We can??t keep fighting them off.?? W-l said.?? Without looking back at him.

 He??ll follow it through
 He??ll follow it through. how many are up at the northern end of the valley?????About one hundred ten now.??They were coming for us. or like everything he had ever heard. He trusted Sarah??s judgment. Meg.?? she said.????David stood up also. Maybe. The valley was rich. Let their bright young students come to you. They really believe that everything is still all right here. Walt looked from one to the other of them. Walt had said.As they turned onto the broader path that led to the auditorium steps. David glanced at Celia. With the clone-four strain there was a drastic change. Robert. and now she slowly turned and stripped off the gloves that she had put on in preparing to stitch up Clarence??s wound. he thought in wonder.

 on the other side of the river from the Sumner farm. formed alliances. The music grew louder and more and more dancers spun around. They all shunned the elders. they knew they were safe from attack. and behind him H-3 said. four years already. And the honorary members??the brothers and sisters and parents of those who had married into the family.Walt had an office downstairs. The ground was too saturated in the valley to absorb any more water. ??We can??t keep fighting them off. how long would they need a continuing supply of food? He said. But it seems so futile sometimes. ??Harry tells me they have devised a new immersion suspension system that doesn??t require the artificial placentas. smiling slightly. Molly smiled at them and saw that her sisters were smiling also; they shared the pride equally. held her and kissed her tears. David got up and stretched. He stared at the young face and felt his fist tighten. It was the first time she had ever owned something not shared by her sisters.

 ??What happened?????Accident down at the mill. I reckon. No one spoke as Sarah methodically started to clean up the emergency-room equipment. She had grown even thinner. even if the world ground to a stop while he was unaware. ??And Mother. Suddenly David stiffened. ??They never used a Bunsen burner or a test tube before. increasing up to eighty percent by now. forgive me. We??ll take care of it. yellow. which was also grown up with weeds. In the back the hill rose sharply.?? David said. Today or tomorrow. He pushed the thought aside angrily. ??will you tell me what is the matter with Walt?????Don??t you know??? W-1 shook his head. David. But there wasn??t any transportation home.

??There??s going to be the biggest bust since man began scratching marks on rocks. to Harvard. Everyone wanted to become a doctor or a biologist. he knew; not only pass. then left. They had the best teachers. stopping now and again to make a minor adjustment. David. we have our own livestock. after all.??Walt assigned Celia to work under Vlasic. ??Same here. .?? Warren said in a heavy voice. the floor was smooth. The mill was never left unattended; he hoped that those on duty tonight would be down with the machinery.The two oldest Ds headed for the laboratory after class. ??I??ve always loved you. Sarah was working over Clarence while several of the elders moved back and forth to keep out of her way. sweet-potato sticks glazed with honey.

 and Grandfather Wiston had been straight and strong.?? he lied to Walt. the vinegar that went in the egg dyes. David glanced at Celia. put them in the lab on the other side. A couple of the young people were hurt. ??But. Martial law was declared on December 28.????We have to get back. picking out familiar faces. Thrushes.?? The large farmhouse with glowing windows. Lucy. Did you go???He nodded. He swept over the tracks where he had left the dirt road. and below them the saplings grew. just a sudden deluge.??The Wistons were farmers. some of the girls huddled together whispering what had to be delicious secrets. His rhesus monkeys show the same decline during the fourth generation.

 He had all his meals there. too pretty almost. No more pink cakes with pink icing. not dangerous. Los Angeles. Grandfather Wiston had always alternated wheat and alfalfa and soybeans in that field. ??You??ll have to double-check. Okay???David took her through the lab the following morning. Sometimes sister. And the priority boards that squabbled and fought and campaigned for this cause or that. Soybean blight. Within the next couple of years. to prove or disprove the experiment. but he walked on. and the people. They??re adding them as fast as they can. will you? You understand that I have to go.The Jeremy brothers had worked out an intricate dance. he knew; not only pass. Her lips were blue.

 Molly couldn??t tell in the confusion of their twisting bodies which one was Jed. ??You??re the one they??d listen to. ??Cheap. and now he wanted nothing more than to sleep. that there were newer methods. A couple of the young people were hurt.??C1-2 didn??t change his expression. Of course. leaving the towns and villages and cities scattered throughout the valley to take up residence in the hospital and staff buildings. and David??s father. ??We keep them here at all times. and Miri bent over and kissed her eyelids tenderly. Celia said in a faint voice. much the same way an adult might wait for a hesitant child to initiate a conversation. famine. in the laboratories. He then moved to sit next to Walt.?? He knew that Walt was calculating. to seek his touch. and David entered.

 The river was a gray swirling monster that he could glimpse from up here.?? Her eyes were closed and her lashes were very black on her white cheeks. ??They must know we have food here. and only the Susan sisters had chosen to dress in skirts that swept the floor as they whirled about. involuntarily. They??ll destroy what we worked so hard to create. In the back the hill rose sharply. The smell that permeated their hair and clothes lasted on their hands for days and days. and Miri caressed her back and rubbed her shoulders. He didn??t touch David. He climbed and became warmer. There was no way to lock it. ??I did what I could.??And the hospital? Was it built?????It??s there. and in only a year or two. Did you go???He nodded.??David scanned the final lines quickly. It was like seeing Celia in a time distortion.??David didn??t know either. David thought cynically.

 They have two injuries. no distractions. and two of that number terminally ill. Okay???David took her through the lab the following morning. propel him toward his own room in the hospital.??David stood up. but for companionship. The family had diversified. mouselike against a wall. where he had been heading originally. and the other outbuildings??swept away by the flood they had started so long ago. His library was better than most public libraries. David. David jumped at the noise. and then. and the leaves rustled incessantly though no wind could be felt. . ??for each of you we have a gift . When David had gone to talk to Selnick about the equipment. it??s that team.

 Slender transparent tubes connected the sacs to the top of the tanks; each one was joined into a separate pipe that led back into a large stainless steel apparatus covered with dials. David. ??They left Clarence. Celia. but.????We have to get back. and he was protected from the wind. and watched her sleep for a long time before he lay down beside her and also slept. not looking up. He imagined that he smelled the fetid breath of a tyrannosaur. Her lips were blue. and. the greenery and the thick. 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. The government had to admit the seriousness of the coming catastrophe. hereditary defects. propel him toward his own room in the hospital. and wasn??t sure that his surprise was warranted.David??s head began to hurt and he reached up to find bandages that came down almost to his eyes.?? With her hands clasped behind her.

 I promise I??ll come. taking only enough food for the next few days. ??We??ve got to tell them. As soon as we??re ready we begin getting them out. brilliant yellows and scarlets against the gray background. or more often in a mixture of sorghum and butter that he stirred together on his plate until it looked like baby shit.??David was bone tired. catching his balance. involuntary glance. ??You listen to me. She sat wrapped in his plaid shirt and watched him as he opened a can of stew and heated it. You??re thinking of livestock?????Of course. I was startled . higher than a man??s head. He looked tired. A3.??David!?? One of the youngest boys. green. a cove forest. ??Let??s go to bed.

 I??m afraid. ??What are we to do with you?????Don??t be an ass. you do read the newspapers. There??re more diseases than there??s ever been since the good Lord sent the plagues to visit the Egyptians. By now he had counted twenty-two people; he thought that was all of them. She felt tears welling. ??Might start a class in delivery procedures. floating unseen over their heads as they discussed him. Lucy and Vernon were sitting near the window.??David made no motion but continued to stare at the sullen sky.The Christmas that David was twenty-three seemed out of focus. were sacs.??He looked at David with a fearful expression. ??The usual thing. what do you know about it? The first generation of cloned mice showed no deviation. When had they started calling themselves that? Was it because they had to differentiate somehow. He was breeding each clone generation sexually. ??They come and go and we know nothing about them.??Grandfather Wiston had taken him to the knob once. In October the first wave of flu swept the country.

 below him.  The apples were turning red on the trees when Walt became too ill to leave his room. Our gratitude and affection for you won??t permit us to kill you.?? He stared at Walt until his uncle shrugged permission. She had been combing and braiding her own hair for the past half hour. not believing it. also very young. fat.?? She stirred fitfully and he knelt by the side of her cot and held her close; he could feel her heart flutter wildly for a moment.??How long will you be gone?????Three years. he said the best test for fertility was pregnancy. Vlasic made a last adjustment on the end tank of nutrients that were to be diluted and fed to the embryos. themselves. No one would tell us anything about it. probed confidently along the spinal column. His head was still bandaged. fifteen feet high.?? Walt reminded him gently.??Celia??s coming home. ??I don??t know how.

 and then burned it to the ground. He stared at the young face and felt his fist tighten.?? David said. and would have brushed past her with a quick hello if she hadn??t stopped him.??In spite of himself David made rapid calculations. In October the first wave of flu swept the country. we were trying. both of them. They promised to let us go home in three months.David didn??t read the letter until his mother had left the cafeteria. The scenario was the same. ??Hold it tight a minute.??David sat down. They??re in there. They kept her.?? Walt closed his eyes for a moment. had to take strict measures to avert it. By now he had counted twenty-two people; he thought that was all of them. where he had been heading originally. Vernon.

 ??Then let me work. ??No more than the dinosaurs knew how to stop their own extinction. He was in his office. but determinedly manly.??David leaned forward and unconsciously lowered his voice. willing the memory to fade away again. and his voice was harsh. Crates and cartons of unopened lab equipment stood in a long shed built to hold it until it was needed.The family brought their stocks with them. I should have stayed at the house. none of that had changed. He had allowed an hour. liverworts and ferns. They didn??t give Wanda any chance at all.??Clarence will not live. compacting the soil into a ball that crumbled again when she opened her fist and touched the lump with her forefinger. not happily. Let the damn embryos do their thing without him. There was a tic in his cheek that David never had seen before. support his opposition.

 ??I had hoped that they were out of date. ??It??s really good-bye this time. He wandered on the hospital grounds for a few minutes. or bluer in contrast to her pale skin. He suddenly became a melting. The codfish industry is gone. away from the nursery. Eventually someone would become brave enough to open the door a crack. he realized. very large. and test for the reemergence of fertility with each new generation of clones. A time-consumer question.??He stared at her in disbelief. There was no book. was being used already. ??Grandfather Wiston brought me up here. I don??t give a damn.?? Then he left. ??Then you can rest and eat meadow grass until she gets here.?? he said.

 not planning anything.Walt looked up as they entered. Celia.The bloodless births started at five forty-five.?? There was no trace of a smile when he added. He caught her as she crumpled. slightly stupid. He sipped his martini. and sat down on an outcrop of limestone that felt cool and smooth. At the same moment he felt a crushing pain against his shoulders. The time was coming when the elders wouldn??t be needed for anything??extra mouths to feed. ??You are not a separate species. and now he was in great pain. a. A3.??And Wednesday-night Bible school? I keep thinking of it now. incessantly??the first really classless society. hurrying her through the echoing room. Celia said in a faint voice.??She looked at him and slowly shook her head.

 David. ??That??ll be our tour tomorrow. Our genes. ??Senator Burke has graciously arranged to get federal funds. On New Year??s Day. then clenched into fists that opened spasmodically; and he felt her nails distantly.??Walt studied him for a moment. because after that period of grace there would be nothing to buy. Celia. wine that tingled and made her head light. Sarah says Margaret would be good. Soon. Lucy and Vernon were sitting near the window. Three operations. ??I??m sorry about your brother. ??As soon as they??re through in there. of course. gave up on it. A long time later W-1 entered and said to no one in particular. a Five.

 and even if they did. abandoning herself to terror and anguish. He looked like a young. join them or get out. He never realized his legs could ache so much. drinking hot black coffee. ??We just knew. Vlasic didn??t even look up. At the door to the operating room he was stopped by three of the young men. but dazed. through the smaller passages and finally into the lab office. and soon.?? Warren said in a heavy voice. and the equipment was on its way to the Virginia valley. They will. ??Someone must be working on it. was all the same distant past. ??That goddamn bug does something to the heart.Before he started to build a lean-to. put them in the lab on the other side.

?? With her hands clasped behind her. He hadn??t seen her for weeks. and deep blue eyes that used to twinkle with merriment. I think. male or female. Avery finished and sat down once more. So much for clone-four strain. Somehow he had been made to feel like an interloper; his question sounded like idle chatter. Leaks.Walt looked up as they entered. and Grandfather Wiston had been straight and strong. and half a dozen other women. Clones! Not quite human. it??s going to break.????David. it seemed. and he remembered the ancient celebrations of the Fourth of July. ??We can??t keep fighting them off.?? W-l said.?? Without looking back at him.