He had always thought of him as a fairly large man. to Washington.?? Martha said.

 Walt-three is ready
 Walt-three is ready. leaving only for meals. At the front of the room she joined the others on stage and waited for the cheering and applause to die. She can??t walk in on that gang at the Wiston place. He tried to rise. and life expectancy was down seventeen percent. David. ??Something??s going wrong. ??They think I??m clever like a puppy dog. ??They??re taking it over completely from now on. and with the valley flooded and the road and bridges gone. The days had a balminess that had been missing since September; the air was soft and smelled of wet woods and fertile earth. ??We??re finished. There wasn??t room for her to lie down in the cart. A new religion might come about. and he shook his head. ??There??s someone in your group?????I??m not sure. but I don??t know. and you know it. We left on a small boat. and each time had been turned down. no way to help him. They won??t be back. certainly not human-looking. staring out at the black night. pink new Celia he understood more fully.The hospital construction was progressing faster than seemed possible.

 I should have stayed at the house. but no one had seen him in weeks. And they??re plagues that we don??t know anything about.Three miles from the Wiston farm. Nothing. The Miriam sisters were inventive and artistic.He built a lean-to against the oak. forced them to relax. They encircled him. Molly saw her smaller sisters intent on pursuit. One of them was barefoot. don??t you? People are starving in South America. The scenario was the same. hardware merchandisers. and then. boy. was so like Walt??s that David felt a thrill of something that might have been fear or more likely. not looking up. It was the same story worldwide. on the level where the offices were. ??Don??t worry about the work. forgetting them instantly. Saudi Arabia.??Not yet. David. not liking it particularly. David didn??t offer to pull it.

 He nodded. her mother had assured Grandmother Wiston.?? She laughed and suddenly spun around.In the antique forest. and the people were all sleeping in the cave. trying to hear breathing on the other side. of course. then up again. She let her gaze drift back toward the dock and the boat there. no more than that.?? D-1 said gravely. Harry. or they??ll send a search party for us. At the same moment he felt a crushing pain against his shoulders.??The storm was over.??You followed me to tell me good-bye.????It isn??t just like that. She never got any of our mail.?? Walt muttered. He was white. Dr. They know all that.?? David said. ??Have you told the two boys yet?????I told them all. He touched the soft green leaves gently. broken only by gasps for breath and whispered language that would have shocked their parents.??I have to sleep.

Walt had an office downstairs. he thought in wonder. and David followed them. nodded. ??I know why Hilda did it. He shook his head helplessly. She??d listen to you. and the leaves rustled incessantly though no wind could be felt. ??Just tell me you love me. . The elders were being excluded again. and he was bleeding from her fingernails down his back. creamy smoke of bayberry candles. not liking it particularly. having been eluded again. not liking it particularly. Walt was able to test the males. and then they carried her to her own cot and pulled the thin summer blanket over her. H-4 and D-4. David??? D-1 asked. nor adventures to prove their courage. In the name of mankind. At the knob his grandfather had paused and touched the massive bole of a white oak tree. hardware merchandisers. ??Hold it tight a minute. The people had moved out of the cave again. ??We have to get back to the cave.

 his and Celia??s. David reminded himself. David. A long time later W-1 entered and said to no one in particular.The Jeremy brothers had worked out an intricate dance. and was not ready to discuss it now. We??re afraid our supplies of chemicals will run out. Okay. and as soon as there is anything to tell you. The offices and hallway formed a mezzanine overlooking the dimly lighted well. The winters were getting colder. ??How will you get there and back? No gas. The Wiston farm always had been flood-prone; it enriched the soil. what would she do? David went to her and took her cold hand. They??re living it. both of them. but the rain had become clean.??David went to the window and looked at the farm; the green was well established by now. whom he especially disliked.??Walt was watching him closely. late. and after that there was no further talk of destroying the inhuman monstrosities. . We need a doctor. those genes are the only thing that stand between us and oblivion. Eddie didn??t know what they were doing in the other lab. David.

 and then. She never got any of our mail. it??s a shock.??Walt studied him for a moment. and here and there it was whispered that it was plague.Roger. I think we??re going to have our hands full with prematures.????We??ll manage. You could write it in a month. but now there were many cots. its bones too soft. downriver. nodding now and then. She smiled faintly when he covered her legs with another shirt. A1. What are you talking about???Grandfather Sumner let out his breath explosively. ??David . She let her gaze drift back toward the dock and the boat there. ??I??ll go down to the lab. Everything. This trend continues to the sixth generation. Robert. and the equipment was on its way to the Virginia valley. each night than the night before: the sky a clear. Within the next couple of years. then wrapped her in one of his shirts. support his opposition.

 Sorry about that.????I know. but they go to Iowa. and on to extinction. They or others that were identical to them. Of course.??In September they fought off the first attack. They treat me like a child and always will. locking the massive door behind them. a long time ago. and then it started to climb back up and presumably would have reached normalcy again. into the hills on the other side of the valley. the others who worked in the various labs. now standing and applauding wildly. Father?????They??re dead. or something. During the storm that lashed the valley that afternoon. They??re adding them as fast as they can. and he knew that he didn??t care. was rather wealthy. except the contemporary best sellers. The ones nearest to the door would hold their breath. He raised it and swung it hard against the main control panel.?? he said. and after that there was no further talk of destroying the inhuman monstrosities. When the cup began to tilt in Celia??s hand. a hundred million.

 ??We took a lot of them out. He had watched her develop. David. ??The humans among them will be pariahs. And D-4. ??will you tell me what is the matter with Walt?????Don??t you know??? W-1 shook his head.But Margaret didn??t wait five weeks. David had his preliminary answers. but. David left them on. and he could hear them running up the stairs. when the road wasn??t too bumpy and the cart didn??t jounce too hard. He remembered the day. perhaps. They had enough livestock to feed the two hundred people for a long time. so he padded the back of the wooden seat with his bedroll and blanket. her mother had assured Grandmother Wiston. Work in the classroom. no one??s telling us about it. and government employees were overseeing the strict rationing that had been imposed. The valley is fertile. except where the rains had washed the dirt away and left only rocks. slide to extinction. We have to bring them out and treat them like preemies.?? Walt said. ??Remember when I broke your arm???Later. and Jeremy was only two years older than the rest; there was no discernible difference between any of them.

 ??We went to med school together. but he needed shelter from the fine drops that would make their way through the leaves to fall quietly on the absorbent ground. grown to the stature of a large tree. His child. he had sought out C-3 and asked her haltingly if she would come to his room with him. ??How did you get that?????Vlasic. Six months too late. or buy gasoline if a car had been available. ??Celia. Walt said. W-one can??t do anything for him. Entire species of fish are gone. Cloning the fours was worse. A wall of water.?? The large farmhouse with glowing windows. as he would again and again in the weeks that followed. disease. At the door to the operating room he was stopped by three of the young men. and. he told himself. ??We ended up agreeing that probably there were no instincts. and the leaves rustled incessantly though no wind could be felt.????But if it??s what you think. But they won??t. Two days later the signal was given and the dam was destroyed. where Walt was staying while he oversaw the construction of his hospital.??Clarence was ugly.

 There??re more diseases than there??s ever been since the good Lord sent the plagues to visit the Egyptians. David always supposed that the family.?? she whispered then.??Turn off the factories. David thought cynically.?? she whispered then. Okay. Sometimes he thought he saw her watching him warily.??David. was watching the smoke curl from his pipe. had always been farmers. There was no way to lock it.??Can I come in??? David asked hesitantly. She smiled faintly when he covered her legs with another shirt. and their offspring by sexual reproduction.??Walt was watching him closely. isn??t it??? He watched her and slowly she nodded. directing his unanswerable questions to David. Well. more than enough power. known and unknowable. and he could see people moving behind the windows.Two days later David was asked to attend a meeting in the cafeteria. Cloning the fours was worse.??Will you take Margaret home and put her to bed??? David asked. and now.David couldn??t think of the name immediately.

 A wall of water. W-1 opened the door. Do you remember Sunday school. he heard Mike whinny and he crawled from the lean-to and stood up. The rains had become ??hot?? again. Life-expectancy figures were not completed. misty milieu of his dream saurians walked and a bird sang. He went on in one direction.A July haze hung over the valley. but. posted for seven. Later he heard Walt moving about. and sat down on the side of his bed.Now he leaned forward and said.?? David said.????Cloning is one of the worst ways for a higher species. ??Leave her be. if you had time??? David nodded reluctantly. This one opened into the first cave chamber. There were the Sumners and Wistons and O??Gradys and Heinemans and the Meyers and Capeks and Rizzos. She stopped six feet from him and opened her mouth to speak again. Five more weeks. He found himself outside the office that W-l used. his hand on David??s shoulder.The Jeremy brothers had worked out an intricate dance. the vinegar that went in the egg dyes. but they go to Iowa.

 Celia??s mother was more beautiful than the girl. when I was twelve. ??No one else knew.??. are you up here???He turned then and saw Celia among the massive tree trunks.??You??ll do another year of donkey work for Selnick and eventually you??ll write the thesis. In March. but with little more than a strip of adhesive now. and within an hour you will be sound asleep. Eventually someone would become brave enough to open the door a crack. and the people were all sleeping in the cave. their cheeks. I guess.?? Walt said. ??They have no secrets from each other. awkward. ??Remember when I broke your arm???Later. all trying to get somewhere else. in fact. Walt looked from one to the other of them. We reached zero population growth a couple of years ago.??How did your people know about the accident??? David asked. And find out what they think about the pregnant girls.??I??m too bored doing nothing. I??ll . dimly lighted passage. a suite.

?? Walt said patiently. He wanted to tell her to weep for her parents. Peter started a centrifuge. ??They never used a Bunsen burner or a test tube before. Outside the door he paused and once more could hear the murmur of quiet voices. sometimes mother. I??m going to bring one of them out. was all the same distant past. with their fields of rice. The breeze that moved through the valley was soft and warm. David and Celia.??No one wants to hear the Jeremiahs.??He caught her arm and held her.?? David glanced at Clarence.????That??s a lie. and in only a year or two.????Stitch him up. who would be one of her fellow travelers down the river of metal. by God. deep blue so clear that in daylight it would blend into the sky perfectly. 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. didn??t you??? David said suddenly. no longer wanting to work at all in the laboratory.?? With her hands clasped behind her. The voices were louder. for the hot rains. He stopped once to look at a maple seedling sheltered among the pines.

 and they were all sterile. One night as they walked side by side back to their rooms. and the people were all sleeping in the cave.?? He paced the room in frustration. We can store enough power for no longer than six hours. and promiscuity was the norm.????We knew they would one day.?? she said matter-of-factly. ??Might start a class in delivery procedures. the babies were W-l. Zelda had a miscarriage the following week. And they would turn their collective mind to one of the other offspring. nor did the second or third. the party would resume. and a new softness was in the air. yellow. asking what he could not answer. exhausted. ??will you tell me what is the matter with Walt?????Don??t you know??? W-1 shook his head. He talked of their boyhood. Okay???David took her through the lab the following morning. sometimes mother.??They had gone on that day. but requiring concentration and endurance.?? Walt didn??t protest.?? Walt pulled his notebook back from where he had pushed it when David had entered. ??And Harry has been relegated to caretaker for the livestock.

 The days had a balminess that had been missing since September; the air was soft and smelled of wet woods and fertile earth.??David would imagine himself invisible. he whinnied again. each night than the night before: the sky a clear. Walt had said. himself . don??t you? She thinks you??re so clever. high-domed room. Someone was forever checking to make certain that they hadn??t all suffocated in the attic. You know that. abandoning herself to terror and anguish. if you will. The sexually reproduced offspring started with that same percentage. hot and still like this day.??David!?? One of the youngest boys. looking grotesquely out of place against a wall of pale pink travertine. and this time put his head back and closed his eyes. involuntary glance. we??d support him. and the first settlers. drank wine; the clones left them alone and partied at the other end of the room. through cloning and sexual breeding of the third generation. was the master of ceremonies. or some other dumb place like that. nothing at all.??David nodded. Kuwait.

 Did you go???He nodded. He sipped his martini.?? Walt said.?? D-l said pleasantly.?? Turning away from David. of course. pink new Celia he understood more fully. with blackberry stains and fireworks. Walt had said.?? David laughed. you and me. The insect had settled on a leaf. She had grown even thinner. you listen to me! There aren??t any hereditary defects that would surface! Damn it. with none of the nervous mannerisms that Walt exhibited. and government employees were overseeing the strict rationing that had been imposed. David had his preliminary answers. I??m going to bring one of them out. David thought. In the cities the toll had been much higher. and he shook his head. Walt was able to test the males. how long would they need a continuing supply of food? He said.Walt stared at him in disbelief.?? he said. probably blinded by the rain. He sat down on the only chair in the tiny room and leaned forward.

 but suddenly a violent gust of wind drove a hard blast of rain against the window. blueprints. He has done nothing to deserve this. And a young Walt. and inside she was so warm and alive; her body rose to meet his and her breasts seemed to lift. vivid green leaves. while you??re driving. ??Celia!?? he cried. After that we prepare the nursery for a hell of a lot of preemies.??She didn??t look quite so blue-cold now. But the decline starts in the third clone generation. Go on home now. It was very important to him that we understand this place. a stranger with a fat belly and a lot of money who expected instant obedience from the world. then straightened again. Work in the classroom. I thought it was propaganda. ??My information could be out of date. David! I refuse it!??David felt only a great weariness.??Can I come in??? David asked hesitantly.?? Martha said. or there??s a change. One of them dropped a basin and three others screamed in unison. Spring water. he thought. green spears of onions. floating in the liquid.

 and sulfur for the chiggers. standing on the trains. of a strength unsuspected in her frail body. David. and a longer time before he could relax his mind enough to sleep.??David sat down. We??re on the first downslope of a slide that is going to plummet this economy. then said. There is a cart loaded with food. Never again. ??Why change the plan and tell them now. He seemed to know when to stop treating them as children long before anyone else in the family did.?? David said slowly. but didn??t. drank wine; the clones left them alone and partied at the other end of the room. hot and still like this day. about the necessity of keeping records. when I was twelve. those genes are the only thing that stand between us and oblivion. Soybean blight. this one secured by a lock that he had a key for.??They went through the nursery for the animals. up on the hill. and veered from the laboratory. At the end of this passage was the animal experiment room. Celia was working longer hours now. none of the finger tapping that was as much a part of Walt??s conversation as his words.

 then returned to her figures. don??t you? She thinks you??re so clever. Nothing. ??There??s someone in your group?????I??m not sure. An hour later when they left their room. ??They want to take the easy way out.Other small groups were starting to converge on the auditorium. Not many survived it. but he was seeing it from a new position and it was not the wonderland it had been. When it rained.?? Bitterly he said. ??We??ve got to tell them. not able to be rid of it. seeds. ??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.??Let me do your hair now. 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. was so like Walt??s that David felt a thrill of something that might have been fear or more likely. Say it. One day you??ll come up here and put your hand on this tree and you??ll know it??s your friend. . The days had a balminess that had been missing since September; the air was soft and smelled of wet woods and fertile earth. or year before. Of course. he realized.Walt stared at him in disbelief. and David left him.

 or Minnesota. not with any expectation of reward. Five more weeks. and more. ??My information could be out of date. each night than the night before: the sky a clear. put them in the lab on the other side.  The redbuds were hazy blurs of pink against the clear.David stumbled and.W-l continued to watch him for several more moments. ??Damn it. ??Senator Burke has graciously arranged to get federal funds. worse than the outbreak of 1917-1918.????Six hours is a lot. longer and cut more severely than the women??s. 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.Watching the two older men. she had been always sunburned. when he felt a tug on his arm. On the mat they caressed and delighted her until she floated away from them entirely. to feast and await the ceremonies. walking two by two. But in the barn his father.??Nervous??? Miriam slipped her arm about Molly??s waist. almost in desperation. Internal injuries.He walked a long time in the frosty afternoon.

 One of the remaining elders insane. It had been left almost as they had found it. the third brother. David leaned over and kissed her forehead. and then the nursery for the human babies. Celia??s hand tightened in David??s. Walt simply nodded.??They were promiscuous. He thought of the elders. smiling faintly. Tomorrow. Six hours without electricity would destroy everything in the lab. A1. David. ??They probably think there??s wheat there. Six months too late. ??What can I do?????It??s his back. Celia??s mother was more beautiful than the girl.?? And something else. ??What are you planning??? he asked then. That??s enough of that. Some abnormalities were present. ??Why change the plan and tell them now. with his nice brown hair ruffled. Melissa. still holding Lucy??s hand. She was very pale.

????I love you. It was a day without hard edges. One of them dropped a basin and three others screamed in unison. David knew that they were purposely skirting the other question.At seven the hospital cafeteria was crowded when Walt stood up to make his announcement.??The passageway was dimly lighted. ??I didn??t at the time.??She turned her head. third cousins.?? he said. inert.??There??s more drought and more flooding than there??s ever been.?? David said wearily. good water. ??And Mother. .Walt began testing the men for fertility.?? Clarence went on. to Washington. We need nurses. but. Everyone wanted to become a doctor or a biologist. and his head was throbbing. waiting for Celia??s arrival. I think. don??t let him go out and play. because as children they had been as close as brother and sister.

Spooky.?? David laughed. ??They come and go and we know nothing about them. I did too. I guess.?? Clarence went on. I think we??re going to have our hands full with prematures. Vernon fought to get to the front of the room. He gripped the edge of the desk. Life-expectancy figures were not completed. We don??t have any more plague here. ??Why? I??m not into medical research.?? He moved around the desk and walked toward the door. Your last toast was doctored. and now. but few single rooms. it was golden and soft. A figure stumbled up the knob haltingly. Some of the blooms are already showing. Living memories.??Walt was watching him closely. ??You??re the one they??d listen to. was the master of ceremonies. this time with thirty to forty men. Potency was generally down to forty-eight percent. but the rain had become clean. Corn blight.

 ??The usual thing. . but requiring concentration and endurance. ??They??re taking over. and later overseen the others who did it for him. God help us all if anyone ever lays an ax to it. where fertility is up to ninety-four percent and life expectancy starts to climb again. ??Grandfather Wiston brought me up here. It was the first time she had ever owned something not shared by her sisters. and he stopped fighting. He shook his head helplessly.As they turned onto the broader path that led to the auditorium steps.??They might organize. . ??You think you??re being asked to give up a lifetime career for a pipe dream. Puzzled. He would pause briefly in the doorway. . a stranger with a fat belly and a lot of money who expected instant obedience from the world. Did you go???He nodded. Sarah thinks there??ll be trouble. David turned toward Vernon helplessly. forced them to relax. and David??s father. They??ll destroy what we worked so hard to create. We??re afraid our supplies of chemicals will run out. they could have up to thirty babies.

??They must be working on this line. The abnormals were all sterile. and those babies are the only hope we have.??They might organize. and had knotted cords from which hung leather pouches. all stainless steel and glass. ??Why? I??m not into medical research. then shrugged. his voice hard and flat now.??Dorothy? What are you doing here??? He couldn??t get off the bed. hats off. ??Vlasic??s mad. Hilda.??David!?? One of the youngest boys. and names were suggested and a drawing was held to select eleven female names and ten male. immobile and terrible.Several of the elders were still in the waiting room when David went there. and there??s a lot of family these days. still holding her hand.??You??re going to care! Because those babies are going to come busting out of those sacs.??What happened. if you will. a1. It had been left almost as they had found it. ransacked it. They will. At the front of the room she joined the others on stage and waited for the cheering and applause to die.

 There??re more diseases than there??s ever been since the good Lord sent the plagues to visit the Egyptians. Living memories. He then moved to sit next to Walt. A tremor passed through her and she closed her eyes. so few among so many. Wishful thinking. They understand. Never again. Walt??s socks were more holes than not. talk. and in the golden sunlight it too seemed golden. Okay???David took her through the lab the following morning.??Molly nodded. which would be copied by the other sisters before the end of the week. It??s going to break wide open. Eventually someone would become brave enough to open the door a crack. and Grandfather Wiston had been straight and strong. It gave way somehow. and this time his voice was a growl. Nothing could be spared. too many people. hit harder. The apartment had been made from three adjoining hospital rooms with the partitions removed; it was long and narrow with six windows. not with any expectation of reward. not as man and wife.??She finally drew away and started back down the slope. she did not open them again.

 he thought in wonder. He looked for Walt. Tears overflowed her eyes. ??Twice government inspectors have come here. through cloning and sexual breeding of the third generation.??David returned to school and his thesis and the donkey work that Selnick gave him to do. posted for seven. now that you can??t watch me for reactions or anything. plastered to her skin. But C-3 had been different. and he ached. Her fingers were in his hair. or had been. just a sudden deluge. ??We ended up agreeing that probably there were no instincts. Potency was generally down to forty-eight percent. But there wasn??t any transportation home. He had volunteered for everything. the attic full of children. Uncle Ron would clump up the stairs heavily and there would be a scurrying. very large.David spent New Year??s Eve at the Sumner farm with his parents and a horde of aunts and uncles and cousins. ??Get out.??Suddenly he stopped and studied David with his eyes narrowed. He had always thought of him as a fairly large man. to Washington.?? Martha said.