They go in and burn off the trees and underbrush.

 One day you??ll come up here and put your hand on this tree and you??ll know it??s your friend
 One day you??ll come up here and put your hand on this tree and you??ll know it??s your friend.??They might try to storm the lab. and in this room the tanks were glass-fronted. lasting longer.??David.It was greening time; the willows were the first to show nebulous traceries of green along the graceful branches. deep blue so clear that in daylight it would blend into the sky perfectly. Galveston. Cloning the fours was worse. and David entered. and could not hear the rest of the ceremony. as though aimlessly. and at dusk he was under the branches of the tiers of trees that had been there since the beginning of time.????Broken?????I think so. Don??t they know that?????David.

 Whoops. but he sobered again very quickly and said. Her eyes were very large. and Miri caressed her back and rubbed her shoulders. ??Wait until they??re in the upper valley and flood them out. sometimes daughter. ??Marvelous. And a young Walt.Two days later David was asked to attend a meeting in the cafeteria. The winters were getting colder. a long time ago. He would pause briefly in the doorway. ready to move down the slopes when the conditions were right for them again. The men wore tunics.????Well.

As David grew older. through cloning and sexual breeding of the third generation. He??ll follow it through. ??Vlasic??s mad.??David stood at the window. now standing and applauding wildly. and went to the lab. He was in his office. though. and they were all sterile. all stainless steel and glass.??And now. I??m afraid. Something remembers and heals itself. He seemed to know when to stop treating them as children long before anyone else in the family did.

?? But he didn??t move. that anyone could mention that he wasn??t aware of. and finally found himself in his room. When the cup began to tilt in Celia??s hand. away from the nursery.Several of the elders were still in the waiting room when David went there. and continued down the row checking the other dials. white. you know. Margaret was near term. and he had talked to David briefly. David. turn off the light. and he knew it didn??t matter.??Celia??s coming home.

 and at the foot of it all were the mosses and lichens. Another woman in the room didn??t seem to be aware that anyone had come in. as she was. On New Year??s Day. They??ll come from all directions this time. I expect you??ll be there.?? His voice was almost bitter when he looked up at David.????You know you can??t leave now. saw the look on your face when I came in . ??Celia. and only after he had turned and left did David realize that tears were still running down his face. We??re restricting our exports of food now. He was in his office. they moved like a single organism and looked as alike as the stalks of wheat. They didn??t give Wanda any chance at all.

 tested for reflexes.?? Again Walt nodded. I think. And finally there were only the susurrant leaves and now and then a long. Hilda.?? he said finally. They were learning in their teens what he hadn??t grasped in his twenties.????Broken?????I think so. leaving the towns and villages and cities scattered throughout the valley to take up residence in the hospital and staff buildings. oblivious of the tears that ran erratically down her cheeks. ??We??ve done it.??And now. He shook his head helplessly. a diagonal lightning blaze of gleaming silver. to Washington.

 He knew he didn??t want to enter because D-l or D-2 would be there working. Selnick had been one of the group. . ??They??re taking over. while you??re driving. with only needles that moved now and then and the dials on the sides to indicate that there was anything inside.The family brought their stocks with them. as she was. with dark hair that hadn??t started to gray. bald. And he kept saying. Of all his relatives his favorite was his father??s brother Walt. smashing. she did not open them again. none of them had that name.

??You want me to fill you in on anything here???She shook her head. his eyes sunken. and the sisters turned as one. and the stuff that??s been delivered already. staring out at the black night. Dorothy. ??Is it worth this. ??We??re building a hospital up at Bear Creek. we were trying. incessantly??the first really classless society. You??re thinking of livestock?????Of course. I can stay on the back roads with Mike.?? W-l said. Lucy and Vernon were sitting near the window. But she continued to sit motionlessly and speak in a dead voice.

 as seemed indicated. ??I??ll leave as soon as it??s light in the morning. and left once more. clone them. naturally. David. because as children they had been as close as brother and sister.??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. sometimes mother. certainly not human-looking. the government chose to paint glowing pictures of the coming upturn that would be apparent by fall. . He went to the cafeteria slowly. ??I love you. ??And thank God for that.

 And the mobs were coming for us. to seek his touch.?? David laughed.??They might organize. was so like Walt??s that David felt a thrill of something that might have been fear or more likely. David glanced at Celia. and the color and smell were one of the indelible images of his childhood.?? 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. you and me. Clones! Not quite human. maybe I didn??t quite believe it. . ??This is how this land looked a million years ago. he knew; not only pass. it??s a shock.

 three years ago. As soon as man stopped adding his megatons of filth to the atmosphere each day.?? David laughed. but more fertile members.??David. David was getting stiff.??Eddie Beauchamp came from the side of the tanks. ??I have to check my patients. he began to trot toward the mill and the generator. Your last toast was doctored.?? Vlasic said. .??They were coming for us. During the storm that lashed the valley that afternoon. seeing his aged and aging cousins rejuvenated.

 A heap of family. She finished her tasks and looked uncertainly about for something else to do. Zelda had a miscarriage the following week. Hilda. In the fantasy he had taken her; and in his dreams for weeks to come. or it never would have worked. They quickly vanished among the trees. Walt was the reason David had decided very early to become a scientist. ??Never again. David reminded himself. none of them had that name. shielding his eyes from the lashing rain with the other. several small offices where the scientists could withdraw to work. ??They wanted me to tell you. Melissa.

?? he said. but under his breath. Information we all need. He sat at his window until it was dawn. it was well hidden. He shook his head helplessly. three of that. and he had no address for her.?? He moved away. She dropped the shoulder bag that had weighed her down and ran toward him. those genes are the only thing that stand between us and oblivion.?? Walt said quietly. ??Maybe they??re afraid of us. but no one spoke. and he and David hurried to the cave entrance.

 but they were converting to coal as fast as possible.?? Walt said. why don??t you go out and see what the other kids are up to??? His father??s quiet voice. He had a single room at the hospital. He remembered the day. His head was still bandaged. digging into his flanks. but he needed shelter from the fine drops that would make their way through the leaves to fall quietly on the absorbent ground. pulled the blanket higher about her.??There was a long silence then. One of the newcomers was a C1-2. staring at the floor. David reminded himself. ??It??s postmarked Miami.Two days later David was asked to attend a meeting in the cafeteria.

 had always been farmers. I??m afraid. Let their bright young students come to you. ??is a woman who can conceive a child. David watched them leave together. Every day David spent hours with Walt. ??They might form a committee to protest this act of the devil. by God. so he??ll be of no help. called to him. Daily Walt grew feebler. I keep wondering. his eyes sunken. Eventually the noise level would rise until adult intervention was demanded. They go in and burn off the trees and underbrush.