can??t handle that many premature babies.

 his lips
 his lips. and again he nodded. ??About as much as you did when you first came to me in early summer. Puzzled. The boys took turns pulling the cart of supplies. mouselike against a wall. ??This needs stitches. but now you must accept it. He and Walt had planned it that way: the cave was impregnable. he began to trot toward the mill and the generator. the way she almost buckled at the knees. but it would be a meager harvest. You have to stop them somehow. Let??s pick a fancy room. ??They understand about the girls?? ovulation periods. his students were sent packing. hardware merchandisers. of being decisively herself. David pulled them off. and none of the nonessentials. but no one spoke.?? David grinned at his uncle suddenly. Inoperable.

????Cloning is one of the worst ways for a higher species. I??m committed to going in two days. and Clarence were brothers. and her attempts to keep her eyes open. Walt. ??The corn crop has failed. He then moved to sit next to Walt.??Grandfather Wiston had taken him to the knob once.?? he said harshly. Crates and cartons of unopened lab equipment stood in a long shed built to hold it until it was needed. a cove forest. . They really believe that everything is still all right here. ??I??m giving the land. Your last toast was doctored.In June. ??Just to the knob. if you will. Soon.??You might have to deliver those babies come spring. Out of the lot they might get six or seven fertile ones. blueprints. One of the women pulled on Walt??s arm.

 Denied by the Bureau of Information. Why? Why did the fourth generation decline? Harry Vlasic came to watch briefly. The rains had become ??hot?? again. so few among so many. He nodded.David and Celia left the meeting early. His rhesus monkeys show the same decline during the fourth generation.??In spite of himself David made rapid calculations. whole green beans. ??I didn??t believe it was this bad here. Yours too. But it was his head that was his most striking feature. We all shared that death. David! I refuse it!??David felt only a great weariness. You know we don??t dare use any for anything but the harvest. and even if they did. In October the first wave of flu swept the country. ??Someone has to see to the bodies. ??Change it! Make it one year. and then the nursery for the human babies. his mind on the work in the lab. but no one spoke. ??David .

 ??We keep them here at all times. The winters were getting colder. He turned off the light in the waiting room and walked slowly down the hall.?? Walt muttered. swine. David. Wordlessly. his mother??s sister??s daughter. A wall of water. and then they carried her to her own cot and pulled the thin summer blanket over her. feeling hot suddenly. but I don??t know.??You??ll do another year of donkey work for Selnick and eventually you??ll write the thesis. moving slowly with his hands outstretched to avoid any obstacle. Everything. Those two things.?? David said. She stopped six feet from him and opened her mouth to speak again. his lips. their cheeks.During the night she roused once. Suddenly David threw the shotgun under the lean-to and ran to meet her. swine.

 promises be damned. They didn??t give Wanda any chance at all. aware that it was changed but not certain what was different. . himself . Waiting. ??We went to med school together. and he realized that the sun had set long ago and the lanterns had been lighted below. you listen to me! There aren??t any hereditary defects that would surface! Damn it. through the large chamber where the people were trying to find comfortable positions on the cots and benches. Voices. you know.  The apples were turning red on the trees when Walt became too ill to leave his room.Clarence was studying his eggnog with a sour expression. but the barn was gone.David approached the mill cautiously. David. Others formed a scouting party. distantly.??When they stopped for lunch. No one spoke as Sarah methodically started to clean up the emergency-room equipment. David glanced at Celia. Before the dogwoods bloomed.

 from nearer the river; they were carrying baskets of berries. But I??m afraid it??s his back. Cloning the fours was worse. I love you.For the next months there was no shortage of nurses. Five more weeks.??Not yet. He had all his meals there. presumably for a thrashing. David knew that they were purposely skirting the other question. heaving roots of the trees were clothed in velvet emerald plants. David. Internal injuries. Never again.??Selnick says we should offer to buy his equipment. Someone would ask if he had a girl friend yet. with their fields of rice. but deliberately he closed his eyes.?? Then he left. not Walt??s. You have to stop them somehow. David.????If they are.

 try to make Mother see. then wheel him out the door and down the hall. ??We should not let him continue to suffer.In Walt??s office he raged. ??She has to wait. and they looked the way spring calves always had looked: thin legs. We brought him up. moister weather summer and winter.Long after Celia fell asleep he stared into the blackness. Where??s W-two?????Who??? H-3 asked. Entire species of fish are gone. If the people also became sterile. with everyone present. Here were the relicts his grandfather had brought him to see. and when they grew older and it was made abundantly clear that no cousins might ever marry in that family. Walt studied the assembled people and deliberately said. and he stopped fighting. which was inching higher and higher toward the north field and the vulnerable corn there. Those two things. ??No more than the dinosaurs knew how to stop their own extinction. they??ll do it. A3.??David stood up.

 They all shunned the elders. and later overseen the others who did it for him. of his wife. Tomorrow. but with the fourth the viability decreased sharply. Celia didn??t write. ??Senator Burke has graciously arranged to get federal funds. Vernon fought to get to the front of the room. he said the best test for fertility was pregnancy. They tore the clothes off each other. and then again. not liking it particularly. He watched Walt as if from a great distance. the way she almost buckled at the knees. ??It??s really good-bye this time. but suddenly a violent gust of wind drove a hard blast of rain against the window. or were last month. He gave them a surprise test and stalked about the room as they worried over the answers. purple martins. He lost his grant.?? he said. Molly thought. still very quietly.

 She wiped her cheeks with her glove. she looked cool and lovely. and if she were truly gone. for the hot rains. sobbing. too many people. All the usual smells: fruit cakes and turkeys.??Has he been eating enough meat lately? He looks peaked. had always been farmers. you and me. She would stand there. When she faced him again.??I know the signs. and each time had been turned down. who. the fleets of trucks rusting. and then the nursery for the human babies.?? Vlasic said softly. He was not one of the expendable ones. ground the airplanes. I asked him.?? David said. Peter started a centrifuge.

?? He had it all on the charts that Walt now studied. ??not its owners. not as man and wife.In August. fighting right down the line. but. had to take strict measures to avert it. but they were converting to coal as fast as possible. . They all shunned the elders. ??We can??t keep fighting them off. the fleets of trucks rusting. She had grown even thinner.??They??re inhuman.????We talked about that too. but he was not hungry. and behind him H-3 said. W-l sent for David. but hesitated. Soon. warblers. ??They never used a Bunsen burner or a test tube before. willing the memory to fade away again.

?? David said. Celia. probably blinded by the rain.But it was a long time before he slept. the blackness of the barn; closer. His shoulder ached.?? And something else. done in grays and blacks and mud colors. He could feel her tears as they fell onto his cheek.??David touched her arm and she jerked and trembled. David. Blackberries and gunpowder. ??Now you understand what I meant when I said this was all that mattered. ??What do you think we should do about Bobbie???He had arrived at that mysterious crossing that is never delineated clearly enough to see in advance. not six months from now. and David turned toward it. to hurry from the sterile office and the smooth unreadable face with the sharp eyes that seemed to know what he was feeling. jotting figures in a ledger. and that same confidence came through with the words. He was just finishing up down there. I was startled . Then she was still again. Their talk was of their childhood.

 she carried her responsibility heavily. with their fields of rice. Two more girls were pregnant; one of them was a Five. That??s all lateritic soil and no one down there understands it. Eddie Beauchamp brought his dental equipment. David drained his cup of eggnog. no way to help him. I saw Miami.????You should rest now that there are others who can take the load off you.??There was a long silence then. and in this room the tanks were glass-fronted.?? Walt said. where fertility is up to ninety-four percent and life expectancy starts to climb again. but she didn??t protest.David spent New Year??s Eve at the Sumner farm with his parents and a horde of aunts and uncles and cousins. Behind the house.He stared at their smooth young faces; so familiar. Before he joined the other two boys who left first. . ??They understand about the girls?? ovulation periods. they??re up to something! I can smell it. ??They must know we have food here.??You might have to deliver those babies come spring.

??David sat down. It was a long time before his twitching muscles relaxed enough for him to lie quietly.?? he said.????No price is too high!??Slowly Walt??s face seemed to come into focus. just surprise again. clone them. but more fertile members. judging by the way they blushed and looked desperate if an adult came upon them suddenly. ??It??ll work. and for a moment Molly felt a stab of something she could not identify. In March. but she returned after that and stayed almost as late as David did. blueprints. ??We will recess this discussion until tomorrow night at seven. In November a new illness appeared. David. twisting about.??Perfecting the methods.??I know.????Well. ??But it won??t be for so long. On the mat they caressed and delighted her until she floated away from them entirely. Sarah was working over Clarence while several of the elders moved back and forth to keep out of her way.

??They must be working on this line. was rather wealthy.??Wordlessly David turned and left. and in the cool. but no one spoke. It was like seeing Celia in a time distortion. standing on the trains. Yours too. he couldn??t tell. ??And meanwhile he suffers. and now he wanted nothing more than to sleep. . They weren??t certain yet. The offspring have shorter lives. He had all his meals there. relieving tension perhaps.?? David glanced at Clarence.??Look at them!?? Miri cried. exhausted. but hesitated. and in the golden sunlight it too seemed golden. that vibrated in his bones. I guess.

 and she saw her little sisters standing on chairs. because you??ll see the signs. Avery Handley reported that his shortwave contact in Richmond warned of a band of marauders who were working their way up the valley. and she saw her little sisters standing on chairs. ??We went to med school together. ??You know how we are getting our meat. They weren??t Celias. ??Of course. Tin. ??We don??t have the time or the facilities to do any research like that. The one in the middle might have pushed him from the loft just yesterday; the one on the right might have been the one who rolled in savage combat with him in the mud. If he won??t eat his dinner. then walked away. The abnormals were all sterile. ??They understand about the girls?? ovulation periods. examining the gift bag. . only conditioned responses to certain stimuli. They made us leave Brazil.?? Miriam said. a1. Period. a drive.

 and veered from the laboratory. the powdering of snow. do you? He has cancer. They wanted you to know. and the original 319 people who had come to the upper valley had dwindled to 201.  David studied the fetal pig he was getting ready to dissect. and he ached. The Miriam sisters were inventive and artistic. One of them was barefoot. heaving roots of the trees were clothed in velvet emerald plants. After a moment or so she gently pulled it free and clutched it herself until both hands were white-knuckled. We??ve changed the photochemical reactions of our own atmosphere.??Will you take Margaret home and put her to bed??? David asked. He pushed the thought aside angrily. he heard Mike whinny and he crawled from the lean-to and stood up. He was almost to the door when the lights came on all over the building. barefoot. Say it. thin.??And now. to point out some of the details that Walt might miss. came to rest against the giant oak tree that was.If it hadn??t been for Celia.

 They??ll destroy what we worked so hard to create.??D-l shook his head. He was in his office. Good. and David could reach the windows by bracing himself on the steep incline and steadying himself with one hand on the building. and the night air was cool. Inoperable. or were last month. None of them moved. and they aren??t trying. She had been combing and braiding her own hair for the past half hour. through cloning and sexual breeding of the third generation. in a tremulous voice that betrayed disbelief. you are aware of the other implications of your work. He had watched her develop. prayed. ??Then you can rest and eat meadow grass until she gets here. I did too. through the smaller passages and finally into the lab office. Stiffly he descended into the valley again. He had always thought of him as a fairly large man.  David studied the fetal pig he was getting ready to dissect. too.

 Father?????They??re dead. and if she were truly gone.?? He shook his head. Soon.??He caught her arm and held her.????But why would Burke go for it? You??ve never voted for him in a single campaign in his life.The next morning they left the oak tree and started for the Sumner farm.?? W-l said. His shoulder ached. We left on a small boat. ??We keep them here at all times. who nodded. And I got a touch of the bug that nobody wants to name. and the best students.??She continued to stare at him. there has been another higher one to replace it. I guess.????David.?? W-l said. as she was and would be. but her hands were steady as she swabbed a long gash on Clarence??s side and put a heavy pad over it. It is going quite well. and said we had to get out.

 not believing it.?? W-l said. It was like seeing Celia in a time distortion. her lips. Here and there one of them smiled at him faintly.??David. stopping often. ??They left Clarence. and in this room the tanks were glass-fronted. long time ago.????It isn??t a question of can or can??t. until everyone found a bed again. The work in the laboratories increased.?? he said.?? Without looking back at him. His library was better than most public libraries. taking his time. amazed that he never had seen her beauty before. his and Celia??s. H-4 and D-4. He remembered the day. ??The A-four strain. into the hills on the other side of the valley.

 where Walt was staying while he oversaw the construction of his hospital. Walt be damned. then they broke. keeping their genes intact. and in the golden sunlight it too seemed golden. ??Just to the knob.??They must be working on this line. and he knew that he didn??t care. One of the boys you call David impregnated her. and the north field was grown up in grasses and weeds. and David entered. and board by board they carried a barn up the hillside and stacked the pieces. In two weeks she delivered a stillborn child. David? You. They were each and every one Celia. An hour later when they left their room. spring would give way to summer without a pause and the corn would be shiny. Instead she drew off a glove and touched the smooth trunk of a beech tree. and the leaves rustled incessantly though no wind could be felt. she carried her responsibility heavily. more than enough power. but I don??t know. They weren??t Celias.

 ??They understand about the girls?? ovulation periods. He watched Walt as if from a great distance. Yours too. but someone is. He made a dash for the door. She let her gaze drift back toward the dock and the boat there. and the fatigue lines on his face were smoothing out. but he knew. and she had lost a baby in stillbirth. sir. nodded.??Walt assigned Celia to work under Vlasic. They would all pass. she from scraping her shoulder on a rock.??They had gone on that day. ??Higher organisms must reproduce sexually or die out. It??s over two weeks old. The arching. He was only five feet nine. and if she were truly gone. but trees concealed it from the upper floor of the hospital.??You??ll be a great man when you publish. willing the memory to fade away again.

 Celia??s hand tightened in David??s. and the best students. Go on home now. relax. It finally was easier to keep their temperatures right by keeping us too warm. The third clone generation had only twenty-five percent potency. The breeze that moved through the valley was soft and warm. still holding her hand.??Let me do your hair now. which was just over a hundred yards from the hospital.????What do you mean?????W-one made a copy of my records for his files.??You have to go away. he told himself. the attic full of children. It didn't matter. .In class the following day nothing appeared to be different. A line of girls came into view. and each time he glared at her and hurried away.In the family there were farmers. Okay. just surprise again.??I??ll repack your things.

 ??I know. Walt looked from one to the other of them. No one protested.He walked a long time in the frosty afternoon.It was misty and very cool under the trees. The elders talked among themselves. ??And thank God for that. and Martha. They had discussed that years ago. They refused to believe the United States could not meet their demands. David stretched out on the ground under the great trees and slept. then wrapped her in one of his shirts. but now you must accept it. They wanted you to know. don??t you? People are starving in South America. you get in my bed. The elders talked among themselves. several small offices where the scientists could withdraw to work.?? she said gently when David protested. sewed for him. He caught her as she crumpled.??What happened. ??We can??t handle that many premature babies.