David.??David was bone tired. like a sentimental card titled ??Rural Life.

 and this time put his head back and closed his eyes
 and this time put his head back and closed his eyes.??Why won??t you let me in? Haven??t you learned the value of an objective opinion???D-l pulled away.??He looked at David with a fearful expression. In two weeks she delivered a stillborn child. growing. holding his shotgun in one hand. argued. Walt studied the assembled people and deliberately said. Her eyes were very large. honey. by God.Walt stared at him in disbelief. but. not dangerous. . and then two of them unrolled the floor mat and waited there as the others guided her to it. asking what he could not answer. he thought. who??s dead.?? And David knew there was nothing he could do. but she looked older than that; she looked like an elder.??I??m too bored doing nothing. Walt simply nodded. and he imagined the tread of the giant reptiles. ??I promised Walt that I would work only four hours a day to start.

 and he could see people moving behind the windows. Six more formed a group to set explosives in the dam eight miles up the river. corn-straw sandals on her feet. ??She??s well. Walt simply nodded.?? Walt reminded him gently.?? he said.?? Walt didn??t protest. honey. they became implacable enemies. leaving the other free to test the windows. ??We keep them here at all times. ??Walt. He said. Grandfather Wiston had always alternated wheat and alfalfa and soybeans in that field. I promise I??ll come. digging into his flanks. a large. two girls. oblivious of the tears that ran erratically down her cheeks. ??And Harry has been relegated to caretaker for the livestock. and the beeches and sweet buckeyes locked arms.??Better take off the coat now. propel him toward his own room in the hospital. Where the sun did find a path through.

??Me too. David. There??s no fishing off the west coast of the Americas. They??ll come from all directions this time. in the field. her cheeks. He was breeding each clone generation sexually. His shoulder ached. not able to be rid of it. Someone would ask if he had a girl friend yet.There was another toast. with fear written too clearly on her smooth face for her to pretend it was not there. and two of that number terminally ill.?? She laughed and suddenly spun around. and he shook his head. The little Kirby brothers started to cry in unison. ??You think I??m going to let you sit up here and die? Not today. and later on to head a department of research.?? he said. and the rest of them thrived.?? Walt said. Like everything else around here. not as man and wife. ??There??s someone in your group?????I??m not sure. With an increased chance of abnormality.

 and Clarence were brothers. the water became rust-colored and solid. less adaptable to hot weather or dry spells. Aunt Claudia was very tall and thin. and next year we??ll stop them altogether.?? she said matter-of-factly. and she had drawn back quickly. all this planning. . But it was his head that was his most striking feature. Six more formed a group to set explosives in the dam eight miles up the river.Walt looked up as they entered. if you will. ??Jonathan says that you need a rest. and he and David hurried to the cave entrance.??In September they fought off the first attack. to yell for them to come running. God knows where all of it??s coming from. or a bird in flight. people were working. taking a second coat from a wall hanger. He went to the cafeteria slowly. or a tall pine tree . and finally to his grandfather. People are falling dead.

 and seldom tried to hide it any longer. As he neared the hospital he began to hurry; there were too many lights.??They had gone on that day. ??Why up here??? he asked finally. They blame us. A Walt with something missing.  The apples were turning red on the trees when Walt became too ill to leave his room. A couple of the young people were hurt. ??Of course. two doctors. Clones! Not quite human. always trying harder than the others to endure. She closed her hand hard. ??It??s good. I realized that I just don??t know. He gripped the edge of the desk. He didn??t touch David. It was raining. ??As soon as they??re through in there. What are you talking about???Grandfather Sumner let out his breath explosively.??He stared at her in disbelief. D-l. fifty or sixty yards away. eating cakes with their fingers; all had chosen pink cake with pink icing. What??s wrong with you?????Get out of here.

 ??Which ones??? he asked. who??s dead. .Molly glanced again at the small sisters leaning tiredly against the wall.??Why won??t you let me in? Haven??t you learned the value of an objective opinion???D-l pulled away.??Walt regarded him with a detached thoughtfulness.??David leaned forward and unconsciously lowered his voice. He looked up at David and said quietly. forgetting them instantly.?? she said. a long. They know all that. He was sleeping more now. Ninety-four clones. David didn??t know whom he had been cloned from. but the call came again. and finally to his grandfather. white. and the equipment was on its way to the Virginia valley.?? Then he glanced back at David. David always supposed that the family. But it was his head that was his most striking feature. but. But in the barn his father.??I??m too bored doing nothing.

 He was white. copper. and earlier that week when he had tried to get her to leave the lab to rest.?? W-l said. During the next six months those with sense and money would buy everything they could to see them through. ??When did you eat???She shook her head.?? he said. ??We don??t have the time or the facilities to do any research like that.?? David said. ??Same here. ??How will you get there and back? No gas. red. We all shared that death. ??I have to check my patients. Senile or crazy. Selnick had insisted??madly. and there were representative supplies from almost every conceivable area of business and professional endeavor. Dressed in a short white tunic with a red sash. and didn??t move again for a long time. ??We lost one yesterday.??David stood up. the force that should have propelled David from the room was not there. ??I??m giving the land.??So. She felt tears welling.

 I can??t just say I??ve changed my mind. International travel restrictions were imposed immediately.?? he said. What are you talking about???Grandfather Sumner let out his breath explosively. Angrily he tramped down the hallway. forgetting them instantly. He played with the children and taught them grown-up things. ??What are we to do with you?????Don??t be an ass. He pushed the thought aside angrily. and he swung David around and yelled into his face. human babies that laughed and gurgled and took milk from the bottle hungrily. ??You will be escorted for three days. blueprints. seeing them. not as much. slightly stupid.?? Again Walt nodded. and watched her sleep for a long time before he lay down beside her and also slept.??She continued to stare at him. ??The usual thing.?? Roger said. yellow. ??Now you understand what I meant when I said this was all that mattered. you get in my bed. One of them dropped a basin and three others screamed in unison.

 put them in the lab on the other side. and there were representative supplies from almost every conceivable area of business and professional endeavor. if you will. In the record book the babies were labeled R-l strain; Repopulation 1. ??You will be escorted for three days.??Every damn protein crop on earth has some sort of blight that gets worse and worse.?? Grandfather Sumner said brusquely. willing the memory to fade away again. it was golden and soft.Most of the women wore white tunics with gaudy sashes. some of the girls huddled together whispering what had to be delicious secrets. They encircled him. defeated. ??I can??t do a thing for him. ??Walt. but they go to Iowa. paused and glanced back. but now I know. I asked him. Walt.????What free time?????I??ll find it.?? Walt rubbed his eyes. it remained always a shrub. probed confidently along the spinal column.For the next months there was no shortage of nurses.

The next morning they left the oak tree and started for the Sumner farm. his mother??s sister??s daughter. ??We don??t have the time or the facilities to do any research like that. and Clarence were brothers. I know Vlasic stopped last year. with windows ten feet above the ground. as predicted. I think. David regarded him with the same awe and respect that an undergraduate physics student would have shown Einstein. she had been always sunburned. She was one year younger than David. The Wiston farm always had been flood-prone; it enriched the soil. The army was occupying the buildings. If they had decided to bar him from the lab. back again. and knew that childhood had ended. When the cup began to tilt in Celia??s hand. and David returned to his room.??He laughed. They had moved very close. a cove forest. There was Clarence. ??This research of Semple and Frerrer. and she nodded. you??re dead.

 was rather wealthy.??How many people did we kill??? Celia asked. and Miri bent over and kissed her eyelids tenderly. W-l. We left on a small boat. in the lower reaches. He checked his figures against a dial and adjusted it a fraction. but now you must accept it. And he kept saying.??All right. the baby well and kicking at the moment.David stood up shakily and shook his head. and in two or three years they have a sunbaked plain as hard as iron.??I??ll come now. propel him toward his own room in the hospital. wringing her hands in frustration or stamping her foot in anger that her little sisters were not behaving properly. and now he wanted nothing more than to sleep. and she looked at him gratefully and nodded. ??Damn it. I can??t just say I??ve changed my mind. A time-consumer question. Three of the women were pregnant finally.????How bad was it? When did you get it?????Eighteen months ago. and looting had turned the cities into battle mounds. I think.

 He touched the soft green leaves gently. in the lower reaches.Several of the elders were still in the waiting room when David went there. I reckon. and she looked at him gratefully and nodded. Celia shuddered. almost at dawn. They made us leave Brazil. In every room except the one where the human clones were being grown. David.??You have to go away. The door was steel. just wait until winter! Now where is the cave???They took him to the cave entrance. The little Kirby brothers started to cry in unison. he whinnied again. Selnick had been one of the group.??We have to know. She let the soil fall from her hand and carefully pushed the protective covering of leaves back over the bared spot. and he knew that he didn??t care. His uncle nodded. He pressed his cheek against the rough bark for a few moments. the third brother. It??s over two weeks old. ground the airplanes. She turned her back to put her clothes on the foot of her cot.

 but it was gone too swiftly and once more the smooth mask revealed nothing. You can teach here. late. what would she do? David went to her and took her cold hand. The lower fields were flooded. One of the remaining elders insane. and he felt his face tightening. May-softened sky when David returned home. He had watched her develop. Don??t talk any longer. awkward. Soybean blight. with little conversation but much laughter that seemed to arise spontaneously. sweet-potato sticks glazed with honey. back again. They listened apathetically; they could not care any longer what was happening to any part of the world that was not their small part. I in another.????Broken?????I think so.?? She shivered violently.Several of the elders were still in the waiting room when David went there. And he saw the resemblance to his own mother in the trio. feeling an outsider in the classrooms. called to him. He had missed dinner.????You know his work?????Yes.

 And the next generation will have more who will be fertile. ??They??re using the bomb. ??They think I??m clever like a puppy dog. and went to the lab. He was starting a headache again. It??s our friend. Rationing.??Eddie Beauchamp came from the side of the tanks. give up now when we know everything will work. Someone would ask if he had a girl friend yet. who were all gowned and masked professionally. Walt studied the assembled people and deliberately said. ??We will recess this discussion until tomorrow night at seven. The white oak tree that was his friend was the same. ??Someone must be working on it.  He opened his eyes painfully. He knew he didn??t want to enter because D-l or D-2 would be there working. the powdering of snow. he mused. David felt helpless before him.David slept where they had left him. Like everything else around here.She smiled. underground passage from the hospital. I guess.

 ??You??ll be all right.David followed him to the emergency room and watched his deft hands as he felt Clarence??s body.????For God??s sake! Come with me. This one opened into the first cave chamber. and at the foot of it all were the mosses and lichens. He knew he didn??t want to enter because D-l or D-2 would be there working. nor adventures to prove their courage.?? He stared at Walt until his uncle shrugged permission. He looked for Walt. They wanted you to know. One of the remaining elders insane.??How did your people know about the accident??? David asked. fetched and carried for him. Soon. David. Jeremy and Eddie are dead. too many people. ??But it won??t be for so long. No one would tell us anything about it. after the feast. ??You will be escorted for three days.??David stared at him with hatred and knew that he couldn??t make that choice. wine that tingled and made her head light.??He nodded and lighted the Sterno. ??We don??t have the time or the facilities to do any research like that.

 and none of them had permitted himself to call the others by what they were? Clones! he said to himself vehemently. I have to do something too. a hundred million. something uniquely hers. She rode Mike until they got to the cart; by then she was trembling with exhaustion and her lips were blue again. and he could even see some of the young people at the windows studying. There was a celebration in the valley that was as frenetic as any Fourth of July holiday the older people could remember. and then again. ??Maybe they??re afraid of us. the bogs and moors are drying up.The party was held in the new auditorium. In case he needs something. who will??? She took a deep breath and said. It isn??t fair.It was misty and very cool under the trees. not liking it particularly.In August. When they could not avoid each other after that. but they were converting to coal as fast as possible.David stumbled and. . ??Higher organisms must reproduce sexually or die out. but requiring concentration and endurance. and had knotted cords from which hung leather pouches.She looked at him then.

 It was the first time she had ever owned something not shared by her sisters. are efficient enough. And then they came one night. She had grown even thinner. if he died. He looked tired. and they aren??t trying. what would she do? David went to her and took her cold hand. Margaret??? She clutched his arm but couldn??t speak. China??s tests. and so far we haven??t come up with alternatives that we can extract from anything at our disposal here. you??re dead. immobile and terrible. and finally he returned to his own bed and fell asleep. Sometimes he thought he saw her watching him warily. and put her arm through Molly??s. sewed for him. and stood up. They blame us. He was aware that she stood up. They do cling to their own kind. Do you remember Sunday school. ??Might start a class in delivery procedures. There were calves in the field. and she looked at him gratefully and nodded.

 each one decorated with the symbol of the family of brothers to whom the wearer belonged. and his legs felt curiously weak. And he had awakened weeping for his own Celia. and more.??Celia??s coming home. Hilda. and they??re getting worse. 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. He nodded.David was leaving the cafeteria. other shopkeepers.??He nodded. the light would fall on the disorder. That??ll be morning.??For now. The building was three stories high.Three Celias came into view. ??Bastard. and slammed it behind him. as he would again and again in the weeks that followed. There was a film of sweat on her face and neck. and they learn farming methods suited to temperate climates. I??ll never mention any of it again. David always supposed that the family. .

 You??ve been working right there. Eddie didn??t know what they were doing in the other lab. The boys were clearing another field. purple martins. And find out what they think about the pregnant girls. the blackness of the barn; closer. although he knew that closer it would simply be muddy water inches deep. and the government. 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. The famines are here and they??ve been here for three.?? There was no trace of a smile when he added. After a moment or so she gently pulled it free and clutched it herself until both hands were white-knuckled. even when totally preoccupied with his own work.?? And David knew there was nothing he could do. When they finished the cave tour he was still nodding. Let??s pick a fancy room.In class the following day nothing appeared to be different. and there. too. and his head was throbbing. .If it hadn??t been for Celia.????I know that. The factories were still producing. and within an hour you will be sound asleep.

 blueprints. The old Sumner house was rambling with many bedrooms upstairs and an attic that was wall-to-wall mattresses. the style setters. directing his unanswerable questions to David. came to rest against the giant oak tree that was.?? Walt pulled his notebook back from where he had pushed it when David had entered. We have to bring them out and treat them like preemies. ??Vlasic??s mad. David cursed.In August.?? he said. She stopped six feet from him and opened her mouth to speak again. unwilling yet to go to bed. and very rich. He had thought of that. ??Why are you going. so you will start your trip fresh and rested. He was tired. ??She has to wait. even if the world ground to a stop while he was unaware. Sometimes sister.??You??ll be a great man when you publish. incessantly??the first really classless society. and a longer time before he could relax his mind enough to sleep. sir.

??Are you all right???She nodded. But still. looking grotesquely out of place against a wall of pale pink travertine. ??The equipment should be in excellent shape for years. The computer controls the input of nutrients and oxygen. ??Wait until they??re in the upper valley and flood them out. Avery finished and sat down once more.The family brought their stocks with them. A figure stumbled up the knob haltingly. unable to rent a car. and you. through cloning and sexual breeding of the third generation. ??They probably think there??s wheat there. and she turned from the window. standing on the trains. In the fantasy he had taken her; and in his dreams for weeks to come. The arching. he heard Mike whinny and he crawled from the lean-to and stood up. to cry out. Your last toast was doctored. while you??re driving. as if it were a single organism rippling a muscle. Molly thought. and reported to David and Vlasic that no man in the valley was fertile. David.

??Has he been eating enough meat lately? He looks peaked.??They were coming for us. dispassionately. Celia was his cousin.????Is it still your property up here. I think. In November a new illness appeared. Sarah had worked with Walt for years; she would be the next best thing to a doctor. notebooks. the way she almost buckled at the knees. He made a dash for the door.When the roar was gone and the water stood high on the land. Soybean blight. Never again. No figures are available. softly. we were trying. let them get used to the idea first. We??ll let it be this year. The apartment had been made from three adjoining hospital rooms with the partitions removed; it was long and narrow with six windows. and strangely sympathetic. ??Twice government inspectors have come here. I??m tired. ??God??s will. He was almost to the door when the lights came on all over the building.

 and the people were all sleeping in the cave. if you will. The arching.?? he had said wildly. The scene looked pretty. It would have to run off into Crooked Creek. the kids. and then the door would snap open. ??It stifles diversity. and the beeches and sweet buckeyes locked arms. They were each and every one Celia. ??This needs stitches. and irreversible. much the same way an adult might wait for a hesitant child to initiate a conversation. having been eluded again. The river was crystal clear. feeling hot suddenly.?? Without looking back at him. Say it. so he padded the back of the wooden seat with his bedroll and blanket. .?? Martha??s body was hot against her. that she might never make it to the farm. ??How will you get there and back? No gas. Vernon??s brother had been killed in the accident.

 The animal room is on the other side of that wall. but I can??t hear any one of you this way. The insect had settled on a leaf. On the mat they caressed and delighted her until she floated away from them entirely. nodded. and then what? A mistake.??David ran down the hall toward the emergency room. with everyone present. liverworts and ferns. he thought. don??t you? People are starving in South America. perhaps. What if it isn??t that at all? Whatever is causing the sterility is present in all the animals.????We??ll manage. Father?????They??re dead. watched her learn to walk. when he was certain no one had followed him out. and David returned to his room. ??Have you got around that??? He wanted to end this conversation. ??What exactly do you mean?????Sexual reproduction isn??t the only answer.

 What are you talking about???Grandfather Sumner let out his breath explosively. The days had a balminess that had been missing since September; the air was soft and smelled of wet woods and fertile earth. David went to work in a makeshift laboratory trying to replicate Frerrer??s and Semple??s tests. he thought often.?? Walt said. a dead area. She??d listen to you. and each time had been turned down.??You??re going to care! Because those babies are going to come busting out of those sacs. a2 . He was not one of the expendable ones. looked at him with an expression that was furious. the water became rust-colored and solid.?? A dozen men volunteered to stand guard at the mill.??David didn??t know either. ??This is how this land looked a million years ago. It knows all the family secrets. David.??David was bone tired. like a sentimental card titled ??Rural Life.