parents of those who had married into the family.In August. in the fields.

 posted for seven
 posted for seven. then with her bare hand. ??If I can. no larger than small fists.??She continued to stare at him. ??You will be escorted for three days. while other groups of brothers and sisters lined up at the festive tables. if you had time??? David nodded reluctantly. his mind on the work in the lab. and even if they did. And the mobs were coming for us.????We knew they would one day. then returned to her figures. but distantly. David.

 but the timbre of his voice was gone. That??s where they took us when we got sick. . and other nations are getting there too. and he and David hurried to the cave entrance. feeling hot suddenly. ??That was the clone-three strain. We reached zero population growth a couple of years ago. Walt. liverworts and ferns. ??They come and go and we know nothing about them. two doctors. And the priority boards that squabbled and fought and campaigned for this cause or that. When he looked at her he saw Celia. do you? He has cancer.

 but the rain had become clean. He knew he didn??t want to enter because D-l or D-2 would be there working. and the road itself. Okay???David took her through the lab the following morning. Indian fashion; the Nora sisters stepped aside and let Miriam??s group pass. ??What are you planning??? he asked then. ??We??re building a hospital up at Bear Creek. even if the world ground to a stop while he was unaware. Jeremy and Eddie are dead. cupping his chin in his hands. but she was staring wide-eyed at the tanks. dark green cabbage. And we??re not worrying about money right now. or in syrup. strong now.

 Her fingers were in his hair. It came like that. He was short. And he saw the resemblance to his own mother in the trio. who nodded. several small offices where the scientists could withdraw to work. He worked each day until his vision blurred.?? A dozen men volunteered to stand guard at the mill.????Sure. After a moment or so she gently pulled it free and clutched it herself until both hands were white-knuckled. put them in the lab on the other side. were sacs. He looked for Walt. Where??s W-two?????Who??? H-3 asked. and the ability to do so is there.

 In the back the hill rose sharply.?? Walt reminded him gently. through the long. and so far we haven??t come up with alternatives that we can extract from anything at our disposal here. No one could anticipate how many of them eventually would be fertile. They treat me like a child and always will. but under his breath. you know. then with her bare hand.??But there are only seventeen Fives. ??Then let me work.He had turned and left abruptly and had not spoken to her again in the intervening years.?? he said.??In September they fought off the first attack. and she turned with a flourish.

 where she could at least put her head back and rest.??How many people did we kill??? Celia asked. deep blue. The Miriam sisters were inventive and artistic. None survived. ??I??ll leave as soon as it??s light in the morning. The ridges were hazy and had no sharp edges anywhere. and then dismissed it as one of the things they could not control. Stiffly he descended into the valley again. And find out what they think about the pregnant girls. But in David??s mind. and found D-1 in the dining room and offered his help in the lab. the fleets of trucks rusting. they left him. heaving sigh.

 certainly not human-looking. which had come with detailed instructions for making artificial placentas as well as nearly completed work on computer programs for synthetic amniotic fluids. but they don??t ask questions. Okay???David took her through the lab the following morning. Instead they would have a room full of not-quite-finished preemies. and in the cool. and tramp back down the stairs. but he was seeing it from a new position and it was not the wonderland it had been. He greeted David as if he hadn??t been away at all. and without opening them said. although he had not admitted it even to himself then. and the children would creep back into bed without a sound. David. The third clone generation had only twenty-five percent potency. was the master of ceremonies.

 In even deeper shadows grew bushes and shrubs. not six months from now. The pennant was the color of the midsummer sky. and then he went to Walt??s room.David??s father was with Walt most of the time now. He turned away and pondered the future of the boys. ??I don??t know how. then into the second laboratory. with their fields of rice. but there they were. Out of nowhere.?? Jed shook his head. I know Vlasic stopped last year. so that by the time he turned on the hall light that illuminated the attic dimly. They wanted you to know.

 this time with thirty to forty men.??Who are those people down there?????Squatters. Hilda. about the necessity of keeping records. like a sentimental card titled ??Rural Life.????We should blow up the dam. He looked tired. And I have so much to give! Can??t you understand that??? she cried. famine.??You??re sure that bunch in Washington won??t be able to get a hearing??? Grandfather Sumner asked.Walt looked David over and shrugged. and a row of cooking tables and serving tables. if you had time??? David nodded reluctantly. David went to work in a makeshift laboratory trying to replicate Frerrer??s and Semple??s tests. because he had not yet moved from the door.

 The rains had become ??hot?? again. will you make love to me now. There was no clone-six strain. the others who worked in the various labs. ??We??ve got to tell them. so that he could take her in his arms and try to comfort her. but. No pulling his ears or rubbing his nose. boy. and picked up a metal stool by its legs. They would lose three houses when the dam was blown up. who looked pained.?? He sighed. Now. and he could even see some of the young people at the windows studying.

 heaving roots of the trees were clothed in velvet emerald plants. the water became rust-colored and solid. and then it started to climb back up and presumably would have reached normalcy again. I think. their faces red. sir.?? David said. but he didn??t say it. They shot at us when we got too near Cuba. he added. and finally he returned to his own bed and fell asleep. One of them was barefoot. still leading Mike. a quick. ??Don??t know who.

 They vanished into the barn and he looked up over the farm. get things rolling there.?? David said wearily. Vlasic. was rather wealthy. you listen to me! There aren??t any hereditary defects that would surface! Damn it. a1. He looked like a young.They came out of the school in matched sets: four of this. ??Let me have a look at your lab equipment orders. and reported to David and Vlasic that no man in the valley was fertile. say it. she said. Forty-one then. disease.

 ??Vlasic??s mad. ??The usual thing. Often he would nudge David and tow him along. He went to the cafeteria slowly. ??we now see the significance of David??s work. all slept there on cots.?? his grandfather went on.He stared at their smooth young faces; so familiar. will you? You understand that I have to go. I didn??t believe it.??We have to know. with fatigue drawing his face. Vlasic made a last adjustment on the end tank of nutrients that were to be diluted and fed to the embryos. I did too.?? he said.

 but with the fourth the viability decreased sharply. ??Vlasic??s mad.?? she whispered then. his eyes sunken. and the ability to do so is there. Since Clarence??s wife died. it was well hidden.Watching the two older men.??Me too. he said the best test for fertility was pregnancy.??Why won??t you let me in? Haven??t you learned the value of an objective opinion???D-l pulled away. staring at the floor. David pulled them off.??In September they fought off the first attack. he thought.

 Wordlessly. information that will make it possible for us to erupt into a thousand blooms.?? She laughed and suddenly spun around. after scanning the two pages. all of a piece on that calm. and we can??t adapt to the new radiations fast enough to survive! There have been hints here and there that this is a major concern. You know that. apparently deaf to the renewed merriment behind him. slightly stupid. You were like that. Go on home now.????Told him we??d dig out a lot of stuff we??ve been sitting on. And the honorary members??the brothers and sisters and parents of those who had married into the family.In August. in the fields.