I don??t know. when David was twelve. Uncles.

 ??Hold it tight a minute
 ??Hold it tight a minute. and the farmyard turned silver and sparkly from this distance. Meg. David didn??t know whom he had been cloned from. Clone-five strain had gross abnormalities. sir. ??Almost two years. As soon as they stepped through the doorway. and for a moment Molly felt a stab of something she could not identify. Work in the classroom. you get in my bed.??But there are only seventeen Fives. The door was steel. W-l. Each time a species has died out. he had had a fantasy in which Celia-3 had come to him shyly and asked that he take her. But it was his head that was his most striking feature. You listen hard. hit harder. .??And they don??t know what to do about any of it. and Miri caressed her back and rubbed her shoulders. and on to extinction. with his nice brown hair ruffled. Saudi Arabia.

 ??This tree saw the Indians in that valley. It had been left almost as they had found it. You know we don??t dare use any for anything but the harvest. a diagonal lightning blaze of gleaming silver. He??ll sleep until tomorrow afternoon. ??A toast to our brothers and our sister who will venture forth at dawn to find??not new lands to conquer. He gripped the edge of the desk. He was a large man with a massive chest and great bulging biceps. Three today. they??ll do it. It was raining. David realized. David. I think you know it. ??The famines are spreading. just damn gone. laughed at their own jokes. getting ready for her coming trip to Brazil. it was golden and soft.??The fourth generation of cloned sterile mice showed the same degeneracy that all clones show by then. getting ready for her coming trip to Brazil. They looked soft and welcoming. or Walt ordered him out of the lab.??Remember when one of your women killed one of us a long time ago. Then he realized that it was growing corn.

 Beyond the corn the land broke and tumbled down to meet the river. and someone took them away to be put to bed. and each time he glared at her and hurried away. ??I don??t think so. longer and cut more severely than the women??s.??Without opening his eyes David asked. He could feel her tears as they fell onto his cheek. They wanted you to know. David and Celia. Molly saw her smaller sisters intent on pursuit. A figure stumbled up the knob haltingly. God help us all if anyone ever lays an ax to it.?? Vlasic said. ??I??ll operate. ??They might form a committee to protest this act of the devil. It was the same story worldwide. The river was a gray swirling monster that he could glimpse from up here. but from the second floor of the hospital. still holding Lucy??s hand.In June. male or female. Behind H-3 the swinging door opened and W-1 came out. I think it??s time you told me. As it would our own. I reckon.

?? Walt reminded him gently. then called out. Her hair was high on her head; woven through it was a red ribbon that went well with the dark coil of braids. Maybe. ??Never again. and at twelve thirty they had twenty-five infants. when the road wasn??t too bumpy and the cart didn??t jounce too hard. Harry Vlasic arrived at the farm. There is a cart loaded with food. I was husky enough to cut down a tree with a hatchet. None survived. No. Three of the women were pregnant finally. but he didn??t press it. ??And I cajoled a few members of the family to put a little in the kitty. Someone was forever checking to make certain that they hadn??t all suffocated in the attic. He was almost to the door when the lights came on all over the building. who??s alive. The house was still there.?? She pressed the stethoscope against Clarence??s chest. dimming outlines; heat shimmered the air above the fields. It??s important to me.??Me too. He imagined that he smelled the fetid breath of a tyrannosaur. The pennant was the color of the midsummer sky.

 At the knob his grandfather had paused and touched the massive bole of a white oak tree. We reached zero population growth a couple of years ago. There was no clone-six strain. no larger than small fists. ??You look like hell. and picked up a metal stool by its legs. ??I??ll get Avery and Sam.??By the end of summer two of the Four-strain girls were pregnant. with deep pools of darkness and places where he would be clearly visible should any one happen to look up at the right moment. He turned off the light in the waiting room and walked slowly down the hall. They would lose three houses when the dam was blown up. which stuck to their fingers. calling as he went. you know that old part where we should have put in a new floor last year.??David. And Uncle Warner said to him. He would pause briefly in the doorway.?? She shivered violently.Molly rested her head against Miriam??s cheek for a second. a few tools. They??re in there. No one protested. had always been farmers. Now. aluminum.

 to yell for them to come running.It was greening time; the willows were the first to show nebulous traceries of green along the graceful branches. he had stolen a bicycle and pedaled the rest of the way. he examined the farm through his binoculars.??All right.??Okay.?? With her hands clasped behind her. David? Hilda murdered the child of her likeness. Warren watched the two young people cover Clarence and strap him securely. and he saw that she was weeping. and that of every other nation on earth. So we don??t know the life expectancies of the later strains. then showered and went to the cave entrance. The road was no more than a pair of ruts that were gradually being reclaimed by the underbrush. raced down the valley. nothing else.As David grew older.??You??ll do another year of donkey work for Selnick and eventually you??ll write the thesis. he thought. Another woman in the room didn??t seem to be aware that anyone had come in.?? he said. Sorry about that. which stuck to their fingers. with more snows than he could remember from childhood. he turned and went to the rear of the house and put on one of his grandfather??s heavy jackets because he didn??t want to see her at all now and his own outdoor clothing was in the front hall closet too near where she was standing.

 Here a stag head. ignoring them. you ready to count chicks?????One second.?? She put his hand over the pad. ??And Mother. But the decline starts in the third clone generation.?? David said. Walt was able to test the males. Uncle Ron would clump up the stairs heavily and there would be a scurrying. ??David. ??He wants to know. their cheeks. and there??s a lot of family these days. drinking hot black coffee. ??You??ll have to double-check. And the priority boards that squabbled and fought and campaigned for this cause or that. Walt simply nodded. ladies and gentlemen. I need rest. ground the airplanes.?? David said.??She looked at him and slowly shook her head. ??It??s Clarence. That??s enough of that. The men wore tunics.

 waiting for her to release his arm. Since Clarence??s wife died.?? David said. W-1 sat unmoving. they know. not with any expectation of reward. He flung his coat off and hurried to her. and she moved to the window also. ??Don??t know who. It had been left almost as they had found it. ??Why now??? he asked. she stepped closer to the shiny control system at the end of the room. When he did return at Thanksgiving. A figure stumbled up the knob haltingly. Walt was able to test the males. The codfish industry is gone. not wanting to sink to his knees in the treacherous mud here in the lowlands. hah. yellow. We??re restricting our exports of food now. support his opposition. They??re down by half. For a moment he could see nothing but a glare; then he made out the features of a young girl. ??Then a meeting. still not fully believing it.

 and he pitied the people who stood and watched helplessly. We don??t have to get married right away. ??They??re taking over. underground passage from the hospital. .?? He started with alarm. And he remembered what he read. We??re afraid our supplies of chemicals will run out. Robert. She made a notation. I??ll tell them. who??s alive. ??Don??t tell me anything else yet. ??Something??s going wrong. looked at him with an expression that was furious. or buy gasoline if a car had been available. His father hustled him to the barn. probably blinded by the rain. But when I saw you in the hall.??David nodded. And there was a steady. whom he especially disliked.?? The weakness in his legs seemed to be climbing; his hands began to tremble.????It??s true. ??Let me stay with him.

 it??s a shock. Maybe. It??ll be dark in a few minutes. Your last toast was doctored. trimmed of all excess with only the essentials needed to carry on the fight remaining. we believe that lifetime won??t be more than two to four years at the very most. He shook his head helplessly. hit harder. They learned amazingly well from one another. The apartment had been made from three adjoining hospital rooms with the partitions removed; it was long and narrow with six windows. Our genes. calling as he went. until it??s too late to do anything. Walt told him the names.??You??ll do another year of donkey work for Selnick and eventually you??ll write the thesis. And we??re not worrying about money right now.??David stood at the window. By the fifth generation no offspring survived longer than an hour or two. Suddenly David stiffened. but she would be there. ??Something??s going wrong. And I wonder if this isn??t God??s doing after all. Carrie. and when the storm came half an hour later he stayed dry. there was no way for the government to cope with the rising panic.

 still holding her hand.??Dorothy? What are you doing here??? He couldn??t get off the bed.??David opened his eyes and met Vlasic's gaze.?? Bitterly he said. He had allowed an hour.??Will you take Margaret home and put her to bed??? David asked. ??It??s good. David thought cynically.W-l continued to watch him for several more moments. ??Celia!??She stopped and raised her head. He went to the cafeteria slowly. ??God??s will. At the door to the operating room he was stopped by three of the young men. David always supposed that the family. the bulbs now covered with globes of blue. but he was not hungry. still holding her hand. Melissa.????You spoil him. On the mat they caressed and delighted her until she floated away from them entirely.??No one wants to hear the Jeremiahs.?? Walt rubbed his eyes hard. ??for each of you we have a gift . ??They have no secrets from each other. She finished her tasks and looked uncertainly about for something else to do.

 Lucy had fussed over him. Eleven able-bodied men. and he was protected from the wind. before the rains start again???They lay under a stand of yellow poplars. David. run faster. They won??t be back. ??And the methods. Waiting. He sat down on a log and tried to imagine what they must think of the pregnant girls. Each time a species has died out. a dull reflection of the dull sky. They made us leave Brazil.??God damn it! You turn around here and listen to me. give it some clover when the ground dries out. locking the massive door behind them.??Clarence will not live. childlike.Three miles from the Wiston farm.?? he said. and later overseen the others who did it for him. He shouldn??t do that.?? Walt said after a moment. And suddenly there they were. The road was no more than a pair of ruts that were gradually being reclaimed by the underbrush.

 ??How did you get that?????Vlasic. and the sisters turned as one. his eyes glowing as he looked over the pages. C-l .??David leaned forward and unconsciously lowered his voice. except for a few ne??er-do-wells. David led her through another doorway. clone them. belt in hand. No fields had been worked yet. Wishful thinking. they saw several of the breeders peeking at them over the top of a rose hedge. ??Thanks. who whinnied softly at him now and again. He remained in the laboratory for fifteen minutes of silent work. ??How beautiful this is! Look.David stood up and pushed his chair back. And Walt nodded thoughtfully. and I understand we have cakes and sandwiches. but for companionship.Three miles from the Wiston farm. She never got any of our mail. he had sought out C-3 and asked her haltingly if she would come to his room with him. go up in one irrational act! You think I won??t kill anyone who tries to stop it now!?? Walt had jumped up with his outburst. and they??re getting worse.

 He had been aware of them from the start. something uniquely hers.??He nodded. ??I have to sleep. meadowlarks. He noted that the garden was not producing yet. ??You are not a separate species. ??Don??t worry about it. David leaned over and kissed her forehead. One night as they walked side by side back to their rooms. bald. pulled the blanket over him. This winter.??In spite of himself David made rapid calculations. but he sobered again very quickly and said.?? he said.??After that they kept guards posted day and night. They would all pass. And Uncle Warner said to him. bald. They all shunned the elders. and her attempts to keep her eyes open.??They worked sixteen hours a day that summer and into the fall. ??I??ll operate. concentrating on it.

??He nodded.Whenever Aunt Claudia came up. still holding Lucy??s hand. C-2 had been much the same.?? The weakness in his legs seemed to be climbing; his hands began to tremble.?? There was no trace of a smile when he added. It is going quite well.Cholera struck in Rome. I shouldn??t have followed you up here. Was Walt afraid a matriarchy of some sort would develop? It could. then turned to look at David with startled eyes. not able to be rid of it. she asked then. David reminded himself.?? She put his hand over the pad. looking at the bleak landscape. Their hands would be stained purple-black by berry picking. and within an hour you will be sound asleep. and then again. my boy.?? Walt muttered. ladies and gentlemen. They got their own two out of there and up to the hospital like fire was on their tails. pink new Celia he understood more fully. The older children were supposed to keep an eye on the younger ones.

?? Walt said. nothing he could attach significance to. same as you and me. and the small group opened for him. She would not move until everyone was back where he or she belonged. There was a celebration in the valley that was as frenetic as any Fourth of July holiday the older people could remember. yanked it open.Whenever Aunt Claudia came up. and other Arab-bloc nations issued an ultimatum: the United States must guarantee a yearly ration of wheat to the Arab bloc and discontinue all aid to the state of Israel or there would be no oil for the United States or Europe.??W-2 was one of the three to accompany him. and what words she said were not intelligible. she screamed. The computer controls the input of nutrients and oxygen. Separate set of systems. His rhesus monkeys show the same decline during the fourth generation. his students were sent packing.?? She put his hand over the pad. The ground was spongy and he walked carefully. ??Comes a time when the earth needs a rest.?? Time had shifted suddenly for the boy; a million years. something uniquely hers. I think we??re going to have our hands full with prematures. No doubt the people down there were just as happy to let the road hide under weeds. ??There??s not a person in this room hungry tonight. and then he went to Walt??s room.

He climbed the ridge behind the hospital. ??Grandfather Wiston brought me up here. for the Americans. ??Remember when I broke your arm???Later. too many people. The writing was spindly and uncertain. The famines are here and they??ve been here for three. But I??m afraid it??s his back. David. that she didn??t move for a moment.David breathed a sigh of relief.?? she said. ??I don??t know how. I don??t know what they think we??re doing now. almost dragging him over. and at the foot of it all were the mosses and lichens. but distantly.David slept where they had left him. The valley is fertile. We??re afraid our supplies of chemicals will run out.?? Walt said after a moment. no more than wishful thinking.??He laughed. He closed the window.?? David said flatly.

 She stopped six feet from him and opened her mouth to speak again. for the Americans. Celia shuddered. ??Where is she?????Miami. smiling slightly. I. a few tools. Margaret??? She clutched his arm but couldn??t speak. Walt.?? Then he glanced back at David. Beyond the corn the land broke and tumbled down to meet the river. ??This research of Semple and Frerrer. Chlorine. give it some clover when the ground dries out. that I have to do something. and test for the reemergence of fertility with each new generation of clones. was rather wealthy.????You know you can??t leave now.?? Walt rubbed his eyes hard. But what he remembered most vividly was the smell of gunpowder that they all carried at the Fourth of July gathering. and he had talked to David briefly.??Celia shook her head. Soon. underground passage from the hospital. He could feel her tears as they fell onto his cheek.

??He stared at her in disbelief.????He won??t be left alone. I realized that I just don??t know. David thought in surprise. Dusk turned to night and the electric lights came on.They worked and slept in the lab. They??re living it. so he padded the back of the wooden seat with his bedroll and blanket. Molly smiled at them and saw that her sisters were smiling also; they shared the pride equally. of his wife. and he shook his head. We owe you too much. He and Walt had planned it that way: the cave was impregnable.?? David laughed. and other Arab-bloc nations issued an ultimatum: the United States must guarantee a yearly ration of wheat to the Arab bloc and discontinue all aid to the state of Israel or there would be no oil for the United States or Europe. . No one would tell us anything about it. ladies and gentlemen.?? he said. or were last month.?? David said. or Walt ordered him out of the lab. and the leaves rustled incessantly though no wind could be felt. ??Why change the plan and tell them now. ??Thirty more dead people.

 She let the soil fall from her hand and carefully pushed the protective covering of leaves back over the bared spot.?? Warren said in a heavy voice. nor adventures to prove their courage. get things rolling there. A4. and it might look suspicious if we put them on to go down the cellar.??. were sacs. but fell onto the bed without bothering to take off his shoes. and then what? A mistake.??But there are only seventeen Fives. ??Comes a time when the earth needs a rest. and then it started to climb back up and presumably would have reached normalcy again. Hardly any of the later cases. We??re all dead. the others who worked in the various labs.??David would imagine himself invisible. the time involved. No one needed him in the lab any longer. with fear written too clearly on her smooth face for her to pretend it was not there. and the creaking of his cot in the next office. don??t you? She thinks you??re so clever. and he thought that perhaps she had drifted off to sleep. I??ll never mention any of it again. and he shook his head.

????I know what your specialty is. It came like that. was watching the smoke curl from his pipe. She had been combing and braiding her own hair for the past half hour. David realized. Badly bruised. and they aren??t trying. and then two of them unrolled the floor mat and waited there as the others guided her to it.In Walt??s office he raged. and a new softness was in the air. but. ??We took a lot of them out. Her eyes were very large. A4. because as children they had been as close as brother and sister. because you??ll see the signs. we trained in tropical farming and we??re going to start classes down there. You can teach here. and then led Mike into the woods.????But why would Burke go for it? You??ve never voted for him in a single campaign in his life. Walt studied the assembled people and deliberately said. He had allowed an hour. ??I thought I was sure. The river was a gray swirling monster that he could glimpse from up here. Suddenly David stiffened.

 sometimes mother.In December the members of the family began to arrive. who would be one of her fellow travelers down the river of metal. all sealed. Just because the higher organisms evolved to it doesn??t mean it??s the best. And there was a steady. ??We don??t want to do that. he crossed the room to the door and opened it a crack. We need a doctor. Sorry about that. A Walt with something missing. screaming in his face. her lips. Cautiously. He remembered the day. hardware merchandisers. the way she almost buckled at the knees. but didn??t. Celia??s aunt. The rain ran over her cheeks and plastered her hair to her forehead. She was very pale. but it was an expected high.??And they don??t know what to do about any of it. She increased her workday to six hours. they all called him.

?? The weakness in his legs seemed to be climbing; his hands began to tremble. Eleven able-bodied men. tell them what to do.????Stitch him up. the chickens are good. a million! Tomorrow they leave as our brothers and our sister and in one month they will return our teachers! Jed! Ben! Harvey! Thomas! Lewis! Molly! Come forward and let us toast you and the most priceless gift you will bring to us. David.?? Melissa called from the far end of the room. With an increased chance of abnormality.?? Bitterly he said.????I love you. stopped abruptly. Forty-one then. and his head was throbbing. not Celia??s. and she looked up and smiled at him. They walked past the tanks. They will. They were wet with perspiration and streaked with dirt where they had rubbed their faces and arms. England??s changing into a desert. It was downhill all the way with each sexually reproduced generation. but the rain had become clean. then said. you can see a dogwood ready to burst open. cupping his chin in his hands.

 I was in Colombia for a while.  He opened his eyes painfully. after a year and a half of barrenness. and would have brushed past her with a quick hello if she hadn??t stopped him. Jordan. There were riots. Walt. a thrush.??C1-2 didn??t change his expression. heaving roots of the trees were clothed in velvet emerald plants. a thrush. feeling hot suddenly. ??Higher organisms must reproduce sexually or die out. Walt was the reason David had decided very early to become a scientist. by God. The one in the middle might have pushed him from the loft just yesterday; the one on the right might have been the one who rolled in savage combat with him in the mud. The Miriam sisters were inventive and artistic. Having a bite with Avery. I don??t know. a cove forest.????It??s true.They worked and slept in the lab. David. Jeremy Streit brought his hardware merchandise in four truckloads. ??Where is she?????Miami.

?? he said. Sarah says Margaret would be good. It??s what I trained for. But only with one another. immobile and terrible. already looking too pudgy??he??d be fat in another three or four years. where down the slopes. my brother. He didn??t look again at David after dismissing him with one glance. then returned to her figures. then chances were that Five wouldn??t either. Walt.?? Grandfather Wiston had said once. No one needed him in the lab any longer. Hardly any of the later cases. Not ten years from now. not as man and wife. ??They probably think there??s wheat there. his childhood would have been perfect. but fell onto the bed without bothering to take off his shoes.??David leaned forward and unconsciously lowered his voice. But C-3 had been different. I don??t know. when David was twelve. Uncles.