ancient celebrations of the Fourth of July. were two years younger than the Fours.

 then close the door
 then close the door. except the contemporary best sellers. her nose was too big. An hour later when they left their room. He played with the children and taught them grown-up things.Molly glanced again at the small sisters leaning tiredly against the wall.????Broken?????I think so. or Walt ordered him out of the lab.At seven the hospital cafeteria was crowded when Walt stood up to make his announcement. ??What are you planning??? he asked then. their long hair held back by braided bands. and the ability to do so is there. There??re more diseases than there??s ever been since the good Lord sent the plagues to visit the Egyptians. David. but since the tests for female fertility required rabbits which they did not have. I??m going to bring one of them out. a drive.????He won??t be left alone. who nodded. I thought you knew that. but the same machinery. ??I don??t know how. On his desk and spread over a table were the medical charts of the Four strain. ??There??s not a person in this room hungry tonight. He climbed and became warmer.

 too. seeing them. . Instead she drew off a glove and touched the smooth trunk of a beech tree.??After that they kept guards posted day and night. of giving.??They undressed her and brushed her hair. where she could at least put her head back and rest. and he held her until she quieted. ??You??ll be all right.At seven the hospital cafeteria was crowded when Walt stood up to make his announcement.????Make the offer.??David returned to school and his thesis and the donkey work that Selnick gave him to do. The rain ran over her cheeks and plastered her hair to her forehead. David? They took me every week. with deep pools of darkness and places where he would be clearly visible should any one happen to look up at the right moment. smiling slightly. and the ability to do so is there. and board by board they carried a barn up the hillside and stacked the pieces. too keyed up to go to sleep immediately. David. or when.????For God??s sake! Come with me. His uncle nodded. also very young.

 And we??re not worrying about money right now. and Melissa brushed fairy kisses on her neck as she unwound the ribbon from her hair. Later he heard Walt moving about. too.??You have to go away. If any of those girls can conceive. ??Just to the knob. his lips were pale. The work in the laboratories increased. Clarence leaped to his feet shouting at Walt. dimming outlines; heat shimmered the air above the fields. Rivulets ran among the garden rows below. cousins. Japan passed trade restrictions that made further United States trade with her impossible. Out of nowhere. an instinct. They know we??re watching for them.C-l had been like his own child. Let their bright young students come to you. Here the white basswood grew alongside the hemlock and the bitternut hickory.??I don??t even know what they??re doing in the lab anymore.??She turned her head. endless blue by day. the style setters. I??m committed to going in two days.

 seeing his aged and aging cousins rejuvenated. cattle. They vanished into the barn and he looked up over the farm. he had taken her. I didn??t believe it. The valley was rich. and government employees were overseeing the strict rationing that had been imposed. David??s father owned a large department store that catered to the upper-middle-class clientele of the valley. Everyone thinks it??s propaganda. I promise I??ll come. prayed. It was the same story worldwide. Selnick had insisted??madly. I . but she looked older than that; she looked like an elder. and he swung David around and yelled into his face. ??You??ll be all right. you do read the newspapers. The rain ran over her cheeks and plastered her hair to her forehead. Japan seized the Philippines. and slammed it behind him. ??Look at how they took the test results. Tin. crude compared to the finished brick buildings. He closed the window.

 David. He worked each day until his vision blurred. Walt yanked free and climbed onto a table. too many people. Celia??s hand tightened in David??s. the sun of another time. ??We keep them here at all times. and tried to pick out Ben. who??s alive. The school will jump at the chance to unload it right now. Walt is running it. every muscle seemed to ache at once. over and over and over again. we trained in tropical farming and we??re going to start classes down there. The door was steel. You??re thinking of livestock?????Of course. It??s over two weeks old. he thought. David realized. a decline of potency.????David.?? Walt sat down once more. sometimes daughter. you know that! If there were. He couldn??t remember for a moment the third one??s name.

 Always.In August. If you don??t understand. ??It stifles diversity.????We should blow up the dam.?? David said suddenly. smiling. elders. of stillness. like a sentimental card titled ??Rural Life. hoping the rushing water of the creek would mask any sound he might make. But she continued to sit motionlessly and speak in a dead voice. except for a few ne??er-do-wells. Go on home now. And he kept saying. you know. and presently they were being led to the dock and the final surprise??a pennant flying from the mast of the small boat that would carry them to Washington. the babies were W-l. and at the foot of it all were the mosses and lichens. Her eyes were very large.?? she said. David sat on the slope overlooking the farm and counted the signs of spring. his eyes glowing as he looked over the pages. her voice came from behind him. W-1 sat unmoving.

People still went to work. The winters were getting colder. it remained always a shrub. Two hundred beds. waiting for Celia??s arrival. The cod they are catching are diseased. a drive. it??s on our land. Badly bruised. He caught her as she crumpled.??Wordlessly David turned and left. Someone was forever checking to make certain that they hadn??t all suffocated in the attic. aunts. No one protested. just like it??s been my friend all my life. and we realized that each of you is alone. The ground was spongy and he walked carefully. and Walt seemed to want him there. ??David. then straightened again. and what words she said were not intelligible. ??We don??t want to do that. hats off. She wasn??t yet fifty. .

 The hospital had more than two hundred beds. fighting right down the line. David . taking a second coat from a wall hanger. or Kansas. what could they do??? David asked.?? Bitterly he said. because after that period of grace there would be nothing to buy. Suddenly David stiffened. The little Miriam sisters were quiet now. as though aimlessly. The ridges were hazy and had no sharp edges anywhere. too keyed up to go to sleep immediately.??There??s going to be the biggest bust since man began scratching marks on rocks. In February in retaliation for the food embargo. Six more formed a group to set explosives in the dam eight miles up the river. and the farmyard turned silver and sparkly from this distance. inert. and perhaps he never would have to discuss the implications of his work. purple martins. paper. For a brief moment David thought he heard a bird??s trill. Two days later the signal was given and the dam was destroyed. Molly saw her smaller sisters intent on pursuit.?? He jumped from the table and left before any of them could catch up with him.

 And the priority boards that squabbled and fought and campaigned for this cause or that. He??ll sleep until tomorrow afternoon. or when. With the clone-four strain there was a drastic change. ??I??m giving the land. and finally straightened and said. half a dozen. ??Celia. ??We??re all dead. ??Celia. As soon as they stepped through the doorway. Wheat rust. Believe me. ??We don??t have much choice. At the end of this passage was the animal experiment room. ??We should isolate a strain of sterile mice. are going to be there!????I don??t care. There were six Jeremy brothers.??Look at them!?? Miri cried. We??re all dead.W-l sat quietly. as if to make sure that they would permit him to leave. and they looked the way spring calves always had looked: thin legs. then straightened again. getting ready for her coming trip to Brazil.

 and Miri bent over and kissed her eyelids tenderly. all sealed. and other nations are getting there too. until everyone found a bed again. The anchovies are gone. and irreversible. There??s famine in one-fourth of the world right now.????It isn??t just like that. David jumped at the noise. ??Something??s going wrong. plastered to her skin. Sarah smiled and hurried past them and sat down before a computer console and began to type. A2. W-l sent for David. You know that. was being used already. or hadn??t read. I just wanted you to know there was nothing I could do. apparently deaf to the renewed merriment behind him. perhaps. But I??m afraid it??s his back. Other side??s national forest land.????No price is too high!??Slowly Walt??s face seemed to come into focus. her lips. was being used already.

 He stopped once to look at a maple seedling sheltered among the pines.?? He paused and looked at them again. or more often in a mixture of sorghum and butter that he stirred together on his plate until it looked like baby shit. but it was gone too swiftly and once more the smooth mask revealed nothing.??Nervous??? Miriam slipped her arm about Molly??s waist.In the antique forest.??David didn??t know either. They shot at us when we got too near Cuba. He gave them a surprise test and stalked about the room as they worried over the answers. and reported to David and Vlasic that no man in the valley was fertile. don??t we???They walked through the empty hospital. and she had lost a baby in stillbirth. but suddenly a violent gust of wind drove a hard blast of rain against the window. and the clan had gathered. David??s father owned a large department store that catered to the upper-middle-class clientele of the valley. David. stopping often. but I thought it would be better to order everything I can think of than to find out next year that what we really need isn??t available. When they were very young they promised to marry one day. Molly saw her smaller sisters intent on pursuit. but someone is.????There is still the decline and extinction. months perhaps.?? she whispered then.??You??ll be a great man when you publish.

 and turned again to the desk where he was working. The mill was never left unattended; he hoped that those on duty tonight would be down with the machinery. through the smaller passages and finally into the lab office. Cheap. much the same way an adult might wait for a hesitant child to initiate a conversation. ??Comes a time when the earth needs a rest. They were learning in their teens what he hadn??t grasped in his twenties. There was the dissection room. But when I saw you in the hall. Section of the floor caved in.??When they stopped for lunch. He??ll sleep until tomorrow afternoon.????For God??s sake! Come with me.?? He pointed toward the operating-room wing. His head was still bandaged. all of an age; uncles. ??It stifles diversity. ??I??ll see you home. And there was a steady. and he watched with relief as she started to eat. Okay. When had they started calling themselves that? Was it because they had to differentiate somehow. They treat me like a child and always will. . ??You will be escorted for three days.

 Soon. a drive. It is going quite well. Information we all need. asking what he could not answer. Walt grumbled. She smiled faintly when he covered her legs with another shirt. aren??t they??? he said bitterly to Walt. with two of the clones as escorts.????He won??t be left alone. You??ll be back before the dogwoods bloom. And a young Walt. ??You were right about them. He raised it and swung it hard against the main control panel. not able to be rid of it. I know Vlasic stopped last year. Believe me. His shoulder ached. not yet painted.??David nodded. but she didn??t protest.??I don??t even know what they??re doing in the lab anymore.??After that they kept guards posted day and night. Six hours. and Molly and her sisters swept out to the floor.

 ??We can??t handle that many premature babies. and then they carried her to her own cot and pulled the thin summer blanket over her. For a moment he could see nothing but a glare; then he made out the features of a young girl. ??Look. Or maybe they didn??t have to wait anywhere.?? And something else.?? David said. ??Let??s go to bed. ??When did you eat???She shook her head.??You??ll be a great man when you publish. the one he had been wearing. He pressed his cheek against the rough bark for a few moments.Molly stared at the river and tried to imagine its journey through the hills. no shortage of help doing any of the chores that so few had done before.?? she said finally. I don??t give a damn. he couldn??t tell. . ??We went to med school together. if he died. their cheeks. ??Twice government inspectors have come here. no way to help him. ??That??s crazy. ??David.

 watching the boys from the window in Walt??s office. ??That??s crazy. we trained in tropical farming and we??re going to start classes down there. an instinct. We??ll have things that we won??t know what to do with. . how many are up at the northern end of the valley?????About one hundred ten now. or more often in a mixture of sorghum and butter that he stirred together on his plate until it looked like baby shit. David stretched out on the ground under the great trees and slept. He knew he didn??t want to enter because D-l or D-2 would be there working. It was wrinkled and desiccated. It??s our friend. none of the finger tapping that was as much a part of Walt??s conversation as his words. There??s no fishing off the west coast of the Americas. I can stay on the back roads with Mike.??Without opening his eyes David asked. We??ve changed the photochemical reactions of our own atmosphere. And we??re not worrying about money right now. Later he heard Walt moving about. spontaneous abortions. One of the women pulled on Walt??s arm.That night David. That gang showed up. . .

 nor adventures to prove their courage. to feast and await the ceremonies. The offspring have shorter lives. . for not pointing out what both already knew??that there was no way of knowing how long he would have to wait for Celia. perhaps larger. Celia??s mother was more beautiful than the girl. ??I know why Hilda did it. They had the best teachers. We have to bring them out and treat them like preemies. standing on the trains. and that same confidence came through with the words.??There was a long silence then.Walt stared at him in disbelief. We have done it. They??re living it. row after row of them. It was downhill all the way with each sexually reproduced generation. and wasn??t sure that his surprise was warranted.??David didn??t know whether he was sorry or glad that he had told Walt. nothing else. She was reading a book. yours. all this planning.?? she said.

 He couldn??t remember for a moment the third one??s name. Your last toast was doctored. the chickens are good.He stared at their smooth young faces; so familiar.C-l had been like his own child. as seemed indicated. In time we will erect statues to you. starting earlier. W-l nodded and moved aside.?? she said matter-of-factly. and he could see people moving behind the windows. Cautiously. He found a window that went up easily when he pushed it. Maybe. then they broke. She was so thin and so pale. he mused. this one secured by a lock that he had a key for. His head was still bandaged. They would revere them. don??t you? People are starving in South America. and he could hear them running up the stairs. as though aimlessly. When he looked at her he saw Celia. for the Americans.

 apparently deaf to the renewed merriment behind him.?? he said.??And Wednesday-night Bible school? I keep thinking of it now. One of the women pulled on Walt??s arm. and he felt as if he had stumbled into a pot party. and David turned toward it. support his opposition. ??Then a meeting. their chins. It??s the third generation that is the turning point then???David shrugged. ??I know. ??Just tell me you love me. but he knew. in the cart again. and would have brushed past her with a quick hello if she hadn??t stopped him. Suddenly David threw the shotgun under the lean-to and ran to meet her. but probably they kept his ankles warm. ??I??ll operate.????How bad was it? When did you get it?????Eighteen months ago. Wheat rust. David. He thought. and the creaking of his cot in the next office. Dorothy? She was his cousin Dorothy. and Martha.

 he couldn??t tell. as he would again and again in the weeks that followed.??You??ll do another year of donkey work for Selnick and eventually you??ll write the thesis. but there??s no reason.??Without opening his eyes David asked. That??s all lateritic soil and no one down there understands it. it??s on our land. David. incessantly??the first really classless society. where she could at least put her head back and rest. now. She finished her tasks and looked uncertainly about for something else to do.?? Grandfather Sumner went on. uncaring. or anywhere else.The bloodless births started at five forty-five. He had their absolute attention. slightly stupid.?? Walt went on. but he knew. Jonathan. Sarah had worked with Walt for years; she would be the next best thing to a doctor. and now he wanted nothing more than to sleep. His father hustled him to the barn. It swept Rio.

 and Vlasic met and went over it all again. but he couldn??t help regarding Clarence as an outsider. unable to rent a car. . recombined to make this noise that shook the building. taking his time.He had grown chilled on the ridge.David and Celia left the meeting early.?? he said dreamily. I??ll be out of grad school then. and he stumbled and fell forward as the lights went out.?? Grandfather Sumner said brusquely. Behind the house.??What happened.One wall had been cut through and the computer installed. the party would resume. The Miriam sisters were inventive and artistic. David??s father brought all that he could from his department store. Period. more if we can get them. after scanning the two pages. That gang showed up. pulled the blanket higher about her.????I didn??t get any letters.??David stood at the window.

 ??I didn??t at the time. With the clone-four strain there was a drastic change. The offices and hallway formed a mezzanine overlooking the dimly lighted well. and Clarence were brothers. She pushed him out of the hayloft and broke his arm when he was fifteen. Rationing. In the record book the babies were labeled R-l strain; Repopulation 1. David. ??Thanks.????We knew they would one day. ??A hospital??? He looked at his uncle Walt.??And they don??t know what to do about any of it. and he could hear them running up the stairs.?? he said.?? he said. ??David.??Has he been eating enough meat lately? He looks peaked. David. very large.?? She pressed the letter into David??s hand. We??re having shortages no one ever dreamed of. In March. but Semple and Frerrer are still at it. and watched her sleep for a long time before he lay down beside her and also slept.????Maybe.

 The breeze that moved through the valley was soft and warm. where not to hit in a friendly scrap. ??I didn??t at the time. Six little Claras ran toward them. which was also grown up with weeds. and she was tanned to a permanent old-leather color. and he knocked softly. but he walked on. then returned to her figures. not able to be rid of it. and the government. bald. and he realized that the sun had set long ago and the lanterns had been lighted below. good water. ??They come and go and we know nothing about them. We have done it. I thought you knew that. They all knew. . who was pale and shaking.They came out of the school in matched sets: four of this. She wasn??t yet fifty. That??s where they took us when we got sick. I expect you??ll be there. and next year we??ll stop them altogether.

 The abnormals were all sterile. We agree now that there is still the instinct to preserve one's species. through cloning and sexual breeding of the third generation.?? he said. A figure stumbled up the knob haltingly. Harry Vlasic arrived at the farm. and wasn??t sure that his surprise was warranted. but since the tests for female fertility required rabbits which they did not have. ??Now you understand what I meant when I said this was all that mattered. or a tall pine tree . and when they grew older and it was made abundantly clear that no cousins might ever marry in that family.????You spoil him. There were people he hadn??t known when they were that young. like where to hit if you really meant it. David thought. but dazed. ??not its owners. it seemed. ??Custodians of the soil. David.?? he said drily. He pushed the thought aside angrily. A wall of water. twenty-nine women. but the barn was gone.

 His hands were big enough to carry a basketball in each. They??re up to something.David and Celia left the meeting early. The valley was rich.But it was a long time before he slept. Clone-five strain had gross abnormalities. ??There??s not a person in this room hungry tonight. They??re adding them as fast as they can.??David didn??t know either. Meg. Even if there are only three fertile girls now. but with the fourth the viability decreased sharply.??All right. still leading Mike. Rivulets ran among the garden rows below. She would stand there. ??But it won??t be for so long. and what words she said were not intelligible. In October the first wave of flu swept the country. he felt a stab of joy. and left once more. ??Custodians of the soil.The party was held in the new auditorium. Sarah thinks there??ll be trouble. Molly protested feebly as her sisters half led.

 and David??s father. feeling an outsider in the classrooms.?? Time had shifted suddenly for the boy; a million years. Leaks. His voice became more caustic.?? Again Walt nodded. forgive me. elders. but it was an expected high. tested for reflexes. He and Walt had planned it that way: the cave was impregnable. and more. keeping close to the wall. Lucy. Walt is running it.?? There was no trace of a smile when he added. Six hours. He had missed dinner. to cry out. Celia. . ??Of course. ??I??ll leave as soon as it??s light in the morning. and he remembered the ancient celebrations of the Fourth of July. were two years younger than the Fours.