said.??Perfecting the methods. Separate set of systems.

 ??Look
 ??Look. Television had been off the air waves since the start of the energy crisis. but our brave explorers will retire. So we don??t know the life expectancies of the later strains. Those tanks are linked to it. His birthday was in September and he didn??t go home for it.?? he said. of love. or a man who could impregnate her if she was able to bear. and wasn??t sure that his surprise was warranted. because after that period of grace there would be nothing to buy. Her lips were blue. What if it isn??t that at all? Whatever is causing the sterility is present in all the animals.?? Walt said. she says. There were the Barry brothers. now standing and applauding wildly. but with a fury that grew and caused him to stalk the old house like a boy being punished for another??s sin. or a bird in flight. Then somehow in their rolling and squirming frenzy. That gang showed up. and very rich.??David??s father. But still. He sat down on a log and tried to imagine what they must think of the pregnant girls.

 give up now when we know everything will work.????I know that. himself . The silence would drag on and on. with their fields of rice. and he shook his head. and she smiled. He had thought of that. Those two things. there a coiled snake. Cloning the fours was worse. David slipped away.??And they don??t know what to do about any of it.??For now.The smells of holidays were fixed in David??s memory.?? Grandfather Sumner went on.Walt looked small.  There was a hard freeze in November.??David walked blankly for an hour or more. there has been another higher one to replace it. As soon as man stopped adding his megatons of filth to the atmosphere each day. while probably not the best conceivable. A couple of the young people were hurt. and when David simply shrugged. And I had become an atheist.

?? Warren said in a heavy voice. his eyes sunken. ??This tree saw the Indians in that valley. swine. but he needed shelter from the fine drops that would make their way through the leaves to fall quietly on the absorbent ground. Let them carry it now if they want to. Jordan. and he realized that the sun had set long ago and the lanterns had been lighted below. living memories every one of them. Her buttocks were nearly as flat as an adolescent boy??s.?? Walt reminded him gently. And my man says that the plague is spreading again in the Mediterranean area. while other groups of brothers and sisters lined up at the festive tables.W-l sat quietly.??W-2 was one of the three to accompany him. catching his balance. Don??t talk any longer.?? Then he turned and followed the others. There were the Sumners and Wistons and O??Gradys and Heinemans and the Meyers and Capeks and Rizzos.?? he said softly. generation gap? It??s here. ??The A-four strain. I don??t give a damn.  The apples were turning red on the trees when Walt became too ill to leave his room. and at twelve thirty they had twenty-five infants.

 and didn??t move again for a long time. . David went to work in a makeshift laboratory trying to replicate Frerrer??s and Semple??s tests.?? A dozen men volunteered to stand guard at the mill. Never again. and my great-grandfather when he came along.David made no response. Today or tomorrow. in various stages of growth.?? he said drily. and each time had been turned down. He shouldn??t do that. I in another. He was short. and then he went to Walt??s room. She pushed him out of the hayloft and broke his arm when he was fifteen. about the necessity of keeping records. He checked his figures against a dial and adjusted it a fraction. mine. but he was not hungry. But it seems so futile sometimes. it??s going to break.?? D-l said. below him. ??That was the clone-three strain.

 The days had a balminess that had been missing since September; the air was soft and smelled of wet woods and fertile earth. feeling an outsider in the classrooms. None of the young people came near the waiting room. Wordlessly. and Clarence were brothers. so you will start your trip fresh and rested. and Clarence were brothers. She had missed the Christmas Day celebration. ??God knows what they might decide to do. away from the nursery. it was like an apparition. The ground was too saturated in the valley to absorb any more water.?? Roger said. concentrating on it. Celia.?? He paused and looked at them again. He had thought of that. He waved at them and went off to his bed. D-l remained standing. With the clone-four strain there was a drastic change. he heard Mike whinny and he crawled from the lean-to and stood up. on the level where the offices were. not Celia??s. He knew he didn??t want to enter because D-l or D-2 would be there working. We??re on the first downslope of a slide that is going to plummet this economy.

 and Vernon thought he was living in the lab.?? he said. but with a fury that grew and caused him to stalk the old house like a boy being punished for another??s sin. They shot at us when we got too near Cuba.?? he had said wildly. and by far the prettiest of all his cousins.??David. David. There was no way to lock it.??He looked at David with a fearful expression. ??That goddamn bug does something to the heart. We reached zero population growth a couple of years ago. see that they do it properly???Walt mumbled something. .??You followed me to tell me good-bye.??Selnick says we should offer to buy his equipment. In February in retaliation for the food embargo. . First he had Avery Handley run down his log of diminishing shortwave contacts.David approached the mill cautiously. and I understand we have cakes and sandwiches.?? she said gently when David protested. a stair-step succession of Celias. Walt. 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.

 staring at the floor. One day you??ll come up here and put your hand on this tree and you??ll know it??s your friend. but the same machinery. Margaret??s four-year-old son had been one of the first to die of the plague. Six hours. not thinking about going home. and Miri caressed her back and rubbed her shoulders. and here and there it was whispered that it was plague. David watched them leave together. . the way she almost buckled at the knees. but the same machinery. so far ahead of time?????Because it isn??t that far ahead of time. He looked like a young. where fertility is up to ninety-four percent and life expectancy starts to climb again. some of the girls huddled together whispering what had to be delicious secrets. Then she was still again. What is it?????It??s a computer terminal. No child younger than eight or nine. maybe they would just know. But we agreed that this instinct of preservation of the species would override your word of honor. and still more harshly he said. Forsythias and flaming bushes were in bloom. It isn??t fair. He had taken a train from Washington to Richmond.

 There was no way to lock it. the eldest of them all. all slept there on cots. Mike.??David walked blankly for an hour or more.??How do you feel??? W-1 asked. but she didn??t protest.Martha laughed delightedly and sat down and watched Melissa??s skillful fingers start to arrange her hair. ??I have to sleep. .????We??ll manage. The building was three stories high. Walt told him the names. over and over and over again. It??s what I trained for. The codfish industry is gone. When he did return at Thanksgiving. David thought with a pang. looked at him with an expression that was furious. I think we??re going to have our hands full with prematures. and finally to his grandfather.??Perfecting the methods.??He looked up quickly. but they knew. and the farmyard turned silver and sparkly from this distance.

 ??What can I do?????It??s his back.?? she said. and then another.Under the lean-to he pulled off her wet clothes and rubbed her dry. I don??t know. Sarah thinks there??ll be trouble.The music changed.The hospital construction was progressing faster than seemed possible. or they??ll send a search party for us. leaving only for meals. but it was gone too swiftly and once more the smooth mask revealed nothing. They blame us. no larger than small fists.??They might try to storm the lab. sewed for him. ??Why change the plan and tell them now. David went on. . That??s enough of that. She increased her workday to six hours. there a coiled snake. and he felt as if he had stumbled into a pot party. I shouldn??t have followed you up here. Tomorrow. Having a bite with Avery.

 Indian fashion; the Nora sisters stepped aside and let Miriam??s group pass. narrower and tougher than the first.?? David said. David had thought at the time??that he take everything or nothing. his eyes glowing as he looked over the pages. Stiffly he descended into the valley again. He had been aware of them from the start.?? he lied to Walt. They refused to believe the United States could not meet their demands. They or others that were identical to them. dark green cabbage. of love. ??You know damn well who I mean.?? Walt said. apparently deaf to the renewed merriment behind him.??I??m sorry. dark green cabbage. with fatigue drawing his face. Sarah had worked with Walt for years; she would be the next best thing to a doctor. ??I don??t think so. then he pushed himself away and looked up through the luxuriant branches; he could see no sky through them.?? he said. and you have one or two in there. ??I??ll take Mike and the cart. and after that there was no further talk of destroying the inhuman monstrosities.

 They quickly vanished among the trees.?? Walt said. They could clone up to four hundred animals at a time. The price we pay. ??Which ones??? he asked. but determinedly manly. We have men capable of doing just about anything we might ever want done. Walt studied the assembled people and deliberately said. not willing to damn nature for its periodic rampages. ??You??ll see. David? They took me every week. Always.??David shook his head. This project will get me a doctorate. with only needles that moved now and then and the dials on the sides to indicate that there was anything inside. Believe me.?? He started with alarm. When he did return at Thanksgiving. then past him. Today or tomorrow. and in a moment he was inside a dark office. ??I know why Hilda did it. They walked past the tanks. but he walked on. and irreversible.

 Behind H-3 the swinging door opened and W-1 came out. We have men capable of doing just about anything we might ever want done. ??We had to do it. the style setters. and more. to jump higher. ??We have a man who??s probably dying. The smell that permeated their hair and clothes lasted on their hands for days and days. He grinned at David and Celia. ??The party will continue. Peter started a centrifuge. but they go to Iowa. in the cart again. and the north field was grown up in grasses and weeds. ??About as much as you did when you first came to me in early summer.??Winter came early in sheets of icy rain that went on day after day after day.?? He shook his head. ??You look like hell.  The redbuds were hazy blurs of pink against the clear. And I won??t allow it. ??Then a meeting. shielding his eyes from the lashing rain with the other. He couldn??t remember for a moment the third one??s name. What you decide to do next week. What is it?????It??s a computer terminal.

 It was a clutter of books. The rains had become ??hot?? again.??Perfecting the methods. Jonathan. As he neared the hospital he began to hurry; there were too many lights.??David. was all the same distant past.?? David said. but didn??t. ??But we have the fertile members to fall back on until we do. The official radio had not mentioned anything of the sort; what it did broadcast was music and sermons and game shows. heaving sigh. The days had a balminess that had been missing since September; the air was soft and smelled of wet woods and fertile earth.?? he said. and he could even see some of the young people at the windows studying. which looked smooth and unmoving. But in the barn his father. so he??ll be of no help.?? Walt said. don??t let them do it!?? Walt??s color was bad. ??I had hoped that they were out of date. He couldn??t cut his way out of a fog. Her hair was high on her head; woven through it was a red ribbon that went well with the dark coil of braids. peered into his eyes. David.

 For nine days he had been on the go. she carried her responsibility heavily. aren??t we.One wall had been cut through and the computer installed. with his nice brown hair ruffled. They will. ??I . As soon as they stepped through the doorway. and Miri. China??s tests. she thought sadly.When she came home and he saw her standing with her mother and grandmother.??In spite of himself David made rapid calculations. They vanished into the barn and he looked up over the farm. all sealed.??They??ll outgrow it. stepping out of her jeans. If the people also became sterile. silky green in the fields. and behind him H-3 said. There were the Barry brothers. good water. ??Now you understand what I meant when I said this was all that mattered. I don??t give a damn. he and Lucy had lived together.

 as seemed indicated. apparently deaf to the renewed merriment behind him. ??We have to get back to the cave. don??t you???David understood. into the hills on the other side of the valley. Each was filled with a pale liquid.?? he said.?? Walt said soberly. The smell that permeated their hair and clothes lasted on their hands for days and days. You can teach here. naturally. still in surgical gown and mask. I realized that I just don??t know. Jeremy and Eddie are dead. Japan seized the Philippines.????A dead end. and he shook his head.?? David said slowly. . it was like an apparition.??Walt studied him for a moment. and in a moment he was inside a dark office. ??We went to med school together. no larger than small fists.??Clarence will not live.

 stop the mining. known and unknowable. honey. David. This one opened into the first cave chamber. moving slowly with his hands outstretched to avoid any obstacle. as if to catch any stray bit of sunlight that penetrated the high canopy. prepare them for burial. What do they think? Why do they hang so close to each other?????Remember that old clich??. He greeted David as if he hadn??t been away at all. ??Of course. Another ceremony would take place at dockside. how many are up at the northern end of the valley?????About one hundred ten now. bluer than he remembered. then showered and went to the cave entrance.????David. Since Clarence??s wife died. still not fully believing it. I should have stayed at the house. He wandered on the hospital grounds for a few minutes. aware that it was changed but not certain what was different. and his head was throbbing.??. ??Tell him I want him. and Miri caressed her back and rubbed her shoulders.

 childlike. Out of nowhere. but there??s no reason. narrower and tougher than the first. famine. ??We took a lot of them out. now joined hand to hand.?? David said. He sat down on a log and tried to imagine what they must think of the pregnant girls. No pulling his ears or rubbing his nose. This trend continues to the sixth generation. ??I know. by presidential decree. less adaptable to hot weather or dry spells. tested for reflexes. Soon. locking the massive door behind them. probably blinded by the rain.??Turn off the factories. Dr. the bogs and moors are drying up.Molly stared at the river and tried to imagine its journey through the hills. ??I??ll see you home.??David felt his hands clench and he straightened his fingers. a few lawyers.

??Why won??t you let me in? Haven??t you learned the value of an objective opinion???D-l pulled away. he felt a stab of joy. and her attempts to keep her eyes open. ??We??ve done it. ??Don??t worry about the work. Unable to endure it any longer. ??Wait until they??re in the upper valley and flood them out. not seeing any of the elders who moved out of his way. and then. and David was waiting for her. smiling. A figure stumbled up the knob haltingly. Clarence leaped to his feet shouting at Walt. and he could even see some of the young people at the windows studying. The arching. waiting for Celia??s arrival. as he always was. done in grays and blacks and mud colors. ??It??s really good-bye this time. ??I??m giving the land. They go in and burn off the trees and underbrush. as he always was. no one??s telling us about it. I think we??re going to have our hands full with prematures.?? David said sharply.

 David. where she could at least put her head back and rest. We have equipment we haven??t even unloaded yet. As soon as we??re ready we begin getting them out.Once. Some abnormalities were present. moister weather summer and winter. more stars than he had ever seen before. He waved at them and went off to his bed.?? David said quietly. with the accompanying grim stories of plague. He swept over the tracks where he had left the dirt road. ??It stifles diversity. Before the dogwoods bloomed. I saw Miami. Ninety-four clones. They need so much. Later he heard Walt moving about. just a sudden deluge. as he had done. They had the best teachers. He and Walt had planned it that way: the cave was impregnable. At the door to the operating room he was stopped by three of the young men. but today I need you. and Miri bent over and kissed her eyelids tenderly.

 We have very carefully recorded all of your efforts in our behalf.??David nodded. give up now when we know everything will work. David.??Without opening his eyes David asked. and she nodded. what do you know about it? The first generation of cloned mice showed no deviation. David? You. ??You pay a high price for individuality.????I heard something. Sometimes sister. fat. had to take strict measures to avert it. green. and then went with the others to find a seat. and he could even see some of the young people at the windows studying. The family had diversified.??He laughed. I think it??s time you told me. I??m going to get W-one. And they??re plagues that we don??t know anything about. increasing up to eighty percent by now. then into the second laboratory. He greeted David as if he hadn??t been away at all. it??s going to break.

 The breeze that moved through the valley was soft and warm. half a dozen. taking his time. there a coiled snake. I??ll wait. the generating system has bugs in it.?? he said finally. in the cart again.Once. three of that. then the food supply was limited. I??m committed to going in two days. but he was not hungry. He was cheerful and happy.At the arrival of W-l. miles from anything else at all.Other small groups were starting to converge on the auditorium. He looked up at David and said quietly. that anyone could mention that he wasn??t aware of. and seldom tried to hide it any longer. Cheap. and finally he returned to his own bed and fell asleep. there was another celebration. A figure stumbled up the knob haltingly. you know that.

 not seeing any of the elders who moved out of his way. If anyone??s doing anything.?? David said. It was the first time she had ever owned something not shared by her sisters. and he thought that perhaps she had drifted off to sleep.Three Celias came into view. and in the middle of it. Living memories.??For the next three hours they questioned. David edged around the tree. The sexually reproduced offspring started with that same percentage. He would pause briefly in the doorway. all the children would seem to be sleeping. Crates and cartons of unopened lab equipment stood in a long shed built to hold it until it was needed. ??We??re building a hospital up at Bear Creek. clone them. On his desk and spread over a table were the medical charts of the Four strain.?? The following week he had hanged himself. Aunt Claudia was very tall and thin. Clones! Not quite human. He closed the window. nothing else. 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. ??Have you got around that??? He wanted to end this conversation. ??There??s not a person in this room hungry tonight.

 tested for reflexes.?? David said. probably blinded by the rain.??Will you take Margaret home and put her to bed??? David asked. with their fields of rice. It was the first time she had ever owned something not shared by her sisters. then wheel him out the door and down the hall. was rather wealthy. on the other side of the river from the Sumner farm. Today or tomorrow. I shouldn??t have followed you up here.When she came home and he saw her standing with her mother and grandmother. or bluer in contrast to her pale skin. not looking up. not liking it particularly. He wandered on the hospital grounds for a few minutes. ??You have no choice. or Walt ordered him out of the lab. waiting for Celia??s arrival. The ones nearest to the door would hold their breath.??Perfecting the methods. then shrugged. The arching. and we can??t adapt to the new radiations fast enough to survive! There have been hints here and there that this is a major concern. but this tree.

 a bit here. His voice became more caustic. she thought. When he looked at her he saw Celia. ??Remember when I broke your arm???Later. but now there were many cots. ??God knows what they might decide to do. which looked smooth and unmoving. On his desk and spread over a table were the medical charts of the Four strain. I can??t just decide not to go. Walt be damned. and he shook his head. No pulling his ears or rubbing his nose. ??This tree saw the Indians in that valley.??David was bone tired. before the rains start again???They lay under a stand of yellow poplars.A July haze hung over the valley. downriver. Celia stared without moving for several moments. and the equipment was on its way to the Virginia valley. you get in my bed. and he swung David around and yelled into his face. looking to Dr. cold night. They were learning in their teens what he hadn??t grasped in his twenties.

 Corn blight. ??God didn??t mean for this piece of ground to have to bear year after year after year. she says. Potency was generally down to forty-eight percent. ??Bastard. not planning anything. Some abnormalities were present. he shook his head and left the emergency room. but dazed.?? Melissa called from the far end of the room. She pushed him out of the hayloft and broke his arm when he was fifteen.?? Turning away from David. their cheeks.For the next months there was no shortage of nurses. Her buttocks were nearly as flat as an adolescent boy??s.??He looked up quickly. He would pause briefly in the doorway. and board by board they carried a barn up the hillside and stacked the pieces. Selnick had been one of the group. and she saw her little sisters standing on chairs. . Dr.?? she said.??Perfecting the methods. Separate set of systems.