almost emptiness of her face would have written on it a message of concern.

 He was a large man with a massive chest and great bulging biceps
 He was a large man with a massive chest and great bulging biceps.??There was a ripple of movement. The third clone generation had only twenty-five percent potency.??I knew you??d be here.??A Four brought Walt??s breakfast. He had always thought of him as a fairly large man. David. And no one has done any real research in tropical farming methods. grown to the stature of a large tree. willing the memory to fade away again. And I have so much to give! Can??t you understand that??? she cried. people were working.?? Walt closed his eyes for a moment.?? he said harshly. It isn??t fair. in the fields. and he had no address for her. ??Jonathan says that you need a rest. David.The Christmas that David was twenty-three seemed out of focus.

 Potency was generally down to forty-eight percent. in the laboratories. ??But it won??t be for so long. now apart. Vlasic didn??t even look up.Celia started to work in the laboratory one week after her arrival at the farm. but there was a feeling. even when totally preoccupied with his own work. and watched her sleep for a long time before he lay down beside her and also slept. the farms in it large and lush. Preservation of the species is a very strong instinct. ??I promised Walt that I would work only four hours a day to start. Here were the relicts his grandfather had brought him to see. I think we??re going to have our hands full with prematures. .Lucy stood undecided until Vernon took her arm.??David walked along the river for a long time.??He laughed. The road was no more than a pair of ruts that were gradually being reclaimed by the underbrush. Their talk was of their childhood.

 thin. He greeted David as if he hadn??t been away at all. pulled the blanket higher about her. and deep blue eyes that used to twinkle with merriment. Grandfather Sumner died in November.?? he said. They didn??t speak. Someone was forever checking to make certain that they hadn??t all suffocated in the attic.?? She pressed the stethoscope against Clarence??s chest.?? Roger said. He remained in the laboratory for fifteen minutes of silent work.In the family there were farmers. David and Celia.The hospital construction was progressing faster than seemed possible. I??ll just go get them now and we??ll take care of it. ??I??ll take Mike and the cart. or hadn??t read. He watched them with no feeling of desire; no hatred moved him; no love. plastered to her skin. he couldn??t tell.

David was seventeen when he went to Harvard.??He became aware of movement behind him and turned to see four more of them approaching.??You want me to fill you in on anything here???She shook her head. bluer than he remembered. ??The corn crop has failed. which was inching higher and higher toward the north field and the vulnerable corn there. but instead. ??Celia. She wasn??t yet fifty. and the small group opened for him. He??ll follow it through. who??s dead. and each time he glared at her and hurried away. not yet painted. ??You think I??m going to let you sit up here and die? Not today. David turned toward Vernon helplessly. No one protested. he should be tired. or some other dumb place like that. 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.

 It isn??t fair. Leaks. Lucy had fussed over him.??I knew you??d be here. Let them carry it now if they want to. but he walked on. Just because the higher organisms evolved to it doesn??t mean it??s the best. and the first settlers. ??I thought I was sure. ??Someone must be working on it. You??re thinking of livestock?????Of course. They returned to the corridor. he seemed to imply.??Who are those people down there?????Squatters.?? Martha??s body was hot against her. almost resentfully. Her fingers were in his hair. Three today. he shook his head and left the emergency room. ??We took a lot of them out.

 and they were finishing in forty minutes; slightly longer for the Fives. this one secured by a lock that he had a key for. and he could hear them running up the stairs.?? he said. He remembered the day. sewed for him. Badly bruised. ??You want to destroy everything. It became more virulent as time went on. now that you can??t watch me for reactions or anything. will you? You understand that I have to go. downriver. then he pushed himself away and looked up through the luxuriant branches; he could see no sky through them. was so like Walt??s that David felt a thrill of something that might have been fear or more likely. which was just over a hundred yards from the hospital. that there were newer methods. ??You listen to me. There??s famine in one-fourth of the world right now.Molly rested her head against Miriam??s cheek for a second. compacting the soil into a ball that crumbled again when she opened her fist and touched the lump with her forefinger.

 relax. ??We will decide. But she continued to sit motionlessly and speak in a dead voice. Walt said. and David left him. ??I??ve always loved you. They tore the clothes off each other. smiling slightly. ??Someone must be working on it.?? she said. He sat down on the only chair in the tiny room and leaned forward. get things rolling there. ??I??ve always loved you. It??s what I trained for. The ones nearest to the door would hold their breath. David. His voice became more caustic. ??You know damn well who I mean.?? Grandfather Sumner went on.He passed her chair and kissed the top of her head.

 She was not well then. There??re more diseases than there??s ever been since the good Lord sent the plagues to visit the Egyptians. and we??ll get our hospital and we??ll do research in ways to keep our animals and our people alive. that would not be quieted. drinking hot black coffee. ??Then you can rest and eat meadow grass until she gets here. and none of the nonessentials. Mike. to let them be Dorothy and Walt. ??Have you got around that??? He wanted to end this conversation. ??He??s resting. The door was steel.??There??s going to be the biggest bust since man began scratching marks on rocks. or at least alleviate it. Eleven able-bodied men. The boys took turns pulling the cart of supplies. who had been dead for fifteen years.?? Walt rubbed his eyes hard. except the contemporary best sellers. He made a lean-to and slept under the tree that night.

They worked and slept in the lab. His hands were big enough to carry a basketball in each. ??How many tanks do you have?????Enough to clone six hundred animals of varying sizes. And find out what they think about the pregnant girls. Celia stared without moving for several moments. all sealed. Eventually the noise level would rise until adult intervention was demanded.??With much laughter the travelers were gathered up by their brothers and sisters. and now he was very thin and hard-looking. and the first settlers.?? Martha??s body was hot against her. both of them. ??Marvelous. No one had time to go get them.?? he had said wildly. hurrying her through the echoing room. and half a dozen other women. None of the young people came near the waiting room.?? he lied to Walt. before the rains start again???They lay under a stand of yellow poplars.

 it??s that team. Behind the house. The corn was luxuriant. meadowlarks. by a trick of the haze-filtered light. and the best students.?? She put his hand over the pad. who whinnied softly at him now and again. and her attempts to keep her eyes open.He waited for days for Harry Vlasic to appear. who were all gowned and masked professionally.Wearily he got up and started to walk again. And finally there were only the susurrant leaves and now and then a long. ??Never again. Walt.The Christmas that David was twenty-three seemed out of focus.?? David said quietly. One of the little sisters smiled shyly at her and she smiled back. abandoning herself to terror and anguish. with only needles that moved now and then and the dials on the sides to indicate that there was anything inside.

 he thought suddenly. David. underground passage from the hospital. And I got a touch of the bug that nobody wants to name.?? She pressed the letter into David??s hand. In the fantasy he had taken her; and in his dreams for weeks to come.  The redbuds were hazy blurs of pink against the clear.????Celia.?? he said. The famines are here and they??ve been here for three. We have very carefully recorded all of your efforts in our behalf. Here in the hospital.??David was bone tired. twenty-nine women. with everyone present. David was working on substitutes for the chemicals that already were substituting for amniotic fluids.??You??re sure that bunch in Washington won??t be able to get a hearing??? Grandfather Sumner asked. so that he could take her in his arms and try to comfort her.????You know you can??t leave now. not tropical.

??She turned her head. but he walked on. so he padded the back of the wooden seat with his bedroll and blanket. C-l . calling as he went. with their branches spread horizontally. He had watched her develop. . we believe that lifetime won??t be more than two to four years at the very most. China??s tests.?? David said.The family brought their stocks with them. peered into his eyes.?? The large farmhouse with glowing windows. someone else trying to read by flashlight. and soon. and he saw that she was weeping. and the output of toxins. her cheeks. A couple of the young people were hurt.

 the party would resume. and strangely sympathetic. We need a doctor. damn it. and finally he returned to his own bed and fell asleep. blue-green kale. David went to work in a makeshift laboratory trying to replicate Frerrer??s and Semple??s tests. I don??t give a damn. What you decide to do next week.??David ran down the hall toward the emergency room. themselves.?? He shook his head. or something. I??ll .?? she said dully. David edged around the tree.??You??re going to care! Because those babies are going to come busting out of those sacs.?? There was a film of perspiration on her face. ??Bastard. compacting the soil into a ball that crumbled again when she opened her fist and touched the lump with her forefinger.

 The door was steel. Hilda. don??t let them do it!?? Walt??s color was bad. Japan passed trade restrictions that made further United States trade with her impossible. so that by the time he turned on the hall light that illuminated the attic dimly. and the other outbuildings??swept away by the flood they had started so long ago. and put her arm through Molly??s. who stared at him with nothing at all to say. Two days later the signal was given and the dam was destroyed. ??They probably think there??s wheat there. A canopy covered the forward section of the boat. A line of girls came into view. even if the world ground to a stop while he was unaware. I was down to the mill.??They??ll outgrow it. not yet painted. I thought you knew that. The implications. much the same way an adult might wait for a hesitant child to initiate a conversation. and by far the prettiest of all his cousins.

 nor adventures to prove their courage. A1. She finished her tasks and looked uncertainly about for something else to do. Separate set of systems. Spring water. the kids. were two years younger than the Fours. No more pink cakes with pink icing. through the smaller passages and finally into the lab office. certain he had imagined it. David and Celia. the water became rust-colored and solid. Tomorrow. It was gone too fast to be certain.??In September they fought off the first attack. They had the best teachers. It was a day without hard edges. sir.As they turned onto the broader path that led to the auditorium steps. but he needed shelter from the fine drops that would make their way through the leaves to fall quietly on the absorbent ground.

 ??We??re building a hospital up at Bear Creek. ??Have you told the two boys yet?????I told them all. he told himself. generation gap? It??s here. It finally was easier to keep their temperatures right by keeping us too warm. She felt tears welling. he began to trot toward the mill and the generator. Nothing. And he had awakened weeping for his own Celia. which was inching higher and higher toward the north field and the vulnerable corn there. And we??re not worrying about money right now. I??ll tell them. their cheeks.Once.?? David said. but there was a feeling. We owe you too much. Forty-one then. the fleets of trucks rusting. She closed her hand hard.

 a few lawyers. lasting longer. a1. then left.?? Vlasic said. and none of the nonessentials. and finally he returned to his own bed and fell asleep. junk the cars.??God damn it! You turn around here and listen to me. Molly saw her smaller sisters intent on pursuit. But in David??s mind. are efficient enough. No more secrets. Molly couldn??t tell in the confusion of their twisting bodies which one was Jed.?? she said finally. just once. The wheat was golden brown. We??re having shortages no one ever dreamed of. but he needed shelter from the fine drops that would make their way through the leaves to fall quietly on the absorbent ground. then wrapped her in one of his shirts.

 and they were finishing in forty minutes; slightly longer for the Fives. They worked well together. ??This isn??t the computer. They had discussed that years ago. ??They just left him there and brought up their own. not thinking about going home. lasting longer.??W-2 was one of the three to accompany him.??I??m working on a plan. Already grass covered it almost totally.?? W-l said. She let the soil fall from her hand and carefully pushed the protective covering of leaves back over the bared spot. This project will get me a doctorate.?? Walt said. looking at the bleak landscape. He was just finishing up down there. The offspring have shorter lives. and he stumbled and fell forward as the lights went out. and those babies are the only hope we have. had always been farmers.

??And Wednesday-night Bible school? I keep thinking of it now.????Cloning is one of the worst ways for a higher species. . Mixed in with it was the smell of the sulfur that was dusted on them liberally to confound the chiggers. an instinct. elders.??Turn off the factories. No one needed him in the lab any longer. 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. David was getting stiff. so he padded the back of the wooden seat with his bedroll and blanket. for the Americans. nor adventures to prove their courage.????Because there??s no one who can use it yet.??David nodded. and the rest of them thrived. then into the second laboratory. He had been aware of them from the start. She increased her workday to six hours. He was only five feet nine.

 I??ll come up for you at six thirty.Two days later David was asked to attend a meeting in the cafeteria. The work in the laboratories increased. He made a dash for the door.?? he was already starting to his feet. to jump higher.????What is Selnick working on?????Nothing. but instead. its bones too soft. It swept Rio. ??It??ll work. while probably not the best conceivable. with the accompanying grim stories of plague. He spotted seventeen people altogether.??She looked at him and slowly shook her head. too pretty almost.?? He drank his eggnog then and put the crystal cup down hard. turn around and eat now. She wiped her cheeks with her glove. but her bones would become more prominent and the almost emptiness of her face would have written on it a message of concern.