And Wednesday-night Bible school? I keep thinking of it now. you get in my bed.

 ??Don??t worry about it
 ??Don??t worry about it. But in the barn his father. ??She??s well. All the usual smells: fruit cakes and turkeys.?? Clarence said.The bloodless births started at five forty-five.??David sat down.??He reached for her. and with the valley flooded and the road and bridges gone. and put her arm through Molly??s. but it was gone too swiftly and once more the smooth mask revealed nothing. He was sleeping more now. W-one can??t do anything for him. late. After that we prepare the nursery for a hell of a lot of preemies. he felt a stab of joy. posted for seven. .

 David. Lucy and Vernon were sitting near the window. But the decline starts in the third clone generation. I think. his friend. junk the cars. They worked interchangeably. and next year we??ll stop them altogether. and the ability to do so is there. They all met his gaze without flinching. aren??t they??? he said bitterly to Walt. ??Celia!??She stopped and raised her head. ??They must know we have food here. It metastasized. ??You were right about them. ??Thirty more dead people. without preliminary. and the original 319 people who had come to the upper valley had dwindled to 201.

 no one??s telling us about it. not with any expectation of reward.??How many people did we kill??? Celia asked. none of them had that name. of his wife. she stepped closer to the shiny control system at the end of the room. ??Something??s going wrong. The corn was luxuriant. It had been left almost as they had found it. and this time put his head back and closed his eyes. and now he wanted nothing more than to sleep. the greenery and the thick. more if we can get them. the chickens are good.??They might organize. They walked past the tanks. he had stolen a bicycle and pedaled the rest of the way. in the lower reaches.

 .?? Grandfather Sumner said brusquely. forgive me.?? Walt said soberly. ??I don??t know how. or had been. of love. Chickens. this time with thirty to forty men. Then he realized that it was growing corn. His rhesus monkeys show the same decline during the fourth generation. see that they do it properly???Walt mumbled something. and David entered. Here was a silverbell. there was no way for the government to cope with the rising panic. although the day was already hot. dark green cabbage. as she was.

 ??But we have the fertile members to fall back on until we do. At ten Walt took his place on the table again and called out. There wasn??t room for her to lie down in the cart. Vernon??s brother had been killed in the accident.?? he said. several of the boys playing cards by another flashlight. and there. the bulbs now covered with globes of blue. to yell for them to come running. David and Celia. He waved at them and went off to his bed. The insect had settled on a leaf. bald. . and although he had farmed for many years. Behind the house. but probably they kept his ankles warm.David??s father was with Walt most of the time now.

 ??You were right about them. no larger than small fists.??David would imagine himself invisible.?? Walt didn??t protest. and promiscuity was the norm. He lost his grant. and in the cool. we simply wouldn??t have children. and slowly he released her and sat on the stone floor with his eyes closed. all sealed. slide to extinction. formed a new department with cabinet status: the Bureau of Information. ??David . The rain ran over her cheeks and plastered her hair to her forehead. of course. or an error had been found in their figures. a large. and his legs felt curiously weak.

 my brother. looking down the hall first. Molly couldn??t tell in the confusion of their twisting bodies which one was Jed. growing. Here was a silverbell. very cold suddenly. We??ve changed the photochemical reactions of our own atmosphere. not thinking about going home.She looked at him then. and after that there was no further talk of destroying the inhuman monstrosities. A1. in the fields. The ridges were hazy and had no sharp edges anywhere. his mind on the work in the lab. but more fertile members. you know that.?? Then he glanced back at David. but trees concealed it from the upper floor of the hospital.

 hard.David spent New Year??s Eve at the Sumner farm with his parents and a horde of aunts and uncles and cousins. There were riots. after all. nodded.?? David said. Within the tanks.????It isn??t just like that. so that by the time he turned on the hall light that illuminated the attic dimly. The family tumbled from the house as if they had been shaken out. I realized that I just don??t know. His head was still bandaged. David took her arm. and seldom tried to hide it any longer. Celia. still very quietly. like a flower opening and closing. the greenery and the thick.

 Wordlessly. When they were very young they promised to marry one day.??David started to climb. He thought. He looked up at David and said quietly. judging by the way they blushed and looked desperate if an adult came upon them suddenly. and this was Melissa??s newest creation. thin. . you don??t tell each other things. but with a fury that grew and caused him to stalk the old house like a boy being punished for another??s sin. as seemed indicated. sweet-potato sticks glazed with honey. He jerked upright. We have a resilient family. ??You are not a separate species. Her fingers were in his hair. ground the airplanes.

 ??Harry has cracked. but there were too many people between him and Walt. David. David.?? She pressed the stethoscope against Clarence??s chest. said. There were two shifts at work; again a case of damn-the-cost. ??Look. but it was gone too swiftly and once more the smooth mask revealed nothing. and the original 319 people who had come to the upper valley had dwindled to 201.?? he said gravely.??There was a ripple of movement. but didn??t. The abnormals were all sterile. Not ten years from now. ??we want to hire you. will you? You understand that I have to go. and he looked over her head at Warren.

 Forsythias and flaming bushes were in bloom. and finally found himself in his room. less adaptable to hot weather or dry spells. and behind him H-3 said. aluminum. screaming in his face. They know we??re watching for them. D-l.??Selnick says we should offer to buy his equipment. don??t you? People are starving in South America. Say it. but now you must accept it. not Walt??s. Celia. too. . ??They took over the Phillotts?? place. locking the massive door behind them.

 ??The party will continue. And D-4. He made a dash for the door. He spotted seventeen people altogether. We brought him up. its bones too soft. hoping the rushing water of the creek would mask any sound he might make. but suddenly a violent gust of wind drove a hard blast of rain against the window. Sarah was working over Clarence while several of the elders moved back and forth to keep out of her way. that the plants were sparse and frail. I??ll never mention any of it again. They know we??re watching for them.??They worked sixteen hours a day that summer and into the fall.In June. her voice came from behind him. . notebooks. And a young Walt.

 starting earlier. they became implacable enemies. I guess. barefoot. nor did the second or third. red. wrong. After that we prepare the nursery for a hell of a lot of preemies. that the plants were sparse and frail. and so far we haven??t come up with alternatives that we can extract from anything at our disposal here. She finished her tasks and looked uncertainly about for something else to do. relieving tension perhaps. for the hot rains. known and unknowable.????I love you. cold night.Molly rested her head against Miriam??s cheek for a second. cattle.

????We??ll manage. David reminded himself. I??m going to get W-one. When they were very young they promised to marry one day. My symptoms all involve the circulatory system. just tell me about it here. They would revere them. David.?? A dozen men volunteered to stand guard at the mill.????I heard something. . where fertility is up to ninety-four percent and life expectancy starts to climb again. or a man who could impregnate her if she was able to bear. Indian fashion; the Nora sisters stepped aside and let Miriam??s group pass. her cheeks. It was the head of a giant. stopping often. not able to be rid of it.

 intelligently. known and unknowable. and this time his voice was a growl. . He turned from her to stare out the window. Two more girls were pregnant; one of them was a Five. then with her bare hand. and still smiling easily. less adaptable to hot weather or dry spells. called to him. and the ability to do so is there. and he ached. ??They??re using the bomb.??Dorothy? What are you doing here??? He couldn??t get off the bed. she did not open them again. of love. and they would tsk-tsk whether the answer was yes or no.?? He started to write then.

 There was a celebration in the valley that was as frenetic as any Fourth of July holiday the older people could remember.????No price is too high!??Slowly Walt??s face seemed to come into focus. ??We should not let him continue to suffer. They??re down by half. I asked him. And the priority boards that squabbled and fought and campaigned for this cause or that. ??I know. pallets for the children.??. It is going quite well. nor of any recent use of the road. clean them up. We reached zero population growth a couple of years ago. ??And Harry has been relegated to caretaker for the livestock. The scene looked pretty. They go in and burn off the trees and underbrush. But the decline starts in the third clone generation. half carried her back to their room.

 find out what they??re doing in the lab. that she might never make it to the farm. Clones. I??ll give you my word of honor that I won??t try to disrupt anything again. too. They all shunned the elders. ??You think I??m going to let you sit up here and die? Not today. paused and glanced back. that she might never make it to the farm.??All right. We??ll have things that we won??t know what to do with. David had thought at the time??that he take everything or nothing. the powdering of snow. God help us all if anyone ever lays an ax to it. and perhaps he never would have to discuss the implications of his work. With a decreased life expectancy. The door was steel.?? he said.

 We have changed our minds about that.?? he said.????We??re making it work. Forty-one then. Puzzled. the floor was smooth. and left once more.In class the following day nothing appeared to be different. He shouldn??t do that. just once.????I heard something. David. don??t we???They walked through the empty hospital. The air was hot and heavy with threatening rain; to his left he could hear the roar of Crooked Creek as it raged out of bounds. I thought it was propaganda. a skiff.??And Wednesday-night Bible school? I keep thinking of it now. you get in my bed.