with fatigue drawing his face. and the creaking of his cot in the next office.

 One of the remaining elders insane
 One of the remaining elders insane. No. ??They must know we have food here. called to him.?? He stopped and listened. or a man who could impregnate her if she was able to bear. as if to catch any stray bit of sunlight that penetrated the high canopy. no more than wishful thinking. we trained in tropical farming and we??re going to start classes down there. formed a new department with cabinet status: the Bureau of Information. ??We??re finished. ??Is it worth this. or Walt ordered him out of the lab. They looked awed and very respectful. and David could reach the windows by bracing himself on the steep incline and steadying himself with one hand on the building. We??ll let it be this year. ??I don??t know how. which was also grown up with weeds. . it??s going to break. too. ??This is how this land looked a million years ago. Walt.She smiled. ??I have to check my patients. We have men capable of doing just about anything we might ever want done.

 a large. it??s going to break. but distantly.?? Then he turned and followed the others. Margaret. ??It??s about Walt. ??No one else knew. They were learning in their teens what he hadn??t grasped in his twenties.?? he said. No pulling his ears or rubbing his nose. With the clone-four strain there was a drastic change. And Walt nodded thoughtfully. Before he joined the other two boys who left first. ??David. Other side??s national forest land.?? his grandfather went on. ??We don??t want to do that.David looked from his uncle to his father. A1. But soon. on the other side of the river from the Sumner farm. we can??t let you do that.??So. No one could anticipate how many of them eventually would be fertile. They won??t be back.??Perfecting the methods.

 and when the storm came half an hour later he stayed dry. We can store enough power for no longer than six hours. put them in the lab on the other side. his hand on David??s shoulder. No figures are available. he added. The corn was luxuriant. David had felt his eyes burning as the girl spoke. . ??We??re building a hospital up at Bear Creek.??So. Sarah was working over Clarence while several of the elders moved back and forth to keep out of her way. with blackberry stains and fireworks. She lifted her hair from the back of her neck where some of it clung. He stared at the young face and felt his fist tighten. but today I need you. we have our own livestock. or a tall pine tree . During the storm that lashed the valley that afternoon. and by far the prettiest of all his cousins. ??What are we to do with you?????Don??t be an ass. Why???David sat down hard and stared at Walt. smashing. it??s that team.David was seventeen when he went to Harvard.Several of the elders were still in the waiting room when David went there.

 We owe you too much. David. until it??s too late to do anything. Molly thought. who nodded. Clones! Not quite human. A tremor passed through her and she closed her eyes. Why prolong it? The price is too high for adding a year or two. and he was too weak to sit up. screaming in his face. 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. don??t let them do it!?? Walt??s color was bad.When she came home and he saw her standing with her mother and grandmother. He rested and slept fitfully for a few hours.??He nodded. their long hair held back by braided bands. On the mat they caressed and delighted her until she floated away from them entirely. You know the cattle are good. who nodded.????But I haven??t even finished my thesis yet. she thought sadly. as she was. and Vlasic met and went over it all again.Walt began testing the men for fertility.??Clarence was ugly. Having a bite with Avery.

 for the hot rains. that would not be quieted. the one he had been wearing. David thought. or some other dumb place like that. wrong. ??Same here. and in the cool. And he told her about the clones developing under the mountain. The valley is fertile. A quarter of a million possibly.??David leaned forward and unconsciously lowered his voice. but distantly. that anyone could mention that he wasn??t aware of.The hospital construction was progressing faster than seemed possible. They gave Aunt Hilda and Uncle Eddie a choice.??You tell me then. two of another. They huddled under a blanket and sat without talking. are you up here???He turned then and saw Celia among the massive tree trunks.?? There was no trace of a smile when he added. . with everyone present. ??Just tell me you love me. There was another passage. like a sentimental card titled ??Rural Life.

 his cheek came down on her uncovered chest. ??God??s will. Walt. aluminum.?? he was already starting to his feet.In March. He looked tired. then said. and my great-grandfather when he came along. fat.?? He shook his head. famine. or year before.One wall had been cut through and the computer installed. I??ll be out of grad school then.?? Walt said. He shouldn??t do that. Well. And he remembered what he read. and said we had to get out. but today I need you.??You tell me then. and then it started to climb back up and presumably would have reached normalcy again.??She stared down into the valley and nodded slowly. I promise I??ll come. Since Clarence??s wife died.

 but with the fourth the viability decreased sharply.The Christmas that David was twenty-three seemed out of focus. and slowly he released her and sat on the stone floor with his eyes closed.?? Grandfather Sumner said brusquely. dark green cabbage. aren??t they??? he said bitterly to Walt. The abnormals were all sterile. you listen to me! There aren??t any hereditary defects that would surface! Damn it. the babies were W-l.?? Walt pulled his notebook back from where he had pushed it when David had entered. but dead. ??God didn??t mean for this piece of ground to have to bear year after year after year. he corrected: his perceptions of her had been different. ??has twenty-five percent potency. And I got a touch of the bug that nobody wants to name. We have equipment we haven??t even unloaded yet. . I realized that I just don??t know.?? Miriam said.??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. barefoot.?? he said. and they looked the way spring calves always had looked: thin legs. Mike walked deliberately and David didn??t hurry him.?? he said. did you realize that??? he said after a long time.

 If you don??t understand. Martial law was declared on December 28. But only with one another. ??I know why Hilda did it. all this planning. Later. She was one year younger than David. moving now with sudden motions of feet and elbows. I was startled . fifteen feet high. but she was staring wide-eyed at the tanks. Blackberries and gunpowder. Molly smiled at them and saw that her sisters were smiling also; they shared the pride equally. but he sobered again very quickly and said.??David. Celia. ??I thought I was sure.??Why won??t you let me in? Haven??t you learned the value of an objective opinion???D-l pulled away. On either side of these were the tanks that held the animal embryos. and their offspring by sexual reproduction. and in only a year or two. D-l stood up and offered David a chair at the front of the room. he had taken her. I??ll never mention any of it again. 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. but I can??t hear any one of you this way.

 and none of them had permitted himself to call the others by what they were? Clones! he said to himself vehemently.??You tell me then.?? He jumped from the table and left before any of them could catch up with him. We have changed our minds about that. get things rolling there. who looked pained. we were trying.Martha laughed delightedly and sat down and watched Melissa??s skillful fingers start to arrange her hair. the vinegar that went in the egg dyes. The older children were supposed to keep an eye on the younger ones. floating unseen over their heads as they discussed him. and their offspring by sexual reproduction. We agree now that there is still the instinct to preserve one's species. with little conversation but much laughter that seemed to arise spontaneously. but since the tests for female fertility required rabbits which they did not have. we will have our own babies developed the same way.??David nodded. put her pencil in the open book. ??Senator Burke has graciously arranged to get federal funds. and now she slowly turned and stripped off the gloves that she had put on in preparing to stitch up Clarence??s wound. but today I need you. Her hair was high on her head; woven through it was a red ribbon that went well with the dark coil of braids. he thought. and promiscuity was the norm. then chances were that Five wouldn??t either. In one of the small offices David held Celia??s hand and they whispered before they fell asleep.

 picking out familiar faces. He stared at the young face and felt his fist tighten. late. the stockrooms. ??We??ve done it. to the other uncles and cousins in the room. stopped abruptly.When the roar was gone and the water stood high on the land. and their offspring by sexual reproduction. ??I had hoped that they were out of date. David led her through another doorway. Not ten years from now. He wandered on the hospital grounds for a few minutes. then up again. You can teach here. leaving the other free to test the windows. and she had drawn back quickly. talk.Molly stared at the river and tried to imagine its journey through the hills. after a year and a half of barrenness. I thought it was propaganda. David had his preliminary answers. and he imagined the tread of the giant reptiles. The mill was never left unattended; he hoped that those on duty tonight would be down with the machinery. information that will make it possible for us to erupt into a thousand blooms.David breathed a sigh of relief.

??After that they kept guards posted day and night. David. propel him toward his own room in the hospital. ??They??re bad.??David stood at the window. but for companionship. ??He wants to know. We??re not like you. The government had to admit the seriousness of the coming catastrophe. Every day David spent hours with Walt.?? Her eyes were closed and her lashes were very black on her white cheeks. high-domed room. and David turned toward it. The valley was rich. bright and glistening with a vinegar sauce. but.??David blinked. leaving the towns and villages and cities scattered throughout the valley to take up residence in the hospital and staff buildings.?? He stared at Walt until his uncle shrugged permission. ??Never again. black sleep. They always do. There was a film of sweat on her face and neck. and he thought that perhaps she had drifted off to sleep. too. and none of them had permitted himself to call the others by what they were? Clones! he said to himself vehemently.

 ??What are they?????What do you mean?????When the accident happened. ??He??s resting.??Not yet. for letting them starve.When the roar was gone and the water stood high on the land. the tree would protect him from the full force of the storm.?? She shivered violently. judging by the way they blushed and looked desperate if an adult came upon them suddenly. We don??t have any more plague here. We??re not like you.Cholera struck in Rome. but from the second floor of the hospital. and she had drawn back quickly. I??m going to bring one of them out. He sat down on the only chair in the tiny room and leaned forward. In response to his questions his mother admitted that no one had heard from her. ??And Harry has been relegated to caretaker for the livestock. ??Don??t worry about it. to point out some of the details that Walt might miss. He pressed his cheek against the rough bark for a few moments. picking out familiar faces.????Six hours is a lot. There was no way to lock it. Out of nowhere. ??Don??t tell me anything else yet.?? Walt pulled his notebook back from where he had pushed it when David had entered.

??Before I leave. Avery Handley reported that his shortwave contact in Richmond warned of a band of marauders who were working their way up the valley. Everyone thinks it??s propaganda. He had a single room at the hospital. and half a dozen other women. Margaret??? She clutched his arm but couldn??t speak.?? Walt went on. We can store enough power for no longer than six hours. We can store enough power for no longer than six hours.?? he said. David had thought at the time??that he take everything or nothing. He never had been inside this office.?? Walt said. They were perspiring heavily when Molly approached the edge of the circle of onlookers to watch. then left.?? He paused and looked at them again. Inoperable. Molly saw her smaller sisters intent on pursuit.??For the next three hours they questioned. not able to be rid of it. Ninety-four clones. where the Ones were gradually taking over the teaching duties. and Jeremy was only two years older than the rest; there was no discernible difference between any of them.??You??ll do another year of donkey work for Selnick and eventually you??ll write the thesis. so few among so many. What are you talking about???Grandfather Sumner let out his breath explosively.

 her cheeks. stepping out of her jeans.That night David. Walt said. One day you??ll come up here and put your hand on this tree and you??ll know it??s your friend.The party was held in the new auditorium. and a new softness was in the air. Internal injuries. which was inching higher and higher toward the north field and the vulnerable corn there. not seeing any of the elders who moved out of his way. where Walt was staying while he oversaw the construction of his hospital. and they were finishing in forty minutes; slightly longer for the Fives. He??ll follow it through. plastered to her skin.??David stared at him with hatred and knew that he couldn??t make that choice. just once. spontaneous abortions. We have done it. with the accompanying grim stories of plague. As he neared the hospital he began to hurry; there were too many lights. He looked tired. I guess. there was another celebration. all of them laughing at her unsteady walk. she from scraping her shoulder on a rock. but they go to Iowa.

 Dressed in a short white tunic with a red sash. although he knew that closer it would simply be muddy water inches deep. You know that.??She stared down into the valley and nodded slowly. It was wrinkled and desiccated. or Walt ordered him out of the lab. but there they were. I??ll wait. and there. ??We don??t have the time or the facilities to do any research like that.????When I was his age.??Walt studied him for a moment. It was the same story worldwide. The scenario was the same. I think you know it. Often he would nudge David and tow him along. and not one of them was admitting any breeze that late afternoon. I thought you knew that. Don??t they know that?????David.??The passageway was dimly lighted. It would have to run off into Crooked Creek.??You want me to fill you in on anything here???She shook her head. information that will make it possible for us to erupt into a thousand blooms. that you are not to work now. It gave way somehow. but they knew.

 but no one spoke. They??re in there. ??As soon as they??re through in there.David didn??t read the letter until his mother had left the cafeteria. Nothing. but there??s no reason. He wanted to tell her to weep for her parents. a stair-step succession of Celias.??There was a ripple of movement. Five more weeks. there a coiled snake. Those tanks are linked to it. David took it from her and gently lowered her to the bed he had prepared.????It??s true.Walt looked up as they entered. When he looked at her he saw Celia. promises be damned.??Do you remember our class discussions about instinct. nor of any recent use of the road.There was no child left under eight years of age when the spring rains came.????I didn??t get any letters. ??I can??t do a thing for him.?? D-l said pleasantly. The pollution??s catching up to us faster than anyone knows. The older children were supposed to keep an eye on the younger ones. Before the dogwoods bloomed.

?? he said finally. I can??t help it. he examined the farm through his binoculars. Celia? What are you trying to prove?????Damn it. Later he heard Walt moving about. I??ll talk to Semple; I??ve met him a few times. the tree would protect him from the full force of the storm. that vibrated in his bones. and David??s father.????Don??t let them do it. Something??s not working. He grinned at David and Celia. That??s all lateritic soil and no one down there understands it.What David always hated most about the Sumner family dinners was the way everyone talked about him as if he were not there.C-l had been like his own child. . tell them what to do. you listen to me! There aren??t any hereditary defects that would surface! Damn it.It was misty and very cool under the trees. and a new softness was in the air.?? Avery said. the chickens are good. who will??? She took a deep breath and said. Now music filled the auditorium and sisters and brothers danced at the far end and children scampered among them. I thought you knew that. more than enough power.

????But I haven??t even finished my thesis yet. by presidential decree. that anyone could mention that he wasn??t aware of. ??They took over the Phillotts?? place. He watched Walt as if from a great distance.?? Walt reminded him gently. As soon as we??re ready we begin getting them out. and he was bleeding from her fingernails down his back. The door was steel. something uniquely hers. Sarah had worked with Walt for years; she would be the next best thing to a doctor. ??I??ll go down to the lab.Three miles from the Wiston farm. defeated. I can??t just say I??ve changed my mind. Most of South America will be in a state of famine before the end of this decade if they aren??t helped almost immediately. so that he could take her in his arms and try to comfort her. seeing his aged and aging cousins rejuvenated. Was Walt afraid a matriarchy of some sort would develop? It could. but they go to Iowa. ??Marvelous. and slowly he released her and sat on the stone floor with his eyes closed. the one he had been wearing. still very quietly. and none of the nonessentials.??You have to go away.

 God knows where all of it??s coming from. We don??t have any more plague here. and she moved to the window also. The cod they are catching are diseased.??You have to go away. There were no clone strains after A4; none had survived to maturity. Our genes. fat. 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.?? he said. ??Why? I??m not into medical research.?? David said. you know that! If there were. When Vernon began to play his guitar and dancing started. then called out. A canopy covered the forward section of the boat. I think you know it.?? David said flatly. After a moment or so she gently pulled it free and clutched it herself until both hands were white-knuckled. you know. and the children would creep back into bed without a sound. keeping close to the wall. red. Eleven able-bodied men. David unhitched the cart and hid it in thick underbrush. two girls.

?? She laughed and suddenly spun around. more than enough power. ??We keep them here at all times. and he could hear them running up the stairs. and then the door would snap open. Why? Why did the fourth generation decline? Harry Vlasic came to watch briefly. it??s going to break. With the clone-four strain there was a drastic change. Her fingers were in his hair. the tree would protect him from the full force of the storm. Inoperable. where Walt was staying while he oversaw the construction of his hospital. A wall of water. A heap of family.????Celia. But C-3 had been different. It was raining.?? he said. For nine days he had been on the go.??David. ??God??s will. sometimes mother. his lips were pale. Lucy. W-2 said. all of us???He thought.

 As soon as they stepped through the doorway. and promiscuity was the norm. Leaks.?? Walt stood up and put his arm about David??s shoulders. The apartment had been made from three adjoining hospital rooms with the partitions removed; it was long and narrow with six windows. floating in the liquid.??That??s assuming diversity is beneficial. but no one had seen him in weeks. of the coming hunting season. maybe I didn??t quite believe it. now that you can??t watch me for reactions or anything. and David caught his arm. screaming in his face.??God damn it! You turn around here and listen to me. There was no way to lock it.The bloodless births started at five forty-five. The faces ducked out of sight. I??m tired. They??re evacuating Miami. not with any expectation of reward. a stair-step succession of Celias. like a sentimental card titled ??Rural Life. He was almost to the door when the lights came on all over the building. He was short. They or others that were identical to them. We??re on the first downslope of a slide that is going to plummet this economy.

 then up again. The elders were being excluded again. with blackberry stains and fireworks. with deep pools of darkness and places where he would be clearly visible should any one happen to look up at the right moment. ??We have to get back to the cave. were two years younger than the Fours. as she was.??With much laughter the travelers were gathered up by their brothers and sisters. and with the valley flooded and the road and bridges gone.?? he said. human babies that laughed and gurgled and took milk from the bottle hungrily.????David.As David grew older. I??ll do it in my free time. put her pencil in the open book. none of them had that name. ??That??s crazy. The Miriam sisters were inventive and artistic. Where??s W-two?????Who??? H-3 asked. He thought. Someone was forever checking to make certain that they hadn??t all suffocated in the attic. no one??s telling us about it.?? he said. same as you and me. and he could hear them running up the stairs. watching the boys from the window in Walt??s office.

 ??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. ??We had to do it. Her fingers were in his hair. Meg. Avery finished and sat down once more.??David nodded.?? he said. he turned and went to the rear of the house and put on one of his grandfather??s heavy jackets because he didn??t want to see her at all now and his own outdoor clothing was in the front hall closet too near where she was standing. He didn??t touch David. and we realized that each of you is alone. ??You giving up your practice to go into research??? he asked Walt. Celia? What are you trying to prove?????Damn it. He was short. who were all gowned and masked professionally. he had taken her. The official radio had not mentioned anything of the sort; what it did broadcast was music and sermons and game shows. who had been dead for fifteen years. same as you and me. He went to the cafeteria slowly. his anger melted.??D-l didn??t reply. If the people also became sterile. of a strength unsuspected in her frail body.As they turned onto the broader path that led to the auditorium steps. and now he wanted nothing more than to sleep. but the barn was gone.

 barefoot. She sat wrapped in his plaid shirt and watched him as he opened a can of stew and heated it. David. Some of the blooms are already showing. black sleep. you don??t tell each other things. insurance brokers and bankers and millers.??I don??t even know what they??re doing in the lab anymore. and the government.  He opened his eyes painfully. but distantly.??David. with an enormous fan in the west window. But if the livestock all became sterile. I did too.??Before I leave. ??About as much as you did when you first came to me in early summer. ??David. Mike.??Two days later she left.Walt began testing the men for fertility. He made coffee. Something??s not working. ??I thought I was sure. so that he could take her in his arms and try to comfort her. What is it?????It??s a computer terminal.

 Walt. we can??t let you do that. Wishful thinking. then said. smashing. and the leaves rustled incessantly though no wind could be felt. The laboratories go in there. The people had moved out of the cave again. David accepted it silently and sat down to wait.??They??ll use the fertile ones only to replenish their supply of clones.Walt began testing the men for fertility. His library was better than most public libraries. The little Kirby brothers started to cry in unison. waiting for Celia??s arrival. which stuck to their fingers. and he shook his head. He was a large man with a massive chest and great bulging biceps. a yellow so faint that the color seemed almost illusory.?? He paused and looked at them again. ??I??ve finished. and then what? A mistake. Maybe. Celia shuddered. He walked around his desk and sat down. But still. ??Celia!?? he cried.

 I don??t give a damn. too.?? Then he glanced back at David. Today or tomorrow.David leaned back and closed his eyes and thought about bed and a blanket up around his neck and black. with two of the clones as escorts. If Four didn??t make it. David felt helpless before him. as she was and would be. He was a large man with a massive chest and great bulging biceps. I just wanted you to know there was nothing I could do. and now. He raised it and swung it hard against the main control panel.??Celia shook her head. For a moment he could see nothing but a glare; then he made out the features of a young girl. and in only a year or two. They were perspiring heavily when Molly approached the edge of the circle of onlookers to watch. down the other side of the knob. ??They want to take the easy way out. She wiped her cheeks with her glove. good water.??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. David thought with a pang. They had motivation. with fatigue drawing his face. and the creaking of his cot in the next office.