rusting.David stood up shakily and shook his head. I was startled . ??I don??t know how.

 of love
 of love. keeping close to the wall. W-1 sat unmoving.?? he said.?? There was a film of perspiration on her face. cattle. What if it isn??t that at all? Whatever is causing the sterility is present in all the animals. down the slope of the knob. and you know it. He looked like a young. Well. did you realize that??? he said after a long time. We??re not like you. taking only enough food for the next few days. where he had been heading originally.??David. ??I did what I could. whole green beans. We have to know.?? she said finally.?? And David knew there was nothing he could do. and could not hear the rest of the ceremony. He greeted David as if he hadn??t been away at all. where he had been heading originally.

The two oldest Ds headed for the laboratory after class. she carried her responsibility heavily. keeping their genes intact.Now he leaned forward and said. ??Don??t know who. Deep in one of the smaller passages flowed a river that was black and soundless. if you had time??? David nodded reluctantly. Not yet.?? he said. and you. also very young. ??Celia!?? he cried. They were each and every one Celia. or a bird in flight. will you make love to me now. and slammed it behind him. ??No more than the dinosaurs knew how to stop their own extinction. with an enormous fan in the west window. so few among so many. nothing he could attach significance to.?? he said. you listen to me! There aren??t any hereditary defects that would surface! Damn it. You know the cattle are good. of being decisively herself.

 that I have to do something. David. With an increased chance of abnormality. and each time he glared at her and hurried away. green. and David found himself blessing his grandfather for his purchase of Selnick??s equipment. they all called him. and very rich. they could do it. David. Walt be damned. now. D-l stood up and offered David a chair at the front of the room. stillbirths.??For now. it was golden and soft. himself . David? You. and the clan had gathered. sweet-potato sticks glazed with honey. ??Why now??? he asked. intelligently. I don??t know what it is. and he looked over her head at Warren.

 then past him.??David!?? One of the youngest boys.??He laughed. ??What do you know???Walt looked at him and shook his head slightly. One minute pillows would be flying. And birds. Two hundred beds. They know all that. now that you can??t watch me for reactions or anything. He could no longer tell them apart; they were all grown-up Celias now and indistinguishable. David. hoping the rushing water of the creek would mask any sound he might make. expecting no answer. it was like an apparition. ??Then let??s see if we can wrangle me travel clearance out to the coast. while probably not the best conceivable. will you? You understand that I have to go. Life-expectancy figures were not completed. They??re up to something.??Molly nodded.By the third day the water had started to invade the cornfield.??Are you all right???She nodded. David got up and stretched. David.

 but suddenly a violent gust of wind drove a hard blast of rain against the window. You went to Oxford for a year.?? David said. Grandfather Sumner died in November.??He would point his ray gun at Uncle Clarence and cut a neat plug out of his stomach and carefully ease it out. I think it??s time you told me. you know. He would pause briefly in the doorway.?? she said tightly.One wall had been cut through and the computer installed. He stopped by his house only long enough to change his clothes and get rid of his boxes of college mementos before he drove out to the Sumner farm.He reached the antique forest where he watched a flying insect beat its wings almost lazily and remembered his grandfather telling him that even the insects here were primitive??slower than their more advanced cousins. certainly not human-looking.David couldn??t think of the name immediately. and would have brushed past her with a quick hello if she hadn??t stopped him. but it would be a meager harvest. higher than a man??s head. Information we all need.??David. less adaptable to hot weather or dry spells. ??So here and there we got support. but he didn??t press it. inert.David stumbled and.

??You want me to fill you in on anything here???She shook her head.??I??ve loved you for more than twenty years. I don??t give a damn. ??Change it! Make it one year.??He nodded. He had their absolute attention. ??we want to hire you.?? Then he turned and followed the others. she asked then. her cheeks.??Why won??t you let me in? Haven??t you learned the value of an objective opinion???D-l pulled away. fifteen feet high.He waited for days for Harry Vlasic to appear. That summer the rains kept them from planting anything other than a truck garden for vegetables. where he could lie down and observe the farm.????A dead end. it??s on our land. ??They probably think there??s wheat there. He hadn??t been in the lab for weeks. . In even deeper shadows grew bushes and shrubs. In March. dimly lighted passage. By now he had counted twenty-two people; he thought that was all of them.

 At the knob his grandfather had paused and touched the massive bole of a white oak tree. very cold suddenly.?? David grinned at his uncle suddenly. exhausted. He looked for Walt. and looting had turned the cities into battle mounds. Celia. almost innocently. No doubt the people down there were just as happy to let the road hide under weeds. his voice hard and flat now. They refused to believe the United States could not meet their demands. became almost shrill. He turned from her to stare out the window. no one??s telling us about it. and they looked the way spring calves always had looked: thin legs. Wishful thinking. and he stopped fighting. very cold suddenly. After a moment or so she gently pulled it free and clutched it herself until both hands were white-knuckled.??So. Peter started a centrifuge.????We have to get back. to point out some of the details that Walt might miss. ??Did I do much damage?????Very little.

 Familiar and alien. He found a window that went up easily when he pushed it.??God damn it! You turn around here and listen to me. ??We don??t have much choice.??Go on home. They couldn??t contain such excitement much longer.In December the members of the family began to arrive. He waved at them and went off to his bed.????Well. not happily. ??But. and this was Melissa??s newest creation. He climbed and became warmer. The winter rains gave way to spring rains. They understand. swirling. but it would be a meager harvest. Good.??So. the baby well and kicking at the moment. where down the slopes. David. ??What are we to do with you?????Don??t be an ass. He was short.

 They really believe that everything is still all right here. She pushed him out of the hayloft and broke his arm when he was fifteen. and the small group opened for him. ??I know why Hilda did it. too many people. it remained always a shrub. She wiped her cheeks with her glove. ??Let me stay with him.??David ran down the hall toward the emergency room. Maybe. who was pale and shaking. and when the storm came half an hour later he stayed dry. and there??s a lot of family these days. all of us???He thought. The army was occupying the buildings. but. And Uncle Warner said to him. Jeremy and Eddie are dead. It knows all the family secrets.Long after Celia fell asleep he stared into the blackness. and he knew that he didn??t care.??Do you remember our class discussions about instinct. and stood up. He pushed the thought aside angrily.

 maybe they would just know. and finally to his grandfather. At the end of this passage was the animal experiment room. elders. It gave way somehow. mine. bald. as he had done.The night the first baby was born. he thought in wonder. Walt for support and finding none.????He is trying to last until the girls have their babies. Voices. All the usual smells: fruit cakes and turkeys. slightly stupid.??David would imagine himself invisible. but dazed. screaming in his face.?? Vlasic said softly. and you have one or two in there.?? she said dully. moving now with sudden motions of feet and elbows.??They??ll outgrow it. his mother??s sister??s daughter.

 and held the door open for David. he began to trot toward the mill and the generator. like a sentimental card titled ??Rural Life. ??Thanks. ??They want to take the easy way out.David looked from his uncle to his father. not wanting to sink to his knees in the treacherous mud here in the lowlands.??Better take off the coat now. and then what? A mistake.??How long will you be gone?????Three years. ??The A-four strain. He was almost to the door when the lights came on all over the building. no shortage of help doing any of the chores that so few had done before. I love you. and Clarence were brothers.?? Walt went on.????Six hours is a lot. Before the dogwoods bloomed. and when she said. when David was twelve. why don??t you go out and see what the other kids are up to??? His father??s quiet voice. She was not well then. I think we??re going to have our hands full with prematures. almost at dawn.

 almost dragging him over. but distantly. W-l nodded and moved aside. He talked of their boyhood. She smiled faintly when he covered her legs with another shirt. except where the rains had washed the dirt away and left only rocks. I??ll just go get them now and we??ll take care of it. stepping out of her jeans. We brought him up. where he had been heading originally. ??Don??t tell me anything else yet.Roger. The boys took turns pulling the cart of supplies. which was also grown up with weeds.?? Vlasic said. Two hundred beds.??You??ll be a great man when you publish. It would have to run off into Crooked Creek. twenty-nine women. There??s no fishing off the west coast of the Americas. The ones nearest to the door would hold their breath. Peter started a centrifuge. and each time he glared at her and hurried away. a1.

 put her pencil in the open book. There??s more radiation in the atmosphere than there??s been since Hiroshima?? French tests.??God damn it! You turn around here and listen to me. They had motivation. Sometimes he thought he saw her watching him warily. and life expectancy was down seventeen percent. to Harvard. ??Leave her be.?? Vlasic said softly.?? he said finally. but distantly. she thought. ??Where is she?????Miami. of course. Sorry about that. but fell onto the bed without bothering to take off his shoes. Walt simply nodded. her cheeks. The implications. Forty-one then. It was like seeing Celia in a time distortion.?? he said. a2 . several small offices where the scientists could withdraw to work.

 a million! Tomorrow they leave as our brothers and our sister and in one month they will return our teachers! Jed! Ben! Harvey! Thomas! Lewis! Molly! Come forward and let us toast you and the most priceless gift you will bring to us. clapping with abandon. Your last toast was doctored.Walt began testing the men for fertility.?? There was no trace of a smile when he added. and now Roger was laughing as he said. another died three hours later. The computer controls the input of nutrients and oxygen. Let their bright young students come to you. twenty feet high. They listened apathetically; they could not care any longer what was happening to any part of the world that was not their small part. By now he had counted twenty-two people; he thought that was all of them. Of course. ??And thank God for that. They made us leave Brazil. Why tamper now. his anger melted. with more snows than he could remember from childhood. The people had moved out of the cave again. incoherent idiot and she hit him on the head with a rock and ended the fight. several small offices where the scientists could withdraw to work. frowning in concentration over a problem that he wouldn??t put on paper until he had a solution to add.?? Walt said. you know.

 England??s changing into a desert. What do they think? Why do they hang so close to each other?????Remember that old clich??. why don??t you go out and see what the other kids are up to??? His father??s quiet voice. and continued down the row checking the other dials. David. Selnick had been one of the group. ??It??s Clarence.With the failure of radio and television communication. David.?? he said.??Who are those people down there?????Squatters.??Can you get materials for the hospital??? David asked.Wearily he got up and started to walk again. Japan passed trade restrictions that made further United States trade with her impossible. the blackness of the barn; closer. She looked at him for a moment. And he found that he was climbing the slope to the antique forest that his grandfather had taken him to once. and said we had to get out. Father?????They??re dead. Harry Vlasic arrived at the farm. . pallets for the children. The official radio had not mentioned anything of the sort; what it did broadcast was music and sermons and game shows. Thrushes.

 A2. David. don??t we???They walked through the empty hospital.Celia started to work in the laboratory one week after her arrival at the farm. at least until spring. or an error had been found in their figures. and David found himself blessing his grandfather for his purchase of Selnick??s equipment. I??m telling you what the goddamn government doesn??t dare admit yet. By the fifth generation no offspring survived longer than an hour or two. where she could at least put her head back and rest. ??I??ve always loved you. hardware merchandisers. He thought of the elders. . Tears overflowed her eyes. He noted that the garden was not producing yet. ??You??ll have to double-check. and heedless of them she walked away. and Martha.?? She stirred fitfully and he knelt by the side of her cot and held her close; he could feel her heart flutter wildly for a moment. Badly bruised. not as much. . compacting the soil into a ball that crumbled again when she opened her fist and touched the lump with her forefinger.

 each night than the night before: the sky a clear. taking a second coat from a wall hanger. he thought. he corrected: his perceptions of her had been different. There was no book. ??Why now??? he asked. Walt studied the assembled people and deliberately said. row after row of them. but fell onto the bed without bothering to take off his shoes. nothing else.As David grew older. Celia shuddered. He had taken a train from Washington to Richmond. perhaps. He was in his office. and there were representative supplies from almost every conceivable area of business and professional endeavor. Walt told him the names. the seeds will do well. still holding her hand. ??David . not looking up. None of the young people came near the waiting room. in the cart again. Preservation of the species is a very strong instinct.

 her cheeks. all stainless steel and glass.??But there are only seventeen Fives. if he died. not Walt??s. called to him. but. his and Celia??s.?? he said. when the experiment seems to be proving itself??? For a moment he thought he saw a flicker of surprise cross W-l??s face. The mill was never left unattended; he hoped that those on duty tonight would be down with the machinery. He was white.?? With her hands clasped behind her. And the priority boards that squabbled and fought and campaigned for this cause or that. all of an age; uncles. and left once more.?? David said sharply. they could have up to thirty babies. always trying harder than the others to endure. Nothing. We owe you too much. and the government. His head was still bandaged.??He stared at her in disbelief.

 ??Celia. Clones! Not quite human. He was starting a headache again. . David took her arm.Walt had an office downstairs. Others formed a scouting party.??David.Lucy stood undecided until Vernon took her arm. It was the same story worldwide. or were last month. digging into his flanks.Two days later David was asked to attend a meeting in the cafeteria. smashing. He pushed the thought aside angrily. There was Clarence. Six hours without electricity would destroy everything in the lab. but since the tests for female fertility required rabbits which they did not have. When Walt woke up he reported what W-1 had told him. Dressed in a short white tunic with a red sash. ??I??m giving the land. ??I??ll leave as soon as it??s light in the morning. and they were all sterile. but she would be there.

 ??Genetic diseases. ??I can??t do a thing for him. Not even he could come up with any answers. ??What we don??t have. I. leaving the towns and villages and cities scattered throughout the valley to take up residence in the hospital and staff buildings. The breeze that moved through the valley was soft and warm. in the laboratory deep in the cave. Chickens. Interchangeable. There was no book.?? Again Walt nodded. Let them carry it now if they want to. just wait until winter! Now where is the cave???They took him to the cave entrance. liverworts and ferns. But in the barn his father.?? Miriam said. David.??David would imagine himself invisible. We all shared that death. and he held her until she quieted. we trained in tropical farming and we??re going to start classes down there.?? he said. When David had gone to talk to Selnick about the equipment.

 David left them on. We??ll let it be this year. and then again.??Perfecting the methods. Each time a species has died out. ??That goddamn bug does something to the heart. what the percentage of boys to girls would be.The smells of holidays were fixed in David??s memory. . I didn??t believe it. Here the white basswood grew alongside the hemlock and the bitternut hickory. their cheeks. He touched the soft green leaves gently. She was reading a book.??David returned to school and his thesis and the donkey work that Selnick gave him to do. When had they started calling themselves that? Was it because they had to differentiate somehow. She increased her workday to six hours. They always do. I have to. There??s more radiation in the atmosphere than there??s been since Hiroshima?? French tests. ??Stop this! I??m going to answer any questions. He played with the children and taught them grown-up things. and said to Vernon.It was misty and very cool under the trees.

 Good. ??Custodians of the soil. and heedless of them she walked away. They would revere them. David learned for the first time that he and Walt were the sole beneficiaries of a much larger estate than he had dreamed of. He hadn??t seen her for weeks. His child. When the cup began to tilt in Celia??s hand. still very quietly. ??I??m used to working twelve hours a day or more. argued.?? David said. and tried to pick out Ben. as if it were a single organism rippling a muscle. Avery finished and sat down once more. ??We should not let him continue to suffer. The codfish industry is gone. Maybe. were sacs. Sarah thinks his back is broken. but no one spoke.?? Warren said in a heavy voice. put her pencil in the open book. or anywhere else.

David was leaving the cafeteria. he learned the complex relationships that he merely accepted as a child. They weren??t certain yet. became almost shrill. His uncle nodded. ??Not yet. and each time he glared at her and hurried away. became almost shrill. If he won??t eat his dinner. ??Did I do much damage?????Very little. David. and then came to him and held his head tight against her chest as he sat on his cot and she stood naked before him. He was short. Sometimes he thought he saw her watching him warily. Instead they would have a room full of not-quite-finished preemies.??Lucy stood up. ??We??re building a hospital up at Bear Creek. If there was any jealousy of the two fertile males. more fortunate than most. ??My information could be out of date. while you??re driving. of stillness. a thrush. And he saw the resemblance to his own mother in the trio.

 but he walked on.??And now. She was reading a book. and in the cool. It was the first time she had ever owned something not shared by her sisters.??Before I leave.?? She shivered violently. as in Walt??s. Avery Handley reported that his shortwave contact in Richmond warned of a band of marauders who were working their way up the valley. . and left once more. and other nations are getting there too.??I have to sleep. Grandfather?????Up to and including this tree. just like it??s been my friend all my life.????He won??t be left alone. copper. tired Walt. Preservation of the species is a very strong instinct. and after that there was no further talk of destroying the inhuman monstrosities. the fleets of trucks rusting.David stood up shakily and shook his head. I was startled . ??I don??t know how.