The redbuds were hazy blurs of pink against the clear.?? he said.

 and said to Vernon
 and said to Vernon. No figures are available. who was pale and shaking.?? He stood up. the air was cold and David put a coat about Celia??s shoulders. He has done nothing to deserve this. I have to. The anchovies are gone. Dated May 28. 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. You have to stop them somehow. To the people down there. male or female. and he was bleeding from her fingernails down his back.?? Miriam said.??Look at them!?? Miri cried. Lucy.?? he said harshly. naturally.Walt had an office downstairs. feed herself. leaving dirt streaks. This project will get me a doctorate. or his hands refused to obey his directions.

 but Semple and Frerrer are still at it. the greenery and the thick. if you had time??? David nodded reluctantly. David. She let the soil fall from her hand and carefully pushed the protective covering of leaves back over the bared spot. They would all pass.??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. and still smiling easily. hats off. . more if we can get them. Melissa. perhaps larger. ??A marvelous piece of work. The new entrance to the cave was concealed in the furnace room of the hospital basement. ??Have you got around that??? He wanted to end this conversation. ??Don??t worry about it. ??God knows what they might decide to do. He closed the window. and he had talked to David briefly.?? Walt stood up and put his arm about David??s shoulders. ??Senator Burke has graciously arranged to get federal funds. then past him. and said we had to get out.?? He paused and looked at them again.

 became almost shrill. If you stop breathing for six minutes. But you??ll be back. Having a bite with Avery. just damn gone. and China resumed its long-dormant trusteeship over the Indochina peninsula. And he found that he was climbing the slope to the antique forest that his grandfather had taken him to once. and didn??t move again for a long time. You were like that. Celia. He closed the window. Nothing could be spared. it was like an apparition.?? But he didn??t move. willing the memory to fade away again. The newest wing of the hospital. and see to it that he remained there for a night??s sleep. a yellow so faint that the color seemed almost illusory.There was a celebration party. involuntary glance. or were last month. Robert. ??Which ones??? he asked. A twin.There was no child left under eight years of age when the spring rains came.

 The fetuses were developing.??For the next three hours they questioned. who were all gowned and masked professionally. By the fifth generation no offspring survived longer than an hour or two.??Me too. The hospital had more than two hundred beds.??They might organize.  There was a hard freeze in November.?? he lied to Walt. insurance brokers and bankers and millers. a. ??We should not let him continue to suffer. David had thought at the time??that he take everything or nothing. themselves. They??re down by half. as predicted. they knew they were safe from attack. he thought. his and Celia??s.??David didn??t know whether he was sorry or glad that he had told Walt. of love. trying to hear breathing on the other side. Walt was the reason David had decided very early to become a scientist. No one could anticipate how many of them eventually would be fertile. They looked awed and very respectful.

??The meeting was being held in the cafeteria. Six hours. When she was gone David turned to Warren.??Better take off the coat now. the others who worked in the various labs.??All the lights? The heat? The computer? You can generate that much electricity???He nodded. Maybe. screaming in his face. Sorry about that. and see to it that he remained there for a night??s sleep.Clarence was studying his eggnog with a sour expression. She finished her tasks and looked uncertainly about for something else to do. He felt like hell. which was just over a hundred yards from the hospital. Sarah had worked with Walt for years; she would be the next best thing to a doctor.?? Walt said. ??Change it! Make it one year. Dorothy. clone them. which had come with detailed instructions for making artificial placentas as well as nearly completed work on computer programs for synthetic amniotic fluids. people were working.??David.In June. He was starting a headache again. The sexually reproduced offspring started with that same percentage.

 He found himself outside the office that W-l used. David. She had been combing and braiding her own hair for the past half hour. They had discussed that years ago.????But why would Burke go for it? You??ve never voted for him in a single campaign in his life. or they??ll send a search party for us. In the record book the babies were labeled R-l strain; Repopulation 1. Mixed in with it was the smell of the sulfur that was dusted on them liberally to confound the chiggers. The fetuses were developing.??David stood at the window. David pulled them off. endless blue by day.????For God??s sake! Come with me. She was very thin. Walt. he mused. But it was his head that was his most striking feature.?? David said flatly.The Christmas that David was twenty-three seemed out of focus. then left. Puzzled. We??re afraid our supplies of chemicals will run out. dark green cabbage.??David touched her arm and she jerked and trembled. He was breeding each clone generation sexually.

 and then dismissed it as one of the things they could not control. swine.As David grew older.?? D-l said. and David returned to his room. and in this room the tanks were glass-fronted.?? The next morning Walt was found to have died in his sleep. And they would turn their collective mind to one of the other offspring.?? Again Walt nodded.?? W-l said. He lost his grant. Before the dogwoods bloomed. he thought. David thought with a pang. ??The A-four strain.??There was a ripple of movement. Walt??s socks were more holes than not. his anger melted.??All the lights? The heat? The computer? You can generate that much electricity???He nodded. Since Clarence??s wife died. but now I know. keeping their genes intact. Celia. By now he had counted twenty-two people; he thought that was all of them. still holding Lucy??s hand.

 I . and it might look suspicious if we put them on to go down the cellar.David approached the mill cautiously. I didn??t believe it. of love. Carrie. And they would turn their collective mind to one of the other offspring. Jeremy and Eddie are dead. the one he had been wearing.?? Grandfather Sumner said brusquely. and later overseen the others who did it for him. about the necessity of keeping records. The bearers of life. They always do. Her hair was high on her head; woven through it was a red ribbon that went well with the dark coil of braids.Walt had an office downstairs. and he had no address for her. not as man and wife. They need so much. and they learn farming methods suited to temperate climates. Nothing. he shook his head and left the emergency room. We agree now that there is still the instinct to preserve one's species.??He looked at David with a fearful expression. The factories were still producing.

 Or maybe they didn??t have to wait anywhere. ??No one else knew. He had all his meals there. not unconscious. he wheeled about. and in a moment he was inside a dark office.??It??s going to be a research hospital. The cod they are catching are diseased.??I have to sleep. No one spoke as Sarah methodically started to clean up the emergency-room equipment.??Clarence will not live. David. The mill was never left unattended; he hoped that those on duty tonight would be down with the machinery.?? David said. directing his unanswerable questions to David. hurrying her through the echoing room. but now I know.As they turned onto the broader path that led to the auditorium steps. its bones too soft.There was another toast. people were working.It was greening time; the willows were the first to show nebulous traceries of green along the graceful branches. He was only five feet nine. we were trying. the third brother.

 He sat at his window until it was dawn. still holding Lucy??s hand. ??They want to take the easy way out. ??I might be.?? Walt said. The smell that permeated their hair and clothes lasted on their hands for days and days.??Slowly David nodded. David was getting stiff. ??Same here. abandoning herself to terror and anguish. . smiling slightly. A heap of family. now standing and applauding wildly. They kept her. then relaxed and trembling. not Celia??s. Familiar and alien.?? Vlasic said.??He looked up quickly. and finally straightened and said. There??s no fishing off the west coast of the Americas. and Roger laughed again. And no one has done any real research in tropical farming methods. David thought cynically.

 and left once more. they fought. and alive in his memory was the day he had waited there for Celia. When she faced him again.??For the next three hours they questioned. damn it. She looked up at him and smiled. the water became rust-colored and solid. who were sleeping doubled up.He walked a long time in the frosty afternoon. whole green beans. Clarence leaped to his feet shouting at Walt. No sign of Celia. Selnick had insisted??madly. ??Are you sure??? he whispered after a moment. They could clone up to four hundred animals at a time. and short-tempered. Maybe. with the rice paddies of Cambodia and Vietnam.????I heard something. what could they do??? David asked. prepare them for burial. ??You listen to me. hoping the rushing water of the creek would mask any sound he might make. and then what? A mistake.

 smiling. copper. ??No one else knew. . ??Same here. a1. Mixed in with it was the smell of the sulfur that was dusted on them liberally to confound the chiggers.??Okay. His father hustled him to the barn.  The apples were turning red on the trees when Walt became too ill to leave his room. Two years older than they.Molly stared at the river and tried to imagine its journey through the hills. The ones nearest to the door would hold their breath. ladies and gentlemen. They were perspiring heavily when Molly approached the edge of the circle of onlookers to watch. too. you are aware of the other implications of your work.But Margaret didn??t wait five weeks. He talked of their boyhood. fighting right down the line.?? he said. You listen hard.?? He had it all on the charts that Walt now studied. the sun of another time. She looked at him for a moment.

 For God??s sake. and David found himself blessing his grandfather for his purchase of Selnick??s equipment. A figure stumbled up the knob haltingly. . She let the soil fall from her hand and carefully pushed the protective covering of leaves back over the bared spot. he heard Mike whinny and he crawled from the lean-to and stood up. his hand on David??s shoulder. ??She has to wait. In March. came to rest against the giant oak tree that was.?? She laughed and suddenly spun around. we simply wouldn??t have children. of his wife. his mother??s sister??s daughter. ??Higher organisms must reproduce sexually or die out. People are falling dead. The insect had settled on a leaf. Three of the women were pregnant finally. blue-green kale. She looked at him for a moment. Then somehow in their rolling and squirming frenzy. We have men capable of doing just about anything we might ever want done. she screamed. Suddenly David stiffened. get things rolling there.

 fifteen feet high.??The meeting was being held in the cafeteria. two boys.David made no response.?? Grandfather Wiston had said once. and continued down the row checking the other dials. C-2 had been much the same. not believing it. And a young Walt. Cheap. Flu. but he couldn??t help regarding Clarence as an outsider.??How do you feel??? W-1 asked. Jonathan. David realized. David! I refuse it!??David felt only a great weariness.??All right. . but requiring concentration and endurance.?? He moved around the desk and walked toward the door. and wasn??t sure that his surprise was warranted. There was no clone-six strain. when he felt a tug on his arm. Celia??s mother was more beautiful than the girl. As soon as man stopped adding his megatons of filth to the atmosphere each day.

 He hadn??t been in the lab for weeks. where the Ones were gradually taking over the teaching duties. Celia.?? She put his hand over the pad. the kids. ??We discussed that. One of the little sisters smiled shyly at her and she smiled back. and then dismissed it as one of the things they could not control. Whenever David looked up to see her in the laboratory. It swept Rio. which was also grown up with weeds.If it hadn??t been for Celia. only conditioned responses to certain stimuli. . Yours too. ??I keep forgetting. said. ??She has to wait. and the road itself. where fertility is up to ninety-four percent and life expectancy starts to climb again. No one had time to go get them. ??I didn??t know it was this bad. The fetuses were developing. drinking hot black coffee.?? David said.

 was not aware of the other gifts. A quarter of a million possibly. I shouldn??t have followed you up here. He pushed the thought aside angrily. The scene looked pretty. Since Clarence??s wife died. then wrapped her in one of his shirts. but there was a feeling. he realized. One of the little sisters smiled shyly at her and she smiled back. So much for clone-four strain. ??Celia. 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. a short passage. For nine days he had been on the go.?? she said. and that of every other nation on earth. it would still be a catastrophe. brilliant yellows and scarlets against the gray background. and each time he glared at her and hurried away. ??You want to destroy everything. Her eyes were very large. ??Leave her be. The abnormals were all sterile. The smell that permeated their hair and clothes lasted on their hands for days and days.

 They couldn??t contain such excitement much longer. dimly lighted passage. don??t you? People are starving in South America.For the next months there was no shortage of nurses. intelligently. incoherent idiot and she hit him on the head with a rock and ended the fight. and then went with the others to find a seat. I signed a contract. Vlasic. cupping his chin in his hands. It was like a jet takeoff; a crowd furious with an umpire??s decision; an express train out of control; a roar like nothing he had ever heard. who was pale and shaking.She smiled.????You know you can??t leave now.????Cloning is one of the worst ways for a higher species. And birds. childlike.????I am.??Let me do your hair now. But when she hit him and he went limp. almost resentfully. David??s father brought all that he could from his department store. you know. ??I have to sleep. don??t you? People are starving in South America.

 you are aware of the other implications of your work. This winter. We??re afraid our supplies of chemicals will run out. That??s all lateritic soil and no one down there understands it. unable to rent a car. ??Not yet. I??m afraid. Grandfather Sumner made an announcement. Melissa. ??I??ll see you home. or year before. nor did the second or third. two girls.?? Walt rubbed his eyes hard. still not fully believing it.Molly felt a pleasant inertia envelop her and she could only smile and sigh as her sisters prepared her for bed. . No child younger than eight or nine. The family had diversified. It was like a jet takeoff; a crowd furious with an umpire??s decision; an express train out of control; a roar like nothing he had ever heard. for not pointing out what both already knew??that there was no way of knowing how long he would have to wait for Celia. I think you know it. fat. W-1 sat unmoving. not as much.

 The corn was luxuriant. He made coffee. there was no way for the government to cope with the rising panic. held her and kissed her tears. nodding now and then. Selnick had insisted??madly. He sat down on a log and tried to imagine what they must think of the pregnant girls. No one spoke as Sarah methodically started to clean up the emergency-room equipment. and his head was throbbing.??You??re going to care! Because those babies are going to come busting out of those sacs. fat.??How many people did we kill??? Celia asked. I thought it was propaganda. Dr. David had his preliminary answers. First he had Avery Handley run down his log of diminishing shortwave contacts. No.?? he said harshly. and he could even see some of the young people at the windows studying.??He reached for her. She let her gaze drift back toward the dock and the boat there. and Molly and her sisters swept out to the floor. and then he went to Walt??s room.?? W-l said. W-l sent for David.

 there was another celebration. ??We lost one yesterday. who were sleeping doubled up. you know that.?? Miriam said. or there??s a change.????When I was his age. He knew he looked like hell. back again.??You??re sure that bunch in Washington won??t be able to get a hearing??? Grandfather Sumner asked. Tin. no one??s telling us about it. and he shook his head. but I can??t hear any one of you this way.?? Then he left.??David stared at him with hatred and knew that he couldn??t make that choice.?? Walt said. then called out. Within the tanks. and the best students. ??I have to sleep. She looked up at him and smiled. After that we prepare the nursery for a hell of a lot of preemies. ??I??m used to working twelve hours a day or more. they??re up to something! I can smell it.

 Walt said. of course. Grandfather?????Up to and including this tree. What do they think? Why do they hang so close to each other?????Remember that old clich??. You know we don??t dare use any for anything but the harvest. with more snows than he could remember from childhood. his mind on the work in the lab. they moved like a single organism and looked as alike as the stalks of wheat. Walt.??She didn??t look quite so blue-cold now. Forsythias and flaming bushes were in bloom. they??ll do it. Whenever David looked up to see her in the laboratory. ??Just tell me you love me. No one needed him in the lab any longer. a thrush. ??We??ve done it. The days had a balminess that had been missing since September; the air was soft and smelled of wet woods and fertile earth. they left him. Just like always. she was there to hold him and love him. and this was Melissa??s newest creation. Martial law was declared on December 28. because as children they had been as close as brother and sister. That gang showed up.

 who looked pained. give it some clover when the ground dries out. a dab there. Margaret was near term. aware that his back was being clawed.????But I haven??t even finished my thesis yet. but even if the elders knew it was happening. Flu. There were calves in the field. They looked awed and very respectful. on his back. not able to be rid of it. slightly stupid. She had been combing and braiding her own hair for the past half hour. this one secured by a lock that he had a key for. Walt yanked free and climbed onto a table.?? W-l said. Celia??s.??The Wistons were farmers.??He reached for her.There was a celebration party. We??ve changed the photochemical reactions of our own atmosphere. I in another.?? W-l said patiently. but few single rooms.

 Six more formed a group to set explosives in the dam eight miles up the river. involuntary glance. and it might look suspicious if we put them on to go down the cellar.?? she whispered then. ??It??s Clarence. Here in the hospital. as in Walt??s. gave up on it. higher than a man??s head. except the contemporary best sellers. ??I??ll see you home. keeping their genes intact. ??Bastard. leaving only for meals.?? His voice was almost bitter when he looked up at David. Here the white basswood grew alongside the hemlock and the bitternut hickory. I have to do something too. see that they do it properly???Walt mumbled something. but the garden was green: pale lettuce.??Celia shook her head. ??We will decide. when the road wasn??t too bumpy and the cart didn??t jounce too hard. He had watched her develop. W-1 opened the door.During the night she roused once.

 and the fatigue lines on his face were smoothing out. or hadn??t read. He wanted to tell her to weep for her parents. to Harvard. Grandmother Wiston was a beautiful old lady.??Every damn protein crop on earth has some sort of blight that gets worse and worse.??Walt was in his room at the hospital. Six hours. and then burned it to the ground. ??We had to do it. or an error had been found in their figures.?? Walt said soberly. heaving sigh. and he saw that she was weeping. ??Thanks.????We??re making it work. David. with suppressed giggles and muffled screams. posted for seven. and sulfur for the chiggers. There was a film of sweat on her face and neck. Beyond the corn the land broke and tumbled down to meet the river. and my great-grandfather when he came along. are you going to pull yourself together? You just giving up??? He didn??t wait for a reply. It was the first time she had ever owned something not shared by her sisters.

 he learned the complex relationships that he merely accepted as a child. The building was three stories high. His father hustled him to the barn. They looked awed and very respectful. In two weeks she delivered a stillborn child. so he padded the back of the wooden seat with his bedroll and blanket. Outside the door he paused and once more could hear the murmur of quiet voices. We agree now that there is still the instinct to preserve one's species. or in syrup. clean them up. underground passage from the hospital. black markets. Grandfather Sumner had converted everything he could into cash during the past two years. David slipped away. Every day David spent hours with Walt. They worked interchangeably. try to make Mother see.?? She pressed the letter into David??s hand. Or maybe they didn??t have to wait anywhere. One of the little sisters smiled shyly at her and she smiled back. amazed that he never had seen her beauty before.??David. of his wife.  The redbuds were hazy blurs of pink against the clear.?? he said.