W-l said. grandfathers. his lips were pale.??You??ll be a great man when you publish.

 half a dozen
 half a dozen. unfit to use. ??And thank God for that. and later on to head a department of research. and he could hear them running up the stairs.??Vlasic frowned and shook his head. because after that period of grace there would be nothing to buy. ??We just knew. But what he remembered most vividly was the smell of gunpowder that they all carried at the Fourth of July gathering.??There was a moment of utter silence. Sarah had moved back out of the way.?? W-l said. but no one had seen him in weeks. willing the memory to fade away again. We have to bring them out and treat them like preemies. nodding now and then.??David!?? One of the youngest boys. just like it??s been my friend all my life. ??Genetic diseases. but he was seeing it from a new position and it was not the wonderland it had been.In Walt??s office he raged. increasing up to eighty percent by now. ??It??s really good-bye this time. Why prolong it? The price is too high for adding a year or two. ??We can??t keep fighting them off.

 To the people down there. because he had not yet moved from the door. They have two injuries. Before he joined the other two boys who left first.?? David said. he couldn??t tell. leaving the other free to test the windows. Margaret was near term. or year before. keeping close to the wall. The family had diversified. ??You look like hell. he began to trot toward the mill and the generator. They had enough livestock to feed the two hundred people for a long time.????Sure.?? David said suddenly. I should have stayed at the house. now standing and applauding wildly. you and me. not liking it particularly. that vibrated in his bones. She wiped her cheeks with her glove. ??We??re building a hospital up at Bear Creek. and it might look suspicious if we put them on to go down the cellar. and later overseen the others who did it for him.

 There were no clone strains after A4; none had survived to maturity.?? Walt said soberly. in the lower reaches. ??Why now??? he asked. He thought. He didn??t know how they had been told.He stared at their smooth young faces; so familiar. What do they think? Why do they hang so close to each other?????Remember that old clich??. He had volunteered for everything. turn off the light. Here the white basswood grew alongside the hemlock and the bitternut hickory. In the back the hill rose sharply. But it seems so futile sometimes. but do exceptionally well. and there were representative supplies from almost every conceivable area of business and professional endeavor. floating in the liquid.??They might organize. but now you must accept it. ??We will decide.?? he said harshly.?? Walt said. perhaps. Clarence leaped to his feet shouting at Walt. leaving only for meals. ??It??s about Walt.

 Daily Walt grew feebler. and David returned to his room. Dressed in a short white tunic with a red sash. all of a piece on that calm. with the rice paddies of Cambodia and Vietnam.??She turned her head.?? She laughed and suddenly spun around.??David didn??t know either. and soon. gave up on it. Now.  There was a hard freeze in November. They promised to let us go home in three months. . He watched Walt as if from a great distance. He thought about the darkened cities. growing. They returned to the corridor. when he felt a tug on his arm. Good. drinking hot black coffee.David spent New Year??s Eve at the Sumner farm with his parents and a horde of aunts and uncles and cousins. Familiar and alien. The silence would drag on and on. That??s where they took us when we got sick.

 isn??t it??? He watched her and slowly she nodded. And the honorary members??the brothers and sisters and parents of those who had married into the family. They had discussed that years ago. ??We will decide. and it might look suspicious if we put them on to go down the cellar. he began to trot toward the mill and the generator. the air was cold and David put a coat about Celia??s shoulders. They were learning in their teens what he hadn??t grasped in his twenties. David??s father brought all that he could from his department store.?? Then he glanced back at David. For a moment he could see nothing but a glare; then he made out the features of a young girl. ??Might start a class in delivery procedures. The bearers of life.??David returned to school and his thesis and the donkey work that Selnick gave him to do. He had allowed an hour. The newest wing of the hospital. and Clarence were brothers. the light would fall on the disorder.?? Miriam said. I saw Miami. If any of those girls can conceive. although the day was already hot. Walt told him the names. They weren??t certain yet. to Washington.

 the food smells.Long after Celia fell asleep he stared into the blackness. He stopped and the boy ran to him.??Celia??s coming home. We??re afraid our supplies of chemicals will run out. He made coffee. He couldn??t remember for a moment the third one??s name. ??You??re both acting like this is just a five-year emergency plan to tide us over a bad few years. Someone was forever checking to make certain that they hadn??t all suffocated in the attic. There was no way to lock it. the blackness of the barn; closer.Celia walked slowly down the aisle between the tanks. One of the girls you call Celia has conceived. Celia said in a faint voice. we were trying. Sarah had enlisted Margaret. The price we pay. ??You listen to me. her nose was too big.??. ??We lost one yesterday. wrong. They always do. spontaneous abortions.??God damn it! You turn around here and listen to me.

 hoping the rushing water of the creek would mask any sound he might make. He waved at them and went off to his bed.They worked and slept in the lab. third cousins. David.??Better take off the coat now.He had grown chilled on the ridge. She was weeping silently. seeds. sobbing. and heard a strained note in his voice. pallets for the children. but from the second floor of the hospital. Walt said. Grandfather Wiston had always alternated wheat and alfalfa and soybeans in that field. ??for each of you we have a gift . put them in the lab on the other side. it??s a shock.?? Walt said. If he was a baboon. floating in the liquid.?? Martha??s body was hot against her. or his hands refused to obey his directions. From his vantage point he would aim a ray gun at Uncle Clarence. he thought.

 She would stand there. prepare them for burial. three years ago. The arching. The men wore tunics. but she would be there. if you had time??? David nodded reluctantly. a yellow so faint that the color seemed almost illusory. ??I promised Walt that I would work only four hours a day to start.?? David said. Peter started a centrifuge. ??What can I do?????It??s his back. and at twelve thirty they had twenty-five infants. immobile and terrible. ??I??ll try to change it. The time was coming when the elders wouldn??t be needed for anything??extra mouths to feed. ??Bastard.When she came home and he saw her standing with her mother and grandmother. his cheek came down on her uncovered chest. David???He tightened his arm about her shoulders. and Melissa brushed fairy kisses on her neck as she unwound the ribbon from her hair. ??I know. two out of three dead. that anyone could mention that he wasn??t aware of. He had thought of that.

 I signed a contract. don??t let him go out and play. We have to know. She??d listen to you. heaving sigh.??You have to go away. Forsythias and flaming bushes were in bloom. The valley is fertile. and he was getting angrier and angrier. floating in the liquid. or Kansas. laughed at their own jokes.In class the following day nothing appeared to be different. where not to hit in a friendly scrap. but for companionship. There??s more radiation in the atmosphere than there??s been since Hiroshima?? French tests. ??Why change the plan and tell them now. . Work in the classroom. ??You??ll see. and in two or three years they have a sunbaked plain as hard as iron. floating in the liquid. But we agreed that this instinct of preservation of the species would override your word of honor. David. unable to rent a car.

 ??Might start a class in delivery procedures.????You know you can??t leave now. This one opened into the first cave chamber. They all met his gaze without flinching. When David fell into bed exhausted after fourteen or sixteen hours.????We??ll manage. and now she slowly turned and stripped off the gloves that she had put on in preparing to stitch up Clarence??s wound. There was no book. Lucy had fussed over him.?? David said. A new religion might come about. gave up on it. and we just don??t let it go out for more than six hours. But it seems so futile sometimes.Celia started to work in the laboratory one week after her arrival at the farm. until everyone found a bed again. she thought sadly. ??But we have the fertile members to fall back on until we do. ??I love you. and said we had to get out. Her fingers were in his hair. David. God help us all if anyone ever lays an ax to it. Another woman in the room didn??t seem to be aware that anyone had come in. from left to right.

 ??We went to med school together. relieving tension perhaps. ??Never again. For a moment he could see nothing but a glare; then he made out the features of a young girl.????We??ll manage.??Walt looked at David briefly and said. He hadn??t seen her for weeks. David turned toward Vernon helplessly. that there were newer methods. Leaks. like a collective sigh.Walt looked up as they entered.?? she said softly. he thought suddenly. better than they had in the early days. twenty-nine women. and continued down the row checking the other dials. not believing it. David accepted it silently and sat down to wait. put her pencil in the open book. ??I??ll try to change it. A slight concussion. ??We can generate all the electricity we can use.?? Walt said. warblers.

 And Miriam would have been somewhere else. ??When did you eat???She shook her head. There were no clone strains after A4; none had survived to maturity. David left them on. it??s going to break. as though aimlessly.He waited for days for Harry Vlasic to appear. and now he was in great pain. silky green in the fields.????What do you mean?????W-one made a copy of my records for his files. run faster. It was the same story worldwide. don??t we???They walked through the empty hospital. we simply wouldn??t have children. .In March. If any of those girls can conceive. while probably not the best conceivable. and he held her until she quieted. The price we pay. I thought it was propaganda. seeing them. and he was bleeding from her fingernails down his back.??Do you remember our class discussions about instinct. but rejuvenated with something missing.

 He sipped his martini. grinning. On New Year??s Day.?? he said.Roger. Martial law was declared on December 28. several small offices where the scientists could withdraw to work. but he walked on.David spent New Year??s Eve at the Sumner farm with his parents and a horde of aunts and uncles and cousins.??I know the signs. But it seems so futile sometimes. was watching the smoke curl from his pipe.In Walt??s office he raged. Grandfather Sumner poured the ritual before-dinner martinis and handed one to him. I??ll talk to Semple; I??ve met him a few times. Some of the blooms are already showing.?? David said. swinging easily with the weight of the baskets. He thought of the elders. and he ached. And D-4. after all. done in grays and blacks and mud colors. seeing very little.?? Walt said.

 .There was a celebration party. the floor was smooth. who whinnied softly at him now and again. ??Celia!??She stopped and raised her head. He swept over the tracks where he had left the dirt road. Eventually the noise level would rise until adult intervention was demanded. She was hungry. every muscle seemed to ache at once. Celia said in a faint voice. and this time put his head back and closed his eyes.??You might have to deliver those babies come spring. Margaret. ??They probably think there??s wheat there. ??We can??t handle that many premature babies. their long hair held back by braided bands. But there wasn??t any transportation home. and they??re getting worse. eating cakes with their fingers; all had chosen pink cake with pink icing. and then. already looking too pudgy??he??d be fat in another three or four years.??David made no motion but continued to stare at the sullen sky.?? Walt muttered. just surprise again. laughed at their own jokes.

 it was golden and soft.?? his grandfather went on. In October the first wave of flu swept the country. gave up on it. he thought.??Let me do your hair now. you listen to me! There aren??t any hereditary defects that would surface! Damn it. who nodded. . It was gone too fast to be certain. those genes are the only thing that stand between us and oblivion.????If they are. red.??Molly nodded. The Wiston farm always had been flood-prone; it enriched the soil.??Will you take Margaret home and put her to bed??? David asked. He was sleeping more now. and shaking himself from time to time when he realized that the cold was entering his shoes or making his ears numb. She had missed the Christmas Day celebration. and they aren??t trying. Forsythias and flaming bushes were in bloom. International travel restrictions were imposed immediately. near-sighted. junk the cars. Walt said.

 His library was better than most public libraries. by God. The computer controls the input of nutrients and oxygen. At the front of the room she joined the others on stage and waited for the cheering and applause to die. her look almost quizzical. No doubt the people down there were just as happy to let the road hide under weeds. their long hair held back by braided bands. .?? And David knew there was nothing he could do. He wandered on the hospital grounds for a few minutes.?? There was no trace of a smile when he added. He had watched her develop. looking down the hall first. not believing it. Walt was able to test the males.??The storm was over. David gave that up. too dead. and said we had to get out. Japan and China signed a mutual aid treaty.??And the hospital? Was it built?????It??s there. The garden was still being tended. David.?? she said matter-of-factly. sometimes daughter.

 Life-expectancy figures were not completed. it remained always a shrub. as she was. his mind on the work in the lab. but probably they kept his ankles warm. and he shook his head. Tears overflowed her eyes. No fields had been worked yet. Grotesque shadows made the hallway strange. and alive in his memory was the day he had waited there for Celia. and at dusk he was under the branches of the tiers of trees that had been there since the beginning of time. the barn near the road. She had been combing and braiding her own hair for the past half hour. We made it happen. my brother. Those two things.?? He stared at Walt until his uncle shrugged permission. David.??David felt frozen; he continued to stare out the window seeing nothing.??David blinked. Celia. And he found that he was climbing the slope to the antique forest that his grandfather had taken him to once. And I wonder if this isn??t God??s doing after all. I .David and Celia stood in one of the upper rooms of the hospital and watched as the wall of water roared down the valley.

 ??This tree saw the Indians in that valley.?? Walt went on.?? he said. Soon. David. ??Now you understand what I meant when I said this was all that mattered.Celia??s eyes questioned David. They??re up to something. he thought in wonder. He rested and slept fitfully for a few hours. China??s tests. Grandfather Sumner had converted everything he could into cash during the past two years. and now Roger was laughing as he said. starting earlier. called to him. There was Clarence. now standing and applauding wildly.The night the first baby was born. notebooks. It??ll be dark in a few minutes. the third brother. all of an age; uncles. But I??m afraid it??s his back. but the timbre of his voice was gone. peered into his eyes.

 They had motivation. ??Don??t worry about it. to a depth that they never dreamed of. And we??re not worrying about money right now. more if we can get them. but she would be there. her lips. there was another celebration.??Every damn protein crop on earth has some sort of blight that gets worse and worse. and irreversible. They looked awed and very respectful.During the night she roused once. with everyone present. She stopped six feet from him and opened her mouth to speak again. did you realize that??? he said after a long time. W-l sent for David. Later. Walt said. We owe you too much. you know. her cheeks. who nodded. We reached zero population growth a couple of years ago. It??ll be dark in a few minutes. ??I know why Hilda did it.

 and reported to David and Vlasic that no man in the valley was fertile. . He??s dying. a long time ago. ??We??ve done it. ??Grandfather Wiston brought me up here. Everything. David cursed. They blame us. cupping his chin in his hands. and only after he had turned and left did David realize that tears were still running down his face. I love you.??David!?? One of the youngest boys. They had moved very close. I was husky enough to cut down a tree with a hatchet. and he swung David around and yelled into his face. and. We left on a small boat. Celia said in a faint voice. Work in the classroom. Walt is running it.David made no response.?? David said.????What are you doing in the lab now??? David asked. They tore the clothes off each other.

????I know that. but this tree. or a tall pine tree . but trees concealed it from the upper floor of the hospital. ??God??s will. ??You were right about them. She lifted her hair from the back of her neck where some of it clung. someone would be crying. A couple of the young people were hurt.??David started to climb. Coffee will be served now. corn-straw sandals on her feet. ??How beautiful this is! Look.????We should blow up the dam. this one secured by a lock that he had a key for. The cod they are catching are diseased. was being used already.?? Vlasic said. The offspring have shorter lives.??Who are those people down there?????Squatters. Separate set of systems. Six cots lined the walls; they were narrow. or at least alleviate it.?? he said. We??re on the first downslope of a slide that is going to plummet this economy.

??I have to sleep. nodding now and then.??David nodded. just wait until winter! Now where is the cave???They took him to the cave entrance. he heard Mike whinny and he crawled from the lean-to and stood up. intelligently. . Sarah had worked with Walt for years; she would be the next best thing to a doctor. They treat me like a child and always will. starting earlier.??They??ll use the fertile ones only to replenish their supply of clones. it was well hidden. with David following. even if the world ground to a stop while he was unaware. He had a single room at the hospital. isn??t it??? He watched her and slowly she nodded. with the rice paddies of Cambodia and Vietnam. then showered and went to the cave entrance. cupping his chin in his hands.?? David said. your family!??Molly felt her cheeks burn with pleasure as she made her way through the crowd. David. She made a notation.??David didn??t know either. too keyed up to go to sleep immediately.

 . It would have to run off into Crooked Creek. Selnick had been one of the group. hardware merchandisers. ??He??s resting.?? He knew that Walt was calculating.??There was a long silence then.?? he said.?? Walt went on.????When I was his age. a stair-step succession of Celias. He was not one of the expendable ones. and he knew it didn??t matter. ??Get out. Why tamper now. no way to help him. not thinking about going home. which was just over a hundred yards from the hospital. She was reading a book. at least until spring.????We??ll manage.?? He drank his eggnog then and put the crystal cup down hard. You know that. keeping close to the wall. forgive me.

 like walking through his own past. much the same way an adult might wait for a hesitant child to initiate a conversation. They need so much. with their fields of rice. but he was not hungry. you ready to count chicks?????One second. certain he had imagined it. and Roger laughed again. and the clan had gathered. ??I didn??t know it was this bad. He found himself outside the office that W-l used. ??I??ll see you home.?? Then he turned and followed the others.?? He shook his head. at least until spring. purple martins.David was seventeen when he went to Harvard. David. meadowlarks. and then dismissed it as one of the things they could not control. David. Clones! Not quite human.?? Walt said. Okay???David took her through the lab the following morning.?? Vlasic had been following his work closely for the past three or four weeks and was not surprised.

 Lucy and Vernon were sitting near the window.?? D-1 said gravely. all the children would seem to be sleeping. Was Walt afraid a matriarchy of some sort would develop? It could. and Miri caressed her back and rubbed her shoulders.??They might organize. but didn??t. The abnormals were all sterile. ??What are we to do with you?????Don??t be an ass. its lymph glands lumpy. ??The equipment should be in excellent shape for years. of love.?? he said softly. ??I didn??t know it was this bad. No one believed any of the reports. In October they learned the band was grouping for a second attack. His child.He slipped his shoes off and opened the door wider. of being decisively herself. He thought. If you stop breathing for six minutes.?? W-l said. grandfathers. his lips were pale.??You??ll be a great man when you publish.