office. were two years younger than the Fours.

 He shook his head helplessly
 He shook his head helplessly. she was there to hold him and love him.?? His voice was almost bitter when he looked up at David. Or maybe they didn??t have to wait anywhere. He didn??t look again at David after dismissing him with one glance. in the laboratories.?? he said.????We talked about that too. he thought. The wheat was golden brown. Cheap.?? David said. below him. Celia said in a faint voice.?? he said. Jeremy Streit brought his hardware merchandise in four truckloads. It was raining. A new religion might come about. They go in and burn off the trees and underbrush. They really believe that everything is still all right here. after all. Why aren??t the boys jealous? Why aren??t the girls making passes at the two available studs???Walt shook his head. Grandfather Wiston had always alternated wheat and alfalfa and soybeans in that field. The computer controls the input of nutrients and oxygen. ??Just tell me you love me.

David didn??t read the letter until his mother had left the cafeteria. He then moved to sit next to Walt. Grandfather Sumner made an announcement. the kids. that she might never make it to the farm. Thirty new lives!??She shook her head. a hundred million. ??That goddamn bug does something to the heart. more if we can get them. aware that it was changed but not certain what was different. The family tumbled from the house as if they had been shaken out. nothing at all. Everyone thinks it??s propaganda. ??Comes a time when the earth needs a rest. His shoulder ached. Let their bright young students come to you. posted for seven. David didn??t offer to pull it. The ground was spongy and he walked carefully.?? She bowed her head and started to pull her glove on again.????We might. Wishful thinking.??They must be working on this line. try to make Mother see. There wasn??t room for her to lie down in the cart.

 We??re having shortages no one ever dreamed of.??He laughed. ??Stop this! I??m going to answer any questions. ??Where is she?????Miami. nodding now and then. Coffee will be served now. A heap of family. The bearers of life.?? Walt rubbed his eyes. which moved without a ripple.??The passageway was dimly lighted. David had his preliminary answers.?? W-l said.??Better take off the coat now.??Molly??s gift was a waterproof bag to carry her sketch pads and pencils and pens in. 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. I .??How do you feel??? W-1 asked.?? she said tightly. The rains had become ??hot?? again. Familiar and alien. Dorothy. ??We discussed that. and they??re just leaving them where they fall.?? he said.

 in a tremulous voice that betrayed disbelief. But when she hit him and he went limp. God help us all if anyone ever lays an ax to it. silky green in the fields.  The apples were turning red on the trees when Walt became too ill to leave his room.Cholera struck in Rome. Well. and I understand we have cakes and sandwiches. Soundlessly he ran toward the control room. meadowlarks. People are falling dead. how many are up at the northern end of the valley?????About one hundred ten now. and they were all sterile. ??You know damn well who I mean. Hilda. just tell me about it here. where down the slopes. It was cool and misty under the tall trees. And there was a steady. ??They just left him there and brought up their own. And we??re not worrying about money right now. ??They left Clarence. then they broke.??Me too.?? Walt said.

 I have to do something too. and China resumed its long-dormant trusteeship over the Indochina peninsula. What you decide to do next week. who was pale and shaking. ??The usual thing. but what they did in fact was to frighten them night after night with ghost stories. He swept over the tracks where he had left the dirt road. They returned to the corridor. they know. find out what they??re doing in the lab. eight months.?? he said. ??I??m used to working twelve hours a day or more. and half a dozen other women. His hands were big enough to carry a basketball in each.?? Walt said. it is all carved . . ??Of course. all slept there on cots. David didn??t know whom he had been cloned from. looking down the hall first. it was well hidden. she looked cool and lovely. ??What are we to do with you?????Don??t be an ass.

 because as children they had been as close as brother and sister. because after that period of grace there would be nothing to buy. copper. Cheap. Now music filled the auditorium and sisters and brothers danced at the far end and children scampered among them.?? He paused and looked at them again. The third clone generation had only twenty-five percent potency. ??Where is she?????Miami.????Told him we??d dig out a lot of stuff we??ve been sitting on.?? she said softly. ??The humans among them will be pariahs. He couldn??t cut his way out of a fog. ??I might be. David? They took me every week. but hesitated. W-l nodded and moved aside. A tremor passed through her and she closed her eyes. still very quietly. For a moment Walt looked helpless and vulnerable. This one opened into the first cave chamber.Three miles from the Wiston farm. playing their own games that appeared governed by random rules. and she had lost a baby in stillbirth. . and the north field was grown up in grasses and weeds.

?? David said. aren??t they??? he said bitterly to Walt. dark green cabbage.????I am. and he shook his head. but this tree.????We have to get back. ??We??re finished. Vlasic nodded again and again. see that they do it properly???Walt mumbled something. famine. She was weeping silently. The fetuses were developing. over the cave. Grandmother and Grandfather Wiston died last year.????We??re making it work. and alive in his memory was the day he had waited there for Celia. and with the valley flooded and the road and bridges gone. hah. And the honorary members??the brothers and sisters and parents of those who had married into the family. Sarah smiled and hurried past them and sat down before a computer console and began to type. We??re afraid our supplies of chemicals will run out. but he needed shelter from the fine drops that would make their way through the leaves to fall quietly on the absorbent ground.??All right. it was like an apparition.

  The redbuds were hazy blurs of pink against the clear. vivid green leaves. There were people he hadn??t known when they were that young. spring would give way to summer without a pause and the corn would be shiny. then relaxed and trembling. probed confidently along the spinal column. On either side of these were the tanks that held the animal embryos. and there. ??I . cattle. judging by the way they blushed and looked desperate if an adult came upon them suddenly. or a bird in flight. he wheeled about. if you will. the vinegar that went in the egg dyes. ??This tree saw the Indians in that valley. in the kitchens.??David blinked. One of the women pulled on Walt??s arm. or Kansas.?? He started with alarm. Eighteen Fours. The lower fields were flooded. nothing at all.?? He stood up.

 Before the dogwoods bloomed. at least until spring.??I can. incessantly??the first really classless society. but since the tests for female fertility required rabbits which they did not have. ??God knows what they might decide to do. He touched the soft green leaves gently. as though aimlessly. Molly smiled at them and saw that her sisters were smiling also; they shared the pride equally. The silence would drag on and on. to cry out. to point out some of the details that Walt might miss. He felt in the way there. you know that! If there were. Forever waiting for the day when they would start the whole climb up the evolutionary ladder once more. Never again.??David shook his head. and the fatigue lines on his face were smoothing out. ??I have to sleep. ??Celia. David pulled them off. And he kept saying. leaving the cart behind. No pair bonding. ??So here and there we got support.

 sobbing. It was like a jet takeoff; a crowd furious with an umpire??s decision; an express train out of control; a roar like nothing he had ever heard. nodding now and then. ??I??ll take Mike and the cart.??I??m sorry. whom he especially disliked. and continued down the row checking the other dials. Okay???David took her through the lab the following morning.  There was a hard freeze in November. I??ll talk to Semple; I??ve met him a few times. and then they carried her to her own cot and pulled the thin summer blanket over her. ??But. She looked up at him and smiled. They would be all right when they had the babies. The sexually reproduced offspring started with that same percentage. They were watching him quietly.??I??ll repack your things.?? Grandfather Sumner went on. Mike walked deliberately and David didn??t hurry him.David stood up and pushed his chair back. ??I promised Walt that I would work only four hours a day to start. there was a garden being tended by five people; impossible to tell if they were male or female. so he padded the back of the wooden seat with his bedroll and blanket.?? Walt said. ??Look.

 Eddie Beauchamp brought his dental equipment. ??Where is she?????Miami. his eyes sunken. he had taken her. You know that.?? he said. Margaret. and Miri bent over and kissed her eyelids tenderly. but he sobered again very quickly and said. he examined the farm through his binoculars.They worked and slept in the lab. just surprise again. The winter rains gave way to spring rains.?? She put his hand over the pad. ??You??re the one they??d listen to. Forty-one then. and he thought that perhaps she had drifted off to sleep. never uncle.??Better take off the coat now. there has been another higher one to replace it. paper. It was a clutter of books. downriver. talk.He reached the antique forest where he watched a flying insect beat its wings almost lazily and remembered his grandfather telling him that even the insects here were primitive??slower than their more advanced cousins.

 Her pale hair would not change much. I . I??m committed to going in two days. I suggest the sisters and brothers take their stars home and see them safely to bed now. It had been left almost as they had found it. I think.?? He knew that Walt was calculating. David drained his cup of eggnog. like a flower opening and closing. He swept the glasses slowly over the buildings. And he kept saying. and veered from the laboratory. The people had moved out of the cave again. Walt. keeping close to the wall. what do you know about it? The first generation of cloned mice showed no deviation. I don??t know what they think we??re doing now. so few among so many.??They were coming for us. he realized.??David. dispassionately. Walt. He never realized his legs could ache so much. and again he nodded.

??You want me to fill you in on anything here???She shook her head. David knew that they were purposely skirting the other question.??Celia??s coming home. Work in the classroom. although the day was already hot. You know the rumors? They??re just not breeding well. for the hot rains. and only the Susan sisters had chosen to dress in skirts that swept the floor as they whirled about. ??has twenty-five percent potency. They made us leave Brazil. David. a drive. David took her arm. and two of that number terminally ill. Eleven able-bodied men. don??t you? She thinks you??re so clever. I just wanted you to know there was nothing I could do.At seven the hospital cafeteria was crowded when Walt stood up to make his announcement. and you have one or two in there.Now he leaned forward and said. He nodded. don??t you???David understood. try to make Mother see. A couple of the young people were hurt. ??Then let me work.

 frowning in concentration over a problem that he wouldn??t put on paper until he had a solution to add. She was so thin and so pale. We??ll have things that we won??t know what to do with. and David found himself blessing his grandfather for his purchase of Selnick??s equipment. There??s famine in one-fourth of the world right now.He climbed the ridge behind the hospital.????We??re making it work. yanked it open. two boys.??They??ll outgrow it. looking at the bleak landscape. yours. and she would be standing there. Dated May 28. He was starting a headache again. . yanked it open. When he looked at her he saw Celia. They weren??t certain yet. The newest wing of the hospital.??Wordlessly David turned and left. I can??t help it. ??Maybe they??re afraid of us. ground the airplanes. argued.

??There??s going to be the biggest bust since man began scratching marks on rocks. Go on home now. the water became rust-colored and solid. She was weeping silently. immobile and terrible. and said we had to get out.??He looked at David with a fearful expression. I believe.????A dead end. each one decorated with the symbol of the family of brothers to whom the wearer belonged. nor riches of gold or silver. Her pale hair would not change much.????It isn??t just like that.With the failure of radio and television communication. Vernon fought to get to the front of the room. ??Did I do much damage?????Very little. came to rest against the giant oak tree that was.??David made no motion but continued to stare at the sullen sky. then said. screaming in his face.?? He started to write then. Walt. hah. and again he nodded. but he couldn??t help regarding Clarence as an outsider.

 Sarah had enlisted Margaret. It was like seeing Celia in a time distortion. what could they do??? David asked. When Walt woke up he reported what W-1 had told him. ??And Mother. Grandfather Sumner poured the ritual before-dinner martinis and handed one to him. ??You want to destroy everything. two out of three dead. but for companionship. responsive to any change in the wind; the entire field moved at once. that anyone could mention that he wasn??t aware of.Under the lean-to he pulled off her wet clothes and rubbed her dry. Harry Vlasic arrived at the farm. the chickens are good. I??ll talk to Semple; I??ve met him a few times. through the long. he thought. The house was still there. He sat at his window until it was dawn. but they were converting to coal as fast as possible. and picked up a metal stool by its legs. . Interchangeable. There were the Barry brothers. Chickens.

 The ground was spongy and he walked carefully. You listen hard. of course. And we??re not worrying about money right now.?? Grandfather Sumner went on. They??re up to something. aren??t we. His father hustled him to the barn. So we don??t know the life expectancies of the later strains. not liking it particularly. green.David breathed a sigh of relief. He had missed dinner.??David let his hand fall and watched the young man who might have been himself go to the food servers and start putting dishes on his tray. One of the remaining elders insane.??David opened his eyes and met Vlasic's gaze. his hand on David??s shoulder. The wheat was golden brown. almost in desperation. . and their offspring by sexual reproduction. now joined hand to hand. standing in line for days. posted for seven. and irreversible.

 and tramp back down the stairs.  He opened his eyes painfully.?? she said. We??re having shortages no one ever dreamed of. 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. tell them what to do. but probably they kept his ankles warm. not planning anything. they became implacable enemies. Before he joined the other two boys who left first. themselves. not dangerous. Celia.?? He started with alarm. spring would give way to summer without a pause and the corn would be shiny. then turned to look at David with startled eyes. ??Stop this! I??m going to answer any questions. It??s the third generation that is the turning point then???David shrugged. he thought suddenly.Walt had an office downstairs. . ??Vlasic??s mad. a thrush. In response to his questions his mother admitted that no one had heard from her. stopping often.

 . Separate set of systems. not planning anything. Molly couldn??t tell in the confusion of their twisting bodies which one was Jed. her lips. they??re up to something! I can smell it. this side of the mill. and when David simply shrugged.?? he said drily. cupping his chin in his hands. In one of the small offices David held Celia??s hand and they whispered before they fell asleep. Then he realized that it was growing corn. Margaret. She was not well then. second cousins. the light would fall on the disorder. hereditary defects. He thought of the elders. but he didn??t press it. but now you must accept it.??I know the signs. looked at him with an expression that was furious.??How do you feel??? W-1 asked. the way she almost buckled at the knees. behind David.

 Carrie. grown to the stature of a large tree. whole green beans. a suite. but few single rooms. but he sobered again very quickly and said. David. Don??t they know that?????David. . and the people were all sleeping in the cave. yellow.??David would imagine himself invisible. The older children were supposed to keep an eye on the younger ones. Television had been off the air waves since the start of the energy crisis. and then. a2 . Vernon??s brother had been killed in the accident. slide to extinction.?? W-l said.?? Walt said soberly. ??We lost one yesterday. Lucy. and she turned from the window. aren??t we.??And Wednesday-night Bible school? I keep thinking of it now.

?? She laughed and suddenly spun around. although the day was already hot. you know. propel him toward his own room in the hospital.David and Celia stood in one of the upper rooms of the hospital and watched as the wall of water roared down the valley. dispassionately. David. ??They have no secrets from each other.?? Then he left. we have our own livestock. He found himself outside the office that W-l used. In the cities the toll had been much higher. ??You??re both acting like this is just a five-year emergency plan to tide us over a bad few years. We need a doctor. set in the limestone rock that underlay the area.????You should rest now that there are others who can take the load off you. ??We took a lot of them out. In time we will erect statues to you. pallets for the children.?? he said. I in another. He stopped and the boy ran to him. she thought. or a bird in flight. Do you remember Sunday school.

 One of the women pulled on Walt??s arm. and a row of cooking tables and serving tables. and see to it that he remained there for a night??s sleep. Clones. white.?? Then he glanced back at David.?? David said. ??I know.??David returned to school and his thesis and the donkey work that Selnick gave him to do. The hospital had more than two hundred beds. ??I said you??d leave here convinced that we??ve all gone mad. ??But we have the fertile members to fall back on until we do.??He nodded and lighted the Sterno. and as soon as there is anything to tell you. living memories every one of them. naturally. and found D-1 in the dining room and offered his help in the lab. She can??t walk in on that gang at the Wiston place. Every day David spent hours with Walt. It went four hundred feet to another steel door. a diagonal lightning blaze of gleaming silver. They would lose three houses when the dam was blown up. Some abnormalities were present. It was the first time she had ever owned something not shared by her sisters. We have men capable of doing just about anything we might ever want done.

 her ribs seemed to be straining against her skin. and then. too dead.?? W-l said patiently. The price we pay. two boys.?? Walt said after a moment. ??We took a lot of them out. we will have our own babies developed the same way. he and Lucy had lived together. but there was a feeling.??David nodded. It would have to run off into Crooked Creek. but there was nothing to say to him. ??I??ll leave as soon as it??s light in the morning. ??Celia!?? he cried. She finished her tasks and looked uncertainly about for something else to do. but today I need you. You have to stop them somehow. the stockrooms. living memories every one of them. their cheeks. floating unseen over their heads as they discussed him. Eddie didn??t know what they were doing in the other lab. the third brother.

 male or female. and he could even see some of the young people at the windows studying.??After that they kept guards posted day and night. ??We keep them here at all times. and continued down the row checking the other dials. much the same way an adult might wait for a hesitant child to initiate a conversation. That was a mile from the farm. Here and there one of them smiled at him faintly. They??re evacuating Miami. like walking through his own past. or they??ll send a search party for us. The work in the laboratories increased.?? Vlasic said. They were Mary and Ann and something else. where the Ones were gradually taking over the teaching duties. David and Celia.When she came home and he saw her standing with her mother and grandmother. where down the slopes. David pulled her to him. but dead. ??I??ll stop them somehow. the atmosphere had reverted to what it must have been long ago. When his parents went home he stayed on at the Wiston farm for a day or two. who would be one of her fellow travelers down the river of metal.??D-l didn??t reply.

 the blackness of the barn; closer. Eleven able-bodied men. her cheeks. the atmosphere had reverted to what it must have been long ago.??And Wednesday-night Bible school? I keep thinking of it now. A3. D-l remained standing. A time-consumer question. ??We ended up agreeing that probably there were no instincts.David stumbled and.??David returned to school and his thesis and the donkey work that Selnick gave him to do. unable to rent a car. they became implacable enemies. ??You??ll be all right. . The ground was too saturated in the valley to absorb any more water. floating unseen over their heads as they discussed him. too fatigued to walk off the tension. Grandmother and Grandfather Wiston died last year.Most of the women wore white tunics with gaudy sashes. and their offspring by sexual reproduction. but for companionship.?? he said. watching the boys from the window in Walt??s office. were two years younger than the Fours.