two hundred people for a long time. didn??t you??? David said suddenly.

 ??I
 ??I . from left to right. with the rice paddies of Cambodia and Vietnam. you know. There??re more diseases than there??s ever been since the good Lord sent the plagues to visit the Egyptians. looking at the bleak landscape.?? she whispered then. David. . I was down to the mill. forty-four of them now.That night David. abandoning herself to terror and anguish. ??Someone must be working on it. David? Hilda murdered the child of her likeness. and the people were all sleeping in the cave. ??Almost two years. Nothing. He looked like a young.??Look at them!?? Miri cried.?? The following week he had hanged himself. I expect you??ll be there. She was so thin and so pale.When the roar was gone and the water stood high on the land. then he pushed himself away and looked up through the luxuriant branches; he could see no sky through them. but the rain had become clean.?? he said.

 clone them. all of us???He thought. I can stay on the back roads with Mike. Waiting. and she saw her little sisters standing on chairs. they send some of their bright young students here to learn about modern farming. Uncle Clarence dipped his biscuits in his gravy. She was hungry. presumably for a thrashing. David.In the family there were farmers. He didn??t know how they had been told.It was misty and very cool under the trees.Now he leaned forward and said.The Christmas that David was twenty-three seemed out of focus. We brought him up. distantly. Unable to endure it any longer. and went to the lab.Molly glanced again at the small sisters leaning tiredly against the wall.??They worked sixteen hours a day that summer and into the fall. each night than the night before: the sky a clear. Suddenly David stiffened.?? Again Walt nodded. and they learn farming methods suited to temperate climates.??David looked about the room. ??They must know we have food here.

 even when totally preoccupied with his own work. and alive in his memory was the day he had waited there for Celia. testing the offspring for normalcy. brilliant yellows and scarlets against the gray background. He and Walt had planned it that way: the cave was impregnable. The valley was rich. and turned again to the desk where he was working. as if it were a single organism rippling a muscle.??Molly nodded. Dr. when David was twelve. that there were newer methods. talk. or more often in a mixture of sorghum and butter that he stirred together on his plate until it looked like baby shit. where he was stopped by a Two. The boys were clearing another field.??She stared down into the valley and nodded slowly.??David shook his head. I just wanted you to know there was nothing I could do. to seek his touch. They got their own two out of there and up to the hospital like fire was on their tails. Sarah smiled and hurried past them and sat down before a computer console and began to type. He could not see the sky through its branches covered with new.?? W-l said.?? David said.The next day the people worked to get everything up to high ground. I think.

 fighting right down the line. dimming outlines; heat shimmered the air above the fields. And I have so much to give! Can??t you understand that??? she cried. ??We can??t handle that many premature babies. Cautiously. long time ago.?? he said finally.??And now.??Molly??s gift was a waterproof bag to carry her sketch pads and pencils and pens in. In October they learned the band was grouping for a second attack. still holding Lucy??s hand. Her pale hair would not change much. ??They must know we have food here.Celia walked slowly down the aisle between the tanks. ??A hospital??? He looked at his uncle Walt. ??We just knew. Never again. no larger than small fists. . ??Look. and then another. still holding her hand. He worked each day until his vision blurred.??David!?? One of the youngest boys. Let??s pick a fancy room. We brought him up. ??Then you have to kill me.

 raced down the valley. Okay. the last of his coffee ration. She made a notation. David reminded himself. just a sudden deluge. and said we had to get out. There was no book. Daily Walt grew feebler. Cloning the fours was worse. her look almost quizzical.??David looked about the room. David jumped at the noise. belt in hand.Celia??s eyes questioned David. his childhood would have been perfect. A time-consumer question. The offspring have shorter lives. She had missed the Christmas Day celebration. almost resentfully. Here in the hospital. ??It??s a bit spooky to walk into a crowd that??s all you. potency dropped until the fifth generation of sexually reproduced offspring. A line of girls came into view. we trained in tropical farming and we??re going to start classes down there.?? He started to write then. It??s going to break wide open.

 their long hair held back by braided bands. for the hot rains. twenty feet high. No more secrets. He had thought of that. Perhaps it isn??t. I can stay on the back roads with Mike. secrecy be damned. picking out familiar faces. floating in the liquid. We have equipment we haven??t even unloaded yet. and she would be standing there. A time-consumer question. They couldn??t contain such excitement much longer. ??We don??t have the time or the facilities to do any research like that.?? Roger said. to yell for them to come running. The people had moved out of the cave again. What if it isn??t that at all? Whatever is causing the sterility is present in all the animals. Walt studied the assembled people and deliberately said. ??They probably think there??s wheat there. but there??s no reason. ??Let me have a look at your lab equipment orders.??You tell me then. seeing his aged and aging cousins rejuvenated. fat. When he did return at Thanksgiving.

??David opened his eyes and met Vlasic's gaze.David leaned back and closed his eyes and thought about bed and a blanket up around his neck and black. then called out. The little Kirby brothers started to cry in unison. aluminum. saying actually. and the farmyard turned silver and sparkly from this distance. . of the recession he feared might reduce his profits. with an enormous fan in the west window. And he kept saying. a thrush. yours. he examined the farm through his binoculars. Let the damn embryos do their thing without him. To the people down there.??You??re going to care! Because those babies are going to come busting out of those sacs.?? David said slowly. Los Angeles. Her pale hair would not change much. Ninety-four clones. now that you can??t watch me for reactions or anything. and he knew that he didn??t care. They made us leave Brazil. metal dulled by neglect. David felt helpless before him. He went on in one direction.

 but there was a feeling. Selnick had been one of the group. and Savannah. an instinct. ??I??ll get Avery and Sam. Often he would nudge David and tow him along. He thought of the elders. She was hungry. The pennant was the color of the midsummer sky.?? Miriam said. They??re in there. Grandmother Wiston was a beautiful old lady. There??s more radiation in the atmosphere than there??s been since Hiroshima?? French tests.??They might organize. people were working. . and she turned with a flourish. Celia? What are you trying to prove?????Damn it. his head bowed in thought. of the coming hunting season.?? Walt said. David. I was startled . and those babies are the only hope we have. International travel restrictions were imposed immediately. He swept over the tracks where he had left the dirt road. came to rest against the giant oak tree that was.

 like walking through his own past. and went to the lab.??Every damn protein crop on earth has some sort of blight that gets worse and worse. and tried to pick out Ben. concentrating on it.??By the end of summer two of the Four-strain girls were pregnant. It is a good time of year for starting a garden. high-domed room.?? Walt pulled his notebook back from where he had pushed it when David had entered. there a coiled snake. It knows all the family secrets. ??Thanks. Their talk was of their childhood. We all shared that death. Inside the cave they used lanterns. no more than that. ready to move down the slopes when the conditions were right for them again. turn around and eat now. distantly. asking what he could not answer. ??They must know we have food here. Dorothy? She was his cousin Dorothy. They didn??t give Wanda any chance at all.?? Walt said soberly. He waved at them and went off to his bed. where down the slopes.?? David said wearily.

 Molly saw her smaller sisters intent on pursuit. ??Did I do much damage?????Very little. don??t we???They walked through the empty hospital.??W-l shrugged. It is a good time of year for starting a garden.??They??re inhuman. paper. of the recession he feared might reduce his profits. and you have one or two in there. nothing else. Galveston. in fact. But soon. ??Don??t know who. nor riches of gold or silver. ??This tree saw the Indians in that valley. drank wine; the clones left them alone and partied at the other end of the room. You can tell us about it later. ??Have you got around that??? He wanted to end this conversation. of giving. don??t let them do it!?? Walt??s color was bad. It didn't matter. and she would be standing there. When they finished the cave tour he was still nodding. Let??s pick a fancy room. I??m tired. and the night air was cool.

 ??We have a man who??s probably dying. ??She has to wait. Wishful thinking. and below them the saplings grew.????Don??t let them do it. then she would close the door soundlessly.????Maybe. and you know it. ??What are they?????What do you mean?????When the accident happened. He wandered on the hospital grounds for a few minutes. ??This isn??t the computer. He looked tired. They weren??t Celias.?? But he didn??t move. Okay???David took her through the lab the following morning.?? he had said wildly. . He had their absolute attention.??Lucy stood up. red.?? David said. Today or tomorrow.??Dorothy? What are you doing here??? He couldn??t get off the bed. She had missed the Christmas Day celebration. second cousins. The fetuses were developing. but it would be a meager harvest.

 then shrugged. It went four hundred feet to another steel door. none of the finger tapping that was as much a part of Walt??s conversation as his words. W-l. the eldest of them all. He was starting a headache again. but no one spoke. ??I know. run faster. Other side??s national forest land. It didn't matter. some of the girls huddled together whispering what had to be delicious secrets. In response to his questions his mother admitted that no one had heard from her. Here in the hospital. but the garden was green: pale lettuce. leaving only for meals. this one secured by a lock that he had a key for. They??re evacuating Miami. perhaps. I can??t help it.??David nodded. almost at dawn. A4. They??ll destroy what we worked so hard to create. and he felt as if he had stumbled into a pot party. And they would turn their collective mind to one of the other offspring. as if to make sure that they would permit him to leave.

 Interchangeable. Coffee will be served now. all of us???He thought.?? Time had shifted suddenly for the boy; a million years. with an enormous fan in the west window. Say it. There were riots. all sealed. The people had moved out of the cave again. smiling faintly. A time-consumer question.??Walt looked at David briefly and said. nor riches of gold or silver. Galveston. And he saw the resemblance to his own mother in the trio. In the cities the toll had been much higher.??Grandfather Wiston had taken him to the knob once. are you going to pull yourself together? You just giving up??? He didn??t wait for a reply. If there was any jealousy of the two fertile males. still very quietly. Eventually the noise level would rise until adult intervention was demanded. . He shook his head helplessly. incoherent idiot and she hit him on the head with a rock and ended the fight. ??But. and in the golden sunlight it too seemed golden. smashing.

 David. about the necessity of keeping records. Japan and China signed a mutual aid treaty. not able to be rid of it. In February in retaliation for the food embargo. Three of the women were pregnant finally. in a tremulous voice that betrayed disbelief. ??And thank God for that. and found D-1 in the dining room and offered his help in the lab. argued. W-one can??t do anything for him. The ground was too saturated in the valley to absorb any more water. He made coffee. Ten years ago that could have been she. as he had done.David??s head began to hurt and he reached up to find bandages that came down almost to his eyes. copper. dark green cabbage. ??Let??s go to bed. Out of the lot they might get six or seven fertile ones. but he walked on.David couldn??t think of the name immediately. He thought of the elders. . held her and kissed her tears. Galveston. unable to rent a car.

 to Harvard. Here the white basswood grew alongside the hemlock and the bitternut hickory. Mike.Molly glanced again at the small sisters leaning tiredly against the wall. Sarah had moved back out of the way. The days had a balminess that had been missing since September; the air was soft and smelled of wet woods and fertile earth. relieving tension perhaps. a1. . she said. The scene looked pretty. And he told her about the clones developing under the mountain. tiny steaming biscuits.As David grew older.??She looked at him and slowly shook her head. for the Americans. Living memories. Dusk turned to night and the electric lights came on. but no one spoke. ??What are they?????What do you mean?????When the accident happened. David??s father owned a large department store that catered to the upper-middle-class clientele of the valley. but even if the elders knew it was happening. posted for seven. ??God didn??t mean for this piece of ground to have to bear year after year after year. ??I can??t decide anything right now. he thought. They had the best teachers.

 his mind on the work in the lab. of a strength unsuspected in her frail body. not tropical. his hands clenching. or an error had been found in their figures.?? The large farmhouse with glowing windows. she looked cool and lovely. The old Sumner house was rambling with many bedrooms upstairs and an attic that was wall-to-wall mattresses. Six hours without electricity would destroy everything in the lab. ??You??ll see. She had been combing and braiding her own hair for the past half hour. So do I.The family brought their stocks with them. David???He tightened his arm about her shoulders. He and Walt had planned it that way: the cave was impregnable. I love you. David learned for the first time that he and Walt were the sole beneficiaries of a much larger estate than he had dreamed of.??David shook his head. There were riots. slightly stupid. Sarah says Margaret would be good. he had stolen a bicycle and pedaled the rest of the way. and a row of cooking tables and serving tables.??David. ransacked it. One of the newcomers was a C1-2. And I have so much to give! Can??t you understand that??? she cried.

??Celia shook her head. Walt said. David regarded him with the same awe and respect that an undergraduate physics student would have shown Einstein. yours.?? Grandfather Sumner went on. or anywhere else.He passed her chair and kissed the top of her head. Not yet. He looked for Walt. then up again. Eventually someone would become brave enough to open the door a crack. the third brother. They go in and burn off the trees and underbrush. Hilda. when I was twelve. He grinned at David and Celia. formed alliances.?? He started to write then. I think. no more than that. There was nothing he could point to. heaving roots of the trees were clothed in velvet emerald plants. Badly bruised. that she might never make it to the farm. and she had lost a baby in stillbirth. but no one had seen him in weeks. endless blue by day.

 Monoculture! Bah! They??ll save sixty percent of the wheat. he seemed to imply. and finally found himself in his room. Celia.David and Celia stood in one of the upper rooms of the hospital and watched as the wall of water roared down the valley. In October they learned the band was grouping for a second attack. unlined. She was one year younger than David. her ribs seemed to be straining against her skin. It was raining. Dr. smiling slightly. judging by the way they blushed and looked desperate if an adult came upon them suddenly. ??We should isolate a strain of sterile mice. It became more virulent as time went on. Interchangeable. less adaptable to hot weather or dry spells. No one had time to go get them. and a row of cooking tables and serving tables.Cholera struck in Rome. The laboratories go in there. No more pink cakes with pink icing. A figure stumbled up the knob haltingly. And my man says that the plague is spreading again in the Mediterranean area. He greeted David as if he hadn??t been away at all. ??That??ll be our tour tomorrow. and turned again to the desk where he was working.

 He sat down on the only chair in the tiny room and leaned forward.?? D-l said pleasantly. waiting for Celia??s arrival.Her eyes were open. or it never would have worked. and reported to David and Vlasic that no man in the valley was fertile.Three Celias came into view. 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. that she might never make it to the farm.?? she said. He climbed and became warmer. ??I??m sorry about your brother.She laughed. and he knew that he didn??t care. ??This research of Semple and Frerrer. D-l stood up and offered David a chair at the front of the room. The white oak tree that was his friend was the same. At the front of the room she joined the others on stage and waited for the cheering and applause to die. long time ago. ??What exactly do you mean?????Sexual reproduction isn??t the only answer. their long hair held back by braided bands.?? he said.She looked at him then. now joined hand to hand. it??s that team.????We have to get back. It gave way somehow.

 ??Where is she?????Miami.????You spoil him.As they turned onto the broader path that led to the auditorium steps.?? Turning away from David. and short-tempered. If the people also became sterile. as she was and would be. black markets. For nine days he had been on the go.??They might organize. aunts. to Washington.Once. and he remembered the ancient celebrations of the Fourth of July. We have a resilient family. The voices were louder. Forsythias and flaming bushes were in bloom. He caught her as she crumpled. said. vivid green leaves. Then she was still again. a drive.?? Jed shook his head.??Is he still planning to be a biologist? He should go to med school and join Walt in his practice. ??not its owners. So do I. Galveston.

 and they looked the way spring calves always had looked: thin legs. Two years older than they. They huddled under a blanket and sat without talking. He and Walt had planned it that way: the cave was impregnable. ??The corn crop has failed. He sat at his window until it was dawn. the others who worked in the various labs. ??You think I??m going to let you sit up here and die? Not today. David felt helpless before him. It went four hundred feet to another steel door. to the other uncles and cousins in the room. He spotted seventeen people altogether. for letting them starve. and finally found himself in his room. you ready to count chicks?????One second.?? he said. of the recession he feared might reduce his profits. with his nice brown hair ruffled. her lips. God help us all if anyone ever lays an ax to it. into the hills on the other side of the valley. ??Then a meeting.?? Grandfather Sumner said brusquely.??David nodded. not thinking about going home. then they broke. He suddenly became a melting.

 He was a large man with a massive chest and great bulging biceps.  The apples were turning red on the trees when Walt became too ill to leave his room. There were two shifts at work; again a case of damn-the-cost. For a moment Walt looked helpless and vulnerable.?? Grandfather Sumner went on.??Molly nodded. and soon. he thought. the force that should have propelled David from the room was not there.?? he said. ??They took over the Phillotts?? place. Walt for support and finding none. He was in his office. Her cheeks were very red from the cold and the exertion of the climb; her eyes were the exact blue of the scarf she wore. He climbed and became warmer.At the arrival of W-l. son. The winter rains gave way to spring rains. ??Look. it would still be a catastrophe.In August. He thought. but he knew. but trees concealed it from the upper floor of the hospital. He made coffee. of the coming hunting season.  He opened his eyes painfully.

 Monoculture! Bah! They??ll save sixty percent of the wheat. forgive me. ??What do you think we should do about Bobbie???He had arrived at that mysterious crossing that is never delineated clearly enough to see in advance. and they learn farming methods suited to temperate climates. vivid green leaves.?? Walt rubbed his eyes. He walked around his desk and sat down. Then the Miriam sisters rushed off in a group to the tables and consulted and disagreed on what to choose and finally ended up with plates filled with identical tidbits: lamb kebobs and sausage-filled pastries. ??We ended up agreeing that probably there were no instincts.Long after Celia fell asleep he stared into the blackness. intelligently. themselves. austere. She was not well then. until it??s too late to do anything. He made a dash for the door. They returned to the corridor. Of all his relatives his favorite was his father??s brother Walt. and then.??Okay. David??s father owned a large department store that catered to the upper-middle-class clientele of the valley. ??It??s good. or a tall pine tree . but the timbre of his voice was gone. Deep in one of the smaller passages flowed a river that was black and soundless. We agree now that there is still the instinct to preserve one's species.?? Turning away from David.

 Sarah thinks his back is broken.?? She bowed her head and started to pull her glove on again. ??We??ve got to tell them. ??Then you have to kill me. join them or get out. Los Angeles. with blackberry stains and fireworks. People are falling dead. ??Vlasic??s mad.??They must be working on this line. and when the storm came half an hour later he stayed dry.?? he said. and then it started to climb back up and presumably would have reached normalcy again. Some abnormalities were present. ??A marvelous piece of work.Whenever Aunt Claudia came up. At the end of the third day. The older children were supposed to keep an eye on the younger ones. ??They took over the Phillotts?? place.?? He stood up.??No one wants to hear the Jeremiahs.She smiled. while you??re driving. . we trained in tropical farming and we??re going to start classes down there.?? he lied to Walt. which was just over a hundred yards from the hospital.

 During the storm that lashed the valley that afternoon. Ten years ago that could have been she.??Who are those people down there?????Squatters. too many people. other shopkeepers. At ten Walt took his place on the table again and called out. and a row of cooking tables and serving tables. If Four didn??t make it.?? He shook his head. too pretty almost.?? she said very slowly. Dressed in a short white tunic with a red sash. And the priority boards that squabbled and fought and campaigned for this cause or that. David. with little conversation but much laughter that seemed to arise spontaneously. but from the second floor of the hospital.?? He paced the room in frustration. and they looked the way spring calves always had looked: thin legs. and in this room the tanks were glass-fronted. and veered from the laboratory. ??We can generate all the electricity we can use. It??ll be dark in a few minutes. a long. behind David. David gave that up. the babies were W-l. David slipped away.

 ??Something??s going wrong. his and Celia??s. There were no clone strains after A4; none had survived to maturity. Was Walt afraid a matriarchy of some sort would develop? It could. I??ll be out of grad school then. nor riches of gold or silver.In June. The anchovies are gone.????We have to get back. As soon as man stopped adding his megatons of filth to the atmosphere each day. didn??t you??? David said suddenly.??Dorothy? What are you doing here??? He couldn??t get off the bed.?? he was already starting to his feet. and soon. They made us leave Brazil.????But it doesn??t matter any longer. The lower fields were flooded.?? David laughed. Two more girls were pregnant; one of them was a Five. Separate set of systems. and she nodded. One minute pillows would be flying. fifteen feet high. the greenery and the thick. Lucy had fussed over him. Walt studied the assembled people and deliberately said. crude compared to the finished brick buildings.

 spontaneous abortions. Nineteen of us. Her lips were blue. and David entered.??She looked at him and slowly shook her head.  The apples were turning red on the trees when Walt became too ill to leave his room.????When I was his age.??They??ll use the fertile ones only to replenish their supply of clones. formed alliances.?? He pointed toward the operating-room wing. And the next generation will have more who will be fertile. It was a clutter of books. and below them the saplings grew. ??It??s about Walt. What is it?????It??s a computer terminal. ??Why did you leave like that? They all think we??re going to fight again. W-one can??t do anything for him. It metastasized.????What are you doing in the lab now??? David asked. but someone is.??C1-2 didn??t change his expression. He greeted David as if he hadn??t been away at all. only conditioned responses to certain stimuli. somehow. The old Sumner house was rambling with many bedrooms upstairs and an attic that was wall-to-wall mattresses. They had enough livestock to feed the two hundred people for a long time. didn??t you??? David said suddenly.