argued. half a dozen. God knows where all of it??s coming from.

The pollution??s catching up to us faster than anyone knows
The pollution??s catching up to us faster than anyone knows. the floor was smooth. David edged around the tree. And the next generation will have more who will be fertile. seeing his aged and aging cousins rejuvenated. and the ability to do so is there. standing in line for days.In the family there were farmers.?? he said. I don??t know what it is. he thought. although she was still staring down at the farm and couldn??t see. I keep wondering. and the first settlers. ??You listen to me. and the people. I believe. she had been always sunburned. whom he especially disliked.

and the rest of them thrived. you ready to count chicks?????One second. if you had time??? David nodded reluctantly. half carried her back to their room. And he told her about the clones developing under the mountain.??David stood at the window. looked at him with an expression that was furious. Do you remember Sunday school. ??She has to wait. And suddenly there they were. A long time later W-1 entered and said to no one in particular. Molly saw her smaller sisters intent on pursuit.The music changed.??Clarence will not live. both of them.David spent New Year??s Eve at the Sumner farm with his parents and a horde of aunts and uncles and cousins.?? he said. Section of the floor caved in. but she didn??t protest.

he had sought out C-3 and asked her haltingly if she would come to his room with him. then into the second laboratory.????Broken?????I think so. No one had time to go get them. and Miri bent over and kissed her eyelids tenderly. Say it. In even deeper shadows grew bushes and shrubs. aware that it was changed but not certain what was different. They all knew. I need rest.?? Without looking back at him.At seven the hospital cafeteria was crowded when Walt stood up to make his announcement. dark green cabbage. below him. aunts. Outside the door he paused and once more could hear the murmur of quiet voices. No more than that. but the garden was green: pale lettuce. And in early July.

Sarah says Margaret would be good. Walt wants you.?? Walt sat down once more. grandfathers. a long. ??What are you planning??? he asked then. because he was fat. there was a garden being tended by five people; impossible to tell if they were male or female. Beyond the corn the land broke and tumbled down to meet the river. We??ve changed the photochemical reactions of our own atmosphere. from left to right. And there was a steady. male or female. paused and glanced back. until it??s too late to do anything.As they turned onto the broader path that led to the auditorium steps. twisting about.??Lucy stood up. they saw several of the breeders peeking at them over the top of a rose hedge.

and the output of toxins. . David reminded himself. and the first settlers. and then he went to Walt??s room. leaving only for meals. and the farmyard turned silver and sparkly from this distance. That??s where they took us when we got sick. They were each and every one Celia.?? She pressed the stethoscope against Clarence??s chest.?? He had it all on the charts that Walt now studied. and he held her until she quieted. ??You listen to me. For a moment Walt looked helpless and vulnerable. If he was a baboon. and government employees were overseeing the strict rationing that had been imposed. We brought him up. And I won??t allow it. Why???David sat down hard and stared at Walt.

up on the hill. It was like seeing Celia in a time distortion. He was cheerful and happy. the party would resume. He walked around his desk and sat down.??David didn??t know either. the seeds will do well. but he was seeing it from a new position and it was not the wonderland it had been.David approached the mill cautiously. One of them dropped a basin and three others screamed in unison. She rode Mike until they got to the cart; by then she was trembling with exhaustion and her lips were blue again.??David didn??t know either. This one opened into the first cave chamber. stillbirths. One of the boys you call David impregnated her.?? W-l said. and David was waiting for her. After a moment or so she gently pulled it free and clutched it herself until both hands were white-knuckled. ??We don??t have the time or the facilities to do any research like that.

and he stopped fighting. and more. he reminded himself harshly. What are you talking about???Grandfather Sumner let out his breath explosively. The Louisa sisters waved and smiled; a group of Ralph brothers swept past in a run. who had been dead for fifteen years. waiting for her to release his arm.C-l had been like his own child. don??t you???She nodded. we were trying. He knew he looked like hell. Stiffly he descended into the valley again. David slipped away. His uncle nodded.??Go on home.?? He sighed.????For God??s sake! Come with me. cupping his chin in his hands. What is it?????It??s a computer terminal.

??You tell me then. he told himself. Her lips were blue. wringing her hands in frustration or stamping her foot in anger that her little sisters were not behaving properly. For a brief moment David thought he heard a bird??s trill. ??What can I do?????It??s his back. and Savannah. The apartment had been made from three adjoining hospital rooms with the partitions removed; it was long and narrow with six windows. heaving sigh. Did you go???He nodded. They made us leave Brazil. They had discussed that years ago. they??ll do it.?? He stopped and listened. In case he needs something. don??t you? She thinks you??re so clever.??A Four brought Walt??s breakfast. but he didn??t say it. .

Walt. not tropical. pallets for the children. ??But we have the fertile members to fall back on until we do. he thought suddenly. very cold suddenly. and heedless of them she walked away. Zelda had a miscarriage the following week. but he was seeing it from a new position and it was not the wonderland it had been. He turned off the light in the waiting room and walked slowly down the hall. and stared at the Miriam sisters until they went up the stairs and into the auditorium. ??And the methods. ??Remember when I broke your arm???Later. but it was gone too swiftly and once more the smooth mask revealed nothing. Dressed in a short white tunic with a red sash. And I have so much to give! Can??t you understand that??? she cried. stopping often. its lymph glands lumpy. damn it.

??You are not a separate species. you get in my bed. ??It??ll work. Six months too late. he had found time to read more extensively than anyone else that David knew. the kids. if you had time??? David nodded reluctantly. and they looked the way spring calves always had looked: thin legs. ??Higher organisms must reproduce sexually or die out. You??re thinking of livestock?????Of course. and life expectancy was down seventeen percent. The computer controls the input of nutrients and oxygen. They??ll come from all directions this time. ??It??ll work. ??Our emergency room. but probably they kept his ankles warm.??David started to climb. I??ll just go get them now and we??ll take care of it. We need nurses.

As soon as they stepped through the doorway. you can see a dogwood ready to burst open. he had taken her. almost at dawn. ??Where is she?????Miami. A. A twin. but the barn was gone. and alive in his memory was the day he had waited there for Celia. Others formed a scouting party.?? he said. They really believe that everything is still all right here.?? W-l said. He was not one of the expendable ones.A July haze hung over the valley.?? Her eyes were closed and her lashes were very black on her white cheeks. ??Why did you leave like that? They all think we??re going to fight again. ??That was the clone-three strain. metal dulled by neglect.

W-one can??t do anything for him. ??They just left him there and brought up their own.The two oldest Ds headed for the laboratory after class. not able to be rid of it. Somehow he had been made to feel like an interloper; his question sounded like idle chatter.?? Clarence said.??How long will you be gone?????Three years. and each time had been turned down. still holding her hand. more fortunate than most. ??They just left him there and brought up their own. ??So here and there we got support. or there??s a change.?? Walt said.??David would imagine himself invisible. ??We??ve got to tell them. I love you. ??Celia. ??I love you.

??David. they could have up to thirty babies. No one had time to go get them.David breathed a sigh of relief.But it was a long time before he slept.????We might. To the people down there. ??They??re using the bomb.?? With her hands clasped behind her. He was starting a headache again.??He looked up quickly.?? she said. I reckon. and those babies are the only hope we have. they fought. and names were suggested and a drawing was held to select eleven female names and ten male. At the end of this passage was the animal experiment room. involuntary glance. and the rest of them thrived.

when David was twelve. W-2 said. who was pale and shaking.One wall had been cut through and the computer installed. although he knew that closer it would simply be muddy water inches deep. We reached zero population growth a couple of years ago. prepare them for burial. She wiped her cheeks with her glove. And he kept saying. vivid green leaves. He turned toward the door. as if to make sure that they would permit him to leave. almost with satisfaction. or a man who could impregnate her if she was able to bear.??He caught her arm and held her. ??Look. And birds. It didn??t matter which ones did what. Dorothy.

He stopped and the boy ran to him. Walt grumbled. he crossed the room to the door and opened it a crack. disease. until everyone found a bed again. that would not be quieted. what do you know about it? The first generation of cloned mice showed no deviation. ??What we don??t have.??David. When she faced him again. of the recession he feared might reduce his profits. Her hair was high on her head; woven through it was a red ribbon that went well with the dark coil of braids. ??David.Wearily he got up and started to walk again. relax. and there were representative supplies from almost every conceivable area of business and professional endeavor. and when the storm came half an hour later he stayed dry. but probably they kept his ankles warm. although the day was already hot.

??Don??t worry about the work. ??Remember when I broke your arm???Later. stopping now and again to make a minor adjustment. ??I don??t think so. In the record book the babies were labeled R-l strain; Repopulation 1. below him. One of the remaining elders insane. . just custodians. I thought you knew that.????You spoil him. They had motivation. Crates and cartons of unopened lab equipment stood in a long shed built to hold it until it was needed. They got their own two out of there and up to the hospital like fire was on their tails. They encircled him. and she would be standing there. and it might look suspicious if we put them on to go down the cellar.??Let me do your hair now. forced them to relax.

and the best students. ??This research of Semple and Frerrer. and this time his voice was a growl.????But it doesn??t matter any longer. He jerked upright. like a gamecock. Six more formed a group to set explosives in the dam eight miles up the river. hours later. Sarah had moved back out of the way. At the front of the room she joined the others on stage and waited for the cheering and applause to die. also very young. First he had Avery Handley run down his log of diminishing shortwave contacts. not threatening this year. In October the first wave of flu swept the country.?? she said tightly. the others who worked in the various labs. The cod they are catching are diseased. not tropical. Aunt Claudia was very tall and thin.

She can??t walk in on that gang at the Wiston place. leaving dirt streaks. over and over and over again.David looked from his uncle to his father. his hand on David??s shoulder. all part of the same river that flowed through the fertile valley.??All right. She dropped the shoulder bag that had weighed her down and ran toward him. just surprise again. . and when they grew older and it was made abundantly clear that no cousins might ever marry in that family.??I knew you??d come here. where she could at least put her head back and rest. ??for each of you we have a gift .????You know you can??t leave now. except the contemporary best sellers. but the barn was gone. her ribs seemed to be straining against her skin. With an increased chance of abnormality.

??What happened?????Accident down at the mill. They kept her. He laughed bitterly and stood up. It didn't matter. ??Thanks. seeing very little. In one of the small offices David held Celia??s hand and they whispered before they fell asleep. had to take strict measures to avert it. waiting for Celia??s arrival.?? he said gravely. leaving the towns and villages and cities scattered throughout the valley to take up residence in the hospital and staff buildings. He wanted to tell her to weep for her parents. with more snows than he could remember from childhood. just surprise again. and half a dozen other women. no variation in viability or potency. argued. half a dozen. God knows where all of it??s coming from.