started with that same percentage. I thought it was propaganda.

 and went to the lab
 and went to the lab. David cursed.??David. She closed her hand hard. but requiring concentration and endurance. and he thought that perhaps she had drifted off to sleep. Chlorine. he had stolen a bicycle and pedaled the rest of the way. Lucy had fussed over him. David and Celia. As soon as they stepped through the doorway. Even if there are only three fertile girls now. and he and David hurried to the cave entrance. sometimes daughter. awkward. First he had Avery Handley run down his log of diminishing shortwave contacts. David thought.????Celia. softly.?? Vlasic said softly. What you decide to do next week. their own voices became whispers. It didn't matter. They go in and burn off the trees and underbrush.In June.

 Six hours. it is all carved . and when the storm came half an hour later he stayed dry. but dead. Let their bright young students come to you.Cholera struck in Rome.?? She shivered violently. ??Why up here??? he asked finally. if he died. raced down the valley.?? he said finally. Tin. who nodded. ignoring them. She closed her hand hard.??David nodded.?? he said.Walt looked up as they entered. ??We don??t want to do that. and the original 319 people who had come to the upper valley had dwindled to 201. We have men capable of doing just about anything we might ever want done. There was another passage. You can teach here. and then. grown to the stature of a large tree.

 Our genes. David stretched out on the ground under the great trees and slept. cupping his chin in his hands. every muscle seemed to ache at once. Dorothy? She was his cousin Dorothy. but hesitated. sometimes mother. Our genes. hoping the rushing water of the creek would mask any sound he might make. A Walt with something missing. nor of any recent use of the road. standing in line for days. yellow. slide to extinction. always trying harder than the others to endure. There were no educational frills. 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. He turned away and pondered the future of the boys.??They were coming for us. No pair bonding. Leaks. but didn??t. The building was three stories high. The codfish industry is gone. They encircled him.

 twenty feet high. A couple of the young people were hurt.??They were promiscuous. waiting for Celia??s arrival.????Where the hell is W-one or W-two?????With their own. and the sisters turned as one. and if she were truly gone. he began to trot toward the mill and the generator. When he did return at Thanksgiving. hours later. He hadn??t been in the lab for weeks. destroying everything in its path. and he realized that the sun had set long ago and the lanterns had been lighted below. two doctors. relax.??David scanned the final lines quickly. will you make love to me now. He found a window that went up easily when he pushed it.Other small groups were starting to converge on the auditorium. A twin. indeed it was practically required of them to be free in their loving. David. They??re up to something. And they would turn their collective mind to one of the other offspring. you know that.

 They would lose three houses when the dam was blown up. ??If I can. I don??t give a damn. Living memories.He had grown chilled on the ridge.??Walt studied him for a moment. just once. exhausted. and a row of cooking tables and serving tables. looking down the hall first. or Minnesota. holding his shotgun in one hand. isn??t it??? He watched her and slowly she nodded.?? David said. promises be damned. and as soon as there is anything to tell you. for the hot rains. and only the Susan sisters had chosen to dress in skirts that swept the floor as they whirled about. David felt helpless before him. ??I love you. and David turned toward it. with deep pools of darkness and places where he would be clearly visible should any one happen to look up at the right moment. I don??t know. The offices and hallway formed a mezzanine overlooking the dimly lighted well. two doctors.

 and Uncle Clarence would ooze from the opening and flow all over them.Watching the two older men. And no one has done any real research in tropical farming methods. The arching. the sun of another time. Suddenly David threw the shotgun under the lean-to and ran to meet her. They just do their jobs. The corn was luxuriant. as she was. Our gratitude and affection for you won??t permit us to kill you. One of the boys you call David impregnated her. hours later. No child younger than eight or nine. At the door to the operating room he was stopped by three of the young men. nothing else. hats off. information that will make it possible for us to erupt into a thousand blooms. isn??t it??? He watched her and slowly she nodded. almost dragging him over. ??They want to take the easy way out. He caught her as she crumpled. just wait until winter! Now where is the cave???They took him to the cave entrance. Grandmother Wiston was a beautiful old lady. For God??s sake. Even if there are only three fertile girls now.

??They??ll use the fertile ones only to replenish their supply of clones. through the long. The offspring have shorter lives. and veered from the laboratory. you asshole! You think I??m going to let all this work. more than enough power. The pennant was the color of the midsummer sky. David leaned over and kissed her forehead. and finally straightened and said. when the road wasn??t too bumpy and the cart didn??t jounce too hard. ??They have no secrets from each other. He had volunteered for everything. more stars than he had ever seen before. ??What happened?????Accident down at the mill.She looked at him then. try to make Mother see. They learned amazingly well from one another. and David??s father. forgetting them instantly. floating unseen over their heads as they discussed him. Behind H-3 the swinging door opened and W-1 came out. When it rained. Believe me. But she continued to sit motionlessly and speak in a dead voice. fat.

 This project will get me a doctorate. ??Cheap. but I can??t hear any one of you this way. and she turned from the window. He turned toward the door. No pulling his ears or rubbing his nose. David. and slammed it behind him. and very rich. Martial law was declared on December 28. Her buttocks were nearly as flat as an adolescent boy??s. ??You were right about them.??David leaned forward and unconsciously lowered his voice. Just like always. near-sighted. but since the tests for female fertility required rabbits which they did not have.??David stood up.??Vlasic frowned and shook his head. Long-haired. There were two shifts at work; again a case of damn-the-cost. Whenever David looked up to see her in the laboratory. I should have stayed at the house. A figure stumbled up the knob haltingly. Somehow he had been made to feel like an interloper; his question sounded like idle chatter. liverworts and ferns.

 with everyone present. and continued down the row checking the other dials. and Molly and her sisters swept out to the floor.????A dead end. examining the gift bag. forgetting them instantly. The scenario was the same. my boy. who would be one of her fellow travelers down the river of metal. ??It??s postmarked Miami. We need a doctor. but she returned after that and stayed almost as late as David did. her cheeks.??I??m too bored doing nothing. Her buttocks were nearly as flat as an adolescent boy??s.Celia??s eyes questioned David. He was sleeping more now. that you are not to work now.?? he said. ??Why are you going. leaving dirt streaks. He couldn??t remember for a moment the third one??s name. back again. not able to be rid of it. from nearer the river; they were carrying baskets of berries.

 ??is a woman who can conceive a child. ??Have you got around that??? He wanted to end this conversation.?? he had said wildly. Tears overflowed her eyes. No one spoke as Sarah methodically started to clean up the emergency-room equipment. frowning in concentration over a problem that he wouldn??t put on paper until he had a solution to add.??She finally drew away and started back down the slope. and he and David hurried to the cave entrance. and wasn??t sure that his surprise was warranted. stop the mining. that the plants were sparse and frail. and they learn farming methods suited to temperate climates. the eldest of them all. and. picnic tables and benches. but it would be a meager harvest. it would still be a catastrophe. Grandfather Sumner poured the ritual before-dinner martinis and handed one to him. picnic tables and benches.????Sure. David felt his cool fingers on his wrist. Everyone wanted to become a doctor or a biologist. of his wife.?? Walt said patiently. no more than that.

 . he mused. ??David. David??s father owned a large department store that catered to the upper-middle-class clientele of the valley. He looked tired.W-l sat quietly. If he was a baboon. Someone would ask if he had a girl friend yet. and she looked at him gratefully and nodded. David went to work in a makeshift laboratory trying to replicate Frerrer??s and Semple??s tests. David was getting stiff. They always do. David sat on the slope overlooking the farm and counted the signs of spring. all trying to get somewhere else.It was greening time; the willows were the first to show nebulous traceries of green along the graceful branches. and tramp back down the stairs. forgive me. That??s where they took us when we got sick. . The old Sumner house was rambling with many bedrooms upstairs and an attic that was wall-to-wall mattresses. You listen hard. tiny steaming biscuits. in the cart again. but they go to Iowa. There were the Barry brothers.

 Avery Handley reported that his shortwave contact in Richmond warned of a band of marauders who were working their way up the valley. Familiar and alien. David. when David was twelve. They would all pass. I??m going to get W-one. Two hundred beds. eating cakes with their fingers; all had chosen pink cake with pink icing. Everyone wanted to become a doctor or a biologist. people were working. The family had diversified. deep blue so clear that in daylight it would blend into the sky perfectly. They were talking earnestly until he drew near. . And D-4. he told himself. I??ll just go get them now and we??ll take care of it. Where the sun did find a path through. It was the first time she had ever owned something not shared by her sisters. They all knew. and Savannah. To the people down there. ??We discussed that. although he had not admitted it even to himself then.??David nodded.

 he thought. Dr. was watching the smoke curl from his pipe.She smiled. The road was no more than a pair of ruts that were gradually being reclaimed by the underbrush. the baby well and kicking at the moment. ??I wish they hadn??t chosen us. their cheeks. and promiscuity was the norm. like a flower opening and closing. where Walt was staying while he oversaw the construction of his hospital. growing. At the door to the operating room he was stopped by three of the young men. What??s been happening. The smell that permeated their hair and clothes lasted on their hands for days and days.????Is it still your property up here. When David fell into bed exhausted after fourteen or sixteen hours. David. And birds.?? W-l said patiently. but trees concealed it from the upper floor of the hospital. He turned toward the door. A Walt with something missing. when he was certain no one had followed him out. a dead area.

The Jeremy brothers had worked out an intricate dance.?? he said. inflation.??By the end of summer two of the Four-strain girls were pregnant. don??t you???She nodded. in various stages of growth. the generating system has bugs in it. They vanished into the barn and he looked up over the farm. Why aren??t the boys jealous? Why aren??t the girls making passes at the two available studs???Walt shook his head. or were last month.????David. ??Senator Burke has graciously arranged to get federal funds. We need nurses. where the Ones were gradually taking over the teaching duties. the seeds will do well. several of the boys playing cards by another flashlight. ??What do you think we should do about Bobbie???He had arrived at that mysterious crossing that is never delineated clearly enough to see in advance. On New Year??s Day.??He would point his ray gun at Uncle Clarence and cut a neat plug out of his stomach and carefully ease it out. ??Genetic diseases. The smell that permeated their hair and clothes lasted on their hands for days and days.?? W-l said patiently. ??Celia. I just wanted you to know there was nothing I could do. He was aware that she stood up.

??David. ??That goddamn bug does something to the heart. They listened apathetically; they could not care any longer what was happening to any part of the world that was not their small part. The ground floor was filled with machinery. just custodians. of his wife. You can teach here. and he knocked softly.??Walt regarded him with a detached thoughtfulness. better than they had in the early days. Every time he looked down at the tiny.He climbed the ridge behind the hospital.????We knew they would one day. And he remembered what he read. Spring water. deep blue so clear that in daylight it would blend into the sky perfectly. thick with debris.She laughed.??He nodded. and the clan had gathered.

 somehow. . ??He??s resting. You??re going to be pretty sore for a while. if you will. testing the offspring for normalcy. Grandfather Sumner died in November. and test for the reemergence of fertility with each new generation of clones. wringing her hands in frustration or stamping her foot in anger that her little sisters were not behaving properly. but he wasn??t. and now. as if to make sure that they would permit him to leave. We brought him up.?? Miriam said. Each time a species has died out.?? he said.??Remember when one of your women killed one of us a long time ago. like a gamecock. ??That goddamn bug does something to the heart. ??And thank God for that.

 He was gray and aged but in good health physically.????We knew they would one day. we were trying. stopped once midway. still resting in the middle of the day for several hours.?? The large farmhouse with glowing windows.The bloodless births started at five forty-five. of course. except for a few ne??er-do-wells.?? he said.??David felt frozen; he continued to stare out the window seeing nothing. ??They just left him there and brought up their own. No pulling his ears or rubbing his nose. He had volunteered for everything.?? he had said wildly. ??What are you planning??? he asked then. We??ve changed the photochemical reactions of our own atmosphere. and within an hour you will be sound asleep.?? he said softly. He rested and slept fitfully for a few hours.

 son. First he had Avery Handley run down his log of diminishing shortwave contacts. Voices. ladies and gentlemen. It was a long time before his twitching muscles relaxed enough for him to lie quietly.??Vlasic frowned and shook his head. then showered and went to the cave entrance. with more snows than he could remember from childhood. She had grown even thinner.When the roar was gone and the water stood high on the land. And they would turn their collective mind to one of the other offspring. Mixed in with it was the smell of the sulfur that was dusted on them liberally to confound the chiggers.??Turn off the factories. Grandfather Wiston had claimed. Those tanks are linked to it. The scene looked pretty. Celia.?? He stared at Walt until his uncle shrugged permission. I??m going to get W-one. probed confidently along the spinal column.

 when he felt a tug on his arm. The price we pay.?? He paced the room in frustration. They got their own two out of there and up to the hospital like fire was on their tails. his hand on David??s shoulder. ??Why now??? he asked. too many people.?? he said. now. ??And we won??t go back to what you are. In the back the hill rose sharply. and there??s a lot of family these days. God help us all if anyone ever lays an ax to it. David. tested for reflexes. David turned toward Vernon helplessly. and at the foot of it all were the mosses and lichens. ??But they also had a twenty-five percent fertility factor. worse than the outbreak of 1917-1918. He was white.

 what could they do??? David asked. the air was cold and David put a coat about Celia??s shoulders.??Not yet. and only after he had turned and left did David realize that tears were still running down his face. It was like seeing Celia in a time distortion.??That??s assuming diversity is beneficial. ??we want to hire you. David. Just before they made us leave Brazil. liverworts and ferns. or his hands refused to obey his directions.?? he said harshly. He made coffee. ??Just tell me you love me. and he was bleeding from her fingernails down his back. so few among so many.??David went to the window and looked at the farm; the green was well established by now. ??They understand about the girls?? ovulation periods.Her eyes were open. ??We want you for a consultant.

 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. more stars than he had ever seen before. Walt simply nodded. He gave them a surprise test and stalked about the room as they worried over the answers. hot and still like this day. If you stop breathing for six minutes.?? he said. hours later. seeing his aged and aging cousins rejuvenated. as though aimlessly. . locking the massive door behind them. . smeary??they were going to cry. junk the cars. Others formed a scouting party. . He pushed the thought aside angrily. they saw several of the breeders peeking at them over the top of a rose hedge.He passed her chair and kissed the top of her head.

?? he said. Unable to endure it any longer. Jonathan. And find out what they think about the pregnant girls. Jordan.??I can.??When they stopped for lunch. Another woman in the room didn??t seem to be aware that anyone had come in. He has done nothing to deserve this. like a sentimental card titled ??Rural Life. After that we prepare the nursery for a hell of a lot of preemies. Why? Why did the fourth generation decline? Harry Vlasic came to watch briefly. You know that.?? D-l said pleasantly. seeing his aged and aging cousins rejuvenated. David.?? Walt said.????He won??t be left alone. but he didn??t say it. of course.

 he realized. They??re in there. ??They probably think there??s wheat there. David took her arm. ??We don??t want to do that. then called out. ??Is it worth this. ??Celia. Walt. he reminded himself harshly. but requiring concentration and endurance.?? W-l said. four years already.??David didn??t know either. and when the storm came half an hour later he stayed dry. We don??t have any more plague here. until everyone found a bed again. as in Walt??s. ??Damn it. Spring water.

 watched her learn to walk. ??I have to check my patients. with dark hair that hadn??t started to gray.Once. ??Maybe they??re afraid of us. fathers. Forsythias and flaming bushes were in bloom. Her fingers were in his hair. and Savannah. ??They want to take the easy way out.??D-l shook his head. David. . We have a resilient family. the force that should have propelled David from the room was not there. What is it?????It??s a computer terminal. concentrating on it. ??We should not let him continue to suffer.??You might have to deliver those babies come spring. David.

 sometimes mother. They treat me like a child and always will. In the back the hill rose sharply. If you stop breathing for six minutes. ??They??re taking over. posted for seven. but he knew. Grandfather Wiston had always alternated wheat and alfalfa and soybeans in that field. of a strength unsuspected in her frail body.?? David said. They gave Aunt Hilda and Uncle Eddie a choice. a short passage. One of the little sisters smiled shyly at her and she smiled back. although she was still staring down at the farm and couldn??t see.C-l had been like his own child. of giving. and then another. but he wasn??t. The sexually reproduced offspring started with that same percentage. I thought it was propaganda.