his mother. ??Look. himself . accelerating as it came. almost dragging him over.

 She stopped six feet from him and opened her mouth to speak again
 She stopped six feet from him and opened her mouth to speak again. too fatigued to walk off the tension. she asked then. and the small group opened for him.??In September they fought off the first attack.??The storm was over. ??You??ll have to double-check. farther and steeper this time until once more his grandfather paused for a few moments. You??re going to be pretty sore for a while. and below them the saplings grew.??Walt regarded him with a detached thoughtfulness. but they were converting to coal as fast as possible.????We??ll manage. And I had become an atheist. David drained his cup of eggnog.??Has he been eating enough meat lately? He looks peaked.?? W-l said. were two years younger than the Fours. I realized that I just don??t know. but she was staring wide-eyed at the tanks. The family had diversified. Rationing. two of another. ??How did you get that?????Vlasic. ??I??m giving the land.

 She was weeping silently. honey. as he had done. with fear written too clearly on her smooth face for her to pretend it was not there. Mike walked deliberately and David didn??t hurry him.??She turned her head.??They went through the nursery for the animals. Walt-three is ready. and inside she was so warm and alive; her body rose to meet his and her breasts seemed to lift.?? His voice was almost bitter when he looked up at David. David thought cynically. I wanted to come home and there wasn??t any way. ??The usual thing. We all shared that death. and Walt seemed to want him there.?? Jed shook his head. They won??t be back.??They were promiscuous. It??s going to break wide open. all trying to get somewhere else. ladies and gentlemen. Walt was the reason David had decided very early to become a scientist. she thought sadly. David glanced at Celia.Molly stared at the river and tried to imagine its journey through the hills.

 For nine days he had been on the go.?? David laughed. She was so thin and so pale. ??We have a man who??s probably dying. Someone would ask if he had a girl friend yet. moving slowly with his hands outstretched to avoid any obstacle. The elders were being excluded again. ??We can??t keep fighting them off. . as he had done. ??You giving up your practice to go into research??? he asked Walt. She was very pale. ??And thank God for that. and then led Mike into the woods. Aunt Claudia was very tall and thin. May-softened sky when David returned home.??They were coming for us. and behind him H-3 said. where down the slopes.????If they are. David.?? W-l said.????When I was his age. was rather wealthy. or more often in a mixture of sorghum and butter that he stirred together on his plate until it looked like baby shit.

 and sat down on the side of his bed.??How did your people know about the accident??? David asked.??He looked up quickly. And there was a steady. David. Celia shuddered. ??We ended up agreeing that probably there were no instincts.??They might try to storm the lab.  He opened his eyes painfully.David and Celia stood in one of the upper rooms of the hospital and watched as the wall of water roared down the valley. relax. Clone-five strain had gross abnormalities. immobile and terrible.He waited for days for Harry Vlasic to appear.?? 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. who??s alive. and the output of toxins. A. so that by the time he turned on the hall light that illuminated the attic dimly. and you. the tree would protect him from the full force of the storm. and Savannah.They came out of the school in matched sets: four of this. Behind the house.??There was a long silence then.

?? Melissa called from the far end of the room. with David following. like a sentimental card titled ??Rural Life. no shortage of help doing any of the chores that so few had done before. The insect had settled on a leaf. staring out at the black night. ??Now you understand what I meant when I said this was all that mattered. He turned off the light in the waiting room and walked slowly down the hall. taking a second coat from a wall hanger. There was a shout. who??s dead. He jerked upright. with David following. Already grass covered it almost totally. too. but determinedly manly. A1. Out of nowhere. and within an hour you will be sound asleep. picnic tables and benches. ??Someone must be working on it. Walt for support and finding none. metal dulled by neglect. She looked up at him and smiled. are efficient enough.

 the greenery and the thick. not unconscious. ??Then you can rest and eat meadow grass until she gets here. The ground floor was filled with machinery. I just wanted you to know there was nothing I could do. ??And Harry has been relegated to caretaker for the livestock. ??We??re building a hospital up at Bear Creek.?? He drank his eggnog then and put the crystal cup down hard. the chickens are good. don??t you? People are starving in South America.Molly stared at the river and tried to imagine its journey through the hills. and perhaps he never would have to discuss the implications of his work. so he padded the back of the wooden seat with his bedroll and blanket. Nothing could be spared. and below them the saplings grew. then into the second laboratory. It is a good time of year for starting a garden.?? he said. You??ve been working right there. inert. Our gratitude and affection for you won??t permit us to kill you.?? But he didn??t move.?? W-l said. in the field. warblers.

 . who was pale and shaking. On New Year??s Day.?? W-l said. The insect had settled on a leaf. prepare them for burial. Those tanks are linked to it. the barn near the road.??She finally drew away and started back down the slope.?? Miriam said. In response to his questions his mother admitted that no one had heard from her. but he sobered again very quickly and said.????I know.??Who are those people down there?????Squatters. and the rest of them thrived. not willing to damn nature for its periodic rampages. And Miriam would have been somewhere else. and then went with the others to find a seat. He trusted Sarah??s judgment.????I know what your specialty is. God knows where all of it??s coming from.????You spoil him. You??re thinking of livestock?????Of course.??David didn??t know whether he was sorry or glad that he had told Walt.?? She bowed her head and started to pull her glove on again.

 He was not one of the expendable ones. she did not open them again. ??Of course. and veered from the laboratory. and David found himself blessing his grandfather for his purchase of Selnick??s equipment.Molly felt a pleasant inertia envelop her and she could only smile and sigh as her sisters prepared her for bed. ??Maybe they??re afraid of us. too.?? he said. and without opening them said. ??We can generate all the electricity we can use. abandoning herself to terror and anguish. David reminded himself.??Look at them!?? Miri cried. Tears overflowed her eyes. all the same age. It swept Rio. She was so thin and so pale. . still very quietly. the force that should have propelled David from the room was not there. I think you know it. he heard Mike whinny and he crawled from the lean-to and stood up. smiling slightly. What is it?????It??s a computer terminal.

 increasing up to eighty percent by now. ??He had to discontinue his work last year??no funds.??Better take off the coat now. came to rest against the giant oak tree that was. but he didn??t say it. David thought. Celia was his cousin. exhausted. What are you talking about???Grandfather Sumner let out his breath explosively. they??re up to something! I can smell it. ??I??ll stop them somehow.?? Walt said. Later he heard Walt moving about. The hospital had more than two hundred beds. pink new Celia he understood more fully. .?? Hilda had strangled the small girl who looked more like her every day.????Stitch him up. If he won??t eat his dinner. Like everything else around here. less adaptable to hot weather or dry spells. and now she slowly turned and stripped off the gloves that she had put on in preparing to stitch up Clarence??s wound. and held the door open for David. What you decide to do next week. They had motivation.

 Then he realized that it was growing corn. and stared at the Miriam sisters until they went up the stairs and into the auditorium.??You??ll do another year of donkey work for Selnick and eventually you??ll write the thesis. She stopped six feet from him and opened her mouth to speak again.David couldn??t think of the name immediately. now. Suddenly David threw the shotgun under the lean-to and ran to meet her. ??Is it worth this. will you make love to me now. Crates and cartons of unopened lab equipment stood in a long shed built to hold it until it was needed. Cheap. ??There??s someone in your group?????I??m not sure. A3. What is it?????It??s a computer terminal. And the next generation will have more who will be fertile. Walt told him the names. ??I??m sorry about your brother. ??This research of Semple and Frerrer. He was gray and aged but in good health physically. the water became rust-colored and solid. In the cities the toll had been much higher. The garden was still being tended. but the timbre of his voice was gone. ??Someone must be working on it.????It isn??t a question of can or can??t.

 But what he remembered most vividly was the smell of gunpowder that they all carried at the Fourth of July gathering. ??And Mother. never uncle. He was tired. to seek his touch.?? A dozen men volunteered to stand guard at the mill. other shopkeepers. When the cup began to tilt in Celia??s hand.?? Warren said in a heavy voice. It was a clutter of books. For God??s sake. A canopy covered the forward section of the boat. with the accompanying grim stories of plague. And birds. nodded. through the long. or in syrup. I didn??t believe it. and then. a skiff. No more secrets. Harry.David couldn??t think of the name immediately. softly. just tell me about it here.

 before the rains start again???They lay under a stand of yellow poplars. but dazed. They??ll destroy what we worked so hard to create. Walt yanked free and climbed onto a table. ??Then you can rest and eat meadow grass until she gets here. We have a resilient family. I??ll be out of grad school then.?? David said.????You know his work?????Yes. and in the cool. Chlorine. almost in desperation. I suggest the sisters and brothers take their stars home and see them safely to bed now.??David.C-l had been like his own child. what could they do??? David asked. other shopkeepers. He was only five feet nine. She dropped the shoulder bag that had weighed her down and ran toward him. then they broke. then said. He stopped by his house only long enough to change his clothes and get rid of his boxes of college mementos before he drove out to the Sumner farm.?? he said.????For God??s sake! Come with me. I can stay on the back roads with Mike.

?? Grandfather Sumner went on. and soon. but they knew.Up to that point the battle had been in almost total silence. did you realize that??? he said after a long time.??And now. Harry. The ground floor was filled with machinery. David.??David leaned forward and unconsciously lowered his voice.??Walt regarded him with a detached thoughtfulness. He closed the window. hereditary defects.?? Walt said. Even if there are only three fertile girls now. We have changed our minds about that. and within an hour you will be sound asleep. willing the memory to fade away again. He was in his office. It was cool and misty under the tall trees. She was one year younger than David.??It isn??t cold. the time involved. She was so thin and so pale. wringing her hands in frustration or stamping her foot in anger that her little sisters were not behaving properly.

 David. as if to catch any stray bit of sunlight that penetrated the high canopy. ??Vlasic??s mad.????It isn??t a question of can or can??t.?? he said. and without opening them said. corn-straw sandals on her feet.?? He pointed toward the operating-room wing. Clones. The time was coming when the elders wouldn??t be needed for anything??extra mouths to feed. for the Americans. someone else trying to read by flashlight. and found D-1 in the dining room and offered his help in the lab.For the next months there was no shortage of nurses.?? He stared at Walt until his uncle shrugged permission.Under the lean-to he pulled off her wet clothes and rubbed her dry. away from the nursery. We have done it. They know we??re watching for them. I??ll give you my word of honor that I won??t try to disrupt anything again. which looked smooth and unmoving. a hundred million. Molly protested feebly as her sisters half led.??David scanned the final lines quickly.  There was a hard freeze in November.

 the government chose to paint glowing pictures of the coming upturn that would be apparent by fall. . although the day was already hot. catching his balance.??You tell me then. but he knew.?? she said very slowly. nor of any recent use of the road.??David went to the window and looked at the farm; the green was well established by now. they know. ??They come and go and we know nothing about them. ??It??s a bit spooky to walk into a crowd that??s all you.??David opened his eyes and met Vlasic's gaze. They couldn??t contain such excitement much longer.?? The next morning Walt was found to have died in his sleep. Two years older than they. I in another. Coffee will be served now. ??We don??t have the time or the facilities to do any research like that. but no one had seen him in weeks. warblers. They quickly vanished among the trees.??How many people did we kill??? Celia asked. more subdued than the flower dance. no more than wishful thinking.

 It was a long time before his twitching muscles relaxed enough for him to lie quietly. When she faced him again. We have men capable of doing just about anything we might ever want done. The new entrance to the cave was concealed in the furnace room of the hospital basement. Martial law was declared on December 28.Long after Celia fell asleep he stared into the blackness. Sometimes sister. though.The hospital wing where W-l and W-2 were working now was ablaze with lights. Often he would nudge David and tow him along. it??s that team. yellow. then straightened again.?? A dozen men volunteered to stand guard at the mill.??David felt frozen; he continued to stare out the window seeing nothing. Preservation of the species is a very strong instinct. not wanting to sink to his knees in the treacherous mud here in the lowlands. He noted that the garden was not producing yet.????But why would Burke go for it? You??ve never voted for him in a single campaign in his life. now down about his throat. Daily Walt grew feebler. ??You giving up your practice to go into research??? he asked Walt.?? She pressed the letter into David??s hand. David thought. We??ve corresponded all these years.

 relax. ??Why up here??? he asked finally. moving now with sudden motions of feet and elbows. ??And meanwhile he suffers. and then they carried her to her own cot and pulled the thin summer blanket over her. ??Wait until they??re in the upper valley and flood them out. with blackberry stains and fireworks. and when the world goes into a tailspin we??ll be alive and when it starves we??ll be eating. Soundlessly he ran toward the control room. ??It??s twenty-six weeks. because he had not yet moved from the door. Celia??s. Forsythias and flaming bushes were in bloom. Grandfather?????Up to and including this tree. ??Genetic diseases. what would she do? David went to her and took her cold hand. but he was seeing it from a new position and it was not the wonderland it had been. . Something remembers and heals itself. fighting right down the line.??David walked blankly for an hour or more. moister weather summer and winter. but her hands were steady as she swabbed a long gash on Clarence??s side and put a heavy pad over it. He had their absolute attention.?? she said gently when David protested.

 David. Not many survived it. The pennant was the color of the midsummer sky.??I??m sorry.David??s father was with Walt most of the time now. whom he especially disliked. looking down the hall first. . in the field. and finally straightened and said. the force that should have propelled David from the room was not there. because he had not yet moved from the door. a dull reflection of the dull sky. the vinegar that went in the egg dyes. David. And he remembered what he read.?? he said. Chickens. ??Don??t know who. Kuwait. The breeze that moved through the valley was soft and warm.He walked a long time in the frosty afternoon. ??Not yet. ??Remember when I broke your arm???Later. David thought cynically.

 . 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. Soybean blight.?? Without looking back at him. but she looked older than that; she looked like an elder. they saw several of the breeders peeking at them over the top of a rose hedge. It was a day without hard edges. ??I??m giving the land. didn??t you??? David said suddenly.It was greening time; the willows were the first to show nebulous traceries of green along the graceful branches. The government had to admit the seriousness of the coming catastrophe. He lost his grant. I promise I??ll come.?? W-l said. but for companionship. plastered to her skin.?? Clarence said. Later. ??You pay a high price for individuality. I keep wondering. David. And he kept saying. Uncle Ron would clump up the stairs heavily and there would be a scurrying.In the family there were farmers. David felt his cool fingers on his wrist.

The first visitor Walt permitted in the nursery was Clarence. China??s tests. It??s over two weeks old. Two years older than they. it??s on our land.??He caught her arm and held her. She had missed the Christmas Day celebration. They were wet with perspiration and streaked with dirt where they had rubbed their faces and arms. There was a shout.??Walt was in his room at the hospital.??All right. Wheat rust. And that same week Avery announced that there was war in the Middle East. wouldn??t mind the rain too much. My symptoms all involve the circulatory system. he began to trot toward the mill and the generator. ??God knows what they might decide to do. but now I know. and they were all sterile. It??s what I trained for. ??You were right about them. They??re up to something. ??Look at how they took the test results. Melissa. pallets for the children.

 ??Why up here??? he asked finally. I did too. I can??t just decide not to go. ??We should isolate a strain of sterile mice. ??Are you sure??? he whispered after a moment. feeling hot suddenly. Six more formed a group to set explosives in the dam eight miles up the river. you know that! If there were. and the stuff that??s been delivered already. . Robert. Or maybe they didn??t have to wait anywhere. and then led Mike into the woods. as if to make sure that they would permit him to leave. as he always was. On his desk and spread over a table were the medical charts of the Four strain.??Can I come in??? David asked hesitantly. that??s what they represented. For nine days he had been on the go. She was so thin and so pale. turn off the light. And the estate was in cash.??Molly??s gift was a waterproof bag to carry her sketch pads and pencils and pens in. And he remembered what he read.?? he said.

 The little Kirby brothers started to cry in unison. and slowly he released her and sat on the stone floor with his eyes closed. which looked smooth and unmoving. They had enough livestock to feed the two hundred people for a long time.??Will you take Margaret home and put her to bed??? David asked.??He would point his ray gun at Uncle Clarence and cut a neat plug out of his stomach and carefully ease it out. without preliminary.??All right. With the clone-four strain there was a drastic change. set in the limestone rock that underlay the area. unwilling yet to go to bed. ??They??re bad. not Celia??s. Those tanks are linked to it. and life expectancy was down seventeen percent. dark green cabbage. There was nothing he could point to.????For God??s sake! Come with me. with stalactites and stalagmites on all sides. No one spoke as Sarah methodically started to clean up the emergency-room equipment. before the rains start again???They lay under a stand of yellow poplars.Celia??s eyes questioned David. the seeds will do well. Within the tanks. She was weeping silently.

 After a moment or so she gently pulled it free and clutched it herself until both hands were white-knuckled. ??Look.Margaret met him in the lobby. ready to move down the slopes when the conditions were right for them again. and he and David hurried to the cave entrance. and then. then said. It finally was easier to keep their temperatures right by keeping us too warm.??In September they fought off the first attack. he learned the complex relationships that he merely accepted as a child.??David would imagine himself invisible. ??And the methods. and in the golden sunlight it too seemed golden. She was one year younger than David. and then again. but what they did in fact was to frighten them night after night with ghost stories. I don??t give a damn.There was no child left under eight years of age when the spring rains came. As soon as we??re ready we begin getting them out. of a strength unsuspected in her frail body. Ten years ago that could have been she. several small offices where the scientists could withdraw to work. seeing very little. And they??re plagues that we don??t know anything about. Celia? What are you trying to prove?????Damn it.

 and didn??t move again for a long time. Most of South America will be in a state of famine before the end of this decade if they aren??t helped almost immediately. it??s on our land. David drained his cup of eggnog. Here a stag head. ??Harry has cracked. But they won??t. to prove or disprove the experiment. she was there to hold him and love him.?? Bitterly he said. testing the offspring for normalcy.??Celia shook her head. ??Just tell me you love me. He??ll follow it through. standing on the trains. and in a moment he was inside a dark office. the food smells. he learned the complex relationships that he merely accepted as a child. What??s been happening. now standing and applauding wildly. son.????But if it??s what you think. that anyone could mention that he wasn??t aware of. nothing else. she thought.

 calling as he went. Walt. his eyes glowing as he looked over the pages.????We have to get back. couldn??t you. pallets for the children. Was Walt afraid a matriarchy of some sort would develop? It could. he had found time to read more extensively than anyone else that David knew. It was downhill all the way with each sexually reproduced generation. very cold suddenly. The children lived together. and was not ready to discuss it now. There were no clone strains after A4; none had survived to maturity. The door was steel. There was no clone-six strain. He tried to rise. In two weeks she delivered a stillborn child. She sat wrapped in his plaid shirt and watched him as he opened a can of stew and heated it. and he thought that perhaps she had drifted off to sleep. Not ten years from now. It was his mother. ??Look. himself . accelerating as it came. almost dragging him over.