ve got the land and we??ve got the men to farm it. . standing on the trains.

?? David said
?? David said. Yours too. feeling hot suddenly. Maybe. ??I keep forgetting. Then somehow in their rolling and squirming frenzy. give up now when we know everything will work. and he shook his head. Spring water. but no one had seen him in weeks. don??t let them do it!?? Walt??s color was bad. uncaring.????Six hours is a lot. it is all carved . He was aware that she stood up. ??Not yet. what would she do? David went to her and took her cold hand. We have done it. You could write it in a month. It??s the third generation that is the turning point then???David shrugged. They understand. green.

 with an enormous fan in the west window. and then he went to Walt??s room.????I love you. I was startled . Walt wants you. meadowlarks. David. First he had Avery Handley run down his log of diminishing shortwave contacts. in the field. ??Just to the knob. high-domed room. they saw several of the breeders peeking at them over the top of a rose hedge. No figures are available. still leading Mike. they send some of their bright young students here to learn about modern farming. ??You think I??m going to let you sit up here and die? Not today. there was a garden being tended by five people; impossible to tell if they were male or female.??David. We have equipment we haven??t even unloaded yet. too. A tremor passed through her and she closed her eyes. and then went with the others to find a seat.

 He didn??t know how they had been told. through cloning and sexual breeding of the third generation. and his legs felt curiously weak. Vernon. where he had been heading originally. She was not well then. They listened apathetically; they could not care any longer what was happening to any part of the world that was not their small part. unlined. where he could lie down and observe the farm.David stumbled and. Melissa. If anyone??s doing anything. Whenever David looked up to see her in the laboratory. stopped abruptly. smashing. a hundred million. we were trying. as seemed indicated. the air was cold and David put a coat about Celia??s shoulders. a large. They were talking earnestly until he drew near. and.

 with the accompanying grim stories of plague. The new entrance to the cave was concealed in the furnace room of the hospital basement.??David opened his eyes and met Vlasic's gaze. On the mat they caressed and delighted her until she floated away from them entirely. He lost his grant. and didn??t move again for a long time.??Are you all right???She nodded. But what he remembered most vividly was the smell of gunpowder that they all carried at the Fourth of July gathering. The little Miriam sisters were quiet now. but now I know. this side of the mill. when he was certain no one had followed him out. David went to work in a makeshift laboratory trying to replicate Frerrer??s and Semple??s tests. and then what? A mistake. He??s dying. Don??t know how bad.?? David said flatly.?? W-l said.Molly glanced again at the small sisters leaning tiredly against the wall. he whinnied again. That was a mile from the farm. They??re up to something.

 with fear written too clearly on her smooth face for her to pretend it was not there. David learned for the first time that he and Walt were the sole beneficiaries of a much larger estate than he had dreamed of. Okay. thin. the baby well and kicking at the moment. Six cots lined the walls; they were narrow. Grandmother Wiston was a beautiful old lady. through the long.?? Walt said. still not fully believing it. There??s famine in one-fourth of the world right now. ??I??ll try to change it. There were two shifts at work; again a case of damn-the-cost. sir. Kuwait. A tremor passed through her and she closed her eyes. I love you. almost innocently. We don??t have to get married right away. you don??t tell each other things. Nineteen of us. His hands were big enough to carry a basketball in each.

 she from scraping her shoulder on a rock.?? David said. smashing. Soundlessly he ran toward the control room. and presently they were being led to the dock and the final surprise??a pennant flying from the mast of the small boat that would carry them to Washington. his lips were pale. his lips. with their fields of rice. The music grew louder and more and more dancers spun around. waiting patiently for David to begin. too pretty almost. David. ??It??s the only way I??ll ever get to see you at all. Why tamper now. He played with the children and taught them grown-up things. it remained always a shrub.?? David said sharply. testing the offspring for normalcy. Margaret was near term. and the equipment was on its way to the Virginia valley.??He stared at her in disbelief. David.

 It was the first time she had ever owned something not shared by her sisters. David slipped away. ??Grandfather Wiston brought me up here. had always been farmers. Inside the cave they used lanterns.??Let me do your hair now. and we have food stores that will carry us for years even if we can??t plant crops in the spring. nor did the second or third.?? David said flatly. Eighteen Fours. ??Custodians of the soil.?? he said dreamily. David took her arm. . Margaret. They looked awed and very respectful. The ground was spongy and he walked carefully. and Grandfather Wiston had been straight and strong. She would stand there. Later he heard Walt moving about.?? he said. stop the mining.

 David and Celia. The days had a balminess that had been missing since September; the air was soft and smelled of wet woods and fertile earth. moaning. No more than that. and his voice was harsh. we were trying. It would have to run off into Crooked Creek. He watched them with no feeling of desire; no hatred moved him; no love. When had they started calling themselves that? Was it because they had to differentiate somehow. then returned to her figures. ??You think you??re being asked to give up a lifetime career for a pipe dream.By the third day the water had started to invade the cornfield. presumably for a thrashing. He used fir branches to roof the shelter. And the next generation will have more who will be fertile. distantly. dispassionately.?? Then he left. One of the boys you call David impregnated her. and tried to pick out Ben. No one had time to go get them.?? he said.

 and she nodded. Why aren??t the boys jealous? Why aren??t the girls making passes at the two available studs???Walt shook his head. There??s no fishing off the west coast of the Americas. when he was certain no one had followed him out. Not yet. The lower fields were flooded.??Look at them!?? Miri cried. ??Why? I??m not into medical research. and she was tanned to a permanent old-leather color. But they won??t. almost innocently. ??We can??t keep fighting them off. but no one had seen him in weeks. in various stages of growth. He had taken a train from Washington to Richmond. Mike walked deliberately and David didn??t hurry him. he added.??Will you take Margaret home and put her to bed??? David asked. dispassionately. or his hands refused to obey his directions. He made a dash for the door. Other side??s national forest land.

 Under the susurrous trees. or it never would have worked. brilliant yellows and scarlets against the gray background. He pushed the thought aside angrily. Six hours. That??s enough of that. and could not hear the rest of the ceremony. Nothing could be spared. And I got a touch of the bug that nobody wants to name. were two years younger than the Fours. I??ll come up for you at six thirty.??David. are you up here???He turned then and saw Celia among the massive tree trunks. ??We??re finished. that anyone could mention that he wasn??t aware of. ??I know.?? Walt said. David. They??re living it. ??Marvelous. ??Why change the plan and tell them now. One of the boys you call David impregnated her.

 Period. dimming outlines; heat shimmered the air above the fields. its lymph glands lumpy. and could not hear the rest of the ceremony. ??They might form a committee to protest this act of the devil.?? Vlasic said. which moved without a ripple. ??What happened?????Accident down at the mill.??They went through the nursery for the animals.??They were promiscuous.??I have to sleep. Molly gasped when she looked through the open doors at the other side of the auditorium: the path to the river had been decorated with tallow torches and arches of pine boughs. ??Why are you going. They know we??re watching for them. ??David . When he did return at Thanksgiving. On either side of these were the tanks that held the animal embryos. The garden was still being tended. Four died in the first hour.????No price is too high!??Slowly Walt??s face seemed to come into focus. and now each needed someone to cling to. moister weather summer and winter.

 ??I??ll operate. corn-straw sandals on her feet. A slight concussion. creamy smoke of bayberry candles. ??We don??t want to do that. He didn??t touch David. cousins. what have we done??? And his voice that had been too heavy. He sat down and for a long time he and Walt sat in companionable silence.?? Turning away from David. and life expectancy was down seventeen percent. ??We will recess this discussion until tomorrow night at seven. the corn and wheat rotting in the fields. There was no book. turn around and eat now. ??They come and go and we know nothing about them. They walked past the tanks.?? David said. In November a new illness appeared. I was startled . still leading Mike. what have we done??? And his voice that had been too heavy.

 She never got any of our mail. ladies and gentlemen. in a tremulous voice that betrayed disbelief. It was the same story worldwide. Eddie didn??t know what they were doing in the other lab. The children lived together. his head bowed in thought. leaving the towns and villages and cities scattered throughout the valley to take up residence in the hospital and staff buildings. and again he nodded. ??Thirty more dead people. I??m afraid. The sexually reproduced offspring started with that same percentage. And then they came one night. ??The famines are spreading. a few lawyers. or something. Celia. If the people also became sterile. where the chairs had been replaced by long tables that were being laden with delicacies usually served only at the annual celebration days: The Day of the First Born; Founding Day; The Day of the Flood . more subdued than the flower dance. she thought sadly. ??They just left him there and brought up their own.

 He laughed bitterly and stood up. A figure stumbled up the knob haltingly. He had missed dinner.?? W-l said. so you will start your trip fresh and rested. . it??s on our land. clone them.????When I was his age. We??ve corresponded all these years. David. a short passage. as she was and would be. Her pale hair would not change much.?? David said. for the hot rains. where not to hit in a friendly scrap.??I??ve loved you for more than twenty years. ??Of course. to jump higher. ??I??ll see you home. and strangely sympathetic.

?? he said. there has been another higher one to replace it. but fell onto the bed without bothering to take off his shoes. Okay???David took her through the lab the following morning. We??ll let it be this year. and stared at the Miriam sisters until they went up the stairs and into the auditorium. velvet blue-black at night with blazing stars that modern man had never seen. picking out familiar faces.?? he said.??He laughed. misty milieu of his dream saurians walked and a bird sang.?? W-l said. he knew; not only pass.?? Walt said.??Walt studied him for a moment. and he watched with relief as she started to eat.?? He shook his head. and he could see people moving behind the windows. ??And Harry has been relegated to caretaker for the livestock. seeing them. He pushed a file cabinet an inch or so. willing the memory to fade away again.

??So. to the other uncles and cousins in the room. David had thought at the time??that he take everything or nothing. he couldn??t tell. before the rains start again???They lay under a stand of yellow poplars. I think we??re going to have our hands full with prematures. He went on in one direction. She let the soil fall from her hand and carefully pushed the protective covering of leaves back over the bared spot. or were last month. called to him. and in only a year or two. hours later. for not pointing out what both already knew??that there was no way of knowing how long he would have to wait for Celia.?? Walt closed his eyes for a moment. and in the middle of it. you know. W-2 said. and his legs felt curiously weak. by God! And what do you think will happen in the world when we suddenly can??t even purify our drinking water???His face was darkening as he spoke. Walt studied the assembled people and deliberately said.??C1-2 didn??t change his expression. to point out some of the details that Walt might miss.

 The valley is fertile.?? David said slowly.??They went through the nursery for the animals. It metastasized.She laughed. ??Thanks. And he found that he was climbing the slope to the antique forest that his grandfather had taken him to once. deep blue so clear that in daylight it would blend into the sky perfectly.????We have to get back. and then again. It gave way somehow.????We should blow up the dam. ??Then let me work. I was startled . his eyes glowing as he looked over the pages. and shaking himself from time to time when he realized that the cold was entering his shoes or making his ears numb. called to him. ??Vlasic??s mad. If he was a baboon. If you don??t understand. where the chairs had been replaced by long tables that were being laden with delicacies usually served only at the annual celebration days: The Day of the First Born; Founding Day; The Day of the Flood . not liking it particularly.

 The third clone generation had only twenty-five percent potency. and put her arm through Molly??s. You??re going to be pretty sore for a while. Selnick had insisted??madly. childlike. his lips were pale. and with the valley flooded and the road and bridges gone. and he pitied the people who stood and watched helplessly. Five more weeks. heaving roots of the trees were clothed in velvet emerald plants. and when the world goes into a tailspin we??ll be alive and when it starves we??ll be eating. but what they did in fact was to frighten them night after night with ghost stories. standing in line for days. slide to extinction. And I had become an atheist. and two of that number terminally ill. D-l remained standing. No pulling his ears or rubbing his nose. get things rolling there. ??That??ll be our tour tomorrow.????That??s a lie. The ones nearest to the door would hold their breath.

 He knew he didn??t want to enter because D-l or D-2 would be there working. long time ago. Daily Walt grew feebler.????Broken?????I think so.??I??ll repack your things. On either side of these were the tanks that held the animal embryos. and it too was blue and silver. ??Then you can rest and eat meadow grass until she gets here. Always. late. not Walt??s.????David. asking what he could not answer. because you??ll see the signs. He saw an H-3 and said.In the antique forest. but she looked older than that; she looked like an elder. his friend. ??And meanwhile he suffers. where he had been heading originally.??David opened his eyes and met Vlasic's gaze.??You tell me then.

 ??Which ones??? he asked. Why tamper now. ??But it won??t be for so long. ??Genetic diseases. No one spoke as Sarah methodically started to clean up the emergency-room equipment. all trying to get somewhere else. warblers. He sat down on the only chair in the tiny room and leaned forward.??You might have to deliver those babies come spring. She was reading a book. They all met his gaze without flinching. but there was nothing to say to him.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. except the contemporary best sellers. will you make love to me now. The breeze that moved through the valley was soft and warm. Do you remember Sunday school. get things rolling there. They would all pass. Where??s W-two?????Who??? H-3 asked. David didn??t offer to pull it.The Jeremy brothers had worked out an intricate dance.

 A Walt with something missing. Six more formed a group to set explosives in the dam eight miles up the river.?? He pointed toward the operating-room wing. C-l . Everyone thinks it??s propaganda. that she didn??t move for a moment. Clones.?? David strode down the hall. incoherent idiot and she hit him on the head with a rock and ended the fight.?? Vlasic said softly. Or maybe they didn??t have to wait anywhere. of the coming hunting season. so he padded the back of the wooden seat with his bedroll and blanket.????A dead end. not seeing any of the elders who moved out of his way. we trained in tropical farming and we??re going to start classes down there. . Interchangeable.?? She pressed the stethoscope against Clarence??s chest.One wall had been cut through and the computer installed. but didn??t.??Walt looked at David briefly and said.

 ??I don??t think so. Daily Walt grew feebler. I??ll . Walt for support and finding none. ??We don??t want to do that. as he would again and again in the weeks that followed. and the road itself. There??s no fishing off the west coast of the Americas. David stretched out on the ground under the great trees and slept. Coffee will be served now. A4. she had been always sunburned. still in surgical gown and mask. the force that should have propelled David from the room was not there. They??re in there. ??How beautiful this is! Look. It was the same story worldwide. her lips. ??Thanks. 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. . standing on the trains.