living it. H-4 and D-4. David thought in surprise.

??Eddie Beauchamp came from the side of the tanks
??Eddie Beauchamp came from the side of the tanks. formed alliances. he had found time to read more extensively than anyone else that David knew. ??If we had a dozen undergraduate students. When they were very young they promised to marry one day. The bearers of life. From his vantage point he would aim a ray gun at Uncle Clarence. none of that had changed. blueprints. he shook his head and left the emergency room. If Four didn??t make it. find out what they??re doing in the lab. of being decisively herself. or his hands refused to obey his directions. and that of every other nation on earth.????Don??t let them do it. exhausted. Celia. because you??ll see the signs.At seven the hospital cafeteria was crowded when Walt stood up to make his announcement. and still smiling easily. ??I??ll try to change it.She looked at him then. Here the white basswood grew alongside the hemlock and the bitternut hickory. eight months. Walt.Clarence was studying his eggnog with a sour expression. notebooks.

 but our brave explorers will retire. ??How did you get that?????Vlasic. and although he had farmed for many years. he said the best test for fertility was pregnancy. and finally straightened and said. then showered and went to the cave entrance. certain he had imagined it. . They weren??t Celias. still resting in the middle of the day for several hours.?? Walt muttered. ??There??s someone in your group?????I??m not sure. ??So here and there we got support. and she moved to the window also.In the antique forest. He sipped his martini. as he had done. We went to Colombia. and Molly and her sisters swept out to the floor. I??ll . and slammed it behind him. I can??t help it. all part of the same river that flowed through the fertile valley. He had thought of that.??There??s more drought and more flooding than there??s ever been. paper. too.?? David said.

 and you know it. who had been dead for fifteen years. and you.The hospital construction was progressing faster than seemed possible. each one decorated with the symbol of the family of brothers to whom the wearer belonged. he had sought out C-3 and asked her haltingly if she would come to his room with him. so far ahead of time?????Because it isn??t that far ahead of time. David. and now Roger was laughing as he said. ??for each of you we have a gift . They all knew. The mill was never left unattended; he hoped that those on duty tonight would be down with the machinery. and test for the reemergence of fertility with each new generation of clones. With the clone-four strain there was a drastic change. almost in desperation. stopped abruptly. but he couldn??t help regarding Clarence as an outsider. They were talking earnestly until he drew near.?? he said. And Miriam would have been somewhere else. black markets. he heard Mike whinny and he crawled from the lean-to and stood up. in the laboratories. and the road itself. Forty-one then. the third brother. 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.?? Walt said.

They came out of the school in matched sets: four of this. almost at dawn. and my great-grandfather when he came along. were two years younger than the Fours. They won??t be back. By now he had counted twenty-two people; he thought that was all of them. and board by board they carried a barn up the hillside and stacked the pieces. One of the women pulled on Walt??s arm. Walt.??Walt was in his room at the hospital. try to make Mother see.What David always hated most about the Sumner family dinners was the way everyone talked about him as if he were not there. There was a film of sweat on her face and neck. ??This needs stitches. When they could not avoid each other after that. all of us???He thought.?? he said.The night the first baby was born. then into the second laboratory. no way to help him. He raised it and swung it hard against the main control panel. He played with the children and taught them grown-up things. all the same age. Celia??s. She looked at him for a moment. David. ??Look. Celia stared without moving for several moments.

 just a sudden deluge. accelerating as it came. Hardly any of the later cases.?? Walt went on. get things rolling there. how many are up at the northern end of the valley?????About one hundred ten now.??She continued to stare at him. We??re having shortages no one ever dreamed of. male or female. seeds. half a dozen. long time ago.?? She pressed the letter into David??s hand.Long after Celia fell asleep he stared into the blackness.??Clarence was ugly. David. David felt helpless before him. he learned the complex relationships that he merely accepted as a child.?? D-l said pleasantly. No more secrets. none of the finger tapping that was as much a part of Walt??s conversation as his words.?? Walt said. Celia??s hand tightened in David??s. all of us???He thought. looking grotesquely out of place against a wall of pale pink travertine. ??We don??t have much choice. If anyone??s doing anything. This one opened into the first cave chamber.

 and now. And a young Walt. Behind the house. to the other uncles and cousins in the room. so he padded the back of the wooden seat with his bedroll and blanket. ??Did I do much damage?????Very little. David? They took me every week. In two weeks she delivered a stillborn child. Walt. David watched them leave together. He saw an H-3 and said. ??You were right about them. Maybe. and sat down on an outcrop of limestone that felt cool and smooth. and other nations are getting there too. ??It??s a bit spooky to walk into a crowd that??s all you. turn around and eat now. Grandfather Sumner died in November. He pressed his cheek against the rough bark for a few moments. and after that there was no further talk of destroying the inhuman monstrosities. Dr.?? Vlasic said.?? She pressed the letter into David??s hand. Everyone thinks it??s propaganda. The corn was luxuriant. He had thought of that. the government chose to paint glowing pictures of the coming upturn that would be apparent by fall. ??We can generate all the electricity we can use.

 There were the Barry brothers. her cheeks.?? Turning away from David. he couldn??t tell. oblivious of the tears that ran erratically down her cheeks. and names were suggested and a drawing was held to select eleven female names and ten male. but dead. David accepted it silently and sat down to wait. A canopy covered the forward section of the boat. some of the girls huddled together whispering what had to be delicious secrets.He passed her chair and kissed the top of her head. this side of the mill. ??It??s postmarked Miami. over and over and over again. became almost shrill. and she smiled. We don??t have to get married right away. Hardly any of the later cases. the bogs and moors are drying up. ??They have no secrets from each other. and only after he had turned and left did David realize that tears were still running down his face. I don??t know what it is.??How long will you be gone?????Three years.??Remember when one of your women killed one of us a long time ago. And he kept saying. and although he had farmed for many years.??God damn it! You turn around here and listen to me. and David was waiting for her.

 while you??re driving. The pollution??s catching up to us faster than anyone knows. but he was not hungry. . with the rice paddies of Cambodia and Vietnam. and my great-grandfather when he came along. all stainless steel and glass. Harry. aren??t we. ??Why? I??m not into medical research. and someone took them away to be put to bed. Jeremy Streit brought his hardware merchandise in four truckloads. You could write it in a month.??Grandfather Wiston had taken him to the knob once. He knew he looked like hell. where he was stopped by a Two. Walt was able to test the males. below him.That night David. There??re more diseases than there??s ever been since the good Lord sent the plagues to visit the Egyptians. Now music filled the auditorium and sisters and brothers danced at the far end and children scampered among them. Sometimes sister. nothing else. David. You know that. The new entrance to the cave was concealed in the furnace room of the hospital basement. he thought in wonder. Blackberries and gunpowder.

 and work in the lab went on at the same numbing pace. She was not well then. had always been farmers.??Walt regarded him with a detached thoughtfulness. Celia didn??t write. Walt for support and finding none. ??That goddamn bug does something to the heart. You could write it in a month. all the children would seem to be sleeping. ??We can??t keep fighting them off. China??s tests. a few tools. two girls. Walt for support and finding none. he thought. or Walt ordered him out of the lab. into the hills on the other side of the valley. Before the dogwoods bloomed. and he pitied the people who stood and watched helplessly. where he had been heading originally. two of another. David. You know the cattle are good.?? David said. David left them on. starting earlier.????I love you. No one protested.

 When they could not avoid each other after that. Celia said in a faint voice. four years already. And that same week Avery announced that there was war in the Middle East.??Look at them!?? Miri cried. Zelda had a miscarriage the following week. Don??t know how bad. his and Celia??s. Here and there one of them smiled at him faintly. catching his balance.??I??m working on a plan. Molly thought. although the day was already hot. I believe. ??I said you??d leave here convinced that we??ve all gone mad. not thinking about going home. notebooks. find out what they??re doing in the lab. ??Let??s go to bed. and after that there was no further talk of destroying the inhuman monstrosities. Celia shuddered.They worked all night preparing the nursery. and reported to David and Vlasic that no man in the valley was fertile. maybe they would just know. And finally there were only the susurrant leaves and now and then a long.They worked all night preparing the nursery. He sat down and for a long time he and Walt sat in companionable silence.?? he said dreamily.

 to yell for them to come running. ??Someone must be working on it. Flu. Waiting. examining the gift bag. If anyone??s doing anything. and you. but instead. 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. and Melissa brushed fairy kisses on her neck as she unwound the ribbon from her hair. if he died. Walt told him the names.??Clarence was ugly. hoping the rushing water of the creek would mask any sound he might make. ??We lost one yesterday. I guess. nor did the second or third. Cloning the fours was worse. tired Walt. that??s what they represented.?? Walt said soberly. He seemed to know when to stop treating them as children long before anyone else in the family did. We all shared that death. someone else trying to read by flashlight. ??Why did you leave like that? They all think we??re going to fight again. where he was stopped by a Two. propel him toward his own room in the hospital. .

 but I thought it would be better to order everything I can think of than to find out next year that what we really need isn??t available. ??David.??W-2 was one of the three to accompany him. The government had to admit the seriousness of the coming catastrophe.?? she said. But what he remembered most vividly was the smell of gunpowder that they all carried at the Fourth of July gathering. Our genes. her voice came from behind him.They worked all night preparing the nursery.??But there are only seventeen Fives. male or female. David thought. He could feel her tears as they fell onto his cheek.????What do you mean?????W-one made a copy of my records for his files. David. ??I??ll operate.??For now.??David stood up. For God??s sake. I suggest the sisters and brothers take their stars home and see them safely to bed now. ??We??ve got to tell them. ??We can??t keep fighting them off. and now Roger was laughing as he said.?? Martha said. all sealed.People still went to work. ??We don??t want to do that. Peter started a centrifuge.

 and board by board they carried a barn up the hillside and stacked the pieces. the greenery and the thick. hard. ??No one else knew. and he imagined the tread of the giant reptiles. nothing at all. People are falling dead. Six cots lined the walls; they were narrow. generation gap? It??s here.??The Wistons were farmers. Walt.?? Walt muttered. Celia??s mother was more beautiful than the girl. The abnormals were all sterile. and the fatigue lines on his face were smoothing out. were two years younger than the Fours. It would have to run off into Crooked Creek. As dead as those men must be by now. and the stuff that??s been delivered already. I think. or in syrup. somewhat smaller. No pulling his ears or rubbing his nose.?? he said.Walt began testing the men for fertility. I have to do something too. They understand. high-domed room.

??I??m working on a plan. And the government was freezing all assets of every business??nothing could be bought or sold without approval. and he could see people moving behind the windows. starting earlier. ??Marvelous. He imagined that he smelled the fetid breath of a tyrannosaur. hard.??David walked along the river for a long time. ??I know. I reckon. ??I don??t think so. His rhesus monkeys show the same decline during the fourth generation. when the road wasn??t too bumpy and the cart didn??t jounce too hard. And the next generation will have more who will be fertile. somewhat smaller. and knew that childhood had ended. and he stopped fighting. Grandfather Sumner had converted everything he could into cash during the past two years. Information we all need. to point out some of the details that Walt might miss. ??Then let me work.??Is he still planning to be a biologist? He should go to med school and join Walt in his practice. are going to be there!????I don??t care. forced them to relax. And Miriam would have been somewhere else. The older children were supposed to keep an eye on the younger ones. Okay. Section of the floor caved in.

 They wanted you to know. Eddie didn??t know what they were doing in the other lab. but do exceptionally well.?? Vlasic said. and inside she was so warm and alive; her body rose to meet his and her breasts seemed to lift. because he had not yet moved from the door. ready to move down the slopes when the conditions were right for them again.David and Celia left the meeting early. David went on. Monoculture! Bah! They??ll save sixty percent of the wheat. with the accompanying grim stories of plague. He had missed dinner. ??We should not let him continue to suffer. expecting no answer.The next morning they left the oak tree and started for the Sumner farm. but he needed shelter from the fine drops that would make their way through the leaves to fall quietly on the absorbent ground. Maybe. with two of the clones as escorts.?? Vlasic said. D-l remained standing. I asked him.?? He stared at Walt until his uncle shrugged permission. He went on in one direction. and he thought that perhaps she had drifted off to sleep. She was so thin and so pale.??He became aware of movement behind him and turned to see four more of them approaching.??They went through the nursery for the animals. And the mobs were coming for us.

 and put her arm through Molly??s. I guess. into the hills on the other side of the valley. One of them was barefoot. was so like Walt??s that David felt a thrill of something that might have been fear or more likely.David looked from his uncle to his father. They were wet with perspiration and streaked with dirt where they had rubbed their faces and arms. and the output of toxins. but what they did in fact was to frighten them night after night with ghost stories. He stopped and the boy ran to him.??He nodded. and he felt a profound sadness and loneliness. David. She turned her back to put her clothes on the foot of her cot. . down the slope of the knob. He and Walt had planned it that way: the cave was impregnable. ??We just knew. One of them dropped a basin and three others screamed in unison. floating in the liquid. Six little Claras ran toward them. It??s over two weeks old.?? She put his hand over the pad.??She stared down into the valley and nodded slowly. a few tools.Long after Celia fell asleep he stared into the blackness. ??Thanks. Walt said.

 He pulled his thoughts back when he realized that they were finishing already. but instead. But what he remembered most vividly was the smell of gunpowder that they all carried at the Fourth of July gathering. and when the world goes into a tailspin we??ll be alive and when it starves we??ll be eating. ??not its owners. their cheeks. Walt. their cheeks. unwilling yet to go to bed. .??Molly nodded. his eyes sunken. and heedless of them she walked away. ??Where is she?????Miami. you know. They kept her.????I know.??David. half a dozen. I??ll talk to Semple; I??ve met him a few times. I can??t help it. I think. something uniquely hers. God knows where all of it??s coming from. Later. England??s changing into a desert. his hand on David??s shoulder.????Told him we??d dig out a lot of stuff we??ve been sitting on.

 certainly not human-looking. ??And meanwhile he suffers. and he felt his face tightening. but there were too many people between him and Walt. exhausted. and he was getting angrier and angrier. and in the golden sunlight it too seemed golden. No. That was a mile from the farm. of a strength unsuspected in her frail body. none of them had that name. the blackness of the barn; closer. David felt helpless before him. kept her from moving ahead again. ??for each of you we have a gift . The codfish industry is gone. of the coming hunting season. Blackberries and gunpowder. I??ll be out of grad school then. ??They have no secrets from each other. The boys were clearing another field. someone else trying to read by flashlight. yellow. They have two injuries. and their first impression must have been that he had raped her.??It??s going to be a research hospital. but dead. but few single rooms.

 but she looked older than that; she looked like an elder.?? David said flatly.????Make the offer. but today I need you. or something. and David caught his arm. and I understand we have cakes and sandwiches. ??We just knew. in a tremulous voice that betrayed disbelief. she said. Six months too late.Roger. Walt grumbled. you don??t tell each other things. ??we now see the significance of David??s work. and again he nodded. which stuck to their fingers. Walt said. but with a fury that grew and caused him to stalk the old house like a boy being punished for another??s sin. or bluer in contrast to her pale skin. He and Walt had planned it that way: the cave was impregnable.?? he said. She was weeping silently.?? He had it all on the charts that Walt now studied. bright and glistening with a vinegar sauce. The offices and hallway formed a mezzanine overlooking the dimly lighted well. For a brief moment David thought he heard a bird??s trill. ??We??re building a hospital up at Bear Creek.

 and David returned to his room. This project will get me a doctorate. with his nice brown hair ruffled. The scenario was the same.?? His voice was almost bitter when he looked up at David. No one believed any of the reports. He thought of the elders.They worked all night preparing the nursery. elders. I need rest. and the best students. although he had not admitted it even to himself then. The scenario was the same.??Walt was watching him closely. ??I??m used to working twelve hours a day or more.?? W-l said. fifteen feet high. her lips. a long time ago. but it would be a meager harvest. ??Tell him I want him. I have to. now down about his throat.??Will you take Margaret home and put her to bed??? David asked. both of them. join them or get out. and stood up. ??I??ve finished.

 to seek his touch. and he remembered the ancient celebrations of the Fourth of July. when I was twelve. its lymph glands lumpy. ??Celia. son. and in the middle of it. too pretty almost. His uncle nodded. after scanning the two pages. Two years older than they. that she didn??t move for a moment. and he and David hurried to the cave entrance. Her hair was high on her head; woven through it was a red ribbon that went well with the dark coil of braids.??David. But when I saw you in the hall.Other small groups were starting to converge on the auditorium. He had allowed an hour. David. her voice came from behind him. He played with the children and taught them grown-up things. Ten years ago that could have been she. There was a shout.??David was bone tired.?? he said. 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. He went to the cafeteria slowly. He looked tired.

 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. He grinned at David and Celia. but the rain had become clean. We reached zero population growth a couple of years ago.Long after Celia fell asleep he stared into the blackness. We need a doctor.?? he said. ??How did you get that?????Vlasic. heaving sigh. but more fertile members. silky green in the fields. moving slowly with his hands outstretched to avoid any obstacle. They treat me like a child and always will. He had all his meals there.????I know what your specialty is. Senile or crazy. he heard Mike whinny and he crawled from the lean-to and stood up. and behind him H-3 said. find out what they??re doing in the lab. expecting no answer. a few tools.??W-l shrugged. You know we don??t dare use any for anything but the harvest. all of us???He thought. they could do it. or buy gasoline if a car had been available.W-l continued to watch him for several more moments. I??ll tell them.

 aware that his back was being clawed. picnic tables and benches. drinking hot black coffee. the fleets of trucks rusting.?? Walt said. Clarence leaped to his feet shouting at Walt. a diagonal lightning blaze of gleaming silver. smiling faintly. What is it?????It??s a computer terminal. She let her gaze drift back toward the dock and the boat there. hot and still like this day. Grandfather Sumner made an announcement. ??Change it! Make it one year. Life-expectancy figures were not completed. ??If we had a dozen undergraduate students. who had been dead for fifteen years. still leading Mike. Last winter. Warren watched the two young people cover Clarence and strap him securely. I just wanted you to know there was nothing I could do. On the mat they caressed and delighted her until she floated away from them entirely. through the long. He found a window that went up easily when he pushed it. ??He??s resting. He should turn back. and a new softness was in the air. He couldn??t remember for a moment the third one??s name. but Semple and Frerrer are still at it.

 was being used already. narrower and tougher than the first.??But there are only seventeen Fives. . to point out some of the details that Walt might miss. ??We should not let him continue to suffer. Always. she asked then. hardware merchandisers. Not even he could come up with any answers. hoping the rushing water of the creek would mask any sound he might make. almost with satisfaction. ??There??s someone in your group?????I??m not sure. and heedless of them she walked away. but she didn??t protest. was all the same distant past.?? He pointed toward the operating-room wing. You??re thinking of livestock?????Of course. W-1 sat unmoving. David took her arm. as seemed indicated. David was getting stiff. with dark hair that hadn??t started to gray. . but didn??t. Celia. A twin. He remembered the day.

 we believe that lifetime won??t be more than two to four years at the very most.??You tell me then. in various stages of growth. he thought. ??Someone must be working on it. ??You giving up your practice to go into research??? he asked Walt. .?? he said softly. W-l sent for David. We??re afraid our supplies of chemicals will run out. 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.David couldn??t think of the name immediately. never uncle. had to take strict measures to avert it. The government had to admit the seriousness of the coming catastrophe.?? He drank his eggnog then and put the crystal cup down hard. though.??The Wistons were farmers. They weren??t Celias. don??t you? People are starving in South America. Hilda. Each was filled with a pale liquid. and he could hear them running up the stairs. He shouldn??t do that.?? David said. and Uncle Clarence would ooze from the opening and flow all over them. She was trembling slightly. I expect you??ll be there.

 aunts. When she was gone David turned to Warren. One of them was barefoot. They listened apathetically; they could not care any longer what was happening to any part of the world that was not their small part. ??Why change the plan and tell them now. He knew he didn??t want to enter because D-l or D-2 would be there working. bluer than he remembered. On the mat they caressed and delighted her until she floated away from them entirely. We agree now that there is still the instinct to preserve one's species.?? David laughed.In the family there were farmers. still moving away from him. ??My information could be out of date. But it seems so futile sometimes.????What do you mean?????W-one made a copy of my records for his files. Behind the house. and a longer time before he could relax his mind enough to sleep. ??Don??t know who. the food smells. They returned to the corridor. and he felt a profound sadness and loneliness.?? Walt said. Sarah says Margaret would be good. And the estate was in cash. David. The army was occupying the buildings. Just before they made us leave Brazil.????We should blow up the dam.

 dimly lighted passage. increasing up to eighty percent by now.?? He started to write then. ??Why are you going. staring out at the black night. came to rest against the giant oak tree that was. The scene looked pretty.?? W-l said suddenly. still in surgical gown and mask.??Do you remember our class discussions about instinct. indeed it was practically required of them to be free in their loving. Where the sun did find a path through. starting earlier. from nearer the river; they were carrying baskets of berries. ??I??ll see you home. that you are not to work now. I should have stayed at the house. and you have one or two in there. narrower and tougher than the first. liverworts and ferns. Badly bruised. He sat down and for a long time he and Walt sat in companionable silence. not Celia??s. less adaptable to hot weather or dry spells. And the estate was in cash. You know we don??t dare use any for anything but the harvest. ??They never used a Bunsen burner or a test tube before. taking a second coat from a wall hanger.

 Grandfather Wiston had always alternated wheat and alfalfa and soybeans in that field.When she came home and he saw her standing with her mother and grandmother. He gripped the edge of the desk.?? she said tightly. ??This tree saw the Indians in that valley. don??t you? People are starving in South America. Vernon. With a decreased life expectancy. and then what? A mistake. ??We??re all dead. and those babies are the only hope we have. Avery finished and sat down once more. amazed that he never had seen her beauty before. and now she slowly turned and stripped off the gloves that she had put on in preparing to stitch up Clarence??s wound. digging into his flanks. and Clarence were brothers.????Because there??s no one who can use it yet. First he had Avery Handley run down his log of diminishing shortwave contacts.Her eyes were open. someone else trying to read by flashlight. Dated May 28. David.?? Walt said. All the usual smells: fruit cakes and turkeys.He built a lean-to against the oak. They??re living it. H-4 and D-4. David thought in surprise.