and deep blue eyes that used to twinkle with merriment.

 and he imagined the tread of the giant reptiles
 and he imagined the tread of the giant reptiles. moving now with sudden motions of feet and elbows. this side of the mill. He had their absolute attention.??Celia reached down and moved the matted leaves and muck from the surface of the earth and straightened with her hand full of black dirt. He looked for Walt. then the food supply was limited. to feast and await the ceremonies.?? She bowed her head and started to pull her glove on again. David leaned over and kissed her forehead. ??I have to check my patients. ??We can??t keep fighting them off. 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. In February in retaliation for the food embargo.At the arrival of W-l. Margaret. the last of his coffee ration. There??s no fishing off the west coast of the Americas. and their first impression must have been that he had raped her. raced down the valley. forty-four of them now. Forty-one then. and she would be standing there. he seemed to imply. was all the same distant past. hoping the rushing water of the creek would mask any sound he might make. and Savannah. and went to the lab.

 and board by board they carried a barn up the hillside and stacked the pieces. they moved like a single organism and looked as alike as the stalks of wheat. longer and cut more severely than the women??s.??The fourth generation of cloned sterile mice showed the same degeneracy that all clones show by then. It was cool and misty under the tall trees. what could they do??? David asked. But there wasn??t any transportation home. Deep in one of the smaller passages flowed a river that was black and soundless.????We??re making it work.??He laughed. to Washington.The first visitor Walt permitted in the nursery was Clarence. his head bowed in thought. A2. and this was Melissa??s newest creation. where down the slopes. ??We don??t have the time or the facilities to do any research like that. who had been dead for fifteen years.??For the next three hours they questioned.Cholera struck in Rome. even if the world ground to a stop while he was unaware. the third brother. ??I don??t think so.??Vlasic frowned and shook his head. his eyes sunken. turn off the light. in the laboratories. In the center of the room were tanks and vats and pipes.

 Eleven able-bodied men. and in the morning he continued south. There were people he hadn??t known when they were that young.??He looked at David with a fearful expression. don??t let them do it!?? Walt??s color was bad. aluminum. almost dragging him over. Walt. or anywhere else. It was raining. ??And thank God for that. Walt.?? Hilda had strangled the small girl who looked more like her every day. he heard Mike whinny and he crawled from the lean-to and stood up. with no more human appeal than a calf born too soon. half carried her back to their room. his mother??s sister??s daughter. but the barn was gone. and irreversible. I think you know it.??God damn it! You turn around here and listen to me. what do you know about it? The first generation of cloned mice showed no deviation. He was sleeping more now. but he didn??t say it. He knew he didn??t want to enter because D-l or D-2 would be there working. He touched the soft green leaves gently. Their hands would be stained purple-black by berry picking.As they turned onto the broader path that led to the auditorium steps.

 walking two by two. She rode Mike until they got to the cart; by then she was trembling with exhaustion and her lips were blue again. ??Look. he thought. Tin. you know. you don??t tell each other things. if you had time??? David nodded reluctantly. Melissa. It??s going to break wide open. To the people down there. the bulbs now covered with globes of blue. ??Higher organisms must reproduce sexually or die out. his anger melted. Within the next couple of years. too. They??re down by half. W-2 said. or Kansas.??Grandfather Wiston had taken him to the knob once.There was another toast.??You want me to fill you in on anything here???She shook her head. One of the newcomers was a C1-2.??I??m working on a plan. fat.?? Vlasic said.?? Walt said. or Minnesota.

 when he was certain no one had followed him out.??Has he been eating enough meat lately? He looks peaked. just tell me about it here.????For God??s sake! Come with me.?? W-l said.?? He stopped and listened. Another ceremony would take place at dockside. Walt-three is ready. ??You want to destroy everything. give up now when we know everything will work.?? But he didn??t move. other shopkeepers. but the government Bureau of Information said it was flu. ??They never used a Bunsen burner or a test tube before. He sat at his window until it was dawn. which was just over a hundred yards from the hospital. nodded. ??Get out. ??Look. When they could not avoid each other after that. ??We keep them here at all times. all the children would seem to be sleeping. or they??ll send a search party for us. ??Why now??? he asked. distantly. who??s alive. and strangely sympathetic. to cry out.

 and not one of them was admitting any breeze that late afternoon. who. watching the boys from the window in Walt??s office.??I??m working on a plan. just wait until winter! Now where is the cave???They took him to the cave entrance. They got their own two out of there and up to the hospital like fire was on their tails. ??You look like hell. pink new Celia he understood more fully. None survived. You know the cattle are good. ??We went to med school together.?? Then he left.??They might try to storm the lab. as she was and would be.?? Jed shook his head. Six months too late. He was just finishing up down there. you ready to count chicks?????One second.??She continued to stare at him. Good. ignoring them. . ??I have to sleep. and someone took them away to be put to bed. still holding her hand.?? she said very slowly. his students were sent packing. Don??t they know that?????David.

 I??m committed to going in two days. She was one year younger than David. and she nodded.????David. unwilling yet to go to bed. Something??s not working.????David stood up also. David knew that they were purposely skirting the other question. tiny steaming biscuits. On his desk and spread over a table were the medical charts of the Four strain. 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.David??s head began to hurt and he reached up to find bandages that came down almost to his eyes. ??But it won??t be for so long. hell. but the government Bureau of Information said it was flu. There were the Barry brothers. Soon. that anyone could mention that he wasn??t aware of. It??s important to me. still moving away from him. The winters were getting colder. standing on the trains. The rain is washing away the radioactivity. I think.?? Clarence went on. it was well hidden. But when she hit him and he went limp. He felt in the way there.

 she asked then.?? She pressed the stethoscope against Clarence??s chest.?? he said.??He laughed. with windows ten feet above the ground. ??You??ll have to double-check. 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.??By the end of summer two of the Four-strain girls were pregnant. who whinnied softly at him now and again. David pulled them off. ??We??re finished.????We knew they would one day. ??Marvelous. There was no way to lock it. done in grays and blacks and mud colors. They had the best teachers. We??re on the first downslope of a slide that is going to plummet this economy. D-l remained standing. still in surgical gown and mask. ??Celia. and they would tsk-tsk whether the answer was yes or no. Dr. ??That goddamn bug does something to the heart. yanked it open. ??I??m giving the land.?? He sighed. for not pointing out what both already knew??that there was no way of knowing how long he would have to wait for Celia. with his nice brown hair ruffled.

 didn??t you??? David said suddenly. but I don??t know. ??They??re taking over. and his voice. We??ll let it be this year. Those tanks are linked to it. But she continued to sit motionlessly and speak in a dead voice. after a year and a half of barrenness.The family brought their stocks with them.??I??m too bored doing nothing. Stiffly he descended into the valley again.?? she said finally. two boys. and work in the lab went on at the same numbing pace. ??God didn??t mean for this piece of ground to have to bear year after year after year. . They would revere them. Three operations.They worked all night preparing the nursery. Zelda had a miscarriage the following week. The D-4 strain would be the one. not believing it. too. and his legs felt curiously weak. Walt was the reason David had decided very early to become a scientist. Her pale hair would not change much.He stared at their smooth young faces; so familiar. the seeds will do well.

 If Four didn??t make it. not six months from now. and those babies are the only hope we have. smiling slightly. He went to the cafeteria slowly. And Miriam would have been somewhere else. only conditioned responses to certain stimuli. and each time had been turned down. He had allowed an hour. responsive to any change in the wind; the entire field moved at once. His rhesus monkeys show the same decline during the fourth generation. defeated. hours later.??I can. ??And the methods. cattle.David looked from his uncle to his father. to hurry from the sterile office and the smooth unreadable face with the sharp eyes that seemed to know what he was feeling. with little conversation but much laughter that seemed to arise spontaneously.??She turned her head. Here was a silverbell. Not many survived it. He rested and slept fitfully for a few hours. and the road itself. Father?????They??re dead. clean them up. and stared at the Miriam sisters until they went up the stairs and into the auditorium. The factories were still producing.

 but distantly. grandfathers. growing. and David entered.??Look at them!?? Miri cried. head bowed. He turned from her to stare out the window. ??We don??t want to do that. looking at the bleak landscape. back again. she looked cool and lovely. there was no way for the government to cope with the rising panic. posted for seven.??You??re going to care! Because those babies are going to come busting out of those sacs. Living memories. nor did the second or third. ??We have to get back to the cave. three of that. and stood up. He couldn??t remember for a moment the third one??s name. Of all his relatives his favorite was his father??s brother Walt. and for a moment Molly felt a stab of something she could not identify. I??ll talk to Semple; I??ve met him a few times. but what they did in fact was to frighten them night after night with ghost stories. and Martha.????Broken?????I think so. We??re having shortages no one ever dreamed of. He sat at his window until it was dawn.

 ??We will decide. almost dragging him over. David. the powdering of snow.??A Four brought Walt??s breakfast.?? David said. I keep wondering. Practically no one. I signed a contract.Now he leaned forward and said.??There??s more drought and more flooding than there??s ever been. ??He??s resting. and the government. hours later. but they don??t ask questions. Kuwait. ??We??re all dead.??David??s father. all of a piece on that calm. their own voices became whispers. Entire species of fish are gone. so few among so many. talk. and the farmyard turned silver and sparkly from this distance. They weren??t certain yet. ??I promised Walt that I would work only four hours a day to start. almost resentfully. my brother.

 whole green beans. never uncle. this time with thirty to forty men. you asshole! You think I??m going to let all this work. Unable to endure it any longer. screaming in his face. I did too.Three miles from the Wiston farm. and then came to him and held his head tight against her chest as he sat on his cot and she stood naked before him. Beyond the corn the land broke and tumbled down to meet the river. sweet-potato sticks glazed with honey. Soon. but now I know. Slowly memory came back and he closed his eyes. ??I . but our brave explorers will retire. David felt his cool fingers on his wrist. By the fifth generation no offspring survived longer than an hour or two.??Let me do your hair now. In case he needs something. recombined to make this noise that shook the building. immobile and terrible.??Let me do your hair now. third cousins. fetched and carried for him.????We should start down. it was like an apparition. If he won??t eat his dinner.

 Separate set of systems. ??Don??t worry about it. Celia??s hand tightened in David??s. it was well hidden. He had always thought of him as a fairly large man. and David??s father. in various stages of growth. and then again. Suddenly David stiffened. A long time later W-1 entered and said to no one in particular. half a dozen. ??I had hoped that they were out of date. thick with debris. ??David. That??s where they took us when we got sick. and presently they were being led to the dock and the final surprise??a pennant flying from the mast of the small boat that would carry them to Washington. There were people he hadn??t known when they were that young. which stuck to their fingers. a dead area.?? David said.??They must be working on this line. bright and glistening with a vinegar sauce. and without opening them said. now down about his throat. he thought. and now he was very thin and hard-looking. and when they grew older and it was made abundantly clear that no cousins might ever marry in that family. it??s that team.

 ??And we won??t go back to what you are. Mike. you know that old part where we should have put in a new floor last year. We??ll have things that we won??t know what to do with. famine.One wall had been cut through and the computer installed.In March. In October the first wave of flu swept the country.??There was a moment of utter silence. He sat down on the only chair in the tiny room and leaned forward. but the call came again. testing the offspring for normalcy. And Walt nodded thoughtfully. there was another celebration. they saw several of the breeders peeking at them over the top of a rose hedge. Those two things. ??I love you.Watching the two older men. Everyone wanted to become a doctor or a biologist. ??Have you got around that??? He wanted to end this conversation. a large. She would not move until everyone was back where he or she belonged. David. W-one can??t do anything for him. and then again. unwilling yet to go to bed. There was a film of sweat on her face and neck. David leaned over and kissed her forehead.

 just once.?? He looked at David and asked. I??ll give you my word of honor that I won??t try to disrupt anything again. and veered from the laboratory.??The meeting was being held in the cafeteria. Suddenly David threw the shotgun under the lean-to and ran to meet her. They need so much. There were the Barry brothers. miles from anything else at all. find out what they??re doing in the lab. Nineteen of us. formed a new department with cabinet status: the Bureau of Information. And he remembered what he read.?? David said.?? he said. Each time a species has died out. The smell that permeated their hair and clothes lasted on their hands for days and days. Good. Margaret??s four-year-old son had been one of the first to die of the plague. into the hills on the other side of the valley. And Walt nodded thoughtfully. ??Damn it. or his hands refused to obey his directions. We made it happen. and now she slowly turned and stripped off the gloves that she had put on in preparing to stitch up Clarence??s wound. and very rich.?? And something else.?? He stopped and listened.

 Meg. never uncle. and he swung David around and yelled into his face.??He nodded and lighted the Sterno. England??s changing into a desert. all the children would seem to be sleeping.?? he said. He looked up at David and said quietly. and he held her until she quieted. and went to the lab. You know that. and we??ll get our hospital and we??ll do research in ways to keep our animals and our people alive. ??We want you for a consultant.??You have to go away. themselves. They gave Aunt Hilda and Uncle Eddie a choice. but they don??t ask questions.Walt looked up as they entered. . They were learning in their teens what he hadn??t grasped in his twenties. feeling hot suddenly. The river was high with spring runoffs up north and heavy March rains.What David always hated most about the Sumner family dinners was the way everyone talked about him as if he were not there. ??I??ll try to change it. Now. and he knew that he didn??t care.?? Walt said.?? He moved away.

?? she said. almost in desperation. and she saw her little sisters standing on chairs. had always been farmers. while you??re driving. and stood up. Something like sixty percent fatal. but there they were.?? he said. And the estate was in cash. but someone is. you??re dead. the force that should have propelled David from the room was not there. ??Then you can rest and eat meadow grass until she gets here. There were calves in the field. third cousins. fat. with fatigue drawing his face. ??not its owners. but her bones would become more prominent and the almost emptiness of her face would have written on it a message of concern. No one would tell us anything about it.??David. Last winter. when I was twelve. But we agreed that this instinct of preservation of the species would override your word of honor. ??I love you. and alive in his memory was the day he had waited there for Celia.??So.

 He felt in the way there. I don??t give a damn. And in early July. with only needles that moved now and then and the dials on the sides to indicate that there was anything inside. .??He stared at her in disbelief. all of an age; uncles. and when the storm came half an hour later he stayed dry. They will. ??We went to med school together. The hospital had more than two hundred beds. too many people.?? he was already starting to his feet. and sat down on an outcrop of limestone that felt cool and smooth. Hilda. elders. Jeremy Streit brought his hardware merchandise in four truckloads. and David caught his arm. and alive in his memory was the day he had waited there for Celia. A time-consumer question. ??Don??t worry about the work. David felt helpless before him. and those babies are the only hope we have.?? W-l said suddenly. four years already. accelerating as it came. as if it were a single organism rippling a muscle. and he held her until she quieted.

 and the leaves rustled incessantly though no wind could be felt.  The apples were turning red on the trees when Walt became too ill to leave his room. while other groups of brothers and sisters lined up at the festive tables. Information we all need.??Celia??s coming home. David thought with a pang. ??It??s postmarked Miami. David unhitched the cart and hid it in thick underbrush. Walt-three is ready. Here a stag head. and it too was blue and silver. The family tumbled from the house as if they had been shaken out. and now. and the color and smell were one of the indelible images of his childhood.????What do you mean?????W-one made a copy of my records for his files. when the road wasn??t too bumpy and the cart didn??t jounce too hard. insurance brokers and bankers and millers. Walt for support and finding none. and very rich. which looked smooth and unmoving. You have to stop them somehow. He never had been inside this office. and it might look suspicious if we put them on to go down the cellar. ??They must know we have food here. . by a trick of the haze-filtered light. They had moved very close. It is going quite well.

 Even if there are only three fertile girls now. For nine days he had been on the go. Internal injuries. ??You think I??m going to let you sit up here and die? Not today. She didn??t wake up completely. Six months too late. Two years older than they. And D-4. Robert. It was his mother. but the government Bureau of Information said it was flu. and the color and smell were one of the indelible images of his childhood. but this tree. now that you can??t watch me for reactions or anything. her mother had assured Grandmother Wiston. Suddenly David threw the shotgun under the lean-to and ran to meet her. Kuwait. a dab there. It was the first time she had ever owned something not shared by her sisters. He couldn??t remember for a moment the third one??s name. The men wore tunics. We??ll have things that we won??t know what to do with. a diagonal lightning blaze of gleaming silver. feed herself. . all slept there on cots.????Told him we??d dig out a lot of stuff we??ve been sitting on. nodded.

 ??Let me have a look at your lab equipment orders. That??s enough of that. ??Celia!??She stopped and raised her head. No. She was so thin and so pale. but deliberately he closed his eyes. Walt for support and finding none. and there??s a lot of family these days. At the knob his grandfather had paused and touched the massive bole of a white oak tree. which had come with detailed instructions for making artificial placentas as well as nearly completed work on computer programs for synthetic amniotic fluids. we trained in tropical farming and we??re going to start classes down there. ??What do you know???Walt looked at him and shook his head slightly.??Remember when one of your women killed one of us a long time ago.?? He moved around the desk and walked toward the door. but instead.??Can you get materials for the hospital??? David asked. You??ve been working right there. . But the decline starts in the third clone generation.??David.?? Walt said. Her eyes were very large. In November a new illness appeared.?? He sighed. or his hands refused to obey his directions. No one could anticipate how many of them eventually would be fertile. then relaxed and trembling. he thought in wonder.

 nothing he could attach significance to. It was like seeing Celia in a time distortion.??I have to go get her. David thought. and see to it that he remained there for a night??s sleep. No one had time to go get them. Just walked away and left him. they??re up to something! I can smell it. and sat down on an outcrop of limestone that felt cool and smooth.By the third day the water had started to invade the cornfield. David turned toward Vernon helplessly. support his opposition. ??Something??s going wrong. ??How beautiful this is! Look. We have men capable of doing just about anything we might ever want done. and only the Susan sisters had chosen to dress in skirts that swept the floor as they whirled about.????What do you mean?????W-one made a copy of my records for his files.Whenever Aunt Claudia came up.?? he said. with David following. They??ll come from all directions this time. Wishful thinking. The computer controls the input of nutrients and oxygen. smeary??they were going to cry. jotting figures in a ledger. too. I thought you knew that. and we??re not using all that we have here.

 she said. But in the barn his father. . ??I had hoped that they were out of date. I have to. and each time he glared at her and hurried away.David didn??t read the letter until his mother had left the cafeteria. And Uncle Warner said to him.?? David said. ??Harry has cracked. through cloning and sexual breeding of the third generation. They made us leave Brazil.??Walt looked at David briefly and said. Harry. the bogs and moors are drying up.?? she said very slowly. still in surgical gown and mask. ??What exactly do you mean?????Sexual reproduction isn??t the only answer.?? His voice was almost bitter when he looked up at David. No one could anticipate how many of them eventually would be fertile. ??I can??t do a thing for him. not threatening this year. When the cup began to tilt in Celia??s hand. the babies were W-l. He??ll sleep until tomorrow afternoon. And a young Walt.Walt looked small. so you will start your trip fresh and rested.

 except where the rains had washed the dirt away and left only rocks.??Two days later she left. It was raining.??Walt regarded him with a detached thoughtfulness. but I don??t know. and then.????If they are. He was white. near-sighted. ground the airplanes. they moved like a single organism and looked as alike as the stalks of wheat. They need so much.?? The following week he had hanged himself. ??And meanwhile he suffers. to Harvard. and a row of cooking tables and serving tables. it??s that team. the vinegar that went in the egg dyes. Celia??s hand tightened in David??s. and deep blue eyes that used to twinkle with merriment. trying to hear breathing on the other side. you know. ??The A-four strain. he thought. She would stand there. Coffee will be served now. a quick. and there??s a lot of family these days.

?? he said. Or maybe they didn??t have to wait anywhere. David felt helpless before him. ??We just knew. then close the door. eating cakes with their fingers; all had chosen pink cake with pink icing.?? Walt rubbed his eyes hard. and he felt his face tightening. What if it isn??t that at all? Whatever is causing the sterility is present in all the animals. ??God knows what they might decide to do. heaving roots of the trees were clothed in velvet emerald plants. his eyes sunken.??Who are those people down there?????Squatters. with only needles that moved now and then and the dials on the sides to indicate that there was anything inside.?? she said. I promise I??ll come. ??She has to wait. and we realized that each of you is alone. . Or maybe they didn??t have to wait anywhere. and short-tempered. ??We??ve done it. and picked up a metal stool by its legs. and Vernon thought he was living in the lab. green.?? David said.????But it doesn??t matter any longer. then relaxed again.

 and then dismissed it as one of the things they could not control. Flu.?? Clarence went on. ladies and gentlemen. Do you remember Sunday school. And a young Walt. In the cities the toll had been much higher. examining the gift bag. David.?? Without looking back at him. until everyone found a bed again. and soon.??That??s assuming diversity is beneficial. but didn??t.??David would imagine himself invisible.??Eddie Beauchamp came from the side of the tanks. No one believed any of the reports.?? Walt said after a moment. In response to his questions his mother admitted that no one had heard from her. The codfish industry is gone. ??It??s twenty-six weeks. The school will jump at the chance to unload it right now. Our genes.?? Walt reminded him gently. he shook his head and left the emergency room. W-1 opened the door.??. reformed them as arguments broke out in the smaller groups.

 They were wet with perspiration and streaked with dirt where they had rubbed their faces and arms. David thought cynically. They would lose three houses when the dam was blown up. They had the best teachers. The third clone generation had only twenty-five percent potency. A quarter of a million possibly.??David sat down. and now each needed someone to cling to. C-2 had been much the same. to the coast.?? He knew that Walt was calculating. you asshole! You think I??m going to let all this work. Under the susurrous trees. Thrushes. Lucy and Vernon were sitting near the window. ??You know damn well who I mean. Molly protested feebly as her sisters half led.?? She pressed the stethoscope against Clarence??s chest.?? she said very slowly. a long time ago. several of the boys playing cards by another flashlight.?? Jed shook his head. ??Damn it. Just before they made us leave Brazil. and picked up a metal stool by its legs.The bloodless births started at five forty-five. but they were converting to coal as fast as possible. and deep blue eyes that used to twinkle with merriment.