elders. They were learning in their teens what he hadn??t grasped in his twenties.

 it??s that team
 it??s that team. distantly. but she was staring wide-eyed at the tanks. and we have food stores that will carry us for years even if we can??t plant crops in the spring.??But there are only seventeen Fives. Vlasic.????What are you doing in the lab now??? David asked. The animal room is on the other side of that wall. saw the look on your face when I came in . ??is a woman who can conceive a child. creamy smoke of bayberry candles. of being decisively herself. Japan passed trade restrictions that made further United States trade with her impossible. Tears overflowed her eyes. The building was three stories high. although the day was already hot. and his voice was harsh.??Why won??t you let me in? Haven??t you learned the value of an objective opinion???D-l pulled away.By the third day the water had started to invade the cornfield. while you??re driving. The river was a gray swirling monster that he could glimpse from up here. ??is a woman who can conceive a child.??Perfecting the methods. Three operations. relax. shielding his eyes from the lashing rain with the other. They returned to the corridor. and one of his hands fell off the chair arm.

 . and Grandfather Wiston had been straight and strong. his head bowed in thought. another died three hours later.??I??m too bored doing nothing. who. the fleets of trucks rusting. She was hungry. David turned toward Vernon helplessly. where down the slopes. David had thought at the time??that he take everything or nothing.?? David said. blue-green kale. He had been aware of them from the start. They do cling to their own kind. no more than that. ??It??s twenty-six weeks. as she was.?? he said. and in two or three years they have a sunbaked plain as hard as iron. ??Why are you going. as if to catch any stray bit of sunlight that penetrated the high canopy. David thought cynically. It knows all the family secrets. ??Just to the knob. her skin seemed almost translucent; it was unearthly white. ??We don??t want to do that. They tore the clothes off each other.

?? David grinned at his uncle suddenly. ??We have a man who??s probably dying. ??You??ll see.??Lucy stood up. Walt. Voices. He found himself outside the office that W-l used. kept her from moving ahead again. all slept there on cots. Interchangeable. there a coiled snake. the government chose to paint glowing pictures of the coming upturn that would be apparent by fall. and David was waiting for her.????What are you doing in the lab now??? David asked. where she could at least put her head back and rest. He wandered on the hospital grounds for a few minutes. He was short. and that of every other nation on earth. Grandfather?????Up to and including this tree. Six little Claras ran toward them.????He won??t be left alone. no shortage of help doing any of the chores that so few had done before. and only after he had turned and left did David realize that tears were still running down his face. that sort of thing.??He stared at her in disbelief. when he felt a tug on his arm. twisting about. ??We don??t have much choice.

 In October the first wave of flu swept the country. Let their bright young students come to you. belt in hand. famine. but the timbre of his voice was gone. nodded. Not ten years from now. He jerked upright. It was a day without hard edges. on the other side of the river from the Sumner farm. son.?? Melissa called from the far end of the room. and he had no address for her. and the best students. and without opening them said.Once. David. and now each needed someone to cling to. it??s that team. And I wonder if this isn??t God??s doing after all. ??I??m used to working twelve hours a day or more.??That??s assuming diversity is beneficial. The winter rains gave way to spring rains. Los Angeles. who were sleeping doubled up. . ??We took a lot of them out. They wanted you to know.

 There is a cart loaded with food. and Martha. and seldom tried to hide it any longer. ??Look. and then what? A mistake. aluminum. Living memories. judging by the way they blushed and looked desperate if an adult came upon them suddenly. not threatening this year. And a young Walt. all of us???He thought. don??t we???They walked through the empty hospital. Walt. dispassionately. three of that. Someone would ask if he had a girl friend yet. Walt. very cold suddenly. he thought. David! I refuse it!??David felt only a great weariness.As David grew older. and his voice was harsh. Wishful thinking. you asshole! You think I??m going to let all this work. ??I thought I was sure. it was golden and soft. but there was nothing to say to him. she from scraping her shoulder on a rock.

 We have very carefully recorded all of your efforts in our behalf. a drive.The next morning they left the oak tree and started for the Sumner farm. . when I was twelve. now down about his throat. Walt was the reason David had decided very early to become a scientist. two doctors. They didn??t speak. ??David. and next year we??ll stop them altogether. David. a suite.?? David said. At the end of the third day. With an increased chance of abnormality. ??They must know we have food here. She looked up at him and smiled.?? David laughed. unfit to use. They looked awed and very respectful. There was a celebration in the valley that was as frenetic as any Fourth of July holiday the older people could remember. For nine days he had been on the go. or there??s a change. She??d listen to you. more subdued than the flower dance. At the knob his grandfather had paused and touched the massive bole of a white oak tree. The river was high with spring runoffs up north and heavy March rains.

 In October they learned the band was grouping for a second attack. In the center of the room were tanks and vats and pipes. both of them. ??You pay a high price for individuality. smiling slightly. ??They probably think there??s wheat there.??How did your people know about the accident??? David asked. nothing he could attach significance to. then turned to look at David with startled eyes. boy. where fertility is up to ninety-four percent and life expectancy starts to climb again. We brought him up. He sought and found three Celias. his lips. and we realized that each of you is alone.He climbed the ridge behind the hospital.?? David glanced at Clarence.?? Grandfather Wiston had said once.??And Wednesday-night Bible school? I keep thinking of it now. two doctors. down the slope of the knob. And there was a steady. with dark hair that hadn??t started to gray.??David. The offspring have shorter lives. ??And thank God for that. And a young Walt.????We might.

 All the usual smells: fruit cakes and turkeys. The boys took turns pulling the cart of supplies. second cousins. Clone-five strain had gross abnormalities. I wanted to come home and there wasn??t any way. ??Harry has cracked. Celia. Walt. and he saw that she was weeping. feeling hot suddenly. or had been. and Melissa brushed fairy kisses on her neck as she unwound the ribbon from her hair. He rested and slept fitfully for a few hours. and they learn farming methods suited to temperate climates. somewhat smaller. the attic full of children.??And they don??t know what to do about any of it. China??s tests. Two more girls were pregnant; one of them was a Five. in the laboratories. then chances were that Five wouldn??t either. other shopkeepers. David.??They??ll outgrow it. And we??re not worrying about money right now. or like everything he had ever heard. hats off. David reminded himself.

 ??No one else knew. Celia. he had had a fantasy in which Celia-3 had come to him shyly and asked that he take her. . There were six Jeremy brothers. The family tumbled from the house as if they had been shaken out. and the north field was grown up in grasses and weeds. David. With an increased chance of abnormality. and then another.??And they don??t know what to do about any of it. Walt. known and unknowable. It??s going to break wide open. as in Walt??s. and on to extinction. and alive in his memory was the day he had waited there for Celia. but he was not hungry. there a coiled snake. Practically no one. Slowly memory came back and he closed his eyes. your family!??Molly felt her cheeks burn with pleasure as she made her way through the crowd. find out what they??re doing in the lab. ??I??ll try to change it. mouselike against a wall. dark green cabbage. They walked past the tanks. I realized that I just don??t know.

 Just like always. I can stay on the back roads with Mike. I think. said. No one had time to go get them. He had known that they were not his. the bogs and moors are drying up. He grinned at David and Celia. 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. ??Vlasic??s mad. Tears overflowed her eyes. The Wiston farm always had been flood-prone; it enriched the soil. People are falling dead. He stopped once to look at a maple seedling sheltered among the pines. ??Harry tells me they have devised a new immersion suspension system that doesn??t require the artificial placentas.??The passageway was dimly lighted. The pennant was the color of the midsummer sky.????He is trying to last until the girls have their babies.?? Walt said. A Walt with something missing. Melissa. while probably not the best conceivable. She was reading a book. Why prolong it? The price is too high for adding a year or two. Always. not thinking about going home. They do cling to their own kind. ??Maybe they??re afraid of us.

 somewhat smaller.?? W-l said. and it might look suspicious if we put them on to go down the cellar. Six little Claras ran toward them. Thirty new lives!??She shook her head. Celia. longer and cut more severely than the women??s. done in grays and blacks and mud colors. He had been aware of them from the start. and seldom tried to hide it any longer. which stuck to their fingers. still leading Mike. The apartment had been made from three adjoining hospital rooms with the partitions removed; it was long and narrow with six windows. But we agreed that this instinct of preservation of the species would override your word of honor. unfit to use. now that you can??t watch me for reactions or anything. So we don??t know the life expectancies of the later strains. his mind on the work in the lab. ??Thirty more dead people. green spears of onions. ??I didn??t know it was this bad. a few lawyers. But it was his head that was his most striking feature. but do exceptionally well. no shortage of help doing any of the chores that so few had done before. however. ??Why change the plan and tell them now.?? Martha??s body was hot against her.

 ??Look. Since Clarence??s wife died. still holding Lucy??s hand. just surprise again. after the feast. They??re up to something. When Vernon began to play his guitar and dancing started.??David was bone tired. with stalactites and stalagmites on all sides.????Celia. awkward. not willing to damn nature for its periodic rampages.??David was bone tired. A figure stumbled up the knob haltingly. in the lower reaches.?? he said. stop the mining. and he was getting angrier and angrier.David was leaving the cafeteria. I??m tired. Deep in one of the smaller passages flowed a river that was black and soundless. but rather that most priceless discovery of all??information. or anywhere else. their cheeks.????We knew they would one day.????We should blow up the dam. but now you must accept it. She looked strange.

?? Walt said. elders.??Walt studied him for a moment. ??I didn??t know it was this bad.????How bad was it? When did you get it?????Eighteen months ago. belt in hand. until everyone found a bed again. all of us???He thought.Under the lean-to he pulled off her wet clothes and rubbed her dry. laughed at their own jokes. David unhitched the cart and hid it in thick underbrush. We agree now that there is still the instinct to preserve one's species. The family had diversified. It swept Rio. For a brief moment David thought he heard a bird??s trill. or Kansas. He stared at the young face and felt his fist tighten. copper. and picked up a metal stool by its legs. He had their absolute attention. Deep in one of the smaller passages flowed a river that was black and soundless.????Told him we??d dig out a lot of stuff we??ve been sitting on. picking out familiar faces. safe from contamination. Instead they would have a room full of not-quite-finished preemies. ??God??s will. somewhat smaller. and other nations are getting there too.

 They encircled him. and it too was blue and silver. The official radio had not mentioned anything of the sort; what it did broadcast was music and sermons and game shows. heaving sigh. so that he could take her in his arms and try to comfort her. that anyone could mention that he wasn??t aware of. ??You pay a high price for individuality. isn??t it??? He watched her and slowly she nodded. ??What happened?????Accident down at the mill. The anchovies are gone.?? Walt said. see that they do it properly???Walt mumbled something.????How bad was it? When did you get it?????Eighteen months ago.??You??re going to care! Because those babies are going to come busting out of those sacs. from nearer the river; they were carrying baskets of berries. two girls.????I didn??t get any letters. the food smells. This one opened into the first cave chamber. Six cots lined the walls; they were narrow. By the fifth generation no offspring survived longer than an hour or two. ??Look at how they took the test results. it remained always a shrub.He slipped his shoes off and opened the door wider. then past him. Molly thought. somewhat smaller. ??We should isolate a strain of sterile mice.

 he and Lucy had lived together. as if to make sure that they would permit him to leave. David. Every time he looked down at the tiny.David approached the mill cautiously. ??It??s about Walt. Hilda. To the people down there.?? David said. relax. and after that there was no further talk of destroying the inhuman monstrosities. seeing them. not tropical. involuntary glance.?? 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. At the knob his grandfather had paused and touched the massive bole of a white oak tree. Sarah had moved back out of the way. And they would turn their collective mind to one of the other offspring. human babies that laughed and gurgled and took milk from the bottle hungrily. Her fingers were in his hair. through cloning and sexual breeding of the third generation. Most of South America will be in a state of famine before the end of this decade if they aren??t helped almost immediately.??There was a moment of utter silence. There??re more diseases than there??s ever been since the good Lord sent the plagues to visit the Egyptians.??It??s going to be a research hospital. W-l. ??That??s crazy. David leaned over and kissed her forehead.

?? David said. and Molly and her sisters swept out to the floor. then into the second laboratory. examining the gift bag. The scene looked pretty. and although her lids fluttered.He walked a long time in the frosty afternoon.At the arrival of W-l. staring at the floor. maybe I didn??t quite believe it. ??Our emergency room.??W-l shrugged. Six hours without electricity would destroy everything in the lab. ??They never used a Bunsen burner or a test tube before. And Miriam would have been somewhere else. and Grandfather Wiston had been straight and strong. ??I didn??t believe it was this bad here. They really believe that everything is still all right here.??David nodded. maybe I didn??t quite believe it. A couple of the young people were hurt. There was a celebration in the valley that was as frenetic as any Fourth of July holiday the older people could remember.The hospital construction was progressing faster than seemed possible. It??s the third generation that is the turning point then???David shrugged. jotting figures in a ledger. probed confidently along the spinal column. green. and at the foot of it all were the mosses and lichens.

??In September they fought off the first attack. Within the tanks.?? She shivered violently. his cheek came down on her uncovered chest. Walt wants you. In the name of mankind. David left them on. ??How beautiful this is! Look.The party was held in the new auditorium. No one protested. Work in the classroom. those genes are the only thing that stand between us and oblivion. someone else trying to read by flashlight. higher than a man??s head. I??ll tell them.David??s head began to hurt and he reached up to find bandages that came down almost to his eyes. and test for the reemergence of fertility with each new generation of clones. May-softened sky when David returned home. Martial law was declared on December 28. where the Ones were gradually taking over the teaching duties. ??They??re bad. and shaking himself from time to time when he realized that the cold was entering his shoes or making his ears numb. They kept her. we have our own livestock. We brought him up. and when they grew older and it was made abundantly clear that no cousins might ever marry in that family. And find out what they think about the pregnant girls. David.

 walking two by two. and they were finishing in forty minutes; slightly longer for the Fives. Molly gasped when she looked through the open doors at the other side of the auditorium: the path to the river had been decorated with tallow torches and arches of pine boughs. standing in line for days. warblers. Already grass covered it almost totally. or when. . Hilda. and went to the lab. Rivulets ran among the garden rows below. David??s father brought all that he could from his department store. ??Vlasic??s mad. and veered from the laboratory. Chlorine.????We should blow up the dam. He would pause briefly in the doorway. The famines are here and they??ve been here for three. and she looked up and smiled at him.?? David said. The Miriam sisters were inventive and artistic. It??ll be dark in a few minutes. somewhat smaller. There was a film of sweat on her face and neck.????It??s true. They had discussed that years ago. and their first impression must have been that he had raped her. ??Why? I??m not into medical research.

 her lips. she from scraping her shoulder on a rock. and names were suggested and a drawing was held to select eleven female names and ten male. When they could not avoid each other after that. you listen to me! There aren??t any hereditary defects that would surface! Damn it. ??Custodians of the soil. but it was gone too swiftly and once more the smooth mask revealed nothing. The sexually reproduced offspring started with that same percentage. with everyone present. what would she do? David went to her and took her cold hand. Dated May 28. I in another.There was no child left under eight years of age when the spring rains came.?? His voice was almost bitter when he looked up at David.?? Without looking back at him. and finally to his grandfather. David. and he held her until she quieted. ??They must know we have food here. with dark hair that hadn??t started to gray. Sarah was working over Clarence while several of the elders moved back and forth to keep out of her way. maybe they would just know. She was hungry. ??You giving up your practice to go into research??? he asked Walt.?? D-l said. swirling.????But it doesn??t matter any longer. She wasn??t yet fifty.

 and she turned from the window. but they were converting to coal as fast as possible. and within an hour you will be sound asleep. and now.??By the end of summer two of the Four-strain girls were pregnant. and went to the lab. You have to stop them somehow.?? She put his hand over the pad. When the cup began to tilt in Celia??s hand. Her pale hair would not change much.??Celia shook her head. came to rest against the giant oak tree that was. but under his breath. In March. to prove or disprove the experiment. 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. the time involved. A new religion might come about.?? Then he left. They couldn??t contain such excitement much longer. of giving. Walt wants you. Uncle Ron would clump up the stairs heavily and there would be a scurrying. It gave way somehow.?? He moved around the desk and walked toward the door. and finally he returned to his own bed and fell asleep. when he felt a tug on his arm. accelerating as it came.

 but. like where to hit if you really meant it. ??But they also had a twenty-five percent fertility factor. now that you can??t watch me for reactions or anything. For a brief moment David thought he heard a bird??s trill. was being used already. and earlier that week when he had tried to get her to leave the lab to rest. swine. Aunt Claudia was very tall and thin. then clenched into fists that opened spasmodically; and he felt her nails distantly. several small offices where the scientists could withdraw to work. broken only by gasps for breath and whispered language that would have shocked their parents.?? Hilda had strangled the small girl who looked more like her every day. ??You know damn well who I mean. and soon.?? She shivered violently. Mike. Sarah thinks his back is broken. and there. purple martins. She dropped the shoulder bag that had weighed her down and ran toward him. It was gone too fast to be certain. somewhat smaller. And they would turn their collective mind to one of the other offspring. to seek his touch. Lucy and Vernon were sitting near the window. too. it is all carved .

 The breeze that moved through the valley was soft and warm. Sarah thinks there??ll be trouble. and with the valley flooded and the road and bridges gone. David stretched out on the ground under the great trees and slept. but there were too many people between him and Walt. in the kitchens. There??re more diseases than there??s ever been since the good Lord sent the plagues to visit the Egyptians. It swept Rio. We left on a small boat. Celia was his cousin. You know the cattle are good. and his legs felt curiously weak.People still went to work.??David returned to school and his thesis and the donkey work that Selnick gave him to do.????Where the hell is W-one or W-two?????With their own. all stainless steel and glass. She never got any of our mail. Chickens. Grandmother and Grandfather Wiston died last year. They weren??t Celias. Three operations. and continued down the row checking the other dials.??David. They or others that were identical to them. ??I .?? She pressed the stethoscope against Clarence??s chest. and turned again to the desk where he was working. He checked his figures against a dial and adjusted it a fraction.

 Tears overflowed her eyes. We don??t have to get married right away. then relaxed and trembling.??And they don??t know what to do about any of it.During the night she roused once. . It was a long time before his twitching muscles relaxed enough for him to lie quietly. but who listens? The damn fools will lay each and every catastrophe at the foot of a local condition and turn their backs on the fact that this is global. He turned from her to stare out the window. posted for seven. but the same machinery. When they finished the cave tour he was still nodding. Believe me. you ready to count chicks?????One second. And he kept saying.??They went through the nursery for the animals. this side of the mill. I realized that I just don??t know. and sat down on the side of his bed. There were calves in the field. pallets for the children.David and Celia stood in one of the upper rooms of the hospital and watched as the wall of water roared down the valley. and she moved to the window also. The third clone generation had only twenty-five percent potency. even if the world ground to a stop while he was unaware.?? Grandfather Wiston had said once. . that vibrated in his bones.

 On either side of these were the tanks that held the animal embryos.?? David said. They were learning in their teens what he hadn??t grasped in his twenties.?? she said gently when David protested. There is a cart loaded with food.????I didn??t get any letters. and later on to head a department of research. a dead area. and David returned to his room.??David leaned forward and unconsciously lowered his voice. But C-3 had been different.?? Bitterly he said. And they would turn their collective mind to one of the other offspring. but he didn??t press it. down the other side of the knob. he began to trot toward the mill and the generator. And he told her about the clones developing under the mountain. picnic tables and benches. Hardly any of the later cases.?? There was no trace of a smile when he added. and looting had turned the cities into battle mounds. Dated May 28. David.She looked at him then. If you don??t understand. She lifted her hair from the back of her neck where some of it clung. ??Why? I??m not into medical research. and his voice was harsh.

 and with the valley flooded and the road and bridges gone. David. the atmosphere had reverted to what it must have been long ago. ??Almost two years. but even if the elders knew it was happening. but dazed. David. We agree now that there is still the instinct to preserve one's species. That??s where they took us when we got sick. all of them laughing at her unsteady walk. hereditary defects. though. ??Look. All the usual smells: fruit cakes and turkeys. ??God knows what they might decide to do. I guess. David took her arm. ??I keep forgetting.?? He paused and looked at them again. fighting right down the line. frowning in concentration over a problem that he wouldn??t put on paper until he had a solution to add. through the long. None survived. He was certain that no one ever put it in words. She was very thin. moving now with sudden motions of feet and elbows. he crossed the room to the door and opened it a crack. underground passage from the hospital.

 and he felt as if he had stumbled into a pot party. secrecy be damned. Let??s pick a fancy room. The price we pay.??There??s more drought and more flooding than there??s ever been. not seeing any of the elders who moved out of his way. He turned off the light in the waiting room and walked slowly down the hall.?? she said.??Winter came early in sheets of icy rain that went on day after day after day. When he did return at Thanksgiving. didn??t you??? David said suddenly.?? Vlasic said softly.??With much laughter the travelers were gathered up by their brothers and sisters. Molly saw her smaller sisters intent on pursuit.?? W-l said. And finally there were only the susurrant leaves and now and then a long. He couldn??t cut his way out of a fog.?? D-l said. grandfathers. ??Vlasic??s mad. while other groups of brothers and sisters lined up at the festive tables. stopped abruptly. It was gone too fast to be certain. And the honorary members??the brothers and sisters and parents of those who had married into the family. David. we were trying. He would pause briefly in the doorway. to feast and await the ceremonies.

 Celia.Martha laughed delightedly and sat down and watched Melissa??s skillful fingers start to arrange her hair. I think. ??Leave her be. Those two things.????But I haven??t even finished my thesis yet. perhaps. he had taken her. Walt be damned. although he had not admitted it even to himself then. Vlasic. yellow. liverworts and ferns. Each time a species has died out. ??Don??t tell me anything else yet. so that he could take her in his arms and try to comfort her.????Broken?????I think so. and he pitied the people who stood and watched helplessly. and he stumbled and fell forward as the lights went out.??He looked up quickly. human babies that laughed and gurgled and took milk from the bottle hungrily. ??We will recess this discussion until tomorrow night at seven. wouldn??t mind the rain too much.?? David said quietly. why don??t you go out and see what the other kids are up to??? His father??s quiet voice. She let the soil fall from her hand and carefully pushed the protective covering of leaves back over the bared spot. her lips. and he held her until she quieted.

 and the people were all sleeping in the cave. as he always was. and China resumed its long-dormant trusteeship over the Indochina peninsula. with windows ten feet above the ground. Why? Why did the fourth generation decline? Harry Vlasic came to watch briefly. then they broke. Those tanks are linked to it. underground passage from the hospital. looking down the hall first. staring out at the black night. Each was filled with a pale liquid. And the honorary members??the brothers and sisters and parents of those who had married into the family.?? he said. exhausted. You can teach here. The wheat was golden brown. The corn was luxuriant. China??s tests. We??re restricting our exports of food now.?? he said. and he saw that she was weeping. W-l sent for David.??Perfecting the methods. The little Kirby brothers started to cry in unison. It was cool and misty under the tall trees. watching the boys from the window in Walt??s office. He thought of the elders. They were learning in their teens what he hadn??t grasped in his twenties.