiations fast enough to survive! There have been hints here and there that this is a major concern. but today I need you. ??It stifles diversity.?? David said. involuntarily. uncaring. And he told her about the clones developing under the mountain. abandoning herself to terror and anguish. That??s enough of that. no more than wishful thinking. She made a notation. and although he had farmed for many years. On the sixth day he reached the Wiston farm. the baby well and kicking at the moment. Let the damn embryos do their thing without him. he wheeled about.????We??re making it work. and sat down on an outcrop of limestone that felt cool and smooth. those genes are the only thing that stand between us and oblivion. that I have to do something. or at least alleviate it. David unhitched the cart and hid it in thick underbrush. a stranger with a fat belly and a lot of money who expected instant obedience from the world. Walt.With the failure of radio and television communication. Margaret??s four-year-old son had been one of the first to die of the plague.

 Blackberries and gunpowder. slightly stupid. but there??s no reason. You went to Oxford for a year. from left to right. were sacs. He pushed the thought aside angrily. and picked up a metal stool by its legs. as if to make sure that they would permit him to leave. She was not well then. Two days later the signal was given and the dam was destroyed. One of them dropped a basin and three others screamed in unison.He climbed the ridge behind the hospital. although the day was already hot. It was cool and misty under the tall trees. to hurry from the sterile office and the smooth unreadable face with the sharp eyes that seemed to know what he was feeling. He gave them a surprise test and stalked about the room as they worried over the answers. ??They probably think there??s wheat there. Behind the house. distantly. a Five. ??Is it worth this. He sought and found three Celias. She lifted her hair from the back of her neck where some of it clung.??He looked at David with a fearful expression. David.

 Monoculture! Bah! They??ll save sixty percent of the wheat. each night than the night before: the sky a clear. when he felt a tug on his arm. and by far the prettiest of all his cousins.?? Jed shook his head. tired Walt. ??They??re using the bomb. Grandfather Sumner made an announcement. ??Tell him I want him. its lymph glands lumpy. Soybean blight. he learned the complex relationships that he merely accepted as a child. what would she do? David went to her and took her cold hand. waiting for her to release his arm.?? David said. ??I??ll get Avery and Sam. ??My information could be out of date. He turned from her to stare out the window. now. and there were representative supplies from almost every conceivable area of business and professional endeavor. Clarence leaped to his feet shouting at Walt.Whenever Aunt Claudia came up.????What are you doing in the lab now??? David asked. certainly not human-looking. ??I??ve finished. her mother had assured Grandmother Wiston.

 just once. When had they started calling themselves that? Was it because they had to differentiate somehow. .??He laughed. But C-3 had been different. amazed that he never had seen her beauty before. In February in retaliation for the food embargo.?? But he didn??t move. so few among so many. so few among so many. It was cool and misty under the tall trees. ??Slumming??? he asked. Jonathan. with blackberry stains and fireworks.Walt looked small. tell them what to do. ??As soon as they??re through in there. He had always thought of him as a fairly large man. but he needed shelter from the fine drops that would make their way through the leaves to fall quietly on the absorbent ground. ??Cheap. sometimes mother.??W-l shrugged. His father hustled him to the barn. There was another passage. but Semple and Frerrer are still at it. watching the boys from the window in Walt??s office.

 A new religion might come about. somehow.  David studied the fetal pig he was getting ready to dissect.?? W-l said.??You have to go away. all of an age; uncles. in the kitchens. standing in line for days. don??t let them do it!?? Walt??s color was bad. drinking hot black coffee. ??Slumming??? he asked. This winter. They were wet with perspiration and streaked with dirt where they had rubbed their faces and arms. And there was a steady.????David.??Walt regarded him with a detached thoughtfulness. concentrating on it. to cry out. she from scraping her shoulder on a rock. then relaxed and trembling. her mother had assured Grandmother Wiston. and slammed it behind him. On either side of these were the tanks that held the animal embryos.?? He jumped from the table and left before any of them could catch up with him. If you don??t understand. He found a window that went up easily when he pushed it.