They had counted on delaying this meeting until they had live babies.

 and a new softness was in the air
 and a new softness was in the air. but there??s no reason.?? Walt said after a moment.??David stared at him with hatred and knew that he couldn??t make that choice. she stepped closer to the shiny control system at the end of the room. But the decline starts in the third clone generation. David thought cynically. she thought.?? Vlasic had been following his work closely for the past three or four weeks and was not surprised.??She turned her head. we believe that lifetime won??t be more than two to four years at the very most. They??ll come from all directions this time. ??This needs stitches. At the front of the room she joined the others on stage and waited for the cheering and applause to die. I reckon. which looked smooth and unmoving.?? she said matter-of-factly. notebooks. through cloning and sexual breeding of the third generation. and his voice was harsh.

 Celia. Walt.?? Grandfather Sumner went on.??He stared at her in disbelief. He played with the children and taught them grown-up things. He tried to rise. We went to Colombia. ??I love you.??In September they fought off the first attack. who??s alive. . He had all his meals there. he heard Mike whinny and he crawled from the lean-to and stood up. In the center of the room were tanks and vats and pipes. David. or were last month. and strangely sympathetic.?? Walt reminded him gently. looking to Dr. but I don??t know.

 and test for the reemergence of fertility with each new generation of clones. and next year we??ll stop them altogether. She let the soil fall from her hand and carefully pushed the protective covering of leaves back over the bared spot. a long. and seldom tried to hide it any longer. the eldest of them all. ??David. But only with one another. what would she do? David went to her and took her cold hand. identical nevertheless. and perhaps he never would have to discuss the implications of his work. One of the boys you call David impregnated her. Now.?? he said.?? He moved around the desk and walked toward the door. ransacked it. strong now.?? Walt closed his eyes for a moment. then straightened again. with only needles that moved now and then and the dials on the sides to indicate that there was anything inside.

 all of them laughing at her unsteady walk.?? she said matter-of-factly. didn??t you??? David said suddenly. but distantly. ??They left Clarence. and none of the nonessentials.??W-l shrugged. through the long. its lymph glands lumpy. ??Why now??? he asked. spontaneous abortions. no longer wanting to work at all in the laboratory. ??But we have the fertile members to fall back on until we do. . except for a few ne??er-do-wells. and then another. Someone would ask if he had a girl friend yet.He had grown chilled on the ridge. Clone-five strain had gross abnormalities. There was a shout.

 David thought in surprise. I can??t help it. and he knocked softly. And he told her about the clones developing under the mountain. I thought it was propaganda. then walked away. He gripped the edge of the desk. Thrushes.?? he said. presumably for a thrashing. We??ll take care of it. They need so much. He was only five feet nine.??Celia shook her head. We??re rushing it like there??s no tomorrow. His rhesus monkeys show the same decline during the fourth generation. and sat down on the side of his bed. Cloning the fours was worse. fetched and carried for him. and he could even see some of the young people at the windows studying.

 and the other outbuildings??swept away by the flood they had started so long ago.Several of the elders were still in the waiting room when David went there. He was in his office. no distractions. ??Tell him I want him. She would stand there.????We might. and Miri bent over and kissed her eyelids tenderly. The air was hot and heavy with threatening rain; to his left he could hear the roar of Crooked Creek as it raged out of bounds.?? W-l said. I have to do something too. ??Think between them they can get enough others. involuntary glance. to Harvard. too pretty almost. So much for clone-four strain. and found D-1 in the dining room and offered his help in the lab. cattle. he added. like a gamecock.

 He then moved to sit next to Walt.????I didn??t get any letters. floating in the liquid. Information we all need. ??Hold it tight a minute.Celia??s eyes questioned David. several small offices where the scientists could withdraw to work. half a dozen. a million! Tomorrow they leave as our brothers and our sister and in one month they will return our teachers! Jed! Ben! Harvey! Thomas! Lewis! Molly! Come forward and let us toast you and the most priceless gift you will bring to us.??Molly??s gift was a waterproof bag to carry her sketch pads and pencils and pens in. It??s over two weeks old. . no more than wishful thinking. and now he was in great pain. so far ahead of time?????Because it isn??t that far ahead of time. but with a fury that grew and caused him to stalk the old house like a boy being punished for another??s sin. The ground was spongy and he walked carefully. Dated May 28.?? David said. Grandmother and Grandfather Wiston died last year.

 This one opened into the first cave chamber. Within the next couple of years. and in only a year or two. he examined the farm through his binoculars. and he was bleeding from her fingernails down his back. Thrushes. and he was too weak to sit up. He had missed dinner. .??And now. They tore the clothes off each other. They had counted on delaying this meeting until they had live babies. He had their absolute attention. You could write it in a month. shielding his eyes from the lashing rain with the other. There was a tic in his cheek that David never had seen before.The Christmas that David was twenty-three seemed out of focus.??But there are only seventeen Fives. no larger than small fists. then clenched into fists that opened spasmodically; and he felt her nails distantly.

 smashing. First he had Avery Handley run down his log of diminishing shortwave contacts. I know Vlasic stopped last year. away from the nursery. with the rice paddies of Cambodia and Vietnam.?? Walt said. ??It??s twenty-six weeks. He didn??t touch David. moving now with sudden motions of feet and elbows. he had had a fantasy in which Celia-3 had come to him shyly and asked that he take her. Margaret??s four-year-old son had been one of the first to die of the plague.?? She bowed her head and started to pull her glove on again.??David went to the window and looked at the farm; the green was well established by now. ??I didn??t know it was this bad. David. The newest wing of the hospital. Five more weeks. he had had a fantasy in which Celia-3 had come to him shyly and asked that he take her. and seldom tried to hide it any longer.??Is he still planning to be a biologist? He should go to med school and join Walt in his practice.

 jotting figures in a ledger. Why???David sat down hard and stared at Walt. long time ago. that you are not to work now. or something. saw the look on your face when I came in . And they??re plagues that we don??t know anything about. and they looked the way spring calves always had looked: thin legs. There was a film of sweat on her face and neck. he began to trot toward the mill and the generator. and their first impression must have been that he had raped her. ??He wants to know. Okay???David took her through the lab the following morning. Why? Why did the fourth generation decline? Harry Vlasic came to watch briefly. or bluer in contrast to her pale skin. but today I need you. don??t you???She nodded. as he had done. ??for each of you we have a gift . He caught her as she crumpled.

 and Roger laughed again. and she had drawn back quickly. we have our own livestock. He walked around his desk and sat down. I in another.??Turn off the factories. and the best students. like a sentimental card titled ??Rural Life.????I love you. and looting had turned the cities into battle mounds. Ten years ago that could have been she. Say it. smiling. Last winter. Galveston.Wearily he got up and started to walk again. but they knew. to a depth that they never dreamed of. Vlasic nodded again and again. like where to hit if you really meant it.

 that you are not to work now. The ridges were hazy and had no sharp edges anywhere.?? He shook his head. My symptoms all involve the circulatory system. and China resumed its long-dormant trusteeship over the Indochina peninsula. ??We can??t handle that many premature babies.The next morning they left the oak tree and started for the Sumner farm. with fatigue drawing his face. C-2 had been much the same. He??ll sleep until tomorrow afternoon.????What is Selnick working on?????Nothing. It became more virulent as time went on. Unable to endure it any longer.?? Melissa called from the far end of the room. An hour later when they left their room. Wishful thinking. then close the door. nor of any recent use of the road.??Celia??s coming home. playing their own games that appeared governed by random rules.

 Meg. and sat down on the side of his bed.????I know.?? he said softly. she carried her responsibility heavily.??I know. The road was no more than a pair of ruts that were gradually being reclaimed by the underbrush. The house was still there. The new entrance to the cave was concealed in the furnace room of the hospital basement. and Melissa brushed fairy kisses on her neck as she unwound the ribbon from her hair. David.It had been a mistake. and then came to him and held his head tight against her chest as he sat on his cot and she stood naked before him. ??It??ll work. generation gap? It??s here.?? He paused and looked at them again. We have men capable of doing just about anything we might ever want done. Robert. are you going to pull yourself together? You just giving up??? He didn??t wait for a reply. The new entrance to the cave was concealed in the furnace room of the hospital basement.

 On the mat they caressed and delighted her until she floated away from them entirely. so far ahead of time?????Because it isn??t that far ahead of time. Daily Walt grew feebler. There were no educational frills. Father?????They??re dead.He slipped his shoes off and opened the door wider. and tried to pick out Ben.?? He sighed. I suggest the sisters and brothers take their stars home and see them safely to bed now. When his parents went home he stayed on at the Wiston farm for a day or two. He swept the glasses slowly over the buildings. David unhitched the cart and hid it in thick underbrush. inflation. and heard a strained note in his voice. Dressed in a short white tunic with a red sash. and behind him H-3 said.?? he said gravely. its bones too soft. and his head was throbbing. They were learning in their teens what he hadn??t grasped in his twenties.

 mine. Then she was still again. Meg. Three today. No one had time to go get them. They won??t be back. expecting no answer. . I??ll come up for you at six thirty. and in the morning he continued south. standing in line for days. there a coiled snake. but under his breath. standing in line for days. that she might never make it to the farm. saw the look on your face when I came in .??You followed me to tell me good-bye.The Jeremy brothers had worked out an intricate dance. and promiscuity was the norm. W-2 said.

 the water became rust-colored and solid. are you going to pull yourself together? You just giving up??? He didn??t wait for a reply. fetched and carried for him. If he was a baboon.??Every damn protein crop on earth has some sort of blight that gets worse and worse. no shortage of help doing any of the chores that so few had done before. David realized. Today or tomorrow. He was starting a headache again. farther and steeper this time until once more his grandfather paused for a few moments. not Celia??s. When David had gone to talk to Selnick about the equipment. and tramp back down the stairs. examining the gift bag. The smell that permeated their hair and clothes lasted on their hands for days and days. ??You have no choice. ??Where is she?????Miami. no variation in viability or potency. International travel restrictions were imposed immediately. because he was fat.

 What??s wrong with you?????Get out of here. He closed the window. ??We went to med school together. and she moved to the window also. even when totally preoccupied with his own work. ??I??ve finished. and she smiled. He turned off the light in the waiting room and walked slowly down the hall. Information we all need.??I knew you??d come here.????Broken?????I think so. testing the offspring for normalcy. I was husky enough to cut down a tree with a hatchet. Avery Handley reported that his shortwave contact in Richmond warned of a band of marauders who were working their way up the valley. Our genes. ??Thanks. wringing her hands in frustration or stamping her foot in anger that her little sisters were not behaving properly. or at least alleviate it. with stalactites and stalagmites on all sides. standing on the trains.

 then she would close the door soundlessly. Walt. ??If we had a dozen undergraduate students. And I had become an atheist. Unable to endure it any longer.??David!?? One of the youngest boys. it??s a shock. nodded.?? She laughed and suddenly spun around.W-l continued to watch him for several more moments. They didn??t speak. of being decisively herself. ??They have no secrets from each other. talk. turn off the light. he had found time to read more extensively than anyone else that David knew.?? he said finally.David was aware of her. who will??? She took a deep breath and said. mine.

 They learned amazingly well from one another. jeans. now. then called out. and they were finishing in forty minutes; slightly longer for the Fives.??David walked along the river for a long time. I think it??s time you told me. and left once more. it was like an apparition. They??ll come from all directions this time. in a tremulous voice that betrayed disbelief.??They undressed her and brushed her hair. They were watching him quietly. ??Why? I??m not into medical research.?? Then he turned and followed the others. in the fields. Now music filled the auditorium and sisters and brothers danced at the far end and children scampered among them. and left once more.?? Walt rubbed his eyes hard. but suddenly a violent gust of wind drove a hard blast of rain against the window.

 They got their own two out of there and up to the hospital like fire was on their tails.??They might try to storm the lab. If he was a baboon. And the mobs were coming for us. after scanning the two pages. David watched them leave together.?? He jumped from the table and left before any of them could catch up with him. then with her bare hand. We need nurses. There were people he hadn??t known when they were that young. the farms in it large and lush. The winter rains gave way to spring rains. ??They might form a committee to protest this act of the devil.??Before I leave. drinking hot black coffee. looked at him with an expression that was furious.?? Martha said. clean them up.David couldn??t think of the name immediately. They had counted on delaying this meeting until they had live babies.