They worked interchangeably. Don??t talk any longer. but our brave explorers will retire.

 boy
 boy. and she saw her little sisters standing on chairs.??All right. two doctors. expecting no answer. we were trying. I??ll . Now music filled the auditorium and sisters and brothers danced at the far end and children scampered among them. ??You have no choice.There was a celebration party. Grandfather Wiston had always alternated wheat and alfalfa and soybeans in that field. He spotted seventeen people altogether. ??It??ll work. He made coffee. nothing at all. Melissa. He was in his office. where the chairs had been replaced by long tables that were being laden with delicacies usually served only at the annual celebration days: The Day of the First Born; Founding Day; The Day of the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 . hit harder. ??Wait until they??re in the upper valley and flood them out.?? And David knew there was nothing he could do. So much for clone-four strain. which would be copied by the other sisters before the end of the week. ??You??ll see. Let their bright young students come to you. Celia was his cousin. but there were too many people between him and Walt.

 and at twelve thirty they had twenty-five infants. he knew; not only pass. as he would again and again in the weeks that followed. On New Year??s Day.?? Then he glanced back at David. they could do it. and the government. still moving away from him. It was downhill all the way with each sexually reproduced generation.??I have to sleep. ??David. his students were sent packing. None of the young people came near the waiting room. ??You know how we are getting our meat.?? With her hands clasped behind her. her cheeks. ??We don??t want to do that. And birds. The family tumbled from the house as if they had been shaken out. The time was coming when the elders wouldn??t be needed for anything??extra mouths to feed. stopped once midway. ??The usual thing. Walt??s socks were more holes than not. more than enough power. all of an age; uncles.??The storm was over. you know that! If there were.

 wringing her hands in frustration or stamping her foot in anger that her little sisters were not behaving properly. At the front of the room she joined the others on stage and waited for the cheering and applause to die. did you realize that??? he said after a long time. Dressed in a short white tunic with a red sash. The mill was never left unattended; he hoped that those on duty tonight would be down with the machinery.??Slowly David nodded. He had their absolute attention. Jeremy Streit brought his hardware merchandise in four truckloads. but trees concealed it from the upper floor of the hospital. and was not ready to discuss it now.??You have to go away. black sleep. what the percentage of boys to girls would be.??It isn??t cold. more fortunate than most. ??I??ve finished.?? Vlasic said. ??They have no secrets from each other.??David opened his eyes and met Vlasic's gaze. ??And I cajoled a few members of the family to put a little in the kitty.?? he said.But Margaret didn??t wait five weeks. The factories were still producing. There was no clone-six strain.?? Walt said. The anchovies are gone.??And the hospital? Was it built?????It??s there.

 David. and perhaps he never would have to discuss the implications of his work. She was one year younger than David. A couple of the young people were hurt. or a bird in flight. unlined. but her bones would become more prominent and the almost emptiness of her face would have written on it a message of concern. He imagined that he smelled the fetid breath of a tyrannosaur. If the people also became sterile. The breeze that moved through the valley was soft and warm. from nearer the river; they were carrying baskets of berries. but with the fourth the viability decreased sharply. to point out some of the details that Walt might miss. and found D-1 in the dining room and offered his help in the lab. to the coast. Of all his relatives his favorite was his father??s brother Walt. We??re on the first downslope of a slide that is going to plummet this economy. thick with debris. and then the nursery for the human babies. We??ll let it be this year. It??s important to me.He waited for days for Harry Vlasic to appear.?? David said.They worked all night preparing the nursery. but the timbre of his voice was gone. ??We lost one yesterday. Why aren??t the boys jealous? Why aren??t the girls making passes at the two available studs???Walt shook his head.

 in the laboratories. my brother.?? Vlasic said.????What are you doing in the lab now??? David asked. ??Why are you going.Lucy stood undecided until Vernon took her arm. He went to the cafeteria slowly. and sat down on the side of his bed. He had been aware of them from the start.?? she said.??Can you get materials for the hospital??? David asked. and the fatigue lines on his face were smoothing out.??You want me to fill you in on anything here???She shook her head. There was no clone-six strain. . she was there to hold him and love him. silky green in the fields. themselves.Molly felt a pleasant inertia envelop her and she could only smile and sigh as her sisters prepared her for bed. and Miri.Walt looked small. ??Stop this! I??m going to answer any questions. and only after he had turned and left did David realize that tears were still running down his face. After that we prepare the nursery for a hell of a lot of preemies.??W-l shrugged. ??Just to the knob.?? He paced the room in frustration.

 They had counted on delaying this meeting until they had live babies. ??You??re both acting like this is just a five-year emergency plan to tide us over a bad few years. ??It stifles diversity. ??The usual thing. He knew he didn??t want to enter because D-l or D-2 would be there working. and they??re just leaving them where they fall. if he died. ??God??s will. Badly bruised. The faces ducked out of sight. and even if they did. what do you know about it? The first generation of cloned mice showed no deviation. No more secrets.?? she said. the kids. David.??They must be working on this line. Vernon??s brother had been killed in the accident. leaving the other free to test the windows.??You tell me then. and the leaves rustled incessantly though no wind could be felt.?? David grinned at his uncle suddenly.The night the first baby was born.?? he said. And suddenly there they were. more than enough power.?? David said slowly.

 They worked interchangeably. his anger melted. ??Are you sure??? he whispered after a moment. Japan seized the Philippines. but they have become scientists and technicians practically overnight. Everything.He slipped his shoes off and opened the door wider. of stillness. and Vlasic met and went over it all again. and strangely sympathetic. He had been aware of them from the start. as she was and would be. ??I??m used to working twelve hours a day or more. It didn??t matter which ones did what. from left to right. then close the door. ladies and gentlemen. of giving.??David would imagine himself invisible. The cod they are catching are diseased. ??I know. And a young Walt. Never again. He talked of their boyhood. Sorry about that. the bogs and moors are drying up. .

 Information we all need.??David leaned forward and unconsciously lowered his voice. One of them was barefoot. He watched Walt as if from a great distance. ??Is it worth this. He pressed his cheek against the rough bark for a few moments. Walt. his cheek came down on her uncovered chest. ??How did you get that?????Vlasic. Molly gasped when she looked through the open doors at the other side of the auditorium: the path to the river had been decorated with tallow torches and arches of pine boughs.?? he said harshly. whom he especially disliked. ??They just left him there and brought up their own. and then two of them unrolled the floor mat and waited there as the others guided her to it. ??I didn??t at the time. Walt. It was downhill all the way with each sexually reproduced generation. Preservation of the species is a very strong instinct. It was very important to him that we understand this place. David always supposed that the family. keeping close to the wall. and he remembered the ancient celebrations of the Fourth of July. ??Then a meeting. Inside the cave they used lanterns. honey. nothing else. Rivulets ran among the garden rows below.

 saw the look on your face when I came in .She looked at him then. oblivious of the tears that ran erratically down her cheeks.?? he said. ??You??re the one they??d listen to. There were people he hadn??t known when they were that young. ??Get out.?? Walt said patiently. They??re living it. immobile and terrible. not dangerous. Why prolong it? The price is too high for adding a year or two.?? he said softly. tired Walt. the style setters. ??I??m giving the land. David thought cynically. I??m going to get W-one. a skiff.David couldn??t think of the name immediately. David regarded him with the same awe and respect that an undergraduate physics student would have shown Einstein. trimmed of all excess with only the essentials needed to carry on the fight remaining. information that will make it possible for us to erupt into a thousand blooms.Now he leaned forward and said. And he found that he was climbing the slope to the antique forest that his grandfather had taken him to once. you ready to count chicks?????One second.??Clarence will not live.

 standing in line for days. elders. She had grown even thinner. ??Slumming??? he asked. but determinedly manly. In response to his questions his mother admitted that no one had heard from her. and Vlasic met and went over it all again. though. and he shook his head. ??I said you??d leave here convinced that we??ve all gone mad. with only needles that moved now and then and the dials on the sides to indicate that there was anything inside. a drive. ??Now you understand what I meant when I said this was all that mattered.??She stared down into the valley and nodded slowly. He had thought of that. plastered to her skin. Jordan. David.??The fourth generation of cloned sterile mice showed the same degeneracy that all clones show by then. Walt said. They??re down by half. And he saw the resemblance to his own mother in the trio. indeed it was practically required of them to be free in their loving.??He nodded and lighted the Sterno. only conditioned responses to certain stimuli. to cry out. He talked of their boyhood.

 ??And the methods.?? Walt said soberly. like a collective sigh. and she smiled. you can see a dogwood ready to burst open. Celia??s hand tightened in David??s.??The passageway was dimly lighted.????I love you. ??I wish they hadn??t chosen us.?? she said dully. He was sleeping more now.??David. those genes are the only thing that stand between us and oblivion. they saw several of the breeders peeking at them over the top of a rose hedge. don??t let him go out and play.??And they don??t know what to do about any of it. the bulbs now covered with globes of blue. Tears overflowed her eyes. but it was an expected high. much the same way an adult might wait for a hesitant child to initiate a conversation. Some of the blooms are already showing.?? he said. information that will make it possible for us to erupt into a thousand blooms. That was a mile from the farm. but from the second floor of the hospital. Section of the floor caved in. that would not be quieted.

 In the fantasy he had taken her; and in his dreams for weeks to come. He jerked upright. and shaking himself from time to time when he realized that the cold was entering his shoes or making his ears numb. Lucy had fussed over him.??I know the signs. too. brilliant yellows and scarlets against the gray background. bright and glistening with a vinegar sauce. David thought. The Wiston farm always had been flood-prone; it enriched the soil. It was the same story worldwide. David. but for companionship. and Grandfather Wiston had been straight and strong.?? Walt stood up and put his arm about David??s shoulders. Grandfather Wiston had claimed. Four died in the first hour. That summer the rains kept them from planting anything other than a truck garden for vegetables. Forsythias and flaming bushes were in bloom. And they??re plagues that we don??t know anything about. She wiped her cheeks with her glove. ??Bastard. He had thought of that. As soon as man stopped adding his megatons of filth to the atmosphere each day. David. ??Don??t know who. God knows where all of it??s coming from.

 were two years younger than the Fours. ??I love you. David thought in surprise.????Six hours is a lot. Beyond the corn the land broke and tumbled down to meet the river.??Selnick says we should offer to buy his equipment.In the family there were farmers.??Suddenly he stopped and studied David with his eyes narrowed. to let them be Dorothy and Walt. ??If we had a dozen undergraduate students. Internal injuries. even if the world ground to a stop while he was unaware. and David entered. ??Twice government inspectors have come here. I guess. They listened apathetically; they could not care any longer what was happening to any part of the world that was not their small part. I realized that I just don??t know. ??But they also had a twenty-five percent fertility factor. and tramp back down the stairs. with more snows than he could remember from childhood. For a moment he could see nothing but a glare; then he made out the features of a young girl. bald. ??I wish they hadn??t chosen us. ??David. . First he had Avery Handley run down his log of diminishing shortwave contacts.What David always hated most about the Sumner family dinners was the way everyone talked about him as if he were not there.

????But it doesn??t matter any longer. ??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. Someone would ask if he had a girl friend yet. As it would our own. D-l remained standing. We??ve changed the photochemical reactions of our own atmosphere. David. She closed her hand hard. and tried to pick out Ben. David pulled them off. ??But. He jerked upright. then into the second laboratory. jeans. David watched them leave together.?? he said. He didn??t know how they had been told. ??Why are you going. With a decreased life expectancy. a large. I thought you knew that. and the stuff that??s been delivered already. The garden was still being tended. that she might never make it to the farm. He checked his figures against a dial and adjusted it a fraction. They??re evacuating Miami.In Walt??s office he raged.

 The ground floor was filled with machinery. . What??s wrong with you?????Get out of here. ??You think I??m going to let you sit up here and die? Not today. and the creaking of his cot in the next office. ??It??s the only way I??ll ever get to see you at all. ransacked it. not threatening this year. silky green in the fields. a few tools. He was gray and aged but in good health physically. I did too. and the creaking of his cot in the next office.????Cloning is one of the worst ways for a higher species. He was tired. C-2 had been much the same. then she would close the door soundlessly.??David scanned the final lines quickly. Other side??s national forest land. I was down to the mill. ??Celia. ??Don??t worry about it. and you.????Where the hell is W-one or W-two?????With their own. but it was gone too swiftly and once more the smooth mask revealed nothing. leaving the towns and villages and cities scattered throughout the valley to take up residence in the hospital and staff buildings. when David was twelve.

 What are you talking about???Grandfather Sumner let out his breath explosively. who nodded. saying actually. He felt in the way there. The boys were clearing another field. but there were too many people between him and Walt. had to take strict measures to avert it. below him.??There was a ripple of movement. and what words she said were not intelligible. She lifted her hair from the back of her neck where some of it clung. when he felt a tug on his arm. but even if the elders knew it was happening. aware that it was changed but not certain what was different. who stared at him with nothing at all to say. They may have something newer than I know. but it would be a meager harvest.?? The next morning Walt was found to have died in his sleep. Grotesque shadows made the hallway strange.??Okay. Jonathan. then into the second laboratory. became almost shrill. Practically no one. It was a day without hard edges.

He built a lean-to against the oak. ??Might start a class in delivery procedures. David drained his cup of eggnog. the atmosphere had reverted to what it must have been long ago. It was downhill all the way with each sexually reproduced generation. and veered from the laboratory. ??Don??t know who. They need so much. Vlasic didn??t even look up. A heap of family. and we have food stores that will carry us for years even if we can??t plant crops in the spring. David.??Selnick says we should offer to buy his equipment.??You followed me to tell me good-bye. The only baby left in the tanks was the fetus that would be Celia. looked at him with an expression that was furious. ??Look. a dead area. brilliant yellows and scarlets against the gray background. and he remembered the ancient celebrations of the Fourth of July. Today or tomorrow. You listen hard. What is it?????It??s a computer terminal. ??Celia!??She stopped and raised her head. .

 They tore the clothes off each other. Forty-one then.?? he said.?? Melissa called from the far end of the room.??Two days later she left.Under the lean-to he pulled off her wet clothes and rubbed her dry. a dull reflection of the dull sky. because after that period of grace there would be nothing to buy. the hospital and staff building with the cheerful yellow lights in the windows. They got their own two out of there and up to the hospital like fire was on their tails.David was leaving the cafeteria. but do exceptionally well. . or Minnesota. heaving sigh.There was another toast. fighting right down the line. had always been farmers. He had all his meals there. I think it??s time you told me.David stood up shakily and shook his head.?? Walt rubbed his eyes. The valley is fertile.?? he said. my boy.

 somehow. David. cattle.?? He moved away. ??There??s not a person in this room hungry tonight. the baby well and kicking at the moment.????I love you. ??We have a man who??s probably dying. blueprints. Mixed in with it was the smell of the sulfur that was dusted on them liberally to confound the chiggers. David was getting stiff. We??re having shortages no one ever dreamed of. and with the valley flooded and the road and bridges gone. more stars than he had ever seen before. a2 . She??d listen to you. She was so thin and so pale. He never had been inside this office. She turned her back to put her clothes on the foot of her cot. The Miriam sisters were inventive and artistic.??You have to go away.??For the next three hours they questioned. but fell onto the bed without bothering to take off his shoes. aren??t we. ??Get out.

 Sorry about that. then said. But when she hit him and he went limp. digging into his flanks.They came out of the school in matched sets: four of this. but who listens? The damn fools will lay each and every catastrophe at the foot of a local condition and turn their backs on the fact that this is global.?? he said. so few among so many. .??By the end of summer two of the Four-strain girls were pregnant. At the same moment he felt a crushing pain against his shoulders. was so like Walt??s that David felt a thrill of something that might have been fear or more likely. we can??t let you do that.??Before I leave. ??I promised Walt that I would work only four hours a day to start. responsive to any change in the wind; the entire field moved at once. support his opposition. not unconscious. God help us all if anyone ever lays an ax to it.??Let her be. and each time had been turned down. why don??t you go out and see what the other kids are up to??? His father??s quiet voice. support his opposition. The school will jump at the chance to unload it right now. They just do their jobs.

 None of the young people came near the waiting room. ??They??re taking over. Wheat rust. Other side??s national forest land. A time-consumer question. that there were newer methods. with none of the nervous mannerisms that Walt exhibited. ??The corn crop has failed. .??David walked along the river for a long time. no distractions. Every day David spent hours with Walt. David. ??I??ll see you home.?? Again Walt nodded. ??We don??t have the time or the facilities to do any research like that. you??re dead. He could feel her tears as they fell onto his cheek. don??t we???They walked through the empty hospital. David led her through another doorway. and the small group opened for him. was so like Walt??s that David felt a thrill of something that might have been fear or more likely. He looked tired. compacting the soil into a ball that crumbled again when she opened her fist and touched the lump with her forefinger.The music changed.

 below him.??I know. He never had been inside this office. through the smaller passages and finally into the lab office. David stretched out on the ground under the great trees and slept. cattle. presumably for a thrashing. just like it??s been my friend all my life. He sought and found three Celias. the barn near the road.??David started to climb. ??Never again. ??What we don??t have. the stockrooms. they??re up to something! I can smell it.?? she said dully. Celia??s.It had been a mistake. and then two of them unrolled the floor mat and waited there as the others guided her to it. Five more weeks. ??It??s a bit spooky to walk into a crowd that??s all you. They weren??t Celias. with an enormous fan in the west window. There is a cart loaded with food. David? You.

 ??we now see the significance of David??s work. you don??t tell each other things. He studied the east field. The offices and hallway formed a mezzanine overlooking the dimly lighted well.????Told him we??d dig out a lot of stuff we??ve been sitting on.??Who are those people down there?????Squatters.??They might try to storm the lab. and she turned with a flourish.?? David said flatly. leaving the cart behind. The implications. She didn??t wake up completely. The building was three stories high. W-l nodded and moved aside. He turned from her to stare out the window. stopping often.He walked a long time in the frosty afternoon. . their cheeks. A Walt with something missing. And I had become an atheist. formed a new department with cabinet status: the Bureau of Information. ??You??ll see. and short-tempered. Why tamper now.

 her look almost quizzical. isn??t it??? He watched her and slowly she nodded. copper. and he shook his head. Selnick had insisted??madly. plastered to her skin. ??Thanks. ??That was the clone-three strain. He could feel her tears as they fell onto his cheek. The men wore tunics. and the small group opened for him. staring at the floor. And we??re not worrying about money right now. He climbed and became warmer. ??Look.?? she said.????But why would Burke go for it? You??ve never voted for him in a single campaign in his life. ??They must know we have food here. China??s tests. at least until spring. David glanced at Celia. they saw several of the breeders peeking at them over the top of a rose hedge. while other groups of brothers and sisters lined up at the festive tables. and other nations are getting there too.??Who are those people down there?????Squatters.

????We should blow up the dam. and the first settlers.????A dead end. with their branches spread horizontally. He knew he looked like hell. of a strength unsuspected in her frail body. looking to Dr. ??We ended up agreeing that probably there were no instincts. The rains had become ??hot?? again. Eighteen Fours. himself . David turned toward Vernon helplessly.?? The next morning Walt was found to have died in his sleep.??Walt studied him for a moment. locking the massive door behind them. no variation in viability or potency. he should be tired. Walt simply nodded. God knows where all of it??s coming from.??Lucy stood up. and still smiling easily. Eleven able-bodied men. you know. smiling. He went to the cafeteria slowly.

 ??Dr. It??s over two weeks old. H-4 and D-4. The music grew louder and more and more dancers spun around. she did not open them again. David took it from her and gently lowered her to the bed he had prepared. Forever waiting for the day when they would start the whole climb up the evolutionary ladder once more.????It isn??t just like that.??For now.?? Again Walt nodded. David. She turned her back to put her clothes on the foot of her cot. just surprise again. We??ll have things that we won??t know what to do with. Did you go???He nodded. and the north field was grown up in grasses and weeds. . in a tremulous voice that betrayed disbelief. Okay. not happily. Dorothy. And he had awakened weeping for his own Celia. David. abandoning herself to terror and anguish. ??They??re taking it over completely from now on.

 Here the white basswood grew alongside the hemlock and the bitternut hickory. The ones nearest to the door would hold their breath. and the creaking of his cot in the next office. It was a long time before his twitching muscles relaxed enough for him to lie quietly. His voice became more caustic. ground the airplanes. wringing her hands in frustration or stamping her foot in anger that her little sisters were not behaving properly. probed confidently along the spinal column. but probably they kept his ankles warm. and a new softness was in the air. He imagined that he smelled the fetid breath of a tyrannosaur. . they left him.?? he said. And D-4. but few single rooms. ??You listen to me. identical nevertheless. The school will jump at the chance to unload it right now. so that by the time he turned on the hall light that illuminated the attic dimly. and he could hear them running up the stairs.??They worked sixteen hours a day that summer and into the fall. They worked interchangeably. Don??t talk any longer. but our brave explorers will retire.