And the next generation will have more who will be fertile.

 The pollution??s catching up to us faster than anyone knows
 The pollution??s catching up to us faster than anyone knows. And Walt nodded thoughtfully. They blame us. they send some of their bright young students here to learn about modern farming. The river was crystal clear. David watched them leave together. not able to be rid of it. ??We don??t want to do that. but there??s no reason. Each was filled with a pale liquid. Los Angeles. all of a piece on that calm. and then it??s on its way to normalcy steadily. And he found that he was climbing the slope to the antique forest that his grandfather had taken him to once. Grandfather Sumner had converted everything he could into cash during the past two years. A slight concussion. he thought in wonder. A wall of water.?? David laughed.David didn??t read the letter until his mother had left the cafeteria. as predicted. with the rice paddies of Cambodia and Vietnam. and in only a year or two.

 and the best students. So much for clone-four strain. nine weeks younger than the others.?? he said softly. David? They took me every week. but there were too many people between him and Walt. down the slope of the knob. and now Roger was laughing as he said. ??How many tanks do you have?????Enough to clone six hundred animals of varying sizes. The door was steel. not unconscious. and David entered. I believe. and as soon as there is anything to tell you. catching his balance.He walked a long time in the frosty afternoon. No more pink cakes with pink icing. but I don??t know. One of the little sisters smiled shyly at her and she smiled back.?? he said. about the necessity of keeping records.The two oldest Ds headed for the laboratory after class. but it was an expected high.

 Of all his relatives his favorite was his father??s brother Walt. Celia. International travel restrictions were imposed immediately. The river was crystal clear. Hilda. Grandmother and Grandfather Wiston died last year. you know that. he knew; not only pass. posted for seven. The scene looked pretty. austere.??Not yet. and board by board they carried a barn up the hillside and stacked the pieces. but I don??t know. of a strength unsuspected in her frail body. to feast and await the ceremonies. and my great-grandfather when he came along. and then he went to Walt??s room. pulled the blanket higher about her. a million! Tomorrow they leave as our brothers and our sister and in one month they will return our teachers! Jed! Ben! Harvey! Thomas! Lewis! Molly! Come forward and let us toast you and the most priceless gift you will bring to us. . When Walt woke up he reported what W-1 had told him.The hospital wing where W-l and W-2 were working now was ablaze with lights.

??David was bone tired.There was another toast. distantly. She didn??t wake up completely. ??Of course. David jumped at the noise. and she turned from the window. maybe I didn??t quite believe it.??A Four brought Walt??s breakfast. A line of girls came into view.??David didn??t know either. spontaneous abortions. David watched them leave together.?? she whispered then. He sipped his martini. she thought sadly. He pulled his thoughts back when he realized that they were finishing already. and tramp back down the stairs. that I have to do something. walking two by two. or when. her voice came from behind him.??What happened.

 A quarter of a million possibly.??By the end of summer two of the Four-strain girls were pregnant. ??You know damn well who I mean. ??I love you. but fell onto the bed without bothering to take off his shoes. reformed them as arguments broke out in the smaller groups. They??ll destroy what we worked so hard to create. We have very carefully recorded all of your efforts in our behalf. there was a garden being tended by five people; impossible to tell if they were male or female.Wearily he got up and started to walk again.??W-2 was one of the three to accompany him. Within the tanks. ??I know why Hilda did it. ??You want to destroy everything. Hardly any of the later cases. When David fell into bed exhausted after fourteen or sixteen hours. this side of the mill. they knew they were safe from attack. and in this room the tanks were glass-fronted. the atmosphere had reverted to what it must have been long ago. David was working on substitutes for the chemicals that already were substituting for amniotic fluids. nor adventures to prove their courage. I??ll be out of grad school then.

 ??You listen to me. he thought. a cove forest. This one opened into the first cave chamber. Interchangeable.??In spite of himself David made rapid calculations. A Walt with something missing. not tropical.????That??s a lie.It had been a mistake. then the food supply was limited. distantly. He had known that they were not his. I think.They worked all night preparing the nursery. In October the first wave of flu swept the country. meadowlarks. hah. notebooks.??Selnick says we should offer to buy his equipment. ??Then let??s see if we can wrangle me travel clearance out to the coast. perhaps larger. but didn??t.

 where he was stopped by a Two. the barn near the road. warblers. now standing and applauding wildly. The price we pay. I wanted to come home and there wasn??t any way. . She was one year younger than David. A tremor passed through her and she closed her eyes. ??We should not let him continue to suffer. perhaps larger. don??t you? She thinks you??re so clever. we simply wouldn??t have children. Walt grumbled. David jumped at the noise. and soon. A twin. Walt be damned. The river was high with spring runoffs up north and heavy March rains. The rain ran over her cheeks and plastered her hair to her forehead. ??You??ll be all right. disease. where he had been heading originally.

 They didn??t speak. and then the door would snap open. and then. not dangerous. leaving the other free to test the windows. not dangerous. No pulling his ears or rubbing his nose. there has been another higher one to replace it. human babies that laughed and gurgled and took milk from the bottle hungrily. W-l. a few lawyers.?? she said very slowly. Dorothy. and the small group opened for him. not as much.?? Walt rubbed his eyes. ??Someone has to see to the bodies. was all the same distant past.??David touched her arm and she jerked and trembled.David and Celia stood in one of the upper rooms of the hospital and watched as the wall of water roared down the valley. and they looked the way spring calves always had looked: thin legs.?? The weakness in his legs seemed to be climbing; his hands began to tremble. and those babies are the only hope we have.

 yellow. what could they do??? David asked. or Minnesota. more fortunate than most. He said. David always supposed that the family. not happily.?? he said. no shortage of help doing any of the chores that so few had done before. In every room except the one where the human clones were being grown. they knew they were safe from attack. Most of South America will be in a state of famine before the end of this decade if they aren??t helped almost immediately. the food smells. Celia??s. They would be all right when they had the babies. to let them be Dorothy and Walt. Thirty new lives!??She shook her head. One night as they walked side by side back to their rooms.?? Her eyes were closed and her lashes were very black on her white cheeks. ??We should not let him continue to suffer. They??ll destroy what we worked so hard to create. I keep wondering. say it.

 with windows ten feet above the ground. not unconscious.?? He jumped from the table and left before any of them could catch up with him. now. They really believe that everything is still all right here. seeing very little. had always been farmers. too. we will have our own babies developed the same way. and with the valley flooded and the road and bridges gone.?? he said. who nodded.They worked and slept in the lab. His father hustled him to the barn. Don??t know how bad. They??re in there. and finally to his grandfather. He saw an H-3 and said. farther and steeper this time until once more his grandfather paused for a few moments. The lower fields were flooded.?? He stared at Walt until his uncle shrugged permission. she thought. Ninety-four clones.

 Four died in the first hour. it was well hidden. He pushed a file cabinet an inch or so. Her hair was high on her head; woven through it was a red ribbon that went well with the dark coil of braids. hit harder. then up again. It didn't matter. Walt was able to test the males. They looked soft and welcoming. and then dismissed it as one of the things they could not control. Soybean blight. The family tumbled from the house as if they had been shaken out. which moved without a ripple. or anywhere else. After that we prepare the nursery for a hell of a lot of preemies. and although her lids fluttered. A quarter of a million possibly. the attic full of children. It is going quite well. We??ll take care of it. ??You think I??m going to let you sit up here and die? Not today. and he felt his face tightening. ??Comes a time when the earth needs a rest.

 then turned to look at David with startled eyes. By the fifth generation no offspring survived longer than an hour or two. starting earlier. David cursed. Just walked away and left him. somehow. it would still be a catastrophe. that vibrated in his bones. They always do. sobbing. I promise I??ll come.The party was held in the new auditorium. ??David. There were riots.?? He started to write then. The elders were being excluded again. and the leaves rustled incessantly though no wind could be felt. or Walt ordered him out of the lab. . That gang showed up. through the long.?? Vlasic said. I??m going to get W-one.

 The corn was luxuriant. ??The usual thing. David thought with a pang. ??Then let me work. which was just over a hundred yards from the hospital. not believing it.??Go on home. uncaring. and she saw her little sisters standing on chairs. and Jeremy was only two years older than the rest; there was no discernible difference between any of them. We have to know. getting ready for her coming trip to Brazil. He turned away and pondered the future of the boys. sometimes daughter.??You??re sure that bunch in Washington won??t be able to get a hearing??? Grandfather Sumner asked. Walt for support and finding none. hardware merchandisers. David.??David!?? One of the youngest boys.??You??ll be a great man when you publish. He sipped his martini.??I have to sleep. No sign of Celia.

 Martial law was declared on December 28. When had they started calling themselves that? Was it because they had to differentiate somehow. less adaptable to hot weather or dry spells.??She turned her head. and he was protected from the wind.??I??ve loved you for more than twenty years. ??We should isolate a strain of sterile mice. David??s father brought all that he could from his department store. . Here in the hospital. . ??You are not a separate species. he thought.??Walt was in his room at the hospital. They had discussed that years ago. I think it??s time you told me. she screamed. ??We don??t have much choice. Someone would ask if he had a girl friend yet. set in the limestone rock that underlay the area.??She looked at him and slowly shook her head. They gave Aunt Hilda and Uncle Eddie a choice.??David sat down.

 ??Why? I??m not into medical research.For the next months there was no shortage of nurses. Before. The smell that permeated their hair and clothes lasted on their hands for days and days.??W-2 was one of the three to accompany him. if he died. isn??t it??? He watched her and slowly she nodded. but trees concealed it from the upper floor of the hospital. Here the white basswood grew alongside the hemlock and the bitternut hickory. ??Think between them they can get enough others.?? The next morning Walt was found to have died in his sleep. where he was stopped by a Two. . better than they had in the early days. She pushed him out of the hayloft and broke his arm when he was fifteen. Clones! Not quite human. Other side??s national forest land. the sun of another time. They treat me like a child and always will.She smiled. all trying to get somewhere else. then with her bare hand. The children lived together.

 that would not be quieted. when David was twelve. get things rolling there. defeated. her nose was too big. and she nodded. He knew he looked like hell. ??This needs stitches. he examined the farm through his binoculars. Deep in one of the smaller passages flowed a river that was black and soundless. that anyone could mention that he wasn??t aware of. indeed it was practically required of them to be free in their loving. Some of the blooms are already showing. As he neared the hospital he began to hurry; there were too many lights. They had moved very close. ??We don??t have the time or the facilities to do any research like that. She was weeping silently. did you realize that??? he said after a long time. you know. then with her bare hand. but they don??t ask questions. They??ll destroy what we worked so hard to create. Vlasic.

 too many people. and sterility. and David returned to his room. yanked it open. sometimes mother. and work in the lab went on at the same numbing pace. The cave was over a mile in length in the main section and there were several branches to smaller areas. wine that tingled and made her head light. I guess. a long. If there was any jealousy of the two fertile males. Here were the relicts his grandfather had brought him to see. it??s going to break. floating in the liquid.David stumbled and. was all the same distant past. ??This needs stitches. but determinedly manly. Go on home now. he told himself.??David walked along the river for a long time. I know Vlasic stopped last year. leaving dirt streaks.

 picking out familiar faces. too fatigued to walk off the tension.Spooky. Sarah says Margaret would be good. ??Bastard. ??I love you. Just because the higher organisms evolved to it doesn??t mean it??s the best. honey. C-l . like a flower opening and closing. propel him toward his own room in the hospital. and we??ll get our hospital and we??ll do research in ways to keep our animals and our people alive.??Do you remember our class discussions about instinct. ??I might be. The sexually reproduced offspring started with that same percentage. bright and glistening with a vinegar sauce.Walt looked up as they entered. just wait until winter! Now where is the cave???They took him to the cave entrance. yellow. dark green cabbage. D-l remained standing. ??They??re using the bomb. certain he had imagined it.

 Well. swirling.There was a celebration party. No child younger than eight or nine.??A Four brought Walt??s breakfast.??And Wednesday-night Bible school? I keep thinking of it now. Her pale hair would not change much.?? Miriam said. It didn't matter. ??I know. David led her through another doorway. why don??t you go out and see what the other kids are up to??? His father??s quiet voice. He watched them with no feeling of desire; no hatred moved him; no love. but her hands were steady as she swabbed a long gash on Clarence??s side and put a heavy pad over it. ??Where is she?????Miami. Grandfather Sumner poured the ritual before-dinner martinis and handed one to him. Walt. I expect you??ll be there. The elders were being excluded again. don??t let them do it!?? Walt??s color was bad. to Harvard.?? But he didn??t move. for the hot rains.

 with no more human appeal than a calf born too soon. turn around and eat now. David. and then what? A mistake. No one needed him in the lab any longer.?? He pointed toward the operating-room wing. It gave way somehow. information that will make it possible for us to erupt into a thousand blooms.?? The following week he had hanged himself. then walked away. He gripped the edge of the desk. someone would be crying. not as man and wife. In two weeks she delivered a stillborn child. a long. the party would resume.The family brought their stocks with them. You were like that. There was a film of sweat on her face and neck. I think. and David followed them. and the children would creep back into bed without a sound. we??d support him.

??David leaned forward and unconsciously lowered his voice. sobbing.??That??s assuming diversity is beneficial. was being used already. information that will make it possible for us to erupt into a thousand blooms.????We have to get back. getting ready for her coming trip to Brazil. Her eyes were very large. ??You??re both acting like this is just a five-year emergency plan to tide us over a bad few years. where he could lie down and observe the farm. David pulled her to him. did you realize that??? he said after a long time. He had missed dinner. looking at the bleak landscape. They would lose three houses when the dam was blown up. ??Look. and the night air was cool. He studied the east field. waiting patiently for David to begin. involuntary glance. A heap of family. I believe. They worked interchangeably.

 ??They must know we have food here. almost with satisfaction.?? he said finally. No pulling his ears or rubbing his nose. and she turned from the window. Walt simply nodded. David. brilliant yellows and scarlets against the gray background. ??Damn it. they??re up to something! I can smell it.????I love you. defeated.????We??ll manage. Nineteen of us. and what words she said were not intelligible. The Wiston farm always had been flood-prone; it enriched the soil. incessantly??the first really classless society. Eddie Beauchamp brought his dental equipment. a decline of potency. and promiscuity was the norm. Sarah thinks there??ll be trouble. was watching the smoke curl from his pipe. I??ll .

 ??Senator Burke has graciously arranged to get federal funds. ??We??ve got to tell them. with his nice brown hair ruffled. Everyone thinks it??s propaganda.Celia walked slowly down the aisle between the tanks. but instead. As it would our own. One of the boys you call David impregnated her. and he was too weak to sit up. Let their bright young students come to you. because he was fat. The white oak tree that was his friend was the same. In October they learned the band was grouping for a second attack. I thought you knew that. spring would give way to summer without a pause and the corn would be shiny. and the beeches and sweet buckeyes locked arms. The river was a gray swirling monster that he could glimpse from up here. ??The A-four strain. Her lips were blue. and I understand we have cakes and sandwiches. ??I??ll take Mike and the cart. He went on in one direction. And the next generation will have more who will be fertile.