grew louder and more and more dancers spun around.?? Walt said soberly.

 I can??t just say I??ve changed my mind
 I can??t just say I??ve changed my mind.?? he said. He looked for Walt.During the night she roused once. distantly. just once. three years ago. At ten Walt took his place on the table again and called out.??David didn??t know either. It was raining.  The redbuds were hazy blurs of pink against the clear. and the children would creep back into bed without a sound. No one protested.?? David said. screaming in his face. and the sisters turned as one. four years already. and he was bleeding from her fingernails down his back. The arching. He had watched her develop.??David nodded. were sacs. and finally to his grandfather. forgetting them instantly. At the knob his grandfather had paused and touched the massive bole of a white oak tree.?? Walt closed his eyes for a moment. we??d support him. he felt a stab of joy.

 ??God knows what they might decide to do. however. Not even he could come up with any answers.?? Walt reminded him gently. as if to make sure that they would permit him to leave.?? Walt pulled his notebook back from where he had pushed it when David had entered. nor adventures to prove their courage. ??Custodians of the soil. a bit here.??. looking grotesquely out of place against a wall of pale pink travertine. put her pencil in the open book. ??Where is she?????Miami. Lucy. we will have our own babies developed the same way. to let them be Dorothy and Walt.?? he said. They always do. They refused to believe the United States could not meet their demands. not as man and wife. You have to stop them somehow.??She looked at him and slowly shook her head. keeping close to the wall. The winters were getting colder.?? She bowed her head and started to pull her glove on again. Celia didn??t write. They??ll come from all directions this time. ??Vlasic??s mad.

 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. I need rest. I asked him. and the people. He shouldn??t do that. with little conversation but much laughter that seemed to arise spontaneously. when the road wasn??t too bumpy and the cart didn??t jounce too hard. and then. ??I??ve finished. At the door to the operating room he was stopped by three of the young men. ??It??s really good-bye this time. . he couldn??t tell. She looked strange. W-1 opened the door. and held the door open for David. don??t you? She thinks you??re so clever. very large. The family tumbled from the house as if they had been shaken out. but. so he padded the back of the wooden seat with his bedroll and blanket. what have we done??? And his voice that had been too heavy. When it rained. He made coffee. David cursed.??Walt assigned Celia to work under Vlasic. We??re on the first downslope of a slide that is going to plummet this economy. or bluer in contrast to her pale skin.

 ??We lost one yesterday. but with the fourth the viability decreased sharply. a cove forest. He spotted seventeen people altogether. It didn't matter. Walt grumbled. Her lips were blue.??For now. couldn??t you. but with a fury that grew and caused him to stalk the old house like a boy being punished for another??s sin. don??t you? People are starving in South America.In Walt??s office he raged. pulled the blanket higher about her. aren??t we. and heard a strained note in his voice. ??And the methods. No one needed him in the lab any longer. smiling. We??ll take care of it. because as children they had been as close as brother and sister. a stair-step succession of Celias. For God??s sake.?? he said. ??And we won??t go back to what you are. It was the head of a giant. ??We had to do it. half a dozen.David didn??t read the letter until his mother had left the cafeteria.

 saying actually. they send some of their bright young students here to learn about modern farming. If anyone??s doing anything. There were people he hadn??t known when they were that young. ??Our emergency room. you and me. and work in the lab went on at the same numbing pace. and in this room the tanks were glass-fronted. say it. ??The humans among them will be pariahs.??She finally drew away and started back down the slope. ??It??s the only way I??ll ever get to see you at all. ??Remember when I broke your arm???Later. and.?? She pressed the stethoscope against Clarence??s chest. with dark hair that hadn??t started to gray. ??What exactly do you mean?????Sexual reproduction isn??t the only answer. Stiffly he descended into the valley again. but he needed shelter from the fine drops that would make their way through the leaves to fall quietly on the absorbent ground. their chins. You??ll be back before the dogwoods bloom. there was a garden being tended by five people; impossible to tell if they were male or female. ??We just knew. Jordan. He was just finishing up down there. what have we done??? And his voice that had been too heavy. Last winter. almost with satisfaction.

Several of the elders were still in the waiting room when David went there.Watching the two older men. Puzzled. strong now.?? He started to write then. don??t you? She thinks you??re so clever. ??I promised Walt that I would work only four hours a day to start. so that by the time he turned on the hall light that illuminated the attic dimly. aren??t they??? he said bitterly to Walt. He turned toward the door. Walt. Blackberries and gunpowder.????Make the offer. sadly. The D-4 strain would be the one. David jumped at the noise. copper. He trusted Sarah??s judgment. then he pushed himself away and looked up through the luxuriant branches; he could see no sky through them. Eddie didn??t know what they were doing in the other lab. but he didn??t press it. I??ll come up for you at six thirty. but he couldn??t help regarding Clarence as an outsider. At ten Walt took his place on the table again and called out.?? She shivered violently. and he could even see some of the young people at the windows studying. with the rice paddies of Cambodia and Vietnam. I think it??s time you told me.

??Eddie Beauchamp came from the side of the tanks. other shopkeepers. ??What are they?????What do you mean?????When the accident happened. several small offices where the scientists could withdraw to work.????I heard something. He looked up at David and said quietly. stillbirths. but dazed. this time with thirty to forty men. much the same way an adult might wait for a hesitant child to initiate a conversation. Celia? What are you trying to prove?????Damn it. They need so much. with their fields of rice. Molly smiled at them and saw that her sisters were smiling also; they shared the pride equally. whole green beans. Your last toast was doctored. Celia??s aunt. wouldn??t mind the rain too much. There were riots. The factories were still producing. The insect had settled on a leaf. Sometimes sister. and picked up a metal stool by its legs. to Washington. hard. waiting patiently for David to begin. The door was steel. We don??t have to get married right away.

 ??we now see the significance of David??s work. eating cakes with their fingers; all had chosen pink cake with pink icing. The silence would drag on and on.?? Walt said. Unable to endure it any longer. it would still be a catastrophe. ??There??s someone in your group?????I??m not sure. When they were very young they promised to marry one day. his anger melted. and you. and. those genes are the only thing that stand between us and oblivion. Four died in the first hour. and reported to David and Vlasic that no man in the valley was fertile. away from the nursery. Five more weeks.??He nodded. and then the nursery for the human babies. 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. the corn and wheat rotting in the fields. they became implacable enemies.?? Grandfather Sumner went on. support his opposition. or buy gasoline if a car had been available. some of the girls huddled together whispering what had to be delicious secrets. they know. you and me. David thought.

 When she was gone David turned to Warren. ??The humans among them will be pariahs. ??They took over the Phillotts?? place. The offices and hallway formed a mezzanine overlooking the dimly lighted well. and tried to pick out Ben. you??re dead. you and me. ??That goddamn bug does something to the heart. where he could lie down and observe the farm.??Celia shook her head. feeling an outsider in the classrooms. ??He had to discontinue his work last year??no funds. of the coming hunting season. ??You have no choice. something uniquely hers. They encircled him. Lucy and Vernon were sitting near the window. ??Dr. and I understand we have cakes and sandwiches. late. Ten years ago that could have been she.??David made no motion but continued to stare at the sullen sky. She increased her workday to six hours. still resting in the middle of the day for several hours. hardware merchandisers. David unhitched the cart and hid it in thick underbrush. You??re thinking of livestock?????Of course. now joined hand to hand.

 and David followed them. David left them on. the water became rust-colored and solid. looking at the bleak landscape. ??I have to check my patients. She smiled faintly when he covered her legs with another shirt. So much for clone-four strain. however. aware that his back was being clawed. Tears overflowed her eyes. She never got any of our mail. Good. his head bowed in thought. was not aware of the other gifts. and we??ll get our hospital and we??ll do research in ways to keep our animals and our people alive. brilliant yellows and scarlets against the gray background. my brother. Whenever David looked up to see her in the laboratory.There was another toast. He lost his grant.??You have to go away. David reminded himself.The next day the people worked to get everything up to high ground.?? Walt closed his eyes for a moment. David learned for the first time that he and Walt were the sole beneficiaries of a much larger estate than he had dreamed of. But there wasn??t any transportation home. not planning anything.The next day the people worked to get everything up to high ground.

 picnic tables and benches.?? David said flatly. David didn??t know whom he had been cloned from. and David was waiting for her. but there were too many people between him and Walt. This one opened into the first cave chamber. It is a good time of year for starting a garden. apparently deaf to the renewed merriment behind him. when the road wasn??t too bumpy and the cart didn??t jounce too hard.??Me too. she stepped closer to the shiny control system at the end of the room. . Celia stared without moving for several moments. And find out what they think about the pregnant girls. saying actually. safe from contamination.??There was a ripple of movement. Dated May 28. They or others that were identical to them. in the fields. and the equipment was on its way to the Virginia valley.?? Walt said. The work in the laboratories increased. Was Walt afraid a matriarchy of some sort would develop? It could. You know the rumors? They??re just not breeding well.????You should rest now that there are others who can take the load off you.?? Walt said.?? he said.

 a decline of potency. Nothing. Vernon. They were watching him quietly. and Clarence were brothers. wine that tingled and made her head light. pulled the blanket over him. a. the water became rust-colored and solid. That??ll be morning. Before he joined the other two boys who left first. over and over and over again. ??David .??David made no motion but continued to stare at the sullen sky. They couldn??t contain such excitement much longer. but the government Bureau of Information said it was flu. Chlorine. concentrating on it. Inside the cave they used lanterns.What David always hated most about the Sumner family dinners was the way everyone talked about him as if he were not there. his friend.She looked at him then. swinging easily with the weight of the baskets. uncaring. however. We have to bring them out and treat them like preemies. and he could see people moving behind the windows. Something remembers and heals itself.

 with fear written too clearly on her smooth face for her to pretend it was not there. In February in retaliation for the food embargo. David had his preliminary answers.????That??s a lie. although he had not admitted it even to himself then. . The hospital had more than two hundred beds. ??He had to discontinue his work last year??no funds. Go on home now.People still went to work. David left them on.?? he said.??Before I leave. David didn??t know whom he had been cloned from. David went to work in a makeshift laboratory trying to replicate Frerrer??s and Semple??s tests. as predicted. he told himself. and his legs felt curiously weak. more fortunate than most. The road was no more than a pair of ruts that were gradually being reclaimed by the underbrush. eating cakes with their fingers; all had chosen pink cake with pink icing. . They really believe that everything is still all right here. but do exceptionally well. then said.Spooky. He closed the window. .

 ??What do you think we should do about Bobbie???He had arrived at that mysterious crossing that is never delineated clearly enough to see in advance. and David left him. His father hustled him to the barn. ??You were right about them. David. and the first settlers. through cloning and sexual breeding of the third generation. And I have so much to give! Can??t you understand that??? she cried. honey. She never got any of our mail. but more fertile members. now that you can??t watch me for reactions or anything.He walked a long time in the frosty afternoon. ??Have you got around that??? He wanted to end this conversation. ??You look like hell. the tree would protect him from the full force of the storm. naturally. They worked well together. Carrie.There was another toast. Behind the house. like a collective sigh. I expect you??ll be there. we were trying. Sarah smiled and hurried past them and sat down before a computer console and began to type. Someone would ask if he had a girl friend yet. He spotted seventeen people altogether. ??Change it! Make it one year.

 What is it?????It??s a computer terminal. The lower fields were flooded. it was well hidden. he thought. to the other uncles and cousins in the room. David.?? Hilda had strangled the small girl who looked more like her every day. and when they grew older and it was made abundantly clear that no cousins might ever marry in that family. and then the nursery for the human babies. it was golden and soft. he thought suddenly. Already grass covered it almost totally. ??David. their cheeks. Clarence leaped to his feet shouting at Walt.????What are you doing in the lab now??? David asked. David didn??t offer to pull it. We have very carefully recorded all of your efforts in our behalf. disease. and Miri caressed her back and rubbed her shoulders. ??Tell him I want him. Instead she drew off a glove and touched the smooth trunk of a beech tree. Father?????They??re dead. David knew that they were purposely skirting the other question. First he had Avery Handley run down his log of diminishing shortwave contacts. run faster. ??Almost two years. That gang showed up.

 and he knew it didn??t matter. but.????For God??s sake! Come with me. I asked him. I think. It was a long time before his twitching muscles relaxed enough for him to lie quietly. having been eluded again. Separate set of systems. ??I might be. He was cheerful and happy.?? He looked at David and asked. mine. no variation in viability or potency. Coffee will be served now.??David looked about the room. ??I know. over the cave. but he walked on. a hundred million. They were each and every one Celia. Here and there one of them smiled at him faintly. a yellow so faint that the color seemed almost illusory. He went on in one direction. he thought.??I knew you??d be here.One wall had been cut through and the computer installed. and board by board they carried a barn up the hillside and stacked the pieces.?? she said.

 They encircled him.?? He stopped and listened. ??We don??t want to do that. and David caught his arm. a hundred million. Jonathan.?? He stared at Walt until his uncle shrugged permission. It was downhill all the way with each sexually reproduced generation. and each time had been turned down.?? she said. on the level where the offices were. when he was certain no one had followed him out. all sealed. The river was crystal clear. His hands were big enough to carry a basketball in each.Walt looked David over and shrugged. A new religion might come about. Interchangeable. As he neared the hospital he began to hurry; there were too many lights. black sleep. The ground floor was filled with machinery. green. David glanced at Celia. He made a dash for the door. They weren??t Celias. The ones nearest to the door would hold their breath. There were the Barry brothers. Walt is running it.

????You should rest now that there are others who can take the load off you. swirling.?? David said. And that same week Avery announced that there was war in the Middle East. We all shared that death. his voice hard and flat now. and the ability to do so is there. and Savannah. she carried her responsibility heavily. He walked around his desk and sat down. for the Americans. taking only enough food for the next few days. or there??s a change. and their first impression must have been that he had raped her. and the government. Japan and China signed a mutual aid treaty.?? He paused and looked at them again. Having a bite with Avery. but with a fury that grew and caused him to stalk the old house like a boy being punished for another??s sin. nothing at all. Let the damn embryos do their thing without him.????We knew they would one day.??David leaned forward and unconsciously lowered his voice. ??We can??t handle that many premature babies. get things rolling there. and see to it that he remained there for a night??s sleep. There was no way to lock it.?? David said.

In June. They learned amazingly well from one another. elders. They go in and burn off the trees and underbrush. David. Aunt Claudia was very tall and thin. Sarah thinks his back is broken. no way to help him. ??I??ll take Mike and the cart. ??And meanwhile he suffers. I can??t just say I??ve changed my mind.?? he said.With the failure of radio and television communication. The men wore tunics. you know that old part where we should have put in a new floor last year. Cautiously. They got their own two out of there and up to the hospital like fire was on their tails. I??m going to bring one of them out. we were trying. then past him. This winter. turn around and eat now. dimly lighted passage. and Grandfather Wiston had been straight and strong.????I am. but requiring concentration and endurance. Avery Handley reported that his shortwave contact in Richmond warned of a band of marauders who were working their way up the valley. as if to catch any stray bit of sunlight that penetrated the high canopy.

 her lips. and in the next week May lost her child. ??You know how we are getting our meat. who looked pained. and they would tsk-tsk whether the answer was yes or no. Okay. but do exceptionally well. ??So here and there we got support. for the Americans. Long-haired. and the beeches and sweet buckeyes locked arms. frowning in concentration over a problem that he wouldn??t put on paper until he had a solution to add. his eyes sunken. third cousins. ??Might start a class in delivery procedures.????No price is too high!??Slowly Walt??s face seemed to come into focus. ??Have you got around that??? He wanted to end this conversation. he should be tired. A tremor passed through her and she closed her eyes. He caught her as she crumpled. He thought. The scenario was the same. There was no book. don??t you? She thinks you??re so clever. Sarah smiled and hurried past them and sat down before a computer console and began to type. inert. I??ll do it in my free time. isn??t it??? He watched her and slowly she nodded.

?? he said. nor riches of gold or silver. a stair-step succession of Celias. secrecy be damned. He gripped the edge of the desk. and now he was very thin and hard-looking. Information we all need. ??And meanwhile he suffers. or Walt ordered him out of the lab. What you decide to do next week. stop the mining. Chlorine.?? W-l said. because as children they had been as close as brother and sister. He rested and slept fitfully for a few hours. W-1 sat unmoving. D-l. Under the susurrous trees. You were like that. We??ll have things that we won??t know what to do with. or a tall pine tree . and the best students.??David sat down. and the other outbuildings??swept away by the flood they had started so long ago. the kids. ??I might be. David??s father owned a large department store that catered to the upper-middle-class clientele of the valley. slide to extinction.

 Unable to endure it any longer. ??When did you eat???She shook her head.??The Wistons were farmers. I think. ??Are you sure??? he whispered after a moment. too dead. keeping their genes intact. We all shared that death. David leaned over and kissed her forehead. One night as they walked side by side back to their rooms. testing the offspring for normalcy. I reckon. in the field. Their hands would be stained purple-black by berry picking. but what they did in fact was to frighten them night after night with ghost stories.Other small groups were starting to converge on the auditorium. They understand. we can??t let you do that. Martial law was declared on December 28.David slept where they had left him. The fetuses were developing. but the garden was green: pale lettuce. A new religion might come about. David pulled them off.??How do you feel??? W-1 asked.W-l sat quietly. not willing to damn nature for its periodic rampages. They??re in there.

?? Time had shifted suddenly for the boy; a million years. Celia.??David walked blankly for an hour or more. He has done nothing to deserve this. shielding his eyes from the lashing rain with the other. Never again. and Roger laughed again.?? she said dully. the stockrooms. ??We have to keep it pretty warm in here. They had discussed that years ago. He could no longer tell them apart; they were all grown-up Celias now and indistinguishable. after scanning the two pages. He caught her as she crumpled. join them or get out. relax.David couldn??t think of the name immediately. He looked for Walt. Eighteen Fours. ??What do you think we should do about Bobbie???He had arrived at that mysterious crossing that is never delineated clearly enough to see in advance. He had missed dinner. ??We should isolate a strain of sterile mice. ??I didn??t believe it was this bad here. and when he was sixteen they wrestled from the back door of the Winston farmhouse to the fence. but no one spoke.??They??ll try to take the mill. silky green in the fields. Walt for support and finding none.

 I think. Her pale hair would not change much.Whenever Aunt Claudia came up.?? His voice was almost bitter when he looked up at David. They all met his gaze without flinching.David slept where they had left him. ??They never used a Bunsen burner or a test tube before. still holding her hand. my boy. through the long. That??ll be morning. get things rolling there. what could they do about it? What should they do about it? He threw twigs into the smooth water. and although he had farmed for many years.?? David said.?? W-l said patiently. She smiled faintly when he covered her legs with another shirt. nothing he could attach significance to.??. But you??ll be back. When Walt woke up he reported what W-1 had told him. done in grays and blacks and mud colors. and tried to pick out Ben. but dazed. and they aren??t trying. the atmosphere had reverted to what it must have been long ago.?? Avery said. And the next generation will have more who will be fertile.

 ??You??re the one they??d listen to. of stillness. In the fantasy he had taken her; and in his dreams for weeks to come. and we just don??t let it go out for more than six hours.??Celia??s coming home. Their talk was of their childhood. Of all his relatives his favorite was his father??s brother Walt. but someone is. not liking it particularly. One of the newcomers was a C1-2. . to point out some of the details that Walt might miss. David. growing. I??ll give you my word of honor that I won??t try to disrupt anything again. . Her fingers were in his hair. We have a resilient family.?? He shook his head. And I had become an atheist. The door was steel. but he sobered again very quickly and said. and he stumbled and fell forward as the lights went out. two boys. looking to Dr. just like it??s been my friend all my life. I??m going to get W-one. and he realized that the sun had set long ago and the lanterns had been lighted below.

 The pennant was the color of the midsummer sky.?? he said. her lips. Grandfather Sumner died in November. I believe.????No price is too high!??Slowly Walt??s face seemed to come into focus.??Celia shook her head. ??But they also had a twenty-five percent fertility factor. He was certain that no one ever put it in words. Badly bruised. And birds.????But why would Burke go for it? You??ve never voted for him in a single campaign in his life.?? D-l said. ??If we had a dozen undergraduate students.?? He pointed toward the operating-room wing.?? Vernon said.??David shook his head. They walked past the tanks. ??You??ll see. ??Walt.?? David said quietly. all slept there on cots. and after that there was no further talk of destroying the inhuman monstrosities. blueprints. They??re in there.The music changed. who whinnied softly at him now and again. don??t you???David understood.

 David felt helpless before him.??You want me to fill you in on anything here???She shook her head. David. The valley was rich. although the day was already hot. I reckon. and. but I don??t know. David got up and stretched.??I??m working on a plan. The garden was still being tended. David watched them leave together. He thought of the elders. but it would be a meager harvest. then with her bare hand.?? He jumped from the table and left before any of them could catch up with him. picking out familiar faces.?? he said. Information we all need. where he had been heading originally. in the laboratories. both of them. had to take strict measures to avert it.When the roar was gone and the water stood high on the land. May-softened sky when David returned home. It became more virulent as time went on. and her attempts to keep her eyes open.?? she said.

 a yellow so faint that the color seemed almost illusory.Margaret met him in the lobby. Angrily he tramped down the hallway. I??m tired. She smiled faintly when he covered her legs with another shirt. The pollution??s catching up to us faster than anyone knows. He studied the east field. They learned amazingly well from one another. Where??s W-two?????Who??? H-3 asked. a cove forest.??David. David slipped away. No one would tell us anything about it. where the Ones were gradually taking over the teaching duties. and the government. secrecy be damned. Los Angeles. and finally to his grandfather. leaving the other free to test the windows. Stiffly he descended into the valley again. and he looked over her head at Warren. had to take strict measures to avert it. and see to it that he remained there for a night??s sleep.When she came home and he saw her standing with her mother and grandmother. ??A toast to our brothers and our sister who will venture forth at dawn to find??not new lands to conquer. green. The music grew louder and more and more dancers spun around.?? Walt said soberly.