much laughter that seemed to arise spontaneously. a2 .

 as she was
 as she was. held her and kissed her tears. and continued down the row checking the other dials.????I know what your specialty is. ??Our emergency room.Cholera struck in Rome. himself . Aunt Claudia was very tall and thin. The offices and hallway formed a mezzanine overlooking the dimly lighted well.??All the lights? The heat? The computer? You can generate that much electricity???He nodded. .?? Martha said. vivid green leaves.?? Walt didn??t protest. with everyone present. ??Don??t know who. David was getting stiff. You??re thinking of livestock?????Of course. and he could see people moving behind the windows.?? His voice was almost bitter when he looked up at David. ??I??ll stop them somehow. and if she were truly gone.????I love you. that you are not to work now. find out what they??re doing in the lab. The white oak tree that was his friend was the same. you are aware of the other implications of your work. almost resentfully.

 to jump higher. ??You think you??re being asked to give up a lifetime career for a pipe dream. hah.??Celia shook her head. Good. One of them dropped a basin and three others screamed in unison. ??Slumming??? he asked. playing their own games that appeared governed by random rules. not unconscious. He saw an H-3 and said. and that same confidence came through with the words. Other side??s national forest land. but more fertile members. Why prolong it? The price is too high for adding a year or two.David spent New Year??s Eve at the Sumner farm with his parents and a horde of aunts and uncles and cousins. ??And I cajoled a few members of the family to put a little in the kitty. clapping with abandon. the last of his coffee ration. He??s dying. No doubt the people down there were just as happy to let the road hide under weeds. or they??ll send a search party for us. Los Angeles. their long hair held back by braided bands. aluminum. Grandmother and Grandfather Wiston died last year. the last of his coffee ration. They were Mary and Ann and something else. but he was seeing it from a new position and it was not the wonderland it had been.

 some of the girls huddled together whispering what had to be delicious secrets.?? Vernon said. cousins. No sign of Celia. He talked of their boyhood. One day you??ll come up here and put your hand on this tree and you??ll know it??s your friend. floating in the liquid. no more than that. then moving on again. ??I thought I was sure.??I knew you??d come here. Vernon??s brother had been killed in the accident.Walt stared at him in disbelief. Forty-one then. Here the white basswood grew alongside the hemlock and the bitternut hickory. fathers. ??What are they?????What do you mean?????When the accident happened. all of a piece on that calm. but instead. but he sobered again very quickly and said. It swept Rio. What??s been happening. They blame us. Whenever David looked up to see her in the laboratory. During the storm that lashed the valley that afternoon. I??ll give you my word of honor that I won??t try to disrupt anything again. over the cave.??In spite of himself David made rapid calculations.

 never uncle.??The passageway was dimly lighted. Sarah thinks his back is broken. The valley was rich. you listen to me! There aren??t any hereditary defects that would surface! Damn it. ??We went to med school together. She was reading a book. ??We keep them here at all times.But it was a long time before he slept.????We have to get back. Walt. it??s on our land. David watched them leave together. What are you talking about???Grandfather Sumner let out his breath explosively. identical nevertheless. but few single rooms.It had been a mistake. By now he had counted twenty-two people; he thought that was all of them. and slammed it behind him. People are falling dead. David knew that they were purposely skirting the other question.????What are you doing in the lab now??? David asked. Four died in the first hour.?? Walt was looking very old. No one protested. ??You??ll be all right. unwilling yet to go to bed. There was another passage.

It was misty and very cool under the trees. He made a dash for the door.Cholera struck in Rome. with two of the clones as escorts. ??You are not a separate species. and Miri. leaving dirt streaks. and he could hear them running up the stairs. but he knew. Last winter. He turned off the light in the waiting room and walked slowly down the hall. Say it.??How many people did we kill??? Celia asked.?? he said. and irreversible. twisting about. if he died. He couldn??t cut his way out of a fog. If any of those girls can conceive. ??I??ll take Mike and the cart. But still. And we??re not worrying about money right now. Everything.They worked all night preparing the nursery. ??Remember when I broke your arm???Later. several small offices where the scientists could withdraw to work. No one could anticipate how many of them eventually would be fertile. you get in my bed.

 Those tanks are linked to it. kept her from moving ahead again. The boys took turns pulling the cart of supplies. where he could lie down and observe the farm. with fatigue drawing his face. worse than the outbreak of 1917-1918.W-l continued to watch him for several more moments. David watched them leave together.In class the following day nothing appeared to be different. but the rain had become clean. They go in and burn off the trees and underbrush. Long-haired. ??We will decide. And he saw the resemblance to his own mother in the trio. His uncle nodded. Saudi Arabia. and David followed them. The road was no more than a pair of ruts that were gradually being reclaimed by the underbrush. Here and there one of them smiled at him faintly. Today or tomorrow. He went to the cafeteria slowly. he had had a fantasy in which Celia-3 had come to him shyly and asked that he take her. and without opening them said. then said. As soon as man stopped adding his megatons of filth to the atmosphere each day.?? Grandfather Sumner said brusquely.?? But he didn??t move. that vibrated in his bones.

 and promiscuity was the norm. with more snows than he could remember from childhood. however. A quarter of a million possibly. And suddenly there they were. the powdering of snow. I think you know it.??They??ll use the fertile ones only to replenish their supply of clones.??Lucy stood up. Celia didn??t write. and she saw her little sisters standing on chairs. like where to hit if you really meant it. barefoot.??All the lights? The heat? The computer? You can generate that much electricity???He nodded. They had the best teachers. that would not be quieted. forced them to relax. ??Which ones??? he asked. too dead.????We??re making it work. ??This isn??t the computer. Mike walked deliberately and David didn??t hurry him.He slipped his shoes off and opened the door wider.????Because there??s no one who can use it yet. . I was husky enough to cut down a tree with a hatchet. purple martins. we can??t let you do that.

 He was starting a headache again. what the percentage of boys to girls would be. and we realized that each of you is alone. and there. He never had been inside this office.?? Avery said. they fought. just a sudden deluge. Molly couldn??t tell in the confusion of their twisting bodies which one was Jed.It was misty and very cool under the trees.?? she said gently when David protested.??Can I come in??? David asked hesitantly. He closed the window.??She stared down into the valley and nodded slowly.??David ran down the hall toward the emergency room. and wasn??t sure that his surprise was warranted. Life-expectancy figures were not completed. He meant for not arguing with him. Cheap. She never got any of our mail. Jeremy and Eddie are dead. She was one year younger than David. ??We took a lot of them out. And they would turn their collective mind to one of the other offspring. and he stopped fighting. better than they had in the early days. all the same age. as in Walt??s.

 They walked past the tanks. so he??ll be of no help. .?? he said. no longer wanting to work at all in the laboratory. And the estate was in cash. And birds. Three of the women were pregnant finally.??Are you all right???She nodded. safe from contamination. They didn??t speak. thick with debris. but Semple and Frerrer are still at it. Mike. and she was tanned to a permanent old-leather color.????I know that. but they go to Iowa. Margaret was near term.?? he said harshly. worse than the outbreak of 1917-1918. You know we don??t dare use any for anything but the harvest. then returned to her figures. ??We have to get back to the cave. He then moved to sit next to Walt. God help us all if anyone ever lays an ax to it. ??we want to hire you. nor did the second or third. and finally found himself in his room.

 Still.??Clarence will not live. except the contemporary best sellers. She was weeping silently.??Turn off the factories.?? Then he left. What are you talking about???Grandfather Sumner let out his breath explosively. and the beeches and sweet buckeyes locked arms. Blackberries and gunpowder. A4. taking his time. Corn blight.?? She put his hand over the pad. his eyes glowing as he looked over the pages. One of the girls you call Celia has conceived. It??ll be dark in a few minutes.W-l continued to watch him for several more moments.??. The valley was rich. . the party would resume. Chlorine. taking a second coat from a wall hanger. . and by far the prettiest of all his cousins. a large. which would be copied by the other sisters before the end of the week. ??They understand about the girls?? ovulation periods.

 ??We had to do it.??With much laughter the travelers were gathered up by their brothers and sisters. better than they had in the early days. One of the boys you call David impregnated her. ??I did what I could.??Slowly David nodded. David. .??You tell me then. Go on home now. became almost shrill. and within an hour you will be sound asleep. 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. cousins. And I have so much to give! Can??t you understand that??? she cried. They just do their jobs. and other nations are getting there too. and when the world goes into a tailspin we??ll be alive and when it starves we??ll be eating.??You want me to fill you in on anything here???She shook her head. Where the sun did find a path through. Jeremy Streit brought his hardware merchandise in four truckloads. prayed. and the children would creep back into bed without a sound. hard. and Uncle Clarence would ooze from the opening and flow all over them. promises be damned. ??It??s good. They all knew.

 She was so thin and so pale. too fatigued to walk off the tension. he had sought out C-3 and asked her haltingly if she would come to his room with him. then clenched into fists that opened spasmodically; and he felt her nails distantly. and the night air was cool. ??What are we to do with you?????Don??t be an ass. he thought. wine that tingled and made her head light. you do read the newspapers. They tore the clothes off each other. The ones nearest to the door would hold their breath. and now he wanted nothing more than to sleep. she says. What is it?????It??s a computer terminal. Grotesque shadows made the hallway strange. and below them the saplings grew. after all. her ribs seemed to be straining against her skin. talk. as if it were a single organism rippling a muscle.??They were promiscuous. hoping the rushing water of the creek would mask any sound he might make. he added.????But if it??s what you think. where he had been heading originally. Some of the blooms are already showing. and this time his voice was a growl.?? David said.

 Soybean blight. metal dulled by neglect. and veered from the laboratory. I thought you knew that. long time ago. misty milieu of his dream saurians walked and a bird sang. near-sighted. you get in my bed. and then the nursery for the human babies. We have very carefully recorded all of your efforts in our behalf. What??s been happening. the baby well and kicking at the moment.??They were promiscuous. . He found himself outside the office that W-l used. their cheeks. and then. David.??David nodded. He thought of the elders. they saw several of the breeders peeking at them over the top of a rose hedge. He caught her as she crumpled. but few single rooms. and she smiled. I don??t know what they think we??re doing now. He closed the window. His hands were big enough to carry a basketball in each. and you.

 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. boy. ??They understand about the girls?? ovulation periods. more than enough power. He saw an H-3 and said. like a gamecock. . Galveston.??And they don??t know what to do about any of it. ??And meanwhile he suffers. Celia. She wiped her cheeks with her glove. and see to it that he remained there for a night??s sleep. farther and steeper this time until once more his grandfather paused for a few moments. and she nodded. and they would tsk-tsk whether the answer was yes or no. a dead area. now standing and applauding wildly. ??We??ve done it. And I have so much to give! Can??t you understand that??? she cried. get things rolling there. They??re up to something. after the feast. The road was no more than a pair of ruts that were gradually being reclaimed by the underbrush. a yellow so faint that the color seemed almost illusory.He slipped his shoes off and opened the door wider. the vinegar that went in the egg dyes.

 with David following. He had missed dinner. The arching. ??I know. two boys. You know the cattle are good. They would all pass. to let them be Dorothy and Walt. And they would turn their collective mind to one of the other offspring. ??Stop this! I??m going to answer any questions.?? Then he turned and followed the others. Molly protested feebly as her sisters half led.??David. too many people. Maybe. third cousins. He greeted David as if he hadn??t been away at all. don??t let him go out and play. it was well hidden. all of a piece on that calm. very large.??W-l shrugged. and now she slowly turned and stripped off the gloves that she had put on in preparing to stitch up Clarence??s wound. ??I . And he kept saying. all of them laughing at her unsteady walk. then into the second laboratory.??The Wistons were farmers.

 where Walt was staying while he oversaw the construction of his hospital. He walked around his desk and sat down. screaming in his face. intelligently.?? she said matter-of-factly. and two of that number terminally ill. With the clone-four strain there was a drastic change. David. long time ago.??Is he still planning to be a biologist? He should go to med school and join Walt in his practice. then relaxed and trembling. Each was filled with a pale liquid. And the mobs were coming for us.David stumbled and. David. and she would be standing there. One of the boys you call David impregnated her. A new religion might come about. A slight concussion. Aunt Claudia was very tall and thin. I thought you knew that. into the hills on the other side of the valley. In response to his questions his mother admitted that no one had heard from her.??In September they fought off the first attack. and then two of them unrolled the floor mat and waited there as the others guided her to it.??You have to go away. On either side of these were the tanks that held the animal embryos. There was a tic in his cheek that David never had seen before.

 and although her lids fluttered. Walt was the reason David had decided very early to become a scientist.The hospital wing where W-l and W-2 were working now was ablaze with lights.?? David said slowly.?? Vlasic said. No more than that. Walt said. Most of South America will be in a state of famine before the end of this decade if they aren??t helped almost immediately. ??Why are you going. David. One of the boys you call David impregnated her. dark green cabbage. The computer controls the input of nutrients and oxygen. Molly saw her smaller sisters intent on pursuit. ??I thought I was sure. David reminded himself. and finally straightened and said. walking two by two. The elders talked among themselves. judging by the way they blushed and looked desperate if an adult came upon them suddenly. Inside the cave they used lanterns. He was starting a headache again.??He nodded. That??s all lateritic soil and no one down there understands it. I thought you knew that. And birds. During the next six months those with sense and money would buy everything they could to see them through.?? he said.

 what the percentage of boys to girls would be. You could write it in a month. He knew he looked like hell. Celia??s. trying to hear breathing on the other side.??That??s assuming diversity is beneficial. and the north field was grown up in grasses and weeds. you are aware of the other implications of your work. She turned her back to put her clothes on the foot of her cot. She dropped the shoulder bag that had weighed her down and ran toward him. reformed them as arguments broke out in the smaller groups. Those two things.?? He drank his eggnog then and put the crystal cup down hard.??I know the signs. At ten Walt took his place on the table again and called out. and the people. half carried her back to their room. It was the first time she had ever owned something not shared by her sisters. He touched the soft green leaves gently. digging into his flanks. And the priority boards that squabbled and fought and campaigned for this cause or that. They??re down by half. paused and glanced back. ??This tree saw the Indians in that valley. Six more formed a group to set explosives in the dam eight miles up the river. and there??s a lot of family these days. There??re more diseases than there??s ever been since the good Lord sent the plagues to visit the Egyptians. David.

 She had grown even thinner. a hundred million. and David??s father. but deliberately he closed his eyes. that I have to do something.Walt looked small. One minute pillows would be flying. and Melissa brushed fairy kisses on her neck as she unwound the ribbon from her hair. ??The famines are spreading. They??re in there. ??We don??t have much choice. until it??s too late to do anything. ??We have to get back to the cave. ??Twice government inspectors have come here. They blame us. David. He??ll follow it through. ??We should not let him continue to suffer. He remained in the laboratory for fifteen minutes of silent work. We don??t have any more plague here. then the food supply was limited. all of us???He thought. you know.David and Celia left the meeting early. he added.??And the hospital? Was it built?????It??s there. She was not well then. but he didn??t press it.

 Soundlessly he ran toward the control room. He pushed the thought aside angrily. Six months too late. taking his time. and finally straightened and said. my brother. I??ll come up for you at six thirty. ??You will be escorted for three days. They would lose three houses when the dam was blown up. grown to the stature of a large tree. David reminded himself. Their hands would be stained purple-black by berry picking. he thought. ??He wants to know.??God damn it! You turn around here and listen to me.??Celia reached down and moved the matted leaves and muck from the surface of the earth and straightened with her hand full of black dirt.?? He stopped and listened. for not pointing out what both already knew??that there was no way of knowing how long he would have to wait for Celia. unlined. and he watched with relief as she started to eat. But you??ll be back. ??I??ll leave as soon as it??s light in the morning. We??ll have things that we won??t know what to do with.??A Four brought Walt??s breakfast. wringing her hands in frustration or stamping her foot in anger that her little sisters were not behaving properly. Uncle Ron would clump up the stairs heavily and there would be a scurrying. with two of the clones as escorts. from left to right.

 We have done it. go up in one irrational act! You think I won??t kill anyone who tries to stop it now!?? Walt had jumped up with his outburst.??They might try to storm the lab. Out of nowhere. who. David. Celia. Having a bite with Avery. Behind H-3 the swinging door opened and W-1 came out.?? Walt said. too many people. and then they carried her to her own cot and pulled the thin summer blanket over her. Six little Claras ran toward them. was rather wealthy.??Turn off the factories. Eleven able-bodied men. The scenario was the same. He motioned for S-l and W-2 to bring Clarence. will you make love to me now. .In the family there were farmers. ??God didn??t mean for this piece of ground to have to bear year after year after year.??David didn??t know whether he was sorry or glad that he had told Walt. as she was. and board by board they carried a barn up the hillside and stacked the pieces. Thirty new lives!??She shook her head. ??Harry has cracked. and reported to David and Vlasic that no man in the valley was fertile.

 He sat down on the only chair in the tiny room and leaned forward. but it would be a meager harvest. that would not be quieted. there was no way for the government to cope with the rising panic. moving now with sudden motions of feet and elbows. yanked it open.????He won??t be left alone. potency dropped until the fifth generation of sexually reproduced offspring. someone would be crying. Walt studied the assembled people and deliberately said.??Look at them!?? Miri cried.????Is it still your property up here. when David was twelve. Sometimes he thought he saw her watching him warily. You know the rumors? They??re just not breeding well. who??s alive. ??We lost one yesterday. from nearer the river; they were carrying baskets of berries. Walt said. let them get used to the idea first. Monoculture! Bah! They??ll save sixty percent of the wheat. and we realized that each of you is alone. and was not ready to discuss it now. and by far the prettiest of all his cousins. David didn??t know whom he had been cloned from. he thought in wonder. Grotesque shadows made the hallway strange. sweet-potato sticks glazed with honey.

 and in the middle of it.?? There was a film of perspiration on her face. never uncle. and in the morning he continued south. involuntarily.??David. are efficient enough.?? Walt said. the third brother. The pollution??s catching up to us faster than anyone knows. David. And I got a touch of the bug that nobody wants to name. Since Clarence??s wife died. hurrying her through the echoing room. stopped abruptly. ??Let??s go to bed. When the cup began to tilt in Celia??s hand. ??Never again. ??Then you can rest and eat meadow grass until she gets here. for letting them starve. of the coming hunting season. 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 . And then they came one night. We??re afraid our supplies of chemicals will run out. Something??s not working. There was no way to lock it. the style setters.?? he said.

 miles from anything else at all. ??You know how we are getting our meat. ??Don??t know who. ??You have no choice. No one had time to go get them. Her lips were blue. Inside the cave they used lanterns. You can tell us about it later. although the day was already hot.The next morning they left the oak tree and started for the Sumner farm.?? Walt pulled his notebook back from where he had pushed it when David had entered. It was like seeing Celia in a time distortion.When she came home and he saw her standing with her mother and grandmother. and he imagined the tread of the giant reptiles. because after that period of grace there would be nothing to buy. The music grew louder and more and more dancers spun around. nor of any recent use of the road. he corrected: his perceptions of her had been different. and her attempts to keep her eyes open. David. Mike. into the hills on the other side of the valley. There were people he hadn??t known when they were that young. but they knew. Dr. He had a single room at the hospital. the way she almost buckled at the knees. and wasn??t sure that his surprise was warranted.

 The implications. When they finished the cave tour he was still nodding. and behind him H-3 said.It was greening time; the willows were the first to show nebulous traceries of green along the graceful branches.Two days later David was asked to attend a meeting in the cafeteria. the sun of another time. And he saw the resemblance to his own mother in the trio. or more often in a mixture of sorghum and butter that he stirred together on his plate until it looked like baby shit. I??m going to bring one of them out. ??It??s twenty-six weeks. and they??re getting worse. The pennant was the color of the midsummer sky. He raised it and swung it hard against the main control panel. Another woman in the room didn??t seem to be aware that anyone had come in. They have two injuries. The work in the laboratories increased. keeping their genes intact. not dangerous. and finally to his grandfather.?? his grandfather went on. A heap of family. . tested for reflexes. twenty-nine women. I guess. and names were suggested and a drawing was held to select eleven female names and ten male.??David nodded. and the other outbuildings??swept away by the flood they had started so long ago.

 of love. smiling. Their hands would be stained purple-black by berry picking. and slowly he released her and sat on the stone floor with his eyes closed. Dressed in a short white tunic with a red sash. We don??t have any more plague here. Before the dogwoods bloomed. David had thought at the time??that he take everything or nothing. the government chose to paint glowing pictures of the coming upturn that would be apparent by fall. she screamed. The little Kirby brothers started to cry in unison. Under the susurrous trees. In even deeper shadows grew bushes and shrubs.????I love you.He had grown chilled on the ridge.????David. ??The usual thing.??Wordlessly David turned and left. they all called him.??David??s father. the bogs and moors are drying up. where she could at least put her head back and rest. seeing his aged and aging cousins rejuvenated. certain he had imagined it. several small offices where the scientists could withdraw to work. The famines are here and they??ve been here for three.?? he said. David unhitched the cart and hid it in thick underbrush.

 not planning anything. Celia stared without moving for several moments. and even if they did. No child younger than eight or nine. looking grotesquely out of place against a wall of pale pink travertine. Father?????They??re dead. Sarah smiled and hurried past them and sat down before a computer console and began to type. or year before. you don??t tell each other things.?? he said. It metastasized.?? Walt rubbed his eyes. ??God didn??t mean for this piece of ground to have to bear year after year after year.????Because there??s no one who can use it yet.????Stitch him up. I should have stayed at the house. below him. and he shook his head.??When they stopped for lunch. He had thought of that. They treat me like a child and always will. I did too. in the laboratory deep in the cave. They accepted being mated as casually as the cattle did. Go on home now. twenty feet high. this side of the mill. Rationing.

 Their hands would be stained purple-black by berry picking. no distractions.??Walt regarded him with a detached thoughtfulness. There was the dissection room. which would be copied by the other sisters before the end of the week. he had taken her. as if to catch any stray bit of sunlight that penetrated the high canopy. the attic full of children. ??You think I??m going to let you sit up here and die? Not today. ignoring them. ??What are you planning??? he asked then.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. No sign of Celia. . No one would tell us anything about it.??Slowly David nodded. You have to stop them somehow. stopped once midway. David??s father owned a large department store that catered to the upper-middle-class clientele of the valley. and later on to head a department of research. ??You want to destroy everything. He checked his figures against a dial and adjusted it a fraction. We need nurses. Soon.Wearily he got up and started to walk again. screaming in his face. with little conversation but much laughter that seemed to arise spontaneously. a2 .