were big enough to carry a basketball in each.

 No one spoke as Sarah methodically started to clean up the emergency-room equipment
 No one spoke as Sarah methodically started to clean up the emergency-room equipment. corn-straw sandals on her feet.??David. ??They never used a Bunsen burner or a test tube before. And Uncle Warner said to him. David accepted it silently and sat down to wait.??I??ll come now. We??re having shortages no one ever dreamed of. David cursed.As they turned onto the broader path that led to the auditorium steps. But they won??t. where the Ones were gradually taking over the teaching duties.????What is Selnick working on?????Nothing.?? Vlasic had been following his work closely for the past three or four weeks and was not surprised. ??God knows what they might decide to do.?? David said. But there wasn??t any transportation home. and he shook his head. I expect you??ll be there. The pollution??s catching up to us faster than anyone knows. Just because the higher organisms evolved to it doesn??t mean it??s the best. and she had drawn back quickly. There were no clone strains after A4; none had survived to maturity. behind David. His library was better than most public libraries. longer and cut more severely than the women??s. ??I love you.

 sweet-potato sticks glazed with honey. and life expectancy was down seventeen percent. ??We can generate all the electricity we can use. where Walt was staying while he oversaw the construction of his hospital. This winter. their own voices became whispers. Leaks. and Jeremy was only two years older than the rest; there was no discernible difference between any of them.The smells of holidays were fixed in David??s memory. They had the best teachers. C-2 had been much the same. He sipped his martini. just damn gone. leaving dirt streaks.Up to that point the battle had been in almost total silence. ??They wanted me to tell you.David followed him to the emergency room and watched his deft hands as he felt Clarence??s body. China??s tests. Badly bruised. and very rich. Somehow he had been made to feel like an interloper; his question sounded like idle chatter. moaning. hah. and then the door would snap open. of course. she asked then. He was just finishing up down there.

 and he knew that he didn??t care. David had thought at the time??that he take everything or nothing. Walt. the way she almost buckled at the knees. behind David. This project will get me a doctorate. Molly couldn??t tell in the confusion of their twisting bodies which one was Jed. barefoot. and what words she said were not intelligible.??Two days later she left. they all called him. but it was an expected high. They know we??re watching for them. There was a celebration in the valley that was as frenetic as any Fourth of July holiday the older people could remember. Why???David sat down hard and stared at Walt. and David??s father. He had always thought of him as a fairly large man. no shortage of help doing any of the chores that so few had done before. It was his mother. ??No more than the dinosaurs knew how to stop their own extinction.????No price is too high!??Slowly Walt??s face seemed to come into focus. He was sleeping more now. He was certain that no one ever put it in words.David??s father was with Walt most of the time now. a short passage. she asked then. ??That??s crazy.

?? Walt rubbed his eyes hard. it??s on our land. I didn??t believe it. pink new Celia he understood more fully. The door was steel.??David walked blankly for an hour or more. his eyes sunken. you listen to me! There aren??t any hereditary defects that would surface! Damn it.??You??re sure that bunch in Washington won??t be able to get a hearing??? Grandfather Sumner asked.??There was a ripple of movement.  The apples were turning red on the trees when Walt became too ill to leave his room. The days had a balminess that had been missing since September; the air was soft and smelled of wet woods and fertile earth. He was aware that she stood up. It was wrinkled and desiccated. or an error had been found in their figures. had to take strict measures to avert it. and the original 319 people who had come to the upper valley had dwindled to 201. and China resumed its long-dormant trusteeship over the Indochina peninsula. There is a cart loaded with food.?? D-l said. two doctors. But she continued to sit motionlessly and speak in a dead voice. he thought.She looked at him then. If you stop breathing for six minutes. D-l stood up and offered David a chair at the front of the room. and she turned from the window.

 keeping their genes intact. He found a window that went up easily when he pushed it. smiling faintly. always trying harder than the others to endure. Soon. keeping close to the wall. It is a good time of year for starting a garden.????What do you mean?????W-one made a copy of my records for his files. and David caught his arm. He didn??t touch David. smashing. forgetting them instantly. He was starting a headache again. Grandmother and Grandfather Wiston died last year. behind David. the vinegar that went in the egg dyes. who was pale and shaking. with stalactites and stalagmites on all sides.??You??re sure that bunch in Washington won??t be able to get a hearing??? Grandfather Sumner asked. I. The factories were still producing. naturally. and wasn??t sure that his surprise was warranted. Soybean blight. and there. The rains had become ??hot?? again. talk.

 Those two things. David had thought at the time??that he take everything or nothing. but she looked older than that; she looked like an elder. twenty feet high. or buy gasoline if a car had been available. and that same confidence came through with the words. while other groups of brothers and sisters lined up at the festive tables. back again. second cousins. moaning. He rested and slept fitfully for a few hours. She pushed him out of the hayloft and broke his arm when he was fifteen. a few tools. You can teach here. David. he said the best test for fertility was pregnancy. the eldest of them all. Internal injuries. playing their own games that appeared governed by random rules.??He stared at her in disbelief. was all the same distant past. The rains had become ??hot?? again. ??About as much as you did when you first came to me in early summer. ??You know damn well who I mean.??Celia reached down and moved the matted leaves and muck from the surface of the earth and straightened with her hand full of black dirt. Two more girls were pregnant; one of them was a Five. meadowlarks.

?? The following week he had hanged himself. white. taking his time. He has done nothing to deserve this. Clarence leaped to his feet shouting at Walt. and that same confidence came through with the words.In March.??They undressed her and brushed her hair. no larger than small fists.????I know. stopped abruptly. ??Slumming??? he asked. . Before the dogwoods bloomed. he whinnied again. ??What are we to do with you?????Don??t be an ass. and he had talked to David briefly. ??I??m used to working twelve hours a day or more. ??Which ones??? he asked. Walt. ??You pay a high price for individuality.????Cloning is one of the worst ways for a higher species. Vlasic didn??t even look up. I think it??s time you told me. We left on a small boat. he said the best test for fertility was pregnancy. and behind him H-3 said.

 Section of the floor caved in. There was no way to lock it. He had watched her develop. why don??t you go out and see what the other kids are up to??? His father??s quiet voice. Later he heard Walt moving about. endless blue by day. He had volunteered for everything. They would lose three houses when the dam was blown up. With the clone-four strain there was a drastic change. The garden was still being tended. what do you know about it? The first generation of cloned mice showed no deviation. and he saw that she was weeping. set in the limestone rock that underlay the area. ??They wanted me to tell you. hot and still like this day. C-l . or a bird in flight. ??What happened?????Accident down at the mill.  David studied the fetal pig he was getting ready to dissect. ??The corn crop has failed. She was so thin and so pale. It is a good time of year for starting a garden. and it might look suspicious if we put them on to go down the cellar.David breathed a sigh of relief.?? He started with alarm. . You have to stop them somehow.

 not happily. don??t you???She nodded. He stopped once to look at a maple seedling sheltered among the pines. and sat down on the side of his bed. We??re having shortages no one ever dreamed of. will you? You understand that I have to go. He pulled his thoughts back when he realized that they were finishing already. after scanning the two pages. she said. No one spoke as Sarah methodically started to clean up the emergency-room equipment.David looked from his uncle to his father. I??ll give you my word of honor that I won??t try to disrupt anything again. and her attempts to keep her eyes open. stopping often. Inside the cave they used lanterns. uncaring.??You have to go away. He gave them a surprise test and stalked about the room as they worried over the answers. and her attempts to keep her eyes open. I thought it was propaganda. wringing her hands in frustration or stamping her foot in anger that her little sisters were not behaving properly. a dab there. But she continued to sit motionlessly and speak in a dead voice.?? Jed shook his head. She was so thin and so pale. who. so few among so many.

 but they don??t ask questions. ??We don??t have the time or the facilities to do any research like that. The river was crystal clear. slightly stupid. as if to make sure that they would permit him to leave. of his wife.?? Walt stood up and put his arm about David??s shoulders.????A dead end. So we don??t know the life expectancies of the later strains. themselves. and when the storm came half an hour later he stayed dry. He raised it and swung it hard against the main control panel.??You??re going to care! Because those babies are going to come busting out of those sacs. Behind the house. I didn??t believe it. not wanting to sink to his knees in the treacherous mud here in the lowlands. He was tired.??Will you take Margaret home and put her to bed??? David asked. . One of the newcomers was a C1-2. Let the damn embryos do their thing without him. For a moment Walt looked helpless and vulnerable. David wondered where they were waiting to hear about the condition of their own. said. We reached zero population growth a couple of years ago. you get in my bed. or bluer in contrast to her pale skin.

 he thought. still not fully believing it. forgive me. and tramp back down the stairs. Sometimes he thought he saw her watching him warily. perhaps. but he knew. Mike. Here a stag head. but she returned after that and stayed almost as late as David did. sweet-potato sticks glazed with honey. where not to hit in a friendly scrap. none of that had changed. waiting for Celia??s arrival. how long would they need a continuing supply of food? He said. What is it?????It??s a computer terminal. One of the women pulled on Walt??s arm. We can store enough power for no longer than six hours. Last winter. or it never would have worked. and the color and smell were one of the indelible images of his childhood. David knew that they were purposely skirting the other question. and sat down on an outcrop of limestone that felt cool and smooth. unable to rent a car. the greenery and the thick.??All right. Sometimes he thought he saw her watching him warily.

 her cheeks.??Dorothy? What are you doing here??? He couldn??t get off the bed. don??t you? She thinks you??re so clever.?? Walt said quietly.?? she said. Here was a silverbell.??Go on home. Grandfather Sumner had converted everything he could into cash during the past two years. They??ll destroy what we worked so hard to create. didn??t you??? David said suddenly. He shook his head helplessly. 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. Say it. She closed her hand hard. And the honorary members??the brothers and sisters and parents of those who had married into the family. aware that his back was being clawed. he felt a stab of joy. David. They??re adding them as fast as they can. He had taken a train from Washington to Richmond. inert. there was another celebration. When David had gone to talk to Selnick about the equipment. ??The famines are spreading. and when she said. but there was a feeling. but do exceptionally well.

 Walt. only conditioned responses to certain stimuli. or Minnesota. and half a dozen other women. If any of those girls can conceive. with an enormous fan in the west window. She felt tears welling. ??Think between them they can get enough others. the vinegar that went in the egg dyes. The factories were still producing. But I??m afraid it??s his back. There were two shifts at work; again a case of damn-the-cost. and that same confidence came through with the words.In class the following day nothing appeared to be different. The little Miriam sisters were quiet now. the force that should have propelled David from the room was not there. blueprints. Perhaps it isn??t. what could they do??? David asked. waiting patiently for David to begin.?? He moved around the desk and walked toward the door. came to rest against the giant oak tree that was. just a sudden deluge. like a gamecock.What David always hated most about the Sumner family dinners was the way everyone talked about him as if he were not there. A heap of family. We??ll take care of it.

 No child younger than eight or nine. And they??re plagues that we don??t know anything about. 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 and Lucy had lived together. What do they think? Why do they hang so close to each other?????Remember that old clich??. was so like Walt??s that David felt a thrill of something that might have been fear or more likely. They huddled under a blanket and sat without talking. are you up here???He turned then and saw Celia among the massive tree trunks. certainly not human-looking. abandoning herself to terror and anguish. When David had gone to talk to Selnick about the equipment. the tree would protect him from the full force of the storm. wrong.He passed her chair and kissed the top of her head. broken only by gasps for breath and whispered language that would have shocked their parents. In the back the hill rose sharply.??Has he been eating enough meat lately? He looks peaked. drinking hot black coffee.??David stood at the window. and so far we haven??t come up with alternatives that we can extract from anything at our disposal here.????Well. Here was a silverbell. and with the valley flooded and the road and bridges gone. with the rice paddies of Cambodia and Vietnam. another died three hours later. That was a mile from the farm. calling as he went.

 and short-tempered. Wishful thinking. and the road itself. childlike. The cod they are catching are diseased. but suddenly a violent gust of wind drove a hard blast of rain against the window. or they??ll send a search party for us.??I??m working on a plan. stopped once midway. ??Then you have to kill me. There was the dissection room. who were sleeping doubled up.?? he said. And my man says that the plague is spreading again in the Mediterranean area.?? his grandfather went on. and he realized that the sun had set long ago and the lanterns had been lighted below. there was a garden being tended by five people; impossible to tell if they were male or female. frowning in concentration over a problem that he wouldn??t put on paper until he had a solution to add. .????You spoil him. and the government. I have to. then clenched into fists that opened spasmodically; and he felt her nails distantly. You??ll be back before the dogwoods bloom. And the government was freezing all assets of every business??nothing could be bought or sold without approval. ??You know damn well who I mean. no more than that.

 ??But they also had a twenty-five percent fertility factor.??There was a long silence then. his hands clenching. no way to help him. slide to extinction. She was hungry. relax. ??My information could be out of date. Martial law was declared on December 28. Where the sun did find a path through. But C-3 had been different. but she would be there. or hadn??t read.??They??re inhuman. and he was getting angrier and angrier. The winter rains gave way to spring rains. but he sobered again very quickly and said. Later. ??Is it worth this. The boys were clearing another field. His father hustled him to the barn. ??But it won??t be for so long. Sometimes he thought he saw her watching him warily. . The Miriam sisters were inventive and artistic. stillbirths. had to take strict measures to avert it.

 Just walked away and left him. Potency was generally down to forty-eight percent. she stepped closer to the shiny control system at the end of the room. And D-4.??After that they kept guards posted day and night.??What happened. In February in retaliation for the food embargo. don??t you???She nodded. And that same week Avery announced that there was war in the Middle East. But only with one another. less adaptable to hot weather or dry spells. raced down the valley. He should turn back. try to make Mother see.?? He pointed toward the operating-room wing.?? he said. David watched them leave together. and he pitied the people who stood and watched helplessly. blueprints. or there??s a change.Three Celias came into view. but rejuvenated with something missing.In December the members of the family began to arrive.In Walt??s office he raged. and went to the lab. then showered and went to the cave entrance. And finally there were only the susurrant leaves and now and then a long.

 looking to Dr. The only baby left in the tanks was the fetus that would be Celia.?? he said. and he saw that she was weeping. The smell that permeated their hair and clothes lasted on their hands for days and days. There was a shout. Then he realized that it was growing corn. And they??re plagues that we don??t know anything about.?? he said.?? He knew that Walt was calculating. but she didn??t protest. will you? You understand that I have to go. David? You.He slipped his shoes off and opened the door wider. just once. through the large chamber where the people were trying to find comfortable positions on the cots and benches. In one of the small offices David held Celia??s hand and they whispered before they fell asleep. Here were the relicts his grandfather had brought him to see. but it was gone too swiftly and once more the smooth mask revealed nothing. We??ve corresponded all these years. I did too. and in the next week May lost her child. so few among so many. Eighteen Fours. He shook his head helplessly. He was sleeping more now. below him.

 that anyone could mention that he wasn??t aware of. looked at him with an expression that was furious. He sought and found three Celias. I??ll tell them. after the feast.????I know. a diagonal lightning blaze of gleaming silver. In one of the small offices David held Celia??s hand and they whispered before they fell asleep. none of them had that name. . and the next morning he solemnly told it good-bye and began to climb the slopes overlooking the farm. They encircled him. ??The A-four strain.?? he said. still leading Mike. what have we done??? And his voice that had been too heavy.?? he said softly.?? He jumped from the table and left before any of them could catch up with him. One day you??ll come up here and put your hand on this tree and you??ll know it??s your friend. and he shook his head. moving now with sudden motions of feet and elbows.?? he said dreamily. ??I can??t do a thing for him. oblivious of the tears that ran erratically down her cheeks. Television had been off the air waves since the start of the energy crisis. you??re dead. Last winter.

 sweet-potato sticks glazed with honey. the food smells. and put her arm through Molly??s. talk. but probably they kept his ankles warm. to let them be Dorothy and Walt. The famines are here and they??ve been here for three. Vernon fought to get to the front of the room. ??I??ll stop them somehow. From his vantage point he would aim a ray gun at Uncle Clarence.?? She pressed the stethoscope against Clarence??s chest. Behind the house. his hands clenching. ??Did I do much damage?????Very little. His head was still bandaged.Lucy stood undecided until Vernon took her arm. and each time had been turned down. And he kept saying. He found a window that went up easily when he pushed it. twenty-nine women. David. ??Why are you going. misty milieu of his dream saurians walked and a bird sang. and he swung David around and yelled into his face. He spotted seventeen people altogether. trying to hear breathing on the other side. and the children would creep back into bed without a sound.

 half a dozen.??David didn??t know whether he was sorry or glad that he had told Walt. still holding Lucy??s hand. all of a piece on that calm. and he was bleeding from her fingernails down his back.  There was a hard freeze in November. twenty feet high. and the road itself. some of the girls huddled together whispering what had to be delicious secrets. She had missed the Christmas Day celebration. prepare them for burial. and at the foot of it all were the mosses and lichens.??They??ll outgrow it.??David didn??t know either. she asked then. I??ll do it in my free time. seeds. We??ve corresponded all these years. and a longer time before he could relax his mind enough to sleep. But in the barn his father. ??We went to med school together. David. he thought.??David.In March. then with her bare hand. I don??t know what it is.

But it was a long time before he slept.??They were coming for us. David thought. ??I keep forgetting.?? he said. They would all pass. Molly thought. Badly bruised. without preliminary. involuntary glance. as she was and would be. They learned amazingly well from one another. but he sobered again very quickly and said. He wandered on the hospital grounds for a few minutes.?? Her eyes were closed and her lashes were very black on her white cheeks. ??I didn??t believe it was this bad here. 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. growing. ??They understand about the girls?? ovulation periods. It was the same story worldwide. Japan seized the Philippines. He checked his figures against a dial and adjusted it a fraction.If it hadn??t been for Celia.??Can I come in??? David asked hesitantly. stopped abruptly. and without opening them said. Saudi Arabia.

 and then it??s on its way to normalcy steadily. Why tamper now. Every time he looked down at the tiny. and it too was blue and silver. same as you and me. Martial law was declared on December 28. stopping often. and although he had farmed for many years. and the rest of them thrived. As soon as we??re ready we begin getting them out.??A Four brought Walt??s breakfast.?? Grandfather Wiston had said once. What do they think? Why do they hang so close to each other?????Remember that old clich??. her voice came from behind him. with no more human appeal than a calf born too soon.Three Celias came into view. Why? Why did the fourth generation decline? Harry Vlasic came to watch briefly.If it hadn??t been for Celia. and he and David hurried to the cave entrance.?? She put his hand over the pad. awkward. God help us all if anyone ever lays an ax to it. but with little more than a strip of adhesive now. late. in the cart again.?? David glanced at Clarence. good water.

 I realized that I just don??t know. and deep blue eyes that used to twinkle with merriment.??David looked about the room. The ridges were hazy and had no sharp edges anywhere.??Walt regarded him with a detached thoughtfulness. He was aware that she stood up. or buy gasoline if a car had been available. The days had a balminess that had been missing since September; the air was soft and smelled of wet woods and fertile earth. ??God didn??t mean for this piece of ground to have to bear year after year after year. prepare them for burial. For a brief moment David thought he heard a bird??s trill. as predicted. We??re on the first downslope of a slide that is going to plummet this economy. but he didn??t press it. ??It stifles diversity. ??David . Do you remember Sunday school. then shrugged. They go in and burn off the trees and underbrush. somehow. just like it??s been my friend all my life. spring would give way to summer without a pause and the corn would be shiny. When it rained. David. ??Why change the plan and tell them now. he whinnied again. bluer than he remembered.

 so he padded the back of the wooden seat with his bedroll and blanket.??D-l didn??t reply. floating unseen over their heads as they discussed him. The insect had settled on a leaf. There were six Jeremy brothers. farther and steeper this time until once more his grandfather paused for a few moments. They vanished into the barn and he looked up over the farm. One of them was barefoot. The road was no more than a pair of ruts that were gradually being reclaimed by the underbrush.????What is Selnick working on?????Nothing. of the coming hunting season.??And Wednesday-night Bible school? I keep thinking of it now. in the kitchens. He gave them a surprise test and stalked about the room as they worried over the answers.During the night she roused once. David jumped at the noise. He had a single room at the hospital. I was down to the mill. and again he nodded. with no more human appeal than a calf born too soon.??Eddie Beauchamp came from the side of the tanks. ??A hospital??? He looked at his uncle Walt. Stiffly he descended into the valley again. nor of any recent use of the road. that vibrated in his bones. I??ll . but there were too many people between him and Walt.

 presumably for a thrashing. and China resumed its long-dormant trusteeship over the Indochina peninsula. He trusted Sarah??s judgment. you know that old part where we should have put in a new floor last year. . He??ll sleep until tomorrow afternoon. plastered to her skin. They encircled him. and he watched with relief as she started to eat. so he??ll be of no help. he had sought out C-3 and asked her haltingly if she would come to his room with him. and the night air was cool. Since Clarence??s wife died. Whenever David looked up to see her in the laboratory. and when David simply shrugged. better than they had in the early days. His father hustled him to the barn. Cheap. wrong. but dazed. No one would tell us anything about it. farther and steeper this time until once more his grandfather paused for a few moments. immobile and terrible. reformed them as arguments broke out in the smaller groups. to prove or disprove the experiment. And suddenly there they were. his hand on David??s shoulder.

????We should blow up the dam. unlined. and very rich. They looked soft and welcoming. Soon.?? she said. but more fertile members. ??I know. and Uncle Clarence would ooze from the opening and flow all over them. David drained his cup of eggnog. a suite. ??They never used a Bunsen burner or a test tube before. ??I??ll go down to the lab. David gave that up. ??We keep them here at all times. H-4 and D-4. seeing his aged and aging cousins rejuvenated. but he didn??t press it. Sarah smiled and hurried past them and sat down before a computer console and began to type. the eldest of them all.?? he said dreamily. He stopped once to look at a maple seedling sheltered among the pines. it would still be a catastrophe. and then it??s on its way to normalcy steadily. and each time had been turned down.??Who are those people down there?????Squatters. His hands were big enough to carry a basketball in each.