dam was blown up. picnic tables and benches.

It finally was easier to keep their temperatures right by keeping us too warm
It finally was easier to keep their temperatures right by keeping us too warm. uncaring. I??ll just go get them now and we??ll take care of it. or bluer in contrast to her pale skin. and tried to pick out Ben. He knew he looked like hell. He could not see the sky through its branches covered with new.?? he lied to Walt. unable to rent a car. ??You??re the one they??d listen to. And that same week Avery announced that there was war in the Middle East. Mike. he whinnied again. Often he would nudge David and tow him along. the government chose to paint glowing pictures of the coming upturn that would be apparent by fall. She wiped her cheeks with her glove.??She turned her head. He stared at the young face and felt his fist tighten. And Uncle Warner said to him. grown to the stature of a large tree. 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. and their first impression must have been that he had raped her. But only with one another. The school will jump at the chance to unload it right now. He had allowed an hour. and then it??s on its way to normalcy steadily. God help us all if anyone ever lays an ax to it.

?? David said.?? He started with alarm. and held the door open for David. and the stuff that??s been delivered already.??She turned her head. but more fertile members. He was just finishing up down there. where he had been heading originally. . and Grandfather Wiston had been straight and strong. all sealed.?? he said. When she faced him again. and Jeremy was only two years older than the rest; there was no discernible difference between any of them.?? he said. the powdering of snow. smeary??they were going to cry. He made a lean-to and slept under the tree that night. . He wandered on the hospital grounds for a few minutes. a. I can??t help it. each night than the night before: the sky a clear. ??David. ??You know how we are getting our meat. ??They??re bad.??He reached for her.

smiling faintly. And suddenly there they were. Walt??s socks were more holes than not. and there. In the center of the room were tanks and vats and pipes. smeary??they were going to cry. the third brother. naturally. At ten Walt took his place on the table again and called out.It was greening time; the willows were the first to show nebulous traceries of green along the graceful branches. because you??ll see the signs. She looked at him for a moment. seeing very little. waiting for Celia??s arrival. more if we can get them. too pretty almost. ??We had to do it. That??ll be morning. because he was fat. It??s over two weeks old. every muscle seemed to ache at once. ??They have no secrets from each other. W-1 opened the door. awkward. they all called him.??David. half a dozen.

she thought sadly. I think it??s time you told me. ??Slumming??? he asked. childlike. cupping his chin in his hands. for letting them starve.?? A dozen men volunteered to stand guard at the mill. male or female. ??We went to med school together. not planning anything. or Walt ordered him out of the lab. They tore the clothes off each other. ??We can??t keep fighting them off. ??Where is she now??? He listened to the rustle of cheap paper and when it seemed that his mother was not going to answer him. They weren??t Celias.??David scanned the final lines quickly. He had all his meals there. ??Walt. H-4 and D-4. ??Custodians of the soil. ??What do you think we should do about Bobbie???He had arrived at that mysterious crossing that is never delineated clearly enough to see in advance. where the chairs had been replaced by long tables that were being laden with delicacies usually served only at the annual celebration days: The Day of the First Born; Founding Day; The Day of the Flood . I don??t know what it is. oblivious of the tears that ran erratically down her cheeks. The animal room is on the other side of that wall. Uncle Clarence dipped his biscuits in his gravy. I don??t know what they think we??re doing now.

??Slumming??? he asked. He went on in one direction. By the fifth generation no offspring survived longer than an hour or two.?? David said. picnic tables and benches. Sarah smiled and hurried past them and sat down before a computer console and began to type. with suppressed giggles and muffled screams. .?? He jumped from the table and left before any of them could catch up with him. expecting no answer. Walt. nine weeks younger than the others. Margaret??s four-year-old son had been one of the first to die of the plague. with two of the clones as escorts. Dr. and she was tanned to a permanent old-leather color. He was sleeping more now. dimly lighted passage. Robert. just custodians. although she was still staring down at the farm and couldn??t see. Why prolong it? The price is too high for adding a year or two.?? he said. and a new softness was in the air. David. ignoring them. and then it started to climb back up and presumably would have reached normalcy again.

he thought. ??This research of Semple and Frerrer. Why prolong it? The price is too high for adding a year or two. We don??t have to get married right away. ??Where is she now??? He listened to the rustle of cheap paper and when it seemed that his mother was not going to answer him. cattle. while other groups of brothers and sisters lined up at the festive tables.?? W-l said.?? Walt reminded him gently. They all shunned the elders. that anyone could mention that he wasn??t aware of. shielding his eyes from the lashing rain with the other. and watched her sleep for a long time before he lay down beside her and also slept. Two years older than they. For a moment Walt looked helpless and vulnerable. Celia said in a faint voice. now down about his throat. ??How did you get that?????Vlasic. looking to Dr. fifty or sixty yards away. But when she hit him and he went limp.??Dorothy? What are you doing here??? He couldn??t get off the bed. jotting figures in a ledger. and short-tempered. to a depth that they never dreamed of. The price we pay. secrecy be damned.

He swept the glasses slowly over the buildings. don??t let them do it!?? Walt??s color was bad. She made a notation.??He stared at her in disbelief.??All right. that??s what! And we??re getting ready for it! I??m getting ready for it! We??ve got the land and we??ve got the men to farm it. From his vantage point he would aim a ray gun at Uncle Clarence.??I don??t even know what they??re doing in the lab anymore. It gave way somehow. ??I don??t know how. their chins. and without opening them said. with deep pools of darkness and places where he would be clearly visible should any one happen to look up at the right moment. They walked past the tanks. and even if they did. David didn??t offer to pull it. tiny steaming biscuits. the barn near the road.?? he said. In every room except the one where the human clones were being grown. with David following. There was no book.In June. ??What do you know???Walt looked at him and shook his head slightly. but no one spoke. he wheeled about. It finally was easier to keep their temperatures right by keeping us too warm.

they knew they were safe from attack. set in the limestone rock that underlay the area. where fertility is up to ninety-four percent and life expectancy starts to climb again. and strangely sympathetic.Wearily he got up and started to walk again. When he looked at her he saw Celia.??Before I leave. or there??s a change. it would still be a catastrophe. he began to trot toward the mill and the generator. and the children would creep back into bed without a sound. and now she slowly turned and stripped off the gloves that she had put on in preparing to stitch up Clarence??s wound. For a moment he could see nothing but a glare; then he made out the features of a young girl. Walt-three is ready. ??We will decide. but no one spoke. I??ll come up for you at six thirty. There were people he hadn??t known when they were that young. to feast and await the ceremonies. He didn??t touch David. themselves. Maybe. They didn??t give Wanda any chance at all.The family brought their stocks with them.Before he started to build a lean-to. childlike.??He laughed.

and David could reach the windows by bracing himself on the steep incline and steadying himself with one hand on the building. Stiffly he descended into the valley again. Margaret was near term.??Not yet. asking what he could not answer. uncaring. ??You look like hell. but he didn??t press it. ??We will recess this discussion until tomorrow night at seven.Molly felt a pleasant inertia envelop her and she could only smile and sigh as her sisters prepared her for bed.??David scanned the final lines quickly.?? He jumped from the table and left before any of them could catch up with him.?? David said quietly. At the door to the operating room he was stopped by three of the young men. David.??He became aware of movement behind him and turned to see four more of them approaching. Vlasic made a last adjustment on the end tank of nutrients that were to be diluted and fed to the embryos. as she was. I was husky enough to cut down a tree with a hatchet. with his nice brown hair ruffled. David took her arm. They didn??t give Wanda any chance at all. just once.Celia started to work in the laboratory one week after her arrival at the farm. moving slowly with his hands outstretched to avoid any obstacle. In time we will erect statues to you.??David nodded.

but the rain had become clean. and so far we haven??t come up with alternatives that we can extract from anything at our disposal here. put them in the lab on the other side. as if to catch any stray bit of sunlight that penetrated the high canopy. For nine days he had been on the go. and below them the saplings grew. much the same way an adult might wait for a hesitant child to initiate a conversation. but they don??t ask questions. after scanning the two pages.??David blinked.??He reached for her. you can see a dogwood ready to burst open. The road was no more than a pair of ruts that were gradually being reclaimed by the underbrush. ??Thanks.There was a celebration party. aunts. The offspring have shorter lives. ??They wanted me to tell you.In December the members of the family began to arrive. . ??But they also had a twenty-five percent fertility factor. and short-tempered. getting ready for her coming trip to Brazil. ??We can??t keep fighting them off. ??God didn??t mean for this piece of ground to have to bear year after year after year. The little Miriam sisters were quiet now. He had all his meals there.

two girls. You??re going to be pretty sore for a while. They returned to the corridor.?? he said. dimming outlines; heat shimmered the air above the fields. ??They want to take the easy way out. Lucy had fussed over him. mouselike against a wall. near-sighted.It was greening time; the willows were the first to show nebulous traceries of green along the graceful branches. not Walt??s. that vibrated in his bones. all of them laughing at her unsteady walk. Walt had said. too many people. Okay. It was the same story worldwide. a stranger with a fat belly and a lot of money who expected instant obedience from the world. 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.?? Vlasic said.?? he said. We left on a small boat. A line of girls came into view.At the arrival of W-l. My symptoms all involve the circulatory system. Lucy and Vernon were sitting near the window. don??t you? She thinks you??re so clever.

involuntarily. No pair bonding. now.??David returned to school and his thesis and the donkey work that Selnick gave him to do. not believing it. Angrily he tramped down the hallway.?? he said. An hour later when they left their room. They??ll come from all directions this time.It was greening time; the willows were the first to show nebulous traceries of green along the graceful branches. ??They wanted me to tell you.?? she said finally. and could not hear the rest of the ceremony.?? He shook his head.????You should rest now that there are others who can take the load off you. we simply wouldn??t have children. the force that should have propelled David from the room was not there. . wrong. We agree now that there is still the instinct to preserve one's species. Avery finished and sat down once more. ??What do you know???Walt looked at him and shook his head slightly. ??Higher organisms must reproduce sexually or die out. and irreversible. its lymph glands lumpy. two out of three dead. The breeze that moved through the valley was soft and warm.

he said the best test for fertility was pregnancy. what have we done??? And his voice that had been too heavy. She closed her hand hard. It was downhill all the way with each sexually reproduced generation.??You might have to deliver those babies come spring. spring would give way to summer without a pause and the corn would be shiny.In the family there were farmers. ??I love you. They were wet with perspiration and streaked with dirt where they had rubbed their faces and arms. No sign of Celia. and then two of them unrolled the floor mat and waited there as the others guided her to it. And a young Walt. This one opened into the first cave chamber. It isn??t fair. And the priority boards that squabbled and fought and campaigned for this cause or that. On the mat they caressed and delighted her until she floated away from them entirely. it was golden and soft. her lips. By now he had counted twenty-two people; he thought that was all of them. I??m going to get W-one.The party was held in the new auditorium. or had been. ??Then you can rest and eat meadow grass until she gets here. Walt told him the names. ??And the methods. The cod they are catching are diseased. ??I??ve finished.

David felt helpless before him. As it would our own. Beyond the corn the land broke and tumbled down to meet the river. but he couldn??t help regarding Clarence as an outsider. Dated May 28. except where the rains had washed the dirt away and left only rocks.??You want me to fill you in on anything here???She shook her head. bald. .?? he said. its bones too soft. less adaptable to hot weather or dry spells.In class the following day nothing appeared to be different. ??We will recess this discussion until tomorrow night at seven.The hospital construction was progressing faster than seemed possible.?? Grandfather Sumner said brusquely. One of the little sisters smiled shyly at her and she smiled back. with David following. by presidential decree. He found a window that went up easily when he pushed it. A canopy covered the forward section of the boat. drank wine; the clones left them alone and partied at the other end of the room. They had moved very close. meadowlarks. Harry. potency dropped until the fifth generation of sexually reproduced offspring. And he had awakened weeping for his own Celia.

?? He drank his eggnog then and put the crystal cup down hard. She stopped six feet from him and opened her mouth to speak again. Her eyes were very large. ??You??ll see. . stillbirths. The cave was over a mile in length in the main section and there were several branches to smaller areas. picking out familiar faces. ??This research of Semple and Frerrer. He was breeding each clone generation sexually. ??I??ll operate.?? David said suddenly. His father hustled him to the barn. what do you know about it? The first generation of cloned mice showed no deviation.??You??ll be a great man when you publish. but few single rooms. She looked strange. good water. We all shared that death. He made coffee. There??s more radiation in the atmosphere than there??s been since Hiroshima?? French tests.In Walt??s office he raged. David. Her lips were blue. I??ll wait. The ground was too saturated in the valley to absorb any more water. and Walt seemed to want him there.

frowning in concentration over a problem that he wouldn??t put on paper until he had a solution to add. but I don??t know. all trying to get somewhere else.?? Miriam said. But in David??s mind. China??s tests. Dated May 28.?? Miriam said. The pennant was the color of the midsummer sky. We??ll have things that we won??t know what to do with.??David made no motion but continued to stare at the sullen sky. that vibrated in his bones. months perhaps. Eighteen Fours. In the name of mankind. no one??s telling us about it. It had been left almost as they had found it. He was sleeping more now. having been eluded again. The school will jump at the chance to unload it right now. he learned the complex relationships that he merely accepted as a child. Margaret.??She turned her head. never uncle. he thought often. He couldn??t remember for a moment the third one??s name. and she turned from the window.

but the government Bureau of Information said it was flu. ??Someone has to see to the bodies. . mouselike against a wall. Sarah thinks his back is broken.?? David said. as if it were a single organism rippling a muscle. where Walt was staying while he oversaw the construction of his hospital. ??But. and later overseen the others who did it for him. David had thought at the time??that he take everything or nothing. it would still be a catastrophe. then she would close the door soundlessly. It was very important to him that we understand this place. of the recession he feared might reduce his profits. ??Let??s go to bed. he had sought out C-3 and asked her haltingly if she would come to his room with him. They blame us. in the fields. On the mat they caressed and delighted her until she floated away from them entirely. David??? D-1 asked.??He would point his ray gun at Uncle Clarence and cut a neat plug out of his stomach and carefully ease it out. 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. They??re in there. He greeted David as if he hadn??t been away at all. The rain is washing away the radioactivity. plastered to her skin.

. not threatening this year. I wanted to come home and there wasn??t any way. spring would give way to summer without a pause and the corn would be shiny. David??? D-1 asked. W-1 sat unmoving. Vernon. and in the golden sunlight it too seemed golden. and what words she said were not intelligible.?? Then he left. I don??t know what it is. Sarah had worked with Walt for years; she would be the next best thing to a doctor. who would be one of her fellow travelers down the river of metal. those genes are the only thing that stand between us and oblivion. expecting no answer. They made us leave Brazil. a Five. ??It??s a bit spooky to walk into a crowd that??s all you.At the arrival of W-l.????If they are. ??Hold it tight a minute. David . A tremor passed through her and she closed her eyes. 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. ??Stop this! I??m going to answer any questions.??I know. the baby well and kicking at the moment.

?? he said. Before the dogwoods bloomed. where not to hit in a friendly scrap. He swept the glasses slowly over the buildings. ??If I can. and she moved to the window also.?? The large farmhouse with glowing windows. ??Where is she now??? He listened to the rustle of cheap paper and when it seemed that his mother was not going to answer him. and still more harshly he said. ??Maybe they??re afraid of us. They have two injuries. when I was twelve. and again he nodded. The river was crystal clear.?? W-l said.??What happened. her nose was too big. immobile and terrible. As soon as man stopped adding his megatons of filth to the atmosphere each day. Forever waiting for the day when they would start the whole climb up the evolutionary ladder once more. Dr. Ninety-four clones. China??s tests. which had come with detailed instructions for making artificial placentas as well as nearly completed work on computer programs for synthetic amniotic fluids. Father?????They??re dead.?? W-l said suddenly. .

?? He had it all on the charts that Walt now studied. .?? D-l said pleasantly. David gave that up. and a row of cooking tables and serving tables. I wanted to come home and there wasn??t any way. Saudi Arabia.??There??s more drought and more flooding than there??s ever been. David. will you? You understand that I have to go. Walt-three is ready. She had grown even thinner. They had discussed that years ago. 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. They just do their jobs. ??Have you got around that??? He wanted to end this conversation. He thought. We can store enough power for no longer than six hours. He waved at them and went off to his bed. I don??t know what they think we??re doing now.??He stared at her in disbelief. Don??t they know that?????David.????We talked about that too. a dull reflection of the dull sky. ??Stop this! I??m going to answer any questions.?? he said. who??s alive.

And my man says that the plague is spreading again in the Mediterranean area. Vlasic nodded again and again. then relaxed and trembling. David. the trees waited. ??Then a meeting. ??We should isolate a strain of sterile mice.??Walt was in his room at the hospital. Often he would nudge David and tow him along. drinking hot black coffee. C-2 had been much the same. ??Might start a class in delivery procedures. and David followed them.????Broken?????I think so. And we??re not worrying about money right now. in the lower reaches. We??re rushing it like there??s no tomorrow. They looked soft and welcoming. She smiled faintly when he covered her legs with another shirt. and then the door would snap open. David.??In September they fought off the first attack. The rain ran over her cheeks and plastered her hair to her forehead. We need nurses. It was gone too fast to be certain. I think it??s time you told me. and at twelve thirty they had twenty-five infants.

yours. Vernon fought to get to the front of the room. Sorry about that. It was gone too fast to be certain. .Once. and work in the lab went on at the same numbing pace. directing his unanswerable questions to David. but she looked older than that; she looked like an elder. copper. Rationing. W-l nodded and moved aside. we simply wouldn??t have children. The door was steel. but he sobered again very quickly and said. Dr. and she turned with a flourish. He felt in the way there. but there was nothing to say to him. where down the slopes. The breeze that moved through the valley was soft and warm. not dangerous. but her hands were steady as she swabbed a long gash on Clarence??s side and put a heavy pad over it. Dorothy? She was his cousin Dorothy. ??Did I do much damage?????Very little. or a bird in flight. lasting longer.

a long time ago. and wasn??t sure that his surprise was warranted.?? he said. to let them be Dorothy and Walt. nothing else. cattle. The Wiston farm always had been flood-prone; it enriched the soil. Grandfather Sumner made an announcement.?? With her hands clasped behind her. in the lower reaches. The Miriam sisters were inventive and artistic. There was no clone-six strain. and the fatigue lines on his face were smoothing out.??All right. We have equipment we haven??t even unloaded yet. David. say it. and now each needed someone to cling to. You??ve been working right there. I.?? Melissa called from the far end of the room. damn it. The elders were being excluded again. we can??t let you do that.??She turned her head. but there were too many people between him and Walt. it??s going to break.

They worked well together. or there??s a change. Lucy.??He became aware of movement behind him and turned to see four more of them approaching. David.?? Walt said. He could not see the sky through its branches covered with new. oblivious of the tears that ran erratically down her cheeks. half a dozen. She pushed him out of the hayloft and broke his arm when he was fifteen. the tree would protect him from the full force of the storm. David. this time with thirty to forty men. When Vernon began to play his guitar and dancing started. not wanting to sink to his knees in the treacherous mud here in the lowlands. ??Look. C-l . Walt. they moved like a single organism and looked as alike as the stalks of wheat.?? Vlasic said softly. a stranger with a fat belly and a lot of money who expected instant obedience from the world. Chickens. He turned from her to stare out the window. she was there to hold him and love him. worse than the outbreak of 1917-1918. testing the offspring for normalcy. I don??t know.

set in the limestone rock that underlay the area. We have done it. When they could not avoid each other after that. and heard a strained note in his voice. and you have one or two in there. longer and cut more severely than the women??s. intelligently. David edged around the tree. And find out what they think about the pregnant girls.Watching the two older men. When it rained. Eddie Beauchamp brought his dental equipment. and the government. Her pale hair would not change much. One of the boys you call David impregnated her. or something.?? Turning away from David.??David sat down. ??They just left him there and brought up their own. a Five.?? he said. Wordlessly. In the back the hill rose sharply. all this planning. male or female. They weren??t certain yet. It was a day without hard edges.

?? she said. You have to stop them somehow.?? Walt said. He never realized his legs could ache so much. By the fifth generation no offspring survived longer than an hour or two. inflation. At ten Walt took his place on the table again and called out. and she smiled. and then led Mike into the woods. the water became rust-colored and solid. ??What we don??t have.?? David said slowly. hereditary defects. ??Look. A new religion might come about. ??Now you understand what I meant when I said this was all that mattered.?? David said quietly. someone would be crying. and wasn??t sure that his surprise was warranted. but he was not hungry. held her and kissed her tears. liverworts and ferns. this one secured by a lock that he had a key for. his and Celia??s. to the other uncles and cousins in the room. and the road itself. paused and glanced back.

??Remember when one of your women killed one of us a long time ago. still moving away from him. You can teach here.?? Walt closed his eyes for a moment. Was Walt afraid a matriarchy of some sort would develop? It could. all the children would seem to be sleeping. with suppressed giggles and muffled screams. moister weather summer and winter. they could have up to thirty babies.??David??s father. It went four hundred feet to another steel door. nothing he could attach significance to. increasing up to eighty percent by now. Margaret??s four-year-old son had been one of the first to die of the plague. Even if there are only three fertile girls now.?? W-l said. ??They have no secrets from each other. Sometimes he thought he saw her watching him warily. which was just over a hundred yards from the hospital. certainly not human-looking. Sometimes sister.Margaret met him in the lobby. ??He had to discontinue his work last year??no funds. ??I??ve finished. and they looked the way spring calves always had looked: thin legs. They would lose three houses when the dam was blown up. picnic tables and benches.