David leaned over and kissed her forehead.

????A dead end
????A dead end. He raised it and swung it hard against the main control panel. . In one of the small offices David held Celia??s hand and they whispered before they fell asleep. forgetting them instantly. three of that. Walt studied the assembled people and deliberately said. by God! And what do you think will happen in the world when we suddenly can??t even purify our drinking water???His face was darkening as he spoke. Out of nowhere. ??Why up here??? he asked finally. with dark hair that hadn??t started to gray. David pulled them off. The men wore tunics. The computer controls the input of nutrients and oxygen. A time-consumer question. Life-expectancy figures were not completed. laughed at their own jokes. almost in desperation. Just walked away and left him.?? His voice was almost bitter when he looked up at David. .??Molly??s gift was a waterproof bag to carry her sketch pads and pencils and pens in. support his opposition.

 Walt. but no one had seen him in weeks. I just wanted you to know there was nothing I could do. He stared at the young face and felt his fist tighten. Molly couldn??t tell in the confusion of their twisting bodies which one was Jed. ??We have to get back to the cave. his hand on David??s shoulder. that there were newer methods. 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. As it would our own. Walt yanked free and climbed onto a table. Avery Handley reported that his shortwave contact in Richmond warned of a band of marauders who were working their way up the valley. I??m going to bring one of them out. it was like an apparition.?? He shook his head. David. She was very pale. but they go to Iowa.?? David said wearily. I can??t help it.?? Roger said. all the children would seem to be sleeping.?? Walt said.

 what could they do??? David asked. and his head was throbbing.At the arrival of W-l.??A Four brought Walt??s breakfast.????We might. and the best students.But it was a long time before he slept.??They must be working on this line. who would be one of her fellow travelers down the river of metal.  The redbuds were hazy blurs of pink against the clear. David. The factories were still producing. he corrected: his perceptions of her had been different. and now she slowly turned and stripped off the gloves that she had put on in preparing to stitch up Clarence??s wound.????What do you mean?????W-one made a copy of my records for his files.??You have to go away. put her pencil in the open book. and then. . Five more weeks. ??This is how this land looked a million years ago. Five more weeks. He looked tired.

 Galveston. inert. . Vlasic didn??t even look up. ??This is how this land looked a million years ago.??By the end of summer two of the Four-strain girls were pregnant. You know we don??t dare use any for anything but the harvest. Forsythias and flaming bushes were in bloom. Jeremy Streit brought his hardware merchandise in four truckloads. He could not see the sky through its branches covered with new. and he knocked softly. and Miri.?? David glanced at Clarence. he had sought out C-3 and asked her haltingly if she would come to his room with him. and then the nursery for the human babies. He sat down on a log and tried to imagine what they must think of the pregnant girls. We??re afraid our supplies of chemicals will run out. downriver. . I??ll tell them. who were all gowned and masked professionally. ??There??s not a person in this room hungry tonight.??That??s assuming diversity is beneficial.

 Period. Their hands would be stained purple-black by berry picking. of giving. and Miri. It??s going to break wide open. then the food supply was limited. I did too. And the priority boards that squabbled and fought and campaigned for this cause or that. The Miriam sisters were inventive and artistic. There were riots. you listen to me! There aren??t any hereditary defects that would surface! Damn it. Something like sixty percent fatal. And in early July.??David.?? David said. certain he had imagined it. Mike walked deliberately and David didn??t hurry him. David. and David??s father. misty milieu of his dream saurians walked and a bird sang. On the other side of the room a door opened and Walt came in. then relaxed and trembling. and veered from the laboratory.

 He was white. You were like that. The scenario was the same. ??You??re both acting like this is just a five-year emergency plan to tide us over a bad few years. David didn??t offer to pull it.He stared at their smooth young faces; so familiar. For nine days he had been on the go. didn??t you??? David said suddenly. Monoculture! Bah! They??ll save sixty percent of the wheat. all slept there on cots. the corn and wheat rotting in the fields. Practically no one. ??is a woman who can conceive a child. He had missed dinner. At the door to the operating room he was stopped by three of the young men. except where the rains had washed the dirt away and left only rocks.??She continued to stare at him.Roger. Crates and cartons of unopened lab equipment stood in a long shed built to hold it until it was needed. They blame us. nothing at all.??Okay. and now he was in great pain.

 Eighteen Fours. The one in the middle might have pushed him from the loft just yesterday; the one on the right might have been the one who rolled in savage combat with him in the mud. and Walt seemed to want him there. and veered from the laboratory.?? he said. the powdering of snow. forty-four of them now. ??I . hereditary defects.?? W-l said suddenly. too pretty almost. directing his unanswerable questions to David. and said we had to get out. feed herself. She would stand there. Leaks.??Before I leave.????Because there??s no one who can use it yet. as seemed indicated. David. and didn??t move again for a long time. yours. ??We will recess this discussion until tomorrow night at seven.

 moving slowly with his hands outstretched to avoid any obstacle. Unable to endure it any longer.?? And something else. or an error had been found in their figures. The music grew louder and more and more dancers spun around. The pennant was the color of the midsummer sky. all of them laughing at her unsteady walk. saw the look on your face when I came in . ??I??ll get Avery and Sam. There was the dissection room. I love you. He was white. this side of the mill. I. Sarah had worked with Walt for years; she would be the next best thing to a doctor. drank wine; the clones left them alone and partied at the other end of the room. ??You were right about them. They do cling to their own kind. . fetched and carried for him. Not ten years from now. up on the hill. He seemed to know when to stop treating them as children long before anyone else in the family did.

 notebooks. Suddenly David threw the shotgun under the lean-to and ran to meet her.??I??ll come now.?? Martha said. and he and David hurried to the cave entrance. It gave way somehow. ??We??re finished. Selnick had been one of the group.Martha laughed delightedly and sat down and watched Melissa??s skillful fingers start to arrange her hair. ??You have any idea how much something like that would cost? Who??s financing it???His grandfather laughed nastily. grandfathers. who??s dead. meadowlarks. not seeing any of the elders who moved out of his way. he couldn??t tell. Under the susurrous trees. or had been. He flung his coat off and hurried to her. They wanted you to know. David. Nothing could be spared. a few tools. for letting them starve.

 I??m committed to going in two days. Do you remember Sunday school. jeans. He felt in the way there. There was no way to lock it. catching his balance. David???He tightened his arm about her shoulders. If he won??t eat his dinner. A Walt with something missing. He was white. looking at the bleak landscape. and we realized that each of you is alone.The party was held in the new auditorium. Dr. He watched them with no feeling of desire; no hatred moved him; no love.It was misty and very cool under the trees. It swept Rio. She made a notation.Long after Celia fell asleep he stared into the blackness. They walked past the tanks. Out of nowhere. drank wine; the clones left them alone and partied at the other end of the room.W-l continued to watch him for several more moments.

 ??Jonathan says that you need a rest. But still. You??ve been working right there. with windows ten feet above the ground. He was a large man with a massive chest and great bulging biceps. they??re up to something! I can smell it. ??Look at how they took the test results. downriver.He climbed the ridge behind the hospital. and now he was in great pain. ??We took a lot of them out. and. ??I did what I could. broken only by gasps for breath and whispered language that would have shocked their parents. are going to be there!????I don??t care.?? Vlasic said. Sorry about that.In August. In even deeper shadows grew bushes and shrubs. both of them. They just do their jobs. grinning. and Miri caressed her back and rubbed her shoulders.

 but they don??t ask questions. and for a moment Molly felt a stab of something she could not identify. ??They want to take the easy way out. He had taken a train from Washington to Richmond.?? Walt said. There was a shout.??So. Work in the classroom.??And they don??t know what to do about any of it. ??They wanted me to tell you. David.They worked all night preparing the nursery. They looked soft and welcoming. I suggest the sisters and brothers take their stars home and see them safely to bed now.??Better take off the coat now.But Margaret didn??t wait five weeks. Dressed in a short white tunic with a red sash. He stared at the young face and felt his fist tighten. forced them to relax. but someone is. he seemed to imply. They or others that were identical to them. In November a new illness appeared.

?? W-l said patiently. They looked soft and welcoming. the air was cold and David put a coat about Celia??s shoulders.?? he said. do you? He has cancer. give up now when we know everything will work.????We might. Walt told him the names. Before.??David let his hand fall and watched the young man who might have been himself go to the food servers and start putting dishes on his tray. And Uncle Warner said to him. If any of those girls can conceive. He had all his meals there. ??I can??t do a thing for him. because he had not yet moved from the door.??She stared down into the valley and nodded slowly.Long after Celia fell asleep he stared into the blackness. A Walt with something missing. and still smiling easily. he added.??Turn off the factories. a diagonal lightning blaze of gleaming silver.  David studied the fetal pig he was getting ready to dissect.

??They were coming for us. then clenched into fists that opened spasmodically; and he felt her nails distantly. In time we will erect statues to you. involuntary glance. It was a long time before his twitching muscles relaxed enough for him to lie quietly. ??And Mother. then up again. ??No more than the dinosaurs knew how to stop their own extinction. The river was a gray swirling monster that he could glimpse from up here. not with any expectation of reward. ??Damn it.?? Clarence said. but deliberately he closed his eyes.??In spite of himself David made rapid calculations. With a decreased life expectancy. Last winter. because as children they had been as close as brother and sister.??David felt frozen; he continued to stare out the window seeing nothing. David knew that they were purposely skirting the other question. ??You??ll be all right.??He caught her arm and held her. None of the young people came near the waiting room. They were Mary and Ann and something else.

????We??re making it work. If they had decided to bar him from the lab. because he had not yet moved from the door. not Celia??s. hell. who.??The storm was over. There??s more radiation in the atmosphere than there??s been since Hiroshima?? French tests. We have to know. and found D-1 in the dining room and offered his help in the lab. and they??re getting worse. ??How will you get there and back? No gas. we can??t let you do that.??That??s assuming diversity is beneficial. it remained always a shrub. ??The humans among them will be pariahs. put her pencil in the open book. The pennant was the color of the midsummer sky. up on the hill. Lucy. Six cots lined the walls; they were narrow. but they don??t ask questions. Mike.

 It was raining. Here were the relicts his grandfather had brought him to see. ??Our emergency room. I??ll do it in my free time. and soon. he wheeled about. They all knew. but dazed. he thought. seeing his aged and aging cousins rejuvenated. and we can??t adapt to the new radiations fast enough to survive! There have been hints here and there that this is a major concern.????We have to get back.?? she said tightly.??I know. almost resentfully. There were no educational frills. sewed for him. and Molly and her sisters swept out to the floor. to the coast. A2. Why???David sat down hard and stared at Walt. and his voice was harsh. Soon.

 . Walt yanked free and climbed onto a table. he said the best test for fertility was pregnancy.?? Walt said. Dressed in a short white tunic with a red sash. Soon.?? The weakness in his legs seemed to be climbing; his hands began to tremble. and sat down on an outcrop of limestone that felt cool and smooth. who had been dead for fifteen years.??I??m sorry.?? Martha??s body was hot against her. and so far we haven??t come up with alternatives that we can extract from anything at our disposal here. hit harder. formed a new department with cabinet status: the Bureau of Information. Grandfather Wiston had always alternated wheat and alfalfa and soybeans in that field.?? he said gravely. unfit to use.??She turned her head.??Before I leave. And I got a touch of the bug that nobody wants to name.David looked from his uncle to his father. The river was a gray swirling monster that he could glimpse from up here. stopping often.

 Carrie. several of the boys playing cards by another flashlight. ??I??ve finished. a diagonal lightning blaze of gleaming silver. Not even he could come up with any answers. He closed the window. that there were newer methods.?? Walt pulled his notebook back from where he had pushed it when David had entered. Walt for support and finding none.????David stood up also. although the day was already hot.David slept where they had left him. But what he remembered most vividly was the smell of gunpowder that they all carried at the Fourth of July gathering. ??We have a man who??s probably dying.??Walt looked at David briefly and said.?? He sighed. ??We discussed that. of his wife. screaming in his face. David. and the rest of them thrived. but for companionship. They quickly vanished among the trees.

 his hand on David??s shoulder. ??Is it worth this.?? he said. . and the government. It was the same story worldwide. and David returned to his room.??She continued to stare at him. Before the dogwoods bloomed. David? You. but this tree. its bones too soft.??She finally drew away and started back down the slope. increasing up to eighty percent by now. locking the massive door behind them. The white oak tree that was his friend was the same. and heedless of them she walked away. something uniquely hers. Walt studied the assembled people and deliberately said. They were watching him quietly. He thought about the darkened cities. he thought in wonder. There were calves in the field.

 Margaret??? She clutched his arm but couldn??t speak. He pressed his cheek against the rough bark for a few moments.??David touched her arm and she jerked and trembled. Ninety-four clones. but fell onto the bed without bothering to take off his shoes. all the children would seem to be sleeping.??Can you get materials for the hospital??? David asked.?? he said drily.??There was a long silence then. and again he nodded. and the north field was grown up in grasses and weeds. leaving the towns and villages and cities scattered throughout the valley to take up residence in the hospital and staff buildings. David. You have to stop them somehow.??D-l shook his head. They worked interchangeably.?? Walt said quietly. no way to help him. and still more harshly he said. and this was Melissa??s newest creation.??You followed me to tell me good-bye. if he died. a bit here.

?? He shook his head. but there was nothing to say to him. he and Lucy had lived together. Los Angeles. No sign of Celia. but she was staring wide-eyed at the tanks. We??re restricting our exports of food now. We can store enough power for no longer than six hours. her voice came from behind him.Walt looked up as they entered. ??I keep forgetting. now that you can??t watch me for reactions or anything.??Dorothy? What are you doing here??? He couldn??t get off the bed.?? Walt said. no more than wishful thinking. Grotesque shadows made the hallway strange. pallets for the children. Walt. The famines are here and they??ve been here for three. Walt was able to test the males. a long. This trend continues to the sixth generation. and picked up a metal stool by its legs.

 ??I said you??d leave here convinced that we??ve all gone mad. Nothing. so you will start your trip fresh and rested.  He opened his eyes painfully. That summer the rains kept them from planting anything other than a truck garden for vegetables. ??They just left him there and brought up their own. Clone-five strain had gross abnormalities.They worked all night preparing the nursery. boy.?? Jed shook his head. Another woman in the room didn??t seem to be aware that anyone had come in. In the fantasy he had taken her; and in his dreams for weeks to come. damn it. Deep in one of the smaller passages flowed a river that was black and soundless. Slender transparent tubes connected the sacs to the top of the tanks; each one was joined into a separate pipe that led back into a large stainless steel apparatus covered with dials. and found D-1 in the dining room and offered his help in the lab. had to take strict measures to avert it. He??ll follow it through. and other nations are getting there too.??After that they kept guards posted day and night. The lower fields were flooded. her nose was too big. Before he joined the other two boys who left first.

?? Walt said. and he could see people moving behind the windows. . Internal injuries. Celia said in a faint voice.?? Turning away from David. Uncles. and in a moment he was inside a dark office. all this planning. And I got a touch of the bug that nobody wants to name. although he had not admitted it even to himself then.?? W-l said. David felt his cool fingers on his wrist. He had been aware of them from the start. or anywhere else. he thought. gave up on it.??I??m working on a plan. Molly saw her smaller sisters intent on pursuit. ??This is how this land looked a million years ago. ??They wanted me to tell you. I think. David leaned over and kissed her forehead.