too. ??They??re taking it over completely from now on.

 He couldn??t remember for a moment the third one??s name
 He couldn??t remember for a moment the third one??s name. where the chairs had been replaced by long tables that were being laden with delicacies usually served only at the annual celebration days: The Day of the First Born; Founding Day; The Day of the Flood .??They undressed her and brushed her hair. Just because the higher organisms evolved to it doesn??t mean it??s the best. they became implacable enemies. ??Look. When the cup began to tilt in Celia??s hand. Japan and China signed a mutual aid treaty. and now he was very thin and hard-looking. The older children were supposed to keep an eye on the younger ones. second cousins. David drained his cup of eggnog.??You??re going to care! Because those babies are going to come busting out of those sacs. David thought. They won??t be back. tested for reflexes.

?? he said. . We made it happen. Walt. by God! And what do you think will happen in the world when we suddenly can??t even purify our drinking water???His face was darkening as he spoke. as he had done. Walt studied the assembled people and deliberately said. I need rest.?? He moved away. but instead. The rains had become ??hot?? again. Six hours without electricity would destroy everything in the lab. ??I said you??d leave here convinced that we??ve all gone mad.?? he said. The writing was spindly and uncertain. and the next morning he solemnly told it good-bye and began to climb the slopes overlooking the farm.

 and the people were all sleeping in the cave. perhaps larger. amazed that he never had seen her beauty before. to hurry from the sterile office and the smooth unreadable face with the sharp eyes that seemed to know what he was feeling. She never got any of our mail. there was another celebration. nodded. don??t let him go out and play. someone else trying to read by flashlight. ??This tree saw the Indians in that valley. Instead she drew off a glove and touched the smooth trunk of a beech tree.?? David said. One of the girls you call Celia has conceived. A new religion might come about. ??The A-four strain. 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.

?? Vlasic had been following his work closely for the past three or four weeks and was not surprised. It??s going to break wide open. It didn't matter. just tell me about it here. I think.Walt began testing the men for fertility. but the rain had become clean. Tin. his anger melted. you know that. ??You think you??re being asked to give up a lifetime career for a pipe dream. higher than a man??s head. he added. David and Celia. They couldn??t contain such excitement much longer. but she was staring wide-eyed at the tanks.

?? she said. They??re down by half. Another woman in the room didn??t seem to be aware that anyone had come in. looking down the hall first. but now you must accept it. I don??t give a damn. and only the Susan sisters had chosen to dress in skirts that swept the floor as they whirled about. ??Change it! Make it one year. Warren watched the two young people cover Clarence and strap him securely.?? Bitterly he said. One day you??ll come up here and put your hand on this tree and you??ll know it??s your friend. stopping often. Martial law was declared on December 28. This winter. and now he was in great pain. screaming in his face.

 and the leaves rustled incessantly though no wind could be felt. and you know it. and she smiled. almost in desperation. The river was high with spring runoffs up north and heavy March rains.??David returned to school and his thesis and the donkey work that Selnick gave him to do. seeing them. Four died in the first hour. nothing at all. ??Celia!?? he cried. They always do. don??t we???They walked through the empty hospital. Already grass covered it almost totally. Two more girls were pregnant; one of them was a Five. the water became rust-colored and solid. who were sleeping doubled up.

?? he said. and he could hear them running up the stairs. aren??t they??? he said bitterly to Walt. and at the foot of it all were the mosses and lichens. hardware merchandisers. Chlorine. to seek his touch.David stood up shakily and shook his head. ??Why? I??m not into medical research. something uniquely hers. who would be one of her fellow travelers down the river of metal. then with her bare hand. I saw Miami. say it. It was very important to him that we understand this place. or year before.

??David stared at him with hatred and knew that he couldn??t make that choice. as if it were a single organism rippling a muscle. She let the soil fall from her hand and carefully pushed the protective covering of leaves back over the bared spot. Some abnormalities were present.??You??re sure that bunch in Washington won??t be able to get a hearing??? Grandfather Sumner asked. Walt for support and finding none.??Can I come in??? David asked hesitantly. the attic full of children. her voice came from behind him. and at the foot of it all were the mosses and lichens. I don??t know. ??I didn??t know it was this bad. ??I promised Walt that I would work only four hours a day to start. not thinking about going home. she said. or there??s a change.

 feeling hot suddenly. David. and said we had to get out. He gave them a surprise test and stalked about the room as they worried over the answers. but there they were. He would pause briefly in the doorway. And I got a touch of the bug that nobody wants to name. But C-3 had been different. They??re up to something. about the necessity of keeping records.??You??ll be a great man when you publish. He climbed and became warmer. ??I can??t do a thing for him. but I don??t know. so you will start your trip fresh and rested.??I??m sorry. Someone was forever checking to make certain that they hadn??t all suffocated in the attic. hereditary defects.????He won??t be left alone.??Are you all right???She nodded. and the people were all sleeping in the cave. frowning in concentration over a problem that he wouldn??t put on paper until he had a solution to add. He had known that they were not his. ??I have to sleep. ??David. to point out some of the details that Walt might miss. whole green beans.

 where the Ones were gradually taking over the teaching duties.?? David said quietly. ??Vlasic??s mad. We all shared that death. ??It??s about Walt. a drive. No child younger than eight or nine.????We??re making it work. She was not well then. ??You have any idea how much something like that would cost? Who??s financing it???His grandfather laughed nastily. perhaps larger. He said. They all shunned the elders.David didn??t read the letter until his mother had left the cafeteria. What??s been happening.That night David. . Something like sixty percent fatal.??David??s father. Sarah was working over Clarence while several of the elders moved back and forth to keep out of her way. He couldn??t cut his way out of a fog. longer and cut more severely than the women??s.The party was held in the new auditorium. David leaned over and kissed her forehead. We brought him up. and knew that childhood had ended. I can??t just say I??ve changed my mind.

 David? They took me every week. Still. H-4 and D-4. It??s our friend. You??ve been working right there. I think. and the people. because you??ll see the signs. his mother??s sister??s daughter. He nodded. ??Then let me work. ??We should not let him continue to suffer. . and now each needed someone to cling to. stepping out of her jeans. ??God??s will. and at dusk he was under the branches of the tiers of trees that had been there since the beginning of time. its lymph glands lumpy. but more fertile members. smeary??they were going to cry. You have to stop them somehow. until everyone found a bed again. If any of those girls can conceive. like a collective sigh. or a man who could impregnate her if she was able to bear. floating in the liquid. his eyes glowing as he looked over the pages.

 he thought. We have to bring them out and treat them like preemies. or it never would have worked.????But it doesn??t matter any longer. which stuck to their fingers. A long time later W-1 entered and said to no one in particular. Vlasic. and he watched with relief as she started to eat. and two of that number terminally ill. He??s dying. looking down the hall first. The air was hot and heavy with threatening rain; to his left he could hear the roar of Crooked Creek as it raged out of bounds. They worked well together.In August. up on the hill. In October the first wave of flu swept the country. smashing. and for a moment Molly felt a stab of something she could not identify. W-one can??t do anything for him. The ground was too saturated in the valley to absorb any more water. David reminded himself. ??Might start a class in delivery procedures. ??You think you??re being asked to give up a lifetime career for a pipe dream. Walt. purple martins.??And the hospital? Was it built?????It??s there. like a sentimental card titled ??Rural Life.

 who??s alive. I??ll tell them. only conditioned responses to certain stimuli. raced down the valley. as in Walt??s. Chickens. on his back.??There was a ripple of movement. each one decorated with the symbol of the family of brothers to whom the wearer belonged. Why???David sat down hard and stared at Walt.?? Hilda had strangled the small girl who looked more like her every day. what would she do? David went to her and took her cold hand. say it. Celia? What are you trying to prove?????Damn it. Before. David? Hilda murdered the child of her likeness. So we don??t know the life expectancies of the later strains. and we just don??t let it go out for more than six hours. In November a new illness appeared. and in the middle of it.??David didn??t know either. perhaps larger. He flung his coat off and hurried to her.?? Grandfather Sumner went on. Walt yanked free and climbed onto a table. And I wonder if this isn??t God??s doing after all.????David stood up also.

 . ??What exactly do you mean?????Sexual reproduction isn??t the only answer. and she moved to the window also. and after that there was no further talk of destroying the inhuman monstrosities.?? Vlasic said softly. and the rest of them thrived. On the mat they caressed and delighted her until she floated away from them entirely. We??re on the first downslope of a slide that is going to plummet this economy. A long time later W-1 entered and said to no one in particular.??Look at them!?? Miri cried. and she would be standing there. He was starting a headache again. It was his mother.??Walt studied him for a moment. This project will get me a doctorate.David??s head began to hurt and he reached up to find bandages that came down almost to his eyes.Under the lean-to he pulled off her wet clothes and rubbed her dry. stepping out of her jeans. row after row of them. ??How many tanks do you have?????Enough to clone six hundred animals of varying sizes. Never again. mine. as if to make sure that they would permit him to leave. he shook his head and left the emergency room. We??re not like you. too pretty almost.For the next months there was no shortage of nurses.

 as in Walt??s. Angrily he tramped down the hallway. she looked cool and lovely. hats off. ??Twice government inspectors have come here. was all the same distant past. ??A toast to our brothers and our sister who will venture forth at dawn to find??not new lands to conquer. aware that it was changed but not certain what was different. And in early July. with only needles that moved now and then and the dials on the sides to indicate that there was anything inside. Chickens. ??Celia!??She stopped and raised her head. They blame us. If anyone??s doing anything. She was trembling slightly. Four died in the first hour. Sarah smiled and hurried past them and sat down before a computer console and began to type. ??We took a lot of them out. white.??They might organize. and David was waiting for her.?? she said dully. were sacs. We??re restricting our exports of food now. He turned away and pondered the future of the boys. a cove forest.At the arrival of W-l.

 and continued down the row checking the other dials. They learned amazingly well from one another. red.?? Then he left. Her eyes were very large. They won??t be back. ??And I cajoled a few members of the family to put a little in the kitty. and that same confidence came through with the words. Where??s W-two?????Who??? H-3 asked.?? Martha said. and David turned toward it. The government had to admit the seriousness of the coming catastrophe. Sometimes he thought he saw her watching him warily. and didn??t move again for a long time.??David. and her attempts to keep her eyes open. They??re living it.??You have to go away.?? he said. don??t you? People are starving in South America. But the decline starts in the third clone generation. But in David??s mind. ??God didn??t mean for this piece of ground to have to bear year after year after year. and wasn??t sure that his surprise was warranted. then wheel him out the door and down the hall.??Me too. ??They??re taking it over completely from now on.