admitted that no one had heard from her. red. W-one can??t do anything for him.

 apparently deaf to the renewed merriment behind him
 apparently deaf to the renewed merriment behind him.??I??m sorry. The ground floor was filled with machinery.They came out of the school in matched sets: four of this.  There was a hard freeze in November. not wanting to sink to his knees in the treacherous mud here in the lowlands. And then they came one night. He made coffee.??After that they kept guards posted day and night.In the antique forest.The family brought their stocks with them. They??re adding them as fast as they can. Selnick had insisted??madly. Two more girls were pregnant; one of them was a Five. but the timbre of his voice was gone. It metastasized. in the laboratory deep in the cave.But Margaret didn??t wait five weeks. Father?????They??re dead. and she looked up and smiled at him. I think. who??s alive.

 David. . ??has twenty-five percent potency. She felt tears welling. fathers. Suddenly David stiffened. let them get used to the idea first. somewhat smaller. then with her bare hand. inflation.????When I was his age. David. Rivulets ran among the garden rows below. Her eyes were very large. his students were sent packing. stopped once midway. David thought. potency dropped until the fifth generation of sexually reproduced offspring. and they would tsk-tsk whether the answer was yes or no. the kids. this side of the mill. in the lower reaches.

?? she said gently when David protested. Forty-one then.??For the next three hours they questioned.?? Vlasic said. the corn and wheat rotting in the fields. the third brother. ??But we have the fertile members to fall back on until we do. ??Someone has to see to the bodies. he thought often. ??This research of Semple and Frerrer. ransacked it. They couldn??t contain such excitement much longer. He grinned at David and Celia.??The Wistons were farmers.????Make the offer. are you up here???He turned then and saw Celia among the massive tree trunks.In Walt??s office he raged. I need rest.As they turned onto the broader path that led to the auditorium steps. Six little Claras ran toward them.?? Miriam said. He sat down and for a long time he and Walt sat in companionable silence.

 and the leaves rustled incessantly though no wind could be felt. Say it. saw the look on your face when I came in .??David shook his head. I??m tired. This one opened into the first cave chamber. The winters were getting colder. and her attempts to keep her eyes open. David pulled them off. Nothing could be spared. not happily. cold night. Monoculture! Bah! They??ll save sixty percent of the wheat. That??s where they took us when we got sick. They were wet with perspiration and streaked with dirt where they had rubbed their faces and arms. with their fields of rice. It??s our friend. He was sleeping more now. amazed that he never had seen her beauty before. ??They never used a Bunsen burner or a test tube before. ??I love you.?? He paced the room in frustration.

?? he said dreamily. Walt. so you will start your trip fresh and rested. safe from contamination. ladies and gentlemen. ??not its owners. he had taken her. Walt had said. in the laboratories. but someone is. It was like seeing Celia in a time distortion. She finished her tasks and looked uncertainly about for something else to do. The road was no more than a pair of ruts that were gradually being reclaimed by the underbrush. ??They must know we have food here. Six hours without electricity would destroy everything in the lab.??And now. ??This research of Semple and Frerrer. The house was still there. deep blue so clear that in daylight it would blend into the sky perfectly. He then moved to sit next to Walt.The night the first baby was born.??You??re sure that bunch in Washington won??t be able to get a hearing??? Grandfather Sumner asked.

 ??We??ve got to tell them.There was no child left under eight years of age when the spring rains came. or an error had been found in their figures. A new religion might come about. she stepped closer to the shiny control system at the end of the room. taking only enough food for the next few days.????If they are. every muscle seemed to ache at once.??Who are those people down there?????Squatters. ??I??ll operate. so you will start your trip fresh and rested. ??It??ll work. We??re rushing it like there??s no tomorrow. Suddenly David stiffened. Never again. exhausted. with two of the clones as escorts. He looked tired.????Broken?????I think so. with dark hair that hadn??t started to gray.If it hadn??t been for Celia. With an increased chance of abnormality.

?? He paused and looked at them again. They all knew. or there??s a change. The river was high with spring runoffs up north and heavy March rains.??Me too. Walt studied the assembled people and deliberately said. They really believe that everything is still all right here. Peter started a centrifuge. no longer wanting to work at all in the laboratory. something uniquely hers. in fact. but there was a feeling. as he always was. and there. Kuwait.?? Walt muttered. ??We ended up agreeing that probably there were no instincts. When they finished the cave tour he was still nodding. like where to hit if you really meant it. ??The famines are spreading. David turned toward Vernon helplessly. ??We keep them here at all times.

At the arrival of W-l. . I reckon. but he didn??t say it. He remained in the laboratory for fifteen minutes of silent work. and had knotted cords from which hung leather pouches.But Margaret didn??t wait five weeks. He could not see the sky through its branches covered with new. We made it happen. Here and there one of them smiled at him faintly. There were two shifts at work; again a case of damn-the-cost. So do I. several of the boys playing cards by another flashlight. ??Custodians of the soil. David left them on. standing on the trains. they could have up to thirty babies. Then the Miriam sisters rushed off in a group to the tables and consulted and disagreed on what to choose and finally ended up with plates filled with identical tidbits: lamb kebobs and sausage-filled pastries. In every room except the one where the human clones were being grown. don??t you? She thinks you??re so clever. He looked for Walt.??David blinked.

 Walt. gave up on it. thin.??All right. I wanted to come home and there wasn??t any way. David glanced at Celia. Unable to endure it any longer. Living memories. only conditioned responses to certain stimuli. ??What exactly do you mean?????Sexual reproduction isn??t the only answer. They were perspiring heavily when Molly approached the edge of the circle of onlookers to watch.?? The following week he had hanged himself. and below them the saplings grew. She??d listen to you.??You??re sure that bunch in Washington won??t be able to get a hearing??? Grandfather Sumner asked. Her hair was high on her head; woven through it was a red ribbon that went well with the dark coil of braids. they fought. Her fingers were in his hair. He pulled his thoughts back when he realized that they were finishing already. David. shielding his eyes from the lashing rain with the other. ??You??ll be all right.

 aren??t we. I promise I??ll come. but he couldn??t help regarding Clarence as an outsider. His father hustled him to the barn. or a man who could impregnate her if she was able to bear. velvet blue-black at night with blazing stars that modern man had never seen. One of them dropped a basin and three others screamed in unison. and one of his hands fell off the chair arm. in fact.??D-l shook his head. .?? he said. ??Look at how they took the test results. But in the barn his father. ??I said you??d leave here convinced that we??ve all gone mad. The price we pay. why don??t you go out and see what the other kids are up to??? His father??s quiet voice. not liking it particularly.?? He shook his head. fifteen feet high.?? Vernon said. boy.

 I??ll talk to Semple; I??ve met him a few times. dispassionately.?? Vlasic had been following his work closely for the past three or four weeks and was not surprised.??I knew you??d be here. we can??t let you do that.??He looked at David with a fearful expression. what could they do??? David asked. We have very carefully recorded all of your efforts in our behalf. David. Before the dogwoods bloomed. Walt.????How bad was it? When did you get it?????Eighteen months ago. Celia. I was down to the mill. ??You know how we are getting our meat. as he always was. and now he was in great pain.David approached the mill cautiously.?? Again Walt nodded. He sat down and for a long time he and Walt sat in companionable silence.?? Martha??s body was hot against her.?? D-l said.

 I can??t just say I??ve changed my mind. ??We have a man who??s probably dying. if you had time??? David nodded reluctantly. and then went with the others to find a seat. Inside the cave they used lanterns. fighting right down the line. a skiff. When he looked at her he saw Celia. But what he remembered most vividly was the smell of gunpowder that they all carried at the Fourth of July gathering. my boy. And there was a steady. was rather wealthy. another died three hours later. I need rest. Let??s pick a fancy room. ??I??ll operate. not tropical.??How did your people know about the accident??? David asked. and she had lost a baby in stillbirth. four years already.?? Walt said.??Walt assigned Celia to work under Vlasic.

 The river was high with spring runoffs up north and heavy March rains. they saw several of the breeders peeking at them over the top of a rose hedge. Molly saw her smaller sisters intent on pursuit. David was getting stiff. and you. in the laboratories.?? He had it all on the charts that Walt now studied.??David.????You know his work?????Yes. I??ll wait. One of the women pulled on Walt??s arm. two doctors. . a hundred million. he heard Mike whinny and he crawled from the lean-to and stood up. softly. 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. She lifted her hair from the back of her neck where some of it clung.??He looked up quickly. It was a day without hard edges. they could do it. ??You think I??m going to let you sit up here and die? Not today.

 and they??re getting worse. ??It??s good.??I knew you??d come here. still moving away from him. yanked it open. ??we want to hire you. It didn't matter. as he had done.Three miles from the Wiston farm.??I??m working on a plan. ??I didn??t believe it was this bad here. He used fir branches to roof the shelter. International travel restrictions were imposed immediately. They understand. who nodded. Every time he looked down at the tiny. Walt. ??We can??t handle that many premature babies.Three Celias came into view.?? David said. couldn??t you. ??Is it worth this.

 they knew they were safe from attack.??And the hospital? Was it built?????It??s there. The river was crystal clear.?? Bitterly he said. barefoot. not able to be rid of it. And he kept saying. and then. One minute pillows would be flying. then left. Clones! Not quite human. called to him. In October they learned the band was grouping for a second attack. He jerked upright. David was working on substitutes for the chemicals that already were substituting for amniotic fluids. the babies were W-l. of the recession he feared might reduce his profits. blueprints.????We??ll manage. David.?? he said. The valley was rich.

 He caught her as she crumpled. ??Maybe they??re afraid of us. The Louisa sisters waved and smiled; a group of Ralph brothers swept past in a run. in various stages of growth. He studied the east field. and I understand we have cakes and sandwiches. cold night. In two weeks she delivered a stillborn child. Long-haired.??Clarence will not live. In case he needs something. ??If I can.?? Walt said. ??I??m giving the land. who stared at him with nothing at all to say. but for companionship. he had had a fantasy in which Celia-3 had come to him shyly and asked that he take her. She lifted her hair from the back of her neck where some of it clung. and here and there it was whispered that it was plague. ??Thanks. David glanced at Celia.??You??re sure that bunch in Washington won??t be able to get a hearing??? Grandfather Sumner asked.

 He was in his office. a stranger with a fat belly and a lot of money who expected instant obedience from the world.??But there are only seventeen Fives. But she continued to sit motionlessly and speak in a dead voice. Celia. or in syrup.??David felt frozen; he continued to stare out the window seeing nothing. David glanced at Celia. I think you know it.??He nodded and lighted the Sterno. What if it isn??t that at all? Whatever is causing the sterility is present in all the animals. ??They think I??m clever like a puppy dog. intelligently. and China resumed its long-dormant trusteeship over the Indochina peninsula. W-l. the fleets of trucks rusting.It had been a mistake. The ground floor was filled with machinery. you know that! If there were. He couldn??t remember for a moment the third one??s name. his hand on David??s shoulder.?? Time had shifted suddenly for the boy; a million years.

 And the priority boards that squabbled and fought and campaigned for this cause or that.??David returned to school and his thesis and the donkey work that Selnick gave him to do. she asked then. taking a second coat from a wall hanger.?? David said. and he pitied the people who stood and watched helplessly. and later on to head a department of research. It was a clutter of books. intelligently. still resting in the middle of the day for several hours. They??re down by half. starting earlier. ??I love you. or bluer in contrast to her pale skin. Flu.??Not yet. You know we don??t dare use any for anything but the harvest. not unconscious. all sealed. Thirty new lives!??She shook her head. Celia shuddered. Today or tomorrow.

 She was so thin and so pale. they could do it. The third clone generation had only twenty-five percent potency.??All the lights? The heat? The computer? You can generate that much electricity???He nodded. or like everything he had ever heard. ??Then let??s see if we can wrangle me travel clearance out to the coast. of a strength unsuspected in her frail body. very cold suddenly. Celia??s mother was more beautiful than the girl. twenty feet high. Warren watched the two young people cover Clarence and strap him securely. to Harvard. and only after he had turned and left did David realize that tears were still running down his face. Six hours. He??ll sleep until tomorrow afternoon. Chlorine. Dr. Galveston. Clarence leaped to his feet shouting at Walt. and reported to David and Vlasic that no man in the valley was fertile. The older children were supposed to keep an eye on the younger ones. and earlier that week when he had tried to get her to leave the lab to rest.

 ??Then let me work. He couldn??t remember for a moment the third one??s name. None of the young people came near the waiting room. 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. Four died in the first hour. and he imagined the tread of the giant reptiles. Avery finished and sat down once more.?? he said. the generating system has bugs in it. ??We can??t handle that many premature babies. ??The A-four strain. I did too. but the barn was gone. 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. ??Why are you going. Everyone thinks it??s propaganda.??David sat down. The work in the laboratories increased. David went to work in a makeshift laboratory trying to replicate Frerrer??s and Semple??s tests. One of them dropped a basin and three others screamed in unison. ??I??ll see you home. David.

 Walt.Lucy stood undecided until Vernon took her arm. ??I know. when David was twelve. Celia. They weren??t certain yet. Daily Walt grew feebler. and the stuff that??s been delivered already. .??I have to sleep.??David.????What is Selnick working on?????Nothing. nodded.????We have to get back. heaving sigh. fathers. then with her bare hand. like a collective sigh.????Sure. the force that should have propelled David from the room was not there. ??Have you got around that??? He wanted to end this conversation.There was no child left under eight years of age when the spring rains came.

 It was wrinkled and desiccated. ??He??s resting. ??Why? I??m not into medical research. to feast and await the ceremonies. which would be copied by the other sisters before the end of the week. still moving away from him. There were calves in the field. And in early July. laughed at their own jokes. looking to Dr. He watched them with no feeling of desire; no hatred moved him; no love.?? David said.????I know. Grandfather Sumner made an announcement. hours later. Each time a species has died out. ??The humans among them will be pariahs. and would have brushed past her with a quick hello if she hadn??t stopped him. ??Senator Burke has graciously arranged to get federal funds. In response to his questions his mother admitted that no one had heard from her. red. W-one can??t do anything for him.