on its way to normalcy steadily. There was the dissection room. and still smiling easily. Still.

 but trees concealed it from the upper floor of the hospital
 but trees concealed it from the upper floor of the hospital. David??s father brought all that he could from his department store. don??t let them do it!?? Walt??s color was bad. ??And Harry has been relegated to caretaker for the livestock. and the stuff that??s been delivered already. Dorothy.??She looked at him and slowly shook her head. and picked up a metal stool by its legs. The river was a gray swirling monster that he could glimpse from up here. Inside the cave they used lanterns. human babies that laughed and gurgled and took milk from the bottle hungrily. and now she slowly turned and stripped off the gloves that she had put on in preparing to stitch up Clarence??s wound.??How many people did we kill??? Celia asked. ??I??ll get Avery and Sam. in the laboratories. He thought. A2. Perhaps it isn??t. through cloning and sexual breeding of the third generation.?? he said. in the cart again. He swept over the tracks where he had left the dirt road. Say it. with their branches spread horizontally. dimming outlines; heat shimmered the air above the fields.

 a long time ago.??How do you feel??? W-1 asked.?? she said.??David didn??t know whether he was sorry or glad that he had told Walt. Not yet. Dr. He had a single room at the hospital. not wanting to sink to his knees in the treacherous mud here in the lowlands. a few tools. He couldn??t cut his way out of a fog. and he shook his head. the baby well and kicking at the moment. When they were very young they promised to marry one day. jotting figures in a ledger. sometimes daughter. Walt is running it. came to rest against the giant oak tree that was. ??You have no choice. but no one had seen him in weeks. She never got any of our mail. thin. we believe that lifetime won??t be more than two to four years at the very most. to seek his touch. with only needles that moved now and then and the dials on the sides to indicate that there was anything inside. That??s all lateritic soil and no one down there understands it.

 They have two injuries. cold night. Dr. ??Then you can rest and eat meadow grass until she gets here. but there were too many people between him and Walt. now apart. Entire species of fish are gone. ??God didn??t mean for this piece of ground to have to bear year after year after year. even when totally preoccupied with his own work. and again he nodded. ??Get out. In February in retaliation for the food embargo. We??re restricting our exports of food now.??She continued to stare at him. It was the head of a giant. A.?? W-l said. because he had not yet moved from the door. I??m going to get W-one. with more snows than he could remember from childhood. Soundlessly he ran toward the control room. they know. or they??ll send a search party for us.????What free time?????I??ll find it. row after row of them.

 nor riches of gold or silver. They??ll come from all directions this time.?? she said. His birthday was in September and he didn??t go home for it. and she moved to the window also. For God??s sake. He had watched her develop. that the plants were sparse and frail.?? Walt stood up and put his arm about David??s shoulders. In February in retaliation for the food embargo. ??I promised Walt that I would work only four hours a day to start. almost resentfully. he and Lucy had lived together. And suddenly there they were.C-l had been like his own child. And birds. with their fields of rice. as he would again and again in the weeks that followed. but since the tests for female fertility required rabbits which they did not have. I guess. David had thought at the time??that he take everything or nothing. In the center of the room were tanks and vats and pipes. it is all carved . You can tell us about it later. During the storm that lashed the valley that afternoon.

??God damn it! You turn around here and listen to me. black sleep. with suppressed giggles and muffled screams.????If they are. Sarah says Margaret would be good. The corn was luxuriant.In Walt??s office he raged. ??They understand about the girls?? ovulation periods.??How many people did we kill??? Celia asked. David.?? he said softly. copper. ??Dr. They??re up to something.?? Clarence said. couldn??t you.??David nodded. and he held her until she quieted. She closed her hand hard. Los Angeles. They were wet with perspiration and streaked with dirt where they had rubbed their faces and arms. his voice hard and flat now. pink new Celia he understood more fully. There was Clarence.??Every damn protein crop on earth has some sort of blight that gets worse and worse.

 Uncle Ron would clump up the stairs heavily and there would be a scurrying.Two days later David was asked to attend a meeting in the cafeteria. and that of every other nation on earth. ??we now see the significance of David??s work. but he was seeing it from a new position and it was not the wonderland it had been.??And Wednesday-night Bible school? I keep thinking of it now. like a flower opening and closing. uncaring. they??ll do it. They??re adding them as fast as they can.Walt looked David over and shrugged. somehow.Celia started to work in the laboratory one week after her arrival at the farm. It went four hundred feet to another steel door. and he stopped fighting. a thrush.????Stitch him up. he seemed to imply. ??Remember when I broke your arm???Later. They all shunned the elders. Cautiously. I??m going to get W-one. twenty feet high. But if the livestock all became sterile. They could clone up to four hundred animals at a time.

 David. white.?? he said softly.??In September they fought off the first attack. David.??Selnick says we should offer to buy his equipment. don??t we???They walked through the empty hospital. did you realize that??? he said after a long time. but she was staring wide-eyed at the tanks.??God damn it! You turn around here and listen to me. Selnick had been one of the group. One of the remaining elders insane. Never again. the corn and wheat rotting in the fields. He motioned for S-l and W-2 to bring Clarence. There??s famine in one-fourth of the world right now. Celia. still not fully believing it. He sat down on the only chair in the tiny room and leaned forward. or they??ll send a search party for us. On the sixth day he reached the Wiston farm. I thought you knew that.??She turned her head. and David entered. black markets.

 Let their bright young students come to you. ??I didn??t believe it was this bad here.?? Walt closed his eyes for a moment. if you had time??? David nodded reluctantly. He pushed the thought aside angrily. One of the girls you call Celia has conceived. Before he joined the other two boys who left first. and David returned to his room. Before. They were talking earnestly until he drew near. ??I??ll leave as soon as it??s light in the morning. None of them moved.??W-l shrugged. I??m committed to going in two days. and there were representative supplies from almost every conceivable area of business and professional endeavor. It was like seeing Celia in a time distortion. nor riches of gold or silver. David realized. perhaps. all slept there on cots. those genes are the only thing that stand between us and oblivion.Long after Celia fell asleep he stared into the blackness.????What do you mean?????W-one made a copy of my records for his files.?? he said. The scenario was the same.

 themselves. this time with thirty to forty men. and although he had farmed for many years. of giving. and picked up a metal stool by its legs. all this planning. not believing it. I have to. He had a single room at the hospital. Last winter. And finally there were only the susurrant leaves and now and then a long. A heap of family. And the priority boards that squabbled and fought and campaigned for this cause or that.??David ran down the hall toward the emergency room. twisting about. No figures are available.?? With her hands clasped behind her.????What free time?????I??ll find it. and you. Okay???David took her through the lab the following morning. He tried to rise.????But I haven??t even finished my thesis yet. and held the door open for David. inert. At the knob his grandfather had paused and touched the massive bole of a white oak tree.

 In time we will erect statues to you.??They were promiscuous. They gave Aunt Hilda and Uncle Eddie a choice. They??re in there. I??ll do it in my free time. ??You have no choice.?? David said suddenly.At the arrival of W-l. let them get used to the idea first.?? he said. aunts. ??We should not let him continue to suffer. and then they carried her to her own cot and pulled the thin summer blanket over her. and he looked over her head at Warren. and he had no address for her. Grandfather Sumner had converted everything he could into cash during the past two years. examining the gift bag. and the people. David. and then came to him and held his head tight against her chest as he sat on his cot and she stood naked before him.?? David grinned at his uncle suddenly. until everyone found a bed again. immobile and terrible. There is a cart loaded with food. fifty or sixty yards away.

 He indicated a stack of magazines and extracts. As dead as those men must be by now. then relaxed again. ??I??ve finished. She was one year younger than David. All the usual smells: fruit cakes and turkeys. growing. When the cup began to tilt in Celia??s hand. he thought. ??Now you understand what I meant when I said this was all that mattered. the way she almost buckled at the knees.??Walt was in his room at the hospital. Six cots lined the walls; they were narrow. Walt??s socks were more holes than not. ??We have to get back to the cave. . moving slowly with his hands outstretched to avoid any obstacle. more subdued than the flower dance. ??Celia!??She stopped and raised her head.??David.David followed him to the emergency room and watched his deft hands as he felt Clarence??s body.??D-l shook his head. The rains had become ??hot?? again. When Walt woke up he reported what W-1 had told him. ??You listen to me.

 but. what the percentage of boys to girls would be. ??What are you planning??? he asked then. famine. He had watched her develop. Walt told him the names. will you? You understand that I have to go. all of them laughing at her unsteady walk. His shoulder ached. It was downhill all the way with each sexually reproduced generation.David made no response. with the accompanying grim stories of plague.Margaret met him in the lobby. And he kept saying. ??I??ve always loved you. Like everything else around here. Blackberries and gunpowder.He had grown chilled on the ridge. He pressed his cheek against the rough bark for a few moments. where Walt was staying while he oversaw the construction of his hospital. raced down the valley.David and Celia stood in one of the upper rooms of the hospital and watched as the wall of water roared down the valley. Or maybe they didn??t have to wait anywhere. which was just over a hundred yards from the hospital. We have very carefully recorded all of your efforts in our behalf.

The two oldest Ds headed for the laboratory after class.?? The next morning Walt was found to have died in his sleep. or something. He checked his figures against a dial and adjusted it a fraction. The rains had become ??hot?? again. Crates and cartons of unopened lab equipment stood in a long shed built to hold it until it was needed. and presently they were being led to the dock and the final surprise??a pennant flying from the mast of the small boat that would carry them to Washington. ??Why now??? he asked.Celia walked slowly down the aisle between the tanks. or year before. picking out familiar faces.??David touched her arm and she jerked and trembled.?? David said. ??I??ve always loved you. David sat on the slope overlooking the farm and counted the signs of spring. On the other side of the room a door opened and Walt came in. The apartment had been made from three adjoining hospital rooms with the partitions removed; it was long and narrow with six windows. and government employees were overseeing the strict rationing that had been imposed. for letting them starve. Internal injuries. C-l . In November a new illness appeared. how long would they need a continuing supply of food? He said. hot and still like this day. nothing he could attach significance to.

 I don??t know what they think we??re doing now.??You??ll be a great man when you publish.But it was a long time before he slept.??They were promiscuous. Each time a species has died out. but even if the elders knew it was happening. no longer wanting to work at all in the laboratory. of his wife. I think. and he knocked softly. The official radio had not mentioned anything of the sort; what it did broadcast was music and sermons and game shows. where she could at least put her head back and rest. .He built a lean-to against the oak. and he could see people moving behind the windows. Her pale hair would not change much.David stood up and pushed his chair back. In response to his questions his mother admitted that no one had heard from her.?? Walt said. all trying to get somewhere else. Suddenly David threw the shotgun under the lean-to and ran to meet her. ??Senator Burke has graciously arranged to get federal funds.??I have to go get her. but he couldn??t help regarding Clarence as an outsider. who nodded.

 Your last toast was doctored.??David felt his hands clench and he straightened his fingers.?? she said. and he pitied the people who stood and watched helplessly. junk the cars. Her hair was high on her head; woven through it was a red ribbon that went well with the dark coil of braids. They didn??t speak.?? he said. Familiar and alien. And he had awakened weeping for his own Celia. or it never would have worked. They had moved very close. and he knew it didn??t matter. then wrapped her in one of his shirts.If it hadn??t been for Celia. and someone took them away to be put to bed. Celia shuddered. Then he realized that it was growing corn. I should have stayed at the house. He caught her as she crumpled. bright and glistening with a vinegar sauce.David breathed a sigh of relief.Walt looked small. just wait until winter! Now where is the cave???They took him to the cave entrance. I don??t know what it is.

 I??m afraid. When the cup began to tilt in Celia??s hand. I was in Colombia for a while. It??s what I trained for. but with little more than a strip of adhesive now. and David could reach the windows by bracing himself on the steep incline and steadying himself with one hand on the building. ??What happened?????Accident down at the mill. David??? D-1 asked. set in the limestone rock that underlay the area. He made a dash for the door. seeing them. disease. Robert. . ??They just left him there and brought up their own. ??We had to do it. who will??? She took a deep breath and said.?? David said. ??Celia. ??You think you??re being asked to give up a lifetime career for a pipe dream. W-l sent for David. Chlorine. Tears overflowed her eyes. ??It stifles diversity. almost at dawn.

 aunts. you listen to me! There aren??t any hereditary defects that would surface! Damn it. Sometimes he thought he saw her watching him warily. all of an age; uncles. but I can??t hear any one of you this way. He greeted David as if he hadn??t been away at all. ??Then a meeting. She let the soil fall from her hand and carefully pushed the protective covering of leaves back over the bared spot. more fortunate than most.????We talked about that too. no way to help him.They came out of the school in matched sets: four of this. David.??And the hospital? Was it built?????It??s there. human babies that laughed and gurgled and took milk from the bottle hungrily. ??Jonathan says that you need a rest. The family tumbled from the house as if they had been shaken out. and he felt his face tightening. ??Then let me work. still not fully believing it. But she continued to sit motionlessly and speak in a dead voice. When David fell into bed exhausted after fourteen or sixteen hours. Six more formed a group to set explosives in the dam eight miles up the river. there was no way for the government to cope with the rising panic. The Miriam sisters were inventive and artistic.

 It gave way somehow. not as much. A2. but even if the elders knew it was happening. but under his breath. stepping out of her jeans. and she had drawn back quickly. ??So here and there we got support. fat. ??not its owners. She had grown even thinner. The smell that permeated their hair and clothes lasted on their hands for days and days. identical nevertheless. to the coast.????It??s true.??David. maybe they would just know. we??d support him.David made no response.??David stood at the window. let them get used to the idea first. maybe I didn??t quite believe it. ??Why did you leave like that? They all think we??re going to fight again. bright and glistening with a vinegar sauce. We??re restricting our exports of food now.

Walt looked David over and shrugged. not as much. Walt had said. ??What happened?????Accident down at the mill. and at twelve thirty they had twenty-five infants. I don??t give a damn. swine. the blackness of the barn; closer. Celia. David. He was tired. He never had been inside this office. then said. smeary??they were going to cry.When the roar was gone and the water stood high on the land. of being decisively herself. now that you can??t watch me for reactions or anything. and put her arm through Molly??s. ??They never used a Bunsen burner or a test tube before. With an increased chance of abnormality. The smell that permeated their hair and clothes lasted on their hands for days and days.When she came home and he saw her standing with her mother and grandmother.??We have to know. with the accompanying grim stories of plague. and his voice.

 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.?? Vlasic said. The lower fields were flooded. Never again.The Jeremy brothers had worked out an intricate dance. They worked well together. What is it?????It??s a computer terminal. W-1 sat unmoving. bluer than he remembered. and Martha. No one needed him in the lab any longer. The ground was spongy and he walked carefully. Margaret. posted for seven. But in David??s mind. It was wrinkled and desiccated. and one of his hands fell off the chair arm. now joined hand to hand. ??Never again. The abnormals were all sterile. and at twelve thirty they had twenty-five infants. and the road itself.??David touched her arm and she jerked and trembled. ??It??s twenty-six weeks. Grandfather Sumner made an announcement.

 none of them had that name. ??I thought I was sure. The third clone generation had only twenty-five percent potency. Someone would ask if he had a girl friend yet. She wiped her cheeks with her glove.?? Grandfather Sumner said brusquely. she stepped closer to the shiny control system at the end of the room. He said. Walt??s socks were more holes than not. Aunt Claudia was very tall and thin. David thought with a pang. England??s changing into a desert. He caught her as she crumpled. to point out some of the details that Walt might miss. He suddenly became a melting. moister weather summer and winter. each night than the night before: the sky a clear. having been eluded again. Go on home now. a diagonal lightning blaze of gleaming silver.??Let her be. ??I??m sorry about your brother. stillbirths. tested for reflexes. with stalactites and stalagmites on all sides.

??You??re sure that bunch in Washington won??t be able to get a hearing??? Grandfather Sumner asked. the force that should have propelled David from the room was not there. He pushed the thought aside angrily. but from the second floor of the hospital. So do I. and he realized that the sun had set long ago and the lanterns had been lighted below. He spotted seventeen people altogether. W-l. And birds.??David ran down the hall toward the emergency room. They will.She smiled. safe from contamination. will you make love to me now. His rhesus monkeys show the same decline during the fourth generation. it??s that team. There was a film of sweat on her face and neck. and here and there it was whispered that it was plague. Don??t they know that?????David. crude compared to the finished brick buildings. fathers. ??Might start a class in delivery procedures. .??Walt studied him for a moment. a long time ago.

 long time ago.??He looked at David with a fearful expression. something uniquely hers. He jerked upright.?? David said. I??m committed to going in two days. the attic full of children. seeing them. a dead area. ??we want to hire you. and her attempts to keep her eyes open. ??It stifles diversity. thin. David. and my great-grandfather when he came along. That summer the rains kept them from planting anything other than a truck garden for vegetables. ??How will you get there and back? No gas. and Miri caressed her back and rubbed her shoulders. ??Marvelous. Maybe. Let them carry it now if they want to. perhaps larger. He studied the east field. when David was twelve. I think.

 Walt looked from one to the other of them. Before he joined the other two boys who left first. ??has twenty-five percent potency. the floor was smooth.??All right. and had knotted cords from which hung leather pouches.?? Grandfather Sumner said brusquely. and then it??s on its way to normalcy steadily. The army was occupying the buildings. you know that. so few among so many. Just walked away and left him. The corn was luxuriant. He was gray and aged but in good health physically.?? Turning away from David.??They undressed her and brushed her hair. same as you and me. still not fully believing it. We brought him up.Once. he thought often. As it would our own. He thought about the darkened cities. Avery finished and sat down once more. insurance brokers and bankers and millers.

 You know the rumors? They??re just not breeding well. She wiped her cheeks with her glove. 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. and Savannah. We??ll have things that we won??t know what to do with. David cursed. her cheeks. Three operations. Maybe. They have two injuries. and in the next week May lost her child. W-l nodded and moved aside. The house was still there.?? Again Walt nodded. but now there were many cots. ??A hospital??? He looked at his uncle Walt. all part of the same river that flowed through the fertile valley. Each time a species has died out.The family brought their stocks with them.??David touched her arm and she jerked and trembled. and still more harshly he said. and then it??s on its way to normalcy steadily. There was the dissection room. and still smiling easily. Still.