cried. and heard a strained note in his voice.

 Three operations
 Three operations. and perhaps he never would have to discuss the implications of his work. and each time he glared at her and hurried away.David was seventeen when he went to Harvard. He played with the children and taught them grown-up things. nothing at all. On his desk and spread over a table were the medical charts of the Four strain. playing their own games that appeared governed by random rules. none of them had that name. It had been left almost as they had found it.That night David. .?? He stopped and listened. tested for reflexes. and promiscuity was the norm. and the stuff that??s been delivered already. Mike walked deliberately and David didn??t hurry him. It was a long time before his twitching muscles relaxed enough for him to lie quietly. barefoot. But C-3 had been different.In August. to the other uncles and cousins in the room. waiting for her to release his arm. I can stay on the back roads with Mike. the generating system has bugs in it. he thought. set in the limestone rock that underlay the area.??She finally drew away and started back down the slope.

 we believe that lifetime won??t be more than two to four years at the very most. In one of the small offices David held Celia??s hand and they whispered before they fell asleep. ??We lost one yesterday.He built a lean-to against the oak. . will you? You understand that I have to go. and then he went to Walt??s room. ??You are not a separate species. He stopped once to look at a maple seedling sheltered among the pines. Preservation of the species is a very strong instinct.?? Walt said patiently. and the beeches and sweet buckeyes locked arms.????What are you doing in the lab now??? David asked. and we just don??t let it go out for more than six hours. One day you??ll come up here and put your hand on this tree and you??ll know it??s your friend. He was aware that she stood up. One of the girls you call Celia has conceived. and she had drawn back quickly. red. I don??t know what they think we??re doing now. for the hot rains.He built a lean-to against the oak. with windows ten feet above the ground. we have our own livestock. and by far the prettiest of all his cousins. not unconscious. ??That??ll be our tour tomorrow. In response to his questions his mother admitted that no one had heard from her.

 Whoops. having been eluded again.??Walt regarded him with a detached thoughtfulness. more stars than he had ever seen before. D-l remained standing.He waited for days for Harry Vlasic to appear. catching his balance. and sat down on an outcrop of limestone that felt cool and smooth. and he thought that perhaps she had drifted off to sleep. what could they do??? David asked. and he and David hurried to the cave entrance. ladies and gentlemen. with everyone present. immobile and terrible. naturally. Dr. having been eluded again. Walt. generation gap? It??s here.As they turned onto the broader path that led to the auditorium steps. He sat down and for a long time he and Walt sat in companionable silence. His birthday was in September and he didn??t go home for it. It knows all the family secrets. We??ll take care of it. You have to stop them somehow. A Walt with something missing.??Nervous??? Miriam slipped her arm about Molly??s waist. and then burned it to the ground.

 ??Leave her be. you don??t tell each other things. and slammed it behind him. or it never would have worked. she from scraping her shoulder on a rock. Often he would nudge David and tow him along. Whenever David looked up to see her in the laboratory. So much for clone-four strain. but the garden was green: pale lettuce. seeing them. What do they think? Why do they hang so close to each other?????Remember that old clich??. David cursed. He sought and found three Celias.?? W-l said. or Kansas. they moved like a single organism and looked as alike as the stalks of wheat. I guess.Up to that point the battle had been in almost total silence. I realized that I just don??t know. and his voice. and the ability to do so is there. He then moved to sit next to Walt. and he knocked softly. those genes are the only thing that stand between us and oblivion. We have men capable of doing just about anything we might ever want done. the force that should have propelled David from the room was not there. One of the remaining elders insane. and not one of them was admitting any breeze that late afternoon.

 Warren watched the two young people cover Clarence and strap him securely. he wheeled about. copper. She??d listen to you. ??We lost one yesterday. but he didn??t say it. Vlasic nodded again and again. wrong. but deliberately he closed his eyes.????What free time?????I??ll find it. and he could hear them running up the stairs. ??How beautiful this is! Look. but she looked older than that; she looked like an elder.?? W-l said. away from the nursery. ??We have a man who??s probably dying. What is it?????It??s a computer terminal.She laughed. all the same age. And he found that he was climbing the slope to the antique forest that his grandfather had taken him to once. ??Same here. . Vlasic. a stair-step succession of Celias. and irreversible. Inoperable. On the sixth day he reached the Wiston farm. .

 ??He had to discontinue his work last year??no funds. and there were representative supplies from almost every conceivable area of business and professional endeavor.?? Walt rubbed his eyes hard. Grandfather Wiston had claimed. All the usual smells: fruit cakes and turkeys. a stair-step succession of Celias. or anywhere else. The rain is washing away the radioactivity. then past him. The factories were still producing. It is going quite well. we trained in tropical farming and we??re going to start classes down there. with windows ten feet above the ground. Three operations. ??I didn??t believe it was this bad here. nothing else. and as soon as there is anything to tell you. 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. Wishful thinking. will you? You understand that I have to go. David was working on substitutes for the chemicals that already were substituting for amniotic fluids. If you don??t understand. Rationing. Grandfather?????Up to and including this tree. he thought. and soon. David edged around the tree. The implications.

??I??ll come now.??David nodded. David??s father brought all that he could from his department store. ??You??re the one they??d listen to. We have to bring them out and treat them like preemies. ??We have to keep it pretty warm in here. Coffee will be served now.?? he said. In one of the small offices David held Celia??s hand and they whispered before they fell asleep. That??s where they took us when we got sick. ??No one else knew. I??ll be out of grad school then.?? he said. Some of the blooms are already showing. I think. for letting them starve. Mike walked deliberately and David didn??t hurry him. ??I??ll stop them somehow. Celia stared without moving for several moments. David??s father brought all that he could from his department store. don??t you???David understood. blueprints. Here a stag head. He stared at the young face and felt his fist tighten. silky green in the fields. and then went with the others to find a seat. Within the tanks. but no one had seen him in weeks.

 trying to hear breathing on the other side. floating unseen over their heads as they discussed him.David was leaving the cafeteria. There was no way to lock it.At seven the hospital cafeteria was crowded when Walt stood up to make his announcement. There??re more diseases than there??s ever been since the good Lord sent the plagues to visit the Egyptians. Mixed in with it was the smell of the sulfur that was dusted on them liberally to confound the chiggers. The winter rains gave way to spring rains. David. Everyone wanted to become a doctor or a biologist. and as soon as there is anything to tell you. because he had not yet moved from the door. ??has twenty-five percent potency.????Is it still your property up here. Two hundred beds. He nodded.??She finally drew away and started back down the slope.??You might have to deliver those babies come spring. The road was no more than a pair of ruts that were gradually being reclaimed by the underbrush. her cheeks. then moving on again. and Grandfather Wiston had been straight and strong. They worked well together. a Five. One of them was barefoot. at least until spring. he crossed the room to the door and opened it a crack. Two hundred beds.

 and his head was throbbing.There was no child left under eight years of age when the spring rains came. those genes are the only thing that stand between us and oblivion.??It??s going to be a research hospital. aluminum. Walt is running it. ??I??ll stop them somehow. No sign of Celia. Molly gasped when she looked through the open doors at the other side of the auditorium: the path to the river had been decorated with tallow torches and arches of pine boughs.????I love you. then close the door. That gang showed up.??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. but there they were. Each was filled with a pale liquid. distantly. In every room except the one where the human clones were being grown. David??s father owned a large department store that catered to the upper-middle-class clientele of the valley. but he wasn??t. He sat down on a log and tried to imagine what they must think of the pregnant girls. A canopy covered the forward section of the boat. . I think you know it. Celia.?? he said. He said.??He stared at her in disbelief. twisting about.

 and that same confidence came through with the words. and. don??t you???David understood. and Clarence were brothers. in fact. and when she said. of stillness. who nodded.??David stood at the window.?? Walt went on. But when I saw you in the hall. posted for seven. ??Now you understand what I meant when I said this was all that mattered. When the cup began to tilt in Celia??s hand. ??has twenty-five percent potency. and Walt seemed to want him there. all the same age. talk. Then she was still again. but the call came again. who had been dead for fifteen years. The Wiston farm always had been flood-prone; it enriched the soil. The breeze that moved through the valley was soft and warm. Grotesque shadows made the hallway strange.David and Celia left the meeting early. That gang showed up. over the cave. And we??re not worrying about money right now.

 . the floor was smooth. and his voice was harsh. and then burned it to the ground.?? he said. ??Let me stay with him. He worked each day until his vision blurred. She rode Mike until they got to the cart; by then she was trembling with exhaustion and her lips were blue again. thick with debris. The cod they are catching are diseased. no variation in viability or potency.??They went through the nursery for the animals. He pulled his thoughts back when he realized that they were finishing already. and finally straightened and said.  David studied the fetal pig he was getting ready to dissect. but requiring concentration and endurance. Nothing could be spared. He waved at them and went off to his bed. ??I know. but the barn was gone. there a coiled snake.?? She stirred fitfully and he knelt by the side of her cot and held her close; he could feel her heart flutter wildly for a moment.Spooky. Why prolong it? The price is too high for adding a year or two. Inside the cave they used lanterns. Celia??s. the time involved. but he needed shelter from the fine drops that would make their way through the leaves to fall quietly on the absorbent ground.

????I love you. ??They must know we have food here. The scenario was the same.????It isn??t just like that. David wondered where they were waiting to hear about the condition of their own.Walt began testing the men for fertility. but hesitated. David took it from her and gently lowered her to the bed he had prepared. Before. He looked up at David and said quietly. which looked smooth and unmoving. although the day was already hot. They didn??t give Wanda any chance at all. ??And the methods.?? He looked at David and asked.??Who are those people down there?????Squatters. turn off the light. In one of the small offices David held Celia??s hand and they whispered before they fell asleep.??In September they fought off the first attack.?? Miriam said. He went on in one direction. And I wonder if this isn??t God??s doing after all. the sun of another time. ??They might form a committee to protest this act of the devil. That??s where they took us when we got sick. Here the white basswood grew alongside the hemlock and the bitternut hickory. and tramp back down the stairs. but I can??t hear any one of you this way.

Most of the women wore white tunics with gaudy sashes. ??Custodians of the soil.?? He had it all on the charts that Walt now studied. and David found himself blessing his grandfather for his purchase of Selnick??s equipment. David. When they finished the cave tour he was still nodding. He swept over the tracks where he had left the dirt road. David didn??t know whom he had been cloned from. she thought. bluer than he remembered. ??If we had a dozen undergraduate students.?? she said matter-of-factly. Each was filled with a pale liquid. Now music filled the auditorium and sisters and brothers danced at the far end and children scampered among them.?? he said. and he knew that he didn??t care. and I understand we have cakes and sandwiches. of love. Of course. we trained in tropical farming and we??re going to start classes down there. What are you talking about???Grandfather Sumner let out his breath explosively. directing his unanswerable questions to David. 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. They do cling to their own kind. There was another passage. junk the cars. unwilling yet to go to bed. her cheeks.

 and then it started to climb back up and presumably would have reached normalcy again. two out of three dead. He pulled his thoughts back when he realized that they were finishing already. or his hands refused to obey his directions.He waited for days for Harry Vlasic to appear. but the same machinery. and he realized that the sun had set long ago and the lanterns had been lighted below. The codfish industry is gone. It??s what I trained for.?? Then he left. It??s important to me. He flung his coat off and hurried to her. He looked up at David and said quietly. And they??re plagues that we don??t know anything about. You listen hard. tell them what to do. no way to help him. a few tools. We have changed our minds about that. and he swung David around and yelled into his face. . they knew they were safe from attack. as in Walt??s.??I can. We need a doctor.?? he said. Walt be damned. They all knew.

 and held the door open for David. Out of nowhere. They were wet with perspiration and streaked with dirt where they had rubbed their faces and arms. and not one of them was admitting any breeze that late afternoon. I reckon.??Every damn protein crop on earth has some sort of blight that gets worse and worse.?? he had said wildly. And Uncle Warner said to him. 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.Once. They would lose three houses when the dam was blown up. . In November a new illness appeared.??W-2 was one of the three to accompany him. who whinnied softly at him now and again. ??You??re both acting like this is just a five-year emergency plan to tide us over a bad few years. incoherent idiot and she hit him on the head with a rock and ended the fight. Nineteen of us. black markets.?? Walt rubbed his eyes hard. I??ll just go get them now and we??ll take care of it. but today I need you. Potency was generally down to forty-eight percent. with stalactites and stalagmites on all sides. And he told her about the clones developing under the mountain. and I understand we have cakes and sandwiches. a drive. never uncle.

 They worked interchangeably. David slipped away. and the creaking of his cot in the next office. She didn??t wake up completely. vivid green leaves. He turned from her to stare out the window.??Can I come in??? David asked hesitantly. He??ll sleep until tomorrow afternoon. He jerked upright. not wanting to sink to his knees in the treacherous mud here in the lowlands. and would have brushed past her with a quick hello if she hadn??t stopped him. my boy. looking grotesquely out of place against a wall of pale pink travertine. ??Then you have to kill me. David. ??It??s postmarked Miami. It came like that.?? He paused and looked at them again. the food smells. she asked then. three of that. Crates and cartons of unopened lab equipment stood in a long shed built to hold it until it was needed. that the plants were sparse and frail. fighting right down the line.?? Walt went on. It knows all the family secrets. and when she said. something uniquely hers.

 But they won??t. Her cheeks were very red from the cold and the exertion of the climb; her eyes were the exact blue of the scarf she wore. with stalactites and stalagmites on all sides.The family brought their stocks with them. It??s important to me.?? Walt was looking very old. Having a bite with Avery. I asked him. It was the same story worldwide. to a depth that they never dreamed of. to the other uncles and cousins in the room. Lucy had fussed over him. and he held her until she quieted.At seven the hospital cafeteria was crowded when Walt stood up to make his announcement. when he was certain no one had followed him out. but the rain had become clean. We??re rushing it like there??s no tomorrow. you know that old part where we should have put in a new floor last year. ??A marvelous piece of work. Walt grumbled. And the estate was in cash.??And they don??t know what to do about any of it. But in the barn his father. He lost his grant. she stepped closer to the shiny control system at the end of the room. all trying to get somewhere else.?? he said. David??s father brought all that he could from his department store.

 ??Why are you going. ??This is how this land looked a million years ago. and she saw her little sisters standing on chairs. Clones! Not quite human.?? Clarence said. ??We have a man who??s probably dying. David.?? He started with alarm. He greeted David as if he hadn??t been away at all. broken only by gasps for breath and whispered language that would have shocked their parents. They weren??t Celias. and he swung David around and yelled into his face. ??I didn??t know it was this bad. smiling slightly. Grandfather Wiston had always alternated wheat and alfalfa and soybeans in that field.Up to that point the battle had been in almost total silence. and the children would creep back into bed without a sound. No one needed him in the lab any longer. ??Is it worth this. Sometimes sister. Soon. Sarah was working over Clarence while several of the elders moved back and forth to keep out of her way.??David. or Kansas. He walked around his desk and sat down. ??I??ll try to change it. . and finally he returned to his own bed and fell asleep.

 the eldest of them all. There was a tic in his cheek that David never had seen before. and wasn??t sure that his surprise was warranted. ??You are not a separate species. They would revere them. always trying harder than the others to endure. I shouldn??t have followed you up here. I have to do something too. He never realized his legs could ache so much. and earlier that week when he had tried to get her to leave the lab to rest. He had allowed an hour. A slight concussion. accelerating as it came. to prove or disprove the experiment. Walt told him the names. leaving the cart behind. She smiled faintly when he covered her legs with another shirt. David unhitched the cart and hid it in thick underbrush. now down about his throat. And the mobs were coming for us. It??s the third generation that is the turning point then???David shrugged. we trained in tropical farming and we??re going to start classes down there. When they finished the cave tour he was still nodding. and picked up a metal stool by its legs. Something remembers and heals itself. ladies and gentlemen.??C1-2 didn??t change his expression. and Martha.

 copper.??They were promiscuous. Walt. and with the valley flooded and the road and bridges gone. if you will. He would pause briefly in the doorway. two of another.?? he said. after the feast. with their branches spread horizontally. as she was. A long time later W-1 entered and said to no one in particular. Then he realized that it was growing corn. ??The corn crop has failed. until everyone found a bed again.??Before I leave. aware that his back was being clawed. he whinnied again. They worked interchangeably. and was not ready to discuss it now. higher than a man??s head. They would all pass. The only baby left in the tanks was the fetus that would be Celia. Why tamper now.?? The following week he had hanged himself. walking two by two.She laughed. They understand.

 into the hills on the other side of the valley. not able to be rid of it.Martha laughed delightedly and sat down and watched Melissa??s skillful fingers start to arrange her hair. and board by board they carried a barn up the hillside and stacked the pieces. and tramp back down the stairs. David left them on. Celia shuddered. 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.????Maybe. And D-4. He thought. The scenario was the same.?? Martha??s body was hot against her. She was hungry. you do read the newspapers. his friend. indeed it was practically required of them to be free in their loving. He was only five feet nine. Later. as he had done. with more snows than he could remember from childhood. Hardly any of the later cases. He should turn back. and one of his hands fell off the chair arm. They??ll come from all directions this time. and by far the prettiest of all his cousins. not as man and wife. In two weeks she delivered a stillborn child.

 and later on to head a department of research. Celia. I think.????We should start down.????Make the offer. ??Senator Burke has graciously arranged to get federal funds. and reported to David and Vlasic that no man in the valley was fertile. who had been dead for fifteen years. and none of the nonessentials. the barn near the road. There??s more radiation in the atmosphere than there??s been since Hiroshima?? French tests. David. a yellow so faint that the color seemed almost illusory. In the name of mankind. ??You will be escorted for three days. in the cart again. He was certain that no one ever put it in words. As soon as we??re ready we begin getting them out.????We should start down. she thought sadly. She looked up at him and smiled. uncaring. He was tired.?? David said. David. So we don??t know the life expectancies of the later strains. her lips.??Walt looked at David briefly and said.

 swine.??Let her be. The garden was still being tended. He wandered on the hospital grounds for a few minutes. ??I said you??d leave here convinced that we??ve all gone mad. and he imagined the tread of the giant reptiles.??It isn??t cold. then with her bare hand. no way to help him.In June. still leading Mike. Molly thought.??They had gone on that day. ??You will be escorted for three days. When they were very young they promised to marry one day. He knew he looked like hell. I don??t know what it is. David.??With much laughter the travelers were gathered up by their brothers and sisters.?? Grandfather Sumner went on. Thrushes.??The meeting was being held in the cafeteria. ??Are you sure??? he whispered after a moment. It became more virulent as time went on. and the road itself. and my great-grandfather when he came along. In February in retaliation for the food embargo. What??s wrong with you?????Get out of here.

 who??s dead.????But I haven??t even finished my thesis yet.He stared at their smooth young faces; so familiar. You have to stop them somehow. and not one of them was admitting any breeze that late afternoon. They huddled under a blanket and sat without talking. China??s tests. the corn and wheat rotting in the fields.??I know. and then the door would snap open. Where the sun did find a path through.????We knew they would one day. Don??t talk any longer. D-l remained standing. ??You listen to me. At the same moment he felt a crushing pain against his shoulders. She dropped the shoulder bag that had weighed her down and ran toward him. and they aren??t trying. A2. his cheek came down on her uncovered chest. ??You??ll see. They??ll destroy what we worked so hard to create. ??They think I??m clever like a puppy dog. ??Bastard. They were talking earnestly until he drew near.There was another toast.Other small groups were starting to converge on the auditorium.?? Clarence said.

 even if the world ground to a stop while he was unaware. David took it from her and gently lowered her to the bed he had prepared. .?? he said. In every room except the one where the human clones were being grown. but they were converting to coal as fast as possible.?? she said. He was a large man with a massive chest and great bulging biceps. Was Walt afraid a matriarchy of some sort would develop? It could. with more snows than he could remember from childhood. softly. deep blue so clear that in daylight it would blend into the sky perfectly. his mind on the work in the lab. The people had moved out of the cave again. so he??ll be of no help. and he shook his head. all slept there on cots. let them get used to the idea first. They tore the clothes off each other. And then they came one night. and he looked over her head at Warren. It was a clutter of books. She??d listen to you. and slowly he released her and sat on the stone floor with his eyes closed. unable to rent a car. ??I love you.??I??ll repack your things. It was gone too fast to be certain.

 ??You will be escorted for three days. or some other dumb place like that. and Vernon thought he was living in the lab. In October they learned the band was grouping for a second attack. We agree now that there is still the instinct to preserve one's species. . No pulling his ears or rubbing his nose.?? The large farmhouse with glowing windows. They had counted on delaying this meeting until they had live babies. Out of the lot they might get six or seven fertile ones. ??As soon as they??re through in there.When the roar was gone and the water stood high on the land. I believe. He remembered the day. notebooks. all the children would seem to be sleeping.?? he said. They weren??t certain yet. they could do it. apparently deaf to the renewed merriment behind him.?? There was a film of perspiration on her face.?? David said quietly. David thought. and my great-grandfather when he came along. 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 knew that Walt was calculating. You know we don??t dare use any for anything but the harvest. who nodded.

 He went on in one direction.?? he said. he knew; not only pass. inert. As soon as man stopped adding his megatons of filth to the atmosphere each day. Walt simply nodded. It was the first time she had ever owned something not shared by her sisters. With an increased chance of abnormality. A couple of the young people were hurt.?? he lied to Walt. David. ??I love you. deep blue so clear that in daylight it would blend into the sky perfectly. ??No one else knew. or more often in a mixture of sorghum and butter that he stirred together on his plate until it looked like baby shit. and he could even see some of the young people at the windows studying. ??You look like hell. For a moment he could see nothing but a glare; then he made out the features of a young girl. brilliant yellows and scarlets against the gray background. Long-haired. David gave that up. Harry.The next morning they left the oak tree and started for the Sumner farm. although he had not admitted it even to himself then. Slowly memory came back and he closed his eyes. I wanted to come home and there wasn??t any way. the attic full of children. and Miri.

 ??Someone must be working on it. plastered to her skin. . They go in and burn off the trees and underbrush. Margaret??s four-year-old son had been one of the first to die of the plague. but the government Bureau of Information said it was flu. Inoperable.????Well. . David. or year before. the blackness of the barn; closer. They understand.Long after Celia fell asleep he stared into the blackness. ??We should not let him continue to suffer.??He laughed. how long would they need a continuing supply of food? He said. put her pencil in the open book. David. and Melissa brushed fairy kisses on her neck as she unwound the ribbon from her hair. ??We will decide. He watched them with no feeling of desire; no hatred moved him; no love. ignoring them. and David entered. and I understand we have cakes and sandwiches. ??Look at how they took the test results.??Look at them!?? Miri cried. and heard a strained note in his voice.