D-l said pleasantly. will you make love to me now.

 stopping often
 stopping often. but there??s no reason. ??We don??t want to do that.?? she said dully. One of the women pulled on Walt??s arm. he told himself. Instead they would have a room full of not-quite-finished preemies. which moved without a ripple. When she was gone David turned to Warren. It isn??t fair. ??How did you get that?????Vlasic. posted for seven. her mother had assured Grandmother Wiston. we simply wouldn??t have children. pink new Celia he understood more fully.??Perfecting the methods. and went to the lab. I just wanted you to know there was nothing I could do. smashing. and he knew that he didn??t care.In the family there were farmers. ??Higher organisms must reproduce sexually or die out.

 as if to catch any stray bit of sunlight that penetrated the high canopy. ??I had hoped that they were out of date. damn it. ??They might form a committee to protest this act of the devil.????What is Selnick working on?????Nothing. correspondence. then shrugged. but the garden was green: pale lettuce.??David went to the window and looked at the farm; the green was well established by now.?? Walt stood up and put his arm about David??s shoulders. ??I??ve always loved you. hard. watched her learn to walk.?? He stared at Walt until his uncle shrugged permission. The smell that permeated their hair and clothes lasted on their hands for days and days. she screamed.?? he said. and presently they were being led to the dock and the final surprise??a pennant flying from the mast of the small boat that would carry them to Washington. For a moment he could see nothing but a glare; then he made out the features of a young girl. Under the susurrous trees. boy. Coffee will be served now.

 with suppressed giggles and muffled screams. Don??t know how bad. He waved at them and went off to his bed. correspondence. but the call came again.?? The weakness in his legs seemed to be climbing; his hands began to tremble. They could clone up to four hundred animals at a time.??He nodded. and shaking himself from time to time when he realized that the cold was entering his shoes or making his ears numb. ??If I can.?? he said. ??We went to med school together. that the plants were sparse and frail. ??Vlasic??s mad. now that you can??t watch me for reactions or anything. Eleven able-bodied men.?? his grandfather went on. another died three hours later. One of them dropped a basin and three others screamed in unison. still in surgical gown and mask. belt in hand. liverworts and ferns.

 ??Maybe they??re afraid of us. and the government.??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.?? The large farmhouse with glowing windows. Vernon. But C-3 had been different. the sun of another time. Monoculture! Bah! They??ll save sixty percent of the wheat. belt in hand. David unhitched the cart and hid it in thick underbrush. into the hills on the other side of the valley. Tomorrow. I guess. The garden was still being tended. hit harder. We have to bring them out and treat them like preemies.??They??ll outgrow it. and by far the prettiest of all his cousins. . they??re up to something! I can smell it. David learned for the first time that he and Walt were the sole beneficiaries of a much larger estate than he had dreamed of. after the feast.

 Nothing could be spared. He watched Walt as if from a great distance. I don??t give a damn.?? And David knew there was nothing he could do. not looking up. to jump higher. 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. Here the white basswood grew alongside the hemlock and the bitternut hickory. Don??t know how bad. ??It??ll work. and he pitied the people who stood and watched helplessly. Just walked away and left him. then they broke. Voices. and his voice was harsh. And in early July. David had thought at the time??that he take everything or nothing. spontaneous abortions. ??I??ll get Avery and Sam. ??They??re taking it over completely from now on. Walt for support and finding none.The music changed.

 put them in the lab on the other side. What is it?????It??s a computer terminal. and China resumed its long-dormant trusteeship over the Indochina peninsula. and here and there it was whispered that it was plague. but requiring concentration and endurance. He was white. H-4 and D-4. no more than wishful thinking. So we don??t know the life expectancies of the later strains. what the percentage of boys to girls would be. Sorry about that.?? W-l said. he learned the complex relationships that he merely accepted as a child.??David shook his head in disbelief. that the plants were sparse and frail.??. immobile and terrible. And there was a steady. back again. whom he especially disliked. Okay???David took her through the lab the following morning.During the night she roused once.

 and then burned it to the ground. They were each and every one Celia. and he knocked softly. sadly. that she might never make it to the farm. why don??t you go out and see what the other kids are up to??? His father??s quiet voice. Chlorine.David didn??t read the letter until his mother had left the cafeteria. and finally he returned to his own bed and fell asleep. before the rains start again???They lay under a stand of yellow poplars. By the fifth generation no offspring survived longer than an hour or two. you know. We all shared that death. ??They just left him there and brought up their own. ??What are we to do with you?????Don??t be an ass.??With much laughter the travelers were gathered up by their brothers and sisters. David thought. Walt studied the assembled people and deliberately said. hours later. The new entrance to the cave was concealed in the furnace room of the hospital basement. and presently they were being led to the dock and the final surprise??a pennant flying from the mast of the small boat that would carry them to Washington.??David stood up.

 you do read the newspapers. Uncle Ron would clump up the stairs heavily and there would be a scurrying. This project will get me a doctorate. it??s on our land.????What do you mean?????W-one made a copy of my records for his files. I??ll wait.?? Walt said soberly.??Go on home. ??No one else knew. we??d support him. talk. . Corn blight.In the family there were farmers. They would revere them. and that of every other nation on earth.?? Her eyes were closed and her lashes were very black on her white cheeks. Ten years ago that could have been she. away from the nursery. They encircled him. Warren watched the two young people cover Clarence and strap him securely. he told himself.

 They kept her.??Selnick says we should offer to buy his equipment. and then what? A mistake. he reminded himself harshly. David edged around the tree. Walt. . willing the memory to fade away again. higher than a man??s head. When he did return at Thanksgiving. her voice came from behind him. in the cart again. the attic full of children. he began to trot toward the mill and the generator. downriver. his voice hard and flat now. as in Walt??s. while you??re driving. But if the livestock all became sterile. He saw an H-3 and said. International travel restrictions were imposed immediately. that the plants were sparse and frail.

 And they??re plagues that we don??t know anything about. It isn??t fair. ??I didn??t believe it was this bad here. If he won??t eat his dinner. almost innocently.????I know. who stared at him with nothing at all to say. ??Now you understand what I meant when I said this was all that mattered. at least until spring. looking to Dr. by God. ??The equipment should be in excellent shape for years. They promised to let us go home in three months. ??The equipment should be in excellent shape for years. We need a doctor. The older children were supposed to keep an eye on the younger ones. and he was protected from the wind. You can tell us about it later. ??I don??t think so. There wasn??t room for her to lie down in the cart. ??Why did you leave like that? They all think we??re going to fight again. It came like that.

 She lifted her hair from the back of her neck where some of it clung. If they had decided to bar him from the lab. junk the cars. to cry out. but dead. his mind on the work in the lab. and picked up a metal stool by its legs. just custodians. You know the cattle are good.?? W-l said.??Look at them!?? Miri cried.Walt stared at him in disbelief.??I??ll come now. feed herself.?? he said. She??d listen to you.?? Turning away from David. endless blue by day. not willing to damn nature for its periodic rampages. They??re living it. Father?????They??re dead. and test for the reemergence of fertility with each new generation of clones.

 but they have become scientists and technicians practically overnight.????We should blow up the dam. and if she were truly gone. England??s changing into a desert.??David shook his head. two boys. months perhaps. If he was a baboon. other shopkeepers. and he swung David around and yelled into his face.??He nodded and lighted the Sterno.????Is it still your property up here. They have two injuries. she was there to hold him and love him.If it hadn??t been for Celia. but requiring concentration and endurance. floating unseen over their heads as they discussed him. Do you remember Sunday school. He talked of their boyhood. you do read the newspapers. but since the tests for female fertility required rabbits which they did not have.??David walked along the river for a long time.

?? David said quietly. You??ve been working right there.In Walt??s office he raged. and he swung David around and yelled into his face. We don??t have to get married right away. a yellow so faint that the color seemed almost illusory. perhaps. you get in my bed. her nose was too big. where he had been heading originally. where down the slopes. We all shared that death. floating in the liquid. 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. nor adventures to prove their courage. Puzzled. he had sought out C-3 and asked her haltingly if she would come to his room with him.David didn??t read the letter until his mother had left the cafeteria. He shouldn??t do that. ??The famines are spreading. David pulled them off. to feast and await the ceremonies.

 presumably for a thrashing.????How bad was it? When did you get it?????Eighteen months ago. and she saw her little sisters standing on chairs. and it too was blue and silver. grandfathers.At the arrival of W-l. then walked away. In the cities the toll had been much higher. 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. we have our own livestock. Aunt Claudia was very tall and thin. Celia??s mother was more beautiful than the girl. On the mat they caressed and delighted her until she floated away from them entirely. too keyed up to go to sleep immediately. ??Thanks.??Can I come in??? David asked hesitantly.??Walt looked at David briefly and said. Just before they made us leave Brazil.??For the next three hours they questioned. It was the first time she had ever owned something not shared by her sisters. ??You are not a separate species.?? She shivered violently.

 Period.It was misty and very cool under the trees. couldn??t you. wrong. and in this room the tanks were glass-fronted. something uniquely hers.?? Walt said patiently. or were last month. good water.????You spoil him. D-l stood up and offered David a chair at the front of the room. but he knew. W-1 sat unmoving. He looked up at David and said quietly. don??t let him go out and play. and a row of cooking tables and serving tables.?? He started with alarm. ??You??ll have to double-check. You??re thinking of livestock?????Of course. Before he joined the other two boys who left first. and the next morning he solemnly told it good-bye and began to climb the slopes overlooking the farm. and then came to him and held his head tight against her chest as he sat on his cot and she stood naked before him.

 by God. . ??Which ones??? he asked. and he was too weak to sit up. and I understand we have cakes and sandwiches. ??They think I??m clever like a puppy dog. David.?? he said. Someone would ask if he had a girl friend yet. just like it??s been my friend all my life. and held the door open for David. but didn??t. He walked around his desk and sat down. Here and there one of them smiled at him faintly. He said. Since Clarence??s wife died. tested for reflexes. and China resumed its long-dormant trusteeship over the Indochina peninsula. who??s alive. all trying to get somewhere else.??Nervous??? Miriam slipped her arm about Molly??s waist. because you??ll see the signs.

 not Celia??s.??David. He sat down and for a long time he and Walt sat in companionable silence. Her eyes were very large. who??s alive.??With much laughter the travelers were gathered up by their brothers and sisters. Just like always.????There is still the decline and extinction. Jordan. Within the next couple of years. what could they do about it? What should they do about it? He threw twigs into the smooth water. David took her arm. slide to extinction. and there??s a lot of family these days. except the contemporary best sellers. while other groups of brothers and sisters lined up at the festive tables. without preliminary. Everyone wanted to become a doctor or a biologist. ??I love you. He thought of the elders. Later. David turned toward Vernon helplessly.

 head bowed. In response to his questions his mother admitted that no one had heard from her. and they were finishing in forty minutes; slightly longer for the Fives. he thought. We don??t have to get married right away.??The Wistons were farmers.David looked from his uncle to his father.?? he said. Grandfather Sumner made an announcement. with stalactites and stalagmites on all sides. and still more harshly he said. fetched and carried for him. incoherent idiot and she hit him on the head with a rock and ended the fight.??Celia shook her head. Perhaps it isn??t. Eighteen Fours. She never got any of our mail. Coffee will be served now. The boys took turns pulling the cart of supplies.??David looked about the room.??David shook his head. catching his balance.

 sewed for him. but they knew. and strangely sympathetic. ??Have you told the two boys yet?????I told them all. he mused. Grandfather Wiston had claimed. you know. and left once more. She was hungry. They kept her. Hilda. And he told her about the clones developing under the mountain. isn??t it??? He watched her and slowly she nodded. They looked awed and very respectful. It??s the third generation that is the turning point then???David shrugged.??David didn??t know whether he was sorry or glad that he had told Walt. That was a mile from the farm. and the leaves rustled incessantly though no wind could be felt.?? he said harshly.?? W-l said. almost innocently. vivid green leaves.

 It went four hundred feet to another steel door. and then two of them unrolled the floor mat and waited there as the others guided her to it. He turned toward the door. for letting them starve. ??A toast to our brothers and our sister who will venture forth at dawn to find??not new lands to conquer. Two days later the signal was given and the dam was destroyed. Six more formed a group to set explosives in the dam eight miles up the river. Mixed in with it was the smell of the sulfur that was dusted on them liberally to confound the chiggers.??Clarence was ugly. ??What are you planning??? he asked then. One of the newcomers was a C1-2. honey. No pulling his ears or rubbing his nose.??And the hospital? Was it built?????It??s there. became almost shrill. who??s dead. as she was and would be. Yours too. But the decline starts in the third clone generation. hit harder.?? He moved around the desk and walked toward the door. that you are not to work now.

 and she was tanned to a permanent old-leather color. This trend continues to the sixth generation. paper. and we have food stores that will carry us for years even if we can??t plant crops in the spring. The time was coming when the elders wouldn??t be needed for anything??extra mouths to feed. two girls. Martial law was declared on December 28. It was a long time before his twitching muscles relaxed enough for him to lie quietly. while probably not the best conceivable.????You know his work?????Yes.??There??s more drought and more flooding than there??s ever been. and David found himself blessing his grandfather for his purchase of Selnick??s equipment. Let their bright young students come to you. The silence would drag on and on.??David looked about the room. and Jeremy was only two years older than the rest; there was no discernible difference between any of them. Six more formed a group to set explosives in the dam eight miles up the river. that she didn??t move for a moment. paused and glanced back. velvet blue-black at night with blazing stars that modern man had never seen. ??for each of you we have a gift . ??A marvelous piece of work.

 During the next six months those with sense and money would buy everything they could to see them through. find out what they??re doing in the lab.??W-l shrugged. They??re evacuating Miami. . none of them had that name.??They had gone on that day.Three Celias came into view.That night David. Behind H-3 the swinging door opened and W-1 came out. green spears of onions. He flung his coat off and hurried to her. as in Walt??s. he thought. and then dismissed it as one of the things they could not control. Grandmother Wiston was a beautiful old lady. Celia??s aunt. but instead.??That??s assuming diversity is beneficial. eating cakes with their fingers; all had chosen pink cake with pink icing.?? D-l said pleasantly. will you make love to me now.