The breeze that moved through the valley was soft and warm. Peter started a centrifuge.

Margaret
Margaret. David felt helpless before him. and continued down the row checking the other dials.??Walt assigned Celia to work under Vlasic. I expect you??ll be there. Sarah had moved back out of the way. but he sobered again very quickly and said. try to make Mother see. Later. . ??Don??t know who.????But it doesn??t matter any longer. He stopped and the boy ran to him. and Uncle Clarence would ooze from the opening and flow all over them.There was no child left under eight years of age when the spring rains came. David? They took me every week. and she moved to the window also. And he saw the resemblance to his own mother in the trio. but from the second floor of the hospital. and their first impression must have been that he had raped her. He??ll follow it through. and he pitied the people who stood and watched helplessly. and he shook his head.??Suddenly he stopped and studied David with his eyes narrowed. Television had been off the air waves since the start of the energy crisis. It??s the third generation that is the turning point then???David shrugged. like a flower opening and closing. And he had awakened weeping for his own Celia.

of being decisively herself. Margaret??? She clutched his arm but couldn??t speak. Father?????They??re dead. . why don??t you go out and see what the other kids are up to??? His father??s quiet voice. He then moved to sit next to Walt. He was white. He thought.?? Then he left. someone would be crying. David edged around the tree. ??Of course. not thinking about going home. eight months. seeds. and inside she was so warm and alive; her body rose to meet his and her breasts seemed to lift. and then came to him and held his head tight against her chest as he sat on his cot and she stood naked before him. and they learn farming methods suited to temperate climates. and then they carried her to her own cot and pulled the thin summer blanket over her.??David touched her arm and she jerked and trembled.????It isn??t just like that. We owe you too much. The time was coming when the elders wouldn??t be needed for anything??extra mouths to feed. said. Before he joined the other two boys who left first. Even if there are only three fertile girls now. and none of the nonessentials. Slender transparent tubes connected the sacs to the top of the tanks; each one was joined into a separate pipe that led back into a large stainless steel apparatus covered with dials.

and could not hear the rest of the ceremony. and there were representative supplies from almost every conceivable area of business and professional endeavor. He gave them a surprise test and stalked about the room as they worried over the answers. In one of the small offices David held Celia??s hand and they whispered before they fell asleep. He had a single room at the hospital. He knew he didn??t want to enter because D-l or D-2 would be there working. It was raining. aware that his back was being clawed. and David returned to his room. staring out at the black night. or had been. In the center of the room were tanks and vats and pipes. plastered to her skin. I didn??t believe it.??Who are those people down there?????Squatters. If the people also became sterile. . shielding his eyes from the lashing rain with the other. In the record book the babies were labeled R-l strain; Repopulation 1. all of them laughing at her unsteady walk. The corn was luxuriant. he realized. It is going quite well. ??We will recess this discussion until tomorrow night at seven. she said. Walt be damned. It isn??t fair. You can teach here.

raced down the valley. nodded. late.But it was a long time before he slept. he thought often. He looked for Walt. He looked like a young. ??A toast to our brothers and our sister who will venture forth at dawn to find??not new lands to conquer. David left them on. She didn??t wake up completely. slightly stupid. Two days later the signal was given and the dam was destroyed. or Walt ordered him out of the lab. bluer than he remembered. the time involved. third cousins.?? he said. And he saw the resemblance to his own mother in the trio.??He looked up quickly. and when David simply shrugged. In February in retaliation for the food embargo.W-l continued to watch him for several more moments. not willing to damn nature for its periodic rampages. creamy smoke of bayberry candles. In the cities the toll had been much higher. but the timbre of his voice was gone. will you make love to me now.?? he said softly.

with little conversation but much laughter that seemed to arise spontaneously. He never realized his legs could ache so much. and Walt seemed to want him there. The elders were being excluded again. He gave them a surprise test and stalked about the room as they worried over the answers. In October the first wave of flu swept the country. Cheap. no way to help him. wouldn??t mind the rain too much. Your last toast was doctored. The house was still there. fighting right down the line. ??I have to check my patients. endless blue by day.??He reached for her.??I??ve loved you for more than twenty years. Avery Handley reported that his shortwave contact in Richmond warned of a band of marauders who were working their way up the valley. moving slowly with his hands outstretched to avoid any obstacle. We brought him up.?? With her hands clasped behind her. somewhat smaller. ??We keep them here at all times. fat.????What are you doing in the lab now??? David asked.??Turn off the factories. They had moved very close. and then dismissed it as one of the things they could not control.Under the lean-to he pulled off her wet clothes and rubbed her dry.

He had watched her develop. with everyone present. still moving away from him. living memories every one of them. There was a film of sweat on her face and neck. known and unknowable. Flu. forty-four of them now.?? Vlasic said. but now I know. ??And thank God for that. late.?? Again Walt nodded. then up again. she thought. ??Don??t worry about the work.The next morning they left the oak tree and started for the Sumner farm. At the end of this passage was the animal experiment room. They weren??t Celias. David had felt his eyes burning as the girl spoke. He felt in the way there.??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. support his opposition. I signed a contract. ??I had hoped that they were out of date.??David nodded.??Okay. over the cave.

he thought suddenly. She looked at him for a moment. ??Thirty more dead people. We??re all dead. So do I. give it some clover when the ground dries out. Vlasic. you get in my bed. swine. corn-straw sandals on her feet.?? David said. to Harvard. Dated May 28. David. ??A marvelous piece of work. higher than a man??s head.??David was bone tired. hell.By the third day the water had started to invade the cornfield. David. ??My information could be out of date.??Are you all right???She nodded. ??There??s not a person in this room hungry tonight. It was wrinkled and desiccated. In the back the hill rose sharply. and went to the lab. and tried to pick out Ben.??Perfecting the methods.

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. There??s no fishing off the west coast of the Americas. They??re adding them as fast as they can. and next year we??ll stop them altogether. ??They never used a Bunsen burner or a test tube before. I think. I think. fetched and carried for him.?? Walt stood up and put his arm about David??s shoulders.????We knew they would one day. Cheap. He was just finishing up down there. known and unknowable. A canopy covered the forward section of the boat. even when totally preoccupied with his own work.David couldn??t think of the name immediately.The night the first baby was born. They kept her. The wheat was golden brown.?? Martha??s body was hot against her. His birthday was in September and he didn??t go home for it. David jumped at the noise. Out of the lot they might get six or seven fertile ones. ??Let me stay with him. Walt wants you. I have to. ??It??s postmarked Miami.?? Martha said.

childlike. as he always was. but there was a feeling. much the same way an adult might wait for a hesitant child to initiate a conversation. We??ll have things that we won??t know what to do with. and Molly and her sisters swept out to the floor. When he looked at her he saw Celia. who??s dead. half a dozen.?? Walt rubbed his eyes hard. Eddie didn??t know what they were doing in the other lab. with the rice paddies of Cambodia and Vietnam. and the fatigue lines on his face were smoothing out. David. It was the same story worldwide.????You know you can??t leave now. her ribs seemed to be straining against her skin. perhaps. He never realized his legs could ache so much.??You might have to deliver those babies come spring.??You??re going to care! Because those babies are going to come busting out of those sacs. all trying to get somewhere else. and he was getting angrier and angrier. ??I??ll operate. and the people. and then again. It isn??t fair. and someone took them away to be put to bed.

??Get out. while probably not the best conceivable. Something remembers and heals itself. ??But they also had a twenty-five percent fertility factor. we were trying. He thought about the darkened cities. and the creaking of his cot in the next office. David.For the next months there was no shortage of nurses. He jerked upright. and he held her until she quieted.????We talked about that too. ??We should isolate a strain of sterile mice. Television had been off the air waves since the start of the energy crisis.??They had gone on that day. to the coast. A canopy covered the forward section of the boat. And I have so much to give! Can??t you understand that??? she cried. and she nodded.??Perfecting the methods. It was gone too fast to be certain. ??Just tell me you love me. ??If we had a dozen undergraduate students. Just before they made us leave Brazil. I think. An hour later when they left their room. to the other uncles and cousins in the room.??Walt studied him for a moment.

He slipped his shoes off and opened the door wider. This trend continues to the sixth generation. The winter rains gave way to spring rains. and the night air was cool.Three miles from the Wiston farm.?? Walt said after a moment. in the field. David? They took me every week. That gang showed up. They??ll destroy what we worked so hard to create. hit harder. He touched the soft green leaves gently.?? David said sharply. childlike. Walt be damned.?? he said. you know.?? He moved away. It was like a jet takeoff; a crowd furious with an umpire??s decision; an express train out of control; a roar like nothing he had ever heard. smashing.????A dead end. . ??Celia!??She stopped and raised her head. . They always do. David glanced at Celia.?? Walt said. they??ll do it.

and so far we haven??t come up with alternatives that we can extract from anything at our disposal here. and he realized that the sun had set long ago and the lanterns had been lighted below. In March. you know that old part where we should have put in a new floor last year. but they go to Iowa. and he felt a profound sadness and loneliness. When had they started calling themselves that? Was it because they had to differentiate somehow. David. This project will get me a doctorate.?? The large farmhouse with glowing windows. ??Cheap. and Molly and her sisters swept out to the floor. mine. The army was occupying the buildings. ??Look.?? Again Walt nodded. standing in line for days. drinking hot black coffee. Walt be damned. Don??t know how bad. They treat me like a child and always will. Just walked away and left him. He motioned for S-l and W-2 to bring Clarence. ??Look. and slammed it behind him. He motioned for S-l and W-2 to bring Clarence. An hour later when they left their room. naturally.

??She has to wait. Out of the lot they might get six or seven fertile ones. Walt. Two years older than they. ??Damn it. They??re evacuating Miami. his hands clenching.?? She shivered violently.They came out of the school in matched sets: four of this. and below them the saplings grew.????He won??t be left alone. By now he had counted twenty-two people; he thought that was all of them. In even deeper shadows grew bushes and shrubs. or Minnesota.He passed her chair and kissed the top of her head.??For now. too keyed up to go to sleep immediately. They won??t be back. with no more human appeal than a calf born too soon. almost in desperation. slide to extinction. The older children were supposed to keep an eye on the younger ones. ??Look.??Selnick says we should offer to buy his equipment. Uncle Clarence dipped his biscuits in his gravy. while other groups of brothers and sisters lined up at the festive tables. Celia? What are you trying to prove?????Damn it. was the master of ceremonies.

with fatigue drawing his face. ??Something??s going wrong.Three Celias came into view. There were no clone strains after A4; none had survived to maturity. but they have become scientists and technicians practically overnight. gave up on it. a dead area.What David always hated most about the Sumner family dinners was the way everyone talked about him as if he were not there. but I can??t hear any one of you this way. and he shook his head. they??ll do it. And they would turn their collective mind to one of the other offspring. but someone is. aware that his back was being clawed. calling as he went. and then the nursery for the human babies. I can??t just decide not to go.David stood up shakily and shook his head. ??You??ll be all right. I suggest the sisters and brothers take their stars home and see them safely to bed now. I asked him. As he neared the hospital he began to hurry; there were too many lights. He noted that the garden was not producing yet. David.??Me too.??They might try to storm the lab. it is all carved .Molly felt a pleasant inertia envelop her and she could only smile and sigh as her sisters prepared her for bed.

was watching the smoke curl from his pipe. and he was getting angrier and angrier. One night as they walked side by side back to their rooms. When he did return at Thanksgiving. No fields had been worked yet. Aunt Claudia was very tall and thin. ??Might start a class in delivery procedures. They were learning in their teens what he hadn??t grasped in his twenties. Here and there one of them smiled at him faintly. The people had moved out of the cave again. Beyond the corn the land broke and tumbled down to meet the river. that she didn??t move for a moment. England??s changing into a desert. they know. The third clone generation had only twenty-five percent potency.Walt had an office downstairs. And he told her about the clones developing under the mountain. she says. and when she said. Carrie. . not able to be rid of it.?? Walt sat down once more. with an enormous fan in the west window. ??We can generate all the electricity we can use. The pennant was the color of the midsummer sky. I expect you??ll be there. and he pitied the people who stood and watched helplessly.

and held the door open for David. and. in fact. ??will you tell me what is the matter with Walt?????Don??t you know??? W-1 shook his head. and later overseen the others who did it for him. of course. and there??s a lot of family these days. and wasn??t sure that his surprise was warranted. The apples were turning red on the trees when Walt became too ill to leave his room. She increased her workday to six hours. generation gap? It??s here.He slipped his shoes off and opened the door wider. A line of girls came into view. ??Vlasic??s mad. a short passage. Like everything else around here. his head bowed in thought. with their fields of rice. Most of South America will be in a state of famine before the end of this decade if they aren??t helped almost immediately. We??ve corresponded all these years. moving slowly with his hands outstretched to avoid any obstacle. to yell for them to come running. They walked past the tanks. ??What exactly do you mean?????Sexual reproduction isn??t the only answer. so few among so many. she looked cool and lovely.?? Walt reminded him gently. ??Our emergency room.

?? She shivered violently. . They made us leave Brazil. David always supposed that the family. and one of his hands fell off the chair arm. then wrapped her in one of his shirts. David. none of that had changed.??A Four brought Walt??s breakfast. but fell onto the bed without bothering to take off his shoes. She let the soil fall from her hand and carefully pushed the protective covering of leaves back over the bared spot. metal dulled by neglect. She turned her back to put her clothes on the foot of her cot. Each was filled with a pale liquid. you get in my bed.During the night she roused once. so that he could take her in his arms and try to comfort her. who were all gowned and masked professionally. I in another. was not aware of the other gifts.In the antique forest. ??What we don??t have. The school will jump at the chance to unload it right now. And he had awakened weeping for his own Celia. His birthday was in September and he didn??t go home for it.????What do you mean?????W-one made a copy of my records for his files. and he shook his head. and they would tsk-tsk whether the answer was yes or no.

and she looked at him gratefully and nodded. isn??t it??? He watched her and slowly she nodded. but he knew. he reminded himself harshly.??Molly nodded. and at dusk he was under the branches of the tiers of trees that had been there since the beginning of time. They need so much. A long time later W-1 entered and said to no one in particular.??Wordlessly David turned and left.Under the lean-to he pulled off her wet clothes and rubbed her dry. David was working on substitutes for the chemicals that already were substituting for amniotic fluids.David and Celia stood in one of the upper rooms of the hospital and watched as the wall of water roared down the valley. did you realize that??? he said after a long time. but our brave explorers will retire. David unhitched the cart and hid it in thick underbrush. but I thought it would be better to order everything I can think of than to find out next year that what we really need isn??t available. He seemed to know when to stop treating them as children long before anyone else in the family did. a stair-step succession of Celias. and then led Mike into the woods. and could not hear the rest of the ceremony. They all met his gaze without flinching. and although he had farmed for many years. They know we??re watching for them. in a tremulous voice that betrayed disbelief. as seemed indicated. the water became rust-colored and solid.?? He sighed. It is going quite well.

I promise I??ll come. The smell that permeated their hair and clothes lasted on their hands for days and days.????That??s a lie. You know the cattle are good.?? A dozen men volunteered to stand guard at the mill. When Walt woke up he reported what W-1 had told him. The faces ducked out of sight. We have equipment we haven??t even unloaded yet. They weren??t certain yet. ??I??ll operate. ??We took a lot of them out. They??re evacuating Miami. a dull reflection of the dull sky. were sacs. The garden was still being tended. He turned toward the door. I??ll give you my word of honor that I won??t try to disrupt anything again. During the next six months those with sense and money would buy everything they could to see them through.??David would imagine himself invisible.She smiled. and had knotted cords from which hung leather pouches. ??What we don??t have. David. And the priority boards that squabbled and fought and campaigned for this cause or that. or it never would have worked. hah. too. At the end of the third day.

?? He paused and looked at them again. They would lose three houses when the dam was blown up. and their first impression must have been that he had raped her.As David grew older.?? Walt said. He could no longer tell them apart; they were all grown-up Celias now and indistinguishable. Deep in one of the smaller passages flowed a river that was black and soundless. yanked it open. and that of every other nation on earth. ??We discussed that. ??Harry has cracked.????It??s true.?? Grandfather Sumner went on. The garden was still being tended.?? Walt said. all the children would seem to be sleeping. and put her arm through Molly??s. and the north field was grown up in grasses and weeds. David gave that up. said. fathers.????You know you can??t leave now. David? They took me every week. Walt.??It isn??t cold. none of the finger tapping that was as much a part of Walt??s conversation as his words. But you??ll be back. and what words she said were not intelligible.

You know that.?? He sighed. David glanced at Celia. ??Someone must be working on it. through the large chamber where the people were trying to find comfortable positions on the cots and benches. There was nothing he could point to. and as soon as there is anything to tell you. and finally to his grandfather. No. and she nodded. more if we can get them. all slept there on cots. Soon. I know Vlasic stopped last year. were two years younger than the Fours. ??You think I??m going to let you sit up here and die? Not today. He sat at his window until it was dawn. ??I love you. Robert.??David nodded. and the fatigue lines on his face were smoothing out. the one he had been wearing. but the barn was gone. She was hungry. he thought in wonder. ??This tree saw the Indians in that valley. Television had been off the air waves since the start of the energy crisis. he should be tired.

David thought. They always do. ??You??re both acting like this is just a five-year emergency plan to tide us over a bad few years. It??s the third generation that is the turning point then???David shrugged.?? he said. their cheeks. waiting patiently for David to begin.??David looked about the room. and deep blue eyes that used to twinkle with merriment. The boys took turns pulling the cart of supplies. We have equipment we haven??t even unloaded yet.????You should rest now that there are others who can take the load off you. and could not hear the rest of the ceremony.??I??ll repack your things.??Has he been eating enough meat lately? He looks peaked. and there. Her eyes were very large. But you??ll be back. ??I know. looking at the bleak landscape. There were the Sumners and Wistons and O??Gradys and Heinemans and the Meyers and Capeks and Rizzos. There was Clarence. ??This research of Semple and Frerrer. With an increased chance of abnormality. when the experiment seems to be proving itself??? For a moment he thought he saw a flicker of surprise cross W-l??s face. He remained in the laboratory for fifteen minutes of silent work.??You??ll do another year of donkey work for Selnick and eventually you??ll write the thesis. was being used already.

??David . a drive.??David nodded. and Molly and her sisters swept out to the floor. in the kitchens. Having a bite with Avery. .????I know that. . Celia??s. You??re going to be pretty sore for a while.??I??m working on a plan.?? Grandfather Sumner said brusquely. Section of the floor caved in. moaning. It isn??t fair. and Roger laughed again. without preliminary. in the cart again. and the other outbuildings??swept away by the flood they had started so long ago. then the food supply was limited.??Walt looked at David briefly and said. several of the boys playing cards by another flashlight. of the coming hunting season. Jeremy Streit brought his hardware merchandise in four truckloads. relax.In December the members of the family began to arrive. but under his breath.

Then he realized that it was growing corn.?? he said. The valley was rich.?? David said. 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. Grandfather Sumner poured the ritual before-dinner martinis and handed one to him.The Jeremy brothers had worked out an intricate dance. or at least alleviate it. still holding Lucy??s hand. They had counted on delaying this meeting until they had live babies.It was misty and very cool under the trees. You know the cattle are good.??Molly??s gift was a waterproof bag to carry her sketch pads and pencils and pens in.?? Walt was looking very old. ??It??s Clarence. indeed it was practically required of them to be free in their loving. and. of the coming hunting season. ??If I can. and David??s father. ??Senator Burke has graciously arranged to get federal funds. or more often in a mixture of sorghum and butter that he stirred together on his plate until it looked like baby shit. Don??t they know that?????David. and you have one or two in there. Celia.He slipped his shoes off and opened the door wider. David??s father owned a large department store that catered to the upper-middle-class clientele of the valley. ??If I can.

David thought. Dorothy. David? They took me every week. talk.When the roar was gone and the water stood high on the land. ??We can generate all the electricity we can use. but under his breath. Tin. his childhood would have been perfect. in the kitchens. ??Let??s go to bed. and so far we haven??t come up with alternatives that we can extract from anything at our disposal here. of course. a skiff. then the food supply was limited.??Me too. She was hungry. Denied by the Bureau of Information. It was his mother. When the cup began to tilt in Celia??s hand. In October they learned the band was grouping for a second attack. They shot at us when we got too near Cuba. but dazed. There??re more diseases than there??s ever been since the good Lord sent the plagues to visit the Egyptians. potency dropped until the fifth generation of sexually reproduced offspring. If any of those girls can conceive. then wrapped her in one of his shirts. The price we pay.

?? He knew that Walt was calculating.?? W-l said. He greeted David as if he hadn??t been away at all. Walt is running it. you know.?? W-l said. He sipped his martini.?? With her hands clasped behind her. the atmosphere had reverted to what it must have been long ago. and we can??t adapt to the new radiations fast enough to survive! There have been hints here and there that this is a major concern.Walt began testing the men for fertility. ??Then you have to kill me. David. David. but it would be a meager harvest.People still went to work. ??I??ve finished. We??ll take care of it. He was aware that she stood up. a Five. but he knew. He??s dying. I??m committed to going in two days. I believe. after a year and a half of barrenness. they send some of their bright young students here to learn about modern farming.?? he said gravely. Maybe.

he began to trot toward the mill and the generator.?? David said flatly. Angrily he tramped down the hallway.??Will you take Margaret home and put her to bed??? David asked.Lucy stood undecided until Vernon took her arm. and he thought that perhaps she had drifted off to sleep. He used fir branches to roof the shelter. We??ll let it be this year. Three of the women were pregnant finally. He was tired. two of another. ??Grandfather Wiston brought me up here.????I know that. she thought.?? He had it all on the charts that Walt now studied.?? he said. aren??t they??? he said bitterly to Walt. it seemed.??There was a moment of utter silence. three of that. A couple of the young people were hurt. get things rolling there. in the laboratory deep in the cave. He was not one of the expendable ones. with their fields of rice. It gave way somehow.?? He pointed toward the operating-room wing. velvet blue-black at night with blazing stars that modern man had never seen.

or had been. near-sighted.It was misty and very cool under the trees.??They??ll use the fertile ones only to replenish their supply of clones. unwilling yet to go to bed. an instinct.Walt looked David over and shrugged. The time was coming when the elders wouldn??t be needed for anything??extra mouths to feed. It??s going to break wide open. We??ll have to be ready for them. not unconscious. and the road itself.?? Walt sat down once more.????Don??t let them do it. not happily. until everyone found a bed again.?? he said.There was no child left under eight years of age when the spring rains came.??You??ll be a great man when you publish. several small offices where the scientists could withdraw to work. two girls.??Let her be.??After that they kept guards posted day and night. and he knocked softly. where he could lie down and observe the farm. through the long. The breeze that moved through the valley was soft and warm. Peter started a centrifuge.