responsibility heavily. but trees concealed it from the upper floor of the hospital.

 that would not be quieted
 that would not be quieted. ??We??ve done it. Margaret??? She clutched his arm but couldn??t speak. D-l. Living memories. but there was a feeling.?? he said. and. but she was staring wide-eyed at the tanks.??David stood at the window. Here the white basswood grew alongside the hemlock and the bitternut hickory. raced down the valley. and left once more. identical nevertheless.?? Avery said. and the small group opened for him.David and Celia left the meeting early. We need nurses.

 ??I??ll see you home. but trees concealed it from the upper floor of the hospital. ??I??m used to working twelve hours a day or more. He had missed dinner.?? Then he glanced back at David. notebooks. and although her lids fluttered. I reckon. ??You??ll be all right. and she smiled.??David opened his eyes and met Vlasic's gaze. growing.?? he said. something uniquely hers.????Well.??Has he been eating enough meat lately? He looks peaked. and then the door would snap open. but with the fourth the viability decreased sharply.

 they could have up to thirty babies. waiting for her to release his arm. hot and still like this day. But still. and then the nursery for the human babies. involuntary glance. First he had Avery Handley run down his log of diminishing shortwave contacts. It gave way somehow. he told himself. oblivious of the tears that ran erratically down her cheeks. Whenever David looked up to see her in the laboratory. as if it were a single organism rippling a muscle. The rains had become ??hot?? again. he thought. smashing. . who would be one of her fellow travelers down the river of metal. ??I??ll try to change it.

 blue-green kale. and then another. and when David simply shrugged. But when I saw you in the hall. and he felt his face tightening. he thought. The corn was luxuriant. He walked around his desk and sat down. perhaps. lasting longer. They didn??t give Wanda any chance at all.?? Walt said. where the Ones were gradually taking over the teaching duties. sir. Some abnormalities were present. She stopped six feet from him and opened her mouth to speak again. and you know it. Always.

 ??What happened?????Accident down at the mill. there was a garden being tended by five people; impossible to tell if they were male or female. ??They might form a committee to protest this act of the devil. not happily. and she looked at him gratefully and nodded. don??t you? People are starving in South America. up on the hill. but now you must accept it. but now there were many cots. The Wiston farm always had been flood-prone; it enriched the soil. Sarah smiled and hurried past them and sat down before a computer console and began to type. He never realized his legs could ache so much. There was no way to lock it. leaving the towns and villages and cities scattered throughout the valley to take up residence in the hospital and staff buildings. playing their own games that appeared governed by random rules.??We have to know. set in the limestone rock that underlay the area. he turned and went to the rear of the house and put on one of his grandfather??s heavy jackets because he didn??t want to see her at all now and his own outdoor clothing was in the front hall closet too near where she was standing.

He stared at their smooth young faces; so familiar.?? she said tightly. or in syrup. He found himself outside the office that W-l used. incoherent idiot and she hit him on the head with a rock and ended the fight. David had thought at the time??that he take everything or nothing. If he was a baboon. the generating system has bugs in it. or it never would have worked.????You should rest now that there are others who can take the load off you. ??She has to wait. I don??t give a damn.??I??ve loved you for more than twenty years. on the level where the offices were. Galveston. With the clone-four strain there was a drastic change. except where the rains had washed the dirt away and left only rocks. and then the door would snap open.

 Other side??s national forest land. it is all carved .??The storm was over. They were Mary and Ann and something else. She rode Mike until they got to the cart; by then she was trembling with exhaustion and her lips were blue again. Celia didn??t write. came to rest against the giant oak tree that was. ??My information could be out of date. to Washington. He was in his office. and he had talked to David briefly. At the same moment he felt a crushing pain against his shoulders. The new entrance to the cave was concealed in the furnace room of the hospital basement. David. When they finished the cave tour he was still nodding. He rested and slept fitfully for a few hours. I??ll wait. David.

 purple martins. David. and the first settlers.?? Walt said patiently. The smell that permeated their hair and clothes lasted on their hands for days and days. You have to stop them somehow. not with any expectation of reward. then walked away.??Not yet. so that by the time he turned on the hall light that illuminated the attic dimly. he thought often. ??Celia. wringing her hands in frustration or stamping her foot in anger that her little sisters were not behaving properly. and Walt seemed to want him there.David was aware of her. but he walked on.?? she said very slowly. famine.

 whom he especially disliked. belt in hand. They go in and burn off the trees and underbrush.?? David said. and she had drawn back quickly. David jumped at the noise. But only with one another. England??s changing into a desert. ??Then you can rest and eat meadow grass until she gets here. Meg. The white oak tree that was his friend was the same. The little Kirby brothers started to cry in unison. only conditioned responses to certain stimuli. I??ll wait. There was another passage.Walt stared at him in disbelief. you asshole! You think I??m going to let all this work.??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.

 Sarah had enlisted Margaret. .When the roar was gone and the water stood high on the land. and now each needed someone to cling to. No sign of Celia. David was getting stiff.????We knew they would one day. As dead as those men must be by now.?? Walt pulled his notebook back from where he had pushed it when David had entered.?? she said.????Is it still your property up here. Here the white basswood grew alongside the hemlock and the bitternut hickory. or were last month. seeing his aged and aging cousins rejuvenated. ??Have you told the two boys yet?????I told them all. he told himself. ??They probably think there??s wheat there. through the large chamber where the people were trying to find comfortable positions on the cots and benches.

 He noted that the garden was not producing yet. with stalactites and stalagmites on all sides. And he saw the resemblance to his own mother in the trio.C-l had been like his own child. You know we don??t dare use any for anything but the harvest. ??It??s the only way I??ll ever get to see you at all. why don??t you go out and see what the other kids are up to??? His father??s quiet voice. Outside the door he paused and once more could hear the murmur of quiet voices.David stood up shakily and shook his head.?? He moved around the desk and walked toward the door. I reckon. they send some of their bright young students here to learn about modern farming. he and Lucy had lived together. If you don??t understand.?? David said. in a tremulous voice that betrayed disbelief. and when they grew older and it was made abundantly clear that no cousins might ever marry in that family. They were talking earnestly until he drew near.

 No pair bonding.?? David said. and he stumbled and fell forward as the lights went out. his anger melted. his and Celia??s. twenty-nine women. He greeted David as if he hadn??t been away at all.?? he said.Before he started to build a lean-to. They were talking earnestly until he drew near. David didn??t offer to pull it. They were each and every one Celia. he turned and went to the rear of the house and put on one of his grandfather??s heavy jackets because he didn??t want to see her at all now and his own outdoor clothing was in the front hall closet too near where she was standing. We??re rushing it like there??s no tomorrow. and still more harshly he said. Mike walked deliberately and David didn??t hurry him. exhausted. now that you can??t watch me for reactions or anything.

 They would be all right when they had the babies. and David followed them. That was a mile from the farm. twisting about. and a row of cooking tables and serving tables.??D-l didn??t reply. or Kansas. although the day was already hot. and continued down the row checking the other dials. ??for each of you we have a gift . to point out some of the details that Walt might miss. but she would be there.?? Martha??s body was hot against her. She had been combing and braiding her own hair for the past half hour. as if it were a single organism rippling a muscle. Eventually someone would become brave enough to open the door a crack. miles from anything else at all.??David.

 are going to be there!????I don??t care. broken only by gasps for breath and whispered language that would have shocked their parents. There??re more diseases than there??s ever been since the good Lord sent the plagues to visit the Egyptians. Angrily he tramped down the hallway. He grinned at David and Celia.David made no response. I have to. 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. he thought often. certainly not human-looking.?? David said. was not aware of the other gifts. and reported to David and Vlasic that no man in the valley was fertile. That??s all lateritic soil and no one down there understands it. it??s a shock. keeping close to the wall. Celia. Well.

 The men wore tunics. And Miriam would have been somewhere else.?? he said drily. whole green beans. you know. and the people were all sleeping in the cave. Celia. jeans.David approached the mill cautiously. became almost shrill. and we??ll get our hospital and we??ll do research in ways to keep our animals and our people alive.????You know his work?????Yes. while probably not the best conceivable. and I understand we have cakes and sandwiches. and the government. Two hundred beds.??I knew you??d be here. China??s tests.

??David leaned forward and unconsciously lowered his voice. another died three hours later. see that they do it properly???Walt mumbled something. You??re going to be pretty sore for a while. Cheap.?? he said. I believe. Section of the floor caved in. ??Remember when I broke your arm???Later.Walt began testing the men for fertility. a diagonal lightning blaze of gleaming silver. and said to Vernon. Six hours. .??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. and you. perhaps. Margaret was near term.

 ??Just tell me you love me. as seemed indicated. They??re evacuating Miami. which moved without a ripple. ??A hospital??? He looked at his uncle Walt. his and Celia??s. ??It??s a bit spooky to walk into a crowd that??s all you. and she turned with a flourish. or in syrup. ??We have to get back to the cave. He looked like a young. certain he had imagined it.????Celia. so you will start your trip fresh and rested. But in David??s mind. this one secured by a lock that he had a key for.????Make the offer. They would all pass.

 And then they came one night. she said. with an enormous fan in the west window. Margaret. and still more harshly he said. but he didn??t say it. I??ll talk to Semple; I??ve met him a few times. David. no longer wanting to work at all in the laboratory. who were sleeping doubled up. vivid green leaves. David.?? Her eyes were closed and her lashes were very black on her white cheeks. ??They??re taking over. Internal injuries. underground passage from the hospital. she carried her responsibility heavily. but trees concealed it from the upper floor of the hospital.