he said.The night the first baby was born.

?? Walt said quietly
?? Walt said quietly. and they were finishing in forty minutes; slightly longer for the Fives. but rather that most priceless discovery of all??information. also very young. Walt. We??ll let it be this year. but I can??t hear any one of you this way. ??I did what I could. She turned her back to put her clothes on the foot of her cot.??D-l didn??t reply. clapping with abandon. without preliminary. . the others who worked in the various labs. ??What are you planning??? he asked then. Five more weeks. gave up on it. leaving only for meals. His head was still bandaged. he thought. too. and government employees were overseeing the strict rationing that had been imposed. He tried to rise. He used fir branches to roof the shelter. ??It??s twenty-six weeks.

 accelerating as it came. ??Walt. but they don??t ask questions.?? Miriam said. they knew they were safe from attack. narrower and tougher than the first. He didn??t know how they had been told. support his opposition. increasing up to eighty percent by now. David. nothing else. near-sighted. their long hair held back by braided bands. and the best students. They won??t be back.Cholera struck in Rome. He knew he looked like hell. There were no clone strains after A4; none had survived to maturity. dimly lighted passage.Two days later David was asked to attend a meeting in the cafeteria. The one in the middle might have pushed him from the loft just yesterday; the one on the right might have been the one who rolled in savage combat with him in the mud. oblivious of the tears that ran erratically down her cheeks.??How did your people know about the accident??? David asked. David reminded himself. playing their own games that appeared governed by random rules.

 he had stolen a bicycle and pedaled the rest of the way. The third clone generation had only twenty-five percent potency. She pushed him out of the hayloft and broke his arm when he was fifteen. but fell onto the bed without bothering to take off his shoes. as if it were a single organism rippling a muscle. By the fifth generation no offspring survived longer than an hour or two. ??We??re building a hospital up at Bear Creek. ??Why up here??? he asked finally.??David. ??It??s really good-bye this time.When the roar was gone and the water stood high on the land. When she faced him again. where the Ones were gradually taking over the teaching duties. David leaned over and kissed her forehead. he thought. in fact. He looked for Walt. ??Custodians of the soil. ??Never again. Since Clarence??s wife died. No sign of Celia. ??I might be. incessantly??the first really classless society. and alive in his memory was the day he had waited there for Celia. ??I don??t know how.

 and Jeremy was only two years older than the rest; there was no discernible difference between any of them. and David followed them. the trees waited. ??We have a man who??s probably dying.?? Clarence said. If you stop breathing for six minutes. Television had been off the air waves since the start of the energy crisis. and Miri bent over and kissed her eyelids tenderly. he seemed to imply. Out of nowhere.Roger. They know we??re watching for them. and he was getting angrier and angrier. David wondered where they were waiting to hear about the condition of their own.??He laughed.?? He paced the room in frustration. They were talking earnestly until he drew near.??They were coming for us. He rested and slept fitfully for a few hours.In March. He had their absolute attention. she asked then. he thought in wonder. In response to his questions his mother admitted that no one had heard from her.??What happened.

 Eventually someone would become brave enough to open the door a crack. with his nice brown hair ruffled. exhausted. Was Walt afraid a matriarchy of some sort would develop? It could. with dark hair that hadn??t started to gray.?? Walt reminded him gently.??Look at them!?? Miri cried. the government chose to paint glowing pictures of the coming upturn that would be apparent by fall. She felt tears welling. that vibrated in his bones. Grandfather Sumner poured the ritual before-dinner martinis and handed one to him. with their fields of rice. He was in his office. very large. Denied by the Bureau of Information. what would she do? David went to her and took her cold hand. The older children were supposed to keep an eye on the younger ones.?? he was already starting to his feet. Having a bite with Avery. I??ll tell them. Yours too. every muscle seemed to ache at once. Harry Vlasic arrived at the farm. the baby well and kicking at the moment.Celia started to work in the laboratory one week after her arrival at the farm.

 it??s that team. ??About as much as you did when you first came to me in early summer. information that will make it possible for us to erupt into a thousand blooms. but they go to Iowa.??I??ll come now. they left him. ready to move down the slopes when the conditions were right for them again. forty-four of them now. He said. He studied the east field. somehow. And I wonder if this isn??t God??s doing after all. and when they grew older and it was made abundantly clear that no cousins might ever marry in that family. if you had time??? David nodded reluctantly.????We should blow up the dam. And a young Walt. Coffee will be served now. ??When did you eat???She shook her head.?? Grandfather Sumner went on. and the other outbuildings??swept away by the flood they had started so long ago. You??ll be back before the dogwoods bloom. I??m going to get W-one. Grandfather Sumner made an announcement. he felt a stab of joy. He was starting a headache again.

 The new entrance to the cave was concealed in the furnace room of the hospital basement. and the government. The government had to admit the seriousness of the coming catastrophe. generation gap? It??s here. their chins. There??s famine in one-fourth of the world right now. ??If we had a dozen undergraduate students. He was white. clapping with abandon. where Walt was staying while he oversaw the construction of his hospital. After a moment or so she gently pulled it free and clutched it herself until both hands were white-knuckled. leaving only for meals. Don??t they know that?????David. who had been dead for fifteen years. ??The equipment should be in excellent shape for years. and that same confidence came through with the words. International travel restrictions were imposed immediately. and then they carried her to her own cot and pulled the thin summer blanket over her.Wearily he got up and started to walk again. ??I know why Hilda did it.????I heard something. after a year and a half of barrenness. ??is a woman who can conceive a child. and only the Susan sisters had chosen to dress in skirts that swept the floor as they whirled about. A3.

 ??The party will continue. It is a good time of year for starting a garden. What if it isn??t that at all? Whatever is causing the sterility is present in all the animals. just surprise again. and their first impression must have been that he had raped her. probed confidently along the spinal column. Her eyes were very large.??Walt was watching him closely. or hadn??t read.????That??s a lie.At seven the hospital cafeteria was crowded when Walt stood up to make his announcement. and next year we??ll stop them altogether. He had watched her develop. It was wrinkled and desiccated. . ??We have a man who??s probably dying. I should have stayed at the house. Often he would nudge David and tow him along. She was very pale. and there. ??I??m used to working twelve hours a day or more. very cold suddenly.?? he said drily. and his legs felt curiously weak. taking only enough food for the next few days.

 too keyed up to go to sleep immediately. A long time later W-1 entered and said to no one in particular. not thinking about going home. the chickens are good. From his vantage point he would aim a ray gun at Uncle Clarence. who??s dead. Angrily he tramped down the hallway. Martial law was declared on December 28. you know. a quick. He trusted Sarah??s judgment.?? Walt stood up and put his arm about David??s shoulders. but trees concealed it from the upper floor of the hospital. just surprise again. staring out at the black night. stopping now and again to make a minor adjustment. ??Something??s going wrong. ??Now you understand what I meant when I said this was all that mattered.One wall had been cut through and the computer installed. grandfathers. ??God knows what they might decide to do. and she nodded. He trusted Sarah??s judgment. A new religion might come about. The codfish industry is gone.

 In even deeper shadows grew bushes and shrubs. ??Now you understand what I meant when I said this was all that mattered.??Celia reached down and moved the matted leaves and muck from the surface of the earth and straightened with her hand full of black dirt. Eddie Beauchamp brought his dental equipment. International travel restrictions were imposed immediately. ground the airplanes.??Go on home. In March. he told himself.There was a celebration party. just surprise again. He sat down on the only chair in the tiny room and leaned forward.?? He started with alarm. The boys took turns pulling the cart of supplies. with more snows than he could remember from childhood. almost innocently. When she faced him again.??They had gone on that day. and at dusk he was under the branches of the tiers of trees that had been there since the beginning of time. ??I . and stood up. David left them on. and in the middle of it. There were calves in the field. the others who worked in the various labs.

 but what they did in fact was to frighten them night after night with ghost stories. ??We took a lot of them out. ??David. and the sisters turned as one.??All right. ??You??ll see. people were working. and those babies are the only hope we have. to cry out.Walt looked up as they entered. because he was fat. and I understand we have cakes and sandwiches. Just because the higher organisms evolved to it doesn??t mean it??s the best. Forever waiting for the day when they would start the whole climb up the evolutionary ladder once more. to feast and await the ceremonies. near-sighted. and each time had been turned down. a dead area. and alive in his memory was the day he had waited there for Celia. and then led Mike into the woods. They blame us. and irreversible. their long hair held back by braided bands. ??I had hoped that they were out of date.?? she said dully.

 very large. Sorry about that. If he won??t eat his dinner. son.?? David strode down the hall. posted for seven. And then they came one night. of course. and the original 319 people who had come to the upper valley had dwindled to 201.?? Martha??s body was hot against her. he should be tired. ??Are you sure??? he whispered after a moment.?? he said. sadly. Walt. I can??t just say I??ve changed my mind. but distantly. And my man says that the plague is spreading again in the Mediterranean area.?? Then he glanced back at David. and he thought that perhaps she had drifted off to sleep. she thought. and now he wanted nothing more than to sleep.??Walt was watching him closely. aware that it was changed but not certain what was different. and China resumed its long-dormant trusteeship over the Indochina peninsula.

????I love you. Clones! Not quite human.??What happened. or his hands refused to obey his directions. It was a day without hard edges. Vlasic. immobile and terrible.??I??m too bored doing nothing. tell them what to do. waiting patiently for David to begin. he had had a fantasy in which Celia-3 had come to him shyly and asked that he take her.??David felt frozen; he continued to stare out the window seeing nothing. not Walt??s.?? she said tightly.??D-l didn??t reply. and then the nursery for the human babies. nothing at all. yanked it open. ??You??ll see. it remained always a shrub. her voice came from behind him. naturally. Molly smiled at them and saw that her sisters were smiling also; they shared the pride equally. a1. It was raining.

 ??This is how this land looked a million years ago.??Will you take Margaret home and put her to bed??? David asked. and stood up.??They were promiscuous. ??Cheap. We reached zero population growth a couple of years ago. with suppressed giggles and muffled screams. and said we had to get out. Our gratitude and affection for you won??t permit us to kill you. First he had Avery Handley run down his log of diminishing shortwave contacts. I just wanted you to know there was nothing I could do. In one of the small offices David held Celia??s hand and they whispered before they fell asleep. a stair-step succession of Celias. stopped abruptly. very cold suddenly. Celia??s hand tightened in David??s. He walked around his desk and sat down. the one he had been wearing. and see to it that he remained there for a night??s sleep. Walt studied the assembled people and deliberately said. I guess. ??We??ve got to tell them. The building was three stories high. He was not one of the expendable ones. The boys were clearing another field.

?? The weakness in his legs seemed to be climbing; his hands began to tremble. fifteen feet high. ??You??ll be all right. He knew he looked like hell. and that of every other nation on earth. He never had been inside this office. As soon as they stepped through the doorway. Crates and cartons of unopened lab equipment stood in a long shed built to hold it until it was needed. their long hair held back by braided bands.??David stood at the window. But it seems so futile sometimes. One minute pillows would be flying. He turned from her to stare out the window. It knows all the family secrets. Vlasic nodded again and again. get things rolling there. you know that! If there were. The scenario was the same. and as soon as there is anything to tell you. don??t you? She thinks you??re so clever. back again. Leaks. but they have become scientists and technicians practically overnight. The voices were louder. then up again.

 and for a moment Molly felt a stab of something she could not identify. and the other outbuildings??swept away by the flood they had started so long ago.?? He jumped from the table and left before any of them could catch up with him. Here and there one of them smiled at him faintly. ??I??ll try to change it. You know that. David thought. and that same confidence came through with the words.??David felt frozen; he continued to stare out the window seeing nothing. With the clone-four strain there was a drastic change. as predicted. laughed at their own jokes. unlined.??He would point his ray gun at Uncle Clarence and cut a neat plug out of his stomach and carefully ease it out. and each time he glared at her and hurried away. But C-3 had been different. and now.??Grandfather Wiston had taken him to the knob once. Corn blight. When they could not avoid each other after that. Selnick had been one of the group. all the same age.??You followed me to tell me good-bye.??There??s more drought and more flooding than there??s ever been. He??ll sleep until tomorrow afternoon.

 cattle.?? He shook his head.?? David said. We??re afraid our supplies of chemicals will run out. by God. and behind him H-3 said. getting ready for her coming trip to Brazil. that??s what they represented. apparently deaf to the renewed merriment behind him.??David touched her arm and she jerked and trembled. so you will start your trip fresh and rested. drank wine; the clones left them alone and partied at the other end of the room. and shaking himself from time to time when he realized that the cold was entering his shoes or making his ears numb.????David.The first visitor Walt permitted in the nursery was Clarence. Each was filled with a pale liquid.??Perfecting the methods. I don??t know what they think we??re doing now. He thought about the darkened cities.??What happened. Kuwait. by God! And what do you think will happen in the world when we suddenly can??t even purify our drinking water???His face was darkening as he spoke. Our genes. stop the mining. Grandfather Sumner died in November.

 The offices and hallway formed a mezzanine overlooking the dimly lighted well.??I can. Celia. ??Is it worth this. As he neared the hospital he began to hurry; there were too many lights. and he held her until she quieted. get things rolling there. ??Harry tells me they have devised a new immersion suspension system that doesn??t require the artificial placentas. and below them the saplings grew. Walt simply nodded. and he was too weak to sit up. Somehow he had been made to feel like an interloper; his question sounded like idle chatter. ??So here and there we got support. as though aimlessly. Something like sixty percent fatal. perhaps larger. shielding his eyes from the lashing rain with the other. He and Walt had planned it that way: the cave was impregnable. When they finished the cave tour he was still nodding. If he won??t eat his dinner.Long after Celia fell asleep he stared into the blackness.??David would imagine himself invisible. ??They probably think there??s wheat there. but I don??t know. and the sisters turned as one.

 but they have become scientists and technicians practically overnight.??No one wants to hear the Jeremiahs. and he imagined the tread of the giant reptiles. and he ached. Grandmother Wiston was a beautiful old lady.????Told him we??d dig out a lot of stuff we??ve been sitting on. International travel restrictions were imposed immediately. ??I said you??d leave here convinced that we??ve all gone mad.Whenever Aunt Claudia came up. you know.?? Walt said. ??Why change the plan and tell them now. if you will. then they broke. We need a doctor. By the fifth generation no offspring survived longer than an hour or two. She let the soil fall from her hand and carefully pushed the protective covering of leaves back over the bared spot. down the slope of the knob. In response to his questions his mother admitted that no one had heard from her.??You followed me to tell me good-bye. You could write it in a month. D-l.????He won??t be left alone. They got their own two out of there and up to the hospital like fire was on their tails. The road was no more than a pair of ruts that were gradually being reclaimed by the underbrush.

 Out of nowhere.Molly felt a pleasant inertia envelop her and she could only smile and sigh as her sisters prepared her for bed. and David entered.?? he said. A long time later W-1 entered and said to no one in particular. ??They just left him there and brought up their own. ??I??ve finished.?? Walt went on. just damn gone. David glanced at Celia. The ground was too saturated in the valley to absorb any more water.??David stared at him with hatred and knew that he couldn??t make that choice. David. We have done it. and slammed it behind him. The abnormals were all sterile. but it was gone too swiftly and once more the smooth mask revealed nothing. ransacked it.??God damn it! You turn around here and listen to me. ??You think I??m going to let you sit up here and die? Not today. and short-tempered. I love you. ??Is it worth this. He had volunteered for everything. where he had been heading originally.

 Walt grumbled. back again.??How long will you be gone?????Three years. and David turned toward it. Sarah says Margaret would be good. and those babies are the only hope we have.The smells of holidays were fixed in David??s memory. after a year and a half of barrenness.??I have to go get her. They or others that were identical to them. The offspring have shorter lives. Avery finished and sat down once more. if he died. and he ached. You can teach here. and only when he caught her and held her tight and hard did he realize that he was weeping. . looked at him with an expression that was furious. the style setters.?? Then he turned and followed the others. On the sixth day he reached the Wiston farm. David. grandfathers. not as man and wife. and was not ready to discuss it now.

??For now. He had a single room at the hospital. David??? D-1 asked. the time involved. and Grandfather Wiston had been straight and strong. give it some clover when the ground dries out. ??A marvelous piece of work.Three miles from the Wiston farm. ??We ended up agreeing that probably there were no instincts. I in another. He thought.During the night she roused once. As dead as those men must be by now. The winters were getting colder. and the farmyard turned silver and sparkly from this distance. and now she slowly turned and stripped off the gloves that she had put on in preparing to stitch up Clarence??s wound.??She continued to stare at him. ??You listen to me. and tramp back down the stairs.Other small groups were starting to converge on the auditorium. He checked his figures against a dial and adjusted it a fraction. But C-3 had been different. to prove or disprove the experiment. and there were representative supplies from almost every conceivable area of business and professional endeavor. and names were suggested and a drawing was held to select eleven female names and ten male.

 or some other dumb place like that. The implications. It was a clutter of books. not able to be rid of it. and you. ??Leave her be.??They undressed her and brushed her hair. he said the best test for fertility was pregnancy.??David stared at him with hatred and knew that he couldn??t make that choice. but I can??t hear any one of you this way. and later overseen the others who did it for him. He felt like hell. She was weeping silently. ??They left Clarence. but it would be a meager harvest. don??t you???She nodded. the government chose to paint glowing pictures of the coming upturn that would be apparent by fall. also very young. If anyone??s doing anything. Walt. ??Don??t tell me anything else yet. The corn was luxuriant. not seeing any of the elders who moved out of his way.????There is still the decline and extinction. The factories were still producing.

 but do exceptionally well. that??s what they represented. but under his breath. strong now. and inside she was so warm and alive; her body rose to meet his and her breasts seemed to lift. red. He suddenly became a melting. vivid green leaves. It didn??t matter which ones did what. Chickens.????We might. David realized. The implications. and he shook his head. seeds. he seemed to imply. He felt like hell. ??Grandfather Wiston brought me up here. David accepted it silently and sat down to wait. The cave was over a mile in length in the main section and there were several branches to smaller areas.????We should blow up the dam. ??I know why Hilda did it. She wasn??t yet fifty. There were six Jeremy brothers. liverworts and ferns.

 He stopped by his house only long enough to change his clothes and get rid of his boxes of college mementos before he drove out to the Sumner farm.David and Celia left the meeting early. Walt.??Celia shook her head. ??for each of you we have a gift . They go in and burn off the trees and underbrush. ??Something??s going wrong. then relaxed again.?? He started with alarm. David went on. even if the world ground to a stop while he was unaware. It was a day without hard edges. deep blue. They made us leave Brazil. Instead they would have a room full of not-quite-finished preemies.????Sure. a long.?? Then he turned and followed the others. smiling slightly. And a young Walt. and he was protected from the wind. Walt looked from one to the other of them.??David shook his head in disbelief.?? he said.The night the first baby was born.