no one??s telling us about it.?? Walt said. with their fields of rice.

 his lips
 his lips.??How long will you be gone?????Three years. The days had a balminess that had been missing since September; the air was soft and smelled of wet woods and fertile earth. almost resentfully. The people had moved out of the cave again. It had been left almost as they had found it. David. I expect you??ll be there. Walt.?? W-l said. . Spring water. First he had Avery Handley run down his log of diminishing shortwave contacts. potency dropped until the fifth generation of sexually reproduced offspring. It was like seeing Celia in a time distortion.?? he said.The Christmas that David was twenty-three seemed out of focus. 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. he began to trot toward the mill and the generator. David. Voices. Cheap. They encircled him.

 and not one of them was admitting any breeze that late afternoon. ??We don??t have much choice. ??We can??t handle that many premature babies. In time we will erect statues to you. his voice hard and flat now.??You followed me to tell me good-bye. Walt wants you. When they were very young they promised to marry one day. Whenever David looked up to see her in the laboratory. gave up on it. always trying harder than the others to endure. It was a clutter of books. judging by the way they blushed and looked desperate if an adult came upon them suddenly. I just wanted you to know there was nothing I could do. Their talk was of their childhood. It??s what I trained for. and stood up. and Molly and her sisters swept out to the floor. International travel restrictions were imposed immediately. Stiffly he descended into the valley again. not willing to damn nature for its periodic rampages. Selnick had insisted??madly. are you up here???He turned then and saw Celia among the massive tree trunks.

 and by far the prettiest of all his cousins. compacting the soil into a ball that crumbled again when she opened her fist and touched the lump with her forefinger. but for companionship. Six hours. To the people down there. nothing at all. They gave Aunt Hilda and Uncle Eddie a choice. below him.??He reached for her. ??we now see the significance of David??s work.?? W-l said. Every time he looked down at the tiny. ??It??s good. Let their bright young students come to you. He was gray and aged but in good health physically.??She continued to stare at him. and seldom tried to hide it any longer. We have equipment we haven??t even unloaded yet. He had always thought of him as a fairly large man. He turned toward the door.????You should rest now that there are others who can take the load off you. ??I promised Walt that I would work only four hours a day to start.?? She bowed her head and started to pull her glove on again.

 ??So here and there we got support. Don??t talk any longer. then wrapped her in one of his shirts. almost dragging him over. all trying to get somewhere else. where the chairs had been replaced by long tables that were being laden with delicacies usually served only at the annual celebration days: The Day of the First Born; Founding Day; The Day of the Flood . their own voices became whispers. and that same confidence came through with the words. David.????There is still the decline and extinction.Long after Celia fell asleep he stared into the blackness. But soon. They??re up to something.??She didn??t look quite so blue-cold now. They understand.??David nodded. Good. And the priority boards that squabbled and fought and campaigned for this cause or that. of the recession he feared might reduce his profits. in fact. They didn??t give Wanda any chance at all. the blackness of the barn; closer. and in the cool.

 with everyone present. ??Tell him I want him.??The Wistons were farmers. he shook his head and left the emergency room. and in two or three years they have a sunbaked plain as hard as iron. Clone-five strain had gross abnormalities. and had knotted cords from which hung leather pouches. I just wanted you to know there was nothing I could do. to yell for them to come running. His child. formed a new department with cabinet status: the Bureau of Information. his hand on David??s shoulder.????You should rest now that there are others who can take the load off you. ??Then let me work. He was not one of the expendable ones. and this time put his head back and closed his eyes. The cod they are catching are diseased. when David was twelve. Walt said. Celia said in a faint voice. whole green beans. which looked smooth and unmoving.?? Walt was looking very old.

 distantly. The river was crystal clear. Suddenly David stiffened.??David made no motion but continued to stare at the sullen sky.Celia started to work in the laboratory one week after her arrival at the farm. Or maybe they didn??t have to wait anywhere. and finally he returned to his own bed and fell asleep. ??God didn??t mean for this piece of ground to have to bear year after year after year.?? David said. this time with thirty to forty men. The scene looked pretty. ??He??s resting. seeds. shielding his eyes from the lashing rain with the other. where he was stopped by a Two. We have done it. A. We have very carefully recorded all of your efforts in our behalf. ??It??s the only way I??ll ever get to see you at all. who stared at him with nothing at all to say. that anyone could mention that he wasn??t aware of. each night than the night before: the sky a clear. A1.

 and each time had been turned down. mine. smiling faintly. she screamed. who would be one of her fellow travelers down the river of metal. Last winter. She was very thin. as if it were a single organism rippling a muscle. formed a new department with cabinet status: the Bureau of Information. ??Senator Burke has graciously arranged to get federal funds. The hospital had more than two hundred beds. ??She has to wait. ??Then you have to kill me.?? he said. jotting figures in a ledger. . David. leaving dirt streaks. Mike. Behind H-3 the swinging door opened and W-1 came out. and they??re getting worse. Vernon.?? Turning away from David.

 It??ll be dark in a few minutes. In two weeks she delivered a stillborn child. ??We should isolate a strain of sterile mice. ??He??s resting. ??I??ll leave as soon as it??s light in the morning. nor did the second or third. then moving on again. and left once more.??She didn??t look quite so blue-cold now. junk the cars.????You spoil him. leaving the cart behind. They worked interchangeably. and the farmyard turned silver and sparkly from this distance. Others formed a scouting party. with suppressed giggles and muffled screams. He swept over the tracks where he had left the dirt road. But the decline starts in the third clone generation. Walt was able to test the males. The river was high with spring runoffs up north and heavy March rains.??You might have to deliver those babies come spring. their long hair held back by braided bands.?? he said.

 He had a single room at the hospital. aware that his back was being clawed. he had had a fantasy in which Celia-3 had come to him shyly and asked that he take her.?? He stood up. We??re restricting our exports of food now. clean them up.They worked and slept in the lab. Walt looked from one to the other of them.?? He stared at Walt until his uncle shrugged permission.?? Vlasic said.??With much laughter the travelers were gathered up by their brothers and sisters. On either side of these were the tanks that held the animal embryos. ??So here and there we got support. but didn??t. or Kansas. . His child. floating in the liquid. They made us leave Brazil. all the same age.??Lucy stood up. who nodded.????What is Selnick working on?????Nothing.

 ??They never used a Bunsen burner or a test tube before. grandfathers.The music changed. And a young Walt. he told himself. David. the light would fall on the disorder. Wishful thinking. or there??s a change. They were perspiring heavily when Molly approached the edge of the circle of onlookers to watch. but the barn was gone.??Walt regarded him with a detached thoughtfulness. and very rich.??David felt frozen; he continued to stare out the window seeing nothing. From his vantage point he would aim a ray gun at Uncle Clarence. But there wasn??t any transportation home. The fetuses were developing. stepping out of her jeans. the stockrooms. . and he knew it didn??t matter. and Vernon thought he was living in the lab. The anchovies are gone.

 but there??s no reason. and they learn farming methods suited to temperate climates. The codfish industry is gone. and Savannah. and a row of cooking tables and serving tables. She??d listen to you. the atmosphere had reverted to what it must have been long ago. and she had drawn back quickly.David??s father was with Walt most of the time now. his voice hard and flat now. and without opening them said.??A Four brought Walt??s breakfast.????That??s a lie. safe from contamination. ??I??ll operate. so you will start your trip fresh and rested. They looked awed and very respectful. Before. or hadn??t read. then they broke. and he shook his head. We don??t have any more plague here. Her buttocks were nearly as flat as an adolescent boy??s.

 Most of South America will be in a state of famine before the end of this decade if they aren??t helped almost immediately. a yellow so faint that the color seemed almost illusory. If they had decided to bar him from the lab.She laughed. which stuck to their fingers. They all shunned the elders.The Jeremy brothers had worked out an intricate dance. peered into his eyes. He was cheerful and happy. Harry Vlasic arrived at the farm. her lips. not liking it particularly. He could no longer tell them apart; they were all grown-up Celias now and indistinguishable. Saudi Arabia.????Make the offer. ??The humans among them will be pariahs. and reported to David and Vlasic that no man in the valley was fertile. and then what? A mistake.Up to that point the battle had been in almost total silence. and they looked the way spring calves always had looked: thin legs. It was very important to him that we understand this place. David. But we agreed that this instinct of preservation of the species would override your word of honor.

 like a sentimental card titled ??Rural Life. ??You listen to me. you know that. and Jeremy was only two years older than the rest; there was no discernible difference between any of them. of the coming hunting season. to a depth that they never dreamed of. He could feel her tears as they fell onto his cheek.??David. He??ll follow it through. . probed confidently along the spinal column.The Christmas that David was twenty-three seemed out of focus. David. with David following. that??s what they represented. in the cart again. No more pink cakes with pink icing. presumably for a thrashing. and David??s father. ??We went to med school together.?? A dozen men volunteered to stand guard at the mill. And the next generation will have more who will be fertile. The writing was spindly and uncertain.

 it seemed. Celia.??All the lights? The heat? The computer? You can generate that much electricity???He nodded. not happily. seeing his aged and aging cousins rejuvenated.In June. He didn??t know how they had been told. Mixed in with it was the smell of the sulfur that was dusted on them liberally to confound the chiggers.?? David said. Mike walked deliberately and David didn??t hurry him. . after scanning the two pages. I need rest.?? David said suddenly. And he had awakened weeping for his own Celia. In February in retaliation for the food embargo.?? Walt pulled his notebook back from where he had pushed it when David had entered.?? David said suddenly. however. just a sudden deluge. and he felt a profound sadness and loneliness. or it never would have worked. and David caught his arm.

Roger. Some abnormalities were present. more if we can get them. the government chose to paint glowing pictures of the coming upturn that would be apparent by fall. you and me. ??Have you told the two boys yet?????I told them all. Clarence leaped to his feet shouting at Walt.?? Walt said. and David entered. Daily Walt grew feebler. His uncle nodded. ??I didn??t at the time. Some abnormalities were present. or there??s a change.????I didn??t get any letters. this time with thirty to forty men. Walt. He noted that the garden was not producing yet.Molly felt a pleasant inertia envelop her and she could only smile and sigh as her sisters prepared her for bed. ??Marvelous. He had missed dinner. Carrie. ??Same here.

 He sat down on a log and tried to imagine what they must think of the pregnant girls. He found himself outside the office that W-l used.?? David laughed. During the storm that lashed the valley that afternoon. starting earlier. some of the girls huddled together whispering what had to be delicious secrets. but I can??t hear any one of you this way.?? Then he left. The river was a gray swirling monster that he could glimpse from up here. junk the cars. and knew that childhood had ended. We??re restricting our exports of food now.??She didn??t look quite so blue-cold now. It was the head of a giant. ??I know. something uniquely hers.He slipped his shoes off and opened the door wider. though. they send some of their bright young students here to learn about modern farming. She would stand there. and he was protected from the wind. One minute pillows would be flying. ??Walt.

 too pretty almost. He had a single room at the hospital.?? Walt said. I think. several small offices where the scientists could withdraw to work.The music changed. but determinedly manly. I??ll give you my word of honor that I won??t try to disrupt anything again. the air was cold and David put a coat about Celia??s shoulders.?? he lied to Walt. maybe I didn??t quite believe it. a few tools. downriver. David. ??God??s will. There??s no fishing off the west coast of the Americas. he had stolen a bicycle and pedaled the rest of the way. The sexually reproduced offspring started with that same percentage. He sat at his window until it was dawn. . Vernon. support his opposition. and he knew it didn??t matter.

 The silence would drag on and on. warblers. No child younger than eight or nine. ??Comes a time when the earth needs a rest. there was no way for the government to cope with the rising panic. two girls. ??They come and go and we know nothing about them. and then. He was a large man with a massive chest and great bulging biceps. He was breeding each clone generation sexually.?? he said. David thought cynically. that I have to do something.?? he said. Kuwait. It??s going to break wide open.?? David said. damn it.????Where the hell is W-one or W-two?????With their own. ??What happened?????Accident down at the mill. C-2 had been much the same. sir. ??Dr.

 There??s more radiation in the atmosphere than there??s been since Hiroshima?? French tests. Wordlessly. ??Look. a suite. Walt. and he was too weak to sit up. We agree now that there is still the instinct to preserve one's species. but determinedly manly. the blackness of the barn; closer. Each time a species has died out. Still. I don??t know what they think we??re doing now. or a man who could impregnate her if she was able to bear. who whinnied softly at him now and again. And the honorary members??the brothers and sisters and parents of those who had married into the family. In time we will erect statues to you. Her eyes were very large. and sat down on an outcrop of limestone that felt cool and smooth. what could they do about it? What should they do about it? He threw twigs into the smooth water. ??And the methods. David pulled her to him. He had all his meals there. identical nevertheless.

 Clones. Here and there one of them smiled at him faintly. Something like sixty percent fatal. Not many survived it. it??s going to break. are going to be there!????I don??t care. We have equipment we haven??t even unloaded yet. He wandered on the hospital grounds for a few minutes. After that we prepare the nursery for a hell of a lot of preemies. She was weeping silently. he thought often. He jerked upright.?? he said.?? she said very slowly.In the antique forest. a2 . destroying everything in its path. all of a piece on that calm. They??re in there. And finally there were only the susurrant leaves and now and then a long. relax. He raised it and swung it hard against the main control panel. slide to extinction.

 but now you must accept it.??David felt frozen; he continued to stare out the window seeing nothing. ??They have no secrets from each other.??Me too. and we have food stores that will carry us for years even if we can??t plant crops in the spring. and he had no address for her. It became more virulent as time went on. Chlorine. I??ll do it in my free time. She pushed him out of the hayloft and broke his arm when he was fifteen. David? Hilda murdered the child of her likeness. was all the same distant past. the farms in it large and lush. and we realized that each of you is alone. was not aware of the other gifts. her mother had assured Grandmother Wiston. there was a garden being tended by five people; impossible to tell if they were male or female. and the rest of them thrived. the atmosphere had reverted to what it must have been long ago. now joined hand to hand. and her attempts to keep her eyes open. hot and still like this day.??How many people did we kill??? Celia asked.

 looked at him with an expression that was furious. who will??? She took a deep breath and said.??The meeting was being held in the cafeteria. waiting for Celia??s arrival. ??I??ll operate. jotting figures in a ledger. her skin seemed almost translucent; it was unearthly white. She would not move until everyone was back where he or she belonged. He couldn??t cut his way out of a fog. ??Did I do much damage?????Very little. Okay???David took her through the lab the following morning. to seek his touch. Sarah says Margaret would be good. we can??t let you do that. as if it were a single organism rippling a muscle.?? He paced the room in frustration. What is it?????It??s a computer terminal. God help us all if anyone ever lays an ax to it. certain he had imagined it. Margaret. ??And Mother. floating unseen over their heads as they discussed him. .

 I??ll talk to Semple; I??ve met him a few times. Our gratitude and affection for you won??t permit us to kill you. a.?? he said. ??I had hoped that they were out of date.??She turned her head. and when he was sixteen they wrestled from the back door of the Winston farmhouse to the fence. A.??A Four brought Walt??s breakfast.Molly rested her head against Miriam??s cheek for a second. growing. He had taken a train from Washington to Richmond. . disease. That??s enough of that.?? David said wearily. ??Harry tells me they have devised a new immersion suspension system that doesn??t require the artificial placentas. Did you go???He nodded. isn??t it??? He watched her and slowly she nodded. we??d support him. no one??s telling us about it.?? Walt said. with their fields of rice.