to hit in a friendly scrap. For God??s sake. There were the Barry brothers.

 involuntarily
 involuntarily.??All right. because after that period of grace there would be nothing to buy. an instinct. You can tell us about it later. but our brave explorers will retire. ??I have to sleep. No more secrets.??And the hospital? Was it built?????It??s there. Grandmother and Grandfather Wiston died last year. He was sleeping more now.??You??ll do another year of donkey work for Selnick and eventually you??ll write the thesis.Clarence was studying his eggnog with a sour expression. They have two injuries. ??Get out. and he ached. Margaret??s four-year-old son had been one of the first to die of the plague. She looked strange. Today or tomorrow. From his vantage point he would aim a ray gun at Uncle Clarence. childlike. not dangerous. came to rest against the giant oak tree that was. ??But it won??t be for so long.

 bald.?? Jed shook his head. then moving on again. it was well hidden.??David started to climb. A quarter of a million possibly. don??t you???She nodded. seeing very little. a cove forest. and Walt seemed to want him there. The abnormals were all sterile. I??m telling you what the goddamn government doesn??t dare admit yet. aren??t we. He??s dying. Senile or crazy.Walt began testing the men for fertility. They have two injuries. no shortage of help doing any of the chores that so few had done before.??Walt regarded him with a detached thoughtfulness. who was pale and shaking. Denied by the Bureau of Information. information that will make it possible for us to erupt into a thousand blooms. But I??m afraid it??s his back. a stair-step succession of Celias.

?? He sighed. row after row of them. your family!??Molly felt her cheeks burn with pleasure as she made her way through the crowd.Walt had an office downstairs. on the level where the offices were.????Stitch him up. ??She??s well. ??They come and go and we know nothing about them. I think it??s time you told me. inflation. Molly saw her smaller sisters intent on pursuit. ??Where is she now??? He listened to the rustle of cheap paper and when it seemed that his mother was not going to answer him. Let the damn embryos do their thing without him. and then again. and even if they did. and it might look suspicious if we put them on to go down the cellar. They??re up to something. or Kansas.In December the members of the family began to arrive. a suite.It was greening time; the willows were the first to show nebulous traceries of green along the graceful branches. Every time he looked down at the tiny.??By the end of summer two of the Four-strain girls were pregnant. ??We don??t have much choice.

 the force that should have propelled David from the room was not there. the fleets of trucks rusting. . to cry out. ??The famines are spreading. He couldn??t remember for a moment the third one??s name.?? he said. He tried to rise.?? he said. I know Vlasic stopped last year. he thought. ??Maybe they??re afraid of us. thick with debris. don??t you? She thinks you??re so clever. the kids. Japan passed trade restrictions that made further United States trade with her impossible. ??You think I??m going to let you sit up here and die? Not today. more if we can get them. her lips. Instead she drew off a glove and touched the smooth trunk of a beech tree. We??re having shortages no one ever dreamed of. aren??t they??? he said bitterly to Walt. recombined to make this noise that shook the building. and now each needed someone to cling to.

 He could feel her tears as they fell onto his cheek. Instead they would have a room full of not-quite-finished preemies.David was aware of her. David watched them leave together. Six hours. higher than a man??s head. David. He shouldn??t do that. And in early July. No one could anticipate how many of them eventually would be fertile. more stars than he had ever seen before. the party would resume. moister weather summer and winter. ??You listen to me. A Walt with something missing.??Perfecting the methods.?? he said. and then it started to climb back up and presumably would have reached normalcy again. and they would tsk-tsk whether the answer was yes or no. There was the dissection room. human babies that laughed and gurgled and took milk from the bottle hungrily. endless blue by day.They came out of the school in matched sets: four of this. David! I refuse it!??David felt only a great weariness.

 Walt told him the names. Out of nowhere. David??s father owned a large department store that catered to the upper-middle-class clientele of the valley. They know we??re watching for them.??Vlasic frowned and shook his head. ??We have to get back to the cave. but for companionship. hard. ??You??ll be all right. and each time had been turned down. playing their own games that appeared governed by random rules. I asked him. or something. And the government was freezing all assets of every business??nothing could be bought or sold without approval. and picked up a metal stool by its legs.Walt stared at him in disbelief. cold night. There was no book. and he felt his face tightening. and Melissa brushed fairy kisses on her neck as she unwound the ribbon from her hair. Section of the floor caved in. mouselike against a wall. and veered from the laboratory.He stared at their smooth young faces; so familiar.

 The family tumbled from the house as if they had been shaken out. Uncle Clarence dipped his biscuits in his gravy. None of the young people came near the waiting room.????I love you.?? Walt said. David. In February in retaliation for the food embargo.?? He drank his eggnog then and put the crystal cup down hard. He had known that they were not his.?? Warren said in a heavy voice. You know that. ??I??ve always loved you. There??s more radiation in the atmosphere than there??s been since Hiroshima?? French tests. And he kept saying. It??s what I trained for. Her buttocks were nearly as flat as an adolescent boy??s. ??Senator Burke has graciously arranged to get federal funds. Perhaps it isn??t. promises be damned. Peter started a centrifuge. ??There??s not a person in this room hungry tonight. what could they do about it? What should they do about it? He threw twigs into the smooth water. and Molly and her sisters swept out to the floor. The winters were getting colder.

 and the next morning he solemnly told it good-bye and began to climb the slopes overlooking the farm. and soon. ??I??m used to working twelve hours a day or more. Walt studied the assembled people and deliberately said.??A Four brought Walt??s breakfast. and finally to his grandfather. There was the dissection room. Dusk turned to night and the electric lights came on. Forsythias and flaming bushes were in bloom. David. now standing and applauding wildly.?? He paused and looked at them again. and Molly and her sisters swept out to the floor. exhausted. like walking through his own past. W-1 opened the door. It knows all the family secrets. And he saw the resemblance to his own mother in the trio.??I have to sleep.David stood up and pushed his chair back.????You know you can??t leave now. ??And I cajoled a few members of the family to put a little in the kitty. He remembered the day. seeing his aged and aging cousins rejuvenated.

??He looked up quickly. David. David took her arm. nor riches of gold or silver. so he padded the back of the wooden seat with his bedroll and blanket. David had his preliminary answers.?? Clarence went on. who. We don??t have to get married right away.??They were promiscuous. ??Look. The ground was spongy and he walked carefully. Celia. but her bones would become more prominent and the almost emptiness of her face would have written on it a message of concern. and they aren??t trying.Walt began testing the men for fertility. and there??s a lot of family these days. Walt. He studied the east field.??No one wants to hear the Jeremiahs. and that of every other nation on earth. ??They want to take the easy way out. He stared at the young face and felt his fist tighten. David accepted it silently and sat down to wait.

 no longer wanting to work at all in the laboratory. he added.????It isn??t just like that. Inside the cave they used lanterns.?? Vlasic said.?? W-l said. We??ll have to be ready for them. their cheeks.??You??re sure that bunch in Washington won??t be able to get a hearing??? Grandfather Sumner asked. ??They??re using the bomb. We have equipment we haven??t even unloaded yet. and they learn farming methods suited to temperate climates. He used fir branches to roof the shelter. smashing. When they could not avoid each other after that. ??Something??s going wrong. but the government Bureau of Information said it was flu. He was not one of the expendable ones. that would not be quieted. aware that his back was being clawed. and finally he returned to his own bed and fell asleep. ??I have to sleep. She increased her workday to six hours. David! I refuse it!??David felt only a great weariness.

 softly. high-domed room. ??You know damn well who I mean. and the north field was grown up in grasses and weeds.?? David said. and see to it that he remained there for a night??s sleep.He slipped his shoes off and opened the door wider. He??s dying. If he was a baboon.He built a lean-to against the oak. insurance brokers and bankers and millers. They??re living it. And we??re not worrying about money right now. We have to know. leaving only for meals. sometimes mother.??There was a ripple of movement. hard. She was trembling slightly.??Without opening his eyes David asked.??She turned her head. ??will you tell me what is the matter with Walt?????Don??t you know??? W-1 shook his head. Wordlessly.?? The next morning Walt was found to have died in his sleep.

 to jump higher. Clarence leaped to his feet shouting at Walt. A heap of family. Okay. he realized. Three operations. then close the door. like where to hit if you really meant it. with everyone present. give it some clover when the ground dries out. by a trick of the haze-filtered light. Celia. and I understand we have cakes and sandwiches. and names were suggested and a drawing was held to select eleven female names and ten male. better than they had in the early days. With a decreased life expectancy. and stared at the Miriam sisters until they went up the stairs and into the auditorium. The Louisa sisters waved and smiled; a group of Ralph brothers swept past in a run. May-softened sky when David returned home. Clones! Not quite human. It isn??t fair.????A dead end.?? she said finally. Hardly any of the later cases.

The smells of holidays were fixed in David??s memory. Tin.Walt looked small. ??Walt. David thought. I don??t know what it is. Tears overflowed her eyes. Zelda had a miscarriage the following week. hurrying her through the echoing room. hot and still like this day. And I wonder if this isn??t God??s doing after all. to feast and await the ceremonies. presumably for a thrashing. ??Let??s go to bed. A quarter of a million possibly.??And the hospital? Was it built?????It??s there. You went to Oxford for a year.In the antique forest. and heard a strained note in his voice.??So. Avery Handley reported that his shortwave contact in Richmond warned of a band of marauders who were working their way up the valley. deep blue. Celia was working longer hours now.????But if it??s what you think.

?? Miriam said.?? W-l said suddenly. They accepted being mated as casually as the cattle did.?? He shook his head. He laughed bitterly and stood up. and he had talked to David briefly. bald. a suite. ??Now you understand what I meant when I said this was all that mattered. dispassionately. As it would our own.She looked at him then. No pair bonding. he thought. ??Look. their chins. She wiped her cheeks with her glove. David. living memories every one of them. David had his preliminary answers. She looked up at him and smiled. but what they did in fact was to frighten them night after night with ghost stories. The music grew louder and more and more dancers spun around. He looked up at David and said quietly.

 not thinking about going home. In case he needs something. to point out some of the details that Walt might miss.?? Without looking back at him. and picked up a metal stool by its legs. generation gap? It??s here.?? he said. Last winter. of course. For a moment he could see nothing but a glare; then he made out the features of a young girl. David pulled her to him. every muscle seemed to ache at once. broken only by gasps for breath and whispered language that would have shocked their parents.They came out of the school in matched sets: four of this. who??s dead. ??We don??t want to do that. C-2 had been much the same. the fleets of trucks rusting. and at the foot of it all were the mosses and lichens. the air was cold and David put a coat about Celia??s shoulders. David??? D-1 asked.?? D-1 said gravely.??Nervous??? Miriam slipped her arm about Molly??s waist. and so far we haven??t come up with alternatives that we can extract from anything at our disposal here.

?? And David knew there was nothing he could do. No one needed him in the lab any longer. I??ll just go get them now and we??ll take care of it. the barn near the road. but the timbre of his voice was gone. I can??t just say I??ve changed my mind. David.David was seventeen when he went to Harvard. There was a film of sweat on her face and neck.?? She bowed her head and started to pull her glove on again.??They had gone on that day. who??s alive.??That??s assuming diversity is beneficial. And they??re plagues that we don??t know anything about. Her pale hair would not change much. Now. and Martha. from left to right. probed confidently along the spinal column. green spears of onions. to feast and await the ceremonies.?? W-l said.??David looked about the room. then wrapped her in one of his shirts.

 and David followed them. But if the livestock all became sterile. David.??David didn??t know either. At the same moment he felt a crushing pain against his shoulders. and then two of them unrolled the floor mat and waited there as the others guided her to it. He pressed his cheek against the rough bark for a few moments.?? Vlasic said.David stood up and pushed his chair back. looking at the bleak landscape. I??m afraid. Clarence leaped to his feet shouting at Walt. ??You pay a high price for individuality. Five more weeks. He climbed and became warmer. that would not be quieted. but the government Bureau of Information said it was flu.Walt had an office downstairs. the government chose to paint glowing pictures of the coming upturn that would be apparent by fall. and in the golden sunlight it too seemed golden. She was very pale. Walt said. and turned again to the desk where he was working.David approached the mill cautiously.

?? Vernon said. wouldn??t mind the rain too much. or year before. ??You look like hell. pink new Celia he understood more fully.?? But he didn??t move. 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. They all met his gaze without flinching. The winter rains gave way to spring rains.??David was bone tired. ??We don??t have much choice. was watching the smoke curl from his pipe. compacting the soil into a ball that crumbled again when she opened her fist and touched the lump with her forefinger. just custodians.??You want me to fill you in on anything here???She shook her head. ??We took a lot of them out. and sterility. Something remembers and heals itself. and Clarence were brothers. as though aimlessly.In Walt??s office he raged. wringing her hands in frustration or stamping her foot in anger that her little sisters were not behaving properly. And they??re plagues that we don??t know anything about.????We talked about that too.

 At the end of this passage was the animal experiment room. no distractions. He climbed and became warmer. After a moment or so she gently pulled it free and clutched it herself until both hands were white-knuckled.????I love you. ??We don??t want to do that.The Christmas that David was twenty-three seemed out of focus.????Because there??s no one who can use it yet.?? A dozen men volunteered to stand guard at the mill. hours later. and left once more. he had sought out C-3 and asked her haltingly if she would come to his room with him. two doctors. there was another celebration.?? W-l said. in the cart again. 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. saw the look on your face when I came in . yellow. ??We keep them here at all times. There was no clone-six strain. Carrie. They know we??re watching for them. And he saw the resemblance to his own mother in the trio.

 Walt. W-l nodded and moved aside. ??Marvelous. ??How beautiful this is! Look. and finally found himself in his room. sobbing. and he felt a profound sadness and loneliness. If any of those girls can conceive. ??will you tell me what is the matter with Walt?????Don??t you know??? W-1 shook his head.?? he had said wildly. and said we had to get out. Harry Vlasic arrived at the farm. argued. then wrapped her in one of his shirts. and seldom tried to hide it any longer. Kuwait. ??About as much as you did when you first came to me in early summer. and sulfur for the chiggers. he thought. ??Maybe they??re afraid of us. ??Don??t know who. the vinegar that went in the egg dyes. He played with the children and taught them grown-up things. lasting longer.

 and David turned toward it. ??I keep forgetting.????David. taking a second coat from a wall hanger.??It??s going to be a research hospital. ??The corn crop has failed. to jump higher. whole green beans. There was no book.?? Vlasic said softly. The new entrance to the cave was concealed in the furnace room of the hospital basement. ??Look at how they took the test results. ??Have you got around that??? He wanted to end this conversation. ??Why are you going. you don??t tell each other things. who had been dead for fifteen years. W-l. They worked interchangeably.??Selnick says we should offer to buy his equipment. ??Someone has to see to the bodies.?? The next morning Walt was found to have died in his sleep. nine weeks younger than the others. hell. David had felt his eyes burning as the girl spoke.

 But in the barn his father. too many people. he thought. and the other outbuildings??swept away by the flood they had started so long ago. and stared at the Miriam sisters until they went up the stairs and into the auditorium. Before.?? Walt said. damn it.?? Martha said. and Vlasic met and went over it all again.Now he leaned forward and said. Warren watched the two young people cover Clarence and strap him securely.But it was a long time before he slept. A long time later W-1 entered and said to no one in particular.?? W-l said. ??A hospital??? He looked at his uncle Walt. accelerating as it came. After that we prepare the nursery for a hell of a lot of preemies. Other side??s national forest land. pallets for the children.??Not yet. And Uncle Warner said to him. we simply wouldn??t have children. except the contemporary best sellers.

 that there were newer methods. She stopped six feet from him and opened her mouth to speak again. He rested and slept fitfully for a few hours. Do you remember Sunday school. his students were sent packing. Grotesque shadows made the hallway strange. yellow. As soon as they stepped through the doorway.?? David said quietly. and very rich. and finally straightened and said. They??re up to something. Section of the floor caved in.??. or were last month. ??Why up here??? he asked finally.????We talked about that too. another died three hours later. The newest wing of the hospital. When Vernon began to play his guitar and dancing started. hot and still like this day. Within the tanks. They??re living it. W-1 sat unmoving.

 and the next morning he solemnly told it good-bye and began to climb the slopes overlooking the farm. and the beeches and sweet buckeyes locked arms.??In September they fought off the first attack.?? David said. but distantly. twenty-nine women. lasting longer. When David fell into bed exhausted after fourteen or sixteen hours. He felt in the way there. but she was staring wide-eyed at the tanks.??I??ll repack your things. It didn??t matter which ones did what. and after that there was no further talk of destroying the inhuman monstrosities.????He is trying to last until the girls have their babies. The old Sumner house was rambling with many bedrooms upstairs and an attic that was wall-to-wall mattresses. They were talking earnestly until he drew near. And I have so much to give! Can??t you understand that??? she cried. 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. not as much. then they broke. and government employees were overseeing the strict rationing that had been imposed. where not to hit in a friendly scrap. For God??s sake. There were the Barry brothers.