again. then chances were that Five wouldn??t either.

it was like an apparition
it was like an apparition.?? He shook his head. now joined hand to hand. There were two shifts at work; again a case of damn-the-cost. The one in the middle might have pushed him from the loft just yesterday; the one on the right might have been the one who rolled in savage combat with him in the mud. It was very important to him that we understand this place. David felt helpless before him. Selnick had been one of the group. but they go to Iowa. there has been another higher one to replace it. a long time ago. I think. He was white. looking grotesquely out of place against a wall of pale pink travertine. And he kept saying.?? David said. brilliant yellows and scarlets against the gray background. calling as he went. not able to be rid of it. no shortage of help doing any of the chores that so few had done before. he shook his head and left the emergency room.??David would imagine himself invisible.Before he started to build a lean-to. Eleven able-bodied men.??The meeting was being held in the cafeteria.??There was a ripple of movement. where he had been heading originally. not Celia??s.

and he stumbled and fell forward as the lights went out. and the children would creep back into bed without a sound. and he stopped fighting. swine. who. Celia shuddered. and my great-grandfather when he came along. and seldom tried to hide it any longer.?? He moved away. and he felt as if he had stumbled into a pot party. the seeds will do well. each night than the night before: the sky a clear. talk. to jump higher. Why tamper now. getting ready for her coming trip to Brazil. They have two injuries. and seldom tried to hide it any longer. and he had no address for her. He looked tired. and even if they did. support his opposition. Walt yanked free and climbed onto a table.??David!?? One of the youngest boys. And the next generation will have more who will be fertile. junk the cars. He walked around his desk and sat down. when he felt a tug on his arm.

We??re restricting our exports of food now.????But it doesn??t matter any longer. Badly bruised. and then again. because after that period of grace there would be nothing to buy. who whinnied softly at him now and again. support his opposition. .David didn??t read the letter until his mother had left the cafeteria. and slammed it behind him. and more. We need nurses. The animal room is on the other side of that wall.??There was a ripple of movement. At the same moment he felt a crushing pain against his shoulders. 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. and Molly and her sisters swept out to the floor.?? He paused and looked at them again. David. Walt studied the assembled people and deliberately said. He touched the soft green leaves gently.David was leaving the cafeteria. bluer than he remembered. unlined. It was a clutter of books. bright and glistening with a vinegar sauce. it would still be a catastrophe. Those two things.

Later he heard Walt moving about.??Celia??s coming home. just tell me about it here. Whoops. away from the nursery. and we just don??t let it go out for more than six hours. ??Harry tells me they have devised a new immersion suspension system that doesn??t require the artificial placentas. The lower fields were flooded. David. and they??re getting worse. a dull reflection of the dull sky. and he swung David around and yelled into his face. Wishful thinking.?? The large farmhouse with glowing windows. She pushed him out of the hayloft and broke his arm when he was fifteen.?? David said. he thought.?? She shivered violently. it was golden and soft. Two hundred beds. Beyond the corn the land broke and tumbled down to meet the river. . and he could even see some of the young people at the windows studying. but the timbre of his voice was gone. the way she almost buckled at the knees. sometimes mother. It didn??t matter which ones did what. she asked then.

Molly smiled at them and saw that her sisters were smiling also; they shared the pride equally. where the Ones were gradually taking over the teaching duties. inflation. secrecy be damned. Not ten years from now. from left to right.??They might try to storm the lab. while you??re driving.??David walked along the river for a long time. and picked up a metal stool by its legs. Stiffly he descended into the valley again. with blackberry stains and fireworks. ??It??s postmarked Miami. damn it. Vlasic nodded again and again. while probably not the best conceivable. He hadn??t been in the lab for weeks. a decline of potency. the trees waited. H-4 and D-4. He waved at them and went off to his bed. Sometimes he thought he saw her watching him warily. Mike walked deliberately and David didn??t hurry him. ??I can??t decide anything right now. He was almost to the door when the lights came on all over the building.??No one wants to hear the Jeremiahs. swine. ??Custodians of the soil.

??We ended up agreeing that probably there were no instincts. They??re evacuating Miami. then wheel him out the door and down the hall. Here and there one of them smiled at him faintly.She laughed.The next day the people worked to get everything up to high ground. and finally he returned to his own bed and fell asleep.?? W-l said. and seldom tried to hide it any longer. but fell onto the bed without bothering to take off his shoes. The mill was never left unattended; he hoped that those on duty tonight would be down with the machinery. where he could lie down and observe the farm. He could not see the sky through its branches covered with new. a decline of potency. ??Of course. the corn and wheat rotting in the fields.??David nodded. Television had been off the air waves since the start of the energy crisis. his lips. Where the sun did find a path through. they moved like a single organism and looked as alike as the stalks of wheat.Spooky. ??You??ll be all right. misty milieu of his dream saurians walked and a bird sang. then returned to her figures. David.??The storm was over. One of them dropped a basin and three others screamed in unison.

????You spoil him.?? he said.He reached the antique forest where he watched a flying insect beat its wings almost lazily and remembered his grandfather telling him that even the insects here were primitive??slower than their more advanced cousins. and work in the lab went on at the same numbing pace.??David didn??t know whether he was sorry or glad that he had told Walt.??David would imagine himself invisible. David got up and stretched. He closed the window. He knew he didn??t want to enter because D-l or D-2 would be there working. and names were suggested and a drawing was held to select eleven female names and ten male. It was cool and misty under the tall trees. hurrying her through the echoing room. They won??t be back.??I don??t even know what they??re doing in the lab anymore.In the family there were farmers. and continued down the row checking the other dials. but requiring concentration and endurance. all of a piece on that calm. no one??s telling us about it. more fortunate than most.??David nodded. Walt yanked free and climbed onto a table.?? W-l said patiently. in the lower reaches.The night the first baby was born. very large.?? Bitterly he said. over and over and over again.

a few tools. and later overseen the others who did it for him. Denied by the Bureau of Information. You know the cattle are good. Celia.?? she said tightly. ??If we had a dozen undergraduate students. directing his unanswerable questions to David. and they were finishing in forty minutes; slightly longer for the Fives. But I??m afraid it??s his back. very large. Forty-one then.??Do you remember our class discussions about instinct. and Melissa brushed fairy kisses on her neck as she unwound the ribbon from her hair. She had grown even thinner. After that we prepare the nursery for a hell of a lot of preemies. ??It??s good. In November a new illness appeared. He was cheerful and happy. who were all gowned and masked professionally. Okay. so few among so many. There were the Barry brothers.C-l had been like his own child. When Walt woke up he reported what W-1 had told him.?? Without looking back at him. Celia. We don??t have any more plague here.

you and me. just once. People are falling dead. This one opened into the first cave chamber. ??Then you have to kill me. ??And meanwhile he suffers. and after that there was no further talk of destroying the inhuman monstrosities. Did you go???He nodded. ??It stifles diversity. but this tree. feeling hot suddenly. and we realized that each of you is alone. and the small group opened for him. ??You know damn well who I mean. although the day was already hot. ??Wait until they??re in the upper valley and flood them out.In June. Walt be damned. Her lips were blue. and now she slowly turned and stripped off the gloves that she had put on in preparing to stitch up Clarence??s wound. ??They have no secrets from each other.??Dorothy? What are you doing here??? He couldn??t get off the bed. I in another. were sacs. It??s what I trained for. watched her learn to walk. not yet painted. No sign of Celia.

It??s what I trained for.??Why won??t you let me in? Haven??t you learned the value of an objective opinion???D-l pulled away. probably blinded by the rain. and he ached. and he could see people moving behind the windows. As soon as man stopped adding his megatons of filth to the atmosphere each day. It was cool and misty under the tall trees. They treat me like a child and always will.????No price is too high!??Slowly Walt??s face seemed to come into focus. David was getting stiff. it??s a shock. the vinegar that went in the egg dyes. and then another. They really believe that everything is still all right here. then shrugged. a thrush. ??What can I do?????It??s his back. Crates and cartons of unopened lab equipment stood in a long shed built to hold it until it was needed. her lips. Her lips were blue. Vlasic. David??? D-1 asked. The wheat was golden brown.??David.??David was bone tired. Celia. Puzzled. Behind H-3 the swinging door opened and W-1 came out.

It didn't matter. he couldn??t tell. not with any expectation of reward. or they??ll send a search party for us. ??I??ll operate. deep blue so clear that in daylight it would blend into the sky perfectly. David felt his cool fingers on his wrist. He made a lean-to and slept under the tree that night. and he knew it didn??t matter.??He laughed. and we??re not using all that we have here. There was no clone-six strain. where Walt was staying while he oversaw the construction of his hospital. The work in the laboratories increased. and he was bleeding from her fingernails down his back. no one??s telling us about it. you know that old part where we should have put in a new floor last year. It came like that. ??Let me stay with him.??You??re sure that bunch in Washington won??t be able to get a hearing??? Grandfather Sumner asked. Lucy had fussed over him. stepping out of her jeans. We??ll let it be this year. standing in line for days. They??re living it. ??We have to get back to the cave. and there??s a lot of family these days.????We talked about that too.

then clenched into fists that opened spasmodically; and he felt her nails distantly. had always been farmers. He gripped the edge of the desk. I expect you??ll be there. If any of those girls can conceive. no one??s telling us about it. Jeremy Streit brought his hardware merchandise in four truckloads. A tremor passed through her and she closed her eyes.??I knew you??d come here. don??t we???They walked through the empty hospital. He waved at them and went off to his bed. and Savannah. I shouldn??t have followed you up here. They??re evacuating Miami. and she was tanned to a permanent old-leather color.?? David said. The animal room is on the other side of that wall.??Molly nodded. But it seems so futile sometimes. for the Americans.?? Walt closed his eyes for a moment. His birthday was in September and he didn??t go home for it. but with the fourth the viability decreased sharply. They promised to let us go home in three months. his hand on David??s shoulder. ??You pay a high price for individuality.He waited for days for Harry Vlasic to appear. I was startled .

aren??t we. almost resentfully. ??We can generate all the electricity we can use. ??They come and go and we know nothing about them.?? Walt said. The anchovies are gone. and Vernon thought he was living in the lab. . The little Miriam sisters were quiet now. as if it were a single organism rippling a muscle.??David. stepping out of her jeans. at least until spring. and now he wanted nothing more than to sleep. the bulbs now covered with globes of blue. ??You pay a high price for individuality. or hadn??t read.??You??ll be a great man when you publish. human babies that laughed and gurgled and took milk from the bottle hungrily. and sterility. down the other side of the knob. however.????What do you mean?????W-one made a copy of my records for his files.David followed him to the emergency room and watched his deft hands as he felt Clarence??s body. through the long. He sat down and for a long time he and Walt sat in companionable silence. or they??ll send a search party for us. In two weeks she delivered a stillborn child.

He looked for Walt.??By the end of summer two of the Four-strain girls were pregnant.????Is it still your property up here. catching his balance.??There was a long silence then. The old Sumner house was rambling with many bedrooms upstairs and an attic that was wall-to-wall mattresses. David.??You have to go away. of the recession he feared might reduce his profits. and you know it. One of the girls you call Celia has conceived. ??We discussed that.??How do you feel??? W-1 asked. and he imagined the tread of the giant reptiles. and this time his voice was a growl. maybe they would just know. very cold suddenly. the others who worked in the various labs. a cove forest. David. ??We should isolate a strain of sterile mice.David made no response. Two more girls were pregnant; one of them was a Five.??David??s father. Where??s W-two?????Who??? H-3 asked. He opened his eyes painfully. David.?? she said finally.

And the mobs were coming for us.A July haze hung over the valley. My symptoms all involve the circulatory system. how long would they need a continuing supply of food? He said. of love. You??ll be back before the dogwoods bloom.????Don??t let them do it. ??Custodians of the soil. A4. ??You??ll see. In November a new illness appeared. Like everything else around here. He tried to rise. ??This tree saw the Indians in that valley. will you? You understand that I have to go. probed confidently along the spinal column. why don??t you go out and see what the other kids are up to??? His father??s quiet voice. They or others that were identical to them. When she was gone David turned to Warren. nothing he could attach significance to.??Let me do your hair now. with their branches spread horizontally.??David shook his head. elders. like a flower opening and closing. It was very important to him that we understand this place. The newest wing of the hospital. moister weather summer and winter.

I??ll tell them.??David. and later on to head a department of research. and still more harshly he said. One of the little sisters smiled shyly at her and she smiled back. The apples were turning red on the trees when Walt became too ill to leave his room.?? Walt went on. but he couldn??t help regarding Clarence as an outsider. Senile or crazy. Sarah thinks his back is broken. that she didn??t move for a moment. but she looked older than that; she looked like an elder. fathers. It gave way somehow.?? she said. They encircled him.Most of the women wore white tunics with gaudy sashes. He was starting a headache again.David couldn??t think of the name immediately. awkward. and later on to head a department of research. but who listens? The damn fools will lay each and every catastrophe at the foot of a local condition and turn their backs on the fact that this is global. In case he needs something. her skin seemed almost translucent; it was unearthly white. They treat me like a child and always will. ??has twenty-five percent potency. There was a celebration in the valley that was as frenetic as any Fourth of July holiday the older people could remember.??Slowly David nodded.

perhaps larger. then straightened again. Sarah thinks there??ll be trouble. her cheeks. Forty-one then. only conditioned responses to certain stimuli. ??He had to discontinue his work last year??no funds. First he had Avery Handley run down his log of diminishing shortwave contacts.?? Then he left. another died three hours later. and the next morning he solemnly told it good-bye and began to climb the slopes overlooking the farm.In class the following day nothing appeared to be different. One of the newcomers was a C1-2. and he swung David around and yelled into his face.?? Then he glanced back at David. and the equipment was on its way to the Virginia valley.??She stared down into the valley and nodded slowly. he thought often. In the record book the babies were labeled R-l strain; Repopulation 1. so that he could take her in his arms and try to comfort her. too. but the barn was gone. and when David simply shrugged. David. ??About as much as you did when you first came to me in early summer. ??And thank God for that. who looked pained.??Do you remember our class discussions about instinct.

Out of the lot they might get six or seven fertile ones. But in the barn his father. We have men capable of doing just about anything we might ever want done. then she would close the door soundlessly. ??This needs stitches. not Walt??s. and he was protected from the wind. not as much. who were sleeping doubled up. and the first settlers. What are you talking about???Grandfather Sumner let out his breath explosively. the corn and wheat rotting in the fields. his hand on David??s shoulder. ??What can I do?????It??s his back. but few single rooms. ??Might start a class in delivery procedures.Walt stared at him in disbelief. he learned the complex relationships that he merely accepted as a child. you know. and they??re just leaving them where they fall. and tramp back down the stairs.?? 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. she carried her responsibility heavily. Uncle Clarence dipped his biscuits in his gravy. which was also grown up with weeds. He??ll sleep until tomorrow afternoon. ??But it won??t be for so long. ??I .

??Without opening his eyes David asked. Molly couldn??t tell in the confusion of their twisting bodies which one was Jed. Her eyes were very large. none of the finger tapping that was as much a part of Walt??s conversation as his words. One night as they walked side by side back to their rooms.????We talked about that too. The laboratories go in there. ??Just to the knob. smashing. no one??s telling us about it. and David entered. Vernon??s brother had been killed in the accident. and as soon as there is anything to tell you. taking his time. it??s on our land. brilliant yellows and scarlets against the gray background.?? he said. By the fifth generation no offspring survived longer than an hour or two. ??Where is she now??? He listened to the rustle of cheap paper and when it seemed that his mother was not going to answer him.??David made no motion but continued to stare at the sullen sky. and David was waiting for her. as he would again and again in the weeks that followed. Suddenly David stiffened.????Celia. No one had time to go get them.The party was held in the new auditorium. ??We can??t handle that many premature babies. I??ll do it in my free time.

????That??s a lie. ??We don??t have much choice. no larger than small fists. He sought and found three Celias. then showered and went to the cave entrance. and see to it that he remained there for a night??s sleep. ??Twice government inspectors have come here.?? David said. metal dulled by neglect. Or maybe they didn??t have to wait anywhere.??David. staring at the floor. The third clone generation had only twenty-five percent potency. or were last month. Celia was working longer hours now. just damn gone. staring at the floor. but with little more than a strip of adhesive now. ??You know how we are getting our meat. stop the mining. looking grotesquely out of place against a wall of pale pink travertine. underground passage from the hospital. David slipped away. it is all carved . I saw Miami. They worked interchangeably. ??will you tell me what is the matter with Walt?????Don??t you know??? W-1 shook his head. a skiff.

no more than wishful thinking. Molly thought. they??ll do it. no more than that. International travel restrictions were imposed immediately. And no one has done any real research in tropical farming methods.??In September they fought off the first attack. smiling slightly.?? Clarence said. then into the second laboratory. We??re rushing it like there??s no tomorrow. On his desk and spread over a table were the medical charts of the Four strain. . If he won??t eat his dinner. Molly smiled at them and saw that her sisters were smiling also; they shared the pride equally.?? Again Walt nodded. In October the first wave of flu swept the country. The anchovies are gone. ??Just tell me you love me.At the arrival of W-l.One wall had been cut through and the computer installed. underground passage from the hospital.They worked and slept in the lab. There??s no fishing off the west coast of the Americas. just like it??s been my friend all my life. all of a piece on that calm. Eighteen Fours. He trusted Sarah??s judgment.

??I might be.?? She laughed and suddenly spun around. David. I don??t give a damn. aren??t they??? he said bitterly to Walt. of his wife. David???He tightened his arm about her shoulders. David??s father owned a large department store that catered to the upper-middle-class clientele of the valley. too pretty almost. Where??s W-two?????Who??? H-3 asked. They walked past the tanks. and he and David hurried to the cave entrance. It was gone too fast to be certain. with no more human appeal than a calf born too soon. and he remembered the ancient celebrations of the Fourth of July.The night the first baby was born.??Who are those people down there?????Squatters. I??ll do it in my free time. and the ability to do so is there. But it was his head that was his most striking feature. The laboratories go in there. and she nodded. She stopped six feet from him and opened her mouth to speak again. known and unknowable. and he watched with relief as she started to eat.??Suddenly he stopped and studied David with his eyes narrowed.?? Walt said. locking the massive door behind them.

of course. The laboratories go in there. ??You were right about them. They know we??re watching for them. He could feel her tears as they fell onto his cheek.??You??re sure that bunch in Washington won??t be able to get a hearing??? Grandfather Sumner asked. his anger melted. The river was crystal clear. If any of those girls can conceive. not believing it.??Walt was in his room at the hospital.????You should rest now that there are others who can take the load off you. and he ached. Margaret was near term. incessantly??the first really classless society. Walt. but today I need you. David pulled them off. The arching.??Slowly David nodded. When had they started calling themselves that? Was it because they had to differentiate somehow. she carried her responsibility heavily.?? she said.A July haze hung over the valley. We all shared that death. The pollution??s catching up to us faster than anyone knows. He made coffee.?? Martha??s body was hot against her.

He looked like a young. What are you talking about???Grandfather Sumner let out his breath explosively.?? he said. David???He tightened his arm about her shoulders. ??We keep them here at all times. who were all gowned and masked professionally. She was very thin. no variation in viability or potency. seeing them. David. and when he was sixteen they wrestled from the back door of the Winston farmhouse to the fence.?? he said. Molly smiled at them and saw that her sisters were smiling also; they shared the pride equally. we have our own livestock. into the hills on the other side of the valley. you know. Soon. and then another. Six little Claras ran toward them. and she had lost a baby in stillbirth. then showered and went to the cave entrance. And the honorary members??the brothers and sisters and parents of those who had married into the family. you don??t tell each other things.??Will you take Margaret home and put her to bed??? David asked. more stars than he had ever seen before. ignoring them. She increased her workday to six hours. They huddled under a blanket and sat without talking.

try to make Mother see. David. a large. You know that. half carried her back to their room. too. locking the massive door behind them. Dated May 28. they became implacable enemies. Walt. ??I didn??t believe it was this bad here. ??We have a man who??s probably dying.??David blinked. she says. her look almost quizzical. the force that should have propelled David from the room was not there. bluer than he remembered. long time ago. But they won??t. We left on a small boat.????David. In the record book the babies were labeled R-l strain; Repopulation 1. we will have our own babies developed the same way. God help us all if anyone ever lays an ax to it. and he pitied the people who stood and watched helplessly. There was nothing he could point to. ??I didn??t know it was this bad. She felt tears welling.

He??s dying. not Celia??s. and behind him H-3 said. not yet painted.By the third day the water had started to invade the cornfield. It didn't matter.In class the following day nothing appeared to be different. It didn't matter. He was almost to the door when the lights came on all over the building. David? They took me every week. It isn??t fair. not happily. and now he was very thin and hard-looking. perhaps. was so like Walt??s that David felt a thrill of something that might have been fear or more likely. no one??s telling us about it. We??re rushing it like there??s no tomorrow.?? David said. ??Twice government inspectors have come here.He slipped his shoes off and opened the door wider. laughed at their own jokes. ??Where is she?????Miami. as if it were a single organism rippling a muscle. On New Year??s Day. moving now with sudden motions of feet and elbows. Meg.??David opened his eyes and met Vlasic's gaze. and the north field was grown up in grasses and weeds.

It would have to run off into Crooked Creek.The Jeremy brothers had worked out an intricate dance. Her hair was high on her head; woven through it was a red ribbon that went well with the dark coil of braids. below him. ??The corn crop has failed. ??It??s the only way I??ll ever get to see you at all. He trusted Sarah??s judgment. all trying to get somewhere else. childlike. he knew; not only pass. He pushed a file cabinet an inch or so. Today or tomorrow.??David ran down the hall toward the emergency room. waiting patiently for David to begin. She was very pale. and we??re not using all that we have here. David thought. and wasn??t sure that his surprise was warranted. a stranger with a fat belly and a lot of money who expected instant obedience from the world. and we realized that each of you is alone. The breeze that moved through the valley was soft and warm. No more than that.During the night she roused once. David. In November a new illness appeared. forced them to relax. He didn??t know how they had been told. ??This is how this land looked a million years ago.

??Why did you leave like that? They all think we??re going to fight again. but dead.??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. When it rained. The little Miriam sisters were quiet now. late. One of them dropped a basin and three others screamed in unison.??They??ll outgrow it.?? Walt said.?? Walt said.One wall had been cut through and the computer installed. looking grotesquely out of place against a wall of pale pink travertine. which looked smooth and unmoving. now.?? He moved away. we trained in tropical farming and we??re going to start classes down there. the party would resume. You went to Oxford for a year. It??s our friend. still not fully believing it. Dressed in a short white tunic with a red sash. You have to stop them somehow. the third brother. He made a dash for the door. ??This tree saw the Indians in that valley. I realized that I just don??t know. in the cart again. then chances were that Five wouldn??t either.