Slowly memory came back and he closed his eyes. David thought in surprise.

 She closed her hand hard
 She closed her hand hard. The official radio had not mentioned anything of the sort; what it did broadcast was music and sermons and game shows. The door was steel. 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. and wasn??t sure that his surprise was warranted. was being used already. with their branches spread horizontally. Dorothy? She was his cousin Dorothy. turn off the light. David was working on substitutes for the chemicals that already were substituting for amniotic fluids.????I love you. jeans. over the cave. When he looked at her he saw Celia. ??And Harry has been relegated to caretaker for the livestock. black sleep. with their branches spread horizontally. ??I said you??d leave here convinced that we??ve all gone mad. he and Lucy had lived together. clone them.

 Of course. Perhaps it isn??t. But in David??s mind.The family brought their stocks with them.?? David said quietly. C-2 had been much the same. You can teach here. They walked past the tanks. ??They understand about the girls?? ovulation periods. tiny steaming biscuits.Molly felt a pleasant inertia envelop her and she could only smile and sigh as her sisters prepared her for bed. he should be tired.?? he said. to hurry from the sterile office and the smooth unreadable face with the sharp eyes that seemed to know what he was feeling. The lower fields were flooded. And birds. all of them laughing at her unsteady walk. He had always thought of him as a fairly large man. The bearers of life. came to rest against the giant oak tree that was.?? he said. she thought sadly.

 the bogs and moors are drying up. ??No one else knew. the atmosphere had reverted to what it must have been long ago. or like everything he had ever heard. he heard Mike whinny and he crawled from the lean-to and stood up. ??Stop this! I??m going to answer any questions. Three operations. ??Genetic diseases. no larger than small fists. and when they grew older and it was made abundantly clear that no cousins might ever marry in that family. there has been another higher one to replace it. in the cart again. He should turn back. there a coiled snake. ??They??re bad. ??You pay a high price for individuality. that I have to do something. If the people also became sterile. 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.????Celia. Work in the classroom. ??It??s good.

 smiling faintly. then shrugged. as he always was. and David??s father. of his wife. put her pencil in the open book. he and Lucy had lived together.??There??s going to be the biggest bust since man began scratching marks on rocks. like walking through his own past. they send some of their bright young students here to learn about modern farming. ??They just left him there and brought up their own. And they??re plagues that we don??t know anything about. not Celia??s. don??t you???She nodded. the eldest of them all. information that will make it possible for us to erupt into a thousand blooms. God help us all if anyone ever lays an ax to it.??I??m sorry.David made no response.??David??s father. In the fantasy he had taken her; and in his dreams for weeks to come. The third clone generation had only twenty-five percent potency.

?? he said gravely.He walked a long time in the frosty afternoon. ??We can??t keep fighting them off. just tell me about it here. . compacting the soil into a ball that crumbled again when she opened her fist and touched the lump with her forefinger. ??You??re both acting like this is just a five-year emergency plan to tide us over a bad few years. No one needed him in the lab any longer. ??Then let??s see if we can wrangle me travel clearance out to the coast. and he could even see some of the young people at the windows studying. we can??t let you do that. Vlasic nodded again and again. Vlasic made a last adjustment on the end tank of nutrients that were to be diluted and fed to the embryos.??You want me to fill you in on anything here???She shook her head. pallets for the children. all part of the same river that flowed through the fertile valley. We??ll have to be ready for them. Spring water. He turned off the light in the waiting room and walked slowly down the hall. They will. red. and they aren??t trying.

??In spite of himself David made rapid calculations.?? he said. Clones. One night as they walked side by side back to their rooms.?? He pointed toward the operating-room wing. ??I have to check my patients. But only with one another.??She turned her head. They would revere them. in the field. themselves. ??Don??t worry about the work.????It isn??t just like that. We??re afraid our supplies of chemicals will run out.?? he said. The ground was spongy and he walked carefully. She was reading a book. D-l remained standing.??I knew you??d come here. who were all gowned and masked professionally. and then dismissed it as one of the things they could not control. I suggest the sisters and brothers take their stars home and see them safely to bed now.

????What do you mean?????W-one made a copy of my records for his files. David. with their branches spread horizontally. the generating system has bugs in it. saw the look on your face when I came in . and the farmyard turned silver and sparkly from this distance. Walt. after a year and a half of barrenness. and he realized that the sun had set long ago and the lanterns had been lighted below. He was certain that no one ever put it in words. He remained in the laboratory for fifteen minutes of silent work.The party was held in the new auditorium.?? Walt said.??Slowly David nodded. You know that. Six little Claras ran toward them. he crossed the room to the door and opened it a crack. Another ceremony would take place at dockside. dark green cabbage. worse than the outbreak of 1917-1918. aware that his back was being clawed. frowning in concentration over a problem that he wouldn??t put on paper until he had a solution to add.

 The computer controls the input of nutrients and oxygen. unwilling yet to go to bed. keeping their genes intact. and Melissa brushed fairy kisses on her neck as she unwound the ribbon from her hair. but her hands were steady as she swabbed a long gash on Clarence??s side and put a heavy pad over it. they??ll do it. It was gone too fast to be certain. ??You??ll have to double-check. She lifted her hair from the back of her neck where some of it clung. recombined to make this noise that shook the building. The children lived together. This one opened into the first cave chamber. set in the limestone rock that underlay the area.?? he lied to Walt. did you realize that??? he said after a long time. He looked up at David and said quietly. She smiled faintly when he covered her legs with another shirt. she had been always sunburned. They didn??t give Wanda any chance at all.?? W-l said.????What do you mean?????W-one made a copy of my records for his files. but with little more than a strip of adhesive now.

 . 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 jumped from the table and left before any of them could catch up with him. He pulled his thoughts back when he realized that they were finishing already.?? David said.?? David said. . and she had drawn back quickly.??He stared at her in disbelief. She was not well then. Already grass covered it almost totally.????He won??t be left alone. He indicated a stack of magazines and extracts. Now.??You might have to deliver those babies come spring. Walt said. bluer than he remembered.?? Walt said. They made us leave Brazil. ??Why are you going. ??It??s postmarked Miami. He grinned at David and Celia.

 the stockrooms. third cousins. I shouldn??t have followed you up here.They worked and slept in the lab. If you stop breathing for six minutes. Margaret??? She clutched his arm but couldn??t speak. with two of the clones as escorts. corn-straw sandals on her feet. picking out familiar faces. But there wasn??t any transportation home. I asked him.?? he said softly.Three miles from the Wiston farm. or hadn??t read. A slight concussion. David went on. We have to know. ??We want you for a consultant. His rhesus monkeys show the same decline during the fourth generation. to a depth that they never dreamed of. he mused. and slowly he released her and sat on the stone floor with his eyes closed.

 She dropped the shoulder bag that had weighed her down and ran toward him. You could write it in a month. still very quietly. He and Walt had planned it that way: the cave was impregnable. wrong. Sorry about that. and behind him H-3 said. David pulled her to him. and he could hear them running up the stairs.????Where the hell is W-one or W-two?????With their own. ??A marvelous piece of work. David. and put her arm through Molly??s.He built a lean-to against the oak. That??s enough of that. For a moment he could see nothing but a glare; then he made out the features of a young girl. W-1 opened the door. It was very important to him that we understand this place. He was cheerful and happy. and he was bleeding from her fingernails down his back. they send some of their bright young students here to learn about modern farming.?? Vlasic had been following his work closely for the past three or four weeks and was not surprised.

 her lips. When David fell into bed exhausted after fourteen or sixteen hours. awkward. She looked strange.??David felt frozen; he continued to stare out the window seeing nothing. ??I??m giving the land.??Walt looked at David briefly and said. still resting in the middle of the day for several hours. Thirty new lives!??She shook her head. and now he wanted nothing more than to sleep. We??ll take care of it. testing the offspring for normalcy. He was white. Harry Vlasic arrived at the farm.David stood up and pushed his chair back. They quickly vanished among the trees. unwilling yet to go to bed. On either side of these were the tanks that held the animal embryos. and Vlasic met and went over it all again. then with her bare hand. and I understand we have cakes and sandwiches. They looked soft and welcoming.

 They were each and every one Celia. Vernon fought to get to the front of the room.?? Her eyes were closed and her lashes were very black on her white cheeks. that??s what! And we??re getting ready for it! I??m getting ready for it! We??ve got the land and we??ve got the men to farm it. generation gap? It??s here. and Roger laughed again. but few single rooms. Monoculture! Bah! They??ll save sixty percent of the wheat. For nine days he had been on the go. shielding his eyes from the lashing rain with the other. forgetting them instantly.?? He pointed toward the operating-room wing. saying actually. feed herself. The garden was still being tended. ??Why? I??m not into medical research. he thought. picnic tables and benches. The army was occupying the buildings. ??You look like hell. Soybean blight. to the coast.

 David? You.Molly stared at the river and tried to imagine its journey through the hills. it??s that team. formed a new department with cabinet status: the Bureau of Information.?? And David knew there was nothing he could do. and deep blue eyes that used to twinkle with merriment.??In spite of himself David made rapid calculations. compacting the soil into a ball that crumbled again when she opened her fist and touched the lump with her forefinger. He closed the window. David. yellow.??C1-2 didn??t change his expression. ??Think between them they can get enough others. his hands clenching. ??And the methods. Here a stag head. David? They took me every week. The sexually reproduced offspring started with that same percentage.The next day the people worked to get everything up to high ground. all of them laughing at her unsteady walk. The famines are here and they??ve been here for three. defeated.

 something uniquely hers. He sat down on a log and tried to imagine what they must think of the pregnant girls. your family!??Molly felt her cheeks burn with pleasure as she made her way through the crowd.??Look at them!?? Miri cried. ??You??ll be all right. ??It??s twenty-six weeks. He could not see the sky through its branches covered with new. He found himself outside the office that W-l used. ??Our emergency room. pulled the blanket over him.????I know. too many people.She looked at him then.?? he said. ??But it won??t be for so long. don??t you???David understood.In August. I expect you??ll be there. Hilda. she stepped closer to the shiny control system at the end of the room. and here and there it was whispered that it was plague. then said.

 certainly not human-looking. Or maybe they didn??t have to wait anywhere.?? he said. A line of girls came into view. as she was. ??Have you told the two boys yet?????I told them all. and then the door would snap open. When David fell into bed exhausted after fourteen or sixteen hours. The scene looked pretty. Later he heard Walt moving about.??You??re sure that bunch in Washington won??t be able to get a hearing??? Grandfather Sumner asked. Walt yanked free and climbed onto a table. unlined. If you stop breathing for six minutes.?? David said. Then she was still again. The children lived together. ??I wish they hadn??t chosen us. He used fir branches to roof the shelter. and he stumbled and fell forward as the lights went out. trying to hear breathing on the other side. She stopped six feet from him and opened her mouth to speak again.

 he thought. ??Bastard. but rather that most priceless discovery of all??information. he turned and went to the rear of the house and put on one of his grandfather??s heavy jackets because he didn??t want to see her at all now and his own outdoor clothing was in the front hall closet too near where she was standing. with their fields of rice. of giving. sobbing.??Is he still planning to be a biologist? He should go to med school and join Walt in his practice. and she moved to the window also. were sacs. Inoperable.Under the lean-to he pulled off her wet clothes and rubbed her dry.????I didn??t get any letters.?? she said. let them get used to the idea first.?? Walt didn??t protest. Hardly any of the later cases. But the decline starts in the third clone generation. Grandfather Wiston had claimed. relieving tension perhaps.  He opened his eyes painfully. Lucy and Vernon were sitting near the window.

 David. Why tamper now.?? Walt went on. immobile and terrible. He made a lean-to and slept under the tree that night. His uncle nodded. As it would our own. and names were suggested and a drawing was held to select eleven female names and ten male. but they were converting to coal as fast as possible. David.As David grew older.??C1-2 didn??t change his expression. With an increased chance of abnormality. but even if the elders knew it was happening.There was a celebration party. and had knotted cords from which hung leather pouches. not with any expectation of reward. his lips were pale. At the door to the operating room he was stopped by three of the young men. are going to be there!????I don??t care. None of the young people came near the waiting room. up on the hill.

 You??re thinking of livestock?????Of course.Several of the elders were still in the waiting room when David went there. ??Don??t know who. and someone took them away to be put to bed. David didn??t know whom he had been cloned from.??Who are those people down there?????Squatters. down the other side of the knob. from nearer the river; they were carrying baskets of berries. and picked up a metal stool by its legs. the babies were W-l.?? W-l said. a2 . Margaret was near term. and it might look suspicious if we put them on to go down the cellar.?? D-l said pleasantly. They huddled under a blanket and sat without talking. David. Sarah says Margaret would be good. If they had decided to bar him from the lab.?? he said softly. although he knew that closer it would simply be muddy water inches deep.??There was a ripple of movement.

 Two years older than they. and said we had to get out. Clones! Not quite human. three of that.Up to that point the battle had been in almost total silence.??Let her be. Walt was the reason David had decided very early to become a scientist. ??You??ll see. more stars than he had ever seen before. This trend continues to the sixth generation.??He became aware of movement behind him and turned to see four more of them approaching. They were wet with perspiration and streaked with dirt where they had rubbed their faces and arms. not dangerous.??David would imagine himself invisible. ??What are you planning??? he asked then. meadowlarks. and David??s father. and sat down on the side of his bed. gave up on it.?? he said. Slowly memory came back and he closed his eyes. David thought in surprise.