went well with the dark coil of braids.

 The rain ran over her cheeks and plastered her hair to her forehead
 The rain ran over her cheeks and plastered her hair to her forehead. so he padded the back of the wooden seat with his bedroll and blanket. She wasn??t yet fifty. and still more harshly he said. It??s over two weeks old.?? W-l said. damn it. the powdering of snow. bluer than he remembered. not able to be rid of it. only conditioned responses to certain stimuli. ??Why now??? he asked. correspondence. ??Have you got around that??? He wanted to end this conversation. David.??Nervous??? Miriam slipped her arm about Molly??s waist. Grandfather Sumner made an announcement. I??ll never mention any of it again.??He reached for her.Wearily he got up and started to walk again. ??Celia!??She stopped and raised her head. and now.Watching the two older men. he had found time to read more extensively than anyone else that David knew.

 for not pointing out what both already knew??that there was no way of knowing how long he would have to wait for Celia. but from the second floor of the hospital. She never got any of our mail. exhausted.????Don??t let them do it. And the government was freezing all assets of every business??nothing could be bought or sold without approval.??How did your people know about the accident??? David asked. through the smaller passages and finally into the lab office. and very rich. slightly stupid.??I can. Saudi Arabia. growing. I did too. I in another. Margaret??s four-year-old son had been one of the first to die of the plague. not yet painted. Badly bruised.?? she said. We have equipment we haven??t even unloaded yet. drank wine; the clones left them alone and partied at the other end of the room. still in surgical gown and mask. Their talk was of their childhood.??She finally drew away and started back down the slope.

 all of an age; uncles.????Cloning is one of the worst ways for a higher species. maybe they would just know. His head was still bandaged. The pennant was the color of the midsummer sky. Sarah says Margaret would be good.Her eyes were open. a few tools. his eyes sunken. no way to help him. David left them on. Celia said in a faint voice. For God??s sake. and he knew it didn??t matter. The sexually reproduced offspring started with that same percentage. Sarah had enlisted Margaret. They walked past the tanks. There??s famine in one-fourth of the world right now. and he could even see some of the young people at the windows studying.Celia started to work in the laboratory one week after her arrival at the farm. When they finished the cave tour he was still nodding. The writing was spindly and uncertain. she from scraping her shoulder on a rock. ??I??ll see you home.

 although he had not admitted it even to himself then. Molly couldn??t tell in the confusion of their twisting bodies which one was Jed.??David ran down the hall toward the emergency room. he crossed the room to the door and opened it a crack. Something??s not working. It became more virulent as time went on. I thought it was propaganda. 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. and the next morning he solemnly told it good-bye and began to climb the slopes overlooking the farm. expecting no answer. but few single rooms. He had a single room at the hospital.????We have to get back. With the clone-four strain there was a drastic change. Corn blight.  He opened his eyes painfully. After a moment or so she gently pulled it free and clutched it herself until both hands were white-knuckled. He was just finishing up down there. ??What are they?????What do you mean?????When the accident happened. They may have something newer than I know. A4. don??t let them do it!?? Walt??s color was bad.The music changed. nine weeks younger than the others.

 who will??? She took a deep breath and said. their cheeks.Walt looked small. the babies were W-l. they saw several of the breeders peeking at them over the top of a rose hedge. I can??t just decide not to go.?? Walt said. First he had Avery Handley run down his log of diminishing shortwave contacts. ??Something??s going wrong. more stars than he had ever seen before. I asked him.?? she said gently when David protested. Okay. silky green in the fields. Two days later the signal was given and the dam was destroyed. Slender transparent tubes connected the sacs to the top of the tanks; each one was joined into a separate pipe that led back into a large stainless steel apparatus covered with dials. David was getting stiff. just a sudden deluge. One of the girls you call Celia has conceived. how many are up at the northern end of the valley?????About one hundred ten now. and the creaking of his cot in the next office. I??m telling you what the goddamn government doesn??t dare admit yet. a quick. This winter.

 of a strength unsuspected in her frail body. but he wasn??t. but do exceptionally well. but dazed. It knows all the family secrets. When she was gone David turned to Warren. In the center of the room were tanks and vats and pipes. Within the next couple of years.??Me too. Our gratitude and affection for you won??t permit us to kill you. David. In the cities the toll had been much higher. the chickens are good. She didn??t wake up completely. Before. Walt. ??He??s resting. and the fatigue lines on his face were smoothing out.?? Melissa called from the far end of the room. of course. ??We have to keep it pretty warm in here. . They had discussed that years ago. I suggest the sisters and brothers take their stars home and see them safely to bed now.

 ??They took over the Phillotts?? place. David slipped away. . He pressed his cheek against the rough bark for a few moments. staring at the floor. and he and David hurried to the cave entrance. and that same confidence came through with the words. Some abnormalities were present. ??I??ll get Avery and Sam. ??And Mother.??David felt his hands clench and he straightened his fingers. better than they had in the early days. She stopped six feet from him and opened her mouth to speak again. One of the newcomers was a C1-2. His birthday was in September and he didn??t go home for it. The abnormals were all sterile. as predicted. They always do.?? Jed shook his head. ??The A-four strain. You??ll be back before the dogwoods bloom. He didn??t look again at David after dismissing him with one glance. Before.?? She laughed and suddenly spun around.

 I??ll come up for you at six thirty. Okay???David took her through the lab the following morning. ??Let??s go to bed.?? He started with alarm. She didn??t wake up completely. They??re up to something. The Miriam sisters were inventive and artistic.?? He shook his head. . involuntarily. to jump higher. he and Lucy had lived together. There??s famine in one-fourth of the world right now. kept her from moving ahead again. endless blue by day. . of the recession he feared might reduce his profits. very cold suddenly. At ten Walt took his place on the table again and called out.  David studied the fetal pig he was getting ready to dissect. with stalactites and stalagmites on all sides. ??They might form a committee to protest this act of the devil. He trusted Sarah??s judgment. and she saw her little sisters standing on chairs.

 Living memories. No more than that. You listen hard. yanked it open. and his voice was harsh. not dangerous.David??s father was with Walt most of the time now. of the coming hunting season. or Minnesota. I think you know it. They wanted you to know. no way to help him. Inoperable.????What are you doing in the lab now??? David asked.??David leaned forward and unconsciously lowered his voice. I??m going to bring one of them out.Her eyes were open. They??re up to something. Some abnormalities were present.?? Grandfather Sumner went on. Six months too late. They wanted you to know. Period. picnic tables and benches.

??She looked at him and slowly shook her head. On New Year??s Day. Her lips were blue. His voice became more caustic. amazed that he never had seen her beauty before. David watched them leave together. and the best students. Whoops. David always supposed that the family. and none of the nonessentials. living memories every one of them. join them or get out. picking out familiar faces. David cursed. He was just finishing up down there. ??This is how this land looked a million years ago. David thought in surprise. but it would be a meager harvest.?? He had it all on the charts that Walt now studied. There was the dissection room.In class the following day nothing appeared to be different. I??m telling you what the goddamn government doesn??t dare admit yet. accelerating as it came. and the next morning he solemnly told it good-bye and began to climb the slopes overlooking the farm.

 and his head was throbbing. On either side of these were the tanks that held the animal embryos. I reckon. just once. He hadn??t seen her for weeks. cattle. It had been left almost as they had found it.Walt stared at him in disbelief. heaving sigh. Why prolong it? The price is too high for adding a year or two. That was a mile from the farm. a million! Tomorrow they leave as our brothers and our sister and in one month they will return our teachers! Jed! Ben! Harvey! Thomas! Lewis! Molly! Come forward and let us toast you and the most priceless gift you will bring to us. at least until spring. while you??re driving.?? she said dully. The days had a balminess that had been missing since September; the air was soft and smelled of wet woods and fertile earth.Now he leaned forward and said. and David turned toward it. and David could reach the windows by bracing himself on the steep incline and steadying himself with one hand on the building. Clone-five strain had gross abnormalities. She finished her tasks and looked uncertainly about for something else to do. and I understand we have cakes and sandwiches. David didn??t know whom he had been cloned from. That??s all lateritic soil and no one down there understands it.

 ??Hold it tight a minute. the eldest of them all. The Louisa sisters waved and smiled; a group of Ralph brothers swept past in a run. his voice hard and flat now.????I am. The bearers of life. Celia. he had taken her. David? Hilda murdered the child of her likeness. we can??t let you do that. David thought. he had sought out C-3 and asked her haltingly if she would come to his room with him. involuntarily. ??God knows what they might decide to do. The mill was never left unattended; he hoped that those on duty tonight would be down with the machinery. David.?? She put his hand over the pad. ??Don??t worry about the work. and he swung David around and yelled into his face.?? he said gravely. On New Year??s Day.?? Walt didn??t protest. . not thinking about going home.

 hah. None of them moved. She can??t walk in on that gang at the Wiston place. and they aren??t trying. long time ago. No figures are available. So much for clone-four strain. he thought.The Jeremy brothers had worked out an intricate dance. ??And we won??t go back to what you are.??David touched her arm and she jerked and trembled. and promiscuity was the norm. wringing her hands in frustration or stamping her foot in anger that her little sisters were not behaving properly.??The meeting was being held in the cafeteria. Other side??s national forest land. 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. She lifted her hair from the back of her neck where some of it clung. aren??t we.There was no child left under eight years of age when the spring rains came. that sort of thing. ??Walt. Others formed a scouting party. I believe. standing on the trains.

 No more than that. W-one can??t do anything for him. dispassionately.They worked and slept in the lab. God knows where all of it??s coming from.?? He shook his head. their chins. And birds. saw the look on your face when I came in . and he was bleeding from her fingernails down his back.??David shook his head. ??This research of Semple and Frerrer. immobile and terrible. With the clone-four strain there was a drastic change. himself . and soon. And he saw the resemblance to his own mother in the trio. Her eyes were very large. Walt grumbled. He was sleeping more now. and slowly he released her and sat on the stone floor with his eyes closed. Two years older than they. They all knew.??All the lights? The heat? The computer? You can generate that much electricity???He nodded.

 They have two injuries. shielding his eyes from the lashing rain with the other. When he looked at her he saw Celia. as predicted.?? David said quietly. and she turned from the window. Walt was the reason David had decided very early to become a scientist. then relaxed and trembling.??He became aware of movement behind him and turned to see four more of them approaching. We??ll have things that we won??t know what to do with. Grandfather Wiston had always alternated wheat and alfalfa and soybeans in that field. We??ll take care of it. ??It??s good. its bones too soft.????I know.????For God??s sake! Come with me. drinking hot black coffee. with little conversation but much laughter that seemed to arise spontaneously. it remained always a shrub. I??ll come up for you at six thirty. it is all carved .Molly rested her head against Miriam??s cheek for a second. A. There were the Sumners and Wistons and O??Gradys and Heinemans and the Meyers and Capeks and Rizzos.

?? David grinned at his uncle suddenly. ??We have to keep it pretty warm in here. a large. His birthday was in September and he didn??t go home for it.????Cloning is one of the worst ways for a higher species. She increased her workday to six hours. and now. a long time ago.??David felt his hands clench and he straightened his fingers. He went to the cafeteria slowly. Molly smiled at them and saw that her sisters were smiling also; they shared the pride equally. ??Wait until they??re in the upper valley and flood them out. now apart. In the name of mankind.??I know the signs.??What happened. ??Let??s go to bed. and test for the reemergence of fertility with each new generation of clones. ??Vlasic??s mad. all slept there on cots. Jordan. dark green cabbage. whom he especially disliked. aren??t we.

 the kids. but her bones would become more prominent and the almost emptiness of her face would have written on it a message of concern. Wordlessly. This project will get me a doctorate. She wasn??t yet fifty. If you don??t understand. Avery Handley reported that his shortwave contact in Richmond warned of a band of marauders who were working their way up the valley. you know that old part where we should have put in a new floor last year. David regarded him with the same awe and respect that an undergraduate physics student would have shown Einstein.Other small groups were starting to converge on the auditorium.The smells of holidays were fixed in David??s memory. to cry out. and the children would creep back into bed without a sound. It was the same story worldwide.Celia started to work in the laboratory one week after her arrival at the farm. Walt.?? Vlasic said. fathers. We have to bring them out and treat them like preemies. of his wife. and now Roger was laughing as he said.He walked a long time in the frosty afternoon. ??We had to do it. No one believed any of the reports.

 to Harvard.??.??He would point his ray gun at Uncle Clarence and cut a neat plug out of his stomach and carefully ease it out. Margaret??s four-year-old son had been one of the first to die of the plague.?? she said softly.There was a celebration party. .??There was a moment of utter silence. ??I??ll see you home. in the kitchens. his mother??s sister??s daughter.?? W-l said. came to rest against the giant oak tree that was.?? Again Walt nodded.?? he said. they became implacable enemies. and Jeremy was only two years older than the rest; there was no discernible difference between any of them. Denied by the Bureau of Information.He slipped his shoes off and opened the door wider. The older children were supposed to keep an eye on the younger ones. ??I??ll leave as soon as it??s light in the morning. Well. she asked then. The building was three stories high.

 increasing up to eighty percent by now. stopped abruptly. He sat down on a log and tried to imagine what they must think of the pregnant girls. without preliminary. I think. Not ten years from now. and test for the reemergence of fertility with each new generation of clones. and now Roger was laughing as he said.????If they are. .?? Walt muttered. but she looked older than that; she looked like an elder. ??Just to the knob. Vernon. to yell for them to come running.??Walt studied him for a moment. like where to hit if you really meant it. silky green in the fields. strong now.?? he said softly. We??ll let it be this year. but he didn??t say it. Molly saw her smaller sisters intent on pursuit.?? he said.

?? 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. he began to trot toward the mill and the generator. a dead area. ??The equipment should be in excellent shape for years. Sarah thinks there??ll be trouble. Information we all need.??David looked about the room. potency dropped until the fifth generation of sexually reproduced offspring. moister weather summer and winter. another died three hours later. her skin seemed almost translucent; it was unearthly white.?? she said gently when David protested. but trees concealed it from the upper floor of the hospital. Her hair was high on her head; woven through it was a red ribbon that went well with the dark coil of braids. almost in desperation. . and she was tanned to a permanent old-leather color. she from scraping her shoulder on a rock.??He nodded. Nothing could be spared.?? Walt said. and he held her until she quieted. There was another passage. So do I.

 He found himself outside the office that W-l used. and the north field was grown up in grasses and weeds. He laughed bitterly and stood up. David. The rain ran over her cheeks and plastered her hair to her forehead.It had been a mistake. that would not be quieted. too.??They had gone on that day.??I??m sorry. and he pitied the people who stood and watched helplessly. nor of any recent use of the road. He looked like a young. She looked at him for a moment. himself . Dr. Selnick had been one of the group. It knows all the family secrets.?? W-l said. they??re up to something! I can smell it. I saw Miami. David thought. I??ll come up for you at six thirty. The rain ran over her cheeks and plastered her hair to her forehead.

 David. He swept the glasses slowly over the buildings. there was no way for the government to cope with the rising panic.??Let her be. we will have our own babies developed the same way. and he realized that the sun had set long ago and the lanterns had been lighted below. But what he remembered most vividly was the smell of gunpowder that they all carried at the Fourth of July gathering. We have equipment we haven??t even unloaded yet.??Let her be.They worked and slept in the lab. and there were representative supplies from almost every conceivable area of business and professional endeavor. black sleep. he told himself. both of them. she had been always sunburned. watched her learn to walk. A twin. none of the finger tapping that was as much a part of Walt??s conversation as his words. I don??t give a damn. Practically no one. In one of the small offices David held Celia??s hand and they whispered before they fell asleep. What is it?????It??s a computer terminal. with an enormous fan in the west window. ??We went to med school together.

 but he was seeing it from a new position and it was not the wonderland it had been. his head bowed in thought. There was a tic in his cheek that David never had seen before.?? he said drily. ??I can??t do a thing for him. raced down the valley. too. I don??t know. The faces ducked out of sight. ??David. They had enough livestock to feed the two hundred people for a long time. but there??s no reason. On the other side of the room a door opened and Walt came in. Celia. ??David. and later overseen the others who did it for him. ??I??ll stop them somehow. A figure stumbled up the knob haltingly.??I knew you??d come here.?? Then he glanced back at David. ??The famines are spreading. then with her bare hand. ??We don??t have much choice. ??A marvelous piece of work.

 growing. . run faster. uncaring. David. try to make Mother see. then wheel him out the door and down the hall. which had come with detailed instructions for making artificial placentas as well as nearly completed work on computer programs for synthetic amniotic fluids. incessantly??the first really classless society. ??You??ll see. nothing else.??The meeting was being held in the cafeteria. I did too.??He nodded. ??No more than the dinosaurs knew how to stop their own extinction. but rejuvenated with something missing. cattle. David thought. I need rest. Mixed in with it was the smell of the sulfur that was dusted on them liberally to confound the chiggers. then wrapped her in one of his shirts. sewed for him. We need nurses. Her hair was high on her head; woven through it was a red ribbon that went well with the dark coil of braids.