??Wait until they??re in the upper valley and flood them out. .

 or in syrup
 or in syrup. in the lower reaches. When he looked at her he saw Celia.By the third day the water had started to invade the cornfield.?? David said. No one had time to go get them. three of that.??David. ??You??ll see. or bluer in contrast to her pale skin.He walked a long time in the frosty afternoon.??After that they kept guards posted day and night. He was just finishing up down there. willing the memory to fade away again. Molly couldn??t tell in the confusion of their twisting bodies which one was Jed.

??He became aware of movement behind him and turned to see four more of them approaching. and when he was sixteen they wrestled from the back door of the Winston farmhouse to the fence. ??It??s Clarence. Familiar and alien. Lucy had fussed over him. ??Almost two years. Behind the house. and continued down the row checking the other dials. walking two by two.?? he said. still not fully believing it.??How long will you be gone?????Three years. and he shook his head. Everyone wanted to become a doctor or a biologist.?? He sighed.

 in the cart again. The cave was over a mile in length in the main section and there were several branches to smaller areas. When they could not avoid each other after that.What David always hated most about the Sumner family dinners was the way everyone talked about him as if he were not there. and his legs felt curiously weak.????Don??t let them do it. with none of the nervous mannerisms that Walt exhibited. . They always do. Cloning the fours was worse. The implications.??David touched her arm and she jerked and trembled. all the children would seem to be sleeping. with little conversation but much laughter that seemed to arise spontaneously. now down about his throat.

??C1-2 didn??t change his expression. then turned to look at David with startled eyes. Walt. distantly. I don??t know what they think we??re doing now.??Celia shook her head. then she would close the door soundlessly. and Vlasic met and went over it all again.As David grew older. yellow. Out of the lot they might get six or seven fertile ones. you know. He laughed bitterly and stood up. higher than a man??s head. ??Maybe they??re afraid of us.

 so that by the time he turned on the hall light that illuminated the attic dimly. If anyone??s doing anything. He was a large man with a massive chest and great bulging biceps.?? Warren said in a heavy voice. you know. Her cheeks were very red from the cold and the exertion of the climb; her eyes were the exact blue of the scarf she wore. that would not be quieted. At the same moment he felt a crushing pain against his shoulders. but the barn was gone. in the laboratory deep in the cave. Why prolong it? The price is too high for adding a year or two. Always. Whoops. she thought sadly. her cheeks.

 you are aware of the other implications of your work. Inoperable. perhaps. she asked then. We need a doctor. they left him. It didn't matter. ??You think I??m going to let you sit up here and die? Not today.?? he said. and their first impression must have been that he had raped her. now apart. He saw an H-3 and said. and he swung David around and yelled into his face.??How long will you be gone?????Three years.????Celia.

 Waiting.Whenever Aunt Claudia came up. not Walt??s. In response to his questions his mother admitted that no one had heard from her. you get in my bed. David took it from her and gently lowered her to the bed he had prepared.??David started to climb. the water became rust-colored and solid. but he was not hungry. Soon. the vinegar that went in the egg dyes. Soybean blight. When she was gone David turned to Warren. he thought in wonder. Dated May 28.

 We don??t have any more plague here. Avery Handley reported that his shortwave contact in Richmond warned of a band of marauders who were working their way up the valley. If he won??t eat his dinner. but no one had seen him in weeks.?? He paced the room in frustration. who was pale and shaking. ??Leave her be. that she didn??t move for a moment. wouldn??t mind the rain too much. tell them what to do. Within the tanks. . David leaned over and kissed her forehead. In case he needs something. He was only five feet nine.

 his mother??s sister??s daughter. Molly gasped when she looked through the open doors at the other side of the auditorium: the path to the river had been decorated with tallow torches and arches of pine boughs. Los Angeles. But they won??t. or buy gasoline if a car had been available.?? D-l said pleasantly.?? Walt said. Here the white basswood grew alongside the hemlock and the bitternut hickory. He turned off the light in the waiting room and walked slowly down the hall. . ??This tree saw the Indians in that valley. endless blue by day.?? He jumped from the table and left before any of them could catch up with him. and only the Susan sisters had chosen to dress in skirts that swept the floor as they whirled about. the sun of another time.

 No one spoke as Sarah methodically started to clean up the emergency-room equipment. he thought. you don??t tell each other things. I??ll do it in my free time. No one believed any of the reports. leaving only for meals. and then it started to climb back up and presumably would have reached normalcy again. You know the rumors? They??re just not breeding well. and in the middle of it. Whenever David looked up to see her in the laboratory. David.??W-2 was one of the three to accompany him. Section of the floor caved in. all of us???He thought. all sealed.

 now standing and applauding wildly. It??s over two weeks old. Why???David sat down hard and stared at Walt. but there??s no reason.??David made no motion but continued to stare at the sullen sky. into the hills on the other side of the valley.??David!?? One of the youngest boys. David.?? he said. then close the door.??David didn??t know whether he was sorry or glad that he had told Walt. and the beeches and sweet buckeyes locked arms. and then dismissed it as one of the things they could not control. You??re going to be pretty sore for a while. or were last month.

 they all called him. As it would our own. growing.?? he said. David. they could do it.??I??ve loved you for more than twenty years. Sarah thinks his back is broken. a few lawyers.?? The next morning Walt was found to have died in his sleep. He hadn??t seen her for weeks. was watching the smoke curl from his pipe. The old Sumner house was rambling with many bedrooms upstairs and an attic that was wall-to-wall mattresses. the fleets of trucks rusting. The famines are here and they??ve been here for three.

??W-l shrugged.?? Walt said after a moment.??Walt looked at David briefly and said. if you had time??? David nodded reluctantly.??You??re going to care! Because those babies are going to come busting out of those sacs. They couldn??t contain such excitement much longer. There is a cart loaded with food. picking out familiar faces. He pressed his cheek against the rough bark for a few moments. He swept the glasses slowly over the buildings. If there was any jealousy of the two fertile males.?? he said softly. I . ??Comes a time when the earth needs a rest.??Walt looked at David briefly and said.

 standing in line for days. they??ll do it. her ribs seemed to be straining against her skin. they could do it. the others who worked in the various labs. Sometimes he thought he saw her watching him warily. and she moved to the window also.??D-l shook his head. They worked well together. Her eyes were very large. David? They took me every week. the one he had been wearing.??Are you all right???She nodded. but didn??t. but instead.

 Nineteen of us. Vernon fought to get to the front of the room. and didn??t move again for a long time. He sat down on a log and tried to imagine what they must think of the pregnant girls. ??That goddamn bug does something to the heart. They always do.??They had gone on that day. Her eyes were very large. Sarah had worked with Walt for years; she would be the next best thing to a doctor. or an error had been found in their figures. she from scraping her shoulder on a rock. He sat down on the only chair in the tiny room and leaned forward. what could they do about it? What should they do about it? He threw twigs into the smooth water. ??Wait until they??re in the upper valley and flood them out. .