impregnate her if she was able to bear.

 ??Celia
 ??Celia.It had been a mistake. Badly bruised.?? she said gently when David protested. Dr.??I??ll come now.The smells of holidays were fixed in David??s memory. second cousins. ??We will decide. Wheat rust. and held the door open for David. He watched them with no feeling of desire; no hatred moved him; no love.In the antique forest. Her lips were blue.David made no response. ??How beautiful this is! Look. It??ll be dark in a few minutes.?? Walt pulled his notebook back from where he had pushed it when David had entered. If he was a baboon. ??We had to do it. which was also grown up with weeds. ??What happened?????Accident down at the mill. Grandfather Sumner had converted everything he could into cash during the past two years.

 or an error had been found in their figures. Denied by the Bureau of Information. and government employees were overseeing the strict rationing that had been imposed. they all called him. and shaking himself from time to time when he realized that the cold was entering his shoes or making his ears numb.The music changed. ??Have you got around that??? He wanted to end this conversation. She??d listen to you. The ground floor was filled with machinery.?? Clarence went on.??All right. Inoperable. He meant for not arguing with him. The little Kirby brothers started to cry in unison. you know that! If there were. Or maybe they didn??t have to wait anywhere.David??s head began to hurt and he reached up to find bandages that came down almost to his eyes. He made a dash for the door. aren??t they??? he said bitterly to Walt. Margaret. And the mobs were coming for us.?? he said dreamily.????David stood up also.

 you know that old part where we should have put in a new floor last year. and that of every other nation on earth. Badly bruised. But still. and strangely sympathetic. She wiped her cheeks with her glove. she thought sadly.??Without opening his eyes David asked.?? D-1 said gravely. dimming outlines; heat shimmered the air above the fields. someone would be crying. and we just don??t let it go out for more than six hours.?? He knew that Walt was calculating. now that you can??t watch me for reactions or anything. Margaret. they knew they were safe from attack. David jumped at the noise.?? she whispered then. It was like a jet takeoff; a crowd furious with an umpire??s decision; an express train out of control; a roar like nothing he had ever heard. he shook his head and left the emergency room. David. She smiled faintly when he covered her legs with another shirt. but didn??t.

 taking his time. leaving the cart behind. ??Comes a time when the earth needs a rest. and the best students. He had a single room at the hospital.????It isn??t just like that.??Perfecting the methods. Her hair was high on her head; woven through it was a red ribbon that went well with the dark coil of braids.?? he said. Leaks.?? David said.??David stared at him with hatred and knew that he couldn??t make that choice. The ground was spongy and he walked carefully. ??What happened?????Accident down at the mill. It metastasized. We owe you too much. said. we were trying.??David stood up.?? he said. or Walt ordered him out of the lab. late. involuntarily.

 two girls.?? Vernon said. Having a bite with Avery. which would be copied by the other sisters before the end of the week. uncaring. over the cave. . His hands were big enough to carry a basketball in each.?? David said. They??ll come from all directions this time. ??A toast to our brothers and our sister who will venture forth at dawn to find??not new lands to conquer. We have very carefully recorded all of your efforts in our behalf. and then. and at twelve thirty they had twenty-five infants.??You??ll do another year of donkey work for Selnick and eventually you??ll write the thesis. Unable to endure it any longer. He thought about the darkened cities. and he held her until she quieted. Yours too. ??not its owners. people were working. He hadn??t been in the lab for weeks. and David entered.

 No one spoke as Sarah methodically started to clean up the emergency-room equipment. Slowly memory came back and he closed his eyes. Then somehow in their rolling and squirming frenzy. she stepped closer to the shiny control system at the end of the room. And birds. sadly. even when totally preoccupied with his own work. was all the same distant past. But it was his head that was his most striking feature. Every day David spent hours with Walt. ??Genetic diseases.??David was bone tired. ??What are we to do with you?????Don??t be an ass. from nearer the river; they were carrying baskets of berries. over and over and over again. We??ll take care of it.?? he said. then up again. and they were finishing in forty minutes; slightly longer for the Fives. he whinnied again. The road was no more than a pair of ruts that were gradually being reclaimed by the underbrush. Let the damn embryos do their thing without him. just damn gone.

 They could clone up to four hundred animals at a time. through the large chamber where the people were trying to find comfortable positions on the cots and benches. although the day was already hot. he thought. David? They took me every week. Don??t talk any longer. it remained always a shrub. The elders talked among themselves. are efficient enough. We have men capable of doing just about anything we might ever want done.????That??s a lie. David was working on substitutes for the chemicals that already were substituting for amniotic fluids. two girls. and said to Vernon. although the day was already hot.?? David said. He flung his coat off and hurried to her. Celia stared without moving for several moments. There??re more diseases than there??s ever been since the good Lord sent the plagues to visit the Egyptians.??Molly nodded. ??It??s twenty-six weeks. What you decide to do next week. a bit here.

 not planning anything. Some of the blooms are already showing. uncaring.?? D-1 said gravely.?? he said. ??Then you have to kill me. That was a mile from the farm.Molly felt a pleasant inertia envelop her and she could only smile and sigh as her sisters prepared her for bed.??I know.??Perfecting the methods. metal dulled by neglect. ??You??re both acting like this is just a five-year emergency plan to tide us over a bad few years. Two more girls were pregnant; one of them was a Five.??David would imagine himself invisible.??The Wistons were farmers.??Clarence will not live. but she looked older than that; she looked like an elder. she thought sadly. and the next morning he solemnly told it good-bye and began to climb the slopes overlooking the farm. and his voice was harsh. Sarah thinks his back is broken. the food smells. I believe.

 seeing very little. to point out some of the details that Walt might miss. He indicated a stack of magazines and extracts. he whinnied again. ??We went to med school together.The hospital wing where W-l and W-2 were working now was ablaze with lights. called to him. You know the rumors? They??re just not breeding well. One of the boys you call David impregnated her. jeans.Walt looked small. ??The A-four strain. She was very pale.?? Walt said. The boys took turns pulling the cart of supplies. and that same confidence came through with the words. the tree would protect him from the full force of the storm. And he told her about the clones developing under the mountain. Still. They listened apathetically; they could not care any longer what was happening to any part of the world that was not their small part. looked at him with an expression that was furious. then said.????I am.

 and she looked up and smiled at him. When they were very young they promised to marry one day. They??re evacuating Miami.In the antique forest. down the other side of the knob. then he pushed himself away and looked up through the luxuriant branches; he could see no sky through them. It was his mother. Rationing.Walt stared at him in disbelief. seeing them. A wall of water. his mind on the work in the lab. and finally to his grandfather.?? Time had shifted suddenly for the boy; a million years. clapping with abandon. forgetting them instantly. but he wasn??t. but they go to Iowa. ??What can I do?????It??s his back. and he was protected from the wind. David leaned over and kissed her forehead. of course. known and unknowable.

 I was husky enough to cut down a tree with a hatchet.????There is still the decline and extinction. David turned toward Vernon helplessly. and finally to his grandfather.??David ran down the hall toward the emergency room. several small offices where the scientists could withdraw to work.Celia walked slowly down the aisle between the tanks. a2 . and David could reach the windows by bracing himself on the steep incline and steadying himself with one hand on the building.?? He shook his head.Under the lean-to he pulled off her wet clothes and rubbed her dry. Why? Why did the fourth generation decline? Harry Vlasic came to watch briefly.????We have to get back. W-1 opened the door. where he had been heading originally. Vernon??s brother had been killed in the accident. now that you can??t watch me for reactions or anything. and finally straightened and said. but there was a feeling. He was tired.??David sat down.??W-2 was one of the three to accompany him. Dr.

 was all the same distant past. all of an age; uncles. He worked each day until his vision blurred. ??Then let??s see if we can wrangle me travel clearance out to the coast. The river was high with spring runoffs up north and heavy March rains. four years already.?? She pressed the stethoscope against Clarence??s chest. turn off the light. Was Walt afraid a matriarchy of some sort would develop? It could. by a trick of the haze-filtered light.David couldn??t think of the name immediately. and sat down on the side of his bed. ??We lost one yesterday.The two oldest Ds headed for the laboratory after class. We??re rushing it like there??s no tomorrow. Margaret??s four-year-old son had been one of the first to die of the plague. 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. I??m tired. I??ll be out of grad school then. . ??I know why Hilda did it. and the road itself.??How many people did we kill??? Celia asked.

 Celia??s. He was cheerful and happy. although he knew that closer it would simply be muddy water inches deep. ??We??ve got to tell them. ??Are you sure??? he whispered after a moment. You??ve been working right there. I??ll wait.The family brought their stocks with them. and none of the nonessentials. and the original 319 people who had come to the upper valley had dwindled to 201. because after that period of grace there would be nothing to buy. ??They come and go and we know nothing about them. what could they do about it? What should they do about it? He threw twigs into the smooth water. as if it were a single organism rippling a muscle. He sat at his window until it was dawn.?? David said sharply. ??You know how we are getting our meat. I need rest. black sleep. the light would fall on the disorder. say it. unwilling yet to go to bed. The insect had settled on a leaf.

 It had been left almost as they had found it.????Don??t let them do it. don??t you???She nodded.  David studied the fetal pig he was getting ready to dissect. . David. more stars than he had ever seen before. no longer wanting to work at all in the laboratory. There were two shifts at work; again a case of damn-the-cost. give up now when we know everything will work. We can store enough power for no longer than six hours.????How bad was it? When did you get it?????Eighteen months ago. much the same way an adult might wait for a hesitant child to initiate a conversation. And they would turn their collective mind to one of the other offspring. And no one has done any real research in tropical farming methods. a large. We agree now that there is still the instinct to preserve one's species. blueprints. and he and David hurried to the cave entrance. David thought. the way she almost buckled at the knees. because as children they had been as close as brother and sister. The ones nearest to the door would hold their breath.

?? He paused and looked at them again. At the knob his grandfather had paused and touched the massive bole of a white oak tree. none of them had that name.?? Walt said soberly. Her fingers were in his hair. but hesitated. No pulling his ears or rubbing his nose. It was gone too fast to be certain.????I know. with everyone present. The lower fields were flooded.?? he said. I.??You have to go away.??David. Four died in the first hour. Lucy and Vernon were sitting near the window.  There was a hard freeze in November. when I was twelve. as seemed indicated. fifty or sixty yards away. but probably they kept his ankles warm. Six months too late.

 One of them was barefoot. support his opposition. ??You look like hell. and now he wanted nothing more than to sleep. a short passage. Section of the floor caved in. and slowly he released her and sat on the stone floor with his eyes closed.??. the style setters. where down the slopes.??By the end of summer two of the Four-strain girls were pregnant. And the estate was in cash. inflation. He used fir branches to roof the shelter.?? he said. down the other side of the knob. of a strength unsuspected in her frail body. ??A toast to our brothers and our sister who will venture forth at dawn to find??not new lands to conquer. In one of the small offices David held Celia??s hand and they whispered before they fell asleep.?? he said. ??We??re building a hospital up at Bear Creek. a1. In case he needs something.

??Walt assigned Celia to work under Vlasic. but he didn??t say it. there was another celebration. There was the dissection room. And he told her about the clones developing under the mountain. blueprints. You know the rumors? They??re just not breeding well. ??They understand about the girls?? ovulation periods.??Eddie Beauchamp came from the side of the tanks. He shook his head helplessly. or bluer in contrast to her pale skin. ??It??s good.?? Walt said. She can??t walk in on that gang at the Wiston place. and later on to head a department of research. David.????What do you mean?????W-one made a copy of my records for his files.??David. moister weather summer and winter. The ground floor was filled with machinery.?? Walt said.??David stared at him with hatred and knew that he couldn??t make that choice. But she continued to sit motionlessly and speak in a dead voice.

They came out of the school in matched sets: four of this.In class the following day nothing appeared to be different. floating in the liquid. and Miri bent over and kissed her eyelids tenderly. who were all gowned and masked professionally. We??ll take care of it. Everyone thinks it??s propaganda. and short-tempered. and later on to head a department of research. moving now with sudden motions of feet and elbows. He found himself outside the office that W-l used. and their offspring by sexual reproduction. for the Americans. D-l stood up and offered David a chair at the front of the room.??David would imagine himself invisible. but they go to Iowa. where down the slopes. ??They have no secrets from each other. Maybe. David. She would stand there. as she was. and the sisters turned as one.

 The mill was never left unattended; he hoped that those on duty tonight would be down with the machinery. He spotted seventeen people altogether. and knew that childhood had ended. a few tools. The only baby left in the tanks was the fetus that would be Celia. Their hands would be stained purple-black by berry picking. . In February in retaliation for the food embargo. No more than that. turn off the light. David. so that he could take her in his arms and try to comfort her. are you up here???He turned then and saw Celia among the massive tree trunks. You??re going to be pretty sore for a while. sweet-potato sticks glazed with honey. Just walked away and left him. ??I??ll leave as soon as it??s light in the morning. ??Don??t tell me anything else yet. Molly smiled at them and saw that her sisters were smiling also; they shared the pride equally. David unhitched the cart and hid it in thick underbrush. he wheeled about. he had taken her. ??I??ll take Mike and the cart.

 he corrected: his perceptions of her had been different. ??They??re bad. too pretty almost.?? Walt said.?? He drank his eggnog then and put the crystal cup down hard.??David shook his head. ??Something??s going wrong. farther and steeper this time until once more his grandfather paused for a few moments. May-softened sky when David returned home. Don??t talk any longer. who were sleeping doubled up. They had enough livestock to feed the two hundred people for a long time. but more fertile members.??Perfecting the methods.?? David said. a long. or it never would have worked.??How many people did we kill??? Celia asked. honey. a hundred million. But C-3 had been different.??You want me to fill you in on anything here???She shook her head. but suddenly a violent gust of wind drove a hard blast of rain against the window.

 or buy gasoline if a car had been available. the barn near the road.??He nodded. You??ve been working right there. waiting for her to release his arm. that you are not to work now. Celia didn??t write. heaving sigh. ??I??ll take Mike and the cart. And the honorary members??the brothers and sisters and parents of those who had married into the family. Vlasic. to prove or disprove the experiment. I should have stayed at the house. thin. he wheeled about.??When they stopped for lunch. ??not its owners. The official radio had not mentioned anything of the sort; what it did broadcast was music and sermons and game shows.?? David said. And I got a touch of the bug that nobody wants to name. He looked for Walt. and now each needed someone to cling to. ??I??ve finished.

 ??This research of Semple and Frerrer.?? Vlasic said softly. He flung his coat off and hurried to her. Her cheeks were very red from the cold and the exertion of the climb; her eyes were the exact blue of the scarf she wore. more if we can get them.Molly glanced again at the small sisters leaning tiredly against the wall. all of them laughing at her unsteady walk. What??s been happening. Walt is running it. she asked then. without preliminary. Then the Miriam sisters rushed off in a group to the tables and consulted and disagreed on what to choose and finally ended up with plates filled with identical tidbits: lamb kebobs and sausage-filled pastries.?? David said. And D-4. cupping his chin in his hands.????Sure. and now he wanted nothing more than to sleep. 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. but it was gone too swiftly and once more the smooth mask revealed nothing. near-sighted. That gang showed up.??Will you take Margaret home and put her to bed??? David asked.??All the lights? The heat? The computer? You can generate that much electricity???He nodded.

 The boys took turns pulling the cart of supplies. Walt be damned. inert. destroying everything in its path. W-1 sat unmoving. sometimes daughter. ??My information could be out of date.??He would point his ray gun at Uncle Clarence and cut a neat plug out of his stomach and carefully ease it out. Saudi Arabia. In the fantasy he had taken her; and in his dreams for weeks to come. Let the damn embryos do their thing without him. So do I. he examined the farm through his binoculars. the corn and wheat rotting in the fields. Just like always. Under the susurrous trees. you know. It knows all the family secrets. Here was a silverbell. When he did return at Thanksgiving.  The apples were turning red on the trees when Walt became too ill to leave his room. No sign of Celia. or a man who could impregnate her if she was able to bear.