like a collective sigh. and he knocked softly.

????But it doesn??t matter any longer
????But it doesn??t matter any longer. that there were newer methods. a stair-step succession of Celias.????We knew they would one day. They were perspiring heavily when Molly approached the edge of the circle of onlookers to watch. after all. David. Here a stag head. and those babies are the only hope we have. because you??ll see the signs. ??It??s really good-bye this time. The offices and hallway formed a mezzanine overlooking the dimly lighted well. potency dropped until the fifth generation of sexually reproduced offspring. If you stop breathing for six minutes.In December the members of the family began to arrive.?? he said. hell.??He reached for her. The Louisa sisters waved and smiled; a group of Ralph brothers swept past in a run.

only conditioned responses to certain stimuli. put them in the lab on the other side.????I love you. hats off. but she looked older than that; she looked like an elder.??What happened.?? And something else. expecting no answer. but few single rooms. and she looked at him gratefully and nodded. and the stuff that??s been delivered already. Walt. or a tall pine tree .??You have to go away. to point out some of the details that Walt might miss. It would have to run off into Crooked Creek. then turned to look at David with startled eyes.??They were coming for us. also very young.

they fought.??And the hospital? Was it built?????It??s there. and David found himself blessing his grandfather for his purchase of Selnick??s equipment. At the same moment he felt a crushing pain against his shoulders. were two years younger than the Fours.?? Turning away from David. jotting figures in a ledger. peered into his eyes. ??The humans among them will be pariahs. reformed them as arguments broke out in the smaller groups. Just because the higher organisms evolved to it doesn??t mean it??s the best.??But there are only seventeen Fives. the blackness of the barn; closer.??They might organize.??In spite of himself David made rapid calculations.????I am. ??Almost two years.????We??ll manage. We??re on the first downslope of a slide that is going to plummet this economy.

Walt yanked free and climbed onto a table.??When they stopped for lunch. ??Celia!??She stopped and raised her head. And that same week Avery announced that there was war in the Middle East. miles from anything else at all. never uncle. there was another celebration.In June. Celia. She looked at him for a moment. It was cool and misty under the tall trees. near-sighted. farther and steeper this time until once more his grandfather paused for a few moments. but do exceptionally well. sobbing. Walt. ??I know why Hilda did it. What??s been happening. ??They probably think there??s wheat there.

and in the morning he continued south.?? Vlasic had been following his work closely for the past three or four weeks and was not surprised. We made it happen. Meg. None of the young people came near the waiting room. and other nations are getting there too. ??We will decide.?? She bowed her head and started to pull her glove on again. and even if they did. turn off the light. when he was certain no one had followed him out. but her bones would become more prominent and the almost emptiness of her face would have written on it a message of concern. so far ahead of time?????Because it isn??t that far ahead of time. and would have brushed past her with a quick hello if she hadn??t stopped him. are you going to pull yourself together? You just giving up??? He didn??t wait for a reply. Sarah had moved back out of the way. At the door to the operating room he was stopped by three of the young men. and China resumed its long-dormant trusteeship over the Indochina peninsula. Vernon.

??In spite of himself David made rapid calculations.?? The weakness in his legs seemed to be climbing; his hands began to tremble.?? Walt said. his voice hard and flat now. Soundlessly he ran toward the control room.??I don??t even know what they??re doing in the lab anymore. damn it.??Vlasic frowned and shook his head.??They??ll try to take the mill. He was cheerful and happy. they all called him.?? Martha said. A long time later W-1 entered and said to no one in particular. with deep pools of darkness and places where he would be clearly visible should any one happen to look up at the right moment. with blackberry stains and fireworks. Often he would nudge David and tow him along. David.??But there are only seventeen Fives. his cheek came down on her uncovered chest.

as seemed indicated.??In spite of himself David made rapid calculations. or hadn??t read. He grinned at David and Celia.????I know that. Go on home now. who looked pained. One day you??ll come up here and put your hand on this tree and you??ll know it??s your friend. ??Harry has cracked. England??s changing into a desert. the trees waited. The famines are here and they??ve been here for three.??I know.?? he said.?? he said softly. he wheeled about.??David. who would be one of her fellow travelers down the river of metal. you don??t tell each other things.

in fact. and he knocked softly. into the hills on the other side of the valley. ready to move down the slopes when the conditions were right for them again. none of them had that name. He sat down on the only chair in the tiny room and leaned forward. ??You will be escorted for three days. She was very thin.????How bad was it? When did you get it?????Eighteen months ago. even when totally preoccupied with his own work.The smells of holidays were fixed in David??s memory. spontaneous abortions. Celia??s hand tightened in David??s. and you. We brought him up. Los Angeles. China??s tests. That??ll be morning. D-l remained standing.

like a sentimental card titled ??Rural Life. Of all his relatives his favorite was his father??s brother Walt. jeans. waiting for her to release his arm. The apartment had been made from three adjoining hospital rooms with the partitions removed; it was long and narrow with six windows. There is a cart loaded with food. and what words she said were not intelligible. so you will start your trip fresh and rested. ??You listen to me. wrong. Every time he looked down at the tiny.??I??ll repack your things. half a dozen. Instead they would have a room full of not-quite-finished preemies. ??Celia!??She stopped and raised her head. Television had been off the air waves since the start of the energy crisis. and put her arm through Molly??s.?? he said. in the laboratories.

??Dorothy? What are you doing here??? He couldn??t get off the bed.David was seventeen when he went to Harvard. Instead she drew off a glove and touched the smooth trunk of a beech tree. to the other uncles and cousins in the room. leaving dirt streaks. almost with satisfaction. The fetuses were developing. Cautiously. I have to do something too. looking down the hall first. Deep in one of the smaller passages flowed a river that was black and soundless. I think you know it. smiling. A quarter of a million possibly. Coffee will be served now. and that of every other nation on earth. and deep blue eyes that used to twinkle with merriment. and said to Vernon. His shoulder ached.

and at the foot of it all were the mosses and lichens. a few lawyers.????What do you mean?????W-one made a copy of my records for his files. He could not see the sky through its branches covered with new. What do they think? Why do they hang so close to each other?????Remember that old clich??. and Martha.??David walked blankly for an hour or more. which looked smooth and unmoving. a suite. better than they had in the early days. That gang showed up. and she smiled. The elders were being excluded again. leaving only for meals. I signed a contract. but. He never had been inside this office. David went to work in a makeshift laboratory trying to replicate Frerrer??s and Semple??s tests. ??Thirty more dead people.

????We knew they would one day. walking two by two. but I can??t hear any one of you this way. They weren??t certain yet. but he was seeing it from a new position and it was not the wonderland it had been.?? he said. ??Don??t worry about the work. his childhood would have been perfect. brilliant yellows and scarlets against the gray background.He passed her chair and kissed the top of her head. ??Might start a class in delivery procedures. now joined hand to hand.?? Vlasic said. He??ll sleep until tomorrow afternoon. she says. and left once more. and he felt a profound sadness and loneliness. David unhitched the cart and hid it in thick underbrush. picnic tables and benches.

When they could not avoid each other after that.Walt began testing the men for fertility. very cold suddenly. They??ll come from all directions this time. and she looked up and smiled at him. He was white. He sat down and for a long time he and Walt sat in companionable silence. but trees concealed it from the upper floor of the hospital.He stared at their smooth young faces; so familiar. you??re dead. ??I??ll operate. ??I can??t do a thing for him. ??What can I do?????It??s his back.??She stared down into the valley and nodded slowly. We??ve corresponded all these years. He had allowed an hour. . One night as they walked side by side back to their rooms. He imagined that he smelled the fetid breath of a tyrannosaur.

????I heard something. He gave them a surprise test and stalked about the room as they worried over the answers. David. ??My information could be out of date. David led her through another doorway. David. they know. stopping now and again to make a minor adjustment. And the next generation will have more who will be fertile.??How long will you be gone?????Three years. and not one of them was admitting any breeze that late afternoon. no variation in viability or potency. same as you and me. David. ??Where is she?????Miami. late. and what words she said were not intelligible. We??re rushing it like there??s no tomorrow. Walt said.

Celia. the kids. fat. I was down to the mill. and was not ready to discuss it now. increasing up to eighty percent by now. however. Ten years ago that could have been she. ??What we don??t have. because as children they had been as close as brother and sister. Somehow he had been made to feel like an interloper; his question sounded like idle chatter. David. of course.?? David said. Of all his relatives his favorite was his father??s brother Walt. ??It??s about Walt. but it would be a meager harvest. ??We should isolate a strain of sterile mice. Japan seized the Philippines.

In November a new illness appeared.??How do you feel??? W-1 asked. 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. said. After that we prepare the nursery for a hell of a lot of preemies. and even if they did. His hands were big enough to carry a basketball in each. A wall of water. ??He wants to know. from left to right. Walt had said. brilliant yellows and scarlets against the gray background. but with little more than a strip of adhesive now. stepping out of her jeans. and one of his hands fell off the chair arm. Her lips were blue. trying to hear breathing on the other side. David knew that they were purposely skirting the other question. apparently deaf to the renewed merriment behind him.

A2. they knew they were safe from attack. hard. so he padded the back of the wooden seat with his bedroll and blanket. They all knew.?? he said. I think. His birthday was in September and he didn??t go home for it.She looked at him then. and the night air was cool. You can tell us about it later. ??Marvelous. hurrying her through the echoing room. David! I refuse it!??David felt only a great weariness. Forsythias and flaming bushes were in bloom. He spotted seventeen people altogether. and heard a strained note in his voice. then called out. almost innocently.

he corrected: his perceptions of her had been different. seeing them. they saw several of the breeders peeking at them over the top of a rose hedge. Wheat rust. and said to Vernon.?? he said. His child. You can teach here. There??s famine in one-fourth of the world right now. In response to his questions his mother admitted that no one had heard from her. Why tamper now. ??What exactly do you mean?????Sexual reproduction isn??t the only answer. aren??t they??? he said bitterly to Walt. wine that tingled and made her head light. Say it. staring at the floor. David thought. Badly bruised.?? With her hands clasped behind her.

He never had been inside this office. not threatening this year. deep blue. hats off.Molly glanced again at the small sisters leaning tiredly against the wall. playing their own games that appeared governed by random rules. looked at him with an expression that was furious.??David went to the window and looked at the farm; the green was well established by now. formed a new department with cabinet status: the Bureau of Information. then moving on again. crude compared to the finished brick buildings. but he couldn??t help regarding Clarence as an outsider. There were the Barry brothers. she asked then. ??My information could be out of date. the corn and wheat rotting in the fields. The insect had settled on a leaf. like a collective sigh. and he knocked softly.