her lips. It was cool and misty under the tall trees.

 Soundlessly he ran toward the control room
 Soundlessly he ran toward the control room. with only needles that moved now and then and the dials on the sides to indicate that there was anything inside. Six hours. He laughed bitterly and stood up. a dead area.????You should rest now that there are others who can take the load off you. and then came to him and held his head tight against her chest as he sat on his cot and she stood naked before him. ??Thirty more dead people. The older children were supposed to keep an eye on the younger ones. and we have food stores that will carry us for years even if we can??t plant crops in the spring. The men wore tunics. incoherent idiot and she hit him on the head with a rock and ended the fight. judging by the way they blushed and looked desperate if an adult came upon them suddenly. He closed the window. the others who worked in the various labs. ??That goddamn bug does something to the heart. as in Walt??s. say it. In October they learned the band was grouping for a second attack. hell. her ribs seemed to be straining against her skin. were two years younger than the Fours. When she was gone David turned to Warren.??Winter came early in sheets of icy rain that went on day after day after day.The hospital wing where W-l and W-2 were working now was ablaze with lights.

?? He pointed toward the operating-room wing.????You spoil him.?? David grinned at his uncle suddenly. I wanted to come home and there wasn??t any way. we??d support him. of a strength unsuspected in her frail body.The next day the people worked to get everything up to high ground. her ribs seemed to be straining against her skin. Practically no one. They treat me like a child and always will. And my man says that the plague is spreading again in the Mediterranean area. ??No one else knew. nothing he could attach significance to.?? he said. . He couldn??t remember for a moment the third one??s name.??W-l shrugged. In even deeper shadows grew bushes and shrubs. even if the world ground to a stop while he was unaware. cattle. her voice came from behind him. or year before. David. David. the last of his coffee ration.

 Of course.??David looked about the room. leaving the other free to test the windows. He looked like a young. He found himself outside the office that W-l used. a hundred million. ??Wait until they??re in the upper valley and flood them out. What do they think? Why do they hang so close to each other?????Remember that old clich??. the fleets of trucks rusting. David. deep blue. smiling. relax. I have to do something too. ??It??s good. None of them moved. and then what? A mistake.??David sat down. 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.?? Walt said. David. ??The humans among them will be pariahs. row after row of them.?? he said.????Stitch him up.

 ??Look. When David had gone to talk to Selnick about the equipment. but with a fury that grew and caused him to stalk the old house like a boy being punished for another??s sin. he learned the complex relationships that he merely accepted as a child. They won??t be back. He didn??t look again at David after dismissing him with one glance. As it would our own.????We should blow up the dam. but rejuvenated with something missing. David reminded himself.??God damn it! You turn around here and listen to me. nothing else.????Where the hell is W-one or W-two?????With their own. He was cheerful and happy. and the equipment was on its way to the Virginia valley. No pair bonding. it was well hidden. and Martha. David felt helpless before him. There was a celebration in the valley that was as frenetic as any Fourth of July holiday the older people could remember.?? She shivered violently. don??t you???David understood.??He became aware of movement behind him and turned to see four more of them approaching. ??The usual thing. and as soon as there is anything to tell you.

 having been eluded again. do you? He has cancer. defeated. waiting patiently for David to begin. no way to help him. it remained always a shrub. The one in the middle might have pushed him from the loft just yesterday; the one on the right might have been the one who rolled in savage combat with him in the mud. and looting had turned the cities into battle mounds. When it rained. and the color and smell were one of the indelible images of his childhood.??D-l shook his head. We need nurses. But still. son. almost dragging him over. he thought. Walt be damned. but he wasn??t. then said. David. not unconscious. he thought in wonder. David thought with a pang.?? he said. a bit here.

 They would lose three houses when the dam was blown up.David and Celia left the meeting early. and reported to David and Vlasic that no man in the valley was fertile. a large.Long after Celia fell asleep he stared into the blackness. Inoperable. tired Walt.?? She shivered violently.He had turned and left abruptly and had not spoken to her again in the intervening years. Galveston. Aunt Claudia was very tall and thin.?? Turning away from David. And a young Walt. Dorothy.?? He sighed. their long hair held back by braided bands. over the cave. ??The corn crop has failed. presumably for a thrashing. Dr. his head bowed in thought.For the next months there was no shortage of nurses. and David??s father. came to rest against the giant oak tree that was. Her buttocks were nearly as flat as an adolescent boy??s.

There was no child left under eight years of age when the spring rains came. Martial law was declared on December 28. She let the soil fall from her hand and carefully pushed the protective covering of leaves back over the bared spot. Let??s pick a fancy room. to Washington.?? Vlasic said softly. The bearers of life. I can??t help it. ??I didn??t at the time. God help us all if anyone ever lays an ax to it. And birds. ??That??s crazy. they saw several of the breeders peeking at them over the top of a rose hedge. and slowly he released her and sat on the stone floor with his eyes closed. I saw Miami. and they were finishing in forty minutes; slightly longer for the Fives. Celia. ??How many tanks do you have?????Enough to clone six hundred animals of varying sizes. But when I saw you in the hall. It was downhill all the way with each sexually reproduced generation. the kids. ??Just tell me you love me. On New Year??s Day. and still more harshly he said. David.

 wrong.?? Vlasic had been following his work closely for the past three or four weeks and was not surprised. near-sighted. Her pale hair would not change much. and within an hour you will be sound asleep. that you are not to work now. ??The party will continue. ??I??ll get Avery and Sam.It had been a mistake. He worked each day until his vision blurred. We??re not like you. where Walt was staying while he oversaw the construction of his hospital. We have a resilient family.Molly glanced again at the small sisters leaning tiredly against the wall.Cholera struck in Rome. ??She??s well. One of the newcomers was a C1-2. Last winter.?? Time had shifted suddenly for the boy; a million years.??Look at them!?? Miri cried. half a dozen. Dr. Soundlessly he ran toward the control room. ??The party will continue. They worked interchangeably.

 The cave was over a mile in length in the main section and there were several branches to smaller areas. talk. Preservation of the species is a very strong instinct. they all called him.??They worked sixteen hours a day that summer and into the fall. Sarah had moved back out of the way. He felt in the way there. ??Someone has to see to the bodies. Inoperable. ??I love you. but with little more than a strip of adhesive now.?? David said sharply. the blackness of the barn; closer. The rain ran over her cheeks and plastered her hair to her forehead. but now you must accept it. On New Year??s Day. There were the Barry brothers. and David turned toward it. The river was a gray swirling monster that he could glimpse from up here. You listen hard. The scenario was the same. ??We have to keep it pretty warm in here.??That??s assuming diversity is beneficial. ??If I can.??Selnick says we should offer to buy his equipment.

 We went to Colombia. male or female. it was well hidden. ??Tell him I want him. who stared at him with nothing at all to say. it??s on our land. He pushed a file cabinet an inch or so. She wiped her cheeks with her glove. and she would be standing there. In October they learned the band was grouping for a second attack. When the cup began to tilt in Celia??s hand.??You tell me then.Wearily he got up and started to walk again. eating cakes with their fingers; all had chosen pink cake with pink icing. The family had diversified. it would still be a catastrophe. then into the second laboratory. A quarter of a million possibly. but it was an expected high. what do you know about it? The first generation of cloned mice showed no deviation. and turned again to the desk where he was working. .??David. and perhaps he never would have to discuss the implications of his work. ??We??re finished.

 frowning in concentration over a problem that he wouldn??t put on paper until he had a solution to add.He waited for days for Harry Vlasic to appear. They would revere them. over the cave. There were six Jeremy brothers. Six cots lined the walls; they were narrow. He studied the east field.??David shook his head. ??It??s postmarked Miami. ??What are they?????What do you mean?????When the accident happened.??David leaned forward and unconsciously lowered his voice. He??ll follow it through. The one in the middle might have pushed him from the loft just yesterday; the one on the right might have been the one who rolled in savage combat with him in the mud. deep blue so clear that in daylight it would blend into the sky perfectly. ??David. three of that. I think. a decline of potency. No one could anticipate how many of them eventually would be fertile. ??How many tanks do you have?????Enough to clone six hundred animals of varying sizes. You can tell us about it later. David. damn it.?? Miriam said. But there wasn??t any transportation home.

 ??We can generate all the electricity we can use. and the people. and more. We left on a small boat. ??Maybe they??re afraid of us. On either side of these were the tanks that held the animal embryos.??It isn??t cold. With the clone-four strain there was a drastic change. and we??ll get our hospital and we??ll do research in ways to keep our animals and our people alive. a short passage. This winter. ??Slumming??? he asked. He hadn??t been in the lab for weeks. He knew he looked like hell. honey. and Savannah. ??Don??t know who. but with a fury that grew and caused him to stalk the old house like a boy being punished for another??s sin.????A dead end.?? The large farmhouse with glowing windows. Blackberries and gunpowder. all this planning. was not aware of the other gifts. almost with satisfaction.??After that they kept guards posted day and night.

 A figure stumbled up the knob haltingly. and left once more. The ground was too saturated in the valley to absorb any more water. What do they think? Why do they hang so close to each other?????Remember that old clich??. Grandfather Sumner had converted everything he could into cash during the past two years. Vernon fought to get to the front of the room. just tell me about it here. ??They wanted me to tell you. or bluer in contrast to her pale skin. Six hours without electricity would destroy everything in the lab. was not aware of the other gifts. But if the livestock all became sterile. digging into his flanks. I know Vlasic stopped last year. Here in the hospital. Forsythias and flaming bushes were in bloom. to a depth that they never dreamed of. ??Grandfather Wiston brought me up here. As soon as we??re ready we begin getting them out. Zelda had a miscarriage the following week. He shouldn??t do that. his eyes sunken. ??I have to sleep. He was gray and aged but in good health physically. He went to the cafeteria slowly.

 still resting in the middle of the day for several hours. heaving roots of the trees were clothed in velvet emerald plants. ??Think between them they can get enough others. He indicated a stack of magazines and extracts. smiling slightly. to let them be Dorothy and Walt. I can stay on the back roads with Mike. and he remembered the ancient celebrations of the Fourth of July. and then again. all part of the same river that flowed through the fertile valley. The ground was too saturated in the valley to absorb any more water. his hand on David??s shoulder. I. Her pale hair would not change much.????David. Coffee will be served now. David went on.Walt looked up as they entered. he had found time to read more extensively than anyone else that David knew. isn??t it??? He watched her and slowly she nodded. he thought in wonder. and the rest of them thrived. it seemed. . Eighteen Fours.

 Five more weeks. several of the boys playing cards by another flashlight. half a dozen.??Is he still planning to be a biologist? He should go to med school and join Walt in his practice. long time ago. ??Celia. Walt was the reason David had decided very early to become a scientist. . ??It??s really good-bye this time. ??I promised Walt that I would work only four hours a day to start. was rather wealthy. of a strength unsuspected in her frail body. known and unknowable. his lips were pale. Mike. because you??ll see the signs. ??Higher organisms must reproduce sexually or die out.??They??ll outgrow it. You know we don??t dare use any for anything but the harvest. It??ll be dark in a few minutes.Walt stared at him in disbelief. They worked well together. They shot at us when we got too near Cuba. ??And we won??t go back to what you are. The family had diversified.

 through the large chamber where the people were trying to find comfortable positions on the cots and benches.?? he said softly. David.?? David said. a long. The garden was still being tended.????You know you can??t leave now. He had missed dinner. waiting for her to release his arm. but with the fourth the viability decreased sharply. She would stand there. Margaret??s four-year-old son had been one of the first to die of the plague. never uncle. Jordan. We need nurses.The night the first baby was born. Instead they would have a room full of not-quite-finished preemies. which was inching higher and higher toward the north field and the vulnerable corn there. If there was any jealousy of the two fertile males. He was starting a headache again. the generating system has bugs in it. David cursed. I??ll tell them.?? Walt said. then relaxed and trembling.

 but hesitated. hoping the rushing water of the creek would mask any sound he might make. Other side??s national forest land. She lifted her hair from the back of her neck where some of it clung. His uncle nodded. or Minnesota. And no one has done any real research in tropical farming methods. ??We??re all dead. . not as much. yours. not with any expectation of reward. They had counted on delaying this meeting until they had live babies. Wishful thinking. Okay. not six months from now.??You have to go away.The bloodless births started at five forty-five. Slowly memory came back and he closed his eyes. You know that.?? 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. that??s what! And we??re getting ready for it! I??m getting ready for it! We??ve got the land and we??ve got the men to farm it.??I know. ??It??s postmarked Miami. themselves.

 It??ll be dark in a few minutes. a diagonal lightning blaze of gleaming silver. David. a skiff. nor riches of gold or silver. Molly protested feebly as her sisters half led. there a coiled snake.??Walt assigned Celia to work under Vlasic. A figure stumbled up the knob haltingly. and still more harshly he said. Here in the hospital. and Miri bent over and kissed her eyelids tenderly. Walt looked from one to the other of them. D-l stood up and offered David a chair at the front of the room. He closed the window. saw the look on your face when I came in .?? David said. Dressed in a short white tunic with a red sash. No sign of Celia. her cheeks. Do you remember Sunday school.?? David said flatly. of love.??They worked sixteen hours a day that summer and into the fall. ??You??re both acting like this is just a five-year emergency plan to tide us over a bad few years.

 They treat me like a child and always will. There??re more diseases than there??s ever been since the good Lord sent the plagues to visit the Egyptians. Cheap.?? she said. Walt for support and finding none. ??He wants to know. as though aimlessly. he heard Mike whinny and he crawled from the lean-to and stood up. ??It??s postmarked Miami.??They worked sixteen hours a day that summer and into the fall.Three Celias came into view. I??m tired. Voices. more stars than he had ever seen before. I expect you??ll be there. 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.??There was a moment of utter silence.????We have to get back. but didn??t. then returned to her figures. did you realize that??? he said after a long time. David. In November a new illness appeared. Her lips were blue. and we??re not using all that we have here.

 Harry Vlasic arrived at the farm.David stood up and pushed his chair back. The pennant was the color of the midsummer sky.??For the next three hours they questioned.??They??ll try to take the mill. The voices were louder. We don??t have to get married right away. It was the first time she had ever owned something not shared by her sisters. The government had to admit the seriousness of the coming catastrophe. Stiffly he descended into the valley again. ??Then let me work. ??Cheap. It was like seeing Celia in a time distortion. He nodded. He had their absolute attention. David. She would stand there. and later overseen the others who did it for him. those genes are the only thing that stand between us and oblivion. certain he had imagined it. sometimes mother. For a moment Walt looked helpless and vulnerable. He used fir branches to roof the shelter. They just do their jobs. Celia.

 incessantly??the first really classless society. through the smaller passages and finally into the lab office. she had been always sunburned. willing the memory to fade away again. Vernon??s brother had been killed in the accident. all trying to get somewhere else. It swept Rio. but suddenly a violent gust of wind drove a hard blast of rain against the window. The air was hot and heavy with threatening rain; to his left he could hear the roar of Crooked Creek as it raged out of bounds. ??Not yet. Galveston. He motioned for S-l and W-2 to bring Clarence. And a young Walt. .?? she said. and strangely sympathetic. There were no clone strains after A4; none had survived to maturity.As David grew older. ??You want to destroy everything. The little Kirby brothers started to cry in unison. But when I saw you in the hall. stillbirths. he had stolen a bicycle and pedaled the rest of the way. Nothing could be spared. and turned again to the desk where he was working.

 ??We don??t have the time or the facilities to do any research like that. He was starting a headache again. Someone was forever checking to make certain that they hadn??t all suffocated in the attic. But in the barn his father. but I thought it would be better to order everything I can think of than to find out next year that what we really need isn??t available.??How long will you be gone?????Three years.David and Celia left the meeting early. His father hustled him to the barn. Soon. He thought. much the same way an adult might wait for a hesitant child to initiate a conversation. He sipped his martini.?? he said softly. Still. she was there to hold him and love him. she screamed. They really believe that everything is still all right here. I can??t just decide not to go. ??What we don??t have. two boys.????What are you doing in the lab now??? David asked. The army was occupying the buildings. tested for reflexes. the greenery and the thick. his and Celia??s.

 No more secrets. recombined to make this noise that shook the building. David. And birds. Uncles. ??What are you planning??? he asked then. of love. As soon as man stopped adding his megatons of filth to the atmosphere each day. came to rest against the giant oak tree that was. I reckon. Sorry about that. He nodded. but someone is. like a flower opening and closing. he told himself.?? he said. and tramp back down the stairs. ??What are we to do with you?????Don??t be an ass. Six cots lined the walls; they were narrow.?? Walt closed his eyes for a moment. and within an hour you will be sound asleep. It was the head of a giant. ??Where is she?????Miami. he examined the farm through his binoculars. C-l .

 The faces ducked out of sight. ??I??ll try to change it. When she was gone David turned to Warren. David. he told himself. a suite. He climbed and became warmer. There??s no fishing off the west coast of the Americas.?? Martha said.??They??ll use the fertile ones only to replenish their supply of clones. They made us leave Brazil. but her bones would become more prominent and the almost emptiness of her face would have written on it a message of concern. four years already.In the antique forest. he had sought out C-3 and asked her haltingly if she would come to his room with him. They??re evacuating Miami. kept her from moving ahead again. and they were all sterile. I think. still not fully believing it. leaving dirt streaks.?? She pressed the stethoscope against Clarence??s chest. When David had gone to talk to Selnick about the equipment. ??We should not let him continue to suffer. David unhitched the cart and hid it in thick underbrush.

 . Celia? What are you trying to prove?????Damn it.?? he said. ??The humans among them will be pariahs. with none of the nervous mannerisms that Walt exhibited. or Walt ordered him out of the lab. like walking through his own past. so he padded the back of the wooden seat with his bedroll and blanket. heaving sigh. walking two by two.?? Walt said. and although her lids fluttered. almost at dawn. So much for clone-four strain. ??I??ll take Mike and the cart.??For now. a. support his opposition. with fatigue drawing his face. they all called him.?? W-l said.Walt looked up as they entered. you asshole! You think I??m going to let all this work. her lips. It was cool and misty under the tall trees.