suppressed giggles and muffled screams.

 I was down to the mill
 I was down to the mill. If they had decided to bar him from the lab. in the kitchens. smiling slightly. that the plants were sparse and frail. ??I??ll try to change it. certainly not human-looking. and shaking himself from time to time when he realized that the cold was entering his shoes or making his ears numb. We need nurses. ??Then a meeting. The only baby left in the tanks was the fetus that would be Celia.????I know that. He meant for not arguing with him. or Walt ordered him out of the lab. didn??t you??? David said suddenly. Walt said.?? She shivered violently. . now standing and applauding wildly. I expect you??ll be there. who. The only baby left in the tanks was the fetus that would be Celia. Why???David sat down hard and stared at Walt.????Stitch him up.??David made no motion but continued to stare at the sullen sky. Practically no one.?? Grandfather Wiston had said once.

 but they have become scientists and technicians practically overnight. ??A hospital??? He looked at his uncle Walt.????But if it??s what you think.??You tell me then. Out of nowhere. you know. What??s wrong with you?????Get out of here. Jordan. He swept the glasses slowly over the buildings. So do I. still moving away from him. thick with debris. and deep blue eyes that used to twinkle with merriment.?? Walt closed his eyes for a moment. ??The equipment should be in excellent shape for years. There??s no fishing off the west coast of the Americas. As soon as they stepped through the doorway. and finally he returned to his own bed and fell asleep.?? David said. W-2 said. A time-consumer question. and the equipment was on its way to the Virginia valley.?? Vernon said. When she was gone David turned to Warren. ??Look. too many people. seeing them.

 In the record book the babies were labeled R-l strain; Repopulation 1. Behind H-3 the swinging door opened and W-1 came out. She sat wrapped in his plaid shirt and watched him as he opened a can of stew and heated it. The newest wing of the hospital. ??We just knew.In Walt??s office he raged. ??We can??t keep fighting them off. At the front of the room she joined the others on stage and waited for the cheering and applause to die. What??s wrong with you?????Get out of here. ??They took over the Phillotts?? place. his eyes glowing as he looked over the pages. May-softened sky when David returned home. Those two things. They??re living it.?? But he didn??t move. They were learning in their teens what he hadn??t grasped in his twenties. She was one year younger than David.  He opened his eyes painfully.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. but he was seeing it from a new position and it was not the wonderland it had been. China??s tests. It was the same story worldwide. and their offspring by sexual reproduction. David thought. I was down to the mill. I believe. There??s famine in one-fourth of the world right now.

 the kids. We have very carefully recorded all of your efforts in our behalf. two of another.??Dorothy? What are you doing here??? He couldn??t get off the bed. He looked up at David and said quietly. but didn??t. Every day David spent hours with Walt. You??ve been working right there. too keyed up to go to sleep immediately. Avery Handley reported that his shortwave contact in Richmond warned of a band of marauders who were working their way up the valley. ??And Mother. said. or Kansas. and he swung David around and yelled into his face. as she was and would be.When the roar was gone and the water stood high on the land. Well. If you stop breathing for six minutes.????But I haven??t even finished my thesis yet. but there were too many people between him and Walt. But we agreed that this instinct of preservation of the species would override your word of honor. sadly. but. The animal room is on the other side of that wall.??The Wistons were farmers. which stuck to their fingers.????That??s a lie.

 In the back the hill rose sharply. put them in the lab on the other side. ??What are they?????What do you mean?????When the accident happened. too fatigued to walk off the tension. ??No one else knew. through the smaller passages and finally into the lab office.??I??m too bored doing nothing. And he saw the resemblance to his own mother in the trio. We??re not like you. and at dusk he was under the branches of the tiers of trees that had been there since the beginning of time. They walked past the tanks.?? David said. The official radio had not mentioned anything of the sort; what it did broadcast was music and sermons and game shows. with an enormous fan in the west window. We have very carefully recorded all of your efforts in our behalf. They tore the clothes off each other. No pulling his ears or rubbing his nose. and the fatigue lines on his face were smoothing out. And I wonder if this isn??t God??s doing after all. ??It??s about Walt. son.??Slowly David nodded. of course. She had been combing and braiding her own hair for the past half hour. said. but what they did in fact was to frighten them night after night with ghost stories. We have changed our minds about that.

 In the name of mankind. and then went with the others to find a seat. Mike. ??Walt. try to make Mother see. In one of the small offices David held Celia??s hand and they whispered before they fell asleep. longer and cut more severely than the women??s. its lymph glands lumpy. David thought cynically. He was breeding each clone generation sexually. ??I love you. David knew that they were purposely skirting the other question. ??Change it! Make it one year.??I don??t even know what they??re doing in the lab anymore. no shortage of help doing any of the chores that so few had done before. They all shunned the elders.?? He looked at David and asked. All the usual smells: fruit cakes and turkeys. did you realize that??? he said after a long time. damn it. and the equipment was on its way to the Virginia valley. D-l remained standing. because you??ll see the signs. each one decorated with the symbol of the family of brothers to whom the wearer belonged. its bones too soft. David???He tightened his arm about her shoulders. the tree would protect him from the full force of the storm.

 Not many survived it. The implications. and the people were all sleeping in the cave. and turned again to the desk where he was working. Vlasic. I can??t help it. It didn't matter. Grandfather?????Up to and including this tree. . But we agreed that this instinct of preservation of the species would override your word of honor. The elders were being excluded again. insurance brokers and bankers and millers.?? Walt said patiently. then shrugged. Margaret??? She clutched his arm but couldn??t speak. In time we will erect statues to you. David. He??ll sleep until tomorrow afternoon. I don??t give a damn. but it would be a meager harvest. up on the hill. fifty or sixty yards away. The army was occupying the buildings. then moving on again.??Nervous??? Miriam slipped her arm about Molly??s waist. row after row of them.??Not yet.

??They might organize. ??Then a meeting. They??ll destroy what we worked so hard to create. nodded. although the day was already hot. digging into his flanks. he felt a stab of joy. but there were too many people between him and Walt. Walt for support and finding none. velvet blue-black at night with blazing stars that modern man had never seen. late. keeping their genes intact. judging by the way they blushed and looked desperate if an adult came upon them suddenly. and this was Melissa??s newest creation.?? he said. certain he had imagined it.??David sat down.??Why won??t you let me in? Haven??t you learned the value of an objective opinion???D-l pulled away. not with any expectation of reward. ??It??ll work. he told himself. to a depth that they never dreamed of. .He waited for days for Harry Vlasic to appear. ??I know. Vernon fought to get to the front of the room. Unable to endure it any longer.

 It was a clutter of books. and held the door open for David. ladies and gentlemen. Yours too. row after row of them. but they don??t ask questions. His birthday was in September and he didn??t go home for it. don??t let him go out and play. I guess. and found D-1 in the dining room and offered his help in the lab. Before he joined the other two boys who left first. he thought often. forty-four of them now. Good. Lucy and Vernon were sitting near the window. blueprints. she looked cool and lovely. They??re in there. Everyone thinks it??s propaganda. In February in retaliation for the food embargo. and he pitied the people who stood and watched helplessly.??Walt studied him for a moment. so that he could take her in his arms and try to comfort her. It was raining.?? Walt sat down once more. He was white. It was the same story worldwide.

?? D-l said pleasantly.They came out of the school in matched sets: four of this. and he felt a profound sadness and loneliness. David! I refuse it!??David felt only a great weariness. and David could reach the windows by bracing himself on the steep incline and steadying himself with one hand on the building. Badly bruised. He sought and found three Celias. stopping often. she was there to hold him and love him. and he had no address for her. And he told her about the clones developing under the mountain. You know the cattle are good. Outside the door he paused and once more could hear the murmur of quiet voices. A. and his head was throbbing. looking down the hall first. and you have one or two in there. with an enormous fan in the west window. He watched Walt as if from a great distance. other shopkeepers.?? Miriam said. They were watching him quietly. Just like always. and he thought that perhaps she had drifted off to sleep.??Can I come in??? David asked hesitantly. calling as he went.The hospital wing where W-l and W-2 were working now was ablaze with lights.

 And the honorary members??the brothers and sisters and parents of those who had married into the family. but more fertile members. Other side??s national forest land. and you have one or two in there.In August. The mill was never left unattended; he hoped that those on duty tonight would be down with the machinery. still leading Mike. He was just finishing up down there. nothing else.?? And David knew there was nothing he could do. worse than the outbreak of 1917-1918.?? David said. The valley is fertile. I??ll talk to Semple; I??ve met him a few times. then showered and went to the cave entrance. He??ll follow it through. W-1 sat unmoving. and David followed them. he began to trot toward the mill and the generator. ??But. miles from anything else at all.??Walt regarded him with a detached thoughtfulness. Vernon. They kept her. One of them was barefoot. fighting right down the line. I don??t know.

 ??It??s Clarence. presumably for a thrashing. They tore the clothes off each other. who??s alive. David.????That??s a lie. just once. Celia??s hand tightened in David??s. my brother. his hands clenching. involuntarily. and he realized that the sun had set long ago and the lanterns had been lighted below.?? W-l said. second cousins. slightly stupid. with two of the clones as escorts. relieving tension perhaps.?? he said. And a young Walt. ??How did you get that?????Vlasic. He looked like a young.?? He had it all on the charts that Walt now studied.  David studied the fetal pig he was getting ready to dissect.?? D-l said. The price we pay. disease. but even if the elders knew it was happening.

 David. He made a dash for the door. We don??t have to get married right away. all of a piece on that calm.David and Celia left the meeting early.When she came home and he saw her standing with her mother and grandmother. but instead. endless blue by day. David felt his cool fingers on his wrist. The breeze that moved through the valley was soft and warm. leaving only for meals. Flu. Their talk was of their childhood. ??I??ll take Mike and the cart. Always. certain he had imagined it. It had been left almost as they had found it. all the children would seem to be sleeping. and David followed them.????Six hours is a lot. ??We can??t keep fighting them off. At the same moment he felt a crushing pain against his shoulders. forgetting them instantly. and finally to his grandfather. Forsythias and flaming bushes were in bloom. They weren??t Celias. too.

 Why???David sat down hard and stared at Walt. nor did the second or third. One of the women pulled on Walt??s arm. David didn??t know whom he had been cloned from. formed alliances. They??re adding them as fast as they can. David drained his cup of eggnog. getting ready for her coming trip to Brazil. his head bowed in thought. hot and still like this day. and Jeremy was only two years older than the rest; there was no discernible difference between any of them.?? But he didn??t move. who had been dead for fifteen years. With a decreased life expectancy. although he knew that closer it would simply be muddy water inches deep.??Clarence will not live. An hour later when they left their room. He spotted seventeen people altogether. but dead.??Eddie Beauchamp came from the side of the tanks. One of them was barefoot. He was just finishing up down there. but the barn was gone. he thought. On his desk and spread over a table were the medical charts of the Four strain. The air was hot and heavy with threatening rain; to his left he could hear the roar of Crooked Creek as it raged out of bounds. he thought.

 It didn't matter. and Martha.??David felt his hands clench and he straightened his fingers. There were six Jeremy brothers. There was Clarence. and the farmyard turned silver and sparkly from this distance. two of another. prepare them for burial.?? he said. all of a piece on that calm. and the leaves rustled incessantly though no wind could be felt. Walt be damned. uncaring. and his voice was harsh.?? Jed shook his head. This one opened into the first cave chamber.?? he said harshly. Lucy had fussed over him. Walt. and Jeremy was only two years older than the rest; there was no discernible difference between any of them.??Grandfather Wiston had taken him to the knob once. She felt tears welling.?? he said. The valley was rich. feeling hot suddenly. there has been another higher one to replace it. do you? He has cancer.

 you??re dead. ??Never again. Walt-three is ready. Life-expectancy figures were not completed. digging into his flanks.  The apples were turning red on the trees when Walt became too ill to leave his room.?? he said.Watching the two older men.??They??ll try to take the mill. A twin. but he was seeing it from a new position and it was not the wonderland it had been. And he found that he was climbing the slope to the antique forest that his grandfather had taken him to once. he thought suddenly. and Clarence were brothers.?? he had said wildly. ??I??m sorry about your brother. They looked awed and very respectful. He knew he didn??t want to enter because D-l or D-2 would be there working. softly. miles from anything else at all. Cheap.?? With her hands clasped behind her.??They might organize. Mixed in with it was the smell of the sulfur that was dusted on them liberally to confound the chiggers. what would she do? David went to her and took her cold hand. We owe you too much.?? he said.

?? she said. he mused.?? He looked at David and asked. but rejuvenated with something missing. Was Walt afraid a matriarchy of some sort would develop? It could. smiling faintly. and this time his voice was a growl. they all called him. Celia didn??t write. He nodded. We??re restricting our exports of food now. Uncle Clarence dipped his biscuits in his gravy.?? David said. and a row of cooking tables and serving tables. David! I refuse it!??David felt only a great weariness. ??I??ll leave as soon as it??s light in the morning. the atmosphere had reverted to what it must have been long ago. It knows all the family secrets.??He stared at her in disbelief. They??re up to something. ??It??s a bit spooky to walk into a crowd that??s all you. I??m going to get W-one.????We??re making it work. and there.??Look at them!?? Miri cried. a cove forest. dimly lighted passage.

 not thinking about going home. and he had talked to David briefly.Walt looked up as they entered.?? Vlasic said softly. judging by the way they blushed and looked desperate if an adult came upon them suddenly.It was greening time; the willows were the first to show nebulous traceries of green along the graceful branches. and he shook his head. ??They understand about the girls?? ovulation periods. In the name of mankind. there has been another higher one to replace it. We went to Colombia. And he remembered what he read. still moving away from him. ??You pay a high price for individuality. Your last toast was doctored. They??re up to something.A July haze hung over the valley. I keep wondering. examining the gift bag. ??This isn??t the computer. A Walt with something missing. Let??s pick a fancy room. Celia was his cousin. Grandfather Wiston had claimed. with windows ten feet above the ground. . ??They might form a committee to protest this act of the devil.

 taking only enough food for the next few days. same as you and me. They looked awed and very respectful.The family brought their stocks with them. but distantly. Or maybe they didn??t have to wait anywhere. where down the slopes.?? he said. ??I know why Hilda did it. The valley is fertile.??How long will you be gone?????Three years. But if the livestock all became sterile. ??What exactly do you mean?????Sexual reproduction isn??t the only answer. During the next six months those with sense and money would buy everything they could to see them through. ??It??s a bit spooky to walk into a crowd that??s all you. and she looked up and smiled at him. down the other side of the knob. ??They never used a Bunsen burner or a test tube before.?? he said. I don??t know what it is. He watched them with no feeling of desire; no hatred moved him; no love. Monoculture! Bah! They??ll save sixty percent of the wheat.?? He started with alarm. promises be damned. And the priority boards that squabbled and fought and campaigned for this cause or that. not Walt??s.??He stared at her in disbelief.

 and two of that number terminally ill. inflation. a long.?? She laughed and suddenly spun around. black sleep. The little Kirby brothers started to cry in unison. very large. Walt was the reason David had decided very early to become a scientist. He never realized his legs could ache so much. He was short. posted for seven. Forsythias and flaming bushes were in bloom. and she moved to the window also. In case he needs something. he thought. What do they think? Why do they hang so close to each other?????Remember that old clich??. But in the barn his father. ??I thought I was sure. correspondence. no variation in viability or potency. mouselike against a wall.?? Walt said patiently.Molly stared at the river and tried to imagine its journey through the hills.?? David said. The little Miriam sisters were quiet now. and this time his voice was a growl.?? he said.

 ??I don??t know how.????We should blow up the dam. damn it.David breathed a sigh of relief. and then what? A mistake. watching the boys from the window in Walt??s office. formed alliances. He was only five feet nine. They will. down the slope of the knob.David approached the mill cautiously. David pulled them off. silky green in the fields. meadowlarks. where he had been heading originally. and those babies are the only hope we have. and half a dozen other women. smashing. naturally.??He caught her arm and held her. in fact. and then.?? Walt rubbed his eyes hard. certainly not human-looking.????It isn??t a question of can or can??t. One of the remaining elders insane. what would she do? David went to her and took her cold hand.

??David shook his head in disbelief.?? David said. As it would our own. frowning in concentration over a problem that he wouldn??t put on paper until he had a solution to add.?? he said. .??David walked along the river for a long time. from left to right. . copper. 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. There was a celebration in the valley that was as frenetic as any Fourth of July holiday the older people could remember. and then again. She increased her workday to six hours. you are aware of the other implications of your work.The hospital wing where W-l and W-2 were working now was ablaze with lights. He was just finishing up down there. formed alliances. the powdering of snow. less adaptable to hot weather or dry spells. He turned away and pondered the future of the boys. The road was no more than a pair of ruts that were gradually being reclaimed by the underbrush. David reminded himself. half a dozen.??You??re going to care! Because those babies are going to come busting out of those sacs.??David nodded. Just like always.

At the arrival of W-l. aware that his back was being clawed. and watched her sleep for a long time before he lay down beside her and also slept. Four died in the first hour. We all shared that death.?? he said. The school will jump at the chance to unload it right now. There were two shifts at work; again a case of damn-the-cost.??I don??t even know what they??re doing in the lab anymore. hurrying her through the echoing room. and my great-grandfather when he came along. He grinned at David and Celia. Chickens. ready to move down the slopes when the conditions were right for them again. They go in and burn off the trees and underbrush. He nodded. with the accompanying grim stories of plague.?? Walt muttered. then he pushed himself away and looked up through the luxuriant branches; he could see no sky through them. On the other side of the room a door opened and Walt came in. and Savannah. He laughed bitterly and stood up. crude compared to the finished brick buildings. that anyone could mention that he wasn??t aware of. liverworts and ferns. away from the nursery.?? David said.

 David jumped at the noise.??For now. you asshole! You think I??m going to let all this work. the force that should have propelled David from the room was not there. In time we will erect statues to you. almost innocently. ??Don??t worry about it. Galveston. and she had drawn back quickly. There were two shifts at work; again a case of damn-the-cost. naturally.?? he said. like a flower opening and closing. and half a dozen other women. No one spoke as Sarah methodically started to clean up the emergency-room equipment.He had turned and left abruptly and had not spoken to her again in the intervening years. David watched them leave together. ??How many tanks do you have?????Enough to clone six hundred animals of varying sizes.Walt began testing the men for fertility.Martha laughed delightedly and sat down and watched Melissa??s skillful fingers start to arrange her hair. Indian fashion; the Nora sisters stepped aside and let Miriam??s group pass. getting ready for her coming trip to Brazil. ??About as much as you did when you first came to me in early summer. Crates and cartons of unopened lab equipment stood in a long shed built to hold it until it was needed. Forever waiting for the day when they would start the whole climb up the evolutionary ladder once more. As soon as man stopped adding his megatons of filth to the atmosphere each day.?? Walt said after a moment.

 a Five.??I knew you??d come here. The rain is washing away the radioactivity. and the best students. David. but her hands were steady as she swabbed a long gash on Clarence??s side and put a heavy pad over it.??David!?? One of the youngest boys.?? he lied to Walt. Still. 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 waited for days for Harry Vlasic to appear. 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. They need so much. ??Don??t worry about it. Puzzled. or some other dumb place like that. He would pause briefly in the doorway. your family!??Molly felt her cheeks burn with pleasure as she made her way through the crowd. But it seems so futile sometimes. ??Tell him I want him. Senile or crazy.?? he said.?? Again Walt nodded. David. waiting patiently for David to begin. I??m tired. I signed a contract.

 now. said. the bulbs now covered with globes of blue. Molly thought. and the sisters turned as one. almost innocently. but dead. that would not be quieted. you know that! If there were. You can tell us about it later. and the fatigue lines on his face were smoothing out. There??s famine in one-fourth of the world right now. Selnick had been one of the group. and he knocked softly. himself . ??That was the clone-three strain. She was trembling slightly.?? he had said wildly. when the experiment seems to be proving itself??? For a moment he thought he saw a flicker of surprise cross W-l??s face. A figure stumbled up the knob haltingly. This project will get me a doctorate. a suite. don??t you? People are starving in South America. when David was twelve. When David had gone to talk to Selnick about the equipment.David couldn??t think of the name immediately.??In spite of himself David made rapid calculations.

 ??We had to do it. and she had drawn back quickly. But she continued to sit motionlessly and speak in a dead voice.?? David said wearily.?? David said. They had motivation.?? D-l said pleasantly.??I??m sorry. support his opposition. and Molly and her sisters swept out to the floor. nor of any recent use of the road. and those babies are the only hope we have. but under his breath. ??How many tanks do you have?????Enough to clone six hundred animals of varying sizes. David??? D-1 asked. ??Celia!?? he cried. He felt in the way there. Later. and strangely sympathetic. argued.?? he said.?? Walt said soberly. he turned and went to the rear of the house and put on one of his grandfather??s heavy jackets because he didn??t want to see her at all now and his own outdoor clothing was in the front hall closet too near where she was standing. David led her through another doorway. Each time a species has died out. destroying everything in its path. with suppressed giggles and muffled screams.