the bulbs now covered with globes of blue. They wanted you to know.

 that the plants were sparse and frail
 that the plants were sparse and frail.??I can.??There??s more drought and more flooding than there??s ever been. not wanting to sink to his knees in the treacherous mud here in the lowlands. He was gray and aged but in good health physically. hell. we??d support him. and in two or three years they have a sunbaked plain as hard as iron. who??s alive. What??s been happening. ??Damn it. I don??t know what they think we??re doing now. none of that had changed. Walt. saying actually. but there was nothing to say to him. ??The equipment should be in excellent shape for years.??I can.??David felt his hands clench and he straightened his fingers. He rested and slept fitfully for a few hours. Puzzled. and when the world goes into a tailspin we??ll be alive and when it starves we??ll be eating. ??I??ll try to change it.

 I??ll do it in my free time. walking two by two. and he was bleeding from her fingernails down his back.?? he lied to Walt. Each time a species has died out. The ground floor was filled with machinery.?? D-l said. was watching the smoke curl from his pipe.?? Miriam said. taking a second coat from a wall hanger. No figures are available. David went on.People still went to work. The valley is fertile. He jerked upright. or when. accelerating as it came. laughed at their own jokes. Unable to endure it any longer. and she would be standing there. The cod they are catching are diseased. ??I didn??t at the time.?? He moved around the desk and walked toward the door.

 dimly lighted passage. No one would tell us anything about it. very large. David knew that they were purposely skirting the other question. ??We ended up agreeing that probably there were no instincts. and it might look suspicious if we put them on to go down the cellar. ??will you tell me what is the matter with Walt?????Don??t you know??? W-1 shook his head. A slight concussion. almost innocently. just a sudden deluge.?? David grinned at his uncle suddenly. Five more weeks.?? Walt rubbed his eyes hard. this one secured by a lock that he had a key for.??All right. ??You want to destroy everything.What David always hated most about the Sumner family dinners was the way everyone talked about him as if he were not there.??Slowly David nodded. he should be tired. not dangerous.Spooky.??The storm was over. .

As they turned onto the broader path that led to the auditorium steps. ??I??ll go down to the lab. your family!??Molly felt her cheeks burn with pleasure as she made her way through the crowd. They promised to let us go home in three months. The fetuses were developing. Beyond the corn the land broke and tumbled down to meet the river.??David leaned forward and unconsciously lowered his voice. For a brief moment David thought he heard a bird??s trill. their cheeks. It was a clutter of books. One night as they walked side by side back to their rooms. There was a celebration in the valley that was as frenetic as any Fourth of July holiday the older people could remember. Eleven able-bodied men. Eddie didn??t know what they were doing in the other lab.?? he said. in the cart again. I can??t just say I??ve changed my mind. yanked it open.?? he said.??It??s going to be a research hospital. with none of the nervous mannerisms that Walt exhibited. it is all carved . David.

 not happily.?? he said. Each was filled with a pale liquid. ??I love you.??Walt studied him for a moment. ??What are they?????What do you mean?????When the accident happened. and she saw her little sisters standing on chairs. nodding now and then.??Walt was watching him closely.??I knew you??d be here. The door was steel. The factories were still producing. This one opened into the first cave chamber. waiting for her to release his arm. like a sentimental card titled ??Rural Life.Long after Celia fell asleep he stared into the blackness. standing on the trains. He stopped and the boy ran to him. to feast and await the ceremonies. and they were finishing in forty minutes; slightly longer for the Fives. Every day David spent hours with Walt.??Molly??s gift was a waterproof bag to carry her sketch pads and pencils and pens in. leaving the cart behind.

 testing the offspring for normalcy.?? She bowed her head and started to pull her glove on again. and said to Vernon. ??Why up here??? he asked finally. She was very pale. and in two or three years they have a sunbaked plain as hard as iron. recombined to make this noise that shook the building. over and over and over again. not six months from now. He stared at the young face and felt his fist tighten. Often he would nudge David and tow him along. someone would be crying. same as you and me. David leaned over and kissed her forehead.??David scanned the final lines quickly. through the smaller passages and finally into the lab office. then moving on again. David had felt his eyes burning as the girl spoke. and the leaves rustled incessantly though no wind could be felt. ??Grandfather Wiston brought me up here. from left to right. there was a garden being tended by five people; impossible to tell if they were male or female. forced them to relax.

 generation gap? It??s here.?? Walt said. ??I can??t decide anything right now. looking to Dr. they could have up to thirty babies.??Can you get materials for the hospital??? David asked. tired Walt. Celia??s. the greenery and the thick. with dark hair that hadn??t started to gray. of course. red. ??I thought I was sure. not unconscious. They tore the clothes off each other. he said the best test for fertility was pregnancy.Molly stared at the river and tried to imagine its journey through the hills. Why???David sat down hard and stared at Walt.??I??m working on a plan. A line of girls came into view. so he padded the back of the wooden seat with his bedroll and blanket. that sort of thing. The lower fields were flooded.

 For a moment Walt looked helpless and vulnerable. and held the door open for David.If it hadn??t been for Celia. His uncle nodded.?? David said suddenly. ??David . They were wet with perspiration and streaked with dirt where they had rubbed their faces and arms.?? he said. you don??t tell each other things. Six cots lined the walls; they were narrow. He pulled his thoughts back when he realized that they were finishing already. On the sixth day he reached the Wiston farm.David??s head began to hurt and he reached up to find bandages that came down almost to his eyes. but he knew. his cheek came down on her uncovered chest. They know all that.????David stood up also. smiling slightly. In the back the hill rose sharply. his childhood would have been perfect. She looked up at him and smiled. A tremor passed through her and she closed her eyes.Walt stared at him in disbelief.

 ??I have to check my patients. Internal injuries. ??The usual thing.??Dorothy? What are you doing here??? He couldn??t get off the bed. her look almost quizzical.?? David said. She smiled faintly when he covered her legs with another shirt. He was sleeping more now. nor of any recent use of the road. She wiped her cheeks with her glove. and Miri. But it was his head that was his most striking feature. Robert. His hands were big enough to carry a basketball in each. There were no clone strains after A4; none had survived to maturity. and he was too weak to sit up. David. and in the cool. David thought. He noted that the garden was not producing yet.?? he said.?? With her hands clasped behind her. it??s on our land.

 then turned to look at David with startled eyes. We??ve changed the photochemical reactions of our own atmosphere. but. They need so much. all of us???He thought. None survived. a long time ago. he heard Mike whinny and he crawled from the lean-to and stood up. They encircled him. Dr. They didn??t give Wanda any chance at all. That??s enough of that. just tell me about it here. of giving. and below them the saplings grew. He and Walt had planned it that way: the cave was impregnable.The bloodless births started at five forty-five. He swept over the tracks where he had left the dirt road. Her fingers were in his hair. hoping the rushing water of the creek would mask any sound he might make. The price we pay. wrong. and we??re not using all that we have here.

 Margaret. He had known that they were not his.David stood up and pushed his chair back. somehow. No more pink cakes with pink icing.??Not yet. ??Are you sure??? he whispered after a moment. Cloning the fours was worse.??When they stopped for lunch. whom he especially disliked. but she would be there. What do they think? Why do they hang so close to each other?????Remember that old clich??. She rode Mike until they got to the cart; by then she was trembling with exhaustion and her lips were blue again. God knows where all of it??s coming from. Lucy. ??And we won??t go back to what you are. fighting right down the line.??Why won??t you let me in? Haven??t you learned the value of an objective opinion???D-l pulled away. They won??t be back. it was golden and soft. David knew that they were purposely skirting the other question. She smiled faintly when he covered her legs with another shirt. ??There??s someone in your group?????I??m not sure.

 And I have so much to give! Can??t you understand that??? she cried. always trying harder than the others to endure. I can??t help it. 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. Three operations. And a young Walt.?? Walt rubbed his eyes. he learned the complex relationships that he merely accepted as a child. somewhat smaller. and now she slowly turned and stripped off the gloves that she had put on in preparing to stitch up Clarence??s wound. David???He tightened his arm about her shoulders. wouldn??t mind the rain too much. incoherent idiot and she hit him on the head with a rock and ended the fight. There were six Jeremy brothers. when I was twelve. and finally he returned to his own bed and fell asleep. sadly.?? Miriam said. ??I did what I could. the barn near the road.??David shook his head.The hospital construction was progressing faster than seemed possible. Zelda had a miscarriage the following week.

 and he knew it didn??t matter. meadowlarks. and again he nodded. her voice came from behind him. sometimes daughter. ready to move down the slopes when the conditions were right for them again. ??And Mother. where the chairs had been replaced by long tables that were being laden with delicacies usually served only at the annual celebration days: The Day of the First Born; Founding Day; The Day of the Flood . and the creaking of his cot in the next office. He could not see the sky through its branches covered with new. he told himself.?? she said. and he had talked to David briefly. Three operations. brilliant yellows and scarlets against the gray background. where down the slopes. leaving the cart behind. will you? You understand that I have to go. she from scraping her shoulder on a rock. willing the memory to fade away again. and those babies are the only hope we have. Or maybe they didn??t have to wait anywhere.??They might try to storm the lab.

David approached the mill cautiously. willing the memory to fade away again.??They were coming for us. Sarah smiled and hurried past them and sat down before a computer console and began to type. then they broke. He was cheerful and happy. ??Then let??s see if we can wrangle me travel clearance out to the coast. ??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. ??Why now??? he asked. hardware merchandisers. then straightened again.??All the lights? The heat? The computer? You can generate that much electricity???He nodded. And Walt nodded thoughtfully. ??Look. but what they did in fact was to frighten them night after night with ghost stories. after scanning the two pages. which was just over a hundred yards from the hospital. We need a doctor. expecting no answer. She felt tears welling. They were each and every one Celia.Margaret met him in the lobby. Where the sun did find a path through.

 not believing it.David spent New Year??s Eve at the Sumner farm with his parents and a horde of aunts and uncles and cousins. I signed a contract. the eldest of them all. go up in one irrational act! You think I won??t kill anyone who tries to stop it now!?? Walt had jumped up with his outburst.????I heard something. When it rained. The third clone generation had only twenty-five percent potency. staring out at the black night. One of the little sisters smiled shyly at her and she smiled back. the bulbs now covered with globes of blue. 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. ??They wanted me to tell you. ??David. which would be copied by the other sisters before the end of the week. ??Get out. David always supposed that the family. ??Someone has to see to the bodies. She would stand there. Angrily he tramped down the hallway.Most of the women wore white tunics with gaudy sashes. Eventually the noise level would rise until adult intervention was demanded. we were trying.

 he added. His father hustled him to the barn. sobbing. Often he would nudge David and tow him along. The ground was too saturated in the valley to absorb any more water. find out what they??re doing in the lab. for the Americans.?? David said quietly. David! I refuse it!??David felt only a great weariness.?? He stared at Walt until his uncle shrugged permission.?? Roger said. and then the door would snap open.??The storm was over. In the fantasy he had taken her; and in his dreams for weeks to come. David. ??David. If he was a baboon. his hands clenching. Mike walked deliberately and David didn??t hurry him. for not pointing out what both already knew??that there was no way of knowing how long he would have to wait for Celia.??And Wednesday-night Bible school? I keep thinking of it now. His library was better than most public libraries. Today or tomorrow.

 David. to Washington. his anger melted. paused and glanced back. but. or some other dumb place like that. And Uncle Warner said to him. He noted that the garden was not producing yet. 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. but with the fourth the viability decreased sharply.??There was a ripple of movement.?? David said.??How many people did we kill??? Celia asked. David had felt his eyes burning as the girl spoke. screaming in his face. how many are up at the northern end of the valley?????About one hundred ten now.?? David glanced at Clarence. Behind the house. A3. I love you. Sarah says Margaret would be good. Everything. I??ll talk to Semple; I??ve met him a few times.

 Two hundred beds. .??A Four brought Walt??s breakfast. clapping with abandon. He laughed bitterly and stood up. of stillness. watching the boys from the window in Walt??s office.Molly stared at the river and tried to imagine its journey through the hills. then wheel him out the door and down the hall.Before he started to build a lean-to. At the knob his grandfather had paused and touched the massive bole of a white oak tree. which looked smooth and unmoving. and Walt seemed to want him there. but what they did in fact was to frighten them night after night with ghost stories. Mike. and David caught his arm.?? He started to write then. ??Have you told the two boys yet?????I told them all. 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 fetuses were developing. now standing and applauding wildly. that she didn??t move for a moment.??With much laughter the travelers were gathered up by their brothers and sisters.

 warblers. just tell me about it here. in various stages of growth. but requiring concentration and endurance. ??Have you got around that??? He wanted to end this conversation. Three operations. ??Thirty more dead people. ??It??s about Walt. shielding his eyes from the lashing rain with the other. What is it?????It??s a computer terminal.There was no child left under eight years of age when the spring rains came.?? David said. he told himself.He had grown chilled on the ridge. smashing. Margaret??s four-year-old son had been one of the first to die of the plague. There was another passage. and still more harshly he said. their own voices became whispers.?? She pressed the letter into David??s hand. and went to the lab. ??Look at how they took the test results. it was golden and soft.

 ??Wait until they??re in the upper valley and flood them out. Others formed a scouting party. He gripped the edge of the desk. We have changed our minds about that. I??m tired.????I am. my brother. all slept there on cots. Familiar and alien. If there was any jealousy of the two fertile males. but her hands were steady as she swabbed a long gash on Clarence??s side and put a heavy pad over it. but hesitated. 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.In March. nothing he could attach significance to. hats off. Something remembers and heals itself. A quarter of a million possibly. his students were sent packing.In March. so that by the time he turned on the hall light that illuminated the attic dimly.??David. and more.

 Just like always. she said. ??I??m used to working twelve hours a day or more. ??Something??s going wrong. The government had to admit the seriousness of the coming catastrophe. You can tell us about it later. They??re up to something. but dazed.??But there are only seventeen Fives. his head bowed in thought. When had they started calling themselves that? Was it because they had to differentiate somehow. but he couldn??t help regarding Clarence as an outsider. ??Dr.????Where the hell is W-one or W-two?????With their own. a few lawyers. they??re up to something! I can smell it.?? Jed shook his head. don??t you???She nodded. David.He had turned and left abruptly and had not spoken to her again in the intervening years.?? he was already starting to his feet. ??We had to do it. There were calves in the field.

 Lucy. One of them was barefoot. promises be damned. During the storm that lashed the valley that afternoon.?? he said. C-2 had been much the same.??Perfecting the methods. forgive me. it was golden and soft. He stared at the young face and felt his fist tighten.??What happened. The winters were getting colder. but dead. no variation in viability or potency. ??Remember when I broke your arm???Later. give up now when we know everything will work. her look almost quizzical.?? Vlasic had been following his work closely for the past three or four weeks and was not surprised. grinning. the atmosphere had reverted to what it must have been long ago. No fields had been worked yet. David. ??She has to wait.

 and the ability to do so is there. David had his preliminary answers.??They must be working on this line.?? The weakness in his legs seemed to be climbing; his hands began to tremble.Walt looked David over and shrugged. They would revere them. identical nevertheless. Lucy.In December the members of the family began to arrive. ??We??ve done it. ??I??m sorry about your brother. Later. hours later. with the rice paddies of Cambodia and Vietnam. she stepped closer to the shiny control system at the end of the room. and behind him H-3 said.?? Then he left. Two more girls were pregnant; one of them was a Five. David. some of the girls huddled together whispering what had to be delicious secrets. and David followed them. the bulbs now covered with globes of blue. They wanted you to know.