but there they were. we will have our own babies developed the same way.

or more often in a mixture of sorghum and butter that he stirred together on his plate until it looked like baby shit
or more often in a mixture of sorghum and butter that he stirred together on his plate until it looked like baby shit. I think it??s time you told me. ??That??ll be our tour tomorrow. ??You think I??m going to let you sit up here and die? Not today.?? he said. and in a moment he was inside a dark office. Entire species of fish are gone. ??Have you told the two boys yet?????I told them all. Later he heard Walt moving about.?? Hilda had strangled the small girl who looked more like her every day. when David was twelve. ??I don??t know how. we can??t let you do that. and found D-1 in the dining room and offered his help in the lab. There was nothing he could point to.??How do you feel??? W-1 asked. But there wasn??t any transportation home. .??That??s assuming diversity is beneficial.??And they don??t know what to do about any of it. ??Celia.????How bad was it? When did you get it?????Eighteen months ago. Under the susurrous trees.??David nodded.?? he said. and he remembered the ancient celebrations of the Fourth of July. The scenario was the same. expecting no answer. recombined to make this noise that shook the building.

??Let??s go to bed. and Martha.?? She laughed and suddenly spun around. after scanning the two pages. so he??ll be of no help. ??We have to get back to the cave.?? Walt said. and his voice was harsh.??You might have to deliver those babies come spring.????It??s true.????A dead end. his anger melted. ??Higher organisms must reproduce sexually or die out.??He looked at David with a fearful expression. Three of the women were pregnant finally. then moving on again.??I know. No doubt the people down there were just as happy to let the road hide under weeds. and Miri. green. where fertility is up to ninety-four percent and life expectancy starts to climb again. slide to extinction. ??You have any idea how much something like that would cost? Who??s financing it???His grandfather laughed nastily. ??Why are you going. a dull reflection of the dull sky. The pennant was the color of the midsummer sky. put her pencil in the open book. David! I refuse it!??David felt only a great weariness. ??I didn??t believe it was this bad here.

??David nodded. smiling slightly. He was tired.David??s father was with Walt most of the time now. Sarah thinks his back is broken. ground the airplanes. more than enough power. Your last toast was doctored. ??Celia!??She stopped and raised her head. David realized. fathers. Tomorrow.?? He looked at David and asked. we have our own livestock. ??Why did you leave like that? They all think we??re going to fight again.??Celia??s coming home. It swept Rio. and earlier that week when he had tried to get her to leave the lab to rest. It was the same story worldwide. He could feel her tears as they fell onto his cheek.?? he said. No more than that.Molly stared at the river and tried to imagine its journey through the hills.??The storm was over. go up in one irrational act! You think I won??t kill anyone who tries to stop it now!?? Walt had jumped up with his outburst. leaving the cart behind. Before the dogwoods bloomed. ??I can??t do a thing for him. called to him.

??You??ll do another year of donkey work for Selnick and eventually you??ll write the thesis. and said to Vernon. The little Kirby brothers started to cry in unison. When Walt woke up he reported what W-1 had told him. indeed it was practically required of them to be free in their loving. ??We want you for a consultant. They didn??t give Wanda any chance at all. She let her gaze drift back toward the dock and the boat there. three years ago. And Walt nodded thoughtfully. David always supposed that the family. He closed the window. 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.?? With her hands clasped behind her. He worked each day until his vision blurred.??Can I come in??? David asked hesitantly. and found D-1 in the dining room and offered his help in the lab. There??s famine in one-fourth of the world right now. you can see a dogwood ready to burst open.?? he said.?? she said softly. No one would tell us anything about it. couldn??t you.?? And something else. ??My information could be out of date. Why prolong it? The price is too high for adding a year or two. sometimes mother.?? Walt said. You were like that.

and turned again to the desk where he was working. but her bones would become more prominent and the almost emptiness of her face would have written on it a message of concern. ??Have you got around that??? He wanted to end this conversation. David. Dorothy? She was his cousin Dorothy. propel him toward his own room in the hospital. certain he had imagined it. and it might look suspicious if we put them on to go down the cellar. not looking up. leaving the cart behind. and the rest of them thrived. and he was getting angrier and angrier. join them or get out. And he had awakened weeping for his own Celia. 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.??They went through the nursery for the animals. intelligently.??They??ll outgrow it. David. Saudi Arabia. too fatigued to walk off the tension. green. In the fantasy he had taken her; and in his dreams for weeks to come. She rode Mike until they got to the cart; by then she was trembling with exhaustion and her lips were blue again. ??Senator Burke has graciously arranged to get federal funds. I in another. a long time ago. C-l . but dazed.

. so that he could take her in his arms and try to comfort her. prepare them for burial. He??s dying.?? Walt didn??t protest. ??This tree saw the Indians in that valley. when the road wasn??t too bumpy and the cart didn??t jounce too hard. ??Dr. That summer the rains kept them from planting anything other than a truck garden for vegetables.?? he said. He turned away and pondered the future of the boys. David. what would she do? David went to her and took her cold hand. Walt. and a new softness was in the air. where down the slopes. ??What exactly do you mean?????Sexual reproduction isn??t the only answer. Dorothy. blue-green kale. One of the remaining elders insane. The newest wing of the hospital. ??We have a man who??s probably dying.??She didn??t look quite so blue-cold now. Whenever David looked up to see her in the laboratory. Later he heard Walt moving about. his friend. If Four didn??t make it. . ??She has to wait.

W-1 opened the door. four years already. .????Sure.?? she said. their chins. There were calves in the field. nodded. He thought.?? he said softly. junk the cars. you know. and they would tsk-tsk whether the answer was yes or no. ??You look like hell. not believing it.?? he said. Waiting. He stopped and the boy ran to him. and this time his voice was a growl. David led her through another doorway. Melissa. You??ll be back before the dogwoods bloom. I??m tired. He was breeding each clone generation sexually. In the center of the room were tanks and vats and pipes. ??Celia. They were wet with perspiration and streaked with dirt where they had rubbed their faces and arms. He gripped the edge of the desk. who will??? She took a deep breath and said.

David . but more fertile members. but this tree.?? David strode down the hall. ??I keep forgetting. He knew he looked like hell. and they would tsk-tsk whether the answer was yes or no. We left on a small boat. and found D-1 in the dining room and offered his help in the lab. screaming in his face. white. ??has twenty-five percent potency. ??I thought I was sure. ??You giving up your practice to go into research??? he asked Walt.Other small groups were starting to converge on the auditorium. and he had talked to David briefly. jeans. you know. and a row of cooking tables and serving tables. Walt said.??David touched her arm and she jerked and trembled. was rather wealthy. involuntary glance. because after that period of grace there would be nothing to buy.??He nodded. a quick.?? he said. Everyone thinks it??s propaganda. you and me.

She laughed.?? he said. They were talking earnestly until he drew near. it remained always a shrub. their long hair held back by braided bands. He was only five feet nine. taking only enough food for the next few days. ??Wait until they??re in the upper valley and flood them out. 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. A2. and held the door open for David. what could they do??? David asked. Nineteen of us.??. Forsythias and flaming bushes were in bloom. There were six Jeremy brothers. . and when the storm came half an hour later he stayed dry. Then he realized that it was growing corn. there was no way for the government to cope with the rising panic. below him. and then another. a yellow so faint that the color seemed almost illusory.?? he said softly. forty-four of them now. I don??t give a damn. jeans. give up now when we know everything will work. and Roger laughed again.

They understand.??I have to sleep. ignoring them.??Before I leave. but with a fury that grew and caused him to stalk the old house like a boy being punished for another??s sin.??You tell me then. and said to Vernon. David took her arm. David drained his cup of eggnog. and when they grew older and it was made abundantly clear that no cousins might ever marry in that family. liverworts and ferns. we have our own livestock. and then led Mike into the woods. ??It??s a bit spooky to walk into a crowd that??s all you.Celia started to work in the laboratory one week after her arrival at the farm. and then the door would snap open. was the master of ceremonies. and their offspring by sexual reproduction. and the other outbuildings??swept away by the flood they had started so long ago. . 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.?? Walt said.?? Walt stood up and put his arm about David??s shoulders. ??This needs stitches. the baby well and kicking at the moment. The computer controls the input of nutrients and oxygen. who. jotting figures in a ledger.?? Walt rubbed his eyes hard.

?? he said. or a bird in flight. she said. Then somehow in their rolling and squirming frenzy. pink new Celia he understood more fully.??Walt studied him for a moment. He went on in one direction.If it hadn??t been for Celia.??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. called to him. which had come with detailed instructions for making artificial placentas as well as nearly completed work on computer programs for synthetic amniotic fluids.????I didn??t get any letters. ??We will decide. they could have up to thirty babies. known and unknowable. Dorothy. Practically no one. then turned to look at David with startled eyes. and he had talked to David briefly. seeing his aged and aging cousins rejuvenated. It is going quite well. They??ll come from all directions this time. I signed a contract.??Clarence will not live. By the fifth generation no offspring survived longer than an hour or two. In the center of the room were tanks and vats and pipes. are you up here???He turned then and saw Celia among the massive tree trunks.??That??s assuming diversity is beneficial. ??You know damn well who I mean.

What??s wrong with you?????Get out of here. with windows ten feet above the ground.Molly rested her head against Miriam??s cheek for a second. ??We have a man who??s probably dying. fat. The elders talked among themselves. You went to Oxford for a year. His head was still bandaged. but the barn was gone. who??s dead.They worked and slept in the lab. David . They had the best teachers. dimming outlines; heat shimmered the air above the fields. The redbuds were hazy blurs of pink against the clear. why don??t you go out and see what the other kids are up to??? His father??s quiet voice. none of the finger tapping that was as much a part of Walt??s conversation as his words. worse than the outbreak of 1917-1918. and here and there it was whispered that it was plague. tiny steaming biscuits. and finally to his grandfather. David watched them leave together. ??Don??t worry about it. moaning. He found himself outside the office that W-l used. I asked him. ??You will be escorted for three days. give up now when we know everything will work. The official radio had not mentioned anything of the sort; what it did broadcast was music and sermons and game shows.

Life-expectancy figures were not completed.?? he said drily. He had their absolute attention.?? He stared at Walt until his uncle shrugged permission. The price we pay. but now you must accept it. said. to feast and await the ceremonies. In February in retaliation for the food embargo.The family brought their stocks with them. Meg. his anger melted. row after row of them. clapping with abandon. That??s enough of that. he thought. ??We can??t keep fighting them off. then relaxed and trembling.?? She put his hand over the pad. ??That??ll be our tour tomorrow. They gave Aunt Hilda and Uncle Eddie a choice. too pretty almost. and the original 319 people who had come to the upper valley had dwindled to 201. of being decisively herself. Beyond the corn the land broke and tumbled down to meet the river. their own voices became whispers. and board by board they carried a barn up the hillside and stacked the pieces. He felt like hell. In every room except the one where the human clones were being grown.

almost resentfully. ??Our emergency room. We??ll take care of it.When the roar was gone and the water stood high on the land. he crossed the room to the door and opened it a crack. paused and glanced back. he thought often. he thought in wonder. ??I??ll operate. He turned toward the door. and the leaves rustled incessantly though no wind could be felt. It went four hundred feet to another steel door. immobile and terrible.They worked all night preparing the nursery. forgetting them instantly. by a trick of the haze-filtered light. We have to bring them out and treat them like preemies. I??ll come up for you at six thirty. saying actually. his friend.Long after Celia fell asleep he stared into the blackness. D-l remained standing. David went to work in a makeshift laboratory trying to replicate Frerrer??s and Semple??s tests.????I know what your specialty is.??There??s more drought and more flooding than there??s ever been. The fetuses were developing. Within the next couple of years.During the night she roused once. ??If we had a dozen undergraduate students.

the sun of another time. he realized. Jeremy Streit brought his hardware merchandise in four truckloads.??David. Molly smiled at them and saw that her sisters were smiling also; they shared the pride equally. With an increased chance of abnormality.David made no response. something uniquely hers. playing their own games that appeared governed by random rules. only conditioned responses to certain stimuli. she screamed. and finally to his grandfather.For the next months there was no shortage of nurses. ??You??ll have to double-check. Sometimes sister. Beyond the corn the land broke and tumbled down to meet the river. The rain is washing away the radioactivity. so he padded the back of the wooden seat with his bedroll and blanket. hell. and in the morning he continued south. the last of his coffee ration.??And Wednesday-night Bible school? I keep thinking of it now. She sat wrapped in his plaid shirt and watched him as he opened a can of stew and heated it.?? Then he left. that vibrated in his bones. ??And Harry has been relegated to caretaker for the livestock. ??They must know we have food here. Their hands would be stained purple-black by berry picking. aunts.

??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.??David shook his head. The hospital had more than two hundred beds. Everyone wanted to become a doctor or a biologist. row after row of them. David. from nearer the river; they were carrying baskets of berries. ??Celia. It was a long time before his twitching muscles relaxed enough for him to lie quietly.?? Roger said.Walt began testing the men for fertility. In October they learned the band was grouping for a second attack. For a brief moment David thought he heard a bird??s trill. they knew they were safe from attack. David. and on to extinction. sobbing. They had discussed that years ago. less adaptable to hot weather or dry spells. ??David. moister weather summer and winter. ??You want to destroy everything. They??ll come from all directions this time. was watching the smoke curl from his pipe. and Molly and her sisters swept out to the floor. During the storm that lashed the valley that afternoon. Tomorrow. He tried to rise. and only when he caught her and held her tight and hard did he realize that he was weeping.

??I??ve finished.Walt stared at him in disbelief. and their offspring by sexual reproduction. From his vantage point he would aim a ray gun at Uncle Clarence. Where the sun did find a path through. someone would be crying. as he would again and again in the weeks that followed. He and Walt had planned it that way: the cave was impregnable. But when I saw you in the hall. if you had time??? David nodded reluctantly. ??Stop this! I??m going to answer any questions. and her attempts to keep her eyes open. It was gone too fast to be certain.?? he said.??Can you get materials for the hospital??? David asked. playing their own games that appeared governed by random rules. 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.Cholera struck in Rome. not yet painted. She wiped her cheeks with her glove. getting ready for her coming trip to Brazil. There were people he hadn??t known when they were that young. velvet blue-black at night with blazing stars that modern man had never seen. When the cup began to tilt in Celia??s hand. You could write it in a month. you do read the newspapers. But if the livestock all became sterile. now down about his throat. ??What we don??t have.

still holding Lucy??s hand. seeing his aged and aging cousins rejuvenated. They need so much.??Turn off the factories.?? Walt said. Suddenly David threw the shotgun under the lean-to and ran to meet her. say it.?? Jed shook his head. Martial law was declared on December 28.It was misty and very cool under the trees. on his back. They??re in there. He stared at the young face and felt his fist tighten. and each time he glared at her and hurried away. He closed the window. He had thought of that. Here the white basswood grew alongside the hemlock and the bitternut hickory. The arching. China??s tests. ??They just left him there and brought up their own.If it hadn??t been for Celia. from left to right. and he stopped fighting. You know the rumors? They??re just not breeding well. and David could reach the windows by bracing himself on the steep incline and steadying himself with one hand on the building. nothing else. and in a moment he was inside a dark office. high-domed room. They weren??t Celias.

??Have you told the two boys yet?????I told them all. When they could not avoid each other after that. but he knew. Somehow he had been made to feel like an interloper; his question sounded like idle chatter. ??We want you for a consultant. .?? He moved away.????You spoil him. He nodded.?? he said. Unable to endure it any longer. seeing his aged and aging cousins rejuvenated. We agree now that there is still the instinct to preserve one's species. Celia??s mother was more beautiful than the girl.??For now. where not to hit in a friendly scrap.?? Walt said. When his parents went home he stayed on at the Wiston farm for a day or two. the water became rust-colored and solid. His father hustled him to the barn. I can??t just decide not to go. The men wore tunics. but she didn??t protest. W-1 sat unmoving. fathers. and here and there it was whispered that it was plague. but do exceptionally well. David. clean them up.

Outside the door he paused and once more could hear the murmur of quiet voices. there was another celebration. and although her lids fluttered. until everyone found a bed again. aware that his back was being clawed.He remembered the holidays especially. I think. ??You??ll see.The music changed. Father?????They??re dead.?? A dozen men volunteered to stand guard at the mill. ??Vlasic??s mad. . almost at dawn. ??He had to discontinue his work last year??no funds.?? he said. You have to stop them somehow. The breeze that moved through the valley was soft and warm. was all the same distant past.??David started to climb. There was a hard freeze in November. We reached zero population growth a couple of years ago. twenty feet high.?? He shook his head.?? Grandfather Sumner went on. and again he nodded. frowning in concentration over a problem that he wouldn??t put on paper until he had a solution to add. was not aware of the other gifts. Walt.

another died three hours later. But only with one another. velvet blue-black at night with blazing stars that modern man had never seen. and the people. Vlasic.??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 on our land. Two years older than they. In February in retaliation for the food embargo. ??we want to hire you. The writing was spindly and uncertain.??Without opening his eyes David asked.In the antique forest.He passed her chair and kissed the top of her head. staring at the floor. although he had not admitted it even to himself then. He climbed and became warmer.?? he said. Walt yanked free and climbed onto a table.??Without opening his eyes David asked. to point out some of the details that Walt might miss. who whinnied softly at him now and again. and those babies are the only hope we have. feeling hot suddenly. the way she almost buckled at the knees. David. I??m committed to going in two days. The ridges were hazy and had no sharp edges anywhere. ??Let me stay with him.

still moving away from him. to prove or disprove the experiment. mine. two boys. all of them laughing at her unsteady walk.David was leaving the cafeteria. what could they do about it? What should they do about it? He threw twigs into the smooth water. and then he went to Walt??s room. from left to right. and in the middle of it. ??Just to the knob. It??s our friend.??I have to sleep. A long time later W-1 entered and said to no one in particular.?? Walt stood up and put his arm about David??s shoulders. I love you. who??s alive. David edged around the tree. They accepted being mated as casually as the cattle did. the one he had been wearing.??David made no motion but continued to stare at the sullen sky. I was husky enough to cut down a tree with a hatchet. The elders were being excluded again. or when. that??s what they represented. and soon. fifty or sixty yards away.Whenever Aunt Claudia came up. ??A marvelous piece of work.

and he shook his head. watched her learn to walk. ??I didn??t know it was this bad. Always. with fatigue drawing his face. are going to be there!????I don??t care. And he had awakened weeping for his own Celia. he told himself. Lucy and Vernon were sitting near the window.C-l had been like his own child. Here were the relicts his grandfather had brought him to see. until it??s too late to do anything. ??I??m sorry about your brother. David??s father owned a large department store that catered to the upper-middle-class clientele of the valley. A line of girls came into view. downriver. No more secrets. He wandered on the hospital grounds for a few minutes. David. maybe they would just know. And D-4. ??You think I??m going to let you sit up here and die? Not today. In even deeper shadows grew bushes and shrubs.He passed her chair and kissed the top of her head. ??You listen to me. She was so thin and so pale. It was a long time before his twitching muscles relaxed enough for him to lie quietly.In Walt??s office he raged. Let their bright young students come to you.

grandfathers. ??That was the clone-three strain. and alive in his memory was the day he had waited there for Celia.??We have to know. and he shook his head. ??Damn it. paused and glanced back.They came out of the school in matched sets: four of this. see that they do it properly???Walt mumbled something. and other nations are getting there too. 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. asking what he could not answer.He waited for days for Harry Vlasic to appear. and the first settlers. A Walt with something missing.????A dead end. put her pencil in the open book. A tremor passed through her and she closed her eyes.Walt looked David over and shrugged.?? he said. He was breeding each clone generation sexually. The children lived together.?? David said. What you decide to do next week.??He became aware of movement behind him and turned to see four more of them approaching. that??s what they represented. It didn't matter. no more than wishful thinking. She was very thin.

He had missed dinner. and found D-1 in the dining room and offered his help in the lab. It didn??t matter which ones did what.?? Martha said. and she had lost a baby in stillbirth. Just walked away and left him. they became implacable enemies. ??And I cajoled a few members of the family to put a little in the kitty. increasing up to eighty percent by now. and as soon as there is anything to tell you. He greeted David as if he hadn??t been away at all.The party was held in the new auditorium. but there was nothing to say to him. The only baby left in the tanks was the fetus that would be Celia. tiny steaming biscuits. The little Kirby brothers started to cry in unison. They just do their jobs. but he was not hungry. Most of South America will be in a state of famine before the end of this decade if they aren??t helped almost immediately. He opened his eyes painfully. Slowly memory came back and he closed his eyes. No figures are available. and the small group opened for him. Lucy. Japan seized the Philippines. as he always was. not willing to damn nature for its periodic rampages. but with little more than a strip of adhesive now. and when she said.

floating in the liquid. and he saw that she was weeping. They had moved very close. disease. Since Clarence??s wife died. with no more human appeal than a calf born too soon. and sat down on an outcrop of limestone that felt cool and smooth. The school will jump at the chance to unload it right now. and the government. the others who worked in the various labs. The work in the laboratories increased. We reached zero population growth a couple of years ago. stepping out of her jeans.Molly felt a pleasant inertia envelop her and she could only smile and sigh as her sisters prepared her for bed. stopped abruptly. almost at dawn. He didn??t touch David.Molly glanced again at the small sisters leaning tiredly against the wall. ??How beautiful this is! Look.??And now. Interchangeable. David .????But if it??s what you think. ??We have to get back to the cave. Ninety-four clones. . ??They took over the Phillotts?? place.?? Walt said after a moment. corn-straw sandals on her feet.

involuntarily.?? Walt said. You know we don??t dare use any for anything but the harvest. I think you know it. his head bowed in thought. Here were the relicts his grandfather had brought him to see. looking grotesquely out of place against a wall of pale pink travertine.??You have to go away. she from scraping her shoulder on a rock. nodding now and then. and in the middle of it. Walt.??They went through the nursery for the animals. When David had gone to talk to Selnick about the equipment. through the smaller passages and finally into the lab office. it would still be a catastrophe. then left. . brilliant yellows and scarlets against the gray background.??He laughed. Uncles. Now. with the accompanying grim stories of plague. ??We don??t have much choice.??And Wednesday-night Bible school? I keep thinking of it now.?? he said.??I know. ladies and gentlemen. to the coast.

Walt looked from one to the other of them. away from the nursery.??David walked along the river for a long time. ??It??s the only way I??ll ever get to see you at all. On New Year??s Day. The ground floor was filled with machinery. now joined hand to hand. and now he was in great pain. not planning anything. No one had time to go get them. ??This is how this land looked a million years ago. keeping close to the wall.??Clarence will not live. but trees concealed it from the upper floor of the hospital. and each time he glared at her and hurried away. less adaptable to hot weather or dry spells. all this planning. Information we all need.????What free time?????I??ll find it.??Me too. and they learn farming methods suited to temperate climates. not Walt??s. we believe that lifetime won??t be more than two to four years at the very most. He thought.Margaret met him in the lobby. it is all carved . but her hands were steady as she swabbed a long gash on Clarence??s side and put a heavy pad over it. Here was a silverbell. He had known that they were not his.

In the back the hill rose sharply. Peter started a centrifuge. Sarah was working over Clarence while several of the elders moved back and forth to keep out of her way. . He knew he looked like hell. He pulled his thoughts back when he realized that they were finishing already. and at the foot of it all were the mosses and lichens.??Let her be. in the laboratories. set in the limestone rock that underlay the area. ??I??ve finished. when David was twelve. But still. I??ll come up for you at six thirty. ??Slumming??? he asked. and each time he glared at her and hurried away. deep blue so clear that in daylight it would blend into the sky perfectly. unwilling yet to go to bed. they saw several of the breeders peeking at them over the top of a rose hedge. ??What are they?????What do you mean?????When the accident happened. When they were very young they promised to marry one day. Vernon. David studied the fetal pig he was getting ready to dissect. David.?? Vlasic said.Walt looked David over and shrugged. so that by the time he turned on the hall light that illuminated the attic dimly. but there they were. we will have our own babies developed the same way.