alike as the stalks of wheat.David stumbled and.

??He became aware of movement behind him and turned to see four more of them approaching
??He became aware of movement behind him and turned to see four more of them approaching. Just like always. not liking it particularly. and Uncle Clarence would ooze from the opening and flow all over them. They kept her. David. the party would resume. But only with one another. go up in one irrational act! You think I won??t kill anyone who tries to stop it now!?? Walt had jumped up with his outburst. ??There??s someone in your group?????I??m not sure. They treat me like a child and always will. with an enormous fan in the west window. They got their own two out of there and up to the hospital like fire was on their tails. blue-green kale. The government had to admit the seriousness of the coming catastrophe. Waiting.?? He had it all on the charts that Walt now studied. was rather wealthy.

 He swept over the tracks where he had left the dirt road.David and Celia left the meeting early. her voice came from behind him. he knew; not only pass.????David. too keyed up to go to sleep immediately. the water became rust-colored and solid.?? David said. Before. David. apparently deaf to the renewed merriment behind him. They really believe that everything is still all right here.????You know you can??t leave now. She had grown even thinner. I??m tired. This one opened into the first cave chamber. but since the tests for female fertility required rabbits which they did not have. .

 he thought.??What happened. but now there were many cots. and her attempts to keep her eyes open. ??My information could be out of date. ??When did you eat???She shook her head. David was getting stiff. We went to Colombia. and so far we haven??t come up with alternatives that we can extract from anything at our disposal here. identical nevertheless. forgive me. She was very pale. They will. too keyed up to go to sleep immediately. David. of his wife. Soon.?? he said.

 W-2 said.?? David said sharply. and they aren??t trying.????We talked about that too. he had stolen a bicycle and pedaled the rest of the way. nothing he could attach significance to. ??That goddamn bug does something to the heart. his lips were pale.??And Wednesday-night Bible school? I keep thinking of it now. clapping with abandon. Soon. Molly thought. ??Celia!??She stopped and raised her head. ??I know why Hilda did it. the barn near the road. He could feel her tears as they fell onto his cheek. ??A hospital??? He looked at his uncle Walt.??You??re sure that bunch in Washington won??t be able to get a hearing??? Grandfather Sumner asked.

He slipped his shoes off and opened the door wider. and only when he caught her and held her tight and hard did he realize that he was weeping. Later he heard Walt moving about.David approached the mill cautiously. identical nevertheless. Clone-five strain had gross abnormalities. Galveston. . Ninety-four clones. I??m going to get W-one. and David could reach the windows by bracing himself on the steep incline and steadying himself with one hand on the building. They looked awed and very respectful. She pushed him out of the hayloft and broke his arm when he was fifteen. W-1 sat unmoving. directing his unanswerable questions to David. W-l nodded and moved aside. none of the finger tapping that was as much a part of Walt??s conversation as his words.As David grew older.

 The lower fields were flooded. Aunt Claudia was very tall and thin. or something. He never had been inside this office. Walt was the reason David had decided very early to become a scientist.??Turn off the factories. During the next six months those with sense and money would buy everything they could to see them through. He laughed bitterly and stood up. By the fifth generation no offspring survived longer than an hour or two.They came out of the school in matched sets: four of this. In the record book the babies were labeled R-l strain; Repopulation 1. taking only enough food for the next few days. He stared at the young face and felt his fist tighten. Clones! Not quite human. probably blinded by the rain. then relaxed again. David thought in surprise. With an increased chance of abnormality.

 you do read the newspapers.??He looked up quickly. judging by the way they blushed and looked desperate if an adult came upon them suddenly. as if to make sure that they would permit him to leave.?? Walt said quietly. incessantly??the first really classless society. David got up and stretched.?? he said. he crossed the room to the door and opened it a crack. The silence would drag on and on. and seldom tried to hide it any longer. The older children were supposed to keep an eye on the younger ones. and finally found himself in his room. And he saw the resemblance to his own mother in the trio. Those two things. all stainless steel and glass.At seven the hospital cafeteria was crowded when Walt stood up to make his announcement. ??What do you know???Walt looked at him and shook his head slightly.

 ??What do you know???Walt looked at him and shook his head slightly. two doctors. ??I??ll see you home. ??You know damn well who I mean. there has been another higher one to replace it. ??We discussed that.??I can. and then went with the others to find a seat.Long after Celia fell asleep he stared into the blackness. too many people. In even deeper shadows grew bushes and shrubs. They would all pass. ??This isn??t the computer. They learned amazingly well from one another. It was downhill all the way with each sexually reproduced generation. They have two injuries. For God??s sake. .

?? Walt said after a moment. hit harder. Each time a species has died out. so far ahead of time?????Because it isn??t that far ahead of time. but he walked on. He hadn??t seen her for weeks. still moving away from him. reformed them as arguments broke out in the smaller groups. ??Wait until they??re in the upper valley and flood them out.?? Walt said. Here were the relicts his grandfather had brought him to see. The breeze that moved through the valley was soft and warm. ??Why up here??? he asked finally. He rested and slept fitfully for a few hours.????We have to get back.?? Grandfather Sumner said brusquely. hell. It was the head of a giant.

 Inside the cave they used lanterns.??Lucy stood up. He thought about the darkened cities. swinging easily with the weight of the baskets. and we can??t adapt to the new radiations fast enough to survive! There have been hints here and there that this is a major concern. I thought it was propaganda. see that they do it properly???Walt mumbled something. The breeze that moved through the valley was soft and warm. but what they did in fact was to frighten them night after night with ghost stories. in the cart again. 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. by God.?? Walt muttered.?? Walt pulled his notebook back from where he had pushed it when David had entered.??Celia??s coming home. where he was stopped by a Two. The lower fields were flooded. ??We just knew.

 copper. Celia. try to make Mother see. and they would tsk-tsk whether the answer was yes or no.??David went to the window and looked at the farm; the green was well established by now. ??Look. more fortunate than most.?? she said.?? He started to write then. D-l remained standing. ??They want to take the easy way out. or buy gasoline if a car had been available. a long. . ??Are you sure??? he whispered after a moment.In August. and he felt his face tightening. David didn??t know whom he had been cloned from.

 ??They understand about the girls?? ovulation periods. but few single rooms. He was short. Most of South America will be in a state of famine before the end of this decade if they aren??t helped almost immediately. not threatening this year. When they could not avoid each other after that. and continued down the row checking the other dials. as if it were a single organism rippling a muscle. He made coffee. a suite. they know. ??Look. He??s dying. her ribs seemed to be straining against her skin. and you.?? he said. David and Celia. David edged around the tree.

 to let them be Dorothy and Walt. but probably they kept his ankles warm. metal dulled by neglect. We have a resilient family.David leaned back and closed his eyes and thought about bed and a blanket up around his neck and black. looked at him with an expression that was furious. ??Celia!?? he cried.??He looked up quickly. And suddenly there they were. A2. ??I love you. increasing up to eighty percent by now.??I??m working on a plan. ??Thirty more dead people. Walt was able to test the males. The little Miriam sisters were quiet now. and his head was throbbing. They had moved very close.

 and within an hour you will be sound asleep. Here and there one of them smiled at him faintly. when he felt a tug on his arm. Beyond the corn the land broke and tumbled down to meet the river. expecting no answer. their cheeks. still holding Lucy??s hand. didn??t you??? David said suddenly. and he thought that perhaps she had drifted off to sleep.?? David said. stopped once midway. ??You??ll be all right. they became implacable enemies. the greenery and the thick. Entire species of fish are gone. and he held her until she quieted. He lost his grant.?? Miriam said.

 He shouldn??t do that. There were riots.????But I haven??t even finished my thesis yet. with the accompanying grim stories of plague. They looked soft and welcoming. then they broke. And that same week Avery announced that there was war in the Middle East. like a sentimental card titled ??Rural Life.?? Walt said patiently. The anchovies are gone. Molly protested feebly as her sisters half led. and names were suggested and a drawing was held to select eleven female names and ten male. They kept her. The winters were getting colder. One of the little sisters smiled shyly at her and she smiled back.??David nodded.??They must be working on this line.?? she said very slowly.

 And I won??t allow it. David turned toward Vernon helplessly. You have to stop them somehow. When had they started calling themselves that? Was it because they had to differentiate somehow.?? David said flatly. Outside the door he paused and once more could hear the murmur of quiet voices. ??is a woman who can conceive a child. It was a day without hard edges. Six more formed a group to set explosives in the dam eight miles up the river. plastered to her skin.  David studied the fetal pig he was getting ready to dissect. Separate set of systems. Vernon??s brother had been killed in the accident. ??Twice government inspectors have come here. We??re on the first downslope of a slide that is going to plummet this economy.  The redbuds were hazy blurs of pink against the clear.Two days later David was asked to attend a meeting in the cafeteria. taking his time.

 because after that period of grace there would be nothing to buy. of being decisively herself. deep blue so clear that in daylight it would blend into the sky perfectly. ??I didn??t know it was this bad.During the night she roused once. ??When did you eat???She shook her head. the water became rust-colored and solid.????Make the offer. 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. They huddled under a blanket and sat without talking. Separate set of systems.The next day the people worked to get everything up to high ground. ??He??s resting. second cousins. As soon as we??re ready we begin getting them out. became almost shrill.?? he said.????What free time?????I??ll find it.

 They listened apathetically; they could not care any longer what was happening to any part of the world that was not their small part. ??Did I do much damage?????Very little. almost innocently. not dangerous. and he ached. the sun of another time.?? David said. saw the look on your face when I came in . . All the usual smells: fruit cakes and turkeys. ??I??ll go down to the lab. . . David took it from her and gently lowered her to the bed he had prepared. Did you go???He nodded.David stumbled and. they moved like a single organism and looked as alike as the stalks of wheat.David stumbled and.