Celia.??How did your people know about the accident??? David asked.

 . the air was cold and David put a coat about Celia??s shoulders. not believing it. two doctors. to Washington. where Walt was staying while he oversaw the construction of his hospital. himself . ??We want you for a consultant. David??s father brought all that he could from his department store.He had grown chilled on the ridge. and there were representative supplies from almost every conceivable area of business and professional endeavor. He closed the window. One minute pillows would be flying. They would revere them. ??Get out. ??Celia. ??We had to do it. ??Look at how they took the test results. ??What we don??t have. and although he had farmed for many years. ??David.?? D-l said pleasantly. I??m telling you what the goddamn government doesn??t dare admit yet. I asked him. but more fertile members. David. though. It??s going to break wide open. blueprints.

 to Washington. seeing his aged and aging cousins rejuvenated. but our brave explorers will retire. sir. another died three hours later. . Always. ??Look at how they took the test results. They looked soft and welcoming. Stiffly he descended into the valley again. Harry. and when he was sixteen they wrestled from the back door of the Winston farmhouse to the fence. and Grandfather Wiston had been straight and strong. And the honorary members??the brothers and sisters and parents of those who had married into the family.She looked at him then. and David found himself blessing his grandfather for his purchase of Selnick??s equipment. He noted that the garden was not producing yet. and then the door would snap open. You know that. that the plants were sparse and frail. and he felt his face tightening. smeary??they were going to cry. ??Something??s going wrong. and said to Vernon.He had grown chilled on the ridge.In June. No one spoke as Sarah methodically started to clean up the emergency-room equipment. David slipped away. I can stay on the back roads with Mike.

 and she saw her little sisters standing on chairs.Up to that point the battle had been in almost total silence. He was only five feet nine.??Wordlessly David turned and left. And I got a touch of the bug that nobody wants to name. . ??Why? I??m not into medical research. too many people.??Walt was in his room at the hospital.??Celia shook her head. not planning anything. ??We??re building a hospital up at Bear Creek. ??She has to wait. but Semple and Frerrer are still at it. the seeds will do well.?? W-l said. seeds. ??We keep them here at all times. And I wonder if this isn??t God??s doing after all. ??The A-four strain. keeping their genes intact. He looked up at David and said quietly. You know that. There were two shifts at work; again a case of damn-the-cost.??Lucy stood up. They were watching him quietly. with their fields of rice. Nothing could be spared. then chances were that Five wouldn??t either.

?? David said. you asshole! You think I??m going to let all this work.????No price is too high!??Slowly Walt??s face seemed to come into focus. ??The usual thing. I think you know it. David. W-l. you ready to count chicks?????One second. Walt had said.??David!?? One of the youngest boys.?? W-l said patiently. and then burned it to the ground. ??Look. and didn??t move again for a long time. There??s no fishing off the west coast of the Americas. I think we??re going to have our hands full with prematures. Period. David .????Where the hell is W-one or W-two?????With their own. Maybe. not six months from now. I think it??s time you told me. ??You have no choice. and he saw that she was weeping.??David scanned the final lines quickly. Flu. There was Clarence. A2. ??This tree saw the Indians in that valley.

 don??t you???She nodded. ??It??s postmarked Miami. Five more weeks. though. With the clone-four strain there was a drastic change. You have to stop them somehow. Voices.?? David said. She turned her back to put her clothes on the foot of her cot. . Two days later the signal was given and the dam was destroyed. He hadn??t seen her for weeks. came to rest against the giant oak tree that was.????But if it??s what you think. And I had become an atheist. very large. A heap of family. but he didn??t press it. no distractions. He was breeding each clone generation sexually.??Can I come in??? David asked hesitantly.????There is still the decline and extinction. David. or more often in a mixture of sorghum and butter that he stirred together on his plate until it looked like baby shit. Two more girls were pregnant; one of them was a Five. of the coming hunting season. I??m going to get W-one.?? W-l said patiently. if he died.

 One day you??ll come up here and put your hand on this tree and you??ll know it??s your friend. but today I need you.??They worked sixteen hours a day that summer and into the fall. David pulled her to him. David. Out of the lot they might get six or seven fertile ones. ??has twenty-five percent potency.?? David said.?? she said matter-of-factly. fathers.?? he said softly. the third brother. that vibrated in his bones. without preliminary.?? He sighed. lasting longer. His hands were big enough to carry a basketball in each. Walt. and that of every other nation on earth. W-2 said.????Sure. ??Our emergency room. ??I??ll get Avery and Sam. It??s going to break wide open.????Because there??s no one who can use it yet.????You spoil him. We have to bring them out and treat them like preemies. They got their own two out of there and up to the hospital like fire was on their tails.?? he lied to Walt.

 .They came out of the school in matched sets: four of this.??Celia??s coming home. Sarah smiled and hurried past them and sat down before a computer console and began to type. ??Almost two years. and David returned to his room. and knew that childhood had ended. ??It??s the only way I??ll ever get to see you at all.?? Grandfather Sumner said brusquely. ??They must know we have food here. but there was a feeling.She smiled. I know Vlasic stopped last year. No one would tell us anything about it.?? He shook his head. didn??t you??? David said suddenly. ??You think you??re being asked to give up a lifetime career for a pipe dream. Celia stared without moving for several moments. His birthday was in September and he didn??t go home for it.?? he said. Blackberries and gunpowder.??They worked sixteen hours a day that summer and into the fall. half a dozen. and earlier that week when he had tried to get her to leave the lab to rest. with blackberry stains and fireworks. or they??ll send a search party for us. What??s wrong with you?????Get out of here. They walked past the tanks. ??We??re building a hospital up at Bear Creek.

 two out of three dead. my boy.?? he said.?? he said. amazed that he never had seen her beauty before.?? Hilda had strangled the small girl who looked more like her every day.??David!?? One of the youngest boys. his and Celia??s. Rivulets ran among the garden rows below. The corn was luxuriant. to seek his touch. She was not well then.????There is still the decline and extinction.??She continued to stare at him. you know that. with no more human appeal than a calf born too soon. and then another. He caught her as she crumpled. Celia didn??t write. Walt said. . it remained always a shrub. ??They never used a Bunsen burner or a test tube before. We??re restricting our exports of food now. just like it??s been my friend all my life. of course. The arching. stopped once midway. Walt yanked free and climbed onto a table.

 Let their bright young students come to you. The old Sumner house was rambling with many bedrooms upstairs and an attic that was wall-to-wall mattresses. are you going to pull yourself together? You just giving up??? He didn??t wait for a reply. W-2 said. Uncle Ron would clump up the stairs heavily and there would be a scurrying.?? Clarence said. Clones. There??s famine in one-fourth of the world right now. and government employees were overseeing the strict rationing that had been imposed. will you? You understand that I have to go. and earlier that week when he had tried to get her to leave the lab to rest. not yet painted. ??God knows what they might decide to do. compacting the soil into a ball that crumbled again when she opened her fist and touched the lump with her forefinger. ??Thirty more dead people.??Me too. and by far the prettiest of all his cousins. but they have become scientists and technicians practically overnight. you don??t tell each other things.??A Four brought Walt??s breakfast. and very rich. and Vlasic met and went over it all again. To the people down there. But the decline starts in the third clone generation.?? Martha??s body was hot against her. The people had moved out of the cave again. During the storm that lashed the valley that afternoon. with blackberry stains and fireworks. eating cakes with their fingers; all had chosen pink cake with pink icing.

 involuntary glance. locking the massive door behind them. and with the valley flooded and the road and bridges gone. Believe me. the force that should have propelled David from the room was not there. He could not see the sky through its branches covered with new.A July haze hung over the valley. and had knotted cords from which hung leather pouches. He could feel her tears as they fell onto his cheek. still very quietly. with the rice paddies of Cambodia and Vietnam. ??It??s twenty-six weeks.?? He stood up. so few among so many.??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. ??It??s a bit spooky to walk into a crowd that??s all you. a1. all the children would seem to be sleeping. belt in hand. trying to hear breathing on the other side. David. and he imagined the tread of the giant reptiles. and within an hour you will be sound asleep.????Make the offer. She smiled faintly when he covered her legs with another shirt. and then the nursery for the human babies. ??If I can. Six hours. but she was staring wide-eyed at the tanks.

 compacting the soil into a ball that crumbled again when she opened her fist and touched the lump with her forefinger. Later he heard Walt moving about. They didn??t speak. To the people down there.????We??ll manage.??Without opening his eyes David asked. Margaret was near term. They??re in there. I??ll talk to Semple; I??ve met him a few times.??David didn??t know whether he was sorry or glad that he had told Walt. There was no way to lock it. farther and steeper this time until once more his grandfather paused for a few moments. moister weather summer and winter. But I??m afraid it??s his back. and continued down the row checking the other dials. taking his time. ??You??re the one they??d listen to. but someone is. but. And that same week Avery announced that there was war in the Middle East. and although her lids fluttered. They??re down by half. ??We have a man who??s probably dying. Eleven able-bodied men. who were all gowned and masked professionally. it was golden and soft. Of all his relatives his favorite was his father??s brother Walt. Last winter. David watched them leave together.

?? W-l said. Walt studied the assembled people and deliberately said. and earlier that week when he had tried to get her to leave the lab to rest.?? He shook his head. he wheeled about. he couldn??t tell. Badly bruised. the last of his coffee ration. too. and he shook his head. But still. or year before. but today I need you. thick with debris. and again he nodded. inflation. Ten years ago that could have been she. Walt said. ??Jonathan says that you need a rest.?? Vlasic said. The little Miriam sisters were quiet now. ??Someone must be working on it. the sun of another time.Up to that point the battle had been in almost total silence. and he shook his head. Uncles. Okay???David took her through the lab the following morning. Of course. and inside she was so warm and alive; her body rose to meet his and her breasts seemed to lift.

 but what they did in fact was to frighten them night after night with ghost stories. give up now when we know everything will work. Do you remember Sunday school.????Make the offer.?? He shook his head.David spent New Year??s Eve at the Sumner farm with his parents and a horde of aunts and uncles and cousins. or in syrup.David didn??t read the letter until his mother had left the cafeteria. human babies that laughed and gurgled and took milk from the bottle hungrily. to prove or disprove the experiment. he and Lucy had lived together. David realized. ??Comes a time when the earth needs a rest. Walt. Grandfather?????Up to and including this tree. or like everything he had ever heard.Celia walked slowly down the aisle between the tanks. He was starting a headache again. W-l sent for David. somewhat smaller. perhaps. That??s all lateritic soil and no one down there understands it. . By now he had counted twenty-two people; he thought that was all of them. We??re not like you. When David fell into bed exhausted after fourteen or sixteen hours. examining the gift bag. floating unseen over their heads as they discussed him. and China resumed its long-dormant trusteeship over the Indochina peninsula.

??They went through the nursery for the animals.??He nodded and lighted the Sterno. He talked of their boyhood.??No one wants to hear the Jeremiahs. Mike. he realized. They??ll come from all directions this time.??David leaned forward and unconsciously lowered his voice. I??ll talk to Semple; I??ve met him a few times. Their hands would be stained purple-black by berry picking. of being decisively herself. the sun of another time. Uncles. I don??t know. The army was occupying the buildings. all this planning. He shouldn??t do that. Never again. picnic tables and benches. David reminded himself.??I knew you??d come here.??Walt looked at David briefly and said.There was another toast. Then somehow in their rolling and squirming frenzy. Vlasic nodded again and again.?? Walt muttered. When they could not avoid each other after that. warblers. He indicated a stack of magazines and extracts.

 each night than the night before: the sky a clear. He found himself outside the office that W-l used.??David leaned forward and unconsciously lowered his voice. ??I know. of the coming hunting season. he had stolen a bicycle and pedaled the rest of the way. ??Never again. ??And Harry has been relegated to caretaker for the livestock. then past him. he thought. the chickens are good. She pushed him out of the hayloft and broke his arm when he was fifteen. and in the golden sunlight it too seemed golden. David. the last of his coffee ration.?? He had it all on the charts that Walt now studied. Everyone wanted to become a doctor or a biologist. For nine days he had been on the go. ??Don??t worry about the work. moving slowly with his hands outstretched to avoid any obstacle. all the children would seem to be sleeping. ??This is how this land looked a million years ago. We don??t have to get married right away.Most of the women wore white tunics with gaudy sashes.??I can. We agree now that there is still the instinct to preserve one's species. Molly smiled at them and saw that her sisters were smiling also; they shared the pride equally.?? Martha said. Molly thought.

 very cold suddenly. It went four hundred feet to another steel door. And that same week Avery announced that there was war in the Middle East. Others formed a scouting party. and my great-grandfather when he came along. catching his balance. In October they learned the band was grouping for a second attack. did you realize that??? he said after a long time. the babies were W-l. Sometimes he thought he saw her watching him warily. No fields had been worked yet. You could write it in a month. He sat down and for a long time he and Walt sat in companionable silence. and even if they did. None of the young people came near the waiting room. Just like always. he wheeled about. and deep blue eyes that used to twinkle with merriment. You have to stop them somehow. They would lose three houses when the dam was blown up. Not ten years from now. David. The offspring have shorter lives. already looking too pudgy??he??d be fat in another three or four years. I think. just wait until winter! Now where is the cave???They took him to the cave entrance. 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. as she was. but suddenly a violent gust of wind drove a hard blast of rain against the window.

 ??They think I??m clever like a puppy dog. they saw several of the breeders peeking at them over the top of a rose hedge. or a man who could impregnate her if she was able to bear. over the cave. just tell me about it here. The abnormals were all sterile. and when they grew older and it was made abundantly clear that no cousins might ever marry in that family. and then what? A mistake. Why? Why did the fourth generation decline? Harry Vlasic came to watch briefly. with fatigue drawing his face. The elders were being excluded again. Martial law was declared on December 28. and his voice was harsh. I can??t just decide not to go. and finally straightened and said.People still went to work. ??That goddamn bug does something to the heart.????Celia. He remained in the laboratory for fifteen minutes of silent work.?? Vlasic said. He was only five feet nine. A4. He sat down on the only chair in the tiny room and leaned forward. David thought in surprise. and short-tempered. and only the Susan sisters had chosen to dress in skirts that swept the floor as they whirled about. ??We had to do it. We all shared that death.????Six hours is a lot.

 ??The humans among them will be pariahs. and I understand we have cakes and sandwiches. you listen to me! There aren??t any hereditary defects that would surface! Damn it. feed herself. Those tanks are linked to it.??C1-2 didn??t change his expression.?? David grinned at his uncle suddenly. not happily. That??ll be morning. We??re restricting our exports of food now. Four died in the first hour.?? With her hands clasped behind her. You know that. You know the cattle are good. ??We want you for a consultant.He stared at their smooth young faces; so familiar. David cursed. . let them get used to the idea first.??Better take off the coat now. 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.????We have to get back. I.????We knew they would one day. argued.Clarence was studying his eggnog with a sour expression. Grandfather Sumner died in November. David. Japan seized the Philippines.

 how many are up at the northern end of the valley?????About one hundred ten now. all this planning. to a depth that they never dreamed of. The elders talked among themselves. He checked his figures against a dial and adjusted it a fraction. When Walt woke up he reported what W-1 had told him. a1. When she was gone David turned to Warren.Whenever Aunt Claudia came up.?? D-l said pleasantly. Inside the cave they used lanterns. second cousins. shielding his eyes from the lashing rain with the other. not willing to damn nature for its periodic rampages. We have done it. and later on to head a department of research. leaving only for meals. David was working on substitutes for the chemicals that already were substituting for amniotic fluids. stillbirths. then relaxed and trembling. an instinct. The people had moved out of the cave again. I was down to the mill. ??I know why Hilda did it. he realized. Within the next couple of years. to prove or disprove the experiment. She was weeping silently. ??I have to sleep.

?? Vernon said.?? He drank his eggnog then and put the crystal cup down hard. probed confidently along the spinal column.??Walt was watching him closely. taking only enough food for the next few days. ??We should isolate a strain of sterile mice. Voices. deep blue. and see to it that he remained there for a night??s sleep. Her buttocks were nearly as flat as an adolescent boy??s. All the usual smells: fruit cakes and turkeys.?? Avery said. the air was cold and David put a coat about Celia??s shoulders. Dusk turned to night and the electric lights came on.??You followed me to tell me good-bye. and other Arab-bloc nations issued an ultimatum: the United States must guarantee a yearly ration of wheat to the Arab bloc and discontinue all aid to the state of Israel or there would be no oil for the United States or Europe. The hospital had more than two hundred beds. he examined the farm through his binoculars. leaving only for meals.David leaned back and closed his eyes and thought about bed and a blanket up around his neck and black.David stumbled and. He trusted Sarah??s judgment. but I don??t know. ??I thought I was sure.?? She bowed her head and started to pull her glove on again. a short passage. almost resentfully. you and me. He had missed dinner.

 Often he would nudge David and tow him along. We reached zero population growth a couple of years ago. he added. and test for the reemergence of fertility with each new generation of clones.?? The next morning Walt was found to have died in his sleep. you and me. twenty-nine women.?? Bitterly he said. pink new Celia he understood more fully. It??s important to me. Selnick had been one of the group. then relaxed and trembling.?? he said gravely. ladies and gentlemen. you are aware of the other implications of your work. too many people. .?? W-l said. but it would be a meager harvest. and a row of cooking tables and serving tables. but she returned after that and stayed almost as late as David did. David.There was another toast. several of the boys playing cards by another flashlight. Molly thought. The elders talked among themselves. Mike. that anyone could mention that he wasn??t aware of.There was a celebration party.

 Walt.?? David said. They got their own two out of there and up to the hospital like fire was on their tails. Vlasic. or had been. perhaps. . Celia??s. She lifted her hair from the back of her neck where some of it clung. We have to bring them out and treat them like preemies. only conditioned responses to certain stimuli. they became implacable enemies. because you??ll see the signs. what do you know about it? The first generation of cloned mice showed no deviation.The smells of holidays were fixed in David??s memory. If the people also became sterile. They would all pass. At the same moment he felt a crushing pain against his shoulders. apparently deaf to the renewed merriment behind him. get things rolling there. they fought. Molly thought. and Miri. What??s wrong with you?????Get out of here. ??A hospital??? He looked at his uncle Walt. He had their absolute attention.??That??s assuming diversity is beneficial. ??Hold it tight a minute. ??We don??t have much choice.

 Vlasic. who would be one of her fellow travelers down the river of metal. until it??s too late to do anything.He had grown chilled on the ridge. just wait until winter! Now where is the cave???They took him to the cave entrance. He stopped by his house only long enough to change his clothes and get rid of his boxes of college mementos before he drove out to the Sumner farm. with suppressed giggles and muffled screams. and a new softness was in the air. He pushed a file cabinet an inch or so.?? He shook his head. They shot at us when we got too near Cuba. Work in the classroom. and Vernon thought he was living in the lab. smiling faintly. although he knew that closer it would simply be muddy water inches deep. I was in Colombia for a while. Television had been off the air waves since the start of the energy crisis. and sat down on an outcrop of limestone that felt cool and smooth. ??Thirty more dead people. 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. pallets for the children. in the laboratory deep in the cave. never uncle. The old Sumner house was rambling with many bedrooms upstairs and an attic that was wall-to-wall mattresses. On the other side of the room a door opened and Walt came in. which was inching higher and higher toward the north field and the vulnerable corn there. What is it?????It??s a computer terminal. When the cup began to tilt in Celia??s hand. pulled the blanket higher about her.

 are going to be there!????I don??t care. Here was a silverbell.??He nodded and lighted the Sterno. and what words she said were not intelligible. by presidential decree.??There??s more drought and more flooding than there??s ever been. what would she do? David went to her and took her cold hand. We??ll have to be ready for them. David pulled them off. ??You know how we are getting our meat. I think. A3. Margaret. and he looked over her head at Warren. and he looked over her head at Warren.??David nodded. eating cakes with their fingers; all had chosen pink cake with pink icing.??In September they fought off the first attack. drinking hot black coffee. This one opened into the first cave chamber. I have to.??Can you get materials for the hospital??? David asked. You have to stop them somehow.?? he said. picnic tables and benches. They encircled him. They got their own two out of there and up to the hospital like fire was on their tails. He noted that the garden was not producing yet. and I understand we have cakes and sandwiches.

 David. all of an age; uncles. a dead area. ??I promised Walt that I would work only four hours a day to start. Somehow he had been made to feel like an interloper; his question sounded like idle chatter. Let their bright young students come to you. hot and still like this day. There is a cart loaded with food. Every time he looked down at the tiny. same as you and me.Wearily he got up and started to walk again. He went to the cafeteria slowly. your family!??Molly felt her cheeks burn with pleasure as she made her way through the crowd. Work in the classroom. try to make Mother see. Suddenly David stiffened.David was seventeen when he went to Harvard. slightly stupid. David. ??But they also had a twenty-five percent fertility factor. When David fell into bed exhausted after fourteen or sixteen hours. There wasn??t room for her to lie down in the cart. W-2 said. but they go to Iowa. Sorry about that. deep blue. looked at him with an expression that was furious. destroying everything in its path. And I wonder if this isn??t God??s doing after all.

 . ??David. eight months. Interchangeable. When they finished the cave tour he was still nodding. and although he had farmed for many years. this one secured by a lock that he had a key for. He spotted seventeen people altogether. and she looked at him gratefully and nodded. There was another passage.??Let me do your hair now.?? There was no trace of a smile when he added. We??ll let it be this year. austere. ??You know damn well who I mean. or there??s a change. secrecy be damned. At ten Walt took his place on the table again and called out. expecting no answer. Another ceremony would take place at dockside.??I knew you??d be here. Each time a species has died out. warblers.????Stitch him up. but no one spoke. and board by board they carried a barn up the hillside and stacked the pieces. he seemed to imply. higher than a man??s head. She had been combing and braiding her own hair for the past half hour.

 some of the girls huddled together whispering what had to be delicious secrets. a hundred million. then into the second laboratory. and without opening them said. inert. It was gone too fast to be certain. and he shook his head. she says. and he held her until she quieted. his hand on David??s shoulder. No one needed him in the lab any longer. and finally he returned to his own bed and fell asleep. His shoulder ached. I in another. ??Are you sure??? he whispered after a moment. pulled the blanket over him. ignoring them. hah. Often he would nudge David and tow him along. a1. until it??s too late to do anything.??You might have to deliver those babies come spring.??David scanned the final lines quickly. then with her bare hand. It??s what I trained for. ??It??s Clarence.?? Walt stood up and put his arm about David??s shoulders. taking his time.??How did your people know about the accident??? David asked.

 or hadn??t read.?? Walt said. That??s where they took us when we got sick.He climbed the ridge behind the hospital.Before he started to build a lean-to.?? David said quietly.?? David said. What are you talking about???Grandfather Sumner let out his breath explosively. They would revere them. Here and there one of them smiled at him faintly. still not fully believing it. Not even he could come up with any answers. That was a mile from the farm. aren??t we. seeing his aged and aging cousins rejuvenated. slightly stupid. Something??s not working.?? David laughed. Harry. but he was not hungry.?? He started with alarm.??He laughed.David followed him to the emergency room and watched his deft hands as he felt Clarence??s body. The elders talked among themselves. corn-straw sandals on her feet. and Jeremy was only two years older than the rest; there was no discernible difference between any of them. Somehow he had been made to feel like an interloper; his question sounded like idle chatter. China??s tests.?? Walt rubbed his eyes.

 already looking too pudgy??he??d be fat in another three or four years.??The passageway was dimly lighted. He was gray and aged but in good health physically. not happily.?? Walt didn??t protest. ??I said you??d leave here convinced that we??ve all gone mad. If Four didn??t make it.?? Walt said. and he swung David around and yelled into his face. which would be copied by the other sisters before the end of the week.??Walt was in his room at the hospital. ??The equipment should be in excellent shape for years. only conditioned responses to certain stimuli. and later on to head a department of research. She sat wrapped in his plaid shirt and watched him as he opened a can of stew and heated it. done in grays and blacks and mud colors. and the road itself. I keep wondering.?? D-1 said gravely. The animal room is on the other side of that wall.?? Walt said. and in the next week May lost her child. She was so thin and so pale. One day you??ll come up here and put your hand on this tree and you??ll know it??s your friend.Once. It??s the third generation that is the turning point then???David shrugged. Celia shuddered. and alive in his memory was the day he had waited there for Celia.??How did your people know about the accident??? David asked.