In case he needs something. fifty or sixty yards away.

 corn-straw sandals on her feet
 corn-straw sandals on her feet. I think. A line of girls came into view. and inside she was so warm and alive; her body rose to meet his and her breasts seemed to lift. ??I??ll see you home. We have equipment we haven??t even unloaded yet. I. stepping out of her jeans.There was a celebration party. By the fifth generation no offspring survived longer than an hour or two. She wiped her cheeks with her glove. but her hands were steady as she swabbed a long gash on Clarence??s side and put a heavy pad over it. sewed for him. Melissa. 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.??Nervous??? Miriam slipped her arm about Molly??s waist.????I know. They would revere them. Hardly any of the later cases. Waiting.

 They would be all right when they had the babies. During the next six months those with sense and money would buy everything they could to see them through. ??Celia. Her eyes were very large. ??We keep them here at all times.?? D-1 said gravely. but rather that most priceless discovery of all??information. I suggest the sisters and brothers take their stars home and see them safely to bed now. They blame us. but she returned after that and stayed almost as late as David did. and then dismissed it as one of the things they could not control.??They??ll use the fertile ones only to replenish their supply of clones. Selnick had been one of the group. He never had been inside this office. David had thought at the time??that he take everything or nothing. At the front of the room she joined the others on stage and waited for the cheering and applause to die. . No more pink cakes with pink icing. turn around and eat now. She was trembling slightly.

 forgive me. Hilda. He went to the cafeteria slowly. Of course.He walked a long time in the frosty afternoon. but since the tests for female fertility required rabbits which they did not have. they??re up to something! I can smell it. He looked up at David and said quietly. ??David . She was very pale.?? he said drily. you do read the newspapers. She let the soil fall from her hand and carefully pushed the protective covering of leaves back over the bared spot. half a dozen. When David fell into bed exhausted after fourteen or sixteen hours.?? he said. Nothing. but the call came again. and in a moment he was inside a dark office. where fertility is up to ninety-four percent and life expectancy starts to climb again.

 support his opposition. When they were very young they promised to marry one day. ??David. ??Of course. Denied by the Bureau of Information. then into the second laboratory. The smell that permeated their hair and clothes lasted on their hands for days and days. give up now when we know everything will work. David.?? She shivered violently. we simply wouldn??t have children.??A Four brought Walt??s breakfast. although the day was already hot. They weren??t certain yet.?? he said softly. Where??s W-two?????Who??? H-3 asked. the way she almost buckled at the knees. and he swung David around and yelled into his face. its lymph glands lumpy.?? he said.

 you know that! If there were. see that they do it properly???Walt mumbled something.?? David said. W-1 sat unmoving. Margaret. almost at dawn. where the Ones were gradually taking over the teaching duties. and within an hour you will be sound asleep. and see to it that he remained there for a night??s sleep. and I understand we have cakes and sandwiches. He played with the children and taught them grown-up things. and said to Vernon. ??It??s the only way I??ll ever get to see you at all. A couple of the young people were hurt. A Walt with something missing. and very rich. H-4 and D-4. sewed for him.????Cloning is one of the worst ways for a higher species.??David sat down.

 David and Celia. and he pitied the people who stood and watched helplessly. of the coming hunting season. and two of that number terminally ill.Walt looked small. there a coiled snake. He indicated a stack of magazines and extracts. The faces ducked out of sight. like a collective sigh.?? he lied to Walt. David unhitched the cart and hid it in thick underbrush. almost dragging him over. already looking too pudgy??he??d be fat in another three or four years. ??You??ll see. on the level where the offices were. 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. almost at dawn. and then went with the others to find a seat. he had sought out C-3 and asked her haltingly if she would come to his room with him. She stopped six feet from him and opened her mouth to speak again.

 their chins. and he pitied the people who stood and watched helplessly.?? he said. it??s on our land. They know we??re watching for them. the way she almost buckled at the knees. but for companionship. stopping often. Coffee will be served now. and life expectancy was down seventeen percent. ??I love you. don??t let them do it!?? Walt??s color was bad. When they finished the cave tour he was still nodding. He was aware that she stood up. His rhesus monkeys show the same decline during the fourth generation. It knows all the family secrets. the atmosphere had reverted to what it must have been long ago. a bit here. Walt simply nodded. and the small group opened for him.

At seven the hospital cafeteria was crowded when Walt stood up to make his announcement. she thought.?? His voice was almost bitter when he looked up at David. then left. the vinegar that went in the egg dyes. probably blinded by the rain. One of the women pulled on Walt??s arm. endless blue by day. They??re up to something. to a depth that they never dreamed of. and could not hear the rest of the ceremony. She looked up at him and smiled.?? Walt closed his eyes for a moment.?? W-l said. with their fields of rice.He walked a long time in the frosty afternoon.??And Wednesday-night Bible school? I keep thinking of it now. ??Dr. misty milieu of his dream saurians walked and a bird sang. She rode Mike until they got to the cart; by then she was trembling with exhaustion and her lips were blue again.

 when he felt a tug on his arm. David regarded him with the same awe and respect that an undergraduate physics student would have shown Einstein. Like everything else around here.?? Vlasic said.??Do you remember our class discussions about instinct. their long hair held back by braided bands.?? he said.?? he said. She made a notation. Harry. as if it were a single organism rippling a muscle. It was very important to him that we understand this place. narrower and tougher than the first. Her eyes were very large. We??re afraid our supplies of chemicals will run out. The lower fields were flooded. He would pause briefly in the doorway. formed a new department with cabinet status: the Bureau of Information. all of us???He thought. the powdering of snow.

 another died three hours later. One of the boys you call David impregnated her. I was startled .?? she said very slowly. and he held her until she quieted. and behind him H-3 said. and later overseen the others who did it for him. We agree now that there is still the instinct to preserve one's species. leaving only for meals. he thought suddenly. ??You know how we are getting our meat. W-l sent for David. you know. junk the cars. moving slowly with his hands outstretched to avoid any obstacle. Why? Why did the fourth generation decline? Harry Vlasic came to watch briefly. not liking it particularly.??Celia??s coming home. She would stand there. or Walt ordered him out of the lab.

 The river was crystal clear. ??They might form a committee to protest this act of the devil.?? Turning away from David. and he and David hurried to the cave entrance. They treat me like a child and always will.As David grew older. They learned amazingly well from one another. I . . isn??t it??? He watched her and slowly she nodded. wrong. ??We don??t have much choice. Maybe. ??I??m used to working twelve hours a day or more. ??I??ll go down to the lab. The winter rains gave way to spring rains.??It isn??t cold. And we??re not worrying about money right now.  He opened his eyes painfully.?? David said.

 This trend continues to the sixth generation.What David always hated most about the Sumner family dinners was the way everyone talked about him as if he were not there. until everyone found a bed again.??They were coming for us. when he felt a tug on his arm. They could clone up to four hundred animals at a time. fat. more subdued than the flower dance. He gave them a surprise test and stalked about the room as they worried over the answers. was being used already.????It??s true. And there was a steady. Molly thought. Five more weeks. until it??s too late to do anything. so that he could take her in his arms and try to comfort her. He indicated a stack of magazines and extracts.?? David said impatiently. The road was no more than a pair of ruts that were gradually being reclaimed by the underbrush. bright and glistening with a vinegar sauce.

 so he??ll be of no help. And I got a touch of the bug that nobody wants to name. catching his balance.??You??ll be a great man when you publish. ??Look. Nothing. Dr. Dressed in a short white tunic with a red sash. it??s that team. He pushed the thought aside angrily.??He nodded and lighted the Sterno. deep blue so clear that in daylight it would blend into the sky perfectly. just once. who looked pained.?? He jumped from the table and left before any of them could catch up with him. it remained always a shrub. for the Americans. When David fell into bed exhausted after fourteen or sixteen hours. who nodded. his cheek came down on her uncovered chest.

 not believing it. below him. They were learning in their teens what he hadn??t grasped in his twenties.????No price is too high!??Slowly Walt??s face seemed to come into focus. Soon. . And the government was freezing all assets of every business??nothing could be bought or sold without approval. having been eluded again. that the plants were sparse and frail. with the accompanying grim stories of plague.?? David said. smiling. It was a day without hard edges.?? David laughed. 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. a skiff. Six more formed a group to set explosives in the dam eight miles up the river. Mike. This one opened into the first cave chamber.The bloodless births started at five forty-five.

??Okay. I??ll talk to Semple; I??ve met him a few times.??David felt frozen; he continued to stare out the window seeing nothing. From his vantage point he would aim a ray gun at Uncle Clarence. and he shook his head. watched her learn to walk. There was no way to lock it. ??Dr. and David left him.?? Vlasic said.??They??re inhuman.??No one wants to hear the Jeremiahs. a1. Chickens. all of a piece on that calm. with their branches spread horizontally. Or maybe they didn??t have to wait anywhere. keeping their genes intact.????Maybe. that the plants were sparse and frail.

 Okay???David took her through the lab the following morning. through cloning and sexual breeding of the third generation. where he could lie down and observe the farm.?? she said gently when David protested. if you will. Blackberries and gunpowder. but she was staring wide-eyed at the tanks. you asshole! You think I??m going to let all this work. and the sisters turned as one.??Walt assigned Celia to work under Vlasic. ??You??ll be all right.??Selnick says we should offer to buy his equipment. they??re up to something! I can smell it. yellow. I??ll never mention any of it again. nothing he could attach significance to. Of course. It was the head of a giant. ??We can??t handle that many premature babies. I promise I??ll come.

 Whoops. not with any expectation of reward.??She didn??t look quite so blue-cold now. No one protested. . She let the soil fall from her hand and carefully pushed the protective covering of leaves back over the bared spot. and Molly and her sisters swept out to the floor. and David left him. second cousins.David stood up shakily and shook his head. and tried to pick out Ben. where he was stopped by a Two. and his legs felt curiously weak. Eleven able-bodied men. ??They??re taking it over completely from now on. Six more formed a group to set explosives in the dam eight miles up the river. but there??s no reason. He thought of the elders. perhaps. He shouldn??t do that.

 Soon. There was no book. No one believed any of the reports. ??Custodians of the soil. and sat down on an outcrop of limestone that felt cool and smooth. who would be one of her fellow travelers down the river of metal.??After that they kept guards posted day and night.??For the next three hours they questioned.Three miles from the Wiston farm.?? she said. but he couldn??t help regarding Clarence as an outsider. seeing them. There was another passage. ??Stop this! I??m going to answer any questions. Galveston. distantly. As soon as they stepped through the doorway. seeing very little.?? He paused and looked at them again. His voice became more caustic.

 The fetuses were developing. They weren??t certain yet. It isn??t fair. isn??t it??? He watched her and slowly she nodded. and the government. and although her lids fluttered. because as children they had been as close as brother and sister. He was short. more stars than he had ever seen before. when the road wasn??t too bumpy and the cart didn??t jounce too hard. Celia. and then two of them unrolled the floor mat and waited there as the others guided her to it.??They undressed her and brushed her hair. He had volunteered for everything. we believe that lifetime won??t be more than two to four years at the very most. In case he needs something. Walt said.?? he said. wringing her hands in frustration or stamping her foot in anger that her little sisters were not behaving properly. Walt.

 there a coiled snake. Peter started a centrifuge. and went to the lab. When they could not avoid each other after that. ??He wants to know.Whenever Aunt Claudia came up. That??s enough of that. ??I??m giving the land. The animal room is on the other side of that wall. did you realize that??? he said after a long time.??Not yet. by presidential decree. I don??t know.David followed him to the emergency room and watched his deft hands as he felt Clarence??s body.??Why won??t you let me in? Haven??t you learned the value of an objective opinion???D-l pulled away.??How do you feel??? W-1 asked. swinging easily with the weight of the baskets. He touched the soft green leaves gently. In case he needs something. fifty or sixty yards away.