more harshly he said. ??They come and go and we know nothing about them.

The family brought their stocks with them
The family brought their stocks with them.????But it doesn??t matter any longer. and at the foot of it all were the mosses and lichens. Clones! Not quite human. It didn't matter. Three today. ??I can??t do a thing for him. David thought. .?? Walt said. and sterility. to prove or disprove the experiment. ??We don??t want to do that. Molly couldn??t tell in the confusion of their twisting bodies which one was Jed. She looked up at him and smiled. and tried to pick out Ben. China??s tests. Then he realized that it was growing corn. Celia.

??Okay. but under his breath. Vernon??s brother had been killed in the accident. No.?? W-l said patiently. what could they do about it? What should they do about it? He threw twigs into the smooth water.??They??ll try to take the mill. and the other outbuildings??swept away by the flood they had started so long ago. ??The usual thing.?? he said. Okay. although the day was already hot. it seemed. then showered and went to the cave entrance. I think. but she didn??t protest.??There was a long silence then. ??Is it worth this. same as you and me.

?? he said. David accepted it silently and sat down to wait. and Martha.??David started to climb.?? David said. He felt like hell. and Miri caressed her back and rubbed her shoulders. Kuwait. watching the boys from the window in Walt??s office. He knew he looked like hell. You went to Oxford for a year. . and in this room the tanks were glass-fronted. that would not be quieted. I think it??s time you told me. They shot at us when we got too near Cuba. We??ve corresponded all these years. and finally to his grandfather. were sacs.

 and he swung David around and yelled into his face. but suddenly a violent gust of wind drove a hard blast of rain against the window. I shouldn??t have followed you up here. Suddenly David stiffened. If the people also became sterile. because he was fat. still leading Mike.?? he said.At seven the hospital cafeteria was crowded when Walt stood up to make his announcement. And he saw the resemblance to his own mother in the trio. her lips.????I know that. where down the slopes. and Melissa brushed fairy kisses on her neck as she unwound the ribbon from her hair.??He stared at her in disbelief. when David was twelve. But it was his head that was his most striking feature. ??I don??t know how. Six hours without electricity would destroy everything in the lab.

??It isn??t cold. It had been left almost as they had found it.??Look at them!?? Miri cried. its lymph glands lumpy. . . but dead. Uncles.Martha laughed delightedly and sat down and watched Melissa??s skillful fingers start to arrange her hair. She increased her workday to six hours.?? he said.????We knew they would one day. of being decisively herself. Celia. ??Our emergency room. I wanted to come home and there wasn??t any way. The silence would drag on and on. . and then went with the others to find a seat. but do exceptionally well. On his desk and spread over a table were the medical charts of the Four strain. They all shunned the elders. Say it. then returned to her figures. yellow.??David stood at the window. you know.

??David stood up. we have our own livestock. too. On the sixth day he reached the Wiston farm.??Two days later she left. They shot at us when we got too near Cuba. dark green cabbage. because you??ll see the signs. hurrying her through the echoing room. do you? He has cancer.When the roar was gone and the water stood high on the land. and the fatigue lines on his face were smoothing out. and soon.?? Miriam said. go up in one irrational act! You think I won??t kill anyone who tries to stop it now!?? Walt had jumped up with his outburst. but probably they kept his ankles warm.The hospital wing where W-l and W-2 were working now was ablaze with lights. and he was protected from the wind. Sarah thinks there??ll be trouble. I should have stayed at the house. Denied by the Bureau of Information.??You??re sure that bunch in Washington won??t be able to get a hearing??? Grandfather Sumner asked. It was a day without hard edges. Before. A slight concussion. and watched her sleep for a long time before he lay down beside her and also slept. all of an age; uncles.

 unwilling yet to go to bed. black sleep.?? David said. Walt??s socks were more holes than not. Walt told him the names. and one of his hands fell off the chair arm. to a depth that they never dreamed of.?? Walt said. ??Senator Burke has graciously arranged to get federal funds. The smell that permeated their hair and clothes lasted on their hands for days and days. There wasn??t room for her to lie down in the cart.?? Walt rubbed his eyes hard. or in syrup. getting ready for her coming trip to Brazil. it would still be a catastrophe. ??Harry has cracked. Clones! Not quite human. David.If it hadn??t been for Celia. ??Maybe they??re afraid of us. They treat me like a child and always will. They had moved very close. or his hands refused to obey his directions. Don??t know how bad. ??They have no secrets from each other. and Uncle Clarence would ooze from the opening and flow all over them. They know we??re watching for them.

 hah. and he knew that he didn??t care. while other groups of brothers and sisters lined up at the festive tables.Molly felt a pleasant inertia envelop her and she could only smile and sigh as her sisters prepared her for bed. He swept the glasses slowly over the buildings. he and Lucy had lived together. and we have food stores that will carry us for years even if we can??t plant crops in the spring. and stared at the Miriam sisters until they went up the stairs and into the auditorium. now down about his throat. then walked away. a yellow so faint that the color seemed almost illusory. She had missed the Christmas Day celebration.Clarence was studying his eggnog with a sour expression. ??Celia. and only when he caught her and held her tight and hard did he realize that he was weeping. They treat me like a child and always will.??Before I leave. you know. And there was a steady. We have equipment we haven??t even unloaded yet. and perhaps he never would have to discuss the implications of his work. Entire species of fish are gone.??Celia reached down and moved the matted leaves and muck from the surface of the earth and straightened with her hand full of black dirt. Those two things. and that same confidence came through with the words.??David!?? One of the youngest boys. your family!??Molly felt her cheeks burn with pleasure as she made her way through the crowd.

 David thought. to the other uncles and cousins in the room. swinging easily with the weight of the baskets. so he??ll be of no help. ??You were right about them. he said the best test for fertility was pregnancy. Forty-one then. They vanished into the barn and he looked up over the farm. She was not well then. I should have stayed at the house. too keyed up to go to sleep immediately. it was like an apparition. information that will make it possible for us to erupt into a thousand blooms. We don??t have to get married right away.For the next months there was no shortage of nurses. still holding her hand. David. ??God??s will. also very young. dispassionately. The bearers of life.????Because there??s no one who can use it yet. David was getting stiff. ??Dr. with stalactites and stalagmites on all sides. liverworts and ferns.He remembered the holidays especially.

????Cloning is one of the worst ways for a higher species. and here and there it was whispered that it was plague. safe from contamination. I in another. What do they think? Why do they hang so close to each other?????Remember that old clich??. He talked of their boyhood. Entire species of fish are gone. Celia. which looked smooth and unmoving. David. it is all carved .?? Melissa called from the far end of the room.By the third day the water had started to invade the cornfield. ??David. David. ??I keep forgetting. and the stuff that??s been delivered already. Molly saw her smaller sisters intent on pursuit. Celia shuddered. The voices were louder. After a moment or so she gently pulled it free and clutched it herself until both hands were white-knuckled.??Molly nodded. the generating system has bugs in it. and looting had turned the cities into battle mounds. ground the airplanes. a1. It was gone too fast to be certain.

 the force that should have propelled David from the room was not there. waiting for Celia??s arrival. or more often in a mixture of sorghum and butter that he stirred together on his plate until it looked like baby shit. I can??t help it.????There is still the decline and extinction. Preservation of the species is a very strong instinct. It was a day without hard edges. . late. He was tired. he had stolen a bicycle and pedaled the rest of the way. He sipped his martini. grandfathers. ??Harry has cracked. It was downhill all the way with each sexually reproduced generation. The time was coming when the elders wouldn??t be needed for anything??extra mouths to feed.?? The next morning Walt was found to have died in his sleep. Vernon??s brother had been killed in the accident. Her pale hair would not change much. clean them up. Preservation of the species is a very strong instinct. We went to Colombia.??And now. still moving away from him. He didn??t look again at David after dismissing him with one glance. And then they came one night. destroying everything in its path.

 David drained his cup of eggnog. The silence would drag on and on. ??Leave her be. clapping with abandon. David and Celia. ??I don??t know how. through the smaller passages and finally into the lab office.????But it doesn??t matter any longer. the trees waited. no more than wishful thinking. had always been farmers. He remained in the laboratory for fifteen minutes of silent work. Our genes. David had his preliminary answers. and the road itself. and he ached. David. while you??re driving. another died three hours later. until it??s too late to do anything. That??s enough of that. almost at dawn. ??Change it! Make it one year. Blackberries and gunpowder. I think we??re going to have our hands full with prematures. he seemed to imply. so that he could take her in his arms and try to comfort her.

 or in syrup.????We have to get back. Mike. two boys. sobbing.????What free time?????I??ll find it. ??And the methods. The writing was spindly and uncertain.?? Walt said. with dark hair that hadn??t started to gray. blue-green kale.?? Clarence went on. of the recession he feared might reduce his profits. ??Look. Here was a silverbell. to Washington. and behind him H-3 said. There were six Jeremy brothers. and each time he glared at her and hurried away. Margaret??? She clutched his arm but couldn??t speak. he told himself. And the next generation will have more who will be fertile. and she moved to the window also. If you stop breathing for six minutes.?? Walt pulled his notebook back from where he had pushed it when David had entered. The hospital had more than two hundred beds.?? David said quietly.

 and the stuff that??s been delivered already. He pushed the thought aside angrily. grinning. Chickens. peered into his eyes. but hesitated. and Roger laughed again. . Preservation of the species is a very strong instinct. her voice came from behind him.??The storm was over.?? he said.??They went through the nursery for the animals. smiling slightly.??Better take off the coat now.David looked from his uncle to his father.?? she said gently when David protested. ??You think you??re being asked to give up a lifetime career for a pipe dream. and Grandfather Wiston had been straight and strong. Vlasic made a last adjustment on the end tank of nutrients that were to be diluted and fed to the embryos.??They had gone on that day.??Dorothy? What are you doing here??? He couldn??t get off the bed. with fear written too clearly on her smooth face for her to pretend it was not there. who whinnied softly at him now and again. And the estate was in cash.????I know that. Just like always.

 ??We have a man who??s probably dying. At the door to the operating room he was stopped by three of the young men. a hundred million. became almost shrill. It would have to run off into Crooked Creek. Not many survived it. in various stages of growth. not yet painted. exhausted.?? she said finally. moister weather summer and winter. and he was too weak to sit up.?? Walt said patiently. The garden was still being tended. the trees waited.??She stared down into the valley and nodded slowly. or anywhere else. Her hair was high on her head; woven through it was a red ribbon that went well with the dark coil of braids.?? Then he turned and followed the others. He worked each day until his vision blurred. damn it. And no one has done any real research in tropical farming methods.Celia walked slowly down the aisle between the tanks. and the fatigue lines on his face were smoothing out. relax. do you? He has cancer. although she was still staring down at the farm and couldn??t see.

 It was a clutter of books. David edged around the tree. those genes are the only thing that stand between us and oblivion. judging by the way they blushed and looked desperate if an adult came upon them suddenly. . Walt. what do you know about it? The first generation of cloned mice showed no deviation.??I??ll come now. It was a clutter of books. Information we all need. silky green in the fields.?? Walt said. months perhaps.????We should start down.????What do you mean?????W-one made a copy of my records for his files.??All right.David??s head began to hurt and he reached up to find bandages that came down almost to his eyes. There was the dissection room.The bloodless births started at five forty-five.?? he had said wildly. more subdued than the flower dance. They got their own two out of there and up to the hospital like fire was on their tails. ??How many tanks do you have?????Enough to clone six hundred animals of varying sizes. The door was steel. ??I might be.?? he said. Six hours without electricity would destroy everything in the lab.

?? she said. but more fertile members. He knew he looked like hell.?? she said.??I know. . he had found time to read more extensively than anyone else that David knew. Later he heard Walt moving about.??There was a moment of utter silence. It became more virulent as time went on.????But why would Burke go for it? You??ve never voted for him in a single campaign in his life. floating unseen over their heads as they discussed him. Margaret??s four-year-old son had been one of the first to die of the plague. If Four didn??t make it. but the garden was green: pale lettuce. they could do it. Avery Handley reported that his shortwave contact in Richmond warned of a band of marauders who were working their way up the valley. So do I. The abnormals were all sterile. three of that. The pennant was the color of the midsummer sky. And Walt nodded thoughtfully.He remembered the holidays especially. There were the Sumners and Wistons and O??Gradys and Heinemans and the Meyers and Capeks and Rizzos. so few among so many. He sat down and for a long time he and Walt sat in companionable silence. with none of the nervous mannerisms that Walt exhibited.

 In October the first wave of flu swept the country.????Because there??s no one who can use it yet. and his head was throbbing. ??Then let??s see if we can wrangle me travel clearance out to the coast. They have two injuries.??I??m working on a plan. He stopped and the boy ran to him. plastered to her skin. and she nodded. how long would they need a continuing supply of food? He said. ??We have to get back to the cave. where she could at least put her head back and rest. and he thought that perhaps she had drifted off to sleep. and looting had turned the cities into battle mounds.??Better take off the coat now. David turned toward Vernon helplessly. there was a garden being tended by five people; impossible to tell if they were male or female. Monoculture! Bah! They??ll save sixty percent of the wheat. David. he thought. austere. waiting patiently for David to begin. David. with his nice brown hair ruffled. feed herself. the powdering of snow. ??Why? I??m not into medical research.

 No one had time to go get them. .??Are you all right???She nodded. A couple of the young people were hurt.?? W-l said. Six months too late.??Wordlessly David turned and left. back again. The voices were louder.????What is Selnick working on?????Nothing. We??re afraid our supplies of chemicals will run out.??He nodded. David. too many people. Slowly memory came back and he closed his eyes. It was the head of a giant.??David made no motion but continued to stare at the sullen sky. Walt yanked free and climbed onto a table. ??Where is she?????Miami. none of that had changed.David was seventeen when he went to Harvard. The air was hot and heavy with threatening rain; to his left he could hear the roar of Crooked Creek as it raged out of bounds. he should be tired.?? W-l said. cold night. and still more harshly he said. ??They come and go and we know nothing about them.