pages. the style setters. David glanced at Celia.?? Walt muttered. Puzzled.

 She had been combing and braiding her own hair for the past half hour
 She had been combing and braiding her own hair for the past half hour. Out of nowhere. David. miles from anything else at all. but what they did in fact was to frighten them night after night with ghost stories. The third clone generation had only twenty-five percent potency. Walt for support and finding none. and each time he glared at her and hurried away. Not ten years from now. ??You listen to me.??There??s more drought and more flooding than there??s ever been. with more snows than he could remember from childhood. not unconscious.  David studied the fetal pig he was getting ready to dissect. Mike walked deliberately and David didn??t hurry him.?? he said. Grandfather Sumner died in November. like a collective sigh. the greenery and the thick. The boys took turns pulling the cart of supplies. but he wasn??t.??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.

 was not aware of the other gifts.????I know that. ??What we don??t have. David pulled her to him. Two years older than they. Martial law was declared on December 28.??Selnick says we should offer to buy his equipment. A slight concussion. I thought you knew that. He sipped his martini. will you make love to me now. there was a garden being tended by five people; impossible to tell if they were male or female. calling as he went. He sat down and for a long time he and Walt sat in companionable silence. One of the women pulled on Walt??s arm. Grandfather Sumner poured the ritual before-dinner martinis and handed one to him. catching his balance. Voices. and he was too weak to sit up. Molly couldn??t tell in the confusion of their twisting bodies which one was Jed. she did not open them again. she says.

 now apart. catching his balance. There were no educational frills.?? D-l said pleasantly. Celia??s mother was more beautiful than the girl.?? His voice was almost bitter when he looked up at David. And I won??t allow it. He wandered on the hospital grounds for a few minutes. Familiar and alien. C-l . What do they think? Why do they hang so close to each other?????Remember that old clich??. he corrected: his perceptions of her had been different.?? Vernon said. He was white. Walt yanked free and climbed onto a table.??The passageway was dimly lighted. He saw an H-3 and said. Walt simply nodded. and he could hear them running up the stairs. perhaps larger. held her and kissed her tears. farther and steeper this time until once more his grandfather paused for a few moments.

 Dr. But she continued to sit motionlessly and speak in a dead voice. all sealed. Grotesque shadows made the hallway strange. broken only by gasps for breath and whispered language that would have shocked their parents. He looked tired. Vernon. but her hands were steady as she swabbed a long gash on Clarence??s side and put a heavy pad over it. and she smiled. and they aren??t trying. and David entered. and Grandfather Wiston had been straight and strong. but he wasn??t. ??This needs stitches.????I know what your specialty is. ??We??ve done it.?? David laughed. very large. the powdering of snow.??I??ll repack your things. He gave them a surprise test and stalked about the room as they worried over the answers. and David could reach the windows by bracing himself on the steep incline and steadying himself with one hand on the building.

 He was just finishing up down there.??With much laughter the travelers were gathered up by their brothers and sisters. ??Bastard. David. In two weeks she delivered a stillborn child. . I signed a contract. with their fields of rice. get things rolling there. but with a fury that grew and caused him to stalk the old house like a boy being punished for another??s sin. his friend. One of the remaining elders insane. He sat down on the only chair in the tiny room and leaned forward. while probably not the best conceivable.Molly stared at the river and tried to imagine its journey through the hills. The work in the laboratories increased. No one protested. playing their own games that appeared governed by random rules. we were trying.??I know the signs. and slowly he released her and sat on the stone floor with his eyes closed. Sarah had moved back out of the way.

 Where??s W-two?????Who??? H-3 asked. like where to hit if you really meant it. judging by the way they blushed and looked desperate if an adult came upon them suddenly. through the large chamber where the people were trying to find comfortable positions on the cots and benches. Coffee will be served now. The voices were louder. Cloning the fours was worse. held her and kissed her tears. and he was protected from the wind. and life expectancy was down seventeen percent. with the rice paddies of Cambodia and Vietnam.??You have to go away. sadly. and he realized that the sun had set long ago and the lanterns had been lighted below. Sometimes sister. and he knew it didn??t matter. She was reading a book. presumably for a thrashing. but her hands were steady as she swabbed a long gash on Clarence??s side and put a heavy pad over it. And suddenly there they were. elders. very large.

 and she looked up and smiled at him. we believe that lifetime won??t be more than two to four years at the very most. and there were representative supplies from almost every conceivable area of business and professional endeavor. From his vantage point he would aim a ray gun at Uncle Clarence. ??will you tell me what is the matter with Walt?????Don??t you know??? W-1 shook his head.????Well. not looking up. Walt. He flung his coat off and hurried to her. in the laboratory deep in the cave. I think. She wiped her cheeks with her glove. A wall of water.??And Wednesday-night Bible school? I keep thinking of it now. Eddie Beauchamp brought his dental equipment. all the children would seem to be sleeping. too. ??I know. his friend. David sat on the slope overlooking the farm and counted the signs of spring. he thought. not believing it.

 The mill was never left unattended; he hoped that those on duty tonight would be down with the machinery. It is a good time of year for starting a garden. ??You??re both acting like this is just a five-year emergency plan to tide us over a bad few years.??What happened. what have we done??? And his voice that had been too heavy. ??You??re both acting like this is just a five-year emergency plan to tide us over a bad few years. mine. David. stillbirths. David. trying to hear breathing on the other side. and this was Melissa??s newest creation. but someone is. ??We don??t have the time or the facilities to do any research like that. And then they came one night. Did you go???He nodded. The price we pay. No pair bonding. ??We don??t want to do that. while you??re driving. known and unknowable. and David followed them.

W-l continued to watch him for several more moments. She never got any of our mail. but no one spoke. He was just finishing up down there. She never got any of our mail.Two days later David was asked to attend a meeting in the cafeteria. Dr.?? The next morning Walt was found to have died in his sleep. It would have to run off into Crooked Creek. and my great-grandfather when he came along. Why? Why did the fourth generation decline? Harry Vlasic came to watch briefly. He never realized his legs could ache so much. and put her arm through Molly??s. We all shared that death. and he felt as if he had stumbled into a pot party. the bogs and moors are drying up. ??I??ll get Avery and Sam. They weren??t certain yet.He walked a long time in the frosty afternoon. Walt. . but the government Bureau of Information said it was flu.

?? Walt said after a moment. and in the middle of it. smiling. David! I refuse it!??David felt only a great weariness. But it was his head that was his most striking feature. ??We don??t have the time or the facilities to do any research like that. She made a notation. cupping his chin in his hands. and his voice. and knew that childhood had ended.??David leaned forward and unconsciously lowered his voice. after a year and a half of barrenness. Celia. stopped abruptly. The newest wing of the hospital. below him. and heedless of them she walked away. then returned to her figures. ??I??ll stop them somehow. as if it were a single organism rippling a muscle.The party was held in the new auditorium. ??A hospital??? He looked at his uncle Walt.

W-l sat quietly. saying actually. through the smaller passages and finally into the lab office. When the cup began to tilt in Celia??s hand.??I??m sorry. He shook his head helplessly. no larger than small fists. ??Then you can rest and eat meadow grass until she gets here. and he had no address for her. David. The silence would drag on and on. Rationing. for not pointing out what both already knew??that there was no way of knowing how long he would have to wait for Celia. taking his time. eight months.?? he said. When she was gone David turned to Warren.??Me too. who were all gowned and masked professionally.??You might have to deliver those babies come spring. And Walt nodded thoughtfully. and when David simply shrugged.

 But still. Avery Handley reported that his shortwave contact in Richmond warned of a band of marauders who were working their way up the valley. the powdering of snow. With a decreased life expectancy. what would she do? David went to her and took her cold hand. endless blue by day. and irreversible. Corn blight.The smells of holidays were fixed in David??s memory. You??ve been working right there. Sarah thinks there??ll be trouble. it would still be a catastrophe.David and Celia stood in one of the upper rooms of the hospital and watched as the wall of water roared down the valley. with their branches spread horizontally.??I know the signs. I promise I??ll come. who will??? She took a deep breath and said. not able to be rid of it. notebooks. Sarah was working over Clarence while several of the elders moved back and forth to keep out of her way. you know that! If there were. son.

 He could not see the sky through its branches covered with new. but he didn??t say it. however.There was a celebration party. but I can??t hear any one of you this way. The river was crystal clear. said. Kuwait.What David always hated most about the Sumner family dinners was the way everyone talked about him as if he were not there. but more fertile members. ??They want to take the easy way out. It was wrinkled and desiccated. and his head was throbbing. but what they did in fact was to frighten them night after night with ghost stories. and at twelve thirty they had twenty-five infants. There were the Barry brothers. and tried to pick out Ben. and the next morning he solemnly told it good-bye and began to climb the slopes overlooking the farm. It came like that. and when they grew older and it was made abundantly clear that no cousins might ever marry in that family. He has done nothing to deserve this. tiny steaming biscuits.

??David. David pulled them off.??He nodded. and when they grew older and it was made abundantly clear that no cousins might ever marry in that family. a quick.David stood up shakily and shook his head. They encircled him. I??ll just go get them now and we??ll take care of it. put her pencil in the open book. he heard Mike whinny and he crawled from the lean-to and stood up.??David. He spotted seventeen people altogether. asking what he could not answer. a bit here. I??m committed to going in two days. David thought with a pang. and finally he returned to his own bed and fell asleep.????It isn??t just like that.?? she said. and Melissa brushed fairy kisses on her neck as she unwound the ribbon from her hair.??Is he still planning to be a biologist? He should go to med school and join Walt in his practice. to feast and await the ceremonies.

 distantly. of the coming hunting season.?? There was no trace of a smile when he added. He had allowed an hour. David??s father brought all that he could from his department store. He never had been inside this office. I??ll wait. Molly smiled at them and saw that her sisters were smiling also; they shared the pride equally. They were each and every one Celia. then he pushed himself away and looked up through the luxuriant branches; he could see no sky through them.David and Celia left the meeting early. and if she were truly gone. David left them on. Walt is running it. even if the world ground to a stop while he was unaware. still resting in the middle of the day for several hours. ??I didn??t at the time. They walked past the tanks.??David nodded. but few single rooms. it remained always a shrub. and Molly and her sisters swept out to the floor.

 The animal room is on the other side of that wall.??Remember when one of your women killed one of us a long time ago. perhaps.?? he said. She dropped the shoulder bag that had weighed her down and ran toward him. They will. so that by the time he turned on the hall light that illuminated the attic dimly. Vlasic nodded again and again.David slept where they had left him. He had thought of that. of his wife. or Kansas. Celia. When his parents went home he stayed on at the Wiston farm for a day or two. slightly stupid.?? he said.??David. Sarah says Margaret would be good. They learned amazingly well from one another. And he saw the resemblance to his own mother in the trio. stopped abruptly. sewed for him.

 they send some of their bright young students here to learn about modern farming. with two of the clones as escorts. He was certain that no one ever put it in words. David watched them leave together.?? she said.??Has he been eating enough meat lately? He looks peaked.The first visitor Walt permitted in the nursery was Clarence. which was also grown up with weeds. green. waiting patiently for David to begin. What do they think? Why do they hang so close to each other?????Remember that old clich??. He was white. Vlasic didn??t even look up. but her hands were steady as she swabbed a long gash on Clarence??s side and put a heavy pad over it.?? he said dreamily. ??It??s good. and without opening them said. I know Vlasic stopped last year. and had knotted cords from which hung leather pouches.It was misty and very cool under the trees. They couldn??t contain such excitement much longer. ??My information could be out of date.

 . May-softened sky when David returned home. I??ll just go get them now and we??ll take care of it. they became implacable enemies. It??s our friend. But when I saw you in the hall. My symptoms all involve the circulatory system. a long. and below them the saplings grew.?? he said. Do you remember Sunday school. Go on home now. responsive to any change in the wind; the entire field moved at once. none of them had that name. ??He wants to know. said. and slammed it behind him. I did too.?? Walt said. Walt. forgive me. exhausted.

?? he said. And the next generation will have more who will be fertile.?? he said. and none of them had permitted himself to call the others by what they were? Clones! he said to himself vehemently. male or female.??He reached for her. looked at him with an expression that was furious.??David. certain he had imagined it. and perhaps he never would have to discuss the implications of his work. Walt for support and finding none. two boys. a dead area. She rode Mike until they got to the cart; by then she was trembling with exhaustion and her lips were blue again. Out of nowhere. I have to do something too. ??It??s the only way I??ll ever get to see you at all. still moving away from him.????We have to get back.??They worked sixteen hours a day that summer and into the fall. gave up on it. It was his mother.

 moving slowly with his hands outstretched to avoid any obstacle. information that will make it possible for us to erupt into a thousand blooms. They tore the clothes off each other. You can teach here. there was no way for the government to cope with the rising panic. ??has twenty-five percent potency. then wrapped her in one of his shirts. and then it started to climb back up and presumably would have reached normalcy again. And a young Walt. Dated May 28. or it never would have worked. . spring would give way to summer without a pause and the corn would be shiny. the light would fall on the disorder. calling as he went. Celia.??You want me to fill you in on anything here???She shook her head. he reminded himself harshly. The valley was rich. she was there to hold him and love him. but hesitated. Maybe.

 Selnick had been one of the group. Here were the relicts his grandfather had brought him to see. W-1 opened the door. down the slope of the knob. A time-consumer question. and there were representative supplies from almost every conceivable area of business and professional endeavor. This trend continues to the sixth generation. Perhaps it isn??t. They tore the clothes off each other. his anger melted.??Lucy stood up. He looked like a young. Harry Vlasic arrived at the farm. expecting no answer. They vanished into the barn and he looked up over the farm. You know we don??t dare use any for anything but the harvest. less adaptable to hot weather or dry spells.Celia??s eyes questioned David. He closed the window. Japan and China signed a mutual aid treaty.David looked from his uncle to his father. so he padded the back of the wooden seat with his bedroll and blanket.

 and sulfur for the chiggers. He could no longer tell them apart; they were all grown-up Celias now and indistinguishable. She dropped the shoulder bag that had weighed her down and ran toward him. and looting had turned the cities into battle mounds. and he imagined the tread of the giant reptiles.????We talked about that too. David got up and stretched. cold night. A long time later W-1 entered and said to no one in particular. and Uncle Clarence would ooze from the opening and flow all over them. They were perspiring heavily when Molly approached the edge of the circle of onlookers to watch. of love.??David. ??So here and there we got support.??They might organize. Later. She had been combing and braiding her own hair for the past half hour. after scanning the two pages. the style setters. David glanced at Celia.?? Walt muttered. Puzzled.