this office. but the rain had become clean.

 somehow
 somehow. and Grandfather Wiston had been straight and strong. and they looked the way spring calves always had looked: thin legs.?? he said. David accepted it silently and sat down to wait. the sun of another time. but since the tests for female fertility required rabbits which they did not have. They really believe that everything is still all right here. their long hair held back by braided bands. staring at the floor. David gave that up.At the arrival of W-l. almost dragging him over. or they??ll send a search party for us. ??We have to keep it pretty warm in here. Lucy had fussed over him. and see to it that he remained there for a night??s sleep. of his wife. They weren??t certain yet.??Remember when one of your women killed one of us a long time ago. jeans. I think we??re going to have our hands full with prematures.

 It was cool and misty under the tall trees. Sarah says Margaret would be good. Crates and cartons of unopened lab equipment stood in a long shed built to hold it until it was needed. David.??Walt was in his room at the hospital. a suite. ??You think I??m going to let you sit up here and die? Not today. He raised it and swung it hard against the main control panel. by a trick of the haze-filtered light. ground the airplanes. are going to be there!????I don??t care. The ridges were hazy and had no sharp edges anywhere. Six more formed a group to set explosives in the dam eight miles up the river. David felt helpless before him. I promise I??ll come. ??The humans among them will be pariahs. Sarah smiled and hurried past them and sat down before a computer console and began to type. I think we??re going to have our hands full with prematures. put her pencil in the open book. What do they think? Why do they hang so close to each other?????Remember that old clich??. He meant for not arguing with him. almost with satisfaction.

 standing in line for days.??David. ??Look. narrower and tougher than the first.He climbed the ridge behind the hospital. Chickens. so far ahead of time?????Because it isn??t that far ahead of time. W-l sent for David. catching his balance.??They were coming for us.????David. and he was protected from the wind. Why prolong it? The price is too high for adding a year or two. higher than a man??s head. For a brief moment David thought he heard a bird??s trill. Cloning the fours was worse. broken only by gasps for breath and whispered language that would have shocked their parents. and stood up. who had been dead for fifteen years.The Jeremy brothers had worked out an intricate dance. and sulfur for the chiggers. that??s what! And we??re getting ready for it! I??m getting ready for it! We??ve got the land and we??ve got the men to farm it.

 In the cities the toll had been much higher.??I don??t even know what they??re doing in the lab anymore. ??Think between them they can get enough others.?? Walt said. No child younger than eight or nine. picnic tables and benches. whole green beans. Suddenly David threw the shotgun under the lean-to and ran to meet her. tell them what to do. The elders were being excluded again. pulled the blanket higher about her. and said to Vernon.??All the lights? The heat? The computer? You can generate that much electricity???He nodded. to Washington. and in a moment he was inside a dark office. he had taken her. D-l stood up and offered David a chair at the front of the room. and one of his hands fell off the chair arm.??David looked about the room. but requiring concentration and endurance. and he had no address for her.?? He looked at David and asked.

 presumably for a thrashing. His shoulder ached. ??You will be escorted for three days. It didn??t matter which ones did what. And I had become an atheist. and none of them had permitted himself to call the others by what they were? Clones! he said to himself vehemently.?? he said. ??We went to med school together. ??What we don??t have.??They had gone on that day. he said the best test for fertility was pregnancy. Sorry about that. I was in Colombia for a while. Those tanks are linked to it. calling as he went. ??Damn it.?? Walt said quietly. ??It??s twenty-six weeks. no way to help him. She never got any of our mail. Two years older than they. ??We want you for a consultant.

 David stretched out on the ground under the great trees and slept. she says. and the best students. set in the limestone rock that underlay the area.David followed him to the emergency room and watched his deft hands as he felt Clarence??s body. Dorothy? She was his cousin Dorothy. David.??Lucy stood up. You??re thinking of livestock?????Of course.?? David said. ??I know. She sat wrapped in his plaid shirt and watched him as he opened a can of stew and heated it. almost dragging him over. Harry. it??s a shock. It was like a jet takeoff; a crowd furious with an umpire??s decision; an express train out of control; a roar like nothing he had ever heard. and the small group opened for him. They have two injuries. or like everything he had ever heard. and the next morning he solemnly told it good-bye and began to climb the slopes overlooking the farm.?? he said. Thrushes.

 to a depth that they never dreamed of. paper. getting ready for her coming trip to Brazil. then into the second laboratory. but he was not hungry. No child younger than eight or nine. just damn gone. But when she hit him and he went limp. then she would close the door soundlessly. examining the gift bag. . No. But it was his head that was his most striking feature. Molly thought. in the kitchens.?? He sighed. and he felt as if he had stumbled into a pot party. human babies that laughed and gurgled and took milk from the bottle hungrily. David? They took me every week. You know that. He found himself outside the office that W-l used. that I have to do something.

?? he said.??Has he been eating enough meat lately? He looks peaked. David. Crates and cartons of unopened lab equipment stood in a long shed built to hold it until it was needed. but probably they kept his ankles warm. watching the boys from the window in Walt??s office. The boys were clearing another field. Dorothy? She was his cousin Dorothy. and they looked the way spring calves always had looked: thin legs. and reported to David and Vlasic that no man in the valley was fertile. One of the remaining elders insane. responsive to any change in the wind; the entire field moved at once. Eventually someone would become brave enough to open the door a crack. but she was staring wide-eyed at the tanks. ??Marvelous. don??t you? She thinks you??re so clever. Celia??s mother was more beautiful than the girl. We made it happen. as he would again and again in the weeks that followed. He hadn??t seen her for weeks. We have to bring them out and treat them like preemies. or Minnesota.

 like a flower opening and closing.?? David said. and other nations are getting there too. or bluer in contrast to her pale skin. Grandfather?????Up to and including this tree. There were riots. . Vernon fought to get to the front of the room. and irreversible. twisting about. They do cling to their own kind. no longer wanting to work at all in the laboratory.?? she said. fighting right down the line.??David??s father. of a strength unsuspected in her frail body.??Perfecting the methods. then said. and he could even see some of the young people at the windows studying.?? he said. but determinedly manly. The river was crystal clear.

 He was just finishing up down there.But it was a long time before he slept. in the laboratories. in the lower reaches. dark green cabbage. and then again. and without opening them said.??David touched her arm and she jerked and trembled. We need a doctor. Chlorine. in the cart again. and so far we haven??t come up with alternatives that we can extract from anything at our disposal here. unfit to use.????You know his work?????Yes. the trees waited. because he had not yet moved from the door. there has been another higher one to replace it. And birds. waiting for her to release his arm. You??ll be back before the dogwoods bloom. David. fifteen feet high.

 ??We had to do it.????Stitch him up. leaving the towns and villages and cities scattered throughout the valley to take up residence in the hospital and staff buildings. don??t let them do it!?? Walt??s color was bad. but they go to Iowa. His shoulder ached.??They??ll try to take the mill. on the other side of the river from the Sumner farm. They understand. It knows all the family secrets. I don??t give a damn. He meant for not arguing with him.Celia walked slowly down the aisle between the tanks. David got up and stretched. And Walt nodded thoughtfully. We??ll take care of it. you??re dead. There were the Sumners and Wistons and O??Gradys and Heinemans and the Meyers and Capeks and Rizzos. Well. and Clarence were brothers. ??He had to discontinue his work last year??no funds. ??The famines are spreading.

 On New Year??s Day. And the government was freezing all assets of every business??nothing could be bought or sold without approval.??Can you get materials for the hospital??? David asked. Corn blight. Then the Miriam sisters rushed off in a group to the tables and consulted and disagreed on what to choose and finally ended up with plates filled with identical tidbits: lamb kebobs and sausage-filled pastries. it remained always a shrub. Since Clarence??s wife died.??Celia??s coming home. or his hands refused to obey his directions. which was also grown up with weeds. and she was tanned to a permanent old-leather color. Never again. Something like sixty percent fatal. correspondence. and had knotted cords from which hung leather pouches. you get in my bed. don??t you???She nodded.????I know what your specialty is. ??You pay a high price for individuality. Not many survived it.C-l had been like his own child. He nodded.

 join them or get out. ??I??ll stop them somehow. seeing his aged and aging cousins rejuvenated. David glanced at Celia. He was sleeping more now. and the best students. Lucy.??By the end of summer two of the Four-strain girls were pregnant. my brother.The bloodless births started at five forty-five.?? And David knew there was nothing he could do. It knows all the family secrets.??How many people did we kill??? Celia asked. and Miri bent over and kissed her eyelids tenderly. willing the memory to fade away again. When David fell into bed exhausted after fourteen or sixteen hours. ??Don??t know who. Vlasic nodded again and again. We need nurses.Before he started to build a lean-to. ??Grandfather Wiston brought me up here. behind David.

 They know we??re watching for them. kept her from moving ahead again.??I know.??David. ??They just left him there and brought up their own. It was like seeing Celia in a time distortion. ??We can generate all the electricity we can use. ??Walt. You??re thinking of livestock?????Of course. or when. but he didn??t press it. She was one year younger than David. and he looked over her head at Warren. They were each and every one Celia. It didn't matter. ??We took a lot of them out. There was a shout. but I don??t know. because you??ll see the signs. or were last month. David? Hilda murdered the child of her likeness.????You know his work?????Yes.

 He could no longer tell them apart; they were all grown-up Celias now and indistinguishable. You listen hard. David. watching the boys from the window in Walt??s office.????Told him we??d dig out a lot of stuff we??ve been sitting on. and stood up. He closed the window. he seemed to imply. And I won??t allow it. The implications. third cousins. and this was Melissa??s newest creation. I thought it was propaganda. very large. but rather that most priceless discovery of all??information.??He would point his ray gun at Uncle Clarence and cut a neat plug out of his stomach and carefully ease it out. He pulled his thoughts back when he realized that they were finishing already.?? he was already starting to his feet. ??Almost two years. They all met his gaze without flinching. The music grew louder and more and more dancers spun around. cupping his chin in his hands.

 Never again. he had taken her. He felt like hell. ??Why did you leave like that? They all think we??re going to fight again.????We should start down. ??This needs stitches. there has been another higher one to replace it. the others who worked in the various labs. 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. ??Why did you leave like that? They all think we??re going to fight again. but with little more than a strip of adhesive now. It would have to run off into Crooked Creek.David approached the mill cautiously.  There was a hard freeze in November.?? W-l said. He knew he didn??t want to enter because D-l or D-2 would be there working. Walt be damned. The door was steel.??It??s going to be a research hospital. The D-4 strain would be the one. David pulled her to him. Interchangeable.

 after the feast. .?? Walt pulled his notebook back from where he had pushed it when David had entered. and then what? A mistake.??Nervous??? Miriam slipped her arm about Molly??s waist. but he was seeing it from a new position and it was not the wonderland it had been.??I??m too bored doing nothing. and not one of them was admitting any breeze that late afternoon.?? She put his hand over the pad. ransacked it. none of the finger tapping that was as much a part of Walt??s conversation as his words.?? Walt said. he should be tired.?? he said.????What is Selnick working on?????Nothing. but he needed shelter from the fine drops that would make their way through the leaves to fall quietly on the absorbent ground. leaving only for meals.??Better take off the coat now. ??It??s about Walt.?? He sighed. he should be tired.  There was a hard freeze in November.

What David always hated most about the Sumner family dinners was the way everyone talked about him as if he were not there. Vernon fought to get to the front of the room. of course.?? she said softly. still very quietly. but with the fourth the viability decreased sharply. I thought it was propaganda. Nineteen of us. not wanting to sink to his knees in the treacherous mud here in the lowlands. ??We should not let him continue to suffer. A.He stared at their smooth young faces; so familiar. and Vernon thought he was living in the lab. Within the tanks. But only with one another. and this time his voice was a growl.??I don??t even know what they??re doing in the lab anymore.The hospital construction was progressing faster than seemed possible. were two years younger than the Fours.?? he said. of stillness. oblivious of the tears that ran erratically down her cheeks.

 wrong.?? Walt said. ??David. but with the fourth the viability decreased sharply. in the field. ??I??ll leave as soon as it??s light in the morning. ??Look.?? Walt said. Inoperable.??He nodded. ??Then let me work. Here in the hospital. ??We don??t have much choice. W-one can??t do anything for him. She lifted her hair from the back of her neck where some of it clung. David. it would still be a catastrophe. Inside the cave they used lanterns. ??They think I??m clever like a puppy dog. He flung his coat off and hurried to her. those genes are the only thing that stand between us and oblivion. and tried to pick out Ben.

 the farms in it large and lush. give it some clover when the ground dries out.He had turned and left abruptly and had not spoken to her again in the intervening years. . We all shared that death. ??Where is she?????Miami. ??Slumming??? he asked. Dr. so few among so many. and later on to head a department of research. ??Marvelous. posted for seven. David.?? David laughed.??He nodded. was so like Walt??s that David felt a thrill of something that might have been fear or more likely. was rather wealthy. or an error had been found in their figures. She was weeping silently. and a longer time before he could relax his mind enough to sleep.?? he said. .

 They refused to believe the United States could not meet their demands. They got their own two out of there and up to the hospital like fire was on their tails. David had thought at the time??that he take everything or nothing. The family tumbled from the house as if they had been shaken out.?? He started to write then.?? David grinned at his uncle suddenly. ??They??re bad. and he watched with relief as she started to eat.David and Celia stood in one of the upper rooms of the hospital and watched as the wall of water roared down the valley. ??We??re all dead. a. Eddie didn??t know what they were doing in the other lab. David. The ridges were hazy and had no sharp edges anywhere. There were six Jeremy brothers. distantly. of the recession he feared might reduce his profits. if you had time??? David nodded reluctantly. They were learning in their teens what he hadn??t grasped in his twenties. ??Harry tells me they have devised a new immersion suspension system that doesn??t require the artificial placentas. .?? Without looking back at him.

 blue-green kale. swinging easily with the weight of the baskets. and with the valley flooded and the road and bridges gone. and David followed them.??David leaned forward and unconsciously lowered his voice. you can see a dogwood ready to burst open. We??re afraid our supplies of chemicals will run out. David pulled her to him. and when the world goes into a tailspin we??ll be alive and when it starves we??ll be eating. and he could even see some of the young people at the windows studying. ??I can??t decide anything right now. He was in his office. David? Hilda murdered the child of her likeness. on the level where the offices were. he corrected: his perceptions of her had been different. and not one of them was admitting any breeze that late afternoon. Now. He laughed bitterly and stood up. There were six Jeremy brothers. Los Angeles. He never had been inside this office. but the rain had become clean.