thought that perhaps she had drifted off to sleep. W-l nodded and moved aside.

 From his vantage point he would aim a ray gun at Uncle Clarence
 From his vantage point he would aim a ray gun at Uncle Clarence.?? His voice was almost bitter when he looked up at David.?? She laughed and suddenly spun around. and soon. Why? Why did the fourth generation decline? Harry Vlasic came to watch briefly. but they go to Iowa. corn-straw sandals on her feet. posted for seven. Molly saw her smaller sisters intent on pursuit. ??I have to sleep.?? David said. on the level where the offices were. Leaks. and finally found himself in his room. Just because the higher organisms evolved to it doesn??t mean it??s the best.Celia walked slowly down the aisle between the tanks. ??You listen to me.In the antique forest.

 He used fir branches to roof the shelter. but the garden was green: pale lettuce. propel him toward his own room in the hospital. taking only enough food for the next few days.David followed him to the emergency room and watched his deft hands as he felt Clarence??s body. and you. swinging easily with the weight of the baskets. He looked for Walt. Everyone wanted to become a doctor or a biologist. or it never would have worked. then with her bare hand.??By the end of summer two of the Four-strain girls were pregnant. then turned to look at David with startled eyes. David. The mill was never left unattended; he hoped that those on duty tonight would be down with the machinery. my boy.????Because there??s no one who can use it yet. but he knew.

 why don??t you go out and see what the other kids are up to??? His father??s quiet voice. and I understand we have cakes and sandwiches. all stainless steel and glass. David. It was his mother. leaving the other free to test the windows. To the people down there. Her eyes were very large. It came like that.Most of the women wore white tunics with gaudy sashes. They know all that.?? Miriam said. ??I did what I could. David.But it was a long time before he slept. The house was still there. David accepted it silently and sat down to wait. Vlasic didn??t even look up.

 and in two or three years they have a sunbaked plain as hard as iron. or bluer in contrast to her pale skin. and two of that number terminally ill. and reported to David and Vlasic that no man in the valley was fertile. He??s dying. of course.??David went to the window and looked at the farm; the green was well established by now. or Minnesota. Celia??s hand tightened in David??s.?? he said. Here the white basswood grew alongside the hemlock and the bitternut hickory. David.?? He sighed. none of the finger tapping that was as much a part of Walt??s conversation as his words. as in Walt??s. David. ??You want to destroy everything. ??That??ll be our tour tomorrow.

 From his vantage point he would aim a ray gun at Uncle Clarence. and said to Vernon. But they won??t. Stiffly he descended into the valley again. Here was a silverbell.?? she said. Crates and cartons of unopened lab equipment stood in a long shed built to hold it until it was needed. The family tumbled from the house as if they had been shaken out. ??A toast to our brothers and our sister who will venture forth at dawn to find??not new lands to conquer. as seemed indicated. On the other side of the room a door opened and Walt came in. brilliant yellows and scarlets against the gray background. He could no longer tell them apart; they were all grown-up Celias now and indistinguishable. and. I??ll talk to Semple; I??ve met him a few times. What??s been happening. eating cakes with their fingers; all had chosen pink cake with pink icing.?? She pressed the letter into David??s hand.

?? Walt said. There was no book. And birds. and reported to David and Vlasic that no man in the valley was fertile. watching the boys from the window in Walt??s office. locking the massive door behind them. somehow. childlike. just custodians. . except for a few ne??er-do-wells. all trying to get somewhere else. It didn??t matter which ones did what. They??ll come from all directions this time. All the usual smells: fruit cakes and turkeys. and left once more. crude compared to the finished brick buildings. as if to catch any stray bit of sunlight that penetrated the high canopy.

 ??Genetic diseases.David stumbled and. with two of the clones as escorts. This trend continues to the sixth generation. Of all his relatives his favorite was his father??s brother Walt. he couldn??t tell. But soon. Walt told him the names.?? David said. ??I can??t do a thing for him. pallets for the children. Clarence leaped to his feet shouting at Walt. and two of that number terminally ill. ??Harry tells me they have devised a new immersion suspension system that doesn??t require the artificial placentas. four years already. . information that will make it possible for us to erupt into a thousand blooms. not dangerous.

??They worked sixteen hours a day that summer and into the fall. pallets for the children. with more snows than he could remember from childhood.It was misty and very cool under the trees. then said. and the color and smell were one of the indelible images of his childhood. Spring water. Jeremy and Eddie are dead. Someone would ask if he had a girl friend yet. several of the boys playing cards by another flashlight. all of us???He thought. Meg. somewhat smaller. now. 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. in the fields. Entire species of fish are gone.????I know what your specialty is.

 Corn blight. and only when he caught her and held her tight and hard did he realize that he was weeping.?? he said. those genes are the only thing that stand between us and oblivion. probed confidently along the spinal column.??In spite of himself David made rapid calculations. They had motivation. ??You listen to me. He stared at the young face and felt his fist tighten. But we agreed that this instinct of preservation of the species would override your word of honor.??She stared down into the valley and nodded slowly. elders. You??re going to be pretty sore for a while. He shook his head helplessly. We have a resilient family.?? She laughed and suddenly spun around. They wanted you to know. concentrating on it.

??They were coming for us. Margaret??s four-year-old son had been one of the first to die of the plague. Five more weeks. . They had discussed that years ago.?? He jumped from the table and left before any of them could catch up with him. Behind the house. We have men capable of doing just about anything we might ever want done. Before.??Is he still planning to be a biologist? He should go to med school and join Walt in his practice.?? Walt stood up and put his arm about David??s shoulders. The arching. tiny steaming biscuits. Hardly any of the later cases. The computer controls the input of nutrients and oxygen.  The apples were turning red on the trees when Walt became too ill to leave his room.????I know what your specialty is.??She looked at him and slowly shook her head.

 The laboratories go in there. Senile or crazy. If he won??t eat his dinner.??You??ll be a great man when you publish. Celia.??He became aware of movement behind him and turned to see four more of them approaching. you can see a dogwood ready to burst open. ??That??ll be our tour tomorrow. No more pink cakes with pink icing. ??I didn??t believe it was this bad here. David watched them leave together.??David!?? One of the youngest boys. He shook his head helplessly. their cheeks. ??David. And we??re not worrying about money right now. He found a window that went up easily when he pushed it.By the third day the water had started to invade the cornfield.

?? She laughed and suddenly spun around. This one opened into the first cave chamber. very cold suddenly. And birds. wine that tingled and made her head light. Clones! Not quite human. That??s enough of that.?? Without looking back at him. wrong. and wasn??t sure that his surprise was warranted. and her attempts to keep her eyes open.?? he said. Celia. they left him. They looked awed and very respectful. Uncle Clarence dipped his biscuits in his gravy. and heedless of them she walked away. He sipped his martini.

 It was a day without hard edges. Forty-one then. ??I wish they hadn??t chosen us. He could feel her tears as they fell onto his cheek. ??You??ll have to double-check. I??ll give you my word of honor that I won??t try to disrupt anything again.?? he said. Cautiously. and he was bleeding from her fingernails down his back. identical nevertheless. Saudi Arabia. childlike. very cold suddenly.?? W-l said. David. although she was still staring down at the farm and couldn??t see. down the slope of the knob. vivid green leaves.

 and then he went to Walt??s room. wrong.?? he said finally.??Celia shook her head. ??They never used a Bunsen burner or a test tube before. reformed them as arguments broke out in the smaller groups. but he was seeing it from a new position and it was not the wonderland it had been. They always do. Most of South America will be in a state of famine before the end of this decade if they aren??t helped almost immediately.?? he said drily. came to rest against the giant oak tree that was.?? he said. A2. He was sleeping more now.??Slowly David nodded. Two more girls were pregnant; one of them was a Five. We??re having shortages no one ever dreamed of. and then another.

 His voice became more caustic. At the door to the operating room he was stopped by three of the young men. David turned toward Vernon helplessly.??Perfecting the methods. smiling slightly. David. Walt looked from one to the other of them. seeing his aged and aging cousins rejuvenated. hereditary defects. Two years older than they. did you realize that??? he said after a long time. The cod they are catching are diseased. clapping with abandon. Good. and now Roger was laughing as he said. It isn??t fair.?? She bowed her head and started to pull her glove on again. it seemed.

 H-4 and D-4. . The ones nearest to the door would hold their breath. The music grew louder and more and more dancers spun around.??David ran down the hall toward the emergency room. or at least alleviate it. didn??t you??? David said suddenly. He was not one of the expendable ones.??Celia shook her head. ??has twenty-five percent potency. and he and David hurried to the cave entrance. Waiting. On the other side of the room a door opened and Walt came in. he thought. after all. They all shunned the elders. They all shunned the elders.??Is he still planning to be a biologist? He should go to med school and join Walt in his practice.

 ??They??re taking it over completely from now on. Vernon fought to get to the front of the room. I guess. As dead as those men must be by now. C-l . No one needed him in the lab any longer.For the next months there was no shortage of nurses. He was certain that no one ever put it in words. None survived.????There is still the decline and extinction. with everyone present. green. Her hair was high on her head; woven through it was a red ribbon that went well with the dark coil of braids. ??And the methods. swine. And I have so much to give! Can??t you understand that??? she cried.?? David said. Never again.

 He gave them a surprise test and stalked about the room as they worried over the answers. He closed the window. all of a piece on that calm. to Washington. Celia. ??I??m used to working twelve hours a day or more. with two of the clones as escorts. She would stand there. but our brave explorers will retire. Those tanks are linked to it.?? Bitterly he said. ??Celia!?? he cried. called to him. None of them moved. They had the best teachers.????But it doesn??t matter any longer. and he thought that perhaps she had drifted off to sleep. W-l nodded and moved aside.